For High Point Church, those interested in the Christian teachings on life under the State, and for those whom are citizens of another kingdom, the City of God.  

Christian Scripture is not only the word of God and a record of his revealing actions; it is also a chronicle of human behavior, demonstrating our nature and propensities in this world. It contains many faithful narratives about human states and people, the tumult and chaos of nations, as well as rare examples of the increase of justice and prosperity. God has given us plenty of teaching on how we can live in virtue and without fear—and thus in freedom—in any state on earth, regardless of its leader and government, or our status in it.  

It should be clear to anyone reading the Bible that progress and liberty are not human universals, but are rare jewels in the annals of human history. No nation has ever been a complete representation of the purposes or will of God. The State is not God’s City, though in his providence he is sovereign over its actions. The church is his kingdom and city, and though there are always wolves in the imperfect church, it is nonetheless Christ’s bride that he is working to perfect.  

The apostle Paul tells us in Colossians 1:9-12 that his prayer for the church is that we would be:  

“[filled] with the knowledge of his will through all wisdom and understanding given by the Spirit, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.” 

The Christian, like his Savior, will consistently find himself an alien in the world, and more so in certain times than in others. It is God’s desire for every believer, in every time and under every state, to understand God’s will so that they can live a life that is pleasing to God. This includes at least committing ourselves to “bearing fruit in every good work” (Col. 1:10), having great endurance and patience, and being able to joyfully give thanks to the Father who has rescued us. 

Writing this epistle from prison, and having been imprisoned unjustly, the apostle does not allow himself to be distracted with political considerations, though he himself is suffering as a political criminal in a corrupt judicial system. Instead, he tells Christians that both collectively and individually the goal is to be pleasing to God, committed to every good work, able to wait on God with endurance and patience, and having joy with a thankful attitude toward God the Father. 

In order to attain to this state of the heart, the Christian cannot give in to weakening frames of the soul: despair, gloom and despondency. Nor can we give into the heated frames of the soul: wrath, vengeance, anger, pride, envy and lust. The fear of meaningful and important temporal things easily steals away the grounding foundation of all the truths of salvation, our eternal hopes, our certainty in God’s oath and promise, and the thankful joy that comes as the fruit of such faith. 

Many sins are produced by the loss of a godly frame in times of abnormal fear. Frames of the soul that have either fallen into despondency or anger, because of our fear or pride, submit to our mind ready excuses for sins of all kinds—all forms of indulgence and intemperance. We can easily, in the state of anger and pride, believe we are holy, just and approved of by God even in doing the things that God has explicitly said that he despises and has commanded us not to commit.  

We make enemies of those who disagree with us and fall into the worst kind of partisanship. We are not faithful to the actual view of our neighbor, and so caricature it in our yard signs, media posts, and conversations. This is bearing false testimony against your neighbor. We refuse to forgive those who we think have committed a wrong—perhaps not realizing that we must forgive another for what we deem a wrong vote as much as we must forgive another for a different wrong action against us. We commit idolatry by elevating the interests of the State over the interests of the family of God, the body and bride of Christ. In further ideological idolatry, we hold fast to our perceptions of who the heroes and the enemies are in our public life, allowing our partisanship to lead to the worst kind of factionalism and tribalism. This leads us not only to abuse our neighbor, but to allow ourselves to hold a hatred for an entire class of people, both real and imagined. This causes us to refuse the virtue of hospitality by allowing ourselves to immediately dislike people that we believe failed to hold a complete orthodoxy in our factional religion.  

Wayward human souls also tend to look to strong leadership in moments of fear and pride. Not waiting on God and trusting him to bring about justice by his own means, we are willing to lie in wait to attack our neighbors in order to support whoever we believe will be the successful leader for our time. By doing so, we cannot help but elevate some of the worst characters, some of the most ruthless men and women, and to make every leadership decision a cataclysmic decision in a “winner takes all” scenario. Such leader and state worship has a horrific and murderous history, especially in the last 100 years—totaling more than 100 million people. And it continues. 

It is common for people to think that this is a tribal problem, and therefore a problem with the other tribe to which we do not belong. But it is not. All of these problems are human problems, and manifest themselves wherever human fear and pride are resident. And they are repented of and somewhat ameliorated, at least for a time, where human beings in humility and faith repent of such idolatries, sins and fears, and choose instead to trust the living God and to follow his Christ.  

It is fashionable at the moment to fear that America is on the brink of being overtaken by “fascism,” and that every person must exert themselves extremely in order to keep such fanaticism from taking hold. The predictable and strange irony of this is that this is precisely how fascism takes hold. Totalitarianism does not emerge from tiny minorities, but by blaming small minorities for the problems of the whole through the voice of a strong man who can rally the majority to his side, usually in a democracy. American Progressives believe that the danger comes from the American Right, recognizing that some fascist regimes were nationalistic in nature, as opposed to communist regimes that were globalist in nature. It is true that when nationalism is defined as a kind of “blood and soil,” and is choosing its membership by race or some other arbitrary standard, that the totalitarian tendency can find its scapegoat and bring on its side a sufficient majority for dictatorship and great injustice. Yet people on the American Right have also observed that every totalitarian regime was also socialist by its very nature. Spain, Italy, Germany, and even the large strain of American fascism during the Progressive era (seen most profoundly in Woodrow Wilson), were all progressivist and socialist by ideology and practice.  

The Christian who understands the nature of the human condition understands that the tendencies towards totalitarianism and injustice reside in the embrace of fear and pride and the rejection of faith and virtue as defined by God. In this state, there is no safety against great horrific outcomes by being on anything like the “Right” or the “Left.” Both visions can become great, and both visions can become specters and wraiths, giving into the worst of their condition, and losing everything good God put in their created nature.  

Advice to Christians about what to do in times like this: 

Some Christians believe that in order to make Christ known to our neighbors, we must capitulate to their political tastes and perceptions. Yet although the apostle Paul said that he becomes “all things to all men, so that by all possible means he may save some,” he did not apply this to sinful tendencies, or views that were contrary to the gospel. You will not find in the ministry of Jesus him capitulating moral standards, especially within worship, virtue and morality, when speaking to people of the world—whatever their political persuasion. His views cannot be characterized as partisan, though sometimes he agreed with one party or another on a particular issue. Instead, his views were consistently seen as otherworldly. People of every faction, from within every partisan group, at some point looked at Jesus with complete bewilderment because he belonged to and spoke of the kingdom that was not of this world—or at least not of this world’s worldliness. 

For the Christian to be faithful to his Christ, and also a faithful witness to his neighbor, it is true that he should not be unlike his neighbor for its own sake, alienating them over the trivial. But nor does it mean that the Christian should lie down the convictions of conscience that she believes is informed by her belief in the gospel. For the thinking and concerned Christian, they will not find a home in either political party in the United States—at least not consistently. 

If we wish to truly be followers of Christ, as well as how he handled the political concerns of his day, we are wrong to see in Christ the consummate progressive, liberal, libertarian, or conservative. He was none of these things consistently. To Jesus, it depended on how any particular progressive, liberal, libertarian or conservative view agreed or disagreed with the otherworldly ethic of the City of God and the will of his Father. On any particular issue, he may agree with one party on an issue, and a different party on another issue—but he would never agree with them all on all issues. And more than anything, he would not be drawn into their idolatry of power. One of the great ironies of the cosmos is that the One with the greatest right and power to coerce all creatures to give fealty and loyalty to himself, came in absolute humility, argued on the basis of truth rather than power, and left choice to the conscience of all men—knowing that the consequences of their choices were dire. He neither stole their rights, nor their destinies, though he died to make the greatest destiny possible for every man and woman. 

Dear brothers and sisters, there are many men and women who seek to stir you up in fear, pride and anger in order that they might have power, notoriety and wealth. To give into fear is always to allow ourselves to be easily manipulated and controlled. The desire for power is exceedingly corrupting. We must reject the calls to fear and hatred of our neighbor, while speaking the truth to each other graciously, according to conscience, and according to the word and will of God. What our nation needs from us most is not our allegiance to the political parties, but an allegiance to temperance and public virtue flowing from the humility and honesty of Christ.  

The essence of faith, in all places and at all times is twofold. It is first to repent of that which is wrong, and to put our faith in the good as it is embodied in Christ. And second, faith is to not give way to fear, but to be willing to trust God and to wait for him. Throughout Scripture, “waiting” for God does not mean passivity and indolence. It means that we will not take into our hands that which is left to God alone—like wrath and revenge, the manipulation of events that cannot be done with virtue, and the like. To wait for God is to do everything we can possibly do for the good that is shown to us in God’s revealed will and then not to try to do more. It is to leave to God what is God’s, and to wait for him to work out whatever he has chosen in his providence to bring to pass. It is to believe that the final reward, our ultimate redemption in glorification, will provide sufficient joy, hope, and endurance to follow Christ who seemed forsaken in the events of this world—especially political ones—and yet who was vindicated and glorified to eternal joy. 

Finally, brothers and sisters, do not lose hope. Do not give in to fear. Do not allow anger to be an excuse for intemperance. Rejoice in the Lord, and put no hope in princes, governors or presidents. Yet pray for governors, presidents, and other governmental entities on all occasions. Act conscientiously in your public work according to your best understanding of what will work toward human flourishing and is in the will of God. And then put your trust in God, and wait for him. Do good, live in his joy with thankfulness, and know that if we live under the derision of the earthly city, we will be pleasing in the eyes of the One who is working redemption for his heavenly City. We have been redeemed and will be redeemed, so let us now, like Jesus our Christ, spend ourselves in every work of redemption our hand finds. Do not grow weary brothers and sisters, night must always give way. 

Grace and peace,  

Pastor Nic Gibson