These quotes from
John MacArthur's Commentary on Titus
and my experience from reading what folks have to say about our President and those who desire that office teach me that most Christians believe in the sovereignty of God with the exception of election season. Enjoy some wisdom from
Dr. MacArthur!
To
allow our thoughts, plans, time, money, and energy to be spent trying
to make a superficially Christian America, or to put a veneer of
morality over the world, is to distort the gospel, misconstrue our
divine calling, and squander our God-given resources. We must not
weaken our spiritual mission, obscure our priority of proclaiming the
gospel of salvation, or become confused about our spiritual
citizenship, loyalties, and obligations. We are to change society,
but by faithfully proclaiming the gospel, which changes lives on the
inside.
We
must reject sin and never compromise God’s standards of
righteousness. But we also must never engage in defamation and
denigration of the lost sinners who make up our corrupt culture. When
Christians become political, sinners become the enemy instead of the
mission field.
When
the church adopts a moralizing approach, its energy and resources are
diverted and evangelization suffers. When Christians become hostile
to government and to society in general, they almost inevitably
become hostile to the unsaved leaders of that government and the
unsaved citizens who live in that society. We cannot afford to weaken
our spiritual mission or our priority of gospel proclamation and
kingdom consciousness by getting involved in efforts to change
cultural behavior. Even more important, we cannot become enemies of
the very ones we seek to win to Christ, our potential brothers and
sisters in the Lord. When people come to Christ, He changes them and
they change the sphere that they influence. Really changing society
starts when a Christian’s moral and spiritual concern is for his
own virtue and godliness. It is our righteous attitude and conduct
that make us not only more pleasing to the Lord but more pleasing to
the unsaved. It is righteous living that makes the saving message of
the gospel believable to the lost. If we claim to be saved from sin
but still live sinful lives, our preaching and teaching, no matter
how orthodox, is likely to fall on deaf ears.
As
followers and imitators of Jesus Christ, our calling is not to fight
for our rights or privileges against the ungodly. Rather, as we live
in this corrupt world in subjection and obedience to human authority,
doing good deeds, maligning no one, and being uncontentious, gentle,
and meek, we will thereby demonstrate the gracious power of God to
transform sinners and make them like Himself.
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