As I meet and discuss with more and more Christians on a daily basis, I find that many Christians are passionate about the sins of Americans today and passionate about finding a way to keep these sins from taking place. Now, when it comes to trying to stop the sins inside the body of Christ, I find this to be a worthwhile passion. We must keep our brothers and sisters accountable. But why are Christians so passionate about making the sins defined in the Bible illegal to all of America? Is this really the answer? Are we, the persecuted Christians of the world, really that elite? Paul tells us in First Corinthians 5:11-13:
The Bible makes it very clear that the Church should have some form of government among it's members. Even in First Corinthians 6, we are told that it is better to be judged by a man of little account in the Church than it is to be taken to a court of law with unbelievers (well, Paul actually tells us that it is better to simply be wronged, but you get the point).
Isaiah 9:6 prophesizes that the government will lie on the coming Messiah's shoulders. So why is it that when Jesus came to us, He was unconcerned with changing the government (or ruling it, for that matter)? He did not try to change people by outlawing their sinful ways. No -- He came to give the Good News of hope and forgiveness. My suggestion is that we all do the same, and leave the Church to watch over the sins of our fellow brothers and sisters, not the government. I do not claim to be a Biblical scholar by any means, but from my basic grasp of scripture, I find no Biblical basis for a theocracy or anything of the sort. Why not leave the government to keep peace and order and to collect taxes?
Jesus says in Matthew 22:21: "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's." He does not say, "Let us overthrow Caesar and rule the government with the Word of God!" There should be a clear distinction between a Christian's faith and their dealings with the government. The Good News of hope and forgiveness is a much more effective witnessing tool than creating laws, anyway.
Michelle Moses is a Christian, a Libertarian, and an incoming sophmore at her local community college. She likes to talk to homeless people. She can be reached at michellepm@comcast.net
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