WHICH KINGDOM?

With Americans celebrating the election of our first Marxist president, perhaps it's time to reflect on just how we, as saints, ought to relate to the nation in which we live. On Fox News just this morning a video clip of the celebration outside the White House showed young folks with American flags and hammer-and-sickle flags.

That's right. The communist flag celebrated at the White House by the supporters of our incoming president.

This new day was the subject when I wrote THIS to a couple of fellows this morning:

Stan and Sola,
I've not yet read much from either of you concerning what this means to the kingdom of God. Almost all your concerns have to do with the US. (And you're both right--this is a tragedy for the nation--and it makes me very sad.)

I believe one of the great sins of the "church" is our love affair with and faith in this country. (Instead of depending on and loving the God of Israel.) Another great sin of the "church" is a disbelief in the biblical doctrine that we ought to suffer persecution or else face the fact that we aren't His. In fact, since the seventies, the youth in the "church" have been drowned in the syrup of "success"--the idiotic assumption that if one is doing the right things in the right way (read the effeminate way) folks will like them--a false teaching that has lead to silence on matters of sin and righteousness in and out of the "church". This is not only unbiblical, but can only be believed if we continue in the additional sin of non-evangelism. Thus the "life-style (or friendship) evangelism" movement (more correctly called life-style NON-evangelism). If we had actually gone out and told folks that the kingdom of God is at hand and that they ought to repent of their sins in order to avoid hell, we'd all have understood that hatred by the world is the proper experience of God's people. (Anything less is a result of sin--the cowardly sin of denying Christ by means of silence.)

I'm pretty sure that particular silliness will soon be history. And ironically, now after decades of folks calling themselves "Evangelical" while REMAINING SILENT ABOUT THE EVANGEL, it will soon be illegal to evangelize.

Tell me THAT'S not God's judgment.

It seems that many Evangelicals are more worried about having a place of freedom and affluence in the here and now than any actual concern about obedience as soldiers of Christ. According to the Old Covenant, God's people could expect peace and prosperity if they obeyed the Father. In the New Covenant, however, God's assembly actually has suffering as a promise for their obedience. Heard that in all that "God-anointed" teaching lately?

Think about it. We have entire "ministries" that have more to do with American politics than with biblical Christianity. Not exactly the Great Commission, huh?

I believe that, perhaps--just perhaps, this is a judgment on the assembly for our love of this nation over the kingdom of Heaven. (And for our faith in a "strong economy" for affluence over faith in the Father for our daily bread.)

Jesus said His kingdom wasn't of this world. What about ours?

In Christ,
Phil Perkins.
NOTE--The passages in bold were added for clarification.