Kingdoms Clash

Introduction

It’s been said that friends can talk about anything together, but good friends are those who never talk about politics or religion. Well, I’m going to talk about both today, and I trust that most of us can be friends afterward.

To get us nudged in the direction I want us to go, let me ask you…

How many people know your political party affiliation? Family members? Co-workers? People who drive past your house, and see various displays during voting seasons? Do more people know your political party than the number who know you are a churchgoing, Jesus-following, Bible-committed Christian?

For those of you who do have strong political leanings… Do you see America like a “new Jerusalem,” a city on a hill, a light among the nations, and a country that has (in one way or another) gained a greater share of God’s favor than others? Or do you see America more like a “modern-day Babylon,” an idolatrous nation full of blasphemy and sin, a nation arrogantly bent on power and greed, and a country that God uses in the world despite its wickedness?

Did you know that your view of America as “Jerusalem” or “Babylon” probably has more to do with your age than your politics or your theology? If you’re older, Jerusalem… If you’re younger, Babylon.

For my part, I don’t really care that much – at least not today – where America might be in its rise or fall on the world stage. I’m sure America isn’t the new Jerusalem of Revelation 21, and I’m also sure that America isn’t unique in its sins and idolatry that reflect the shadowy Babylonian kingdom that stretches throughout the fallen world (see Rev. 17-19). I do know that nations have come and gone for thousands of years now, and I also know that my ultimate citizenship (every Christian’s citizenship) is inor with a kingdom that is not of this world… And that’s the kingdom I want us to focus most on this morning.

Every Sunday, one of my main pastoral goals is to pull our eyes off of temporal things (political maneuvering, celebrity gossip, the latest social media eruption… our health, our bank accounts, our hobbies) and to point our eyes upward toward eternal things (the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, the character of God Almighty, the nearness of God’s Spirit… the genuine fellowship of the saints, the transcendent unity and love of the local church, the goodness and nourishment of God’s timeless word). And today is no different.

However, today, since our text leads us into the subject, we are going to talk a little politics. But very likely, we’re not going to talk politics in the way you might expect. First, some context…

The end of Acts 15 is the beginning of Paul’s second missionary journey, which included “strengthening” those “churches” (Acts 15:41, 16:5) he had helped to plant during his first missionary journey (Acts 13-14). If you’ll recall, Acts 15 is also the turning point of Luke’s overall narrative. There Luke recorded the gathering of Apostles and elders, together with the whole church in Jerusalem, where they all clarified that the gospel of Jesus Christ is salvation by grace through faith alone (i.e., all good works, including keeping the laws of the Old Covenant, contribute nothing to our standing before God). From then on, Luke’s focus in Acts is on the Apostle Paul and the expansion of the gospel and the kingdom of Christ (i.e., the Church) among the Gentiles – the “end of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

That gospel expansion was next to happen in Philippi, as the Holy Spirit had supernaturally directed (Acts 16:6-10), and that’s what Acts 16 is all about. The first convert was a God-fearing or God-worshiping woman, named Lydia. “The Lord opened her heart” to believe the gospel message Paul preached, and the rest of her “household” professed faith in Christ along with her when they were all baptized (Acts 16:14-15). And today, we are picking up with that storyline.

Paul and Silas and Timothy and Luke (and maybe several others) went back to the same place they’d met Lydia, to do the same thing they did before, to preach the gospel. Today, however, Luke tells us not about a conversion, but instead about a confrontation… an asymmetrical confrontation… where Christ’s kingdom flexes power to deliver, and the kingdom of this world flexes its might too.

Let’s read and consider this passage together, as we see this first-century example of the clash of kingdoms – one, the kingdom of this world, and the other, the kingdom of Jesus Christ.

Scripture Reading

Acts 16:16–24 (ESV)

16 As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and us, crying out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.” 18 And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.

19 But when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers. 20 And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, “These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city. 21 They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice.”

22 The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. 23 And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. 24 Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.

Main Idea:

In this present world, asymmetrical confrontations between Christians and non-Christians are bound to happen, because there is an ongoing clash of kingdoms that will only be resolved when Jesus Christ returns.

Sermon

1. Present Confrontation (v16-18)

On the surface, the first scene in this episode seems like a strange and fantastical one (fortune-telling, demonic possession, exorcism). But we are to take note: there is a real spiritual war going on in the world. Christ has already won the victory, but the occupying forces are still roaming around and causing pain where and when they can. And when citizens of Christ’s kingdom (which is already here, but not yet fully realized) confront people who are presently held captive by the kingdom of this world, there is no doubt about who is really king.

A. A Girl and a Spirit

16 As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling.

1. The Girl

a. Greek: παιδίσκην – literally, female slave-child

i. The Bible speaks of various forms of slavery, some apparently good and at least one that’s very bad.

· Employment. Unlike the western economy (which is quite new), most economies of history have been class or caste systems. If a man didn’t own land, resources, and/or a political title, then he had to sell his labor to a master in order to survive and provide for his family. The word “slave” or “servant” in the Bible can sometimes be used like the word employee (Gen. 40:20; Esther 4:11, 5:11).

· Socio-economic necessity. Some people are not able (intellectually or physically) to work or earn well for themselves. In such cases, slavery put a person into the care of another in order to eat from the master’s table and live under the master’s roof (Lev. 22:11, 25:6; Deut. 15:12-18).

· Debt repayment. As people sometimes do today, some people back then would find themselves in overwhelming debt. In such cases, slavery temporarily put the debtor under a master’s management. This was usually a way that a man could also ensure food and shelter for his family while he worked off the debt he owed (2 Kings 4:1; Prov. 22:7).

· Spoils of war. When one tribe would conquer another, the defeated tribe couldn’t simply go back to normal life. Any survivors would become slaves among the new society (1 Kings 9:21; Neh. 9:36). Each person would decide for him or herself if the conditions of slavery were better than death.

· Man-stealing or chattel slavery (Deut. 24:7). This is the sort of slavery which is a stain on America’s history. It’s important to note that America was not unique in its participation in the modern slave trade, but it’s also important to note that racialized chattel slavery (counting some humans as property to be owned instead of fellow image-bearers) was indeed horrific and appalling.

ii. Chattel slavery is closest to how we might describe the situation of this “slave girl” (v16).

· She was the property of her (κυριοις) “owners” or “lords” or “masters” (v16, 19).

· Her work of “fortune-telling” or “soothsaying” (KJV) was not for her own “gain” or “profit” (NASB), but for that of her masters (v16, 19).

b. We don’t know much about this “slave girl,” but we do know that her situation was terrible.

i. Whatever responsibility she bore for the sin of fortune-telling” or “soothsaying,” she was certainly not the only one to blame.

ii. She was owned by masters who exploited her, and she was possessed by a spirit that controlled her.

2. A Spirit

a. Luke says that the girl had “a spirit of divination”

i. Greek: πνεύμα πύθωνα – literally, spirit of a/the snake

· Pythōn is the name of the snake which supposedly guarded the oracle or seer or prophet of Delphi.

* Delphi was a Greek town, and the oracle was a priestess in the temple of Apollo.

* The Greek practice of visiting the oracle of Delphi dates as early as 1400 BC and as late as 400 AD.

· In the first-century Roman empire, πύθων was a word also used to mean ventriloquist.[1]

b. Luke is telling us that the girl was demonically possessed.

i. This is the only demonic possession that I know of in the New Testament where there doesn’t seem to be any overt reference to isolation, pain, or self-destruction.

· The possessed man in Luke 4 was “unclean” and isolated from the covenant community of Israel (Lk. 4:33).

· The possessed man in Luke 8 was also “unclean,” and he had lived naked in a cemetery for a “long time” (Lk. 8:27, 29). There is also the implication that he was physically tormented by the demonic spirit (Lk. 8:29).

· The possessed boy in Luke 9 was definitely physically tormented by the demonic spirit which afflicted him. The boy’s father said, “[the] spirit [takes hold of] him, and he suddenly cries out. It convulses him… and [crushes] him, and will hardly leave him” (Lk. 9:39).

ii. But possession made this girl able to tell fortunes (v16).

· Fortune-telling is an ancient practice. As far back as we have historical records, pagan religions have had some form of trying to look into the future by supernatural means.

* My own personal opinion is that most of what passes as fortune-telling is a deceptive fraud, taking another sucker every day. Friends, don’t be gullible.

· However, there is a supernatural world, beyond what we can see, and the Bible teaches us that demons are in the business of deception. They don’t know the future, nor do they rule anything in creation, but they sure like to pretend.

iii. Friends, we ought to take note…

· One, demonic activity (even possession) is a biblical reality.

* We must not deny the supernatural, and we must be on our guard against satanic efforts to deceive, to blind, and even to manipulate us and others.

* The Bible teaches Christians to take comfort in the fact that “the one in us is greater than the one in the world” (1 Jn. 4:4)… and to “pray at all times” (asking for the Lord’s help) in our efforts to “stand against the schemes of the devil” (Eph. 6:10-20).

· Two, demonic activity (even possession) doesn’t always show up as obviously wicked or harmful.

* We must think and act carefully, knowing that “Satan disguises himself as an angel of light… [and] his servants… disguise themselves as servants of righteousness” (2 Cor. 11:14-15).

* The Bible teaches Christians to “test the spirits [i.e., false teachers who speak from a “spirit of error” (v6)] to see whether they are from God” (1 Jn. 4:1-6).

* This sort of deception is exactly what we see here…

B. Demonic Affirmation

17 She followed Paul and us, crying out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.” 18a And this she kept doing for many days.

1. The spirit affirmed the message accurately

a. The slave-girl is the one who “followed Paul” and “kept” “crying out” for “many days,” but Luke makes it clear that she was being used by a demonic spirit (v16, 18). And that’s why I’m placing blame on the spirit here.

i. We are not to think that this girl had heard the gospel and believed it, and then followed Paul around to affirm his message. No, this is a demonic distraction (as we shall see) intended to confuse and pull people away from the gospel.

b. It was exactly true that Paul and his companions were “servants of the Most High God, who proclaim… the way of salvation” (v17).

i. The spirit was offering repeated and explicit affirmation of…

· Who Paul was – a “servant” or “slave” of God, one who was on mission from God and under God’s rule/authority.

· Who Paul’s God was – He is the “Most Hight God,” the “God above all others,” the “supreme deity.”

· The substance and purpose of Paul’s message – Paul was preaching “the way of salvation” or “deliverance.”

* Note the irony! The “slave girl” was literally in bondage to the demonic “spirit” who was deceiving all who would listen to her “fortune telling.” And that same “spirit” was affirming that Paul was a “servant” or “slave” of the one true God, offering all who would listen to him the way of “salvation” or “deliverance.”

2. False doctrine and False gospels are like deadly parasites.

a. You know what a parasite is. It’s an organism that attaches itself to a host so that it can live off of nutrients from the host, but parasites also give nothing in return, and they often harm their host.

i. False doctrine attaches itself to true doctrine.

· Preachers add a little of their own wisdom, but they don’t differentiate between that stuff which comes from the Bible and those specific applications which come from their own perspectives and convictions.

· Teachers say more than they know, repeating statements and stories that sound good, without realizing (or admitting) the deadly danger of what they are doing.

· Our friends tell us what they think, our favorite celebrities tell us their ideas, and we hear voices from every direction that sound right… not realizing that a little error can have a devastating effect.

ii. So too, false gospels attach themselves (like parasites) to the true gospel.

· One famous TV “evangelist” is known for closing his show by saying “Jesus is Lord!” But the false gospel he teaches is the exact opposite of love and submission to Jesus.

· The prosperity gospel (so common in East Texas) tells us that God wants us to be healthy and wealthy and happy. And those who teach and believe it can cite Bible verses to back up their claims. They can even point to the character of a loving God, and say, “God wouldn’t want His children to suffer. He wouldn’t want you poor and sick and sad.”

iii. Ah, but friends, God is the one who defines what love is… and He defines it much differently than giving us temporary comforts and stroking our egos.

iv. So, while this demonic spirit did affirm Paul and his message, Paul did not seem to think this arrangement was a good one…

C. Spiritual Confrontation

18b Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.

1. Paul rejected the affirmation.

a. Luke says that Paul was “greatly annoyed” by the demonic affirmation (v18).

2. Paul confronted the demon.

a. Luke says that Paul spoke “to the spirit,” commanding it to “come out of her” (v18).

b. Paul gave this command, not on his own authority, but “in the name of Jesus Christ” (v18).

3. Paul demonstrated that Jesus is King!

a. This is the repeated theme of Acts… After Jesus was raised from the dead and ascended to the seat of universal authority – as the one true Messiah – His disciples preached “forgiveness of sins” in the “name of Jesus Christ” (Acts 3:28, 5:31, 10:43, 13:38) on the basis of who He is (the Christ) and what He did(died rose again).[2]

2. Present Conflict (v19-21)

Yes, indeed, Jesus Christ is the King and Ruler of this world right now! Jesus Himself preached a message of “repentance” (i.e., turning away from sin) that centered on the reality that “the kingdom of God” is “at hand” (Matt. 4:17; Mk. 1:15; Lk. 4:43; Jn. 18:36). And Jesus announced, after His resurrection, that “all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me…” (Matt. 28:18).

But we also see, just as clearly, that the New Testament teaches Christians to expect “persecution” (Jn. 15:20), “affliction” (2 Cor. 4:17), and “tribulation” (Acts 14:22). This asymmetrical conflict, where Christ’s people are spiritual victors but also physically, economically, and politically persecuted, is because Christ’s rule and reign over all creation has already been inaugurated, but not yet consummated.

We live in an already-not-yet world. Christ is already King, but He hasn’t yet applied His full authority to this present world. When He does, sin and death will be no more, and every sinner will receive his or her judgment in full (Rev. 19:11-21, 20:11-15). But until then, Jesus has commissioned His people (i.e., His disciples, His citizens) to bear witness to Christ even as they live on in a world that is hostile toward Christ and His people.

We look forward to a time of complete glory and peace, but we live in a time of present conflict… conflict of all sorts. We see in our passage today a conflict on the economic front and the political one.

A. Economic Conflict

19 But when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers.

1. The “owners” of the “slave girl” had their business destroyed.

a. They seemed to have no care for the girl before (she was possessed or controlled by an evil spirit), and they show no concern for her now (their concern was for their own “gain” or “profit”).

b. But their anger is understandable… to a certain extent. They don’t believe in Jesus; they don’t care about Paul; they just know that Paul has ruined their ability to make money.

2. The established marketplace was in danger.

a. Not only was Paul’s gospel against demons and “fortune telling,”

i. …it called for the abolition of every trade associated with idolatry, which was pervasive in the Roman economy.

ii. …it called for complete honesty and fairness in financial transactions, hiring practices, and wage-payments.

iii. …it called for the dignified treatment of laborers, even if they were slaves under a master’s authority.

3. The gospel Paul preached had implications that would have a HUGE effect on the economy… and also on the political stability of Rome.

B. Political Conflict

20 And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, “These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city. 21 They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice.”

1. Paul’s gospel (not the exorcism!) is the target of accusation.

a. “They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice” (v21).

2. Paul and his companions were accused of “disturbing” the “city” (v20).

a. The word means throw into confusion.

i. Paul was making trouble for the current establishment.

b. How were they “disturbing” the “city”?

i. They were accused of “advocating” or “teaching” or “proclaiming” the sort of “customs” or “behaviors” or “habits” that were not “lawful” or “authorized” or “permitted” to “Romans” or “citizens of Rome” (v21).

ii. The word translated “customs” is ἐθος, which is where we get the word ethos.

· Ethos is the distinguishing character or moral nature of a culture, which is the everyday expression of what is commonly believed.

* Before the 1960s, in America, the legal and contractual agreement of marriage was hard to terminate unless there was evidence of moral guilt. But in 1969, Ronald Reagan (then the Governor of CA) signed a bill into law that legalized “no-fault divorce.” Shortly thereafter, most other states in the US did the same.

* This represented a new definition of marriage in our culture, which was merely a consequence of the fact that Americans had already adopted new beliefs about marriage. Politics is downstream from culture, and our laws and politicians simply reflect our cultural ethos.

* Remember, 7 years ago today, the Supreme Court redefined marriage yet again in America. Our cultural ethos is continually changing, and so too our political assumptions and goals change with our culture.

* Incidentally, I praise God for the Supreme Court decision on Friday to overturn Roe v. Wade, but I don’t think this is evidence of some great moral correction or revival in America.

iii. We’re not told in Acts 16 what specific “customs” Paul and Silas were “teaching,” but there is no doubt that the Christian way of life was dramatically different than the Roman one.

· And this is always true… Christians always live as citizens of another kingdom… a kingdom far different from the nation or culture in which they live, whatever it might be.

C. Considering the Economic and Political Conflict

1. I think Jonathan Leeman has written very helpfully on this topic, and I’m going to borrow a bit here from his book How the Nations Rage.[3]

a. Leeman writes, “The life and activity of faithful Christians will disrupt false worship. And that disruption often unfolds economically and politically… Yes, Christians and churches are a threat to the stability of a Roman (or American) way of life; but no, they are not out to provoke civil strife… Yes, the presence of Christians in a society will prove to be bad for businesses based on wickedness and idolatry; but no, mobs of church members will not tear down temples, shops, and networks… Churches both are and are not a political threat to the civil order. Since no government is free of idols.”[4]

i. Friends, there is certainly a spiritual aspect to the conflict we are seeing unfold in Acts 16. And there are always spiritual forces (both good and bad) at work in the world we know today. But do you realize that the political and economic conflict Paul was experiencing in Acts 16 was inevitable?

· Conflict is what happens when kingdoms clash, and the kingdom of this world is at direct odds with the kingdom of Christ.

· And, as Christ’s Kingly rule shapes our hearts and lives – as we live and talk and act in more and more conformity to biblical righteousness – we are going to be perceived as a threat of disruption to the political and economic order.

ii. We “advocate” or “teach” the sort of “customs” or “behaviors” that are not “authorized” or “permitted” to “Romans” or modern Americans (v21).

iii. Our culture does not tolerate religious exclusivity, but we believe and teach that there is only one God, and Jesus is the only true prophet, priest, and king.

iv. Our culture does not permit limitations on sexual expression, but we believe and teach that God has designed sex for marriage, and that God has designed marriage as one man and one woman committed for a lifetime.

v. Our culture does not allow any distinctions between manhood and womanhood, but we believe and teach that God has created both males and females as His image-bearers, with equal value and dignity… and that God has also created males and females with intentional differences, each with distinct-and-complementary roles to play in the home, the church, and the society.

vi. We believe sinners are to repent, Christians are to believe, disciples are to grow, older Christians are to train younger ones and younger ones are to learn. We believe husbands are to lovingly lead, wives are to submit, children are to obey, and many other things that are completely out of step with the politics and economic assumptions of our culture.

b. Back to Leeman for one more quote… “Churches preaching the gospel will always pose some threat. Yet,” he says, “it’s not the threat of an invader or insurrectionist…” It’s an asymmetrical threat, as I’ve been saying. It’s a real threat, but not like earthly ones, where kingdoms invade or citizens revolt.

c. But here’s the kicker, Leeman says, “Insofar as churches threaten the gods on which the state relies, they should expect persecution.”[5]

i. Yes, he’s exactly right. And that’s what we see in Acts 16…

3. Present Persecution (v22-24)

Paul and Silas, and at least a handful of others, came to Philippi for the purpose of evangelism and gathering new converts to form a new church – a new outpost of Christ’s kingdom in the world. The confrontation they had with one particular group – a “slave girl” and her “owners” – was inevitable because of the reality that there is always a conflict between kingdoms. But even as Christ is truly King over all right now, He has not promised that citizens of His kingdom will not endure great hardship as they live among the citizens of this present world. Indeed, Christ has promised His people that they will experience persecution.

A. Christian Persecution

22 The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. 23 And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. 24 Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.

1. This is overt persecution.

a. “The crowd,” “the magistrates,” presumably the soldiers or some equivalent of police officers, and “the jailer,” were all united in their “attack” on Paul and Silas.

b. These persecutors “tore the garments off them,” “beat them with rods,” “inflicted many blows upon them,” “threw them into prison,” and “fastened their feet in the stocks.”

i. Beating and imprisonment was not uncommon for Roman magistrates when dealing with foreigners (a point that comes up soon in the storyline; Paul was a Roman citizen).

· But there were the additional “stocks” (v24).

* The word is simply “wood” or “tree,” so it may refer to extra security or it could also refer to a sort of pillory/torture device.[6]

· And there was also the “inner prison” (v24).

* The inner part of the prison was for the most serious criminals and those at the lowest levels of society.

· The result was that Paul and Silas were treated like the worst of the worst in Roman society for doing nothing more than living and talking like Christians who really believe and follow Jesus Christ.

2. Jesus warns Christians about overt persecution.

a. Christ warned us that “the world hates” Christians (Jn. 15:19).

b. Christ’s last words to seven churches scattered across Asia included repeated calls to persevere through tribulation and persecution.

i. “Do not fear what you are about to suffer… Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Rev. 2:10).

ii. “hold fast what you have until I come. The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end… I will give him the morning star” (Rev. 2:25-26, 28).

iii. “Remember… what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent… The one who conquers will be clothed in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life” (Rev. 3:3, 5).

3. The New Testament seems to urge Christians to expect persecution.

a. “through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22).

b. “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer” (Rom. 12:12).

c. “All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Tim. 3:12).

Conclusion

Brothers and sisters, in this present world, asymmetrical confrontations between Christians and non-Christians are bound to happen, because there is an ongoing clash of kingdoms that will only be resolved when Jesus Christ returns. We ought not be surprised when the people who are presently benefitting from the kingdom of this world – economically, socially, politically, or even personally (as in the personal freedom to live how I want, without you Christians judging me)… We ought not be surprised when they lash out in rage against us… or when they try to silence our message and/or make our way of life seem foolish or inconvenient.

Brothers and sisters, if you are not experiencing some conflict – economic or political or social hardship because of your Christian convictions – that doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re not living faithfully, but it might. Let’s examine our lives, and let’s recommit to living as faithful witnesses of our true King.

If you are experiencing some sort of pain for following Jesus, then don’t give up… hang in there… and share your burdens with a fellow church member, so that we can help one another in this present conflict. And, finally, may God help us to remember that hardship may indeed be a present reality, but Christ is and will be victorious… and He said all this beforehand, so that in Him we may have peace. Jesus said, “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (Jn. 16:33). God help us to remember and to believe that.

Endnotes

[1]Werner Foerster, “Πύθων,” ed. Gerhard Kittel, Geoffrey W. Bromiley, and Gerhard Friedrich, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1964–), 917–918. [2]See a brief summary of the gospel here: https://marcminter.com/2017/03/30/do-you-know-the-gospel/ [3] I recommend the following book as an introduction to the topic. Jonathan Leeman, How the Nations Rage: Rethinking Faith and Politics in a Divided Age (Nashville, TN: Nelson Books, 2018). [4]Leeman, 138-139. [5]Leeman, 139. [6]Peterson, see note on v22-24.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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