At a Glance
Christian nationalism was recently denounced by John MacArthur as a faulty viewpoint. MacArthur indicates that things will get continually worse on Earth. Unfortunately, this view cultivates apathy and even discourages cultural influence. In contrast to this view, Christ teaches us to pray: “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” If things will only get worse, then what was the justification for the profoundly positive influence of Christian leaders like William Wilberforce? And why should we, as Christians, work to eradicate slavery, human trafficking, and abortion? While we have tremendous respect for John MacArthur, in this episode, we want to take issue with a few of his recent statements. Yes, we might lose down here, but we also might win occasionally.
That’s not really for us to decide. In the words of J.R.R. Tolkien, “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” Wherever God has placed you, whether in a family, school, political office, or bakery, you are called to faithfully represent Christ and His Kingdom in everything you do, no matter the outcome. It’s time for a faith that is active, not passive, in the face of challenges.
Special Guest
Resources
What You'll Hear
Using the link above, you can read the transcript or listen along while highlighted text follows the podcast audio.
"Someone is always actively shaping culture. If it isn’t Christians based on biblical truth, it’s going to be someone else."
Scott Allen [29:57]
Quotes
“Our background has been shaped through our work in Christian relief and development–and really a heart to see very broken and impoverished communities rise out of poverty and begin to flourish. And one of the things we noticed over the years is that in a lot of these very impoverished communities and cultures around the world, the church is actually growing very rapidly. So there’s this kind of strange juxtaposition of a rapidly growing church in the midst of incredible poverty, brokenness, and corruption. This was kind of the impetus for the ministry of DNA starting. We thought this is really not honoring to God; this isn’t the way it should be. Where God’s people are present in a community or in a culture, that should have an influence in that community and culture so that things begin to change, and positive changes can happen, and communities can begin to thrive and to flourish and rise out of poverty. Not that in any way they’re going to be somehow perfected on this side of Christ’s return—we don’t believe that, but that they ought not struggle with dehumanizing poverty.” – Scott Allen [5:08]
“The Church has lost the concept of what it means to be a godly citizen and to be engaged in the marketplace of ideas and in the public square. And when the Church abandons the public square and the marketplace of ideas, somebody’s ideas are going to take over and they’ll establish principles and policies that we will then live under.” – Darrow Miller [45:41]
Go Deeper
When the principles of the Bible are understood as a comprehensive worldview, it has tremendous power to work transformation in individuals, families, communities, and even nations. Too often, Christians are ineffective because they have absorbed cultural thinking that is not in alignment with truth.
Not all worldviews are equal. Some lead to brokenness and poverty, while the biblical worldview leads to God’s intended flourishing and the blessing of the nations. Our Kingdomizer Training Program can help you understand the biblical worldview and discover areas in your own thinking that need to be transformed by God’s Word.
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Excellent discussion. Ironically, MacArthur’s own life testimony undermines his approach. He is able to preach the Gospel freely and have so much success precisely because Christian men and women expressed their faith through politics giving rise to the United States of America. My guess is that because Christianity has had such a strong presence in the U.S. and has become ‘successful’ compared to much of history, it can give the appearance of being able to be completely dominant, when in fact, it is so often a mixture of Christianity tainted by worldly ideas which need to be constantly cleaned out. MacArthur may see the historic failures and potential compromise going into politics and shrinks away.
Considering these different end of times perspectives, I would have liked to hear more from the perspective of what is happening globally in the church. I.e. Christians are being persecuted and killed for their faith right now. That level of persecution is real right now. It’s not ‘coming’. Just looking at what is happening with the church in the West or the U.S. gives us a limited perspective.
Jeremiah, thanks for taking the time to share this valuable feedback! Considering more of what is happening in the global church and the issue of persecution is an important and necessary perspective; and this is something we plan to discuss in the near future! Thanks again!