There is constant criticism, ranging from caution to anger, over Pastors who inject politics into their sermons, or, for some, replace their sermons with a diatribe of rhetoric on our current political conditions in America. Further aggravating the resistance to speak the truth in love, is a fear of being called everything from a Christian Nationalist to a Homophobe. Finally, there is always the fear of losing congregants over divisive social issues. The only possible exception would be a select group of mega-church pastors who are well connected with their local and, often, national political constituents.

From the pew, there are very few who see the full separation of church and state as anything but a good thing.

A Counterpoint to Conventional Wisdom

What is missing in this picture is that Jesus and His disciples were not of the same opinion.

When pastors ignore abortion, the definition of marriage, the need for honesty in government, the moral pros and cons of war, the importance of free speech, media bias, patriotism, and antisemitism, to name a few controversial topics, they are abdicating  their responsibility to teach “the whole complement of Scripture”.

Of course, there is a balance between Romans 12:18 and Luke 12:53…

If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. - Romans 12:18

Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.” - Luke 12:53

However, where is the small to medium-sized Biblical Christian church on the pendulum of conforming to those who God put in power over us (Romans 13:1) vs. turning over the tables of the money changers (Matt. 21:12-13)? How do born-again believers maintain their Biblical Christian worldview when teachers and church leaders are unwilling to discuss the theological underpinnings of sin in areas that are currently considered taboo, even in the relatively exclusive arena of a Sunday morning service?

Is the silence within our churches, publicly and privately contributing to the spiritual delinquency of believers?

Conclusion

This is intended as a challenge to individuals in pastoral authority, knowing that there is much that could be said as a counterpoint by those who reject discussing contemporary issues from the pulpit and adult Sunday School classrooms. To some degree, I sympathize with them since Jesus’ call to “love thy neighbor” is one of acceptance, not of derision. However, when the secular world is pushing us in one direction, we all need to consider what principles we are missing from Scripture, as we jump to attention.