Pastors who participate will send recordings of their sermons to the IRS, to challenge the constitutionality of the law, and have opportunity to overturn it in the courts.
I wonder, ‘What has freedom to preach politics got to do with the Great Commission?’ Yes, we should defend our freedom to preach Christ, at whatever cost. But risking government reprisal (and spending our tithes on court costs) so pastors can tell you who to vote for seems terribly misguided. While I am not naïve to the importance of protecting our freedoms in this hostile culture, I have to wonder if this is not a subtle satanic distraction to deter pastors from their true calling.
Greg,
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that we have had fifty-eight years to determine whether or not that the law mentioned in your post was wrong, and that we needed to defy it based upon principles of biblical truth. Why is it all of a sudden so important to the organizers at this juncture?
I get a little quizitive about the timing for this event. We could have pursued this issue during all other presidential terms of office since 1954, whether Democrat or Republican. But the choice was for now during our the end of our current president's first term.
Just sayin'...
Stan
Good thought, Stan. I had not considered the "why now?" of this action. I think it supports my opinion that the Church is moving off-center from its mission, this being just one more example.
ReplyDeleteGreg
Hi Dr. Greg,
ReplyDeleteThanks for bringing this up. I did not know it. And as it turns out, I was preaching for another friend yesterday. But I made no mention of this event.
The church will hit this wall soon enough when it preaches about abortion or the homosexual choice lifestyle. When it preaches on something that is politically favorable like the sin of disregarding the poor, widows, and orphans, the church will not be persecuted. Therein lies the real issue. Preaching the whole gospel (there is one God, there is one savior, there is one path to salvation, there is a responsibility to God that involves our world) is what brings persecution, because there will always be something that is politically not correct. But a preacher should not seek out political incorrectness just to have a fight. A preacher should just preach the whole gospel. If the preacher is true to the word and the whole gospel, the fight will come anyway.
The bible declares that it is with the foolishness of preaching that people are saved. Not political rhetoric. Not railing against the IRS. Not hermeneutic breakdowns of "the force" in star wars. For that foolish preaching to be effective for God, it needs to declare what was of paramount importance. As the apostle Paul noted, it was to declare that Jesus was crucified, buried, risen and seen by witnesses. That is what we are to declare until Jesus comes again. Anything else dishonors the sacred duty of the pulpit and shortchanges God of opportunities that are dearly won by Him and squandered by us.
Thanks for the post.
Godspeed!
Larry Q
Thanks again, Larry. If a preacher just preaches the word (all of it), sooner or later he will come to hard passages, like homosexuality and abortion. He doesn't have to force them out of text! But if he is preaching the word, as he should, then he will never speak in favor of or in opposition to a candidate for public offices. It just will never show up on the menu!
ReplyDeleteGreg