The year is 30 AD, the place - Jerusalem and Judea. The problem - the nation was faltering, backsliding, failing. The solution, in many minds - Jesus, a conquering Messiah. If we could just get Jesus in charge of Israel, overthrow Rome, than everything would change. If He would take over political power than Israel would return to the way it was under King David...large and in charge.
But, the question that needs to be asked today, as it was at the time of Jesus Christ, is: was Christianity meant to be used as a political force? Did Jesus come to take over politically and force faith in Him on every subject of the empire or did He come as a servant, speaking the truth, loving others and placing the power struggles in God's hands?
Does Christianity flourish when it is the law of the land or does it flourish when it is spread, one humble servant to the next, in love, humility and sacrifice?
One example from history is the Roman Empire. Christianity, once a persecuted religion under men like Nero, became the official religion of Rome. Yet, during that transition, the Christian faith was altered. “The political triumph of what eventually came to be known as Christianity was in fact a mixed blessing...(because) when Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire it became ill-equipped by its very form to complete the Great Commission among any populace that was anti-Roman,” (Ralph D. Winter).
The people of other nations saw Christianity as strictly a Roman religion and thus, whatever wrong things the Roman government did, in the minds of the other nations, it was Christianity that was doing the wrong. This same unfortunate truth can be seen throughout history with the Muslim view of Christianity due to the Crusades, the Indian view due to England's colonization of India, the Eastern European countries and the way they view Christianity due to Russia's Orthodox church, etc.
When Christianity takes on political power and might, it often times becomes corrupt and power hungry (as seen in the Catholic Church during the Middle Ages and some Western churches today). Our human nature wants to make our religion supreme and in charge. We want power and authority, but of a worldly kind. This is what the Jews were looking for when Jesus arrived. When He did not provide this, many of them rejected Him.
The sad truth is that when Christianity becomes the main religion of the masses, officially recognized by the government, and the persecution stops, often times so does the fervor of outreach. When it becomes easy to be a Christian, it also becomes easy to be content in this world. When we are content in this world, we are not seeking after the Lord and anticipating His arrival as we should. When this happens, the fervor for the Great Commission seems to dwindle. Difficulty draws us closer to the Lord and thus His heart for the nations. Ease in life makes us complacent and content with the status quo.
It may be for this reason that Jesus never sought political power and authority for Himself on earth. He did not want faith in Him to be linked to the Jewish or Roman authorities. God is not linked to any one government or people group. He is King. He is Lord. He does not need the help of any government to spread His love and truth throughout the world.
America has been greatly blessed by God, in freedom and prosperity, for a number of years. We, as a nation, have done much that is good, in bringing the Gospel and freedom to many other nations. But we have also failed God in many ways, especially lately. The moral decline in our culture and the large scale embracing of a rich and decadent lifestyle, does not speak well of America or the Western World.
But this is not a time for worry or despair on the part of the Church in America. While the “entire Western world in its present political form may be radically altered (and) we may not even be sure about the survival of our own country...we have every reason to suppose from past experience that the Christian, biblical faith will clearly survive” (Ralph D. Winter).
While America has reached out to the non-Western world with the Gospel, we could have and should be doing so much more! “If we in the West insist on keeping our blessing instead of sharing it, then we will, like other nations before us (Israel, Rome, etc.) perhaps have to ‘lose’ our blessing in order for the remaining nations to receive it,” (Ralph D. Winter).
We don’t “deserve” any of the blessings we’ve been given. Each American Christian could, just as likely, have been born a girl in a very different country and culture. But God chose to place each of us in a prosperous country in order that we might share His blessings of prosperity and freedom with those who have never heard His name. If we are not doing this, He has every right to take those blessings away and give them to a people (like the Chinese and Indians) who are boldly reaching out to the unreached, even at the risk of their own lives.
But this should not be a source of injured pride or sadness on the part of the American church. We need to look at the big picture. We are first and foremost, part of the body of Christ in the world. In Heaven, for eternity, our nationality will no longer make a difference. Thus, on earth, we should be overjoyed at the growth of the Church in non-Western lands. We should join in prayer, financial support and even in person, with those who are spreading the Gospel in the non-Western world and celebrate with them as God, once again, seems to be shifting His blessings to yet another part of His vast world.
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