- Mar 5, 2024
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"Hooked" On Political Hate, Part 3
In a recent Bible study, I mentioned how Christians on both sides of the political fence are succumbing to spirits of hatred and resentment, and resorting to speaking the worst of their political leaders rather than honoring them as scripture teaches. This was taught so clearly, and yet it's as if the word of God is no longer even being acknowledged.
11 Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, 12 having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation. 13 Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, 14 or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. 15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men— 16 as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. 17 Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king. (1 Peter 2:11-17)
1 I exhort, therefore, first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. 3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.... 8 I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and disputing. (1 Timothy 2:1-4, 8)
Unfortunately many on both the Left and the Right are doing something altogether different. Christians on the Left are following the lead of the ungodly in comparing Trump to Hitler, and suggesting by Implication that he will wage a war of terror against the Jews unless they vote for Him. Slanderous terms of all kinds are being used to describe a former President of the United States, and by Christians who profess to be honoring God with their words and lives.
On the Right, Christian writers are doing the same thing to Kamala Harris, describing her as "spiritually aligned with the Devil" and ante-Semitic when she is nothing of the sort, and has publicly stated that she will do everything in her power "to ensure that the threat Hamas poses is eliminated, that it is never again able to govern Gaza, that it fails in its mission to annihilate Israel, and that the people of Gaza are free from the grip of Hamas." (Vice President Harris Marking One Year Since The October 7th Attack. Whitehouse.Gov)
Yet the vitriol coming from Christians on both sides continues apace. How do they justify this in light of scripture? One justification some point to is Luke 13:31-32, where Jesus referred to King Herod as a "fox," i.e. a predator who was seeking His life. Micheal Brown wrote a piece on this recently where he addressed whether it was justification for Christians to mock political leaders or not:
A seasoned ministry colleague wrote to me last week asking for assistance. “I need some help with exegesis of Luke 13:31-32,” he said. “I spoke at a conference last week with many pastors who used that passage where Jesus calls Herod a fox as their rationale for using coarse language about Harris/Walz and the other political side. I was quite disturbed by the name-calling and mocking from the pulpit, and I reproved them all when it was my turn to speak.” He continued, “I was shocked that the pastors used that passage to justify their mocking and name-calling from the pulpit, citing Jesus as our example. (Did Jesus Give Christian Leaders the Right to Use Coarse Political Rhetoric? Stream, Michael Brown)
The simple answer here is that some had just come to Jesus secretly and informed Him that Herod was seeking His life, so Jesus used the words "Tell that fox" to confirm and acknowledge that what they were saying was true - that He was indeed seeking His life like a predator - but that Jesus was going to continue doing the will of God and fulfill His calling anyway, and there was nothing Herod could do about it until His work was finished. The question is, however, if Jesus spoke only what the Father gave Him, and the Holy Spirit inspired the words of both the apostles Peter and Paul, how could their teachings directly contradict one another?
The real truth is that demonic spirits cause some to speak one way and the Holy Spirit leads men to speak in another, and these two spirits are very easy to tell apart. One speaks bitterness, and the Other kindness. One speaks resentment and the other Peace. One speaks only that which is good to the use of edifying, and the other seeks only to tear down. One slanders political leaders, and the other seeks to honor them by all means. Scripture teaches that we are to be fishers of men, but how will they ever glorify God in a day of visitation after seeing our good works if all we do is slander political leaders rather than honor them?
Blessings in Christ,
Hidden In Him
In a recent Bible study, I mentioned how Christians on both sides of the political fence are succumbing to spirits of hatred and resentment, and resorting to speaking the worst of their political leaders rather than honoring them as scripture teaches. This was taught so clearly, and yet it's as if the word of God is no longer even being acknowledged.
11 Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, 12 having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation. 13 Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, 14 or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. 15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men— 16 as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. 17 Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king. (1 Peter 2:11-17)
1 I exhort, therefore, first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. 3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.... 8 I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and disputing. (1 Timothy 2:1-4, 8)
Unfortunately many on both the Left and the Right are doing something altogether different. Christians on the Left are following the lead of the ungodly in comparing Trump to Hitler, and suggesting by Implication that he will wage a war of terror against the Jews unless they vote for Him. Slanderous terms of all kinds are being used to describe a former President of the United States, and by Christians who profess to be honoring God with their words and lives.
On the Right, Christian writers are doing the same thing to Kamala Harris, describing her as "spiritually aligned with the Devil" and ante-Semitic when she is nothing of the sort, and has publicly stated that she will do everything in her power "to ensure that the threat Hamas poses is eliminated, that it is never again able to govern Gaza, that it fails in its mission to annihilate Israel, and that the people of Gaza are free from the grip of Hamas." (Vice President Harris Marking One Year Since The October 7th Attack. Whitehouse.Gov)
Yet the vitriol coming from Christians on both sides continues apace. How do they justify this in light of scripture? One justification some point to is Luke 13:31-32, where Jesus referred to King Herod as a "fox," i.e. a predator who was seeking His life. Micheal Brown wrote a piece on this recently where he addressed whether it was justification for Christians to mock political leaders or not:
A seasoned ministry colleague wrote to me last week asking for assistance. “I need some help with exegesis of Luke 13:31-32,” he said. “I spoke at a conference last week with many pastors who used that passage where Jesus calls Herod a fox as their rationale for using coarse language about Harris/Walz and the other political side. I was quite disturbed by the name-calling and mocking from the pulpit, and I reproved them all when it was my turn to speak.” He continued, “I was shocked that the pastors used that passage to justify their mocking and name-calling from the pulpit, citing Jesus as our example. (Did Jesus Give Christian Leaders the Right to Use Coarse Political Rhetoric? Stream, Michael Brown)
The simple answer here is that some had just come to Jesus secretly and informed Him that Herod was seeking His life, so Jesus used the words "Tell that fox" to confirm and acknowledge that what they were saying was true - that He was indeed seeking His life like a predator - but that Jesus was going to continue doing the will of God and fulfill His calling anyway, and there was nothing Herod could do about it until His work was finished. The question is, however, if Jesus spoke only what the Father gave Him, and the Holy Spirit inspired the words of both the apostles Peter and Paul, how could their teachings directly contradict one another?
The real truth is that demonic spirits cause some to speak one way and the Holy Spirit leads men to speak in another, and these two spirits are very easy to tell apart. One speaks bitterness, and the Other kindness. One speaks resentment and the other Peace. One speaks only that which is good to the use of edifying, and the other seeks only to tear down. One slanders political leaders, and the other seeks to honor them by all means. Scripture teaches that we are to be fishers of men, but how will they ever glorify God in a day of visitation after seeing our good works if all we do is slander political leaders rather than honor them?
Blessings in Christ,
Hidden In Him
