Last week we began to look at the role of Christianity in society. We saw that Christianization can not be supported from Scripture.
Christianization has not worked well in the past. History teaches us that when Christian organizations or hierarchies gain positions of direct political influence in the name of Christianity then it is only a matter of time before nominal Christians, wolves in sheep’s clothing, rise up to positions of influence within the church seeking the power held by the church. Obviously, this brings dishonor to the body of Christ and fills the church with ungodly leaders. The history of monastic orders in the Middle Ages is a perfect example of this. Several times godly reforming monastic movements gained so much wealth and power that they became complacent and worldly and the movement lost its effectiveness. It even came to pass that local nobles were allowed to buy the office of abbot (head of the monastery) which carried much social and political influence, so avaricious leaders managed to become abbots of the monasteries. In general, the idea of establishing the kingdom of God throughout society drastically corrupted the church in the Middle Ages until a drastic reformation became inevitable. The history of the hierarchical European church in the Middle Ages and the history of Anglicanism in England testify to the poison of aiming for economic and political influence.
God may bless some believers with positions of tremendous political influence, but that does not justify Christianization. We can seek to establish civic virtues but not we cannot establish virtues that only the Spirit can bring. God has not empowered us to rule society; our mission is to make disciples. We do this by becoming like Christ, taking up our Cross and being a light to the world. If faithful Christians become the dominant influence in an area of society then we can thank God, but as soon as our heart gets attached to this and we define it as part of God’s mission, then the Enemy has beaten us. I say this as a dire warning. We will not end up well, even if we seem triumphant at first.
Christianization efforts reduce the impact congregations can make for the kingdom of God. When congregations pursue Christianization their resources are diverted from making disciples to acquiring political influence. As a result, the spiritual leaders lose their focus and members wander from Christformation, and the congregation ends up failing in its true mission. Thus, we need to beware when we hear leaders speak of “retaking our land” and persuading followers to embrace their cause and invest in their crusade. This may be tempting if we are watching our society decline into immorality and destruction, but we must resist the temptation.
We cannot allow anger or resentment to invade our hearts. If Christians lose freedoms, then we love our enemies instead of attacking them. It was persecution in the Roman Empire that displayed the virtues of the Christians which ultimately led to freedom and influence. If the general population assents to marginalizing Christians then we need to accept and respect the will of the people, even if we protest. The Roman Christians accepted the oppressive will of their government for almost three hundred years; they did not organize political revolutions.
In periods of national decline, we need to accept the reality that our nation has lost what it once had and that we live in a different society now. We need to see that we no longer have enough support in society to produce the change we hope for. Yet, national decline presents its own opportunities for the kingdom of God. As society declines, some will realize that they are lacking peace and joy and meaning, and some will become more open to the light coming from believers and their message of Jesus.
If we do not like the way that our system is turning out then we can try to change people’s minds in respectful, democratic ways. The alternative is to change the Constitution, but just being angry about decline is not helpful. If the majority do not want to change the Constitution, then we must accept it with meekness. We can protest and speak out in the public square, but we must also be motivated by the fruits of the Spirit.
In democratic societies without a Christian consensus, congregations will have to learn to build consensus with unbelievers in areas where they would like to produce social change. This means we need to learn to love and respect those we disagree with and learn where we might have common interests. We cannot harbor anger, resentment, irrationality or rebelliousness. And we should not oppose political positions and proposals just because they come from secular sources or from a certain political party. Proposals need to be evaluated on their own merits; sometimes the secularists come up with ideas that are compatible with Christian social justice. (Remember that they still have the fractured image of God inside them and sometimes seek what is good.) As Christians, we evaluate social issues in a reasonable way by (1) gathering facts; (2) determining the specific issue; (3) applying reason and just law; and (4) coming to a decision. And whenever possible we need to be a blessing to our detractors.
In these ways we can build bridges to unbelievers. Some will see our commitment to goodness and fairness and respond as God calls them to Christ.
Next week we will look at a healthy approach to social change.
