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Citizen Christians: The Cultural Mandate Proverbs 29:2 |
August 29, 2004 Pastor Tom Marcum |
1594 years ago, almost to the very day, the unthinkable happened. On August 24 in the year 410 Rome, the capital of the greatest empire the world had ever known, was conquered and plundered by an invading army known as the Visigoths. Throughout the Roman Empire, people struggled to come to grips with the reality of this devastating and thoroughly traumatizing event. And, in time, they began to look, even as we did in the wake of the trauma of 9/11, for lessons to be learned.
One of the prominent voices that joined the public dialogue was a Christian bishop in North Africa named Augustine. Augustine began to write to Christians about the lessons that they could learn from the fall of Rome. Those lessons eventually became a book called, The City of God. It is a classic in Christian literature.
In the book, Augustine describes two cities-the City of God and the City of Man and he described the two cities like this. He said that the dominant influence on the City of Man is the love of self and anything that gets in the way of the loving one's self is considered to be the enemy. And oftentimes this love of self inevitably leads to contempt for God.
In the City of God that dynamic is completely reversed. The dominant influence in the City of God is the love of God and anything that gets in the way of loving God is considered to be the enemy. And sometimes we discover that the greatest enemy we face in loving God fully and freely is, in fact, ourselves. And when that happens our love for God leads us to view with contempt those ungodly aspects of ourselves.
With the vision of these two fundamentally different cities in mind, Augustine then recalls Jesus' admonition calling Christians to constantly remember that while we live in this world, we don't belong to it. We are temporarily here in the City of Man, but our ultimate citizenship is in the City of God. We are, in effect, just passing through this world on our way to our ultimate destination.
While some Christians have taken Jesus' message to mean that Christians should therefore be completely uninterested in their citizenship here and as uninvolved as possible in the workings of their society, Augustine taught the opposite. He said the point of Jesus' message is that as long as we are here in the City of Man, Christians are not only free to enjoy all of it's blessings but are also obligated to be fully engaged citizens and to do so out of obedience to God and love for their fellow man. And, in view of some of the other things that Jesus said, I think Augustine got it exactly right.
Consider, for instance, Jesus comments in the early portion of the Sermon on the Mount when He said that Christians are to function within their culture as "salt" and "light."
--In Matthew 5:13 Jesus said, "You are the salt of the earth." While salt has a number of uses, one of its primary functions is as a preservative. Salt keeps things from decaying and spoiling. And Jesus wants us to have that kind of impact on our society. Obviously, we can't do that if we're not involved in the processes that affect our society. The best salt in the world is completely ineffective if it stays locked away in the cupboard. In the same way, we Christians abdicate our responsibility to help preserve our culture when we stay locked away within the safety of our churches.
--Then, one verse later in Matthew 5:14 Jesus said, "You are the light of the world." The implication is obvious. Light dispels darkness. Light makes it possible for us to see things that would otherwise go unnoticed. And Jesus wants us to have that kind of impact on our society. Obviously, we can't do that if we're not involved in the processes that affect our society. The most powerful light in the world is completely ineffective if, as Jesus says in the next verse, it stays covered up under a bowl. In the same way, we Christians abdicate our responsibility to shine the light on what is true and expose what is false if we only shine our light on one another when we come to church.
And think for a moment about Jesus' response when He was asked to identify the greatest commandment. Do you remember what He said? In Matthew 22:37 Jesus said that all of the law is summed up in two commandments: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." And, "Love your neighbor as yourself." Love God and show that you love God by loving your neighbor. Folks, those commands compel us to be fully engaged citizens.
In one of his recent commentaries Charles Colson captured the heart of the challenge we face in applying Jesus' teaching to our responsibilities as Christian citizens. He said, "We can never retreat into our sanctuaries and neglect our civic responsibility to help set the moral tone of our culture. Leaving you neighbor in ignorance of his folly is inconsistent with the command to love him, and so political and cultural engagement are required for faithful believers. We are…to bring the influence of the City of God into the City of Man, working for justice and righteousness."
I think that wonderfully captures the essence of our Cultural Mandate as Christian citizens. Our love for God and our love for our neighbors compel us to do whatever we can do to stop the moral decay of our society, to shine the light of truth into the darkness, to work for justice and to stand for righteousness. In short, our Cultural Mandate is to bring the influence of the City of God into the City of Man.
So, how do we do that? Last week we saw that one of the most important things we can do is to pray. Specifically, to pray that those who lead us will do so in such a way that it does not hinder the free expression of our faith. But while prayer is surely the beginning point of our responsibilities as Christian citizens it is in no way the ending point of our civic responsibilities. We also need to vote. What's more, we need to vote as Christian citizens well informed about the ways that the key issues we're facing will either secure or weaken the cause of justice, our pursuit of righteousness and the moral health of our society. And, we need to vote as Christian citizens well informed about the positions of the candidates on those key issues. In short, we need to vote for those candidates that we believe are most likely to help us fulfill our Cultural Mandate to bring the influence of the City of God into the City of Man.
In Matthew 6:33 Jesus says, "Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well." Here's the point: for Christians, the pursuit of righteousness ought always to be a matter of first priority. And our right to vote provides us a valuable opportunity to pursue righteousness.
Astonishingly, the most recent statistics that I have seen indicate that among those people compelled by Christ to make the pursuit of righteousness their first priority…I'm talking about Christians…only 1/3 will actually vote. This November, two out of every three Christians will, in all likelihood, voluntarily relinquish this critical opportunity to pursue righteousness by squandering the blessing that God has given them in their right to vote.
Proverbs 29:2 says, "When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; but when the wicked rule, the people groan."
--Folks, how are we going to put the righteous in positions of authority if the people who are called to seek righteousness above all things don't vote?
--And how are we going to put the righteous in positions of authority if the primary concern of the people who are called to seek righteousness above all things, is something other than righteousness?
Folks, I'm not going to tell you how to vote. But I am going to encourage you to vote. And I'm going to encourage you to seek God's heart about your vote. And I'm going to encourage you to put into practice the promise in James 1:5 which says, "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him." I want to encourage you to ask God for wisdom to cast a vote FOR the cause of righteousness and AGAINST the wicked.
Let me see if I can clarify the point with a couple of examples.
--The U.S. Congress currently has a bill before it called, The Child Custody Protection Act. Do you know about this bill? If passed, this bill would make it a federal offense for an adult to transport someone else's minor child across state lines to circumvent a home state law that requires that the parents of that minor child must be notified before that minor child can have a serious medical procedure called an abortion. Some of the candidates support this bill, while others oppose it. This much is certain: the people we vote into office are going to decide whether or not that becomes the law of the land.
--The U.S. Congress is considering another piece of legislation called The Federal Marriage Amendment. Do you know about it? Similar to California's Proposition 22 which passed overwhelmingly in 2000, The Federal Marriage Amendment says in part, "Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman." Some of the candidates support this bill, while others oppose it. This much is certain: the people we vote into office are going to decide whether or not that becomes the law of the land.
And these are just two among a slate of other bills that our elected officials will be considering in the near future that have the potential to either establish or erode the moral health of our nation and the causes of justice and righteousness.
One of the speakers at a Christian Citizenship conference I attended 4 years ago wrote an article that I shared with you back then. I think it bears repeating.
In 1973 the Supreme Court said it was OK to kill unborn babies. Since then we've killed more than the entire population of Canada. And it continues. A woman's choice? Half of those who've died in their mother's womb have been women. They didn't have a choice. It's called, abortion. Me? I go to church. The minister preaches and I go home. That's what Christians do now.
First, it was in dingy, dirty theaters. Then convenience stores. Then grocery stores. Then on television. Now it's in the homes of millions via the Internet. It's called, pornography. Me? I go to church. The minister preaches and I go home. That's what Christians do now.
At one time it was a perversion. We kept it secret. We secured help and hope for those who practiced it. Now it's praised. We have parades celebrating it and elected officials give it their blessing. Now it's endowed with special privileges and protected by special laws. Even some Christian leaders and denominations praise it. It's called, homosexuality. Me? I go to church. The minister preaches and I go home. That's what Christians do now.
It used to be an embarrassment. A shame. Now a third of all births are to mothers that aren't married. 2/3rd's of all African American children are born into a home without a father. (But it's OK)…the government can take the place of parents. After all, government bureaucrats know much better how to raise children than parents do. It's called, illegitimacy. Me? I go to church. The minister preaches and I go home. That's what Christians do now.
At one time it was wrong but then the state decided to legalize it, promote it and tax it. It has ripped apart families and destroyed lives. But just look at all the money the states raised. No longer do we have to teach our children to study and work hard. Now we teach them they can get something for nothing. We spend millions encouraging people to join the fun and the excitement. Just look at the big sums that people are winning. Why…they'll never have to work again. It's called, gambling. Me? I go to church. The minister preaches and I go home. That's what Christians do now.
Not long ago Christians were the good guys. But now any positive image of Christians on television or in the movies is gone. We're now depicted as the bad guys. Greedy, narrow-minded hypocrites. The teacher can't have a Bible on her desk but can have ("Heather Has Two Mommies"). We can't pray in school but we can use foul language. It's called, tolerance. Me? I go church. The minister preaches and I go home. That's what Christians do now.
Yes, all of these things came to pass within 30 years. But don't blame me. I didn't do anything. I go to church. The minister preaches and I go home. That's what Christians do now. (AFA Journal, June/2003)
Father, deliver us from apathy. Renew our commitment to righteousness. Give us the courage to get involved. And, O Mighty Father, please, please heal our land.
© Copyright 2004 Pastor Tom Marcum