One In Jesus

Peter offers very practical advice for how Christians should relate to their government–

(1 Pet. 2:9-12) But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

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One of the most challenging passages in the New Testament is 1 Cor. 5:9-13.

9 I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people– 10 not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. 11 But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat.

12 What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? 13 God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked man from among you.”

Now, most Christians readily enough accept the teaching of vv. 9-11. We understand that we are not to condone sins of this nature. However, we rarely teach–much less obey–vv. 12-13. Continue reading →

One of the great problems with living in a post-Constantinian society is that the government no longer reflects Christian values. I guess it never really did, but the government is now much less Christian than ever before. At times, the government is flatly anti-Christian.

This fact has a huge impact on child rearing. A Christian parent cannot count on the public Continue reading →

A very long time ago, the church was very nearly defeated by winning. The Roman Empire made Christianity not only legal but mandatory. Only Christians could enjoy the rights of citizenship. And so, to gain earthly privileges, pagans “converted” by the millions. Preachers were thrilled at the crowds in church, and they were excited by all the baptisms, but in the end, the Empire converted the church, not the other way around.

Because the church used the power of the Roman government to force conversions, Continue reading →

Recent New Testament scholarship has brought a new focus to Paul’s teachings about the “powers.” When Paul refers to the “powers,” he is sometimes referring to spiritual opponents of Jesus and other times referring to those having power on earth. Often it’s hard to tell which. For example,

(Col. 1:16) For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.

In Paul’s mind, there may not have been much of a distinction between demonic powers and a Roman emperor who insisted on being worshiped as a God. Either way, the powers were usurping the place of God. Continue reading →