Just A Fray Away
Posted on October 18, 2023 by Elizabeth Welte in Freedom Fighters
“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” – Ephesians 6:12-13 (NKJV)
On January 2nd, 1960 John F. Kennedy announced his candidacy for the DNC’s presidential nomination and all though his age and lack of experience came into question, it would be his Catholic faith that that would become a point of contention. It was said no one wanted The Vatican running America so, in his best effort, Kennedy made sure he vocalized his support for the separation of church and state. In a statement made to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association, Kennedy would say, “I am not the Catholic candidate for president. I am the Democratic Party candidate for president who also happens to be a Catholic. I do not speak for my Church on public matters—and the Church does not speak for me.”
Religious bigotry followed Kennedy throughout his presidential campaign and he would find himself asking, though it was rhetorical, whether one-quarter of Americans who were Catholic were relegated to second-class citizenship just because of their faith. He also felt it necessary to express that no one ever asked him about his religious beliefs while he was in the South Pacific, serving in the Navy, during World War 2. Another little tidbit that leaped out at me while I was researching all this was there were “high profile Protestants” who also made dispersing remarks about Kennedy’s being a Catholic running for the Presidency. I guess they hadn’t the forethought to keep Ephesians 4:29 in mind? Anyway…
We got us a presidential election coming up and apparently the knives are out, which is kinda funny to say because one of those knives is in the hands of the Evangelical Christian Right. Now we could soften the blow and call this knife something else, like The Bible perhaps, but I’m not exactly too sure we should do that. Why? Because some of these folks take things outta context and make what Jesus says about Caesar kinda irrelevant. And if you’re all gonna believe that we’re in the end times, doesn’t the Bible state that when the end times are around, civil unrest, immorality and rejection of God and His principles will be an everyday existence? It may feel like we’re there but we have a little bit further to travel.
So, if you’re actually living in this mess then you have a leg to stand on but if you’re only watching this from a window’s chair, you may wanna change your vantage point. Just sayin’…
“And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.” – Matthew 28:18-20
I am not suggesting that any Bible believin’ Christian, when concerning governmental issues, should be on the sidelines and silent as a culture would keep the hammer down so it could out do the reputations of Sodom and Gomorrah, but what I am saying is consider how Jesus gives His marching orders. “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15) and then in Luke 24:47, “and that repentance and remissions of sins should be preached in His name to all nations,” there really isn’t any mention of launching a great crusade to change society. From the time that the church hooked up with the Roman Empire, under Constantine, until the Middle Ages, it became the worst abusers of people, law, and morality.
The Reformation had its moment of abuse with their persecutions of “heretics” and “nonconformists” (the Salem Witchcraft Trial’s come to mind) so would any of today’s members of the moral majority do any better? We’ll need to be mindful that real societal change will have to take place within the individual and spread out from there. People need to hear the words of salvation and its response, of repentance and how to live righteously so that the gospel goes out from the individual to their family, to their friends, to their neighbors, to their…you get the idea. I gotta funny feeling that storming the castle, with the Christian flag held high, won’t bring anyone any closer to Christ than trying to evangelize our Jewish friends from Isaiah 53 in their synagogue.
Jesus wasn’t confronted by any governmental officials until those wacky Pharisees decided that it should be so and even in that He confounded them by being who He says He is. All authority has been given to Him and our only job is to follow His example. Jesus didn’t organize a protest; He organized a church. He also doesn’t king anyone… He is King! A King who needs no earthy vote to rule His own. Amen!?
Written by Chris Hughes: Chris is a child of El Elyon, a son, a husband, and a father. He has an education in Biblical doctrine and is a graduate of The Colony of Mercy, 11/2003. He has been a Freedom Fighter contributor since 2008. You can email him at cphughes515@verizon.net.
Think About This: “The reason the church is failing to effectively invade the world is because the world has invaded the church.” – Anonymous
The Daily Bible Reading: Matthew 7, 9, & Luke 7. You can download our 2022 Daily Bible Reading Plan by clicking here.
This Week’s Verse to Memorize: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1