Politics
Is God a Republican?
The G.O.P. (often called God’s Own Party) has tried to claim a monopoly on Jesus. Religion and politics have been intertwined in America to the extent that the line between worship of God and earthly patriotism is often blurred. Some pastors have even boldly proclaimed that it is impossible to be a Democrat and a Christian at the same time. Instead of worshipping the Jesus Who fed the poor and healed ALL the sick (Matt.12:15) some bully pulpits have harangued Christians about the need to vote against universal health care for all, and the need to cut social welfare programs. But does Jesus think like a Republican (or a Democrat, for that matter?)
If the REAL Jesus were to drop in on today’s typical right-wing conservative mega-church, would He feel welcome, or would He be tagged as being too “liberal” in some of His views to be accepted as a guest speaker? What are the true views of Jesus and God, His Father, on a few controversial political issues?
1. On the alleged evils of “spreading the wealth”:
Deut.14: 28 At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates:
29 And the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest.* * * * *The true Biblical tithe was actually a ten per cent tax on the produce of landowners’ fields to feed the hungry Levite, orphan and widow. But appallingly, now unscriptural money tithes are now being stolen by guile FROM THE POOR to benefit the rich!
Luke 12:33: Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.
Acts 2:44: 44 And all that believed were together, and had all things common;
45 And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.
Acts 4:32: And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any [of them] that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.
2. On stockpiling wealth for a rainy day:
Luke 6:24: But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation.
Mark 10:23: And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!
Luke 12:15: And he (Jesus) said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.
16 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:
17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?
18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.
19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.
20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?
21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
3. On self-reliance and pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps:
Luke 12:22: And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on.
23 The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment.
24 Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?
25 And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit?
26 If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest?
27 Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
28 If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith?
29 And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind.
30 For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things.
4. On the preemptive military strike (Do it unto them before they do it unto us):
Proverbs 3:30: Strive (fight) not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no harm.
5. On the arms race:
Psalms 20:7: Some [trust] in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.
Psalms 33:16: There is no king saved by the multitude of an host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength.
Matt.26:52: Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.
6. On the moral superiority of your own nation:
Matt.8:10: When Jesus heard [it], he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
Matt.11:21: Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
Matt.11:23: And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.
7. On strictly defined gender roles:
Luke 10:38: Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.
39 And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word.
40 But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.
41 And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:
42 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.
8. On pledging (swearing) an oath of allegiance to the flag or anything else:
Matt.5:33: Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths:
34 But I say unto you, SWEAR NOT AT ALL; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne:
35 Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.
36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.
37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.
9. On abolishing Big Government:
Isa.9:7: Of the INCREASE of [his] government and peace [there shall be] no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
10. On “no free lunch”:
Matt.14:21: 15 And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals.
16 But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat.
17 And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes.
18 He said, Bring them hither to me.
19 And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.
20 And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full.
21 And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children.
11. On tampering with Social Security:
Mark 7:12: 10 For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death:
11 But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free.
12 And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother;* * *Here Jesus clearly disagrees with dipping into funds earmarked for the support of the elderly and "investing" it in other things, including religious projects.
John 19:26: 26 When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!
27 Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.
12. On huge expenditures for hair, clothes and accessories in “God’s Own Party”:
Prov.31:30: Favour [is] deceitful, and beauty [is] vain: [but] a woman [that] feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.
I Tim.2:9: In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;
James 2: My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.
2 For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment;
3 And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool:
4 Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?
How well would John the Baptist blend in at a church political rally?
Matt.3:4: And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey.
Think of it. John wasn’t an airbrushed tycoon in an expensive silk suit. His rugged individualism is exemplary. John wasn’t afraid to be different from vain religious leaders who wore fancy clothes to draw big crowds (Luke 20:46). John was able to represent God without buying a new wardrobe from Saks Fifth Avenue. Samson didn’t look like a Fortune 500 CEO. He wore his hair as long as a hippie and he served the Lord just fine without getting a five hundred-dollar haircut.
On all the above issues the Lord takes what could be called a “liberal” stance. But in some areas God is decidedly conservative:
1. On “Gay is okay”:
Lev.18:22: Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it [is] abomination.
Rom.1:26: For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.
2: On the sanctity of marriage limited to one man, one woman, for life:
Matt.19:4 And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, * * *(NOT male and male, or female and female!)
5 And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?
6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
7 They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?
8 He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.
9 And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.
3: On abortion:
Not specifically mentioned in Scripture, but God upholds the sanctity of life, and little children are very precious in His sight:
Psalms 139:13: For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.
14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.
15 My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
16 Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.
Matt.18:6: But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and [that] he were drowned in the depth of the sea.
Matt.19:14: But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.
4. On personal responsibility:
2 Thes.3:10: For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.
God can’t be put into a box. He doesn’t buy the whole Republican package or the whole Democrat package, because there’s drawbacks to both and even the best of human righteousness falls woefully short of His perfect standard (Isa.64:6). All political candidates are imperfect (Matt.7:11), even generous, kindhearted ones. It’s up to you to decide between God and yourself which candidates running for office would do the least damage to this poor, sin-plagued earth. Even the best candidates are a pick-and-mix bag of pluses and minuses. Election time is the perfect time to exercise godly discernment as you exercise your right to vote.
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