Untitled Sermon (31)

As we come off July 4th and the celebration of our country’s independence, and in the shadow of the first presidential debate and beginning down the road to the next election it seems good for us to pause for a moment and think about what it means to love God and what it means to love our country, and how those 2 things can live in harmony with one another.

So, let’s talk about some things and bring some clarity before we dive into today’s passage. First, we often hear that America is a Christian nation; and I think we may want to think about what we mean by that. I recently read some thoughts from Al Mohler about our nation and he summed it up in a perfect way “America is not Christian by constitutional provision or creedal affirmation — but its people are overwhelmingly Christian by self-affirmation.” Our Constitution allows for religious freedom, so there are no mandates that require our laws or government to uphold Christian beliefs, but historically the majority of people of this nation have been Christian. America has been a Christian nation by choice, not by force. Because the majority of the people in this country have been Christian it has pretty much naturally saturated our legal system. For example, out of 46 Presidents only 3 have formally run with a religious affiliation other that Christian and out of those 43, 36 of them self identified as mainline protestant.

Second, while we are a nation founded on Christian values and ideas- we are not a theocracy. When we read the OT Israel is a theocracy- in other words, God gave them their laws; rules; and was their supreme ruler. Remember, it was the people that wanted a King- God did not desire Israel to have an Earthly ruler so in 1 Samuel 8 God gave them a King. In the OT Israel was governed by the very laws of God and by priests and judges chosen by God. America has never been such. Our laws; while influenced by Christian ideals- were not directly handed down from God.

Third, Jesus is not; nor will he ever be an American. I know that sounds silly to say; but I feel like we may need to remind ourselves of that from time to time. Jesus has never said the Pledge of Allegiance or sang the Star Spangled Banner. And yes, Jesus loves America, but not because we are better than any other country, but because Jesus loves people and people make up this fine country. Jesus is much more interested in all human flourishing than he is one country being more dominate that another- Jesus loves America and all the people in it because we are made in his image by his hand.

So, how do we live as Christians in the USA in this time. Especially when I know that many of you, like me, love our country and want to see God move in it and use it for his glory. And today I would like to step through 1 Tim 3 and think about that for a bit.

First. We should pray for our leaders

Paul urges the church to pray for their Kings and leaders. Remember, Paul had been imprisoned by these leaders and kings; he had seen how their persecution and tyranny had harmed his friends and fellow Christians- and he URGES them to pray for these men. If anyone had an excuse to ignore the Kings and leaders in prayer, surely it was Paul.

There are 2 reasons that we should pray for leaders

Our country’s leaders have a direct impact on our lives. Like it or not those in political power will always have some kind of influence in our lives. We should pray for our leaders because when they are in line with the will of God it is a lot more likely that our country will be in line with God. We pray for our leaders because they make decisions every day that impact religious freedom; family structure; and the flourishing of people in our country.

It is much harder to hate someone you are praying for. We have all heard it- prayer does not move God, it moves you. Like you there are leaders in politicians in this country that I really agree with, and some I do not- and I should pray for both. One of the reasons we pray for those we disagree with is to keep ourselves humble and meek. It is much harder to hate someone that you are praying for. Jesus said in Matthew 5:44“But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” because those prayers keep us grounded in compassion and mercy for those that the world tells us we should despise.

Let Kings Be Kings and Let God be God

Paul goes on in this passage to say 1 Timothy 2:5 “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,” In other words, remember who is really in charge here. As Christians our first allegiance is to God. He is the one who is responsible for our blessing; our prosperity; and our well being. And I bet many of us in this room can forget that from time to time; we can forget that it is not primarily the USA or its government that controls our prosperity or our futures are people; it is our God.

I love Jesus’ words when he is asked about paying taxes- render to Caesar what is Caesar and render to God what is God’s- really what he is saying is don’t malign your allegiances. He does not tell his disciples to sidestep or avoid being good citizens and following the laws of the land- he just says know the difference between God and King.

Don’t make presidents or governors or anyone else in authority into a Savior. They are not going to save you and they are not going to save our country- only God can do that. Can they make decisions that help us and prosper our nation in certain ways- absolutely. But we need to be cautious to remember that they are not our Saviors.

Remember Your Citizenship

Have you ever borrowed a friends beach house, or lake house, or maybe stayed in their cabin? They say make yourself at home; but no matter how much they say it you know it is not your place- you are going to leave sooner or later and that drives how you live there, right? For example. I have some friends that let us borrow their vacation home from time to time and it is a lovely house. When we go we try and treat it well; we clean up what we mess up, we work hard not to damage anything or stain up the carpet; we obey their rules in the house because it is their house. There are things I would do differently it is was my house- maybe I don’t love the floor color or I would put the couch over here instead of here; but guess what- it is not my house. If something breaks while I am there I call them to see if I can fix it and how they want it fixed; they either tell me what to do or call a repair man- if I see a hole in the wall I am not going to the hardware store to spackle it- because it is not my house I am a guest. I have helped with a project or 2 while I have been there; and if they asked to me to fix something or mow the grass I would do it in a heartbeat; but it is not my home. I treat it with love and respect and I respect boundaries.

Philippians 3:20 “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,”

As people of God our primary residence is not here; but in Heaven. Our lives should reflect that we are only visiting here; which means there has to be a sense of respect and boundaries. Remember SM&A? There came a point where they had to say- nope. We are not doing that, no matter what the King says.

As Christians we will all run into that same moment eventually- where we say I love my country, I will respect the law of the land; but that is too far.

Remembering our citizenship also dictates our investment strategy. Let’s say I am at my friends house and I want to BBQ and their grill tools are all tattered and broken- I might go by them a new set and say this is my contribution- if I have enough I might even buy them a new grill and give it to the house as an investment into the place we love to go. But you know what I am probably not going to do? Take out a loan to build a new deck; or remodel the bathroom; or pave the driveway- because it is not mine to invest in.

Jesus said it this way Matthew 6:19–20 ““Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.”