Our Burden for the Churches
When I mention my love for California to Christians, I often get this reply: "It's great except for the politics." The more I reflect on this predictable response, the more it unnerves me. Why is it the first thing people say against California? Why is the political situation the primary lament of these California Christians?
I do not think it is an overstatement to say that many are convinced that a change in Sacramento is all we need to live a more prosperous and joy-filled Christian experience here in the Golden State. But would a more conservative political agenda usher in such a golden age? Even more, is the political situation the greatest threat to the robust spread of the gospel here? I am convinced that it is not. And here’s why:
1. First, the gospel spread in the first century under hostile and corrupt governments, whether the religious leaders of Jerusalem who violently opposed the message of Christ, or the Roman empire with its various pagan provinces immersed in immorality and idolatry. Christ lived, preached, healed, died, and rose again under these governments. Our forefathers spread the gospel in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth under these governments. There was no democracy, no constitution, no Ronald Reagan. But there was the Holy Spirit empowering the church in humble prayer and the bold preaching of Christ crucified and risen. When brought before these governments, the Christians consistently pointed them to Christ. The burden of the early church was not to see politics change per se but to see hearts transformed through the prayerful preaching of God's word to any and all, to kings or paupers. Their focus was not on moving people out of political power but on (respectfully) moving people in political power, just like anyone else, to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. In Acts we see Paul the Apostle do this time after time.
And the gospel did spread to the upper echelons of government. Joseph of Arimathea was "a respected member of the council [the Sanhedrin]" (Mk 15:43) and "a disciple of Jesus" (Mt 27:57). By the start of Paul's first missionary journey, the gospel had already spread to Antioch in Syria. Among the members of that church was "Manaen, a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch" (Ac 13:1). Paul concludes his letter to the Philippians with "All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar's household" (Ph 4:22). The gospel not only spread under these governments but in them.
2. The gospel continued to spread despite increasing state-sponsored Roman persecution. Beginning under Nero after the great fire in Rome (64 AD), Roman persecution increased in the second and third centuries, during which time brutal opposition targeted Christianity, intent on eradicating it. Though the political situation worsened, Christianity continued to grow. The violations of liberties and rights in that era were so great that any attempt to make our California situation analogous is cruel in itself. Yet over and over again, the Christian church proved that "the word of God is not bound" even when its ministers are (2 Ti 2:9).
3. Every pioneer missionary movement in history has seen the gospel spread under corrupt and immoral governments as well as godless religions. These movements did not spread in lands where people were more “morally prepared” to receive Christ, but in lands laden with iniquity!
4. Lastly, red states have sinners, too. A simple change of scenery is not enough to change the heart! A conservative political agenda does not necessarily imply a converted populace. Some of you were very conservative and very unchristian when God gave you new life in Christ. You can be one without the other. Many political scandals (as well as pulpit scandals) have originated in red states.
So, if the political situation is not the greatest hindrance to the spread of the gospel in our state, what is? To answer that we must first understand that the only reason Christianity spread in adverse conditions before was because Christ and his gospel was the focus the church. The first century church—the state-persecuted church, the church that defended doctrines at councils, the reformers, the pioneer missionaries all held tenaciously to the centrality of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Though we can point out many flaws in our brothers and sisters in ages past, we must come to terms with the fact that the gospel did not spread because the church spread revolutions or recalls. The gospel spread because the church spread the gospel!
It is only the gospel of Jesus Christ that the Spirit of God empowers, in any realm and under every rule. People have been converted to Christ under any and all forms of human governments, none of them righteous. So the primary issue is not the state of our government but the state of the church's commitment to exalting Christ. Christ must be our agenda. Christ must be our motive. Christ must be our burden. Christ must be our message. Who can be counted on to be burdened with the supremacy and glory of the gospel of Jesus Christ other than the church of Jesus Christ? But can the church in California be counted on to focus on the gospel? In too many instances, we must say no.
I love the church, and these are not easy words to say. But I am convinced that our greatest lament should be that so much of the Californian church has taken its eyes off of the exclusive glory of Christ. Nothing else can account for the tempestuous state of affairs we find ourselves in than the tepid state of the church at large. Yes, I am again speaking in generalities. But do not miss what I am saying. The gospel spreads when the church spreads the gospel. When the church spreads something else, the gospel goes dormant!
The greatest existential crisis the church in California faces is not in Sacramento but in its pulpits. Much worse than unbelievers acting like unbelievers, whether in government or society, is the Christian church replacing the gospel with other agendas or marrying the two together. Few, if any, church leaders would admit to placing the gospel off to the side, or even worse, defecting from it entirely. They are convinced they are defending it! But many have so joined American politics to the gospel that to advance one means to advance of the other. To defend one is to defend the other. And not to go along is cowardly. One very influential Southern California pastor described political disengagement (as he would define it) as "eerily similar to the time of Hitler's advance.”1 In other words, if you don’t think like him you're a Nazi. That's biting rhetoric.
If I wanted to be a more influential preacher with a wider reach, I could likewise seek to influence people with causes that appeal to their flesh and their fears. I could rally people around a political cause and stamp sacred language on it. But I want to be a gospel preacher, dependent on the Spirit.
The church of Jesus Christ, equipped by the Spirit of Christ, entrusted with the Word of Christ, is the only antidote for our state. But more to the point, it is the only antidote for our churches. The church is "a pillar and buttress of the truth" (1 Tim 3:15) but has it shelved that truth? If the gospel is lost in our churches then it is lost for all men! What a wretched state of affairs! Oh, how we should lament the state of the church here!
There is only one way to spread Christianity in California. Christians must be committed to spread the gospel, the whole gospel, and nothing but the gospel. May we love California and be especially burdened for her churches. May we all be like Paul who, though facing many trials, was burdened daily for the churches. "And apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches" (2 Co 11:28).
1jackhibbs.com/why-vote/
