Proverbs 26:4-5

Do not answer a fool according to his folly, Or you will also be like him. Answer a fool as his folly deserves, That he not be wise in his own eyes.

It's Time to Put Our Thinking Caps On

There is an alarming ignorance of who God is and what He is like, even among professing Christians. This was shown in recent poll conducted by Barna.

According to the poll, half of Americans who call themselves "Christian" don't believe that Satan exists and fully one-third are confident that Jesus sinned while on Earth. Further, 25% dismiss the idea that the Bible is accurate in all of the principles it teaches."

The pollster concluded, "Growing numbers of people now serve as their own 'theologian-in-residence.' One consequence is that Americans are embracing an unpredictable and contradictory body of beliefs."

So it's time to put our "thinking caps" on.

God wants us to think, not just feel.

The Lord entreats us in Isaiah 1:18, "Come now, and let us reason together" (NKJV), or another translation puts it, "Sit down, let's argue this out!" (THE MESSAGE)

When you become a follower of Jesus, you do not have to "check your brains at the door." Christianity is a reasonable, even logical, faith.

That is not to say we don't need to have great faith to follow Christ, but it is to say the teachings of the Bible quite simply make sense!

We need to think and act biblically, not emotionally

Far too many people, when stating their opinion, will say, "I think," "I feel," "I believe," or "My God would never do thus and so."

We need more "The Bible says," because then we will learn to think, feel, and believe the right things. This is called theology, and we neglect it at our own peril.

Experience is never to be the basis for theology. Sound theology, however, is the basis for experience.

C.S. Lewis gave this warning years ago: "If you do not listen to theology, that will not mean that you have no ideas about God. It will mean that you have a lot of wrong ones!"

We need, as Chuck Swindoll once said, "Sound theology without apology." Because what we believe about God will affect the way that we live. As 1 Timothy 4:16 says, "Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers" (NIV).

Greg Laurie

The Church and Politics (Email Response)

I don’t know where to begin but I’ll do my best to start. I kind of agree with what you’re saying. I always wanted to know why Christians thought prayer alone without action, will answer every problem and issue in life. But when I left my previous church of 3 ½ or so years and affiliated with other Christians, I begin to see a good amount of Christians who pushed the political envelope. One of the things I liked about Venture Christian Church (formally know as Los Gatos Church) was that they are very involved in politics. When Donna and I started to go there it was the year of the Presidential Election. The Pastors at the time were both associated with the mayor of San Jose. That year the Church handed out Yes on Prop. 8 land signs as well as voting guides from Values Advocacy Council, (vacaction.org) a local Christian org. that helps elect officials who hold to the Christian world view.

The Church we’re attending now, Family Community Church isn’t as aggressive as Venture Church on political issues; they’re more subtle. But if you pay close attention to Pastor Bill’s messages you’ll hear him talk about political issues that relate to the message he is giving. Just the past two Sundays [on both Sundays], Pastor Bill counter quoted President Barack Obama’s quote. (Senator Obama, when asked by Rick Warren when a baby gets human rights, replied: ''that question is above my pay grade.'') Pastor Bill counter quoted by saying “knowing when a baby gets human rights is not above anybody’s pay grade.” Also not too long ago Pastor Bill brought up another political issue which was about social security. He said somewhere in the lines of “we wouldn’t need to depend on the government to take care of our senior citizens if American families took responsibility to take care of Grandpas and Grandmas.” Referring to the 5th Commandment: Honor your father and your mother. There are a couple other churches I know of who are political advocates for helping people with Christian values run for political positions.

Now let’s get back to your comments and questions about Christians not being involved in politics. There are probably many reasons why you see Christians not being strongly involved in political issues. I think the main reason is deception; people are prone to self-deception, meaning Christians are easily persuaded to believe whatever fits to their liking. You know what I’m talking about right? When you see Christians follow particular teachers and leaders who reconstruct the Bible’s context, and the Christians go on every word they say, then you can see how easy it is to make a Christian believe that politics are not important in Christian living. And you can also see when taking scripture out of context, how easy it is for Christians to believe in liberal morals, like healthcare and spreading the wealth. Taking scripture out of context is all apart of the devil’s plan to destroy Christianity. Another reason why you don’t see Christians taking part in political issues is because of the atmosphere of Christians that are around you. Just like me a few years back when I was surrounded by a similar Christian environment; living in California probably adds to the problem as well. My guess is if we were in a more conservative state like Texas or Utah, the conditions of the Church would probably be different there than what we see here in California.

The solution to this is to educate people, Christian and non-Christian and help them understand why it is important to be involved in politics and also educate them to the “accurate” historical involvement that Christianity has played in this Country. Christian Apologists like Mary Jo Sharp, Neil Mammen, Greg Koukl and others are all on this bandwagon to help people understand the importance of Christian politics in America. The same method we use to educate a non-believer to Christ is the same method we need to use to educate everyone about politics. I admit it has taken awhile for Christians to adopt politics in their daily lives, just as it has taken awhile for believers to adopt Christian Apologetics into their daily understanding of God; but it’s better late than never. I hope this helps you understand the problem of this difficult barrier that needs to be overcome.

Thank you

Isaiah 1:18

"Come now, and let us reason together,"
Says the LORD,
"Though your sins are as scarlet,
They will be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They will be like wool. (NASB)