THE MANHATTAN DECLARATION and EVANGELICAL CO-BELLIGERENCE

Camp On This ^ | TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2009 | Steve Camp

[streetpreacher]

THE MANHATTAN DECLARATION and EVANGELICAL CO-BELLIGERENCE
...the ineffectual intersection of politics and faith

 

 

“The goal of both the church and the state is to advance the public good.”

-Francis Beckwith

 

 

The ultimate goal of the church biblically

is not the public good,

but the glory of God in the proclamation

and advancement of His gospel of sola fide.

God, not the audience, is sovereign.

The “public good” is political speak for tolerance.

The gospel, however, does divide;

it is a stumbling block, offensive and foolishness

for those who are perishing.

 

 

Here we go again!

In the face of President Obama's economic wasteland and political indecision vacuum concerning Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq; coupled with an abortion provision being slipped into the latest health care bill championed by Harr Reid yand company - the religious right has found reason again to try itself in the political arena through The Manhattan Declaration.

It is nothing more than ECT (Evangelicals and Catholics Together) and Justice Sunday revisited. Same framers and advocates of the benign philosophy of political remedy for moral malady. The religious right of the past 24 years has all but been silenced. And despite the grass-root efforts by many well respected evangelical leaders and politicians, our country remains unchanged on key social and family issues. So once again, those who are impassioned about important social issues from a "faith perspective" such as abortion, same sex marriage, and religious liberty and freedom, are all but silent about the real "faith solution" for these same issues. The solution being regeneration through the Lord Jesus Christ and not political legislation. The solution for the Christian must be Gospel-Centered; Christ-Centered; and Cross-Centered. Anything less is ineffectual in bringing real resolve spiritually to these concerns.

The lack of sea change in American society to a conservative political ethic for many of us has been frustrating. But attempting to fight spiritual battles with carnal weaponry is just as disappointing. Christians who in the past have sought real change on key cultural issues did so, in part, absent of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. IOW, the gospel became the afterthought, not the primary thought. That failed strategery to keep the proclamation of the gospel center in a righteous quest I have defined as Evangelical Co-Belligerence (ECB).

I offer the following definition:

Creating alliances with individuals or groups who do not share belief in or with orthodox biblical Christianity, in order to fight an agreed upon social, moral, cultural cause that seeks to undermine the traditional family and family values. This includes, but not limited to: gay marriage; abortion; euthanasia; etc. and those who aid, influence, or control such societal moral decline such as the Supreme Court, Congress, state and local officials, and a run-a-way Federal Judiciary. This is accomplished by using boycotts, petitions, picketing, legislation... any political remedies available to resolve the moral maladies in our nation.

This is further accomplished by organizing evangelicals/local churches as PAC's, lobbyist groups, or as some refer to as "Christocrats", as Christian voting blocks to threaten with militant tones sitting politicians with the prospect of not being reelected if they fail to adopt the ECB moral/family agenda. This tactic is being championed by many evangelical leaders, seminary presidents and pastors absent of the authority of Scripture, absent of the preaching of God's Word, and absent of the heralding of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. -Steve Camp, July 14, 2005

Christianity in culture does have impact and does produce change. But it only does so as long as Christianity doesn't become a political organization and remains at its very core deeply gospel-centered. Is it wrong for believers to enter politics? Of course not. Is it wrong for Christians in politics to use their office, driven by a biblical worldview, for the good of society and their fellow man as say Wilberforce did on the issue of slavery? Absolutely not. But the church itself is not driven by the brilliance of U.S. Constitutional ethics, but by the Scriptures of the living God.

So again, what is the solution to the plight our nation finds itself in? The gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.And that brief answer is not about offering cultural reform back to an era of family values and more virtuous days. Jesus Christ did not come to transform America, but to transform Americans. The gospel is not the new nationalism for the conservative, but the hope for any sinner (like me and you) who by God's sovereign electing love trusts that eternal life and salvation is attained only by grace through faith in Jesus Christ as Lord alone.
 

IOW beloved, in this hour in our nations history may I propose a simple mandate: it is time for the church to be the church.

Gospel-driven Worship:

Acts 2:42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.

Gospel-driven Welfare:

44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts,

Gospel-driven Witness:

47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

[HarleyD]

I think that is also why the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith says, “This infallible assurance is not an essential part of faith, for a true believer may wait a long time, and struggle with many difficulties before obtaining it. [1]

That is a fair point. The Westminster Confessions states pretty much the same point which is why we often talk about the perseverance of the faith-those who persever have truly been called by God rather than once saved always saved (which has theological difficulties).

The question PetroniusMaximus is asking is how do I really know that I'm saved if I don't know that, in the very end, I will persevere-like your Buddhist friend. I would suggest there are tests for us to see if we are in the faith (2 Cor 13:5-8) the most important is scripture and an active prayer life.

Please note what the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith says about Assurance of salvation:

18. Assurance of Salvation

Although temporary believers, and other unregenerate men, may vainly deceive themselves with false hopes and carnal presumptions that they are in the favour of God and in a state of salvation, such a hope on their part will perish. Yet those who truly believe in the Lord Jesus, and love Him in sincerity, and who endeavour to walk in all good conscience before Him, may be certainly assured in this life that they are in the state of grace, and may rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. And such a hope shall never make them ashamed.

This assurance is not merely a conjectural persuasion nor even a probable persuasion based upon a fallible hope. It is an infallible assurance of faith founded on the blood and righteousness of Christ revealed in the Gospel. It is also founded upon the inward evidence of those graces of the Spirit in connection with definite promises made in the Scriptures, and also on the testimony of the Spirit of adoption who witnesses with our spirits that we are the children of God, and who uses the experience of assurance to keep our hearts both humble and holy.

This infallible assurance is not so joined to the essence of faith that it is an automatic and inevitable experience. A true believer may wait long and fight with many difficulties before he becomes a partaker of it. Yet, being enabled by the spirit to know the things which are freely given to him by God, he may, without any extraordinary revelation attain this assurance by using the means of grace in the right way. Therefore it is the duty of every one to give the utmost diligence to make his calling and election sure, so that his heart may be enlarged in peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, in love and thankfulness to God, and in strength and cheerfulness for carrying out the duties of obedience. These duties are the natural fruits of assurance, for it is far from inclining men to slackness.

True believers may have the assurance of their salvation in various ways shaken, diminished, or intermitted. This may be because of their negligence in preserving it, or by their falling into some special sin which wounds the conscience and grieves the Spirit, or by some sudden or forceful temptation, or by God's withdrawing the light of His countenance, and causing even those who fear Him to walk in darkness and to have no light. Yet, believers are never left without the seed of God and life of faith, that love of Christ and the brethren that sincerity of heart and that conscience about their spiritual duty. Out of these things, by the operation of the Spirit, their assurance can in due time be revived, and in the meantime the presence of these graces preserves them from utter despair.

Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689

[streetpreacher]

Thanks for all of your insightful comments. I have found this to be an edifying thread.

[Mr Rogers]

They were asking about the Kingdom of Heaven.

What do you think that means?

[Mr Rogers]

“The question PetroniusMaximus is asking is how do I really know that I’m saved if I don’t know that, in the very end, I will persevere-like your Buddhist friend. I would suggest there are tests for us to see if we are in the faith (2 Cor 13:5-8) the most important is scripture and an active prayer life.”

I think you make a valid point. In the parable of the sower, sometimes the seed never takes root. Sometimes the soil is shallow, so the plant cannot last. That sounds like my Buddhist friend...who was only a Buddhist for about a year until he switched to something else. Sometimes the seed is choked by the weeds...sounds like the plant is alive, but not healthy. But maybe not. And then there is the seed that grows and bears fruit.

So time plus a hunger for God’s word and desire to speak with him would all be pretty strong signs, to which I would add the fruit of the Spirit. If God has been in you for many years, you will know. For my part, I suppose it took 20 years or more before I started to realize God wasn’t letting go, and to trust that he would really see me through to the finish.

It is a bit odd - the longer I go, the more I realize I don’t deserve anything, and the more certain I am that God has given me everything I need.

[vladimir998]

It means that you were wrong.

[Mr Rogers]

Mat 3:2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Mat 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Mat 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Mat 5:10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Mat 10:7 “And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’

Mat 13:24 He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field,

Mat 13:31 He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field.

Mat 13:33 He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.”

Mat 13:44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

I could go on, but you might want to read up on the Kingdom of Heaven. You might start here:

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByTopic/30/709_Is_the_Kingdom_Present_or_Future/

There is more good reading here:

http://www.monergism.com/directory/link_category/Kingdom-of-God/Essays/

[vladimir998]

And you’re still wrong. Thanks.

[vladimir998]

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08646a.htm

http://www.catholiccompany.com/catholic-gifts/8001499/He-Must-Reign-Catholic-Church-Kingdom-Heaven-CDs-Tapes/

[HarleyD]

It is a bit odd - the longer I go, the more I realize I don’t deserve anything, and the more certain I am that God has given me everything I need.

This I think is an indication of spiritual growth. Throughout my life I have had peaks and valleys like everyone else, but it always is God that keeps pushing me on. And the farther I go, the more I see what a wretched creature that I am and just how much God has more work to do in me. This is not false humility but simply an honest and objective appraisal of my current condition.

Like you, I have had some very dear friends leave the faith. As the Baptist Confession tells us, you really can never be certain about anyone's elses faith except your own. This is simply because you know what your own personal relationship to God is. You cannot possibly know what someone elses relationship is. As the Baptist Confession teaches us, we rest upon God's promises and His Spirit bears witness to our Spirit to humble us to submit to His reign and rule.

I will add an addemdum here. While one may know the status of their relationship before God, that is the ONLY relationship one can know. Thus, people who we may think are great Christians may turn out at some point not to be. This could be a friend, it could be a pastor, it could be the Pope. This is often how heresy gets introduced. We cannot judge others (unless they are committing eggregious sin) but we should be cautious in promoting people. Likewise, people who we may think are very luke warm may be used down the road by God in a mighty way. We cannot judge others; either one way or the other. We can only judge ourselves.

Here is an interesting sermon on the The Parable of the Sower. I like it because the fruit we exhibit are the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Do you have joy? Do you have peace? Are you more loving? Can you truthfully say this is God working in you to help mold you into a better person? These are the promises of God and the evidence of the Spirit working in us, to the praise of His everlasting glory.

[PetroniusMaximus]

“There is no problem that I see”

That’s because it’s you theology and it would be very hard for you to immediately come out and say, “Hey, I see a gaping hole here”.

_________________

“If a person is trusting in the scriptures, the ONLY reason they are trusting in the scriptures is because they are one of God’s elect.”

The Pharisees trusted in the Scripture.

_________________

“On the contrary. You know if you are one of the “elect” simply because you believe in God. “

And how do you KNOW you believe in God? You right back to subjectivity and emotions.

[Springfield Reformer]

1) Without a doubt, no one can see the defects of their own perspective as well as their critics. Thank you for that valuable insight.

2) You play fast and loose with the word “trust.” Jesus never said the Pharisees “trusted” in the Scriptures. Read it again. He says “for in them [the Scriptures] you think you have eternal life.” A person may think they have salvation all figured out, but because their heart is so far removed from a true love for God, their trust is in their own thinking, not in Him. If the Pharisees had truly trusted Scripture, they would have seen the suffering and humility of the promised Messiah, they would have seen the many prophesies fulfilled in Christ, and they would, with Simeon, be able to say, on seeing Jesus, that they had seen the salvation of Israel.

3) You have not yet answered my challenge, and by now I am beginning to suspect it is because you have no tenable answer. I have asked you before, and I will ask you again. How do you claim to escape the much vaunted dangers of subjectivity? You are, like us, a fallen being, and just as capable of self-deception. In what then do you trust, if not the sovereign power of God to save a selfish, self-deluding, sin-seeking soul, in spite of himself? You trust perhaps in your own ability to hold up your end of the “Open Transaction” of which you are so fond? So you trust in your own certainty that such and such a Scripture applies to you, or your own level-headed assessment of your spiritual condition and what to do about it, or you trust in your own ability to assess the veracity of the authority figures in your life who have told you what to think and what to do to be saved?

You are braver than I am, by a long shot. That transaction was no more open to me than the decision a master makes to feed his dog. The pet doesn’t know where the food comes from, how much it costs, or why it’s good for him. But his appetite inclines him to eat when good food is presented, and so he does. But dead dogs don’t eat. Even if you spoon feed them.

Or let me ask it another way. When Lazarus was raised from the dead, at what point might he have said, “Y’know, I really want to stay dead, so just leave me alone, g’night.” Was that transaction “open?” What if God wants to raise some from spiritual death? If we are all so trapped in the blindness of our own subjectivity, how can anything God does be “open” to us?

The problem is this: Your “open transaction” presupposes a level playing field between the parties to the transaction, the relative equality of partners to a contract. In salvation there is no such equality. God, as Paul says in Romans 9, has mercy on whom he will, and whom he will he hardens. Does that meet your criteria for “openness?” No, its not a very pleasant idea when first encountered. But the truth is that mercy is something that, by definition, you have no right to expect. It is not owed to you. Otherwise it would not be mercy.

Therefore, unless God had said that any who come to him would not be turned away, none of us would have any reasonable expectation of salvation. If you come before a king for mercy, you do not know whether you will receive it before you ask. But if you have asked, and he has agreed, then it is presumption to deny that he will keep his word.

Is not God greater than our subjectivity? What did Jesus do with the demoniac wandering the graveyards? Did he say, “Go get your head clear, then come back and we’ll straighten out this possession thing if you like?” No. He bypassed the will of that tormented soul and in dramatic fashion cast out the evil that held him in bondage all those years. And what of Paul, who was devoted to destroying Christianity? Did Jesus just put his arm around Paul and say, “you know, it would be great if you would come over to my side. I’ll give you a few days to think about it?” No. He stopped him cold from carrying out his evil plans, then told to wait for further instructions, things he must do, not things optional, but things necessary. And Ananias, who would help him regain his sight, was specifically told that Paul, despite his wickedness, had been chosen by God for a ministry to the Gentiles.

So what place does “subjectivity” have in any of this? In term of impeding the will of God, our subjective nature, problematic as it is, is simply not going to stop Him from having mercy on whomsoever he chooses. I count that a blessing, because without His intervention, it is certain that I would to this day be wandering in the wilderness.

[HarleyD]

That’s because it’s you theology and it would be very hard for you to immediately come out and say, “Hey, I see a gaping hole here”.

If I grew up in a Reformed church I might agree with you. However, for over 30 years I didn't even understand there was a Reformed "belief". I can attest, scripture does not make sense (especially John, Romans, and the Old Testament) if you do not have a Reformed background.

The Pharisees trusted in the Scripture.

No. The Pharisees made their own set of rules and shoehorned scripture around those rules.

And how do you KNOW you believe in God? You right back to subjectivity and emotions.

Belief in God IS NOT subjective and emotional. I am not a person given to emotion. You can simple see the evidence of God all around in the very fabric of life. There is logic and order in the universe and if one takes the time to observe this, they will come to this conclusion. My salvation experience did not rest upon an emotional experience but one of logical experience.