Rev. Daniel Fleischer
Christians are not disinterested in politics. Like any citizen they engage in political discussion and activity. Whatever the circumstances that attract attention and perhaps even enrage Christians in this evil world, political discussions are coffee table fodder but are not pulpit fare. The pulpit is not the place for politics. However, when there are obvious interconnections between political activity in the civil realm as relates to moral behavior and the faith and life of the child of God and/or the ministry of the Church, those must be addressed from Scripture. Some may see such response as political. It is not!
Before His Ascension, the Savior commissioned His disciples to carry His Word into the world. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you…” (Matthew 28:19-20). He further defined their role “…Repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations” (Luke 24:47).
The divine commission concludes with the exhortation, “teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you…” What the Lord teaches us to observe impacts every aspect of life as we journey through time. There is no time or place when or where we should not be aware of what our Lord would have us speak and do. Thus, individually and collectively, as Christians we are to let our light shine to His glory. Within the Church, pastors are called to faithfully, “Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching” (2 Timothy 4:2).
Preaching of repentance and remission of sins calls for faithful preaching of the Law and Gospel. Without the preaching of the Law, sin is not exposed, and sinners are hardened and comfortable in their sin. The Law teaches what is right and wrong. Sorrow over sin is worked in the heart through the Law which exposes sin and smites the heart as it declares the consequence of unrepentant sin and unbelief. On the other hand, the Gospel creates faith in Christ Who bore the sins of the world. It instills in smitten, contrite, hearts the comfort of forgiveness of sins and confidence of salvation. Without the preaching of the Gospel there is no comfort for the sorrowful heart. Thus, the Church fulfils its responsibility and purpose when it faithfully proclaims the Law and the Gospel!
Further, when the Gospel is preached in its truth and purity, good works, fruits of faith are bound to follow. (Art. XII, Augsburg Confession) Through the Gospel the Spirit creates within the heart of faith the will to observe what God has commanded. Where there is no Gospel, the sanctified life, the life of holiness, is absent. Without faith it is impossible to please God. (Hebrews 11:6) When and where the Law and Gospel are not faithfully proclaimed, any preaching, however pious or socially accepted, contradicts the principle of justification by grace through faith in Christ alone. “By grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). “Grace! ‘tis a glorious sound” (The Lutheran Hymnal 374).
To the politically minded who disrespect the divine word, sinning may be deemed a civil right. In God’s sight it invites judgment! As the political world seeks to influence citizens of the country, among whom are Christians, it is incumbent upon the Church to declare the Word of the Lord through which the Spirit works discernment between the light of life and salvation and the darkness of sin and death. At the risk of being charged with being political, racist, or judgmental Christians and the Church must speak the truth, Law and Gospel, in the interest of saving souls.
Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life” (John 8:12). They who do not believe in Christ nor confess Him as God and Savior are “condemned already” (John 3:18), “And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God” (3:19-21). Those who accuse individual Christians and the Church of being judgmental when they expose sin, must be informed that the standard of right and wrong is the Law of God and that their argument which is of the world is not with the messenger, but with the Lord, before whom all people will stand on judgment day! If such warning and instruction from the Word of God is interpreted by the ignorant to be political, so be it. To be faithful to its call, the Church cannot accommodate its teaching to the whims of a godless society, much less change what it teaches to be allegedly more inviting and relevant to society. Whether it relates to the message of salvation by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, or to the Christian life, the Lord says, “He who has My Word, let him speak my Word faithfully” (Jeremiah 23:28).
The responsibility of God’s people is to first search their own heart and confess their sin, believing, “If we confess our sin, He [the Lord] is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). When Jesus sent the disciples to preach repentance and remission of sins, He did not send sinless, holier-than-thou, men out with His message, but men who believed and trusted in Him and walked in the comfort of forgiveness in the confidence that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Romans 10:13)
In the Old Testament the Lord sent prophets to alert and warn Israel about the judgment to come if they forsook Him and followed other gods. Prophets were sent to warn godless kings of impending judgment. After the division of the kingdom, distinguished from Judah, Israel had no God-fearing kings. The people walked in the statutes of the heathen. Every kind of perversion was practiced. God, Who will not be mocked, utilized Assyria as His tool. The Assyrians carried the 10 tribes into captivity. They never returned, unlike Judah, which by the grace of God was returned from its own later captivity in Babylon.
“The world is very evil, the times are waxing late; be sober and keep vigil, the Judge is at the gate…” (TLH 605). While there is no new sin under the sun, the brazenness with which sin is publicly promoted is appalling and contradicts the love which the deniers of truth claim to represent. Politicians and entertainers apparently cannot make their point, however justified, without vulgarity and abusing the name of God. In godless and, we might say, devilful societies, abortion is promoted in the name of a civil rights–e.g. in Minnesota one can kill an unborn because one wants to. Also, under the guise of love, instead of working within the law to change the law, states support breaking the law, by harboring illegal aliens. Denying the wisdom and pronouncement of the Creator God, states, school districts, communities, and cities harbor the lie that men and women are indistinguishable and gender interchangeable. In a Minnesota correctional facility, a counselor was told to terminate a course on “Biblical manhood” because it “directly conflicts with the diversity, equity, and inclusivity values of the department by defining manhood, or the study of masculinity, through a biblical lens of what a ‘real man looks like.’” Though the prohibition was overturned by a court of appeals, the blatant rejection of Scripture is obvious.
The day is surely drawing near when God’s Son, the Anointed, shall with great majesty appear, as Judge of all appointed…” (TLH 611). If children of God remain silent and do not preach repentance and remission of sins, who will? Who else can, except such as have been convinced by the Spirit of the redemptive love of Christ through which and whom by faith they possess the promise of the heavenly inheritance?
So, Christ-believers are to speak, and the Church is to be faithful in its call, politics notwithstanding, to guard believers against the evil influences of a world dead in sins. The believer, because he still is clothed in the sinful flesh is subject to and is the target of many anti-Christian influences and forces. As the Christ-believer still lives in the devilful world, the apostle Peter wrote, “Be sober [watchful], be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith…” (1 Peter 5:8-9).
The Church is not to foment street protest and government or societal overthrow. through nefarious or physical means. The apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesians: “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God…” (Ephesians 6: 10-18). To the Corinthians he wrote: “The weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ…” (2 Corinthians 10:4-5). Whether attacks are made against the Church for its message or, as certainly will happen, against individuals who boldly and steadfastly confess their faith in word and deed, the power to endure or overcome does not lie in aping the animosity and behavior of the accusers. The power lies in the Spirit whose word overthrows the argument of the accuser, if not the accuser himself.
Only the truth overcomes evil. Only the truth of the Gospel can change hearts to walk in the righteousness of Christ, and to reflect the love of God to the neighbor. Only the truth of the Gospel can convert the darkness of evil and unbelief to the light of faith and the sanctified life. Only the truth of the Gospel can save souls and can “convert men to trust God and work in them both to will and to do” what is good and pleasing in the sight of God. (Formula of Concord, TH.D, Art. II) The Lord sent the disciples into the world to preach the Gospel; He did not send them into the world to join the world! Nor did He send them out to invite the world into the Church
The issue is not if, but how, the faithful church responds when the Word and will of God is maligned, when the Christian confession and life is attacked and falsely accused. The faithful Church, in love and out of concern for its own, as well as for the accuser, has a responsibility to respond.
As Christians and the Church, remaining faithful to the Word of God, wait impatiently on the faithful God to deliver us from this vale of tears to Himself in heaven, we acknowledge our own sin and thank the Lord for His gracious forgiveness. We pray for strength, perseverance, vigilance, and courage as we contend against the world and confess the truth. Further we pray that our lives will reflect our confession and our hope of heaven. Let us further pray for the welfare of our nation, and for those who sit in darkness of sin and unbelief.
The faithful Christian’s witness and the faithful Church’s call to repentance is not political activity. It is about life—eternal life. Preach the Word!
Earth, hear thy Maker’s voice, thy great Redeemer own;
Believe, obey, rejoice, and worship Him alone.
Cast down thy pride, thy sin deplore,
And bow before the Crucified. (TLH 575 st. 4)
Rev. Daniel Fleischer is a retired pastor, former CLC president, residing in Oakdale, MN.
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