'To Be or Not To Be, That is the Question'!

Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.

Acts 4:19 

America, like it or not, has a history of rebellion! 

A little over 150 years from the colonization of what is now now known as 'these United States', the 13 original colonies were full of seditious up-starts! Because Great Britain, and in particular, it's king, had begun to take on a god-like stance, our forefathers decided to take a stand, much like the apostles, and remind the king of England that it WAS better to obey the One true God, the King of the Universe, rather than to bow to his petty dictatorship!

As Christians in America today, we must deal with such a government, in some ways, that is even more insidiously god-like then the one our forefathers had to deal with! As Christians, then, we must choose for ourselves whom we will serve; 'who WILL be our 'God', will it be the one true God, or will it be the 'Messianic State', who has usurped, with the willing help of the majority of Christianity, the authority and power that belongs to our Creator, God and Father Alone?!

'You 'Gotta Serve Somebody'!'

Whether or not you agree with Bob Dylan's theology ( everybody has a theology ); he had this right; you WILL serve someone, whether it be your own selfish lusts, the 'Messianic State' or the One true and living God, through serving His people! We have to choose, as Christians especially, whom we will serve. As followers of Jesus, we have necessarily made that choice, and to be true to that choice, we must rebel against any form of government that endeavors to take the place of God, or His Church! If we do not do this at every opportunity, can we call ourselves true followers of Jesus?!

choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve

.........................

as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord

Joshua 24:15 b & d

There is a choice before all men, as we've seen, but, as we've also seen, to the true follower of Jesus, there is but one option. Jesus told His followers ( audience ), 'No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon' ( Luke 16:13 ) It goes without saying that to serve yourself or the 'Messianic State ( government ) would be antithetical to serving God and others, yet we see 'Christians' doing this right alongside those who do not claim this relationship with their Creator. We see many 'Christians' looking to the federal or even state government for their salvation; we see many Christians looking to the political machine as means of getting out of the mess we've created! 

To paraphrase Albert Einstein, though, 'you can't solve your problems using the same system that caused them'! Too many Christians, whether because of bad eschatology or just bad theology, seem to believe that they can serve their own interests through the political machine, or even that they should serve the 'Messianic State', all the while serving Jesus and His Kingdom as well, but as is becoming more and more apparent; we cannot do both. It's one or the other; we either serve God and His Kingdom, or we serve our own interests, and look to ( serve ) the 'Messianic State'! There is no other choice, especially for the Christian!

Charles Haddon Shank