The State of the Union and Lordship of Christ.

To my fellow Christians.

This note is going to be slightly different than most notes i have written previously. For one of the first times ever i am going to address the political situation in the United States. I have been reading and listening to people for the past couple months since our president, Barack Obama took office and though i gave him the benefit of the doubt, i must say that he went way beyond my worst fears in regards to his political ideology in practice, and not just him, but the current regime over our land.
Rapidly now the United States is becoming socialistic, i think we need to go beyond the immature dismissals, naive excuse, and childish denial to admit and acknowledge the politics of our federal government. Nationalized health care (that supports abortion), restriction of Gun rights, cash for clunkers, regulation of the hiring practices of religious institutions, the 'hate crimes' amendment (still pending), stimulus packages, nationalization of GM and much much more. Not to mention that Green is the new RED, environmentalism is becoming the new and greatest excuse for nationalization because of global warming (the false presupposition that mankind can determine his own destiny). I think we can stand back and safely say that the United States is becoming a socialist republic.

So there are some definite questions we all have right now...What is going on here?! What do people think can be done? What are our options? What is the solution? Well that is what i intend to address in this note.

1. WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!

Well, that is not an easy question to answer...the best way to surmise it is the progression of society as it has been infused and influenced by various forms of philosophical ideology. As they have infected the thinking of ignorant people and ignorant people that think they are intelligent, we have seen society change its views and policies on all areas of life starting at the individual moving through the definition of a 'family' to assembly, religion, government etc.

The corrupt roots of this nation have made corrupt fruit, the philosophical ideologies (act utilitarianism, social darwinism, etc) have caused us to depart from the use of God as the source for all practice, including politics....this of course is not necessarily the fault of these systems in and of themselves since they would not have even come into existence if it were not for people who lived in 'hobby Christianity.' "For a long time now Christianity has been a part of peoples lives," that may sound like a decent statement, but it isn't, Christianity should BE peoples lives, not a part, for some reason gnosticism has slipped in the cracks of Christendom and caused people to create a dichotomy between faith and the rest of their lives whereas the reality is that everything flows from and belongs to Christ. This compartmentalization of Christianity has caused the American education system and therefore the American mind to categorize religion, specifically Christianity, as a single aspect of a person's life that is distinct and inconsequential to the other aspects surrounding them. This leads to an atheistic view of science first, then politics and economics via the various ethical theories that flow out of contemporary socio-biology (social darwinism and act utilitarianism are some of the most common conclusions). Hence we have political-economic theories that are devoid of the acknowledgment of Christ's supremacy, kingship, and authority.

Unfortunately our founding fathers did not go far enough to make clear that our nation was a nation under the kingship of Christ, though i do firmly believe they based our nation's system on Scriptural principles, their one 'fatal' mistake was not openly acknowledging Christ's crown rights, and that the Christian worldview is the one in which all things consist and flow from. For the Christian, our worldview's validity is not proved over and against other 'worldviews.' rather the Christian worldview is the only true worldview and is self-validating by the inconsistency and self refuting natures of all other asserted positions that are contrary to biblical Christianity.

Currently our government and our fellow Americans, christian or not, have denied this supremacy of Christ as an assertable fact over all areas of life and practice and therefore have allowed these other inconsistent and false presuppositions room for validity and assertion when they have none, as a consequence we have hyper-liberal radicals that are in obvious contradiction to scripture referring to themselves as 'Christians' as though there were no contradiction, and a political system that has no sound basis for reason, laws, and equality while trying to assert all three. blind and depraved are we, that is where we are at and it is all because of a lack of acknowledgment to the objective truth of Christ.

Our regime is doing things without a basis, and the things in which it is doing are antithetical to Christianity, there is no room for compromise, our rights are not definable without God, so therefore if left to determine our 'rights' the will of sinful man becomes the determination of such things. That is sum is where we at and why our government is over stepping its bounds....it has no basis and does not acknowledge Christ's authority, hence tyranny and anarchy are viable options and nothing can stop them as possibilities.

2. WHAT DO PEOPLE THINK CAN BE DONE? (INCORRECTLY)

There are a lot of competing perspectives right now so i will go through them, as i have seen them.

1. The Republican Savior, false hope:

This next point reminds me of Derek Webb's song: "savior on capitol hill," that in the next election we will have a redeemer from the republican that can totally reverse this whole ordeal. Well we all saw how the last republican ran things (no offense to bush fans) but i would argue that the republican party is part of the problem in that, though many republicans are conservative and right-wing they too hold to many false presuppositions and do not openly acknowledge Christ in their politics. Another problem with this solution is the state of the Republican party as of current, a dwindling party that was devastated by the bush administration and even most conservatives who would vote for lets say Ron Paul, a republican, do not even put 'republican down' for their political info here on face book, rather they put 'libertarian' which even if being more accurate is a testament to how we view the republican party as young conservative Americans. whereas the liberals have no qualms with calling themselves democrats. the last problem with the republican party is that it is inconsistent with politicians ranging from Bush to Paul in one party neither acknowledging indefinitely the utter authority of Christ in politics, so even if they did win, they would not only be able to reverse all of what is being done (including the last 50 years of damage to American politics as caused by false views see my first question), but would only be a temporary solution and minor set back to the progression of the American government into atheistic communism. Only by creating an equal and opposite reaction to atheistic communism will we ever see real change for the benefit of God's people.

2. Political Activism, a futile but honorable endeavor:

Another very common solution i have been seeing is protesting and letter writing, and senator calling by Christians against the current regime and its politics. Though i consider this a noble effort in many respects, i also see it as a too-little too-late matter, if we were a direct democracy i can see more of a value in this, but the fact is that the American people elected REPRESENTATIVES to do this for us, and that representation is mostly democrat and even if they aren't they have little power in and of themselves as does the individual sending them an email. Hence many of these Christian activists will resort to the above republican hope solution once these four dark years come to a close. I would also like to add that most efforts in politics at this point must work from the ground up changing the minds of the people that put these ignorant puppets in office, and who run for office themselves, working top to bottom will not create a lasting change, but only a lasting head ache for those who want change, rather everything must be reconstructed from the ground up for Christ (this is something i will be addressing later in more detail).

3. Submission with Prayer, 1/2 biblical 1/2 apathetic: (CORRECT BY RIGHT REASON AND EXTENT)

another very common Christian attitude is based on a mild and reserved support for Obama (the support caused by a dislike for bush, propaganda, and adult peer pressure, and the reservation from conviction based on a knowledge of obama's politics), or is based upon a relatively passive attitude that is in many ways one that is Biblical (tho it has been grossly distorted), which basically would read as: "to submit to government like it or not." Both persons (the reserved supporter and the passive discontented) are earnestly praying for our new president, as i am as well, and are submitting to his laws and regulations, to this i agree since i too am doing so, but at the same time i also disagree because more often than note this attitude they have is based on defeatism or a misunderstanding of Christ's kingship and the victory of Christianity over all powers of the world. This attitude is fairly apathetic in that is inactive politically, does not openly condemn and strive against the powers that be (not referring to activism or rebellion), and uses a biblical aspect (submission and prayer) to justify its own unbiblical defeatism or wrongful support of Obama. We are to pray for our leaders, pay our taxes, and submit to authority, but not to the point where we do not condemn this sinful regime, willingly submit to laws and teachings anti-thetical to Christ, and not strive to make things change. Yes we are to pray and submit, but not for the wrong reasons and to the wrong extent. Our submission is one in which we reveal to others the power of Christ in us and our trust in His justice, and our prayer is that the government will see this and will also also change to honor God's law and punish wrongdoing and uphold righteousness. This is part of the means for Christian citizens, not the end....keep in mind this is a means and not the end, now is a time we rejoice in our suffering b/c we are in Christ, we submit and pray for change and actively strive to accomplish it.

4. Shoot Obama- i think the mental retardation behind this as a solution is apparent so i will NOT be going into more detail about this anytime soon.


3. WHAT ARE OUR OPTIONS?

I have just revealed three options that i honestly feel are in and of themselves misguided, i am now doing two different, more positive ones, This first one is one which i feel can be good or bad, the last will be a definite good.

1. Succession from the Union?

Lately in history three states, to my knowledge, have declared sovereignty (Texas, Tennessee, and Oklahoma), they have done so, and for good reason, because the current federal regime is usurping its authority over both state governments and the American constitution. In declaring sovereignty these states have made clear they are not obligated to obey such directives that flow from such unamerican thinking. Sure, this is not succession or a civil war just yet, but its the start in that direction. The reason i agree with these declarations is one that is more philosophical than anything. We as Americans acknowledge certain states rights and the authority of the constitution; therefore, any entity that denies and usurps such is not recognized by the same and therefore is not in the authority and outside of 'America.' In this, the states are not required to obey any regime that is not recognized as the American government. In this sense i can agree as an American in succession from the union; however, i am skeptical that this goes far enough, on what basis can the U.S government be defined by these principles laid out in the constitution if they are the writings of mere men and not the inspiration of God? what would constitutional loyalty profit us in preventing this very same thing from happening again? Is such a rebellion even Godly? Not to mention do the states (referring to the south since they seem to be the ones declaring sovereignty) have the power, resources, and (ehem) balls to succeed and declare war? Though i would more than likely join a succeeding America than stick with one that will restrict the preaching of churches, independence of private business, and home defense, I am at the same time skeptical and realistic about the concept and possibility of succession as an absolute option.

2. Reconstruction, slow and steady wins the race...

Christian Reconstruction is in reality the only decent option left, one in which the Gospel of Christ changes the hearts and minds of people and therefore the politics of an entire nation, this has been the way Christianity has succeeded in bringing nations into subjection to Christ before, but preaching the gospel and unifying the Church is a goal nearly all Christians already, and has been for awhile, so why aren't we seeing progress here in the U.S and abroad? are things getting worse and worse heading for a rapture? I think not...i will now proceed to the solution of the problem as i see it...

4. WHAT IS THE SOLUTION?

The solution is the not simply 'preach the gospel,' but acknowledge the power of the Gospel, and the Lordship of Christ in all areas of life and practice. The Lord Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the OT prophecies and of the types and shadows of the old covenant administration. We Christians, those of faith, are the heirs of all the blessings promised to Abraham (Gal 3). all things in this world belong to Him and in all areas of life we are to acknowledge and glorify Him (Col 1, 1 Cor 10). This was the issue i mentioned at the beginning of the note, we as Christians if not making the truth of God EVERYTHING in our lives and applied in everything in our lives, than we have missed the point of the Gospel, the freedom of the gospel, and the authoritative power of God over every aspect of the world and therefore our lives. We were utterly depraved and dead in our sins, but God through Jesus Christ became the final and true sacrifice for Sin, His body the temple was destroyed and rebuilt in three days offered by Himself as a perfect offering to the Father, then He rose again on the third the victorious King in fulfillment of the covenant made to David (Heb 7, Mat 27, Heb 10, Joh 2, Acts 2, 1 Cor 5).

The Solution is not the reconstruction, but that we understand the truth behind the reconstruction, the truth behind the Gospel of Christ and assert it as absolute and practice it as though it were so. The truth about His crown rights are so, and in this we have hope and confidence:

"Act 2:25 For David says concerning him, "'I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken;
Act 2:26 therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope.
Act 2:27 For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption.
Act 2:28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.'
Act 2:29 "Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.
Act 2:30 Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne,
Act 2:31 he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption.
Act 2:32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses.
Act 2:33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.
Act 2:34 For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, "'The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand,
Act 2:35 until I make your enemies your footstool.'
Act 2:36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified."

This Jesus Christ, is the risen King, the ascended Lord who has all authority and power given unto Him (Heb 1,1 Cor 15, Rev 11). By this total authority and by this total authority alone can we preach the Gospel of Christ, knowing that He has authority and dominion over all things.

Act 2:37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"

The beauty of application from the theology, and people wonder why men such as myself care so much about the truth of Christ in eschatology? ;-)

"Act 2:38 And Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Act 2:39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself."

God's will and purpose of Salvation is definite to those predestined from before the foundations of the world (Mat 1, Eph 1, Rom 8 and 9), for them and them alone is salvation possible through Jesus Christ made manifest by faith and good works and marked out by baptism the seal of this great covenant we have in Christ (Col 2, Rom 6, Gal 3) a people of God set apart without boundaries or ethic ties, Husbands and Wives reflecting this work as it was imparted to them (Eph 5) and raising their children in the admonition of the Lord (Prov 22, Eph 6) to whom the promise applies as marked in baptism (Acts 2, Gen 17).

In this we are God's people saved by Grace through faith in Christ alone according to scripture alone to the glory of God alone. the solution is acknowledging this, something the people of God have long forgotten, its not just preaching the gospel, but preaching the gospel with authority and living by it....Fundamentalists and right wing politicians who are 'conservative' and yet antinomian, denying the power of Christ's kingdom NOW have it dead wrong, my fellow presbyterian brothers who limit Christ's kingship and the authority of God to the church and subjectivity have it dead wrong. Brothers and sisters in Christ, hear me! all things from math, to science, to grammar, to the worship service, to the gospel presentation, to roles in marriage, raising children, the sacraments, and political ethics belong to God and His son the King, Jesus Christ!

If we acknowledge this and unify around this than we will have a foundation in which to preach the Gospel and cause a change in this darkened land. No this is not 'take back america' because we never had America, we never acknowledged the crown rights of Christ here, but we shall for our hope is in the subjection of all things to whom they belong, Christ.

In this I ask for you all to assert these things, and preach the gospel and reconstruct this nation from the ground up based on such assertions. We must delight in God's laws in every area of our life and application, unify the Church around such, and make them the standard so our government will honor the will of God and be the sword of His wrath against evil doers by implementing His laws as prescribed in Scripture which are the only standards of righteousness. (Ps 1, Rom 13). We must remember the abiding validity of God's law in all areas of life, even politics, and that that law alone is the standard of justice that will prevent tyranny and evil like what we see now in our current regime. Remember that only by asserting the objective reality of Christ can such things be accomplished. So i leave you with a reminder of His law and the hope we have in Him.

"Mat 5:17 "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
Mat 5:18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.
Mat 5:19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven."

"Eph 2:4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,
Eph 2:5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved--
Eph 2:6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
Eph 2:7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
Eph 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
Eph 2:9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Eph 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Eph 2:11 Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called "the uncircumcision" by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands--
Eph 2:12 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
Eph 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
Eph 2:14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility"

The Great Commission WILL be completed and will be successful, let us work towards it brothers and sisters:

"Mat 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come."

"Hab 2:14 For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea."

I am now going to reemphasize my main point:

"If we acknowledge this and unify around this than we will have a foundation in which to preach the Gospel and cause a change in this darkened land. No this is not 'take back America' because we never had America, we never acknowledged the crown rights of Christ here, but we shall for our hope is in the subjection of all things to whom they belong, Christ."

To Christ be the Honor and Glory.

- Shaggy Johnson 08/02/09