John 3.16 K.J.V. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." ( my emphasis )
God loves the world. Not just YOUR country or YOUR leaders or YOUR government, but the whole wide world. This is what Jesus said, not only about the authorities of His age, but OURS as well. Indeed, all this ( regardless of how Godly or devilish, saintly or sinnerish, chosen or unchosen you may think your leaders are ) can be benchmarked according to this scripture;
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| A Roman Penny Source and Further Reading Render unto Caesar |
Matthew Chapter 22
King James Version
"17 Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not?
18 But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites?
19 Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny.
20 And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription?
21 They say unto him, Caesar's. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's."
Yes, submit to the governing authorities, but only to the extent where you are not forced to sin. Render unto these authorities what are theirs. Your taxes, your civic duty - even your military duty if called upon. Other than that, the church has no place with nations, governments or their leaders. Remember, your citizenship is in heaven ( Philippians 3.20 ) and this is above and beyond that of any corruptible, earthly nation or kingdom. This is why we are to mind our own business and let governments, emperors and kings turn their own wheels and cogs. Here's another way of looking at it: John Pavlovitz writes;
We are not called to be conservatives, right-wingers or alt-righters. Nor are we compelled to grind our axes by posting memes on social media about how righteous this person is or how ungodly that group of people are. Moreover, God never told us to set the world straight by endorsing a leader or a political party. Why? Because you are not endorsing HIM. Christ never intended for us to make placards and march for this cause or against that agenda. Indeed, nowhere in scripture are we to wear ANY of these things on our sleeves.
Once we repent of our so-called 'social activism' all we are left with is the great commission:- to go into ALL the world and preach the gospel to ALL men; be they black, refugees, immigrants, gay, islamic, liberal - all groupings, all races, all creeds. Indeed, all the types of people that cultural, nationalist christianity tells you to rail on and isolate. They do not need to be confronted with how they are ruining your righteous notions of how a nation should be. They are to met with the Love of Christ and the good news of His gospel. That. Is. All.
Once we repent of our so-called 'social activism' all we are left with is the great commission:- to go into ALL the world and preach the gospel to ALL men; be they black, refugees, immigrants, gay, islamic, liberal - all groupings, all races, all creeds. Indeed, all the types of people that cultural, nationalist christianity tells you to rail on and isolate. They do not need to be confronted with how they are ruining your righteous notions of how a nation should be. They are to met with the Love of Christ and the good news of His gospel. That. Is. All.
If your pastor or minister is telling you that you should vote for so-and-so because he/she is the only chosen and anointed one called to do so, ask yourself ( and your pastor if you think you have the courage ) this; "Says WHO? Where in scripture or written on stone tablets does it say so-and-so must lead?". Investigate this assertion - but be warned, you might find an agenda that is about as far removed from your faith as the North Pole is from the south.
Read your Bible and you will find there is no "your country" First. No Making "your country" Great Again. No jingoism, No flags and no great leader to bow the knee to.
Finally, I couldn't put it better than this YouTube character called Sientir;
