Tuesday, September 1st, 2020

Politics and the gospel have always had a difficult relationship, as too often politics are justified by the gospel but neither party uses the whole gospel as their source of inspiration. Cherry picking the parts of the gospel we like and ignoring the others isn’t Christianity; it is political opportunism. Committing ourselves to a political party over Jesus is like building a house on shifting sands instead of a rock solid foundation. Paul began his first letter to the Corinthians by qualifying why he was writing to them — to deliver the truth by way of the gospel rather than his own person (or political) opinions. He said, “And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.” The gospel stands for itself and by itself; when we try to contort it to fit our preconceived notions, we prove we do not understand who Jesus is. Today, if you are grappling this election season with political ideologies, ground yourself in the gospel above all first.

“And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.” — 1 Corinthians 2:4 NIV