Since it's election eve I'll lift my self-imposed ban on on political posting for a few hours here.
First up, here's an excerpt from a post by Steve Walker at the Gate:
Dr. MacArthur replied:
“I’m not concerned about that for 5 seconds. It has nothing to do with the kingdom of God — absolutely nothing to do with it. The Lord will build his Church; I’m concerned about his Church. I’m concerned about the name of Christ, the gospel, the glory of God, the purity of the Church, the clarity of the teaching of the word of God. Jesus said it as clearly as it could be said when he said to Pilate, ‘My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight.’ His kingdom has nothing to do with this world. You could argue that the Roman power was oppressive, and even deadly, as indicated in Luke 13 when Pilate’s men went in and sliced up the Jews who were worshiping in the Temple. You can make the case that Jesus should have done something to obliterate slavery, or overturn Roman oppression, and free the people of Israel. It has nothing to do with that — ‘My kingdom has nothing to do with that. My kingdom is not of this world.’
Obviously, as a human being, I would like to see someone who is moral; I’d like to see someone who is a Christian have an opportunity to influence things from a viewpoint of Christianity. But this has nothing whatsoever to do with the advance of the kingdom of God. I am much more concerned about the kingdom that is not of this world than the kingdom that is America.”
I'll offer one little quibble while saying I'm wholeheartedly behind this quote. I think he overstates the case when he says this has nothing to do with the kingdom of God. I think if we believe in the sovereignty of God and if we follow Kuyper's maxim that there is not one square inch of all creation over which Christ does not claim "this is mine," then we have to say that everything (including politics) has something to do with the kingdom of God.
That quibble aside - he is right on. We vastly overestimate the importance of politicians and political systems to God. The church is where the action is, not the nation-state.
This should be posted on every church website, passed around via email to every Christian in America. A message I needed to hear; a message I suspect we all need to hear.
Posted by: Andrew | November 03, 2008 at 06:57 PM
I care... and I think it has lots to do with the kingdom. Some gov'ts provide an environment for church growth, and others don't.
But I'm not sure which of these men would further the kingdom. Perhaps the guy who most screws it up will as people's idols fail them and God might send revival.
But I care because I care about the little ones (NO, not a 1 issue voter!). The thought of a President who will remove just about every restriction on abortion- and use my tax dollars to pay for some, grieves me.
J.Mac disappoints me, again. If he said- Jesus rules and accomplishes his purposes regardless of what we think about the outcome, fine. But his typically absolutist language removes some important distinctions.
Posted by: cavman | November 03, 2008 at 11:23 PM
Go John M!
Since when ought we to look to the government for help with "church growth"? Please. Given the history of the church, if we were looking to provide the best environment for church growth, we would vote in the most oppressive candidate.
"The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church." - Tertullian
Isn't MacArthur here simply reflecting Augustine's and Calvin's "Two Kingdoms" view?
Posted by: Carlos | November 04, 2008 at 11:08 AM
That's some "quibble." Other than that Jesus is Lord of the whole earth, I agree with MacArthur that Jesus is not interested in what happens to people as a result of this election. If the President sends men and women into battle, and tens of thousands of people die, I am uninterested. It's all about the kingdom.
This is scary stuff.
Posted by: Wally Dog | November 20, 2008 at 09:07 AM