Category: Ethics

“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.” – Lord Acton

When Christians take power into their own hands, terrible things are done in the name of God. Shameful deeds of persecution, torture and killing. History has demonstrated that nothing is as dangerous as the joining of church and state.

The Evangelicals rail against the Catholic Church for the abuses of the Middle Ages. They would never do what they did. And yet, what do you think Christian Nationalism is?

Dangers of Christian Nationalism

Jesus said:

“My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom belonged to this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here” (John 18:36).

When Church and State join forces, you know that bad things are about to happen. This is not theory, this is history. When the Roman Empire made Catholic Christianity the religion of the state, soon after the persecutions followed.

Power is Poison

When Jesus was offered by the devil “all the Kingdoms of the world,” he refused (Matt 4:8-9). Now the Church in the United States is being made the same offer. Unfortunately, it is bowing the knee to glory and power to a kingdom that belongs to this world.

Jesus said, “My kingdom does not belong to this world.” Then why do some Christian want to create a kingdom on earth? This is against the wishes of Christ. And so we now have Christians who are willing to “fight” and kill for God.

The Ruler of this World

The sad part is that as they pursue Christian Nationalism, they fail to realize that they are joining up with the “ruler of this world.” And do you know who that is? The devil (John 16:11; 12:31; 14:30; 2 Cor 4:4). That is why 1 John 5:19 says that “the whole world lies under the power of the evil one.”

The most dangerous people in Jesus’ day were the religious leaders. Not much has changed in 2,000 years. What starts out as a good intention ends up becoming s a hideous catastrophe. Only pride blinds us to this temptation.

He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets” (Matt. 22:37-40).

Agape Love

The kind of love spoken of here is not a feeling, it’s an act of the will. It is the willing of the highest good of God first and foremost, and the willing of the highest good of others equally with our own highest good.

Selfishness

Selfishness is putting our interests above God’s and others. It is putting ourselves first and foremost. It is dethroning God as King of our lives and placing ourselves on the throne of our heart.

If “love is the fulfilling of the law” (Rom. 13:10), and “sin is lawlessness” (1 John 3:4), then selfishness is the essence of sin. Sin is not missing the mark, sin is a wrong aim. It is aiming to please self rather than God. It is the root of evil.

Flesh, Sin, and Sins

The flesh is the tendencies toward selfishness, sin is the aim to serve self, and sins are the selfish actions that result from this wrong aim. They are selfish thoughts, words, and deeds.

Testimony of the Church

“Sin is due to the abuse, not use, of free will. The abuse of free will occurs when we put our egocentric interests above the common interests.” – Thomas C. Oden

“The root of all sin is selfishness, separating first from God and then from man.” – Andrew Murray

“We hold the essential principle of sin to be selfishness.” – A. H. Strong

“We have also seen, that all sin is selfishness.” – Charles Finney

Jesus answered, “My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom belonged to this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here” (John 18:36).

When Church and State join forces, you know that bad things are about to happen. This is not theory, this is history. When the Roman Empire made Catholic Christianity the religion of the state, soon after the persecutions followed.

Temptation to Power

When Jesus was offered by the devil “all the Kingdoms of the world,” he refused (Matt 4:8-9). Now the Church in the United States is being made the same offer. Unfortunately, it is Boeing the knee to glory and power to a kingdom that belongs to this world.

Jesus said, “My kingdom does not belong to this world.” Then why do some Christian want to create a kingdom on earth? This is against the wishes of Christ. And so we now have Christians who are willing to “fight” and kill for God.

The Ruler of this World

The sad part is that as they pursue Christian Nationalism, they fail to realize that they are joining up with the “ruler of this world.” And do you know who that is? The devil (John 16:11; 12:31; 14:30; 2 Cor 4:4). That is why 1 John 5:19 says that “the whole world lies under the power of the evil one.”

The most dangerous people in Jesus’ day were the religious leaders. Not much has changed in 2,000 years.

Leo Tolstoy once said, “Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.”

In order to have a better society, we need better citizens. You improve the community if you improve the individual.

Better Citizens

If you want a better world, you first need to have better humans.

But how? The golden rule. Jesus said,:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matt. 5:43-44).

Love is Not a Feeling

This love, which is agape in Greek, is not a feeling, it’s an act of the will. It pursues the highest good of another person without thought of reward and irrespective of who it is. Love knows no exceptions.

By adopting a disposition of loving kindness towards all people, we can change the world. This is how heaven is. We will never achieve this on earth, but we can aim for it. Even the pursuit will make this existence a better place for some people.

In order to even talk about this subject, we must begin with introducing a very important Greek word. The Greek word ekklésia is translated into English as “church.” But ekklésia is not the church.

Definition of Church

First, let’s look at the definition of the English word church. From Proto-Germanic kirika, which thought to be borrowed from Greek kyriakon doma, “the Lord’s (house).” Oxford English Dictionary gives these definitions:

1. a building used for public Christian worship
2. a particular Christian organization, typically one with its own clergy, buildings, and distinctive doctrines
3. (the Church)
   the hierarchy of clergy of a Christian organization, especially the Roman Catholic Church or the Church of England
4. institutionalized religion as a political or social force

Definition of Ekklésia

Second, let’s look at the definition of the Greek word ekklésia. Derived from the Greek preposition ἐκ (ek, “out of”) and the verb καλέω (kaleō, “to call”). Therefore, ekklésia means “called out ones.” Thayer’s Greek Lexicon gives these definitions:

1. among the Greeks… an assembly of the people convened at the public place of council for the purpose of deliberating
2. in the Sept…. the assembly of the Israelites… especially when gathered for sacred purposes
3. any gathering or throng of men assembled by chance or tumultuously
4. in the Christian sense, a. an assembly of Christians gathered for worship…. b. a company of Christians, or of those who, hoping for eternal Salvation through Jesus Christ…. used even by Christ while on earth of the company of his adherents in any city or village…. the whole body of Christians scattered throughout the earth; collectively, all who worship and honor God and Christ in whatever place they may be…. the name is transferred to the assembly of faithful Christians already dead and received into heaven

The Fundamental Error

The fundamental error that still persists is most denominations is the confusion between the church as an organization and the church as an organism. The Roman Catholic Church believes that its organization is the “church”. But the Roman Catholic Church is not the ekklésia. It contains many who are a part of the ekklésia. The same is true of the Eastern Orthodox Church.

You don’t go to the ekklésia, you are the ekklésia. The ekklésia is not an organization, it is not an institution, it is not a building or place. It is “the whole body of Christians scattered throughout the earth.” When you are baptized, you don’t join an organization, you join a spiritual community. The organization can recognize it, but they do not create it. God alone does.

An Example

When you read the Bible, and you come across the word church, substitute the phrase called-out-ones and see if the passage doesn’t make more sense. For example, look at 1 Corinthians 14:12 with the the word church replaced with called-out-ones:

“Even so you, since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, let it be for the edification of the called-out-ones that you seek to excel.” For a building or organization cannot be edified, only people can.

There are many other examples. May God open the eyes of your understanding.