Ishmael LaBiosa: In addition to our Sunday morning messages, as part of the You Ask series, I have also done podcasts. There are ten podcasts up now for questions you've asked, but by end of week there'll be twenty. And likely by the end of the month they'll be thirty. And so between the twelve messages that I'll do answering the top twelve questions plus the about thirty other podcasts, that's forty-two, and that'll basically cover all the questions. that you've asked, or at least all the questions you've asked that I feel like answering. The other ones, the answer is I don't know. Okay, that's the ⁓ answer to those particular questions. When I gave you the ⁓ about fifty questions to choose from, I intentionally left one question off. I was hoping you would leave me alone and not make me answer it, but I since we are a congregationally governed church, let the people speak. That's what I say. And ⁓ so I put a comment section at the bottom so you could write in your own question. And some of you squeezed me, and I know you enjoyed every minute of it doing it, because I can see it on your faces, and I don't it I don't mind being squeezed when necessary. And ⁓ so many people asked the question, how's the church ⁓ to what is the role of church in politics? And I thought, Do I dare? And well I dare. I do think I'll help you today. Actually, ⁓ t two things happened this week that motivated me to do this. Number one, I wondered it was I raising up my boys to be appropriately patriotic. I was just wondering that to be the case. You don't have a clue, right? You don't know your kids are gonna turn out till they turn out. And then you're like, ⁓ I did that. ⁓ for good or bad. You know, I've I've watched this enough in youth ministry to know you just don't know how they're gonna turn out till they turn out. And ⁓ so last night. We did our fourth of July dinner, Melissa cooked a nice meal, and so we asked the boys, Do you want to pray? And Thomas said he he would take that with my youngest, my six-year-old. And he prayed, Thank you, God, that we are free from the British. ⁓ I said, Well, he got the memo. I said, Thomas, where'd you learn that? He's like, Well, that's what we've talking about, isn't it? We're free from the British. I said. Okay, so my six year old knows a little bit of American history. That's good. ⁓ so that was a funny event. The other event that made me a little nervous and thought, ⁓ I need to talk on this again. ⁓ he kind of called me out of my slumber that I intentionally on Friday night thought is part of the program, this can't just be all fun and games. Need to take your medicine. And so we had a contact, Don Jones actually had a contact to get like the direct relative of Patrick Henry, who's actually a relative, like a direct bloodline relative, who reenacts Patrick Henry to read the Declaration of Independence and some of the supporting arguments around it. And while everybody's told me, man, we really love the drone show, and so did I. You know, a lot of people didn't tell me that they loved the Patrick Henry and I don't know if they loved it or not. But what worried me is I was standing backstage and I looked By the way, Patrick Henry and I would have gotten along real nice. He was a great Christian man. And let me just tell you this. What if somebody came to you today and said this? Let's start a revolution. If you say, well, let's go get them, you're nuts. You are completely crazy. If you come to me today and say, let's start a revolution, you know what I'm going to say? Probably what the founding fathers are going say. You're going to get hung. And so am I. Okay, so I know you think you got your revolutionary spirit, but actually deeply embedded in what was said by Christian leaders, the only theological reason by the way, I'm a Christian man starting a revolution? No, sir. Except under the most extreme of circumstances. And what was that extreme circumstance? What if the government tells me you must believe this? Now now you've gotten the pastor starting thinking a little bit about revolution that's worthy of my neck. Do you see? I don't think I don't think most people know that was embedded. They weren't looking for revolution. It's just when you say it was the early founders who said matters of conscience cannot be dictated by the state. Well now that okay, well, sure. I mean I I appreciate you clapping for it. I mean, ⁓ that's as plain as the nose on your face. And I could tell when the Patrick Henry reenactor was making that argument, it wasn't computing. And that really concerned me. Because I thought, wait a minute, this isn't a political thing, this is a theological thing that needs some speaking into today. So I'm not here today to be a rebel rouser. I'm here today to cut a line straight and to give you some Very old truths that maybe ought to call you to think more soberly and clearly on a very hot button issue. Always say when you come to an argument with me, bring light, not fire. I want to hear an argument, I don't want to hear your rhetoric. And so here's the topic of the day that you ask, not me. I could have preached a happier sermon today, but you wanted it, so you're gonna get it. What is the role of of the church in politics. Six big ideas that I hope to frame out your thoughts. Here's the first one. God has ordained two distinct institutions, the church and the government, or the state, each with its own God given authority, purpose, and limits. The church should not assume the role of the state, and the state should not assume the role of the church. Okay, let me give you some clear Bible verses here. All the verses on the screen, if you have a Bible, keep up. But I want to synthesize so it's not as easy just to go through one passage. Romans 13 is the key text in the New Testament on the government. And it clearly says this. I quote it, Romans 13:1. Everyone must submit to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those exist are instituted by God. So then the one who resists the authority is opposing God's command. And those who oppose it will bring judgment on themselves. Let me just say this very carefully. Do not say to yourself, the government is intrinsically bad. That's wrong. The government, because it is God's idea, is actually intrinsically good. God is the one who created government, and God, one day, when King Jesus rules it all, will fully redeem government to its ideals. And so government is God's idea. Let's talk about the institution of the church. Matthew sixteen, verse eighteen. Jesus says to Simon Peter, Upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. And so the church is another institution, in not in my opinion. ⁓ what the Bible says is the church is the apple of God's eye. The church is the unique institution that God wants to carry out his purposes on the earth. But that does not diminish the fact that the church is an God-ordained institution and the government is a God-ordained institution. And you know who got squeezed? On how do these institutions relate? Jesus. ⁓ they squeezed Jesus pretty hard to say. How do we pay allegiance to these two? And he is squeezed in Matthew 22, 21. Jesus says, in response to his questioners, then give to Caesar the things that are Caesar's. There is government and it has its responsibilities. Do your due duty there, and to God the things that are God's. Their ultimate allegiance belongs to God. Now notice. This has not always been clearly articulated that the church and the government are two institutions with two unique responsibilities. But this was not only in the minds of the founding fathers. Listen carefully, I don't wave my Baptist flag around, okay, because I'm a Christian first and a Baptist. Go on down there a bit. But this is a place where Where the Baptists historically, in my opinion, got it right. The Baptist actually said that the government has a responsibility, the church has a responsibility, and the founding fathers, supported by Baptist preaching, by the way, said that what we need in society is a civil public square because we want a public square that is free, not to diminish faith. Listen carefully, it was The Baptist preachers and the founding fathers who said that genuine faith flourishes in freedom, not coercion. And that's what you need. May I mention a very famous Puritan who founded the first Baptist church in America. His name, Roger Williams. ⁓ Roger Williams is the founder of Rhode Island. And when he landed at the place where he landed, he was so Christian, he says. I have landed here because of God's providence. Providence, Rhode Island. He briefly pastored the first Baptist Church in America, and he said that there were two two tablets of the Ten Commandments. The first four, which relegated our responsibility to God, and the last six that relegated our responsibility to others. And William said that the first four the government should keep their hands out of, and the last six Those should be the responsibility of the government. He actually said that civil government has the authority over bodies and goods, but not over matters of conscience and worship. And this was not because Roger Williams wanted to diminish Christianity. It was the very reason that he wanted to promote a context where faith flourishes. Williams said, and I quote, that forced worship stinks in God's nostrils. And I agree with that, quote. Completely. He said that there should be, and I quote again, a wall of separation between the garden of the church and the wilderness of the world. I've only now restated what is not an idea that has been held by everybody in church history, but clearly an idea that was held by we gotta take credit when you got it, the Baptist. Okay, we made a lot of mistakes. But it's nice when you hit the ball every now and then. And we were quite unique in holding to that position. And I'll tell you why in just a moment. Here's the second big idea here. ⁓ you say we got two institutions, what is their responsibility? Well, I actually believe in limited govern government, not because it's a political stance, but because I think it's a theological stance, because I think government has been given An outline of what they're supposed to do in the Bible. Notice this second big idea. Government is divinely ordained to restrain evil, promote justice, punish wrongdoing, and create an environment where people can live peaceful and orderly lives. Actually, one of the things that I pray that the Apostle Paul told me to pray about rulers in 1 Timothy 2, 1 and 2, Paul says, first of all. Then I urge that petition, prayers, and intercessions and thanksgiving be made for everyone, for kings and all those who are in authority. And what are we praying that will be the accomplishment of our prayers for kings and all in authority? You ready for it? Here's what we hope for. So that we may live a peaceful and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. Do you know what I pray sometimes for my elected leaders? God, I pray they don't mess it up so bad that chaos ensues. And actually that's a pretty big prayer. Because I know something, I'm not a politician, don't plan on being one. But it's a it's actually a hard job to not let chaos ensue. That's actually pretty hard. And one of the prayers that we pray, we pray for kings and all those authorities, so that we can just live a peaceful and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. Can can't just be calm enough that we're not stirred up to the seal. Okay, now we also should notice here, the Apostle Paul outlines, at least in my reading of this, what are the responsibilities of the government. Romans 13, and this is an ideal. We don't live up to it, but I think this is the divine ideal. It says, For rulers, I'm now quoting the Bible, Romans 13 3, for rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want to be unafraid of authority? Do what is good. And you will have approval. For government, I'm still quoting the Bible, is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid. Because it does not carry the sword, meaning punishment, meaning police, meaning military, for no reason. For the government is God's servant and avenger that brings wrath on the one who does wrong. And then right after that, hate to tell you this, it says, pay your taxes. I know. So that the government fulfills these responsibilities. And you say, Well, I don't like paying taxes. Well, actually you should if the government is doing this. I don't want to be the I don't I want to call the police. I don't want to be the police. Do you understand this? Like you need order in society and taxes should go to the government so that they keep people safe, that they pr create a context for flourishing. That is their responsibility that God has given, and God says live up to it. And I think Christians have all the r reason in the world to tell the government, live up to that. That's your responsibility. Stay in your lane. And until you get that done, don't be doing all this other stuff. Like stay where God puts you. Now notice, so you have two distinct inst institutions, the church and the government, and the government has its responsibility. What about the church? Point number three. The church's primary mandate is to proclaim the gospel, make disciples of all nations, and serve as salt and light, influencing society through spiritual and moral transformation. It was indeed the founders who said that we absolutely want to keep the the government out of the church, but we clearly want the church to influence society. Okay, so that so while they're separate, there should be a moral influence on the culture at large by the church. If what has been created in America is a free public square where people get to choose, and the and the square of America is becoming secular, I'll say it loud and clear. It is the failure of the mission of the church. The spiritual temperature of the culture should be relegated or regulated rather by the mission of the church. The sleeping church in America needs to awaken. To be able to be salt and light, not in a not in some type of obnoxious way, but an but an influential way, sharing the message of the gospel calling for an inside-out transformation. Matthew 28, Jesus' great command. He says, All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Jesus is not just has authority over America, He has authority over the whole world. And he commissions us not just to America, but to the whole world. To make disciples for him, to call them to faith, to baptize them, and then to teach them to observe everything Christ has commanded us. This is our mandate from Jesus, the Great Commission. And not only are to we share the gospel, we are to influence society by showing the gospel. Jesus in his most famous sermon, Matthew five, six and seven, says, You are the salt of the earth. If the salt shall lose its taste, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything but then to be thrown out and trampled on by men's feet. You're the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be situated. If you read Jesus' great Sermon on the Mount well, Jesus in Matthew 5, 1-7 says, there are dispositions of a disciple. They're called Beatitudes. Blessed are the poor in spirit. There's the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn. Blessed are the peacemakers. These dispositions Are to be embodied in Christians. And these virtues that are embodied produce behavior. And Jesus says, when the disciples go out into the world, do you know what you look like? You look odd. You don't fit in. You you have a preservative function and a revel revelatory function. And Jesus says that they will see your good works, they'll see the way you live, and they'll give glory to God in heaven. The church has an awesome mandate to influence the culture through the mandate that Jesus has given us, and we ought to know where we are and know our role. Now, some people say to me, Well, Rusty, I want the church and state to be a lot closer together. And my simple answer to you is: no, you don't. We already tried that. Okay? I mean, I hear people saying, I'm against. Communism as far as that goes. But let me tell you another idea we tried. Okay? That I'm not always sure. There is a thousand years of medieval church history where the church and state was one, it failed. And it failed miserably to the degree that America was started out of that context. There is a word, if you hear it, put your asbestos gloves on before you touch it, here in my opinion. Okay? Christendom. If anybody says we're gonna bring back in Christendom, I say no, thank you. We did that, it didn't work out real well, especially for the Baptists, we got killed. Okay, so I'm not looking for that to come back around again for me. If people argue for the church and state to be one, we tried that in medieval Europe. And that was the reason, the one of the reasons the founding fathers said freedom of religion. Okay, let me give you some arguments. You ought to know the arguments for this. It failed miserably, by the way. What people will say if they say the church and state ought to be one, they look to the Old Testament, not the new, primarily, and they say, Well, don't you see where kings and priests work together under God's law? That's what we need now. Kings and pastors to kind of both be in the ruling of government. ⁓ practically this call for religious uniformity. If you read any bit of European history, which if you haven't, pick up a book. They're in the library, they're online. Okay? You were born and you're Catholic. You're born and you're Protestant. You're born and you're this. And that's it. You don't get a choice about it. You're you that's it. Okay, ⁓ and this created all manner. If you were born in the Holy Roman Empire, you're Catholic. If you're born in a Protestant country, you're Protestant. You can get a choice. Okay, that that and and then if you dissented, it was the church state who could bear the sword against you. Okay, you don't want this. We tried this, it fell bad. Let me tell you some of the reasons. That some of the r some of the pastors in America and some of the ⁓ some of the founding fathers notice the problems with that model. First of all, when the church and state are completely one, guess who gets profoundly corrupted? The church. The state-controlled or heavily favored church, spiritual purity goes away. People are part of the church for political reasons or for coho co ⁓ coercion. Also, religious wars. Religious wars raged in Europe for years. The wars ⁓ the French wars of religion, where Catholics and French Protestants fought each other, the Thirty Years War, one of Europe's most devastating conflicts, killed thirty percent of the population in parts of Germany as Catholics and Protestants states fought for dominance, the English Civil War, sixteen forty-two to sixteen fifty-one, and the execution of Charles the First, deeply entangled with conflicts over the state-controlled church. You don't want this. Additionally, you had the suppression of dissenters. If you were part of these groups and you say, we don't agree, they killed you. Not because you committed a crime, because you didn't believe a certain doctrine. Many of the people who landed in America fled this situation. You don't want this. It was John Smythe and Thomas Helwies who founded the first Baptist Church in the Netherlands and then came to England in 16. twelve, the declaration of the mystery of iniquity says that King James I was a mortal man and not God, and therefore has no power over immortal ⁓ souls of his subjects. The matters of conscience. So I think you ought to just we ought to be careful. There's a page in church history that we already lived. We don't need to give that one another shot. Not that I hear too many people calling for it, but that wasn't what was held by ⁓ American Christians. And I think they got that one right. Now you say, well Rusty, how does the church then engage in politics? Well, this is what I want to give you some approaches. And I'm going to give you my my kind of my main argument at the I'll give you my main argument now, and then you can listen through. What I think is different situations call for different tools. Do you hear this? Flexibility. That would be nice. Okay? And there have been several faithful approaches to this. And I think if we can listen and learn, we can understand when's a good time for this and what are the cons, what are the negatives of these. Here's the fourth big idea. Christians and churches may engage politics through different faithful approaches, but every approach must be guided by Scripture and motivated to the glory of God. I'm giving you the major approaches now across the majority of Protestants. Okay? Here they are. The first one, the separationist approach. The church maintains strict separation from politics to avoid corruption and to keep its ⁓ focus purely spiritual. Where's this scene today? The Amish community. Some of you rode past them in church today. Listen, I went to Switzerland. The Amish and the Mennonites, right there in Switzerland and France, were profoundly persecuted by the government. And they said, We'll never ha this will never happen again, because we'll flee to the hills and this will never happen. And they fled to the hills and they never came back. Okay? And they say, you get entangled up in the government, it's coming for your head. You guys all need to know this. And they might be right. You don't know. Right? But that's the that's a strict they say, ⁓ and by the way, which is surprising, you may not know this. Many Baptists were that ⁓ opinion, very ⁓ separationist approach. What's the pro of this approach? Well it does protect the church from worldly corruption. Sometimes when I travel through the Amish community, it is kind of like a breath of fresh air. You know, look at these people. They know how to work. They're not tangled up on their phones. They look a little healthier than I do. You know, well, that's a breath of fresh air. It's kind of like a counterculture here. Well the church is to be that counterculture. I'm not saying I'm not Amish, obviously, but it's it's a breath of fresh air when the church is a counterculture, and that would be a They would be a pro. What's a con? I think it's a big con, is that it is way too much withdrawal from society. We are called to mission to the world, not a retreat from the world. And so Jesus says you ought to be in the world, but not of it. And I think the separation approach, you're too far away from it. You need to get in the fray, my opinion. The prophetic approach. The church should have, by the way, a prophetic voice. the church should speak boldly against injustice. And call society and government to address societal injustices. Scholars would point to Martin Luther King Jr. who did the civil rights movement to say this is an injustice. ⁓ a German also came to America, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who stood right up to Nazism and said no, and was killed for it, by the way. Bonhoeffer died and and so did Martin Luther King Jr. was shot. And so ⁓ by the way, you want to be a prophet? You're gonna take incoming. I can tell you that. ⁓ if you want to stand up against societal injustice, prepare for incoming. But should the church have a prophetic voice? Sure. If if a pastor can't stand up and say abortion is wrong, what's wrong with him? You know, you need a prophetic voice. Here is the problem. So the pro is the church needs a prophetic voice. Here's the con. Most of the prophetic ⁓ approaches have now been collapsed into what is called social gospel. And the social gospel loses the gospel. Every time it loses the gospel. It's so hard to seem to beat the drum of this is an issue that needs to be addressed, that that's all that Christianity becomes is the next problem that we need to fuss about. And ⁓ that becomes a con. And somewhere in that, where's the gospel of Jesus Christ? The reconciliation bridge building approach. ⁓ that the church should work to reduce political polar polarization and foster dialogue across divides. The late Chuck Colson, who was Nixon's hatchet man, he said, he had a conversion to Christianity and started Breakpoint and the Colson Center, and then Tim Keller, also now deceased, was the pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York, said, Look, the temperature's so hot, let's try to set people down and learn to talk. Well, somebody needs to do this too, it would seem. I mean I I feel like active listening is a lost art. We just scream at each other and it's like, no, no, you can't this is what you're supposed to t learn, like this is like in second grade. You cannot speak until you can repeat what he said first. And it seems like with politicians and unfortunately some quote unquote Christi Christians, they probably ought to practice this. That they just rage and rage and rage and rage. What's the con of this, however? If you're always on the one hand, on the other hand, do you hear the person? Do you hear this other person? You never make a decision. You know, and somebody's got to say, okay, we've talked, we've heard each other, now we've got to make a decision. We can't be on the one hand, on the other hand forever. What about the civil responsibility approach? This encourages active informed participation in voting, advocacy, and public service as part of loving one's neighbor. Billy Graham seemed to promote this along with most evangelical churches. What's the pro of this? The pro of this is go vote. Be a good citizen. You know, I mean this is basic things. ⁓ you have a voice, use it. Okay? Here's the here's the problem. It's the pro. The con is, is that it? I just voted. You know? Well, who do I vote for? I don't look like any of You know what I'm saying? And so you're just like, is this all we got? That's the problem with this. That approach, that's the con. You're doing your civic duty, but You're kind of upset by the whole state of things. And then the last approach, the redemptive transformational approach. The church seeks to influence and reform political structures and culture with the values of the gospel. What are examples of this? Francis, the late Francis Schaefer, the late Jerry Falwell, ⁓ Eric Metaxis, and Albert Moeller. ⁓ what are they trying to say? That the church should influence the culture. That's the pro. Get in there. Don't just accept the status quo. Work to influence politics to the degree that You elect good leaders and you do this. What's the con? That that and we gotta hear this. Oftentimes when this can be done, but it takes a lot of skill. Church leaders get totally capitulated into the system. They don't maintain their separation and they get corrupted in the process because politics gets a little dirty, you know, ⁓ and so that becomes a dilemma. You say, Rusty, what are we supposed to do? You need enough wisdom to know when to do what approach. That's my opinion. Okay? Let me give you some examples. The separationist approach is helpful when the church needs to protect its identity. ⁓ I'll tell you, listen, I I'm a fan of public school education. You know, I went to Abmex High School, but right now in this culture, I chose for my two boys to do a separationist approach. I'm like, I think there's too much craziness out there. I just if I can cocoon them until they can grow up a little bit before I give them the full exposure. Well, that's right, yeah. Amen. Okay. Well, you don't have to agree with me, but that's you know, I think that's an approach. There's times that you pull people out and say, You're not ready for all this yet. You need a you need a minute to think ⁓ and and be protected, possibly. ⁓ the prophetic approach. Sometimes pastors need to grow a spine and speak up against ⁓ an ill in society. You say, look, if we don't change this, the judgment of God's gonna fall. If you don't know that, wake up. also I think the church ought to be able to say, okay, the the temperature is so hot, and you guys are so crazy on social media, and you're so inflammatory, it is not becoming of a Christian. Stop. Learn how to bring light, not fire. But here's the problem: in our world, the makeup man Has long been more important than the speech writer. If you can look a certain way and sound a certain way, people are. And I'm like, what did they say? I have no idea. We are not very smart sometimes. And I just want to say, grow up. Listen. Restate an argument. That's Christian maturity. It's love of neighbor. And we should be able to do it. Civic responsibility. Look. If you didn't vote, be quiet. If you didn't if you didn't engage the process, then the Amish have a place for you, you know. I think some of them vote, however. Okay, so they're getting involved. So I don't know what to think of that. But nevertheless, ⁓ maybe I'd go preach them a sermon about their origins. ⁓ maybe they might change and become Baptist. I think some of them already have. I know a few. ⁓ but civic responsibility. There's a you do do what you can to do what you're supposed to do. Be a good citizen, vote it when appropriate. ⁓ that's helpful. And then if I listen, if you can influence culture, do it. ⁓ I'll tell you a secret, which is no secret at all. I try to influence the culture of Appomattox. People say, Why do you do all these community events? Is this just a grand old fun time? Well, sure. You won't come if it's not fun. Okay? That's just what I'm dealing with here. These are my sheep, you know. But I'm trying to influence the cultural ethos of Appomattox, because if I don't and you don't, somebody will. And so if you can, get out there. Is it my singular and soul focus? No, but I'm gonna do what I can. Okay? I think all that's wisdom. And and I think you need to we need sophistication to Use different tools at different times. And what I often see is Christians hold to one approach and don't have the flexibility to understand there might be another way. And I think different times call for different approaches. That's my two cents. You don't have to agree with me. Let me give you two quick final points that I think are also important, especially for today. Number five, while the United States has been significantly shaped and influenced by Christian principles. The kingdom of God is from every tribe, tongue, and nation, and the church's ultimate identity and hope must never be tied to one earthly nation. Listen carefully, Revelation five nine. Here is the kingdom of God. It says, You redeemed a people for God by your blood from every tribe, from every tongue, from every people and nation. The kingdom of God is a worldwide community. From people from all times and all places. People ask me the question, and maybe you ought to have the sophistication to say yes and no. And maybe, you know, fools rush in where angels fear to tread. I'm going to answer the question. People ask me, is America is America a Christian nation? And I say, yes, in the sense that it has been influenced by Christian principles, and no, in the sense that we're not trying to repeat what they did in medieval Europe. And you ought to have sense enough to. Answer that question well. That we have been profoundly influenced. I mean, where else do we come up with these ideas? You didn't get them out of the Quran, I can tell you that. You didn't get them out of Buddhism, okay, because they don't hold to these ideals. you that that you got it out of a Judeo-Christian ethos is what influenced what you got, whether you know it or not. And thinkers like Tom Holland and others say you're so Christian you can't even see it because you've been influenced by so many ideas. So Yes, in that sense, but no, none of the founders wanted a church state like they came from and knew about in medieval Europe. And here's the sixth and final point. You say, Will I live if politics goes awry? Here's the answer. Yes, you'll be okay. It's not the world I want to live through. and I I seek the welfare of the city. That's what God told the prophet Jeremiah was in Babylon, seek the welfare of the city. When it prospers, you'll do well. I want there to be, like King Hezekiah said, peace and safety in my day. Do you understand? Like I want things to go well. But if they don't, it's okay. You understand? If it all falls apart, the future of America, while I pray it is prosperous. The future of the America is not the end of human history. The end of human history is the return of Jesus Christ and the full establishment of the kingdom of God on earth. And it will be okay in the end. I will do my best. In the meantime, but and I will and I and I'm a contender when I need to be. Okay? You understand what I'm saying? But my ultimate hope is not in a political project. And nor should yours be either. I actually think you can engage in politics better if your ultimate hope is not in the political project, if you serve a higher ideal in the process. The sixth and final point, and I'm done. The church should actively engage culture and politics as faithful citizens and salt and light, but this engagement must never become our primary goal or ultimate hope. Our true citizenship and hope remain. The kingdom of God. Listen, I want to do what Jesus commands me to love all people, to show them the dignity that they deserve. I'm gonna do my best, speak my opinions, but I will remember that this side of heaven, first Peter chapter two, verse eleven, is still in the Bible, that as long as I'm a American citizen, which I'm proud of, I am still a stranger and temporary resident in the world. I am sojourning to the promised land, and one day, whatever ideals, whatever hopes I had for the current will be exceeded by the future when God wipes every tear from our eyes and does far more than any political project can. And we need to know that government cannot do what the human heart desperately needs. It cannot solve. the longings of our heart. It cannot do and our world is starting to believe that. Do you see it? And I think we need to say government is good and it can do what it can do, but only Jesus is going to give you real freedom. Only only Jesus is going to whom the Sun sets free is free indeed. Listen, there's a lot of people in America, they are free to do whatever they want to do. Here's the problem. They do whatever they want to do and then become a slave to sin. Well, that will short live freedom. And so here's the path to real freedom. You wanna hear it? ⁓ you don't wanna hear it. I can feel it. You know how you're really free? I'm going to give you a hard truth here to Americans. The type of freedom you want, you can't get. Because you know the type of freedom your sinful self wants. You want to have the type of freedom like God has. Here's a bad truth, a good truth. You're not God. So here's the options for you, mortal man. As a human, you just get to pick, you ready for a metaphor that'll turn the world wild? You just get to pick your master. You get to either choose, I want to be, you say, I'm gonna do whatever I want to do. You are now a slave to sin. You get to do whatever you want to do, but that which you're doing tangles you up so that you can't do nothing but what it dictates. It becomes your master. See how that is? Or you can say, I'll become a slave to God. I'll let it become, I'll let, I'll I'll submit myself to Jesus. And here's the strange thing. When you Submit yourself to Jesus, you become free. That's the path to real freedom. And I'm concerned that we actually think freedom is an unfettered unfettered freedom to do whatever we want, and doing whatever you want actually binds you up into sin you can't get out of. Anybody who tells you, I'm gonna leave here and do what I want, I'll see you at the 12-step program tonight. You know. And guess what you're going to be? I'd submit myself as powerless to appeal to a higher power, trying to get untangled from all this freedom you've been engaged in. Okay? So if you want real freedom, come to the cross. Submit your life to him. And then to whom the Son has set free will be free indeed. The path to freedom is such a strange path. If you want to live, you're going to have to die. You're gonna have to say, I'm gonna I got King Jesus, I wanna be your child, I wanna do it your way, I wanna accept your death for me, freedom. And that's something the government can't give you. Only the hand of Jesus can give you, and he offers it to you today. If you're here today and you're not a Christian, this altar is open. By the way, if you are a Christian, Why don't you come pray for your nation? That's your first and first responsibility to pray for kings and authority, that we may live a quiet life in all dignity and godliness. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we don't take it for granted that you've been gracious to us, that we're able to gather here today, worship freely, sing songs, pray prayers, read your word. And God, we realize that this was this was due and large measure to people who understood the concepts of your word. And so God, I pray we would live well, we would think well, we would serve well. And God, we would ultimately see freedom comes from you. And that we may live in a free country and be bound up in sin. And so God, may we submit ourselves freely to you, turning from sin and self and putting faith and trust in in Jesus Christ for our salvation in Jesus' name. Amen.