This is a favorite verse for many who espouse trying to affect Christian change in a secular culture but as always, context is paramount. And the following verse summarizes what Jesus is saying here:
In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. Matthew 5: 16 (NLT)
Our witness to the world begins with our lives and how we lead them. We are supposed to be a shining light on a hill not so people will see us, but rather that they will see Christ in us. There are too many talking Christians and not enough walking Christians. You see, when you read the Gospels, you will see Jesus teaching us how to live our lives as His followers; not how to tell other people to live their lives. Paul correctly summarizes for us what the message has to be about:
When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power. 1Corinthians 2: 1-5
The Apostle Paul was a Pharisee of the Pharisees. He was a
well educated man who possessed great wisdom and knowledge of the religiosity
of his time. He correctly recognized however that human wisdom does not bring
anyone to the foot of the cross. He recognized that human wisdom cannot support
faith only the power of God can. In all of my human wisdom I once offered the
notion to my pastor that there were some sermons that were "salvation-based"
and others dealing with spiritual maturity. From a human standpoint, that is
filled with the wisdom of man. It is logical and practical. But he looked at me
and said if any sermon cannot be brought back to
Then should we vote at all? Absolutely. We live in a country where we have been blessed with a freedom not everyone in this world has. It is a blessing from God to be able to voice our concerns for this nation through our privilege to vote. It is not something that should be taken lightly. Should it be something that is taken in the context of what we believe? Absolutely again. We should be concerned with the positions candidates take on every issue, not just a select handful. We should be equally concerned about their character when we vote. The pitfall we often fall into however is in confusing the absolute truth of God's Word with any given candidate or political party. There are no righteous candidates:
What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one." "Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit." The poison of vipers is on their lips." "Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness." "Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know." "There is no fear of God before their eyes." Romans 3: 9-18
This includes us beloved. None are righteous, not even one. The only righteousness we have is through the blood of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, sometimes things like elections can be so polarizing that we lose sight of these facts given to us in the Word of God. We can begin to think that somehow our vote is needed to help God and His purposes. Paul teaches otherwise:
