You Cannot Separate Morality and State

I do not always agree with Doug Wilson, but was impressed by this sermon aimed at the Governor and Legislature of the State of Idaho. My friend Pastor Jeff Durbin commented, “Truly one of the best and most succinct messages I have heard about the unavoidable and necessary element of Christian involvement in political discourse. Unless issues of morality can be separated from ‘State’ we have an obligation to proclaim the truth of God into current political discourse. Abortion is murder and that is why we tell ‘Caesar’: No. Obamacare is theft, injustice, and unwise – that is why we tell the ‘State’: No.”

Concerning Redistribution of Wealth

Excerpt from Dr. Wayne Grudem’s short book “Business for the Glory of God”:

Some inequality of possessions is fundamentally good and provides many opportunities for glorifying God, but also many temptations to sin; and some extreme inequalities are wrong in themselves.

It may seem surprising to us to think that some inequalities of possessions can be good and pleasing to God. However, although there is no sin or evil in heaven, the Bible teaches that there are varying degrees of reward in heaven and various kinds of stewardship that God entrusts to different people. When we stand before Jesus to give account of our lives, he will say to one person,

“You shall have authority over ten cities,”

and to another,

“You are to be over five cities” (Luke 19:17, 19).

Therefore there will be inequalities of stewardship and responsibility in the age to come. This means that the idea of inequality of stewardship in itself is given by God and must be good.

In a similar teaching, Paul, speaking to believers, says, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil” (2 Cor. 5:10). This implies degrees of reward for what we have done in this life. Many other passages teach or imply degrees of reward for believers at the final judgment. Even among the angels, there are differing levels of authority and stewardship established by God, and therefore we cannot say that such a system is wrong or sinful in itself.

Inequalities are necessary in a world that requires a great variety of tasks to be done. Some tasks require stewardship of large amounts of resources (such as ownership of a steel mill or a company that manufactures airplanes), and some tasks require stewardship of small amounts of resources. And God has given some people greater abilities than others, abilities in artistic or musical skills, abilities in mathematics or science, abilities in leadership, abilities in business skills and buying and selling, and so forth. If reward for each person’s labor is given fairly and is based on the value of what that person produces, then those with larger abilities will naturally gain larger rewards. Since people are different in abilities and effort, I don’t think there could be a fair system of rewards for work unless the system had different rewards for different people. Fairness of reward requires such differences.
Continue reading

Small Increments of Change

Tim Challies reminds us of something very important, especially when it comes to politics and societal change (original source here):

A few years ago I read Paul Chamberlain’s Talking About Good and Bad Without Getting Ugly, a book that proposes ways that Christians can talk about difficult issues—issues like abortion, homosexual marriage, euthanasia—in a pluralistic society. The final chapter is a case study that features William Wilberforce as an example of a man who used his Christian convictions to bring about widespread cultural change. Wilberforce was a driving force behind the abolition of slavery within the British Empire. The results of his efforts are seen and celebrated in Western society to this day.

There was one aspect of his strategy to abolish slavery that I found both a challenge and encouragement. Wilberforce was a realistic man; he knew that the kind of change he longed for required the British people to adopt a whole new mindset and would therefore take time and patience. They had to be led to see that slavery was an afront to the God-given value of human beings. They had to see that the conditions of slavery were an abomination to a nation that claimed to be Christian. They had a lot to learn and such lessons would take time.

Because of the distance the people had to come, Wilberforce was willing to accept incremental improvements. For example, at one point he supported a bill, passed on a trial basis, that would regulate the number of slaves that were permitted to be transported on a single ship. Slaves had previously been laid in rows on benches, chained on their sides with the front of one pressed against the back of the next. This proposed legislation demanded immediate improvements but implictly and explicitly supported the continuance of slavery. Still, Wilberforce saw it as a step in the right direction and for that reason he was willing to support it. Another time he voted for a bill that required plantation owners to register all of their slaves. While this bill also supported slavery, Wilberforce understood that a slave registry would keep plantation owners from adding to their number of slaves by buying them from illegal smugglers.

Wilberforce saw these incremental changes as accomplishing two goals. First, they improved the living and working conditions of slaves. While slavery continued, at least the slaves were afforded a greater amount of dignity, even if it had to be measured in small increments. Second, he believed that affording slaves greater rights set the Empire on a slippery slope. Having acknowledged the humanness of the slaves, people had to admit that slaves were something more than animals. The British Parliament had given approval to bills that Wilberforce knew would eventually but inevitably lead to nothing short of abolition. And of course his beliefs proved to be correct. The incremental changes he lobbied for proved to be the starting point for the eventual abolition of slavery.

Chamberlain points out that this same strategy has been used by those opposed to the dignity of life. Abortion is a prime example. What was first allowed as a concession to protect the physical health of a woman soon became a measure to protect her mental health. Mental health is far less objective than physical health and soon abortion was widespread. From there it was only a small step to societal acceptance.

As I read about Wilberforce I wondered if, put in the position of a parliamentarian, I could support legislation that supported abortion or euthenasia or homosexual marriage, even if that legislation seemed to be a step in the right direction. Would doing this be merely pragmatic? Or would it be sinful to tacitly support something so wrong, even while believing that it would lead to a more biblical end?

Chamberlain suggests that this principle, which we see in the life of Wilberforce, is the hardest to accept. He writes, “In their zeal to achieve a specific goal, whether banning abortion on demand, eliminating poverty or improving labor laws, some today operate with an ‘all or nothing’ mentality. Anything less than accomplishing one’s full goal all at once is viewed as an unacceptable compromise, as giving tacit approval to an unjust practice.”

But I think Chamberlain also helps uncover the solution. We need to be careful, when pondering this kind of a choice, that we do not make a decision based on two alternatives, only one of which is real. Wilberforce knew that he did not have the opportunity to vote for or against slavery. Instead, he was given the opportunity to decide between the status quo and a slight improvement on it. He voted for the improvement. While we might say that in doing so he also voted for slavery, and there may even be some truth to this, the fact is that this vote was not, in reality, for or against slavery. He kept focused on what was immediately attainable, but with his eyes gazing longingly at a future target of complete abolition.

Might we do the same with abortion, euthenasia and the cheapening of marriage? I know of politicians who have refused to vote for incremental change, stating that nothing but the end result would be worth their support. Is it possible that these people missed a golden opportunity to enact at least some level of change that may have proven beneficial? I can’t say and really only God knows for sure. But it is certainly possible that these people were too fixated on the final goal, not realizing that this was simply not attainable. Not yet.

One lesson Chamberlain wants us to learn from Wilberforce’s life is that change, especially change that effects all of society, comes in increments. This is true whether the change is for good or for ill. Those who promote abortion, euthenasia or homosexual marriage seem to realize this and have been effective in their strategy of bringing about change. Perhaps as Christians we have been too focused on the final result and have not been able to know a good thing when we see it.

Not everyone agrees with this approach however. Dr. R. C. Sproul, Jr. responded to this article by writing the following:

To my many pro-life friends – My friend Tim Challies has on his blog written a piece in defense of incrementalism. In the comments section I responded to a commenter, Jefe, who in turn likewise praises said incrementalism with these words- Jefe, What you suggest pro-life folks may need to consider is what we have been doing for decades now. How familiar are you with the faithful labors of your local crisis pregnancy center? Contraception, likewise, has been virtually ubiquitous for decades. You are simply parroting pro-abortion talking points from thirty years ago. Worse still, you just traded the lives of babies. Would you push for legislation that affirms the legitimacy of murdering babies on the weekends, but disallows the murder of babies on weekdays? I’m afraid my friend Tim’s article here unintentionally exposes the folly of both the slavery/abortion equation and incrementalism.

Wilberforce, for all the wonderful ways God used Him, is not our role-model. Jesus is, who tells us to serve the least of these. Jesus left the 99 to rescue the 1. I will not trade a single baby to save millions.

I’d encourage you to take a look at the article, to help you understand how our brothers think on the issue. Tim Challies is an influential man. I am grateful for much that he does, and I do consider him a friend. But this was less than encouraging.

That I used to know

From Fox News: College grads playing the role of lovers scorned by President Obama have scored a smash YouTube hit with a parody of Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used to Know.” The video, which was tracking toward 400,000 hits Friday morning, faithfully covers the original, only under the title, “Obama That I Used to Know.” The clever parody intersperses some of the president’s more soaring lines from the 2008 campaign with laments about the current state of the economy for America’s 20-somethings.

“Now and then I think of that Election Day November,” the song begins. “When you won, I felt so happy I could die.”

Hum along if you know the tune, but it continues: “You can get addicted to a certain kind of message — like this is change we can believe in, yes we can. But college ended had to pay my rent. At least you’re the first gay president. But the change I got is that I moved in with my mother.”

And the chorus: “Because you won and then you cut me off. Now your speeches never soar as high as unemployment. You took ObamaCare so far, but you left me like a dog strapped on Romney’s car.”

Co-creators Justin Monticello and Ryan Newbrough told Fox News they supported the president in 2008, but were reflecting the disillusionment some in their generation are experiencing.

“As the makers of a parody video on YouTube, it’s a little tough to speak to everybody, but I think … it wasn’t unnatural to be kind of attracted to the message that he had,” Monticello said. “And I just think that there are some things he hadn’t delivered on that he promised to do, and that’s why some people are feeling disillusioned.”

Here’s the original video:

Here’s the parody:

A woman in a hot air balloon…

A woman in a hot-air balloon realized she was lost. She lowered her altitude and spotted a man in a boat below. She shouted to him, “Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don’t know where I am.”

The man consulted his portable GPS and replied, “You’re in a hot air balloon, approximately 30 feet above a ground elevation of 2,346 feet above sea level. You are at 31 degrees, 14.97 minutes north latitude and 100 degrees, 49.09 minutes west longitude.

“She rolled her eyes and said, “You must be a Republican.”

“I am,” replied the man. “How did you know?”

“Well,” answered the balloonist, “everything you told me is technically correct. But I have no idea what to do with your information, and I’m still lost.”

The man smiled and responded, “You must be an Obama Democrat.”

“I am,” replied the balloonist. “How did you know?”

“Well,” said the man, “you don’t know where you are or where you are going.. You’ve risen to where you are, due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise you have no idea how to keep, and you expect me to solve your problem. You’re in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but somehow, now it’s my fault.”

Christians are Good Citizens

In case you have not noticed, Christians are not in heaven yet. Though our place there is assured, in the meanwhile, God’s people live under the shadow of less than perfect Government.

Outside of the Kingdom of God, there is no perfect form of human government. As Winston Churchill once remarked, “No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.”

If ever this was true, it was true for those to whom Paul was writing. At the very epicenter of Roman rule, it is fair to say that there were tensions for the Christians in Rome.

In seeking to outline the one true Gospel, he would have been negligent if he did not also address the concerns and questions of the Roman Christians, such as:

How can someone live holy in an Unholy Empire?
What should be our attitude to those who rule over us?
Should we defy their every suggestion, question their authority, resist them with all our might?
How are we to live in this world?
If we are not of this world, why should we pay taxes to those who are of this world?

The Apostolic Message – Serve Christ in the world that is, not what you wish it to be.

The Gospel works under every form of political government. Whether it be in a democracy or a monarchy, under Marxist communism or the heel of Islam, in the west or the east, the north or the south, Christians are called to be good citizens.

Background: Written sometime between 54 AD and 57AD

The faith of the Roman Christians was well known (1:8), and Paul had desired to visit them for some time (1:13). We know there were great tensions in the city. Claudius had thrown out the Jews from Rome in 49 AD. This was how Aquilla and Priscilla had first met Paul – they had been amongst those thrown out of the city. Christians were regarded as simply a sect of the Jews. The Roman historian Suetonius tells us that the reason for Claudius’ action was rioting “at the instigation of Chrestus” (whom most scholars of antiquity believe to be a reference to Jesus).

Later on, in 58 AD, shortly after Paul writes this letter, there was a revolt against the new taxation.

In the middle of all this, Paul writes to the Christians at Rome these words: (Chapter 13:1-7)

1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7 Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

The principle of Scripture is this: we are commanded to obey the civil authorities unless they command us to do something that God forbids or forbids us from doing something that God commands.

The question to ask is this: If I obey the Government in this matter, am I going against the revealed will of God found in Scripture? If not, then I am commanded to obey.

Sometimes (on rare occasions) it is indeed right to disobey government. Three Scriptural examples:
Continue reading