Today on Summit Life with J.D.
Greer. The gospel has political implications. God has called his people to be salt and light in all spheres of society and to bring his shalom, that word means peace, into every dimension. The earth is the Lord's and all the fullness thereof.
The sea is his for he made it and his hands form the dry land. There is not one square inch of the entire cosmos over which Jesus does not emphatically declare mine. Welcome to Summit Life, the Bible teaching ministry of Pastor J.D.
Greer. I'm your host, Molly Vitovich. Today we're continuing our brand new teaching series called Flags and Pastor J.D. explores several myths that are common in our approach to politics, both outside and inside the church. By focusing instead on Jesus's revolutionary claim to Pilate in John 18, we'll see that Jesus's kingdom puts every other earthly kingdom and political party into stark perspective. It's a picture that can transform cynicism and despair into hope and urgency.
Anyone need a dose of that in our current political climate? Thankfully, God's word can bring it. So grab your Bible and a notebook and we'll start in John chapter 18. We are in a series called Flags and in this series, I'm trying to persuade you to rally behind a different flag this November. In ancient Israel, the Israelites called God.
I explained this last weekend. They called God Jehovah-Nissi, which translates literally as the Lord is my flag. The Lord is the banner that I march behind. As Christians, we live as strangers and exiles in this country, which means that we belong to it. That means that we participate in things like politics and in things like business. It is our home in one sense, as we often say, good politics is simply a way of loving your neighbor. But the primary flag that we are to rally behind is not Republican or Democrat or libertarian or green party or constitution party or independent or anything else.
We might think that certain candidates or even certain party, a certain political party does a better job in certain situations, but ultimately we are not the party of the donkey or the elephant. We are the people of the lamb. John 18, if you got your Bible and I hope that you brought your Bible, I want to show you another place in scripture where Jesus taught this. Leading up to Jesus's trial and crucifixion, when the soldiers came to take Jesus prisoner in the garden of Gethsemane, the apostle Peter pulls out his sword and he tries to take off one of the soldier's heads. Now, thankfully he missed, though he ended up slicing off that soldier's ear and it falls to the ground. And then in what is perhaps one of my favorite moments in the life of Jesus, Jesus very patiently reaches down, he picks up the guy's ear out of the dirt and he reattaches it to the soldier's head. By the way, you have to wonder what that experience is like for that soldier, right? I mean, you come there to arrest this guy, but he just picked up your bloody ear off of the ground and reattached it.
I don't know about you, but I feel like that would make me lose some of my motivation for arresting him and pulling him into trial. Jesus then turns to Peter and I'm going to read for just a moment in the book of Matthew. I'll catch up to you in the book of John in just a minute. Peter, he looks at Peter and he says, Peter, put your sword back in its place because all who take up the sword are going to perish by the sword. Or Peter, do you think that I cannot call on my father? You really feel like I need your sword.
You feel like I just couldn't call on God right now and he would provide me here and now with more than 12 legions of angels. This kingdom that I am bringing, Peter, it doesn't depend on you bringing it in by force, nor is this kingdom going to be sustained by your sword. Later that night, Jesus is going to stand before Pilate, who is the Roman governor in charge, and Pilate is going to ask him directly, are you the king of the Jews?
He's speaking, of course, politically, to which Jesus responds, now John 18, verse 30, go to verse 36. My kingdom is not of this world, he said. If my kingdom were actually of this world, my servants would fight. But as it is, my kingdom is not even from here. The savior that we hope in, the savior that we adore, the savior to whom we pledge our first allegiance, did not bring a kingdom that would operate by the same rules as earthly kingdoms do.
And that means that political weaponry and military weaponry would be of little value in sustaining or advancing this kingdom. So using those two stories, let me address four myths that Americans believe about politics. These are myths, I will tell you, that are believed as much inside the church as they are outside the church. And they're myths that make seasons like the one that we're in and are about to go through, they make them feel very dark and very hopeless. For most of us, what we're feeling going into this season is anxiety, cynicism, despair, am I right?
That's what most people feel, what some of us feel going into this. I'm gonna tell you it's because we believe these four myths. Myth number one that I'm gonna give to you. Myth number one is that politics are of first importance. Now by the way, these things are so ingrained into us, I'm actually gonna have you say each one of them, we're gonna say them together.
So in this first one, here's what I want. I want all the men, I want you guys to say the myth and then all the ladies, I want you to just correct them by saying that's a myth. So all the guys, you ready? We're gonna read the myth and then all the ladies, you're gonna come right after it and you're gonna say that's a myth.
You ready guys? We're gonna read the myth. All right, read the myth. Politics is of first importance. There you go. Okay, they told him.
Let me explain why they said that. All right, this is a little bit of a repeat from last week, so I'm gonna be brief on this one, but I do wanna cover it again because this really is the crux of what Jesus is saying. Politics are important, but they are not issues of first importance. And that is because the solutions that we need, the human race needed, were not primarily political solutions, they were heart solutions. Thus, Jesus did not come first offering politics, he came first preaching heart change. I hope you realize that that approach was unique among all the religious leaders that had come before him or the ones that came after him. Moses' ministry, for example, had a political dimension to it. We've got the Torah, the first five books of your Old Testament and its meticulous social and legal codes. Mohammed, who founded Islam, his leadership was almost entirely, it was primarily political. He rode in on a white horse and he conquered cities and he left laws.
I'm reading a book right now on Confucius and Buddha and even their religious forms were largely political. Jesus was one of the only religious leaders who avoided that. We saw last week that when Jesus was presented with particular social justice questions, he responded to one of them by saying, man, who appointed me as a judge or arbiter over you?
Did he say that I asked you because he was incapable of giving an opinion? No, I mean, certainly he was capable, he was the son of God, he was wiser than any of us. He just knew that his task was different.
God had not appointed him, the father had not appointed him to play that role. His role was to preach the gospel to people on both sides of that issue. As further evidence of that, I pointed out that there were all kinds of social and political reforms that were needed in the first century world. In fact, arguably, there were more needed in their world than we have in ours, as many as ours needs. Yet you do not see the apostles prescribing political solutions to really any of them.
And it's not because they weren't smart enough to think of answers. I don't know about you, but I for one would have loved, I would love to read a letter from the apostle Paul outlining his planned reforms for the Roman Empire. Paul was certainly capable of that kind of analysis, but in an act of incredible self-discipline, Paul chose not to wade into those waters so that he could preach the gospel to all. Of course, and this is very, very important, the gospel that Jesus and the apostles preached, that gospel would plant the seeds that would ultimately lead to all of these societal reforms, believing the gospel almost always has political ramifications. But the point was that the church as an organization, we said, and the apostles as its representatives, they kept itself focused on preaching the gospel and proclaiming those things that Jesus explicitly commanded, where you could have a verse and a direct line to the application. We talked about the difference last weekend of the church, difference between the church's organization and the church's organism. As an organism, that's what most of you are a part of the church, as the organism, you infiltrate every dimension of society. And whatever dimension of society you go into, you take God's wisdom and his shalom into that dimension, that's politics. As an organization, however, the church as organization limits its platform, focusing on proclaiming the gospel and making disciples.
The two roles are complementary, but they are not identical. And because of that, Jesus had a way of bringing into close community people from different political persuasions and uniting them in a more pressing cause. We've talked before about Simon the Zealot and Matthew the tax collector. When Matthew lists out the 12 disciples and he puts their names, he attached those two descriptions to him, I'm a tax collector, and then he attached Zealot to Simon.
And that shows you a couple of things. Number one, they were divided on what to do with what was arguably the most pressing political question of the day, and that is what to do about Roman occupation. On one side, the tax collectors, they felt like, well, for the time they're the God appointed authority, and we just ought to cooperate with them. And the Zealots were like, nope, they're a bunch of imperialists who stole our land, they're thieves and rapists, and we ought to get swords out and we ought to fight them.
Right? So it tells you that they were divided on that. It tells you, secondly, this was a really important part of who they were, a major part of who they were, because you would choose that to identify. So and so the Republican, so and so the Democrat, that's just who they were. Both of them brought their perspective onto the team. And I am sure they had some really incendiary discussions around the campfire.
Right? In fact, my feeling is Jesus probably made them room together whenever they, you know, would go off. And I'm sure when Jesus gave out room assignments, Simon was like, you gotta be kidding me, not that pink-hearted commie Matthew. And Matthew was like, no, not that MAGA hat-wearing knuckle-dragging Neanderthal Simon. And you'd pass by their tent late at night and they'd have their fingers up in each other's faces and they'd be going at it. But here's the point. The unity they found in Jesus superseded that difference.
And they would end up loving each other enough to die for each other. And the cause that they rallied behind superseded those agendas. Jesus would not let tax collector politics or zealot politics define his group of disciples. Their mission was more essential.
The gospel flag flew higher. As a pastor, as a pastor who works in the church as organization, I do not talk about many of my political views. And that is not because I do not have them.
And it's not because I don't think they are very, very good ones. It's that my calling is different. And I know that if I discuss these things from the pulpit, I know that what I say will be interpreted as representing the authority of this church. Even if I give all kinds of disclaimers about these being only my own personal views.
And what would happen is that the summit church would get identified by my politics and that would keep me from being able to preach the gospel to all of the people in the triangle. Which is neither red nor blue, it's kind of purple. Like I've told you, there are some things we got to be clear about. So I want to make sure I'm saying that.
The wrongness of discrimination, the wickedness of injustice, the wickedness of abortion. But I've told you I might be wrong in some of my dotted line opinions about the example I used last week was the war in Iraq. I might be wrong on my perspective on global warming.
I might be wrong in my opinion on nationalized healthcare. But friend, I am not wrong about the gospel. And I do not want to let my opinions on any of these former things keep people from hearing me on the ladder. You're listening to some important and timely teaching here on Summit Life with Pastor J.D.
Greer. Before we move on, I wanted to take a second to shout out a very special group of people, our gospel partners. This is a team that is fully on board with the mission of Summit Life and gives generously each and every month. It's not an exaggeration to say that they are the financial fuel behind everything we do, including broadcasting this program every weekday on your radio station. We call them gospel partners because that's exactly what they do. They are actually partnering with us to help make the gospel known around the globe. This month, we are sending each of our faithful givers a copy of Exalting Jesus in First and Second Samuel, which is a commentary co-written by Pastor J.D. If Summit Life has become a trusted resource of spiritual nourishment for you, would you consider partnering with us today to give a one time gift or to join us as a monthly gospel partner, as well as get your copy of Exalting Jesus in First and Second Samuel? Call us right away.
The number is 866-335-5220, or you can visit us online at jdgreer.com. Now let's get back to today's teaching. Once again, here's Pastor J.D. So the first myth is that politics are of first importance. Friend, not only has our nation as a whole bought into this myth, the church has bought into it too, and that's shown by the fact that functionally we care more about how our neighbor votes than where they spend eternity.
How do I know that? Because y'all, I get more angry emails about politics from both sides than all other issues put together. I wish I get a good angry email about how we ought to double our missionary force. I mean, just write, just use curse words.
It doesn't bother me. Just go ahead and tell me why we're not doing a good job. I wish I get angry emails about why we need to plant more churches or raise up more volunteers to help care for single moms or protect the unborn or recruit more mentors for the prison ministry.
But sadly, most angry emails I get are about me not saying enough or the right things about the race in November or they think I ought to talk about this issue more, that issue less. Let me ask you to consider, when you walk by your neighbor's house and they've got that annoying sign in that yard, promoting the wrong candidate, is your first instinct, how could they be so dumb? They look like nice people. They look like they can put words together and make a sentence.
What's wrong with them? And thinking about how you might possibly slip into their yard at night and destroy the sile without them knowing. Is that your first thought or is your first thought, I wonder if they know Jesus and praying for them. Listen, most of us can't be close to somebody who doesn't share our political views. I know that because I saw a study that showed that almost 70% of Americans say they don't have any close friends.
No close friends who vote differently from them. And that is because for us politics are of first importance. That's the first myth. All right, so here's the second myth.
Politics are of no importance. All right, this time ladies, I want you to say the myth and gentlemen, you get to correct them, okay? Only time that you can actually do this, okay? And wives, I need you to give a little indulgence to your husband, just let him do it just as once, okay? Ladies, you say the myth, say it. Politics are of no importance. Not as confident this time, right?
You men have been down this road before, all right? Yeah, in reaction to the first myth, some Christians just avoid politics altogether, but that's not right either because like I said, good politics is a way of loving our neighbor. The gospel has political implications. God has called his people to be salt and light in all spheres of society and to bring his shalom, that word means peace, into every dimension. The earth is the Lord's and all the fullness thereof.
The sea is his for he made it and his hands form the dry land. There is not one square inch of the entire cosmos over which Jesus does not emphatically declare mine. Christians as members of the church's organism, that means they seek to apply the Christian worldview into all the spheres of society. That applies, by the way, to more than just advocating for the sanctity of life and marriage, as important as those things are. In fact, I think you can make a pretty compelling argument that the greatest social benefits the Christian worldview has bestowed on the world are its teaching for the respect for individual liberty, freedom of conscience, the dignity and equality of all people, the importance of the rule of law, the insistence that all people ought to be equal before the law, teaching the inherently corrupting power of authority and thus the need for checks and balances.
Those things were largely unheard of before Christians and in some cases Jews introduced them. There's a fascinating book called The Poverty of Nations. It's co-written by a Christian economist and a Christian theologian that demonstrates that certain kinds of governments create poverty because they come from a flawed view of man.
To understand how economies thrive, they demonstrate with good evidence and facts, you've got to understand how God made people and they show that the governments that operate according to a biblical view of man end up seeing the greatest economic flourishing. So we realize that these things always have implications and that's what you do. The freedoms that we have today came from Christians who got involved in politics. So we cannot sit idly by and say politics just don't matter. They do. We need to urge people, you, to apply God's wisdom to all of creation, business, economics, care for the poor, education. So our second myth is that politics are of no importance.
They are. That's why 1 Timothy 2 tells us, pray for kings and all who are in high positions that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life. Pray for them. By the way, it stands to reason, doesn't it, that if Paul commanded us to pray, then we who have experienced an answer to that prayer, which is we are able to worship freely, that we ought to advocate for the preservation of those rights. That's why you see Paul, by the way, use any any chance he gets before a Roman governor. Almost one of the things he always says, Jesus saves and you should let us be free to preach. Go back and look at it. Act 16 is 21, 22, 23, 24, and 26.
You'll see him doing that in all those chapters. It was a major thing. Jeremiah 29 7 tells us, he says, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I've carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for that city because if it prospers, you too are going to prosper. By the way, that city was Babylon, the epitome of evil. He's like, you live in Babylon, right? So the wrong guys in the White House. The movies they're making are bad, but you need to seek the prosperity of Babylon. And that means working for justice, advocating for equality under the law, helping promote good education and business, security, defense, many other things.
All right, seek the peace of the city and that's getting involved in politics. So myth number one is that politics are a first importance. Myth number two is a picture of no importance. Myth number three is I see everything clearly.
Okay, now here's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna say the myth and this time you get to correct me. Okay, so I'll say it, then you say that's a myth, right? All right, so I see everything clearly.
Now why are y'all so confident talking to me, but then to each other, you're like, all right, so here's my feelings. In the garden, Jesus said to Peter, those who live by the sword will die by the sword. Those who live by the sword will die by the sword. The sword has a role in society. The Bible says so, Romans 13, but the point is its use is limited and it will fail you eventually. Sword here would not just be limited to military power. Sword here, if you understand what Jesus is saying, is going to mean any earthly weaponry. The sword of our intellect, the sword of rhetoric, the sword of our political perspective is limited and so ultimately it will fail us.
Those who prosper by it will die by it. I am humbled when I realize where some of the greatest Christians have gotten politics wrong. Several great British pastors that I quote were wrong on the justice and helpfulness of British imperialism throughout the world. Billy Graham, right, dear Billy Graham, went on record late in the Vietnam War endorsing both the Vietnam War and the trustworthiness of Richard Nixon. A Southern Baptist leader whose name you may not know, his name was W.A.
Criswell. He was kind of a godfather of what they call the conservative resurgence, coming back to good theology in the Southern Baptist Convention. He failed not only to support the cause of civil rights in the 1960s, he opposed it.
He said it was all Marxist in origin. He would later, by the way, go on record saying, I have never been so wrong in my entire life. I've told you policy always looks so clear to us in the moment and it's okay. It's okay if we get stuff wrong. Sometimes we're human. But the point is we have no business tying the credibility of the church to things that we are neither called nor competent to adjudicate.
Last week, I told you how a committee that I was a part of representing a bunch of churches was how we got the helpfulness of the Iraq War wrong. Again, I want to tell you it's okay that we get things wrong. We see through a glass darkly.
We're limited. The sword of our intellect, our perspective is going to get stuff wrong. But the point is as a pastor or as a church, I should not tie the church's reputation or the integrity of our message to an opinion.
I am neither called nor competent from my vantage point to administer. Politics are not supposed to be of first importance in the life of a Christian, but they're not supposed to be of no importance either. Thankfully, the gospel helps us prioritize things properly and Pastor JD's teaching today helps us see how. If you missed any part of today's teaching, just head to jdgrier.com and you can catch up free of charge. Pastor JD, we've been sharing about your commentary for the past couple of weeks.
It's our gift to our supporters right now. And you know, some books are designed to be read in an evening or at least cover to cover over a few settings. Our featured resource this month, however, is not like that, right?
Yeah, yeah, that's right. I mean, it's technically a commentary. Think of it as a reference book. Now, I will say, I think it's readable. You know, the same kind of the same kind of way that you hear us teach on Summit Life is the way this book is written. I've used commentaries like this one as a part of my quiet time.
Sometimes I really want to press into a book. And so I think you could find it that way. But if you're teaching in any way, whether it's just teaching your kids or doing Bible study or something, it's a great resource to have to say, how can I make sure I get this passage right and tie it into the larger theme? Earlier, you and I were talking, Molly, about how much you like to use resources, whether it's the Bible project or Bible recap, that would help you kind of set the story in the hole.
That's what this commentary does. So anyway, we'd love to be able to give you a copy of this. It goes along with the life of David. It'll show you some of the some of the stuff you can't cover in a message.
It'll help you go deeper. You can reserve your copy today at JD Greer dot com. Thanks, JD. We're excited to send you this resource called Exalting Jesus in First and Second Samuel. It's a fantastic gospel centered commentary written by Heath Thomas and our own Pastor JD Greer.
And we know it'll be a fantastic resource as you study these incredibly gospel rich books of the Bible. We'd love to send you a copy with your gift of thirty five dollars or more to this ministry to give. Call us now at eight six six three three five fifty two twenty.
That's eight six six three three five fifty two twenty. Or you can give online at JD Greer dot com. I'm Molly Vitovich, and I hope you'll join us tomorrow as we wrap up our short teaching series called Flags. Don't miss it Friday on Summit Life with JD Greer. Today's program was produced and sponsored by JD Greer Ministries.
