Reddogs Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 Scripture gives us the following.... Submission to Rulers and Masters 1 Peter 2 13Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, 14or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. 15For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. 16Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. 17Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king. 18Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. 19For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God. 20But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. 21To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. 22"He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth."e]'>[e] 23When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. 24He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. 25For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. Here are the issues which we have to keep in mind.. Number one, we are to preach Christ and the Gospel of Christ, not about temperal things which pass away with the wind. Number two, it is a political issue and Christians should not demonize their leaders, they may disagree with what they do that does not agree with Gods purpose but they should not attack the leader as a rule. Number three, we seperate ourselves from our brothers when we lay contentious issues that can cause another brother to take insult and cause him to stumble. Its ok to discuss what is being done and the issues that come up, but dont attack or make it your badge of honor or your central theme against the Man in office and powers that be just on general principal. God set up Alexander the Great and Julius Caeser for the empires of Greece and Rome for His purpose, and I know everyone here will agree that George Washinton and Abraham Lincoln were brought by God to lead America to make it the country it is today. A the time there was disagreement with each of them even to the point of their death, but yet history shows the results of their leadership. So lets leave politics to history, and if there are actions or policies we disagree with, then bring that out but dont put a man on the pedestal, focus on Christ instead and what He proposed for man and mankind..... As you can see for example the fight over G. W. Bush's election turned out to be nothing in the long run of historical perspective but at the time seemed to be insurmountable for those focused in on him and allowed much bitterness, hate and division to enter in among Christians. It is our duty to pursue Gods truth and not let institutions of goverment, kings, presidents, or tyrants keep us from it. They have been put there for a reason, God has set them up and will take them down according to His purpose and will, He will deal with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ted Oplinger Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 Well, how many professed Christians participated in the Bush-bashing of the last 8 years? Under what justifications? Personally, I know of more than a few... Some wanted the right to bash Bush to no end for whatever reason, yet think it is so "unChristian" to bash Obama for any reason. All Christians are called upon to participate as much as legally possible in the decisions that govern society. We are also called upon to oppose (again, as far as legally possible) policy and decisions which are clearly contrary to the principles of God. Barring that, we are called upon to disobey those laws and policies that call us to actions contrary to God's Word and Laws. We are not to blindly submit to man's governance, but to follow where God leads, because man's governance's always forget that all men were created in God's image, and that the least individual carries upon them the value of the Cross - the value of the shed Blood of Christ. Just my humble opinion... Quote "As iron sharpens iron, so also does one man sharpen another" - Proverbs 27:17 "The offense of the cross is that the cross is a confession of human frailty and sin and of inability to do any good thing. To take the cross of Christ means to depend solely on Him for everything, and this is the abasement of all human pride. Men love to fancy themselves independent. But let the cross be preached, let it be made known that in man dwells no good thing and that all must be received as a gift, and straightway someone is offended." Ellet J. Waggoner, The Glad Tidings "Courage is being scared to death - and saddling up anyway" - John Wayne "The person who pays an ounce of principle for a pound of popularity gets badly cheated" - Ronald Reagan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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