Mixing Religion and Politics, Part 6: Conclusion

Part 1 link

My political philosophy is the same as my philosophy about any other subject. The Bible is the guide to what is right. The Bible says that governing authorities are “agents of God’s wrath” (Romans 13:1-5) sent by God to punish people for evil, “not bear[ing] the sword in vain”. This is the primary (if not the only) legitimate function of government. God is sovereign above all and governments should not assume power that is not given to them by God. Any commandment from God in the Bible should be assumed to be universal unless otherwise stated. God’s directives concerning the punishment of criminals are not exceptions. Psalm 2 talks about how God will pour out his wrath on nations whose rulers want to “cast off the fetters and chains” of God’s laws. Throughout the Bible, minimum requirements of fairness and justice are given by God for the nations to follow, such as the punishment of all murderers, thieves, and the sexually immoral. In addition, there is much wisdom and advice given for rulers in the Bible. These principles do not include exacting justice on foreign nations (unless they violate the attacking nation’s sovereignty). They do not include punishing people for things in their thoughts and hearts (such as hate) because only God is qualified to judge these things.

I am not trying to create a theocracy in which people are coerced into joining a particular religion, but only to uphold principles of justice and fairness that come from God and oppose any system that advertises sin, teaches people how to sin, gives people incentives to sin, or hinders Christians from obeying God’s word (particularly in regard to evangelism).

Man-made systems of justice are always flawed because of selfishness. If godly principles are abandoned, the default is “economic benefit”. That is to say, anything is acceptable as long as it benefits the nation as a whole economically. This is based ultimately on selfishness, so any such economic gain is only temporary.

For example, in 2005, the Supreme Court ruled that governments can take away property from anyone as long as they can justify it economically. This is the new definition of “public use”. Governments are already using this power to take homes and even churches to sell to businesses because they are more economically profitable. The same Supreme Court Justices who allowed this are also the very same ones in favor of preventing the States from punishing the murderers of the unborn. Thou shalt not murder and thou shalt not steal are beginning to lose their meaning in this country.

It is interesting that the Beast will require that his mark be placed in the same places (on the hand or forehead) that God commanded his commandments to be placed. (Read part 4 and Revelation 13). He will “think to change times and laws” (Daniel 7:25) as opposed to Christ whose laws are unchangeable because God does not change (Matthew 5:17-19, Malachi 3:7, James 1:17) The Beast will come on a platform of peace, safety, and economic prosperity. Then he will take away the property rights (the ability to buy or sell) and eventually even the right to life of anyone who refuses to take his mark. How much closer do we have to get to this before liberal Christians change their minds and start opposing this lawlessness? When real Christians stand up and oppose the Beast and the taking of his mark, will they still be accusing them of “mixing religion and politics”? Make a Good Choice and commit every part of your life to Jesus Christ, uncompromisingly condemning sin whenever and wherever it’s found. Obey God and leave all the consequences to him.