Thoughts About Jesus and Politics

I am sorry everyone for a disappearance from the blogsphere, this summer has been one of the greatest but also time consuming that I have ever experienced. This week I have been getting back into the swing of things with school starting but most sad of all my beloved laptop, Emily has been not behaving in a way that provokes me to love and good deeds. Apologizes aside, here’s some thoughts to think about as we go about this glorious three day weekend.


This week I have been closely watching the DNC convention that has been taking place in Denver, mostly because the Olympics are over and there is nothing else exciting on television. I’ve noticed that there has been an increase this year not only in this polical party but in many political parties they are trying to reach-out to religious voters. At the outset this might not seem like such a bad idea but my problem lies with the way they are going about it. Many political parties speak about Jesus and His life, but I think that both political parties have missed the point of who Jesus is. We read in the book of james that even the demons know God is one and in the book of Acts, when some men tried to use the name of Jesus to exorcises demons, but it didn’t work.


The point of all of this is that I think if we do not get Jesus right, we completely miss the point of biblical Christianity. Think about it, if Jesus did not come to be the sacrifice for sinners, we would still have to work to achieve our salvation. Even the name of our religion comes from Him, so mess with the founder of our religion and creates him to be something he is or is not can be very dangerous. I think it is disappointing when many people who profess they are Christians but when it comes to describing the work of Jesus, they are misguided. Jesus’ works or miracles cannot take place on a higher field than His work of dying on the cross for our sins. This is why he came, was to satisfy his father’s plan, which was to bring sinners to his side and call them children of God.


I think it can be truly hazardous to our faith if we only look at the good deeds of Christ and say that is who Jesus is. Christ didn’t just come to heal the sick, feed the poor and walk on water, He was the promised one to crush the serpent’s head and become the suffering servant. His work is to be the righteousness of the unrighteous, his gift is both for the republican and the democrat, the happy and the sad, all who call on the name of Christ will be saved, not just the ones in low estate but the ones who appear that life is all together. Please understand I think we are to live our lives in accordance to what we read in scriptures but I don't think Christ should be used as a savior for either political party or even us as Americans. Christ came and died and rose again for His children, which are scattered all across the US but also around the world.


I think the following quote is something that we as Christians need to remind ourselves of but also when we are talking about Christ to others as well:


“Jesus shocked the established authorities by being a friend to all—not only to the destitute and hungry, but also to those rich extortioners, the tax-collectors, whom all decent people ostracized … The shocking thing was not that he sided with the poor against the rich but that he met everyone equally with the same unlimited mercy and the same unconditioned demand for total loyalty.

If we look at the end of his earthly ministry, at the cross, it is clear that Jesus was rejected by all—rich and poor, rulers and people—alike. Before the cross of Jesus there are no innocent parties. The cross is not for some and against others. It is the place where all are guilty and all are forgiven.”

—Lesslie Newbigin, The Gospel in a Pluralist Society (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1989), 151