If Scripture is not applicable for all generations and cultures, it really isn’t worth considering. But if Scripture is God breathed, we can be confident that it IS applicable for all generations and cultures. It is our responsibility to consider how to apply it. It is our responsibility to seek the Lord in prayer for the wisdom to do so. It is our responsibility to set aside our own desires and tendencies and allow God to show us His ways and thoughts.
It is with this in mind that I have been considering the passage in I Corinthians 9. The first thing that caught my attention was in verse 12. “We endure all things so that we will cause no hindrance to the gospel of Christ”. This statement comes in as Paul is talking about his rights. The context is his rights as the spiritual father of the Corinthians and those of an Apostle of Jesus Christ.
He continues on by saying that he has not taken advantage of either of these things, as he technically has a right to do, rather his goal is to “cause no hindrance to the gospel of Christ”. He thickens the idea of giving up his rights for the sake of the gospel in verse 19. “For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I may win more”. Again, he reiterates his desire to “cause no hindrance”. After giving several examples, he summarizes his point by saying, “I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some”. He is singular in purpose. His calling from God is clear in his mind. His rights are of no consequence when compared to his calling.
As I pondered these passages, I wondered how they are applicable in today’s society. The first one that comes to mind is politics. How might we apply this Scripture with reference to our politics?
First to consider is, our broader calling is the same as Paul’s. We who profess Christ are citizens first of God’s Kingdom. We are aliens and sojourners here on earth. While we remain here, it is at God’s good pleasure and for His purposes. Our “rights” as defined by the Kingdom of earth are always secondary and expendable where they run afoul of those purposes. We see this most often when it comes to politics.
When the Christian identifies with a particular party or is too involved or mindful of the political, it often takes over what should be the primary identity of the Christian. If we agree with something that is a particular plank in a particular party’s platform it should be seen as coincidental, an aside. The fact is, for the Christian, we should hold positions that are consistent with the tenets of Christianity as taught in the Bible and hold them for that reason alone.
We “cause a hindrance” when we become more closely identified with the earthly kingdom than with God’s kingdom and we find ourselves arguing or discussing the political more than the real issues that plague mankind. This is not to say that we should never discuss politics, rather, when we do, do we make it clear that the political is secondary (at best) to what God would have us do as a nation and as individuals.
Whenever the Church has attached itself to the politics in a particular country, it virtually always damages the Church.
An explanation of this is found in ‘Church History in Plain Language’, by Bruce Shelley. He said,
“The advantages to the church were real enough, but there was a price to pay. Constantine ruled Christian bishops as he did his civil servants and demanded unconditional obedience to official pronouncements, even when they interfered with purely church matters. There were also the masses who now streamed into the officially favored church.
Prior to Constantine’s conversion, the church consisted of convinced believers. Now many came who were politically ambitious, religiously disinterested, and still half-rooted in paganism. This threatened to produce not only shallowness and permeation by pagan superstitions but also the secularization and misuse of religion for political purposes.”
I remember the first time I read Shelly’s book, that phrase “convinced believer” really stood out to me. These were people who, up until that time knew that to be a part of the body of Christ was to put one’s life in great danger. This could include prison or even death. But, “convinced believers” had but one allegiance, Christ’s kingdom. Given the fact that the American Church has not experienced real persecution, many are more like those that came to the Church after favored status was given, therefore, their allegiance was/is split. I fear that the Church is more post Constantine now than pre-Constantine.
Of course, the evidence of this was easily visible during the Trump years and still today with those who have become more and more politically active since his election. The motivation and continuing impetus for this is a loss of focus, perhaps a lack of memory regarding what the purpose of the Church and its members is. Many have fallen for the idea that if we can only keep America “free”, constitutional & conservative, all will be well. This also shows that many have lost sight of what ails mankind and what the “fix” is.
Whether or not the leaders of our country are trying to take away our rights should not be our main concern or focus. Even if our federal government lived by the letter of the constitution as the founding fathers intended and all of our God given rights were intact, the message of the Church would still be the same, our calling would still be the same. Mankind is in the shape it’s in because of our fallen nature, sin. There is no political solution for that. We are too often distracted by expediency and the “broad way”.
So how do we apply Paul’s words, “I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some”? What does that look like?
For me, I believe this means working at making our identity singular. That actually sounds backwards. How can we be ALL things to all men by being singular in our identity? Part of it is human perception. One of the things that I have tried to do to apply Paul’s words is to minimize my response to challenges to and defense of my politics. It isn’t that I won’t discuss my positions, it’s just that it’s too easy to be distracted and caught up in the defense of the political. People generally remember you and identify you with the last subject you spoke of with them or the subject most often spoke of. If most of your conversations are about current events and politics, you will most likely be identified with the particular group your argument supports. But we can change that by making our case Biblically. In other words, don’t waste time arguing or debating or discussing from your particular political bent, rather from a Biblical point of view. Our calling is not to convince people of the veracity of a particular political party’s point of view. Our calling is to communicate the Gospel.
We need to consider our allegiance. Is IT singular? Or is it shared with other causes? If we have as our foundation, allegiance to God and the perpetuation of His kingdom and His message of salvation, then all other things in our lives will be subservient to that allegiance. If we can say that our identity is in our Lord, then all other aspects of our life including our politics are to take a backseat.
There are hundreds of opportunities to get caught up in the political debate. To what end. There is little to be gained in the goal of bringing the lost to Christ, and much to be gained by the enemy of God in pulling us away from God and into arguments that do nothing but further alienate.
I ask myself this question every day, sometimes multiple times a day. When the name Bill Kish comes to mind, what is the next thought? If it’s not, “a follower of Christ” or similar, then I still have changes that need to be made in how and what I communicate with people.
To be continued…