THOUGHTS ON A THEOLOGY OF CIVIL GOVERNMENT

As I have watched various speeches that Donald Trump has made on domestic policy, it has occurred to me that he has a coherent underlying view of what the responsibility of civil government should be toward the citizens it serves.

We see a hint of the biblical view of civil government in I Timothy 2:1-4: “First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

This passage prescribes that Christians pray for all people, including government leaders. It also confirms that civil government exists to insure as much as possible a peaceful & safe environment in which the people can live, work, & be involved in their communities in positive ways. For Christians, this is the kind of environment where they can bear faithful witness to Christ & offer their neighbors the opportunity to know Him.

When Mr. Trump talks about safe communities where people can go to the store without wondering if they will be shot, he is echoing this biblical view. When he talks about revitalizing & bringing productive employment back to our inner cities, more of the same. When he mentions righting the wrong of illegal aliens stealing the work opportunities of minorities, he is advocating another aspect of the same principle that should guide how civil government functions on behalf of the citizens.

He often says, “What do you have to lose?” We cannot lose, if we embrace biblical values when we go into the poll booth.

MAKING DISCIPLES & DEVELOPING SPIRITUAL LEADERS

One of the things that spiritual leaders get confused about (or, maybe not even confused if we don’t consciously think about it) is the difference between making disciples & developing those disciples as spiritual leaders.

It’s really important to know what our job is as pastors & spiritual leaders. What is it? We could use Ephesians 4:11-13 as a basic description: “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.”

Notice in the Book of Acts how Paul worked with Timothy:

·       When Paul met Timothy, he was a young disciple, whose character & faithfulness were already recognized by those who knew him (16:2)

·       Paul recognized this, & wanted to bring him along (16:3-4)

·       Paul apparently trained him, & left him with Silas to continue the work (17:14-15)

It’s not totally clear, but it my understanding is that Timothy’s mother & grandmother raised him to know the Lord & discipled him in the faith (II Timothy 1:5; 3:14-15). Paul then selected him & trained him for ministry.

From this we learn something very important about our work as pastors & spiritual leaders: Making disciples & developing workers or spiritual leaders are not technically the same thing.

Here are a few observations about these 2 things & how we need to understand the relationship between them:

The ultimate task of the Church is to fulfill the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-18; Luke 24:46-49)

·       If I work hard as a spiritual leader to evangelize & make disciples, I will win some people to Christ & make some disciples

·       If I train & develop others to do these things, many more will be won & discipled

·       If their disciples can be empowered to do ministry, the Great Commission will be fulfilled much more effectively

What are the practical differences between making disciples & developing leaders?

·       Discipling:

o   Primarily about helping people be conformed to Christ’s image

o   Looks for the same general result in all disciples

·       Developing workers:

o   Primarily about equipping, training, empowering people to do ministry tasks effectively

o   Looks for the specific tasks that God has created them to do

o   May change over time as people become more aware of God’s plan for them

How are these 2 things related?

·       We make disciples so that we can develop them as spiritual leaders

o   Discipleship without development = lack of effectiveness, problems in the congregation

o   Development without discipleship = legalism, activity but no spiritual power

·       This is why the Bible has requirements for spiritual leaders in the local church (I Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9)

·       It is true that both of these things can happen simultaneously

THE UNTOLD STORY OF EPHESIANS 2:8-9

It seems like one of the verses that I hear most often is Ephesians 2:8-9.

In much of the world, a major problem in Christianity is what I call the “I-prayed-a-prayer-to-accept-Jesus-so-now-I’m-OK” style of being a believer. One of the many sad results of this way of thinking about conversion is that it all starts & ends with the “Sinner’s Prayer.” Once that’s marked off the checklist, the “new believer” is free to go on his merry way. Maybe you know a few “Christians” like that.

It’s vital to be aware of what the verse immediately following, because it shows that our salvation experience is only the beginning of a new life which has been designed by God from eternity past.

This has meaning for me personally, because when I began to follow Christ at the age of 18, I had no idea that I would be involved a few decades later in mentoring pastors on the other side of the world. It’s true that God’s plan for us is beyond our wildest dreams.

Another aspect of this is the consideration that the Book of Ephesians wasn’t written to an individual – it was written to a congregation.

There are common rather than just individual considerations to think about here. God’s plan for the believer involves being part of the community of believers. It is in those relationships, during the hard times & the good times, that we grow spiritual & experience the grace of God. As we serve one another, we participate in the fulfillment of God’s eternal plan.

Believer, make sure that your story of Ephesians 2:10 gets told. Others need you & are depending on you.