Cryptocurrency like Bitcoin and Dogecoin are in the News!

Have you heard of cryptocurrency? They’re in the news a lot this week, so I decided to talk a a bit about them. I explain what they are, why they’re important and gainin widespread acceptance, and how to get some if you want. Ten years ago, Bitcoin was $1. It hit $48,000 today. Dogecoin is the most entertaining cryptocurrency, which causes many to believe it will be the most successful. It currently sits at $.07, and many believe it will hit $1 this year. Where will it be in ten years?

I personally bought a tiny fraction of one Bitcoin and several hundred Dogecoins this past week.

Best and easiest is Coinbase. Use my link to get $10 of free Bitcoin if you buy at least $100. That’s 10% instant profit though, so you might as well take it.

But Coinbase doesn’t sell Dogecoin. So if you want Dogecoin, use Robinhood. Use that Robinhood link to get a free stock when you sign up.

Reader Email about Tithing

A reader sent me a question about tithing this week. He wanted to know if he is really supposed to tithe 10% to his church or not.

I have written a lot about this before. There’s a whole section on tithing in my book (#AmazonAdLink) Church is More than Bodies, Bucks, & Bricks. Here are some links on my site you can read as well:

• The Tithing Tax
• Malachi 3 and Tithing
• Modern Tithing
• Tithe for Your Right to Party
• Tithe 3% to your church
• What Jesus taught about Tithing
• Render To Caesar
• The Widow’s Mite
• Devouring Widow’s Houses
• Don’t Tithe to a Decaying Temple

The bottom line truth about tithing is that most of what we have been taught in our churches about tithing is flat-out wrong. In the Bible, tithing is closer to what you and I would think of as income tax. But even then, the tithe went to help local people, rather than to nameless and faceless governmental programs. Most surprisingly of all, that 10% tithe we so often hear about from our pulpits was primarily for the purpose of hosting a large community party for everyone who came. It was to help pay for everybody to come together once a year for a giant music, arts, and food festival.

There’s a lot more to it than that, but there is nothing in Scripture to support the practice we have today of paying 10% of your annual income to cover the costs of an expensive church building and staff salaries. This doesn’t mean you can’t have buildings and church staff. You can. But what you cannot do is defend the practice from the Bible.

Anyway, the bottom line answer to the question is this: “No, the Bible does not command us to give 10% of our income to the local church.” It is smart to use some of your money to support people, ministries, and causes that you believe in, and to help the poor and needy in your community, but also make sure you are using some of your money to make memories with your spouse and children, and to also enjoy life a bit.

Read some of the articles linked to above (or just get the book) to learn more about what the Bible teaches about tithing.

The Rich Young Ruler in Matthew 19:16-24

I have previously taught about the Rich Young Ruler here and here.

The passages of Matthew 19:16-24, Mark 10:17-31, and Luke 18:18-30 all tell the account of a rich, young ruler coming to Jesus to ask how he can have eternal life. Jesus tells him to give all his wealth away, and then come follow Jesus. The young man went away sorrowful, because he was very rich. After his departure, Jesus and His disciples have a discussion about wealth and the kingdom of heaven.

This is a confusing text for many Christians because many people think that the term “kingdom of heaven” refers to heaven itself. And so many believe that when Jesus taught about how difficult it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven, He was saying that it is difficult for the rich to receive eternal life and go to heaven when they die.

Thus, it is taught, the rich must give away their wealth in order to have a chance at eternal life.

But this is a works-based message of eternal life and is completely contrary to the free offer of eternal life found everywhere in Scripture.

If eternal life is freely given to anyone and everyone who simply and only believes in Jesus for it, it would be a biblical contradiction for Jesus to also say that the rich must give away their wealth to receive eternal life.

Thankfully, a proper understanding of the concept of the kingdom of heaven helps explain this apparent contradiction. When Jesus teaches about the dangers of wealth, He is not referring to the difficulty the rich will have in receiving eternal life, but to the difficulty they will have in experiencing the rule and reign of God in their life here and now on this earth.

The Kingdom of God is about the Rule and Reign of God in our life NOW

The context of these passages provides numerous lines of evidence to show that Jesus is talking about experiencing eternal life in our present life through the rule and reign of God, rather than about how to receive eternal life and go to heaven when we die.

For example, other than the initial question by the rich, young ruler in Matthew 19:16, the rest of the passage is about inheriting eternal life, following Jesus on the path of discipleship, and entering the kingdom of heaven. So despite how the rich, young ruler phrased his initial question, Jesus answer a more important question for this particular person.

The Gospel authors understood this, and so the parallel versions in Mark 10:17-31 and Luke 18:18-30 have the rich young ruler have the rich, young ruler asking how to “inherit” eternal life. Furthermore, Jesus later clarifies in Matthew 19:29 that He is only talking about inheriting eternal life (which refers to the present age experience of eternal life), Mark and Luke use the word inherit for consistency’s sake when they record the question from the rich young ruler (Mark 10:17; Luke 18:18).

Now which question did the rich, young ruler originally ask? It is difficult to say. Probably he spoke in Hebrew or Aramaic, and so Matthew translated the man’s word one way while Mark and Luke translated it another. But regardless of what was in the mind of the rich, young ruler, however, Jesus answered his question in a way that reached to the heart of the issue, and the heart of the young man.

Wealth in Jewish society

In Jewish society, wealth was a sign of God’s divine blessing. Due to various promises in the Hebrew Scriptures, it was assumed that if a person was observing the law and was wealthy, God had blessed them with their wealth because of how successful they were in observing the law. This belief would obviously not apply to someone like Zacchaeus, who was clearly making no effort to observe the law, but would absolutely apply to someone like this young ruler.

He believed that he had observed the entire law since his youth (Matt 19:20), and everyone else believed it also (cf. Matthew 19:25).

When Jesus instructed the rich, young ruler to give away all his wealth and then come follow Him, Jesus was challenging this entire way of thinking about the connection between God’s law and human wealth. Jesus was showing that there is no true connection between the two. Wealth is not an outward sign of inner righteousness.

Jesus wanted to show this young man, as well as the disciples, how to truly live in righteousness, which comes through following Jesus in discipleship and living in light of the kingdom of God. But Jesus cannot do this as long as a person is looking to their own ability to be righteous, or to their own wealth as a sign of personal righteousness. So he tells the young man to discard all evidence or thought of personal righteousness and then come follow Him to see what righteous living truly looked like. But the young man went away because he was unwilling to do this.

The Kingdom of God is Entered Through Discipleship

So the answer from Jesus is not about how to receive, gain, or have eternal life, but how to inherit or experience God’s will, purpose, and blessings for our life here and now on this earth. As we follow Jesus on the path of discipleship in this life we will experience the life God wants for us now and also gain treasure for our future life in eternity (Mark 10:21: Luke 18:22).

All of this is about entering into the kingdom of God (Mark 10:23-25; Luke 18:24-25), which is shorthand for entering into the experience of the rule and reign of God in our lives here and now on this earth.

But what about the word “saved”?

Note that the disciples use the word “saved” (Mark 10:26; Luke 18:26), which also causes confusion in the minds of some. But when we recognize that the word “saved” also does not refer to receiving eternal life or going to heaven when we die, then the passage retains its message. Jesus is talking about being delivered and rescued from the problems that wealth brings, so that His followers can experience the rule and reign of God in their life now.

The surrounding context makes it clear that Jesus and the disciples are talking about discipleship and eternal reward rather than justification and receiving eternal life (Mark 10:28-30; Luke 18:28-29).

What Jesus Might Say to Us Today

In modern, Western culture, while some people see wealth as a sign of God’s blessing on a person who is fully obedient to Him, this is not a widely held view. If Jesus were physically walking the earth today, I can imagine a scenario in which a well-known, young pastor comes to Jesus and says, “Good teacher, what must I do to experience God’s life?” The young pastor only asks this because he thinks he is already experiencing God’s life, and believes Jesus will praise Him for his great success at such a young age.

Instead, Jesus says, “Well, what is it that you teach from your pulpit and write about in your books?”

The young pastor would respond, “People must attend church regularly, tithe 10% of their income, read the Bible and pray every day, and not be given to alcohol or drugs. They should also be a good witness at their job by wearing Christian t-shirts, a cross-shaped necklace, and never laugh at crude jokes. Instead, they must hand out Gospel tracts and invite people to church.”

Jesus would respond, “Okay. Go do all of that then.”

To which the young man would proudly boast, “I’ve done all this since I was a kid.”

“Well done!” Jesus would say. “Only one thing is left. Resign as pastor. Stop selling books. Quit preaching. Throw out all your gospel tracts and Christian clothes. Stop tithing to the church. Put your Bible on a shelf for a while, and go have a beer at the local pub. Then come follow Me and we’ll see what’s next.” But the young pastor would go away, thinking that Jesus was a false teacher, for the young man had it all figured out.

In this text, Jesus is showing that there is no such thing as an outward manifestation of inward righteousness. However, if we want to truly experience the life of God in us, and all the riches and blessings that entails, we can stop following religion and instead follow Jesus into a life of discipleship. While Jesus always leads in surprising directions, but also leads us toward a true life with God.

Matthew 19:16-24 therefore, is not about how to receive eternal life, but about how to get rid of the things in our life that we rely on as evidence that we are “good” Christians, and instead just follow Jesus wherever He leads. What things do you look to for proof that God loves and accepts you? That you are doing a “good job” for Jesus? Get rid of such things, and then come to Jesus empty-handed, saying, “Wherever You lead, I’ll follow.”

When you do this, Jesus will lead you into a full experience of the kingdom of God.

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The United States midterm elections are one week away. In light of this, I have begun to see more and more Facebook articles and Twitter messages instructing Christians to not vote.

I strongly object. I believe that Christians have an obligation and moral responsibility to vote.

Yet since there are numerous arguments given for the idea that Christians should not vote, I want to address a few of these arguments in this post as a way of encouraging you to get out and vote this year. The article will close with a few suggestions or ideas about how to decide who to vote for.

Argument 1: We serve the Kingdom, and the Kingdom is not of this World

Some Christians argue that since we are citizen of the Kingdom of God, and this Kingdom is not of the world, we should not get involved in the politics and government of this world.

It is true that we are citizens of the Kingdom of God and that the Kingdom is not of this world.

But what these Christians who say this seem to forget is that while the kingdom if not of this world, it is definitely for this world. The Kingdom of God has come down from heaven to earth in the person and work of Jesus Christ to transform this world so that God’s will is done on earth, just as it is in heaven.

The kingdom of God is the rule and reign of God on earth. And while voting is not going to be the only way (or even the primary way) for the rule and reign of God to spread upon the earth, it is certainly one way that can help. Leaders of worldly governments who have similar goals and values as Jesus Christ can certainly do more for the Kingdom of God than can worldly leaders who value only power, riches, glory, and fame, all of which belong to the kingdom of darkness.

So one way for the Kingdom of God to come upon this earth is for us to be involved in politics so that we can affect change and move the kingdoms of this world a little closer to the Kingdom of God. Voting is the smallest and easiest way for this to happen. It shouldn’t be the only thing we do, but it is a start.

Argument 2: Jesus and Paul didn’t vote; so neither should we!

I am not making this argument up. I have heard people use it.

Yes, of course Jesus and Paul didn’t vote, but this was because the Roman Empire was not a democracy. Voting wasn’t an option for Jesus and Paul. They didn’t vote because they weren’t allowed to.

But this doesn’t mean that Jesus and Paul were apolitical, that they had no political views and never taught anything about the politicians or political climate of their day. Quite the contrary, both Jesus and Paul were outspoken about the abuses of those who held political power, and even called upon leaders to conform their rulings to the will and values of God. They also paid taxes and encouraged their followers to do so, as well as teaching them to obey the ruling authorities, who were place into their positions by God.

In light of these things, I believe that if Jesus and Paul had been given the opportunity to vote, they would have seen it as one more way to make their voice heard.

Furthermore, many of the people in Scripture whom God used greatly were involved in politics, and even raised up to such positions “for such a time as this.” Joseph helped saved millions of lives through his position in Egypt. King David and King Solomon led the nation of Israel into peace and prosperity. Daniel was a wise and godly counselor in the royal courts of Babylon. Esther used her position to rescue her people from annihilation.

So it is completely false to say that Jesus, Paul, or any of the godly people of Scripture were not involved in politics and would not vote. The opposite is actually true. God wants all of us to get involved in how this world is governed, whether it is in large or small ways. The smallest of these is voting, and if that is what you can do, then that is what you should do.

Argument 3: Politics is so divisive! It sickens me to get involved

Some Christians don’t want to vote because of how divisive politics have become. To get involved with the issues makes them feel dirty.

I understand the feeling. There is much filth in the realm of politics.

However, isn’t this exactly why we are here on earth? Isn’t the anger and malice that is found in much of the political realm the exact reason we should be involved?

Rather than retreat from the darkness, let us be a light in the darkness, providing a voice of love, hope, peace, healing, and forgiveness rather than hate and anger.

Voting, and getting involved in politics, provides an opportunity for us to show the world a better way of standing up for what we believe while peacefully disagreeing with others. So cast your vote, and do it with love toward those who have different views.

Argument 4: Jesus is My President!

I especially hear this during a presidential election. “I’m not voting,” the person says, “because Jesus is my President.”

Fine. I don’t disagree. Jesus alone is our only Lord, Ruler, King, and Master. Call Him your “President” if you wish.

But what does this have to do with voting? Voting is not an oath of fealty. Voting is not a stamp of approval on everything the person you vote for has said and done, or will say and do. Voting is not a promise to obey, support, and defend everything this person says or does.

In fact, voting is the opposite of such things. Voting gives you the right to disagree and voice your disapproval.

I am so tired of people who do not vote feeling like they then have the right to criticize the decisions of the person in office. I feel that if you have the opportunity to choose who is in office by voting, and you forsake that right, then you should also forsake your right to oppose or criticize the decisions of those who are in office.

Voting is a way to make your voice heard. And if you don’t want to make your voice heard through voting, then you should also not make your voice heard after the voting is over. When you vote, according to the values and principles of your only sovereign, Jesus Christ, this is what gives you the subsequent right to raise your voice in prophetic warning about the poor decisions that the leaders are making, whether or not you voted for them.

So yes, Jesus is your president. And guess what? He’s calling you to vote … but not for Him. He doesn’t get put into office by voting. He is in His position for all eternity, regardless of which human is in which political office or role.

As Christians, we are invited by God to call our political leaders to follow the will and ways of God, and one way we can do this is by voting. If we love justice and mercy, then we are to be involved and active in every battle that helps bring more justice and mercy into the world. Voting and political activity is one way to make this happen.

Argument 5: My Vote Doesn’t Matter

I hear this all the time. “I don’t vote because my vote doesn’t matter. I’m just one small voice in a sea of people who disagree with me.”

I live in Oregon, which is mostly dominated by liberal Portland and the I-5 corridor down through Corvallis and Eugene. But other than these areas, most of Oregon is politically conservative. I think I heard that by numbers alone, the majority of Oregon is conservative.

Yet every election year, less than 25% of the conservative people come out to vote. Why? Because they think their vote doesn’t matter. They see the powerful and loud voting block in Portland and Eugene, and think, “There’s no way my little vote can overcome that giant.”

So they stay home.

And then they complain all the time about how Oregon passes terrible laws, such as the law that use our tax dollars to fund abortions.

But if even half of the people conservative parts of the state voted, they would be able to have more say and direction in the state, and might even gain a majority in the state congress.

I had a short twitter conversation about this very thing with my friend Dan Kent yesterday. Here is a bit of the thread:

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I think that what Dan is saying is that if you feel strongly about the direction of our country and how it is led, you should do more than just vote. You should also raise your voice. And I agree with that.

Of course, I also think that if you didn’t vote, you have no right to raise your voice.

I think a vote is the very first word of you raising your voice to have a say in the direction and leadership of the country.

So should you vote? I say YES! Get out and vote.

But who should you vote for?

I’m not going to tell you. That is, I’m not going to give you names or a political party to vote for. Instead, I will provide some values and ideas to help inform your decisions.

As Christians, we must look for candidates that help bring to reality the values that Jesus taught and lived. Especially those of Luke 4:18-19. Jesus said that He came to this earth to help the poor, heal the brokenhearted, give liberty to captives, restore sight to the blind, and set free those who are oppressed.

Obviously, all political candidates from all political parties claim that they will do these sorts of things. All candidates from all political parties in every political race I have ever seen or heard claims that they are fighting for the rights of the poor, the week, and forgotten, the neglected, the oppressed, and the overlooked.

If you really listen to what all candidates say, this is exactly the sorts of things they all promise.

So what are we to do?

The answer is to not look at what politicians say, but rather at what they actually have done. Nearly all politicians have a history of whether or not they have helped people. A state governor or senator doesn’t start out campaigning for that political office. They will have always worked their way up from smaller city or regional offices.

As a result, we can look at their history of what promises they have made, and whether or not they have actually kept these promises. We can look at the poor, the oppressed, the neglected, the forgotten, and the overlooked in the communities in which they served to see if, during their time in office, the conditions of these people got better or worse.

If conditions got worse, then this candidate does not deserve your vote. If they improved in tangible, verifiable, measurable ways, then maybe this candidate does deserve your vote. Again, all candidates will SAY things improved under their leadership, but you must verify the actual numbers and results to see if this is so.

Don’t just listen to the words that people say. What people DO is always more important than what they SAY. Politicians promise all sorts of things, but what they have actually done for the people they serve is the best indicator of whether you should vote for them or not.

Here are some questions to consider about any candidate:

-Is crime going down in the area in which they governed?

-Are homelessness and poverty levels decreasing?

-Is the unemployment level decreasing?

-Is the standard of living generally increasing?

-How do they respond toward political opponents? Do they call for violence and hate, or love and acceptance?

-What have they actually done (not promised to do!) to protect the weak and give a voice to the voiceless? This not only includes immigrants, but also the poor and sick of our own country, and especially the weakest and most voiceless of all: unborn children.

(I am not a single issue voter, but I have always wondered how any Christian can support the killing of unborn children. I agree that a woman has the right to do what she wants with her own body, but a baby is not her own body. The body of the baby belongs to the baby. I am pro-choice for the baby as well. I want the baby to have a choice.)

Don’t think about such questions as a Republican or Democrat. Think about these questions from the perspective of a citizen of heaven, and how you can bring the will of God down to earth.

Let me be specific.

And for this, I’m going to talk about Trump.

I know I said I wasn’t going to tell you who to vote for, but he is not running for office this year, so I can talk about him.

Trump made many promises during his campaign in 2016. He promised to bring back jobs, reduce crime, move toward peace with various countries around the world (like North Korea), enact prison sentencing reform, increase the income of the average American, and help restore our health care system to take care of the sick and needy in our midst.

Since Trump had never held political office, it was difficult to know if he could be trusted to keep his promises, or if he even knew what he was talking about. But, regardless of what you think about him, he was elected as the President of the United States.

The past two years have shown that he did indeed know how to accomplish the things he promised. Here is a short list of how he has helped millions of people in the last two years:

• Almost 4 million jobs have been created.
• New unemployment claims at a 49-year low.
• African-American, Hispanic-American, and Asian-American unemployment is at an all-time low.
• Women’s unemployment rate hit a 65-year low.
• Economic growth last quarter hit 4.2 percent (3.5% this quarter), higher than any time during the previous administration.
• Median household income has hit highest level ever recorded.
• 3.9 million Americans have been lifted off food stamps since the election.
• Small businesses have the lowest top marginal tax rate in more than 80 years.
• The FDA approved more affordable generic drugs, linking drug prices to the cheap drugs that people pay in other countries.
• The Medicare program was revamped to stop hospitals from overcharging low-income seniors on their drugs—saving seniors hundreds of millions of dollars this year alone.
• Budgeted $6 billion in NEW funding to fight the opioid epidemic, and have reduced high-dose opioid prescriptions by 16 percent.
• Moved U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, showing support for Israel.
• Re-worked trade deals with Mexico, Canada, and the EU
• Helped improve communications between North Korea and the US, while bringing an end to the firing of test missiles by North Korea.
• Began the process of reforming prison sentencing guidelines which have previously led to high incarceration rates among African-Americans.

This is the sort of thing I am thinking about in this article. These are tangible and positive benefits that have come from the Trump administration, all of which help the poor, neglected, sick, and needy of our country. Whether you like Trump or not, we can all agree that these positive benefits are good for the people of our country, which will also, in turn, be good for the entire world.

You can look for similar things in the politicians you vote for next week, and in future elections. Make sure you think through the issues. Don’t just vote Democrat or Republican because that’s what you’ve always done. Consider the facts and statistics, and make the best and most informed decision that you can. Then get out and vote, making your voice heard in a small but significant way.

When all the Christian voices add up, we make a decisive block of people who can let our voices be heard.

So should you vote? I say YES! Get out and vote!

This post is part of the October 2018 Synchroblog. See what others have to say about the topic of voting by reading the articles from the other contributors below:

• Red, Blue, Green, or Neither? – Scott Sloan
• Voting is Violence … So Vote! – Tim Nichols
• Who Should we Vote For if We Vote At All? – Mike Edwards

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I am a white Christian pastor. I work in a prison as a chaplain.

But due to a looming security concern, I had no other choice, and went and informed the gathering Muslims that Jumah had been canceled for that day.

The seething anger directed my way was palpable. All 107 Muslims stood up, glared at me, and started to gather around. I sensed that how I responded in the next few seconds would determine whether I lived or died that day.

“You can’t cancel the Jumah prayer,” said the Imam of the group. “It’s mandatory. It’s required.”

“Yes, I know,” I calmly responded. “But there is a security concern, and until it’s resolved, everybody is required to return to their housing units.” In a prison, security takes precedence even over religion, but even still, nobody likes to have their religious service cancelled.

“So what are we supposed to do, Chaplain?” asked the Imam. “Allah demands that we pray, but you are demanding we not pray. Who do you think we should obey?”

The crowd of Muslims pressed in closer to hear how I would respond. My mind raced, and I knew that the security concern could quickly escalate into a security crisis (and possibly a riot) depending on the next words out of my mouth.

It is very difficult to practice nonviolence in a system that is inherently and purposefully built upon the principles of violence. The central principal of violence is that you get what you want by having a bigger stick. You may not always use the stick; sometimes having it is enough. This idea was immortalized in Teddy Roosevelt’s famous explanation of his foreign policy: “Speak softly, and carry a big stick.” As long as your stick is bigger than your enemy’s, this should be enough to deter him from war.

The prison system, in which I work, is founded on this principal. By their very nature, prisons take people who have engaged in various forms of violence and put them in a situation where they have very few sticks at their disposal, while all the guards and prison staff have much larger sticks. The big stick principal is what keeps the prison relatively safe and secure.

But the big sticks are not what you think. Despite the common perception, most prison staff in the west no longer carry weapons of any kind. Guards do not have guns or even billy clubs. They typically are “armed” only with a radio. Outmanned and overpowered, the modern prison guard is trained to use their minds and their mouths to maintain peace inside a prison.

But it doesn’t always work. And when it doesn’t, riots break out, people are killed, and yes, this is when the guns are brought in. Though even then, only non-lethal munitions are used.

Working in the prison system as I do, I have found a “weapon” that is even more powerful than the radio. And it is the constant “radio connection” I have with God.

So in that moment, as the Muslims angrily waited for my answer, I quickly asked God for wisdom on what to say. And He showed me.

“You should pray,” I said.

There was a collective gasp by the Muslims.

I could sense their thoughts. Was the chaplain mocking them? Or was he actually telling prison inmates to disobey an order?

But I continued. “Nobody is demanding that you not pray. I invite you to pray. I want you to pray. I ask you to pray. I hope that you will pray. But today, because of the security concern, you are going to have to pray down in your housing units. Allah is powerful, is he not? He will hear your prayers there just as well as he will hear them in this place. So pray to Allah that this situation would be resolved quickly and peacefully. Then maybe we can get you back up here to the chapel a little later this afternoon for your communal Jumah prayer.”

They started at me, still trying to decide how to respond.

I waited.

Finally, the Imam turned to the gathered Muslims and said, “The Chaplain is right. Allah can hear our prayers and work to resolve this situation quickly. We will return to our housing units.”

Later that afternoon, I was indeed able to make arrangements for the Muslims to return to the Chapel for their afternoon Jumah prayer. It was late, but at least it was done. The Muslims praised Allah for hearing and answering their prayers, and I praised Jesus for answering mine.

During my years of working as a prison chaplain, I have found six principles that help me navigate the tricky and treacherous waters of practicing nonviolence in a system built on violence. The six principles form an acrostic for “CHRIST” because they are founded upon the teachings and example of Jesus Christ.

Here are the six principles, with a brief explanation of each.

Creativity.

Our world trains us that when we are faced with violence, the best response is greater violence. We use violence to fight violence. But violence always and only leads to more violence, so those who would practice non-violence must start to find alternative, creative solutions out of violent situations.

This is easier said than done, however, and so our attempts at creative responses must be bathed in prayer for God, the Creator, to guide us into creative non-violent responses as well. There is no “one size fits all” response to violence, for each situation is different and requires a different response. So creativity is required.

Honesty.

It takes two to tango. It also takes two to fight. And have you ever noticed that in nearly every violent engagement, both sides think the other one “started it”? Even in the case of terrorists flying planes into skyscrapers, they thought that they were righteously responding to the unjust treatment of their people by the United States. Even Hitler believed he was responding to the unjust treatment of Germany after their losses in World War I.

So in any sort of violent engagement, we must be brutally honest with how we ourselves contributed to the problem. We must not and cannot place all the blame on the other person, for this will only cause greater problems.

Realism.

Let’s be realistic: non-violence doesn’t always end violence. We live in an evil world, and sometimes, evil wins. So we must not think that non-violence always “works” and is the magic cure-all for everything that ails the world. It isn’t. It doesn’t always work. In fact, maybe we could say that it rarely works.

So why practice non-violence? Because even if non-violence rarely works, this is still better than violence, which never works. Violence always and only creates more violence. But sometimes, non-violence creates peace, and therefore, it has a better success rate. But we must be realistic and recognize that a non-violent response will not always bring an end to violence. It often won’t.

Incarnation.

If we want to practice non-violence, we must understand that we are incarnating Jesus to the world, just as He incarnated God to us. It is not we who are out there all on our own standing up for love, patience, forgiveness, and peace, but it is Jesus in us who is standing up for these things. Furthermore, a recognition that we are the incarnation of Jesus on earth encourages us to live as He lived and love as He loved.

Strength.

It is very easy to respond to violence with violence. People often talk about the courage and bravery of war, and indeed, it does take courage to charge onto the field of battle, not knowing if you will make it back off.

Similarly, it does indeed take courage and bravery to pull a knife or a gun on an assailant. However, it takes greater strength and courage to stand up against violence without violence. We must not think that non-violence is the weak way out. It is the bravest and strongest way out.

It is much harder to take the blows that fall on your back without retaliating than to lash out and trade blow for blow. Non-violence is not weakness or cowardice, but takes the greatest strength and courage.

Trust.

If God is non-violent, and calls us to practice non-violence as well, then we must trust God to work in us and through us, even though our minds, wills, and bodies scream out in protest at the ways of non-violence.

It is only when we trust in God to bring a solution to a bad situation that God will step in to do exactly that. And related to this, in light of the previous five principles, it important to know that even if we die while practicing non-violence, we can still trust God to use our death to create peace, just as He did in Jesus. A resolute trust in God reminds us that sometimes it is better to die than to kill.

Conclusion

Jesus modeled the way for us to live with non-violence toward others. Yes, we must resist evil wherever it is found, and we must stand up for righteousness and justice, but we must do so in the ways of Jesus, through non-violent resistance.

What methods and practices have you found which help you resist non-violently? Do you think that such forms of resistance can help solve the problems of violence that the world faces today? Why or why not? Which of the six CHRIST principles outlined above will be most challenging for you to practice? Let us know in the comment section below!

[Note: This blog post is part of the 2018 Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence. Go here to see the other posts.]

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Of course, the person who is losing their livelihood, income, or business nearly always takes this attack personally. It is impossible not to. Each person is intimately connected with what they do and how they earn their income and provide for themselves and their family. It is deeply “personal” when someone else tries to take that away.

Which brings me to the concept of “Just War.” Just War theory is the idea that some wars are good, right, holy, and just. When such wars are waged, the attacking army often views their actions as good and godly, so that many of those on the receiving end of these attacks should be pleased and happy about the bombs falling out of the sky and the bullets whizzing by their heads because they are being set free and liberated from some form of evil that had enslaved them.

In other words, some proponents of “Just War theory” give the impression that as our armies march off to kill others in God’s name, we can be saying, “It’s not personal; it’s Just War,” and they expect people to say “Thank you!” as bombs fall on their heads.

Yes, this is a caricature of the Just War position, but when you listen to advocates of Just War theory, this caricature is not too far off the mark. They see themselves as liberators and freedom fighters who use war to set others free.

Let us look briefly at Just War theory, and how it is defined. Following this, I will suggest an alternative method to accomplishing God’s will in this world.

Rules of Just War

The rules for Just War were first developed by Thomas Aquinas (c1225-74) and Francisco de Vitoria (c1483-1546) and are still referred to by Christians today. They are as follows:

-it must be fought by a legal recognized authority, eg, a government
-the cause of the war must be just
-the war must be fought with the intention to establish good or correct evil
-there must be a reasonable chance of success
-the war must be the last resort (after all diplomatic negotiations have been tried and failed)
-only sufficient force must be used and civilians must not be involved

Stated differently:

1. A just war can only be waged as a last resort. All non-violent options must be exhausted before the use of force can be justified.
2. A war is just only if it is waged by a legitimate authority. Even just causes cannot be served by actions taken by individuals or groups who do not constitute an authority sanctioned by whatever the society and outsiders to the society deem legitimate.
3. A just war can only be fought to redress a wrong suffered. For example, self-defense against an armed attack is always considered to be a just cause (although the justice of the cause is not sufficient–see point #4). Further, a just war can only be fought with “right” intentions: the only permissible objective of a just war is to redress the injury.
4. A war can only be just if it is fought with a reasonable chance of success. Deaths and injury incurred in a hopeless cause are not morally justifiable.
5. The ultimate goal of a just war is to re-establish peace. More specifically, the peace established after the war must be preferable to the peace that would have prevailed if the war had not been fought.
6. The violence used in the war must be proportional to the injury suffered. States are prohibited from using force not necessary to attain the limited objective of addressing the injury suffered.
7. The weapons used in war must discriminate between combatants and non-combatants. Civilians are never permissible targets of war, and every effort must be taken to avoid killing civilians. The deaths of civilians are justified only if they are unavoidable victims of a deliberate attack on a military target.

The Primary Problem with Just War Theory

Just War theory initially seems like a good approach. After all, how else are we to stop evil and violence in this world?

But the truth is that when you talk to any group or government that is engaging in war, they ALL think that their cause is just and that their actions will right a wrong. I challenge you to find a war in human history where one of the sides in the war thought that their involvement in that war was evil and wrong, or that their cause was unjust.

When people and nations march off to war, everybody thinks their cause is righteous, that they are defending themselves against evil and tyranny, and that God is on their side. Go ask Muslim Jihadist, and he will tell you that the violence they engage in against others is holy, right, and just. Jihad, after all, is “Holy War.” Just War, Holy War, Jihad, they’re all the same thing. I wrote about this here: All War is Holy War.

The truth is that all wars are “Just Wars” … or none of them are.

And since we know that most wars are not “Just Wars,” this means that no war is a Just War. We just deceive ourselves into thinking that our war is just while “their” war is evil.

The only real difference between a “Just War” and an evil war is that the people who engage in “Just War” have come up with some excuses to justify their actions in the war. And since every group and government justifies their own, this means that every war is a “Just War” from that group’s perspective.

To put it another way, we could say that “A Just War is a war I engage in, while an evil war is one you engage in. All my wars are just, while all your wars are evil.” But of course, our opponents in war think the same thing. They think their actions are just while ours are evil.

So you see? There is no such thing as a Just War; there are just wars that we justify in our own minds.

So …. Pacifism is the Answer?

No. Pacifism is not the answer either.

Both Pacifism and Just War are inherently self-defeating and impossible to practice.

There is no such thing as a true pacifist. Pacifists want to do no harm, to engage in no violence, to kill nothing and hurt nothing. Many pacifists are vegetarians, or even vegans, because they do not want to participate in the killing of animals. And yet few pacifists have difficulty with taking antibiotic medicine or spraying their counter with Lysol to ward off germs and bacteria. But germs and bacteria are living microorganisms. So it is okay to kill them, but not larger organisms? At what point does killing become wrong?

How about bugs and insects? Almost all pacifists drive cars. When you drive a car, you will kill insects every single time. Your tires will run over ants and beetles, bees and butterflies will be crushed against your windshield. I once spent a few hours in the woods with a pacifist, and he was swatting mosquitos right along with the rest of us.

People say that Jesus was a pacifist, but it appears to me from Scripture that He ate lamb at the Passover, and fish on the shore of Galilee. People point out that the text doesn’t actually say he ate meat. Fine. But He certainly caught it, killed it, cooked it, and served it. Several times in the Gospels, for example, He gives His disciples a miraculous catch of fish. So many, the boat threatened to sink. And He knew that these fish would be killed and eaten. And in John 21:9, after one of these miraculous catches, when the disciples reach shore, Jesus already has a fire going with fish cooking on the fire.

The point is that true and complete pacifism is inherently impossible to perfectly practice in this world.

So how do we stop evil?

In order to discover how best to respond to evil, let us look at the foundational motivation of both Just War Theory and Pacifism.

Proponents of Just War theory believe that we must stand up for what is right. We must stand up against evil. They are absolutely correct in this belief.

Proponents of Pacifism believe that violence is wrong; especially the violence that takes human life. They are absolutely correct in this belief.

But if we hold to Just War, then (as we have seen), there is no end to violence. Violence always and only begets more violence. Everybody thinks their war is just, and so a “Just War” only leads to a retaliatory “Just War.” There is no end to this cycle.

Similarly, if we hold to Pacifism, then we will often let evil win because we fail to properly stand up to violence and evil, thereby allowing ourselves or others to get steamrolled by violence. People who are pacifists sometimes no nothing but sit there (or shout at) evil while it is occurring, when they should be taking an active stand against it.

The Third Way

Thankfully, Just War and Pacifism are not the only two options. There is a third way, which is the way of Jesus, Martin Luther King Jr., Ghandi, and numerous others.

This third way approach to evil and violence takes the strengths of both Just War and Pacifism while avoiding the weaknesses and drawbacks. This “Third Way” is called Non-Violent Resistance.

It stands up to evil wherever it is found, but with a commitment to doing so non-violently.

The difficulty with this approach is that since we live in a world that is bathed in violence, we have trouble seeing how a non-violent approach can stop the flood of violence. It is difficult to imagine how non-violent resistance can be effective in stopping the spread of evil and violence.

How, for example, would non-violent resistance have stopped Hitler? The truth is that I do not know. (Although part of the answer involves never waging World War I. Hitler was a product of Germany’s loss in World War I. So if World War I had never happened, then World War II would not have happened either. And when you look at the events which started World War I, it was a war that never should have been waged.)

The greatest difficulty with non-violent resistance, however, is that there are no formulas to follow or steps to carry out. The rules to violence are easy: If you are going to engage in violence, make sure your weapons and army are bigger than those of your enemy. There are no such rules with non-violent resistance. Each situation is unique, and requires a unique response.

Responding to Hitler non-violently requires a whole different set of actions than responding to a man on the street who wants to rob you and gunpoint.

Nevertheless, there are six principles I would like to suggest for all non-violent resistance.

The Six Principles of Non-Violent Resistance

The six principles of non-violent resistance form an acrostic which spells CHRIST. Jesus Christ was the perfect example of how to respond non-violently to evil, and so it is appropriate that His title, Christ, helps guide us into our own way of non-violence.

Here are the six principles. Non-Violent resistance requires:

• Creativity (bathed in prayer) in the face of evil.
• Honesty about yourself, and how you contributed to the problem.
• Realism about the world situation and the reality of evil. Violence will often “win.”
• Incarnation of the love, patience, and forgiveness of God as seen in Jesus.
• Strength and courage to stand while not retaliating.
• Trust in God to work, and to recognize that sometimes it is better to die than kill.

Note that as we carry out these principles in our live, we are not seeking revolution, but revelation. The key to non-violent resistance is to reveal the character and nature of God as revealed in Jesus Christ.

We change the world by showing it a different and better way to peace than the way it knows, which is the way of war and bloodshed.

The world has never imagined that there can be another way, but Jesus has revealed it, and now our task is to reveal it as well. We cannot force change upon the world, but we can change how we ourselves live in response to others, and when they see this, they might be inspired to live differently as well. As such, our lives are prophetic. Through our words and actions, we reveal who God is and how God wants us to live.

So do you see some evil situations in the world that need to be fixed? Do you see some violent actions that need to be stopped? Follow the way of Jesus in seeking to stand up to these situations and actions with truth, love, forgiveness, courage, and strength, and then see how God works to bring about peace through you.

This post was part of the July 2018 Synchroblog on the topic of Just War and Pacifism. Here are links to others who contributed this month. Go read them all!

• K. W. Leslie – Just War: Vengeance Disguised as Righteousness 
• What God May Really Be Like – Is God a Warmonger or a Pacifist?
• Layman Seeker – Disarmed and Harmonious
• Tim Nichols – If you Love Sheep …
• Scott Sloan – Holy War and Manifest Destiny in Light of the Cross
• Done With Religion – For God and Country
• Justin Steckbauer – Should Christians Fight in a War?

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If you buy the book today (December 19, 2017) I will send you an additional $250 worth of teaching materials about prayer.

Bonus Materials on Prayer

Here is what you get:

• 4.5 Hours of teaching about prayer (from my course on prayer) – Value: $197
• 4 Hour audiobook recording of the book – Value $30
• PDF version of the book – Value $10
• Several Videos of me answering questions about prayer – Value $5
• The ability to receive further instruction about prayer via email – Value $10

To get these additional resources about prayer, just follow these two steps:

1. Buy the book at Amazon
2. Send an email to prayerbook@redeeminggod.com saying you bought the book.

That’s it! I will send you the bonus materials later this week.

What People are Saying about the Book

There have already been some great reviews of the book. Here are a few:

I highly recommend this book to help anyone wanting to learn how to comfortably pray and actually enjoy prayer time. -Jim Maus

The book appears to be too simple but as you progress Jeremy covers many aspects of prayer in a way that is like a breath of fresh air. -Pete Nellmapius

I especially enjoyed section on praying before a meal, always felt something wrong about that in the back of my mind, good to see expressed on print for first time. -Jon Albeanu

It is a book that can change your life. J.D.Myers has the gift of making Jesus and his teachings very simple for every man in any christian denomination. -Nikos Varalis

This is a must-read! People make prayer out to be something mystical, hard-work, and even frustrating. After reading this book you might even stop using the word prayer. You might just tell people that you are “talking to my very good friend, God.” -Michael Wilson

If you wonder what praying means, if you wonder what praying should be like, or even if you wonder why on earth people should even pray, READ THIS. This is, so far, my favorite Jeremy Myers book. -B. Shuford

This is not your typical book on prayer. Jeremy has written something truly helpful that bypasses the religious mumbo jumbo we have attached to prayer and made it something simple, joyous and easy to do. -Wesley Rostoll

Each chapter has some great ideas that can put us on the path to exploring how praying can be more natural and less confusing or frustrating. -Mike Edwards

Always stressing God’s love for us, he shows us how we can have honest, meaningful conversations with God. While he doesn’t claim to have all the answers, with humor and compassion, Myers instructs and inspires. -Imani42

Have you ever wondered how Paul can tell us to pray without seizing? Do you think it is possible? I challenge you to read this book and find out for yourself how easy it is. -Wickus Hendriks

Don’t expect to pray and stay the same, as most of the time you are the answer to your prayer. -ThePilgrimm

J.D Myers presents a practical and very clear understanding of who God is ,who we are and how life looks in prayer. Easy to understand concepts with shackle breaking power this book is a must read. -David DeMille

You too can experience what these reviewers are talking about above. You too can gain freedom and confidence in your prayers, and also begin to see more answers to your prayers.

Get this book today for $2.99, and then receive $250 in additional teaching on prayer absolutely free.

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What is Prayer? seeks to answer some of the main questions that Christians have about prayer. It does this by providing one key suggestion about how to pray, and then answers the various questions you might have about prayer through the lens of this suggestion.

Here is the Table of Contents to What is Prayer?

Foreword by Mark Karris

1. How to Talk with God
2. What Should You Pray For?
3. How Did Jesus Pray?
4. How to Get Answers to Prayer
5. 10 Dangerous Prayers
6. Praying Powerful Prayers
7. What About Unanswered Prayers?
8. Other Questions About Prayer

The Foreword to the book by Mark Karris

I was blessed to get Mark Karris to write the foreword to What is Prayer? He has an EXCELLENT book on prayer coming out in January (I think). Here is what he wrote for the book:

I remember when I was new to the Christian faith. I was unable to wrap my head around the sacred practice of prayer. Others had God on speed-dial while God’s number always seemed to be changing for me. Over the years, doubts and questions kept piling up.

I didn’t understand why we had to be so loud. Is God deaf? Does God consider us more spiritual if we are passionate and yell our prayers to Him? I didn’t understand why we repeated God’s name over and over again as if we were going into a trance-like state. Or did God forget His name?

I didn’t understand what posture I needed to take for God to accept my prayers. Would God hear me better if I were on my knees? Would God like my prayers more, or even be fonder of me as His child, if I raised my hands?

And why did friends’ prayers for God to give them parking spots at malls and convenience stores get answered, but not mine for my ailing and addicted mother? Is God cruelly selective in answering prayer?

I had tons of questions. Those haunting questions kept me stuck, stagnant, and stale in my prayer life. Where was J. D. Myers’ book What is Prayer? when I needed it?

I consider it an incredible privilege and honor to write a few words in support of this superbly written and enlightening book. J. D. Myers tackles the complexity and conundrum of prayer with a pastoral and prophetic heart, a brilliant and wise mind, and a courageous spirit obviously in touch and in tune with both God and God’s people.

The good news is there is no conundrum in how to pray to God—at least not anymore. J. D. Myers sheds the religious and superstitious garb off of prayer and makes a simple, provocative, and liberating claim: Prayer is talking to God as you would talk to a friend.

I highly recommend this book not only to new Christians who want to learn how to pray but also to the experienced and inquisitive God-lover who still has many questions. Thank you, J. D., for such a gift to the Christian community!

Mark Karris
Author of Divine Echoes: Reconciling Prayer with the Uncontrolling Love of God
MarkGregoryKarris.com

If you have questions about prayer, I think you will really enjoy the book. There are several reviews of the book already, and people really seem to appreciate what the book teaches them about prayer. Go here to read the reviews on Amazon to see if you might benefit from the book as well.

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People and the planet are intimately connected. So much so, that in the beginning, when God created the man and the women, one of the very first things He told them to do was to tend the earth and take care of the animals (Gen 1:28-29; 2:15).

We will be doing similar things in the new heavens and new earth as we continue to take care of God’s new creation.

This means that environmental concern and care for animals is part of living according to the gospel.

Environment

As people who are called to take care of God’s earth, one area of concern in this regard will be the earth’s environment.

Environmentalism is a Christian cause.

We do not need to worship creation has some have done, but instead manage and tend to creation as God has called us to do as an act of worship to Him.

Among other things, this will involve taking care of our natural resources such as the water, the air, the forests, and the minerals. It means working to keep the earth beautiful and clean. It means living in a way so that we protect this earth rather than pollute it. Recycling efforts, renewable energy, and restorative ecology are all ways that the gospel can be lived out in this world as we tend and keep that which God has created for our use.

Animals

Tending and caring for the animals of this earth is also one way we can live out the gospel.

Animals were not put here just for our enjoyment or to be our slaves. They are in many ways our companions in life on earth. God made them and put them under our care.

Since the gospel is about all of life, and since the gospel invites us to live as though the new heavens and new earth were already here, then the gospel also invites us to live as if we never left the Garden of Eden.

In the Garden, Adam and Eve were instructed to tend the animals and provide for them. As those who continue this work on the earth, we too must care for the animals. We can make sure their habitats are protected, that they are given adequate food and resources to grow and reproduce, that they are not hunted and killed into extinction, and that they are not taken advantage of or overworked as we tame them and train them to work alongside us on earth.

Since all creation is groaning in eager expectation for the revealing of the sons of God (Rom 8:19-23), we can live right now in a way to alleviate some of that groaning and ease the pain that the human plunge into sin has caused.

When we work on this earth as the stewards and protectors of the plants and the animals, we are fulfilling a large part of our gospel calling and vocation.

Want to learn more about the gospel? Take my new course, "The Gospel According to Scripture."

The entire course is free for those who join my online Discipleship group here on RedeemingGod.com. I can't wait to see you inside the course!

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Since the gospel is about the redemption of all things, a gospel that touches the culture will end up redeeming that culture. It does not do away with the culture by condemning it, but it redeems what is good and beautiful in the culture, as well as what is bad and ugly, and points all things to Jesus Christ.

This can happen to recreation, food, sex, medicine, science, holidays, and celebrations. Everything that makes a culture what it is can be drawn by the gospel to direct people toward Jesus.

Christians are often far too eager to condemn everything within a culture simply because it is different or because it is used to enslave people in sin. But a gospel-saturated approach will seek to redeem and reconcile all the elements of that culture so that where they once pointed people to sin, slavery, and death, they now point people to love, freedom, and life.

The Holy Spirit is at work in Culture

Beyond this, a gospel-centered approach to culture can encourage Christians to recognize that the Spirit of God is at work within culture even before the people in that culture hear and embrace the gospel.

What this means is that we Christians can often look for clues as to what God is doing in our times by looking to the people of a culture for what they think is important and what causes concern them.

I believe that while God wants the church to lead the world in bringing out cultural change and redemption, the church is too often resistant to change, and so God turns to culture to be the primary leader of the change He wants to see, that’s why some churches at City Central are always looking for a change, and to improve and make people improve. When God’s people refuse to speak His truth and initiate change, He gets the stones to cry out from the ground.

A proper Christian response to culture therefore, is not contrary to and against culture, but alongside and with culture as we recognize and applaud the whispering of the Spirit in their midst, and then help guide and train the movements of God in culture along the paths and truths of the gospel.

Want to learn more about the gospel? Take my new course, "The Gospel According to Scripture."

The entire course is free for those who join my online Discipleship group here on RedeemingGod.com. I can't wait to see you inside the course!

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And by art, I mean not just paintings and drawing, but also music, poetry, movies, dance and anything that is in the “artistic” realm.

Most people do not realize it, but art usually is at the forefront of world change. Before changes hit philosophy and science, politics and medicine, or government and religion, these changes first make their appearance in art.

If you want to see where the world is headed, all you need to do is look at art.

Artists are the prophets of our time.

This means that those whose lives are influenced by the gospel can allow their artistic endeavors to also be influenced by the gospel.

And by this, I do not mean that all art must be “Christian” art. Far from it.

Truly “Christian” art is not art that is blatantly about Jesus or Scripture, but is art that touches people, connects with lives, and calls people to a better and different way of living.

Gospel-focused art is inspiring art. It elicits changes in people. It touches them where they are at and gives them the courage and imagination to try something new or work toward something different.

At the same time, as Spirit-filled Christian, we can see gospel truths in art that was created by people who are not Christians.

The Christian who has eyes to see and ears to hear can observe and perceive gospel truths all around them in music, movies, art, and plays, even when those things were created by people who were not Christians.

I once heard someone say that without the Spirit, reading the Bible is no different than reading the newspaper; but with the Spirit, you can learn just as much from reading Harry Potter as you can from reading the Bible. That may be a bit of an overstatement, but sometimes I wonder.

Occasionally, as I listen to a piece of secular music, watch an R-rated movie, or read a non-Christian book, I gasp at the gospel truths and insights which the creator of that piece of art reveals. It is at these moments that I realize the truth that there is no such thing as “secular.”

For the Christian who understands the gospel, everything is sacred. Everything is holy. God is in everything, at work in everything, and is truly drawing everything and everyone to Jesus.

So if you are “artistic,” allow your work to be an expression of the beauty of the gospel. Don’t try to do “Christian art.” Just be artistic in a way that inspires others to think about truth, feel the love of God, and live in a way that promotes freedom. These are gospel values, and as such, any art that promotes such things is gospel art.

Want to learn more about the gospel? Take my new course, "The Gospel According to Scripture."

The entire course is free for those who join my online Discipleship group here on RedeemingGod.com. I can't wait to see you inside the course!

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Which means that due to the corruption in politics, the realm of politics is ripe for the gospel!

Though many governments think that there should be a separation between church and state, the call of the gospel affects all areas of life, including the areas of government and politics. Ultimately, the gospel is political because the gospel is a description of how God wants the world to be run.

Since government and those in political positions of power are those who make decisions about how the world is to be run, such decisions should be guided and governed by gospel values and goals.

This does not mean that our governmental bodies should endorse Christianity as the official state religion, or that we should force all people to read the Bible and become Christians. Such actions are completely contrary to the values and goals of the gospel.

Just as God loves all and accepts all regardless of whether they love or follow Him in return, so also, a government guided by the gospel will govern with values of equality, justice, and generosity without forcing anyone to follow the ways of Scripture. This is not some Christian form of Sharia Law, where we force Christian morality on everyone else, but is instead a gospel-based law of love where all are treated with dignity, equality, and respect, regardless of how they think, believe, or behave.

Yes, there should be laws to enforce human decency and peace, but we cannot force anyone to worship a particular God or ascribe a particular set of beliefs. The goal of a gospel-focused politician would be to create laws that bring about a spirit of creativity, generosity, freedom, and equality, while doing away with laws that hinder such things.

If we were guided by gospel values in political decisions, this would affect areas such as economics and taxation, military spending and war, the prison system and the penal codes, equality among the sexes, training and education, and a wide variety of other issues that consume the national debates.

When the gospel guides our discussion of these issues, the question of what is best for me and my country disappears, and the question instead becomes what is best for the world and for all people everywhere. When you pray for your political leaders, pray that they would see these things and lead our countries in gospel-oriented directions.

Want to learn more about the gospel? Take my new course, "The Gospel According to Scripture."

The entire course is free for those who join my online Discipleship group here on RedeemingGod.com. I can't wait to see you inside the course!

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