Faith Affects Action
Have you considered how what we believe affects how we act?
It is a simple concept. If we believe the Ten Commandments we will teach our children to love God, honor their parents, and not to lie, kill, or commit adultery (among other things). If we think the Ten Commandments are restrictive teachings of an ancient society that have no bearing on our day, we will do as we please regarding these things.
It gets more complicated when we think about some of the other teaching of the scripture that are not as straightforward as, “Thou shall not……”
For example, if you were taught, as many are, that things are getting worse and worse in the world and this is proof that Christ will return very soon, it can affect the way you live as well as how you teach your children about evangelism and Christian living. Many believe that Christ will return any day now so our only concern, as Christians, is with the salvation of individuals. We need not worry about affecting our culture with Christian principles, regardless of the fact that the lives of everyone improve when we live according to God’s Word.
If we aren’t going to be here for long, why waste our energy on such efforts as improving schools and insisting on integrity in politics?
On the other hand, if we see that Christianity is growing worldwide and that more of our young adults are turning to Christ in our own nation, it will give us a more optimistic, longer term view. This is easier to see when we pay attention to Christianity than when we are taken in by the daily news.
Christ started out with 12 disciples and a few hundred followers in one small part of the world. There are now 2 billion Christians worldwide and the numbers are growing outside of Western culture.
With this understanding we are more likely to be willing to press for God’s law to be the law of every land. I follow some people on Facebook (Imago Dei) who go to an abortion “clinic” in Bristol, TN to plead with women and their “rides” not to kill their babies. At this one Planned Parenthood in this relatively small city (27,000 in 2020) , they report that 2,874 infant image bearers were killed in 2024. That is a lot of innocent blood shed in one year. God’s Word is clear that He will not let that go without judgment. (Deuteronomy 21:9; Numbers 35:33; Proverbs 6:17)
If there is anywhere that Christians need to work to change the culture (and there are many places from the educational system to the increased rate of suicide, to the language we accept, and the wickedness that goes unpunished), it is the “legalized” killing of babies in the womb.
Certainly, change is slow but if we fail to insist on it, it will never happen. Have we given up hope of godly living in a world in which the scripture says that there will be no end to the increase of Christ’s government, here, on earth?
Are we salt and light? It’s a challenge for us Christians to accept that God’s kingdom, His rule on earth, is going to increase because we are salt and light to the world around us.
Here in the West, Christian living has been abandoned for personal piety and church activity. We tend to think that because we do not live in a predominantly Christian culture then we cannot expect Christian law and principles to rule the day. The truth is that God already expects that the world will obey His laws and principles and it is a true sign of not loving our neighbor when we fail to speak the truth to those whom God will judge (which is everyone!).
It is 2025, a New Year. Will we move forward knowing that God’s Kingdom is here and Christ reigns now? Psalm 47:7-8 says, “For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm! God reigns over the nations; God sits on his holy throne.”
Sadly, we live in a time when we must call out the sin of innocent lives being taken. “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life” has been the evangelistic message for so long that many of our neighbors do not know that God abhors the shedding of innocent blood.
How will our faith affect our actions in 2025? How will we act and what will we proclaim that communicates to others that Christ is King of heaven and earth, now? (Matthew 28:18, Acts 17:24)
AMEN!
To answer your question, yes I have considered how what we believe affects how we act which is why we should always be open to the possibility that what we think is true might not be true.
For instance, some believe the civil government has no authority and just power to tax its citizens, so taxation is always theft.
But if one has accepted the grant of citizenship and claims to be an Amendment 14 federal citizen has he not “consented” to be governed by the. government’s civil laws including its tax laws?
How could a “consenting” citizen and member of the secular “body politic” claim the government’s imposition and collection of a tax the citizen has consented to pay could be an act of theft?
Beth, in Pennsylvania, “All men and women are born equally free and independent.”
This means those born in Pennsylvania are not Amendment 14 federal citizens or citizens of the State of Pennsylvania at birth.
So, how does a man or woman “born free and independent” on land in Pennsylvania acquire Amendment 14 federal citizenship and owe their absolute allegiance, fidelity, and obedience to the civil law (statutes, rules regulations) of the United States?
If you, under penalty of perjury signed a voter registration form and checked the box on the form reserved for Amendment 14 federal citizens only then you ought to be able to explain to me how a woman born free and independent acquired Amendment 14 citizenship.
Checking the box indicating you are a citizen of the United States may raise the presumption that you are an Amendment 14 federal citizen but what evidence do you have that you have accepted this grant of federal citizenship?
Congress in Amendment 14 “grants” to any “person” {not to any man or woman] born or naturalized in the United States, AND subject to the jurisdiction of the United States Amendment 14 citizenship.
A “grant” is a “gift” and for a gift or grant to be truly and legally given the grant or gift must be knowingly, and intentionally after being given full disclosure of all the material facts of what you are about to do, voluntarily do some act to evidence your “acceptance.” of the grant or gift of federal citizenship.
How can God’s people who belong to Him be best able to “affect” the secular political community?
I suggest we best affect the secular political community by coming out of the darkness of the secular political community as consenting members as directed by our God and living, moving, and having our being in Christ in the world as sojourning strangers and pilgrims as did Abraham.
Yes, there were 2.5 billion Christians worldwide in 2024 but that is out of an 8.2 billion population worldwide, and most of these professing Christians are also “consenting” subject citizens/members of the secular body politic and its form of government to which they ad citizens owe their absolute allegiance, fidelity, and obedience.
You want these consenting subject citizens of the United States who profess to be Christians to “press for God’s law to be the ‘law’ of every land.”
Where in the Law Word of God are God’s people to “press for God’s law to be the “civil law” in the States of the Union or in any other country?
Beth, you are confusing the Law of God and the law of the land which are one law with the civil law. Civil law pertains only to citizens of the United States who have consented to be governed by the civil law. To-wit:
Civil law – That body of law which every particular nation, commonwealth, or city has established peculiarly for itself, more properly called “municipal” law, to distinguish it from the “law of nature,” and international law. Laws concerned with civil or private rights and remedies, as contrasted with Criminal Laws.” Black’s Law Dictionary, 5th. Edition
God’s people are subject to “the law of nature” or “criminal law” but they are not subject to civil or municipal law until they “consent” to be governed by them. Romans 13 refers to God’s people being subject to the criminal law and the civil rulers only act as ministers of God for our good when they administer and enforce the criminal law which law is common to all people, at all times, in all places, and does not require our CONSENT to be subject to it as does the civil or municipal law.
Municipal law – That which PERTAINS SOLELY to the citizens and inhabitants of a state… Black’s Law Dictionary, 5th. Edition.
Inhabitant – One who resides actually and permanently in a given place, and has his DOMICILE there. Black’s Law Dictionary, 5th. Edition.
Remember “citizenship” and “domicile” are matters of individual choice so I choose my citizenship to be in the Kingdom of Heaven and my domicile or one fixed and permanent home is the city which has foundations and maker is God located in Heaven. On earth, I am only a sojourning stranger and Ambassador for King Jesus just passing through on my way home to my domicile located in the Kingdom of Heaven.
“The law of God and the law of the land are ALL ONE law, and both preserve and favor the common and public good of the land.” Keilw. 191 Maxim of Law in Black’s Law Dictionary.
Another Maxim of Law reads, “No man who is warring for in the service of God should be involved in secular matters. Co. Litt. 70.
This Maxim of Law appears to be based on 2 Timothy 2:3-4 where we read, “No man that warreth [for God] entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him to a soldier [for Christ.”
We are to call God’ elect to be reconciled to God and come out of the secular political community as members thereof. To be salt and light. One cannot be light when they are subject to darkness.
You are correct there will be no end to the “increase” of Christ’s Kingdom of Heaven government laid on His shoulder and those who are citizens/members of the Kingdom of Heaven government under the authority of King Jesus owe their absolute allegiance, fidelity, and obedience to King Jesus and His law, not to obedience to the civil law of some other secular humanistic sovereign.
No man can serve two sovereigns and when it comes to “service” everyone has a choice as to whom they will serve. If a man thinks it is evil to serve God they have the right to choose whom he will serve. But no one can serve two gods or sovereigns. That is what many of God’s people today attempt to do when they pledge and owe their allegiance, fidelity, and obedience to the civil laws of secular civil government and also to the sovereign God of the Bible.
It is a challenge for God’s people to accept that the government placed on the shoulder of King Jesus is increasing when they only measure the increase by counting the number of those who profess to be Christians in the world at a given time in history. We can’t measure the advancement of the government of the Kingdom of Heaven by only measuring the number of professing Christians in the world at a given time.
Wouldn’t we measure the advancement of the government laid on the shoulder of King Jesus by the number of God’s elect called out of the secular political community and subject to its government and brought into the Kingdom of Heaven and subject only to the government of King Jesus from the beginning until now?
You ask, “How will our faith affect our actions in 2025? How will we act and what will we proclaim that communicates to others that Christ is King of heaven and earth, now?
As for me and my household, we will SERVE the LORD and HIM ONLY, which means that we will not be able in good conscience attempt to SERVE any other sovereign. Why? Because no man can SERVE two sovereigns, one Holy and the other one secular, without being double-minded and yoking ourselves with unregenerate unbelievers.
The best way that I have found combat or war against the sin of abortion is to ask those promoting the right to abortion where they obtained the right to an abortion. Rights come from someone with the authority to grant those rights.
I asked a Pro-abortion Adams County Commission seeking re-election where he believed a woman obtained the right to have an abortion. He could not answer my question and eventually left the field of battle on this issue leaving me the victor. I can send you our exchange of emails on who gives a woman the right to an abortion if you are interested in how I attempt to “affect” the secular political community’s view on abortion.
What is the foundation for a right to an abortion? Is it natural law? Is it a right that is given to us by our Creator? That is nonsense.
The best way I have found to combat abortion is to point out that this so-called right to an abortion has no foundation and no one has yet been able to state where the right to an abortion comes from.
The foundation to justify the right to an abortion is “personal preference.” These troubled women want to “choose” to have an abortion but they have no idea where this right came from. What they want is the right to choose abortion based on their preference.
They believe truth is relative to the individual and no one in a relativistic political community has the right to impose his standard of truth on others who refuse to submit themselves to any standard beyond their standard based on their personal preference.
We must show these people that if every view of truth is equally valid it would be possible for conflicting views to be equally true even though they conflict with one another.
If this view is true then the word “truth” has lost all meaning and a peaceful existence in this world has become impossible.
Beth, please correct any errors I may have made in what I have written above. It is 2025 so how will you “act” to combat my errors? How can silence be considered an act to affect or change the culture in the political community?
Beth, we can argue your view that God’s people can accept the grant of Amendment 14 federal citizenship and in so doing pledge their absolute allegiance, fidelity, and obedience to the federal civil government, and my view that because God’s people have been called to come out from among the secular subjects/citizens they cannot accept the grant of Amendment 14 federal citizens and cannot pledge their absolute allegiance, fidelity, and obedience to a secular humanistic government as well as to God without being double-minded and attempting to do the impossible – i.e to serve two sovereigns.
You will agree that it is possible that we both could be wrong, but we surely cannot both be right about the ultimate issue in which we differ, which is the right to serve both God and the secular state.
My job description as a spiritual man of God is to proclaim the good news of the gospel and call God’s elect yet in the pagan nations to repent, believe, and come out of the worldly form of government, be reconciled to God, and enter into the Holy Kingdom of God under His one form of government, the advancement of which there will be no end.
The civil government in the United States of America defines the “Church” as follows:
Church – In its most general sense, the religious [not secular] society [i.e. community] founded and established by [King} Jesus Christ, to receive, preserve, and propagate His doctrines and ordinances [not secular public policy and civil government ordinances]. It may also mean a body [i.e. the body of Christ] of communicants [i,e,{citizens/members of the Kingdom of Heaven] gathered into church order [not secular humanistic civil law order]. [The Church IS] a body or community of Christians, UNITED UNDER ONE FORM OF GOVERNMENT [the advancement of which FORM of government is not a secular form of government there will be no end and by profession [and confession] of the same faith and the observance of the same ritual and ceremonies…” Black’s Law Dictionary, 5th. Edition.
Beth, how can God’s people make up the body of Christ or the Church possibly be united under one form of government in the Kingdom of Heaven and also be united together with unregenerate unbelievers in another secular form of government without having yoked themselves with unbelieving members of the secular humanistic body politic?
The LORD knows I have been sharing my concerns with you and the others connected with the Lancaster Patriot and that rarely do I receive a response and answer to my questions about your view that God’s people are to work to reconstruct the civil government into a theocracy. God’s people have a King, a Kingdom, and a government known as the Kingdom of Heaven is a theocracy.
In this world, we are sojourning strangers and pilgrims. We are also Ambassadors for Christ and ambassadors do not accept the grant of citizenship in the country to which he or she has been sent to be an Ambassador for King Jesus.
My job is to proclaim the truth and defend my position. Ask me any question and I will respond and attempt to answer your questions. Silence shows one’s consent to whatever someone declares to them to be the truth. We must answer questions asked of us in good faith and I believe our LORD will require us to give an account of the times we refused to defend our position and answer questions concerning our position.
Your response or non-response is up to you and only God can convince you to respond in good faith.
I will continue to pray for you and the members of the Christ’s Assembly located in Lancaster County.
I will continue to comment on your blog until you instruct me to stop in the hope that you will be moved by God to respond and correct my errors as to the Church being united under one form of government and therefore not being united under any other secular civil form of government.
Peace