Join Ethan Hoover & Matthew Maher as they begin their discussion on the fourth and final type of false gospels, the Political Gospel. If the Progressive Gospel represents left-wing ideas, then the Political Gospel encapsulates right-wing ideas. Listen as they talk about government, politics, and the proper place they have in the Christian's life.
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Join Ethan Hoover & Matthew Maher as they begin their discussion on the fourth and final type of false gospels, the Political Gospel. If the Progressive Gospel represents left-wing ideas, then the Political Gospel encapsulates right-wing ideas. Listen as they talk about government, politics, and the proper place they have in the Christian's life.
What’s Covered in This Episode:
Resources:
Got questions?
Learn More:
To learn more about the podcast and your hosts, visit our website.
Looking to sponsor Rechurched? Apply to be a sponsor!
Follow us on Instagram!
Learn More:
To learn more about the podcast and your hosts, visit our website.
Looking to sponsor Rechurched? Apply to be a sponsor!
You are listening to research, a podcast aimed at instigating Christians to be Christian. Hey, what's up, everybody? Welcome to the recharge podcast. My name is Ethan Hoover. I'm your host, joined by my co host, Matthew Mayer. Today we are transitioning from the progressive gospel into the political gospel. And this is gonna be an interesting one. I'm excited to dive into the discussion. But before we do you want to start with an icebreaker? Oh, man, you're ready.
Unknown:I don't know what's coming at me. So yeah, let's do it. All right.
Ethan hoover:What is your favorite place of all the places you've traveled?
Unknown:Oh, my goodness. That's a great question. I've been to so many places, so many cities, probably at different times in life with different vantage points as a pro soccer player. I've been to a lot of different cities. And unfortunately, when I think about that time in my life, I realized I was everywhere. But I was nowhere because I don't have like a recollection of that time because I was living for the world. So if we're talking about luxury, as far as the weather is concerned, I would say it's got to be somewhere warm. So somewhere in Florida, siesta keys is beautiful. Oh, you've been there? Yeah, it's beautiful. If we're talking about landscape, I've been to some pretty awesome locations. One place in Kansas, where you just saw like, The Rolling valleys or fields and and mountains and like, painted into the sky. Beautiful. That's awesome. And similarly, Sarah and I were in California. We were doing an event in let me think of it was like a desert. I'd have to look it up. But we literally were driving for hours to get to this event. And we were on those very skinny roads where one foot to the right was like the cliff and these huge boulders to each side, but it was beautiful was orange rock. And we were just like going up this mountain zigzagging that's we
Ethan hoover:Yeah, I love I love that kind of landscape like Utah is like very deserty. Like, like that. Colorado, the red rifle
Unknown:Colorado. Yeah, got the Garden of the Gods and garden. God's beautiful, beautiful.
Ethan hoover:Yeah, I love that my dad's from western Kansas. So literally nothing but Flat Earth, just cornfields forever. But it's epic. It's really cool, because you can like you could be in the sunny day, right? And you can look across and just see this giant storm going on crazy. And you're like, Wow, that's crazy. But yeah, it's just not. It's not like New Jersey, like New Jersey, we have trees they have like, they have trees. But when you get into the cornfield, to just cornfields just flat for as far as you can see. It's
Unknown:crazy. You know, we'll go to these pretty awesome locations for ministry. I'll be invited to speak in some capacity. And here, here's my routine, Ethan, I'll get off the plane. We'll get the rental car, go to the hotel, check in, lay in the bed, do my study and do my research. Do my emails. wake up the next day, get to the event, pour my heart out. Stick around and meet some people go back to the hotel, eat a meal go to bed get on a plane go home. That's what I would do.
Ethan hoover:You got to enjoy man Come on. Well, when
Unknown:Sarah is there. Now let's interrupt that thread. We get to the hotel and she's already researching, you know, the the local coffee house to check out or the local you know, popular scene to take a picture at and what's cool because it gets me out of my comfort zone. That's cool. And we went to you can look this up guys. It's called Salvation Mountain.
Ethan hoover:Salvation Mountain is a hillside visionary environment created by a local resident in the California desert area of Imperial County,
Unknown:Imperial County. That's where I was so Salvation Mountain. Check it out. Guys. You might even find sarin mines picture if you search on Instagram. But right on the other side of this mountain Ethan is what's called Slab City. Right and it's a city of lawlessness. And police don't even govern it because it's an old like military grounds. And it's basically it's a tent city. So if you go to these cities today, and you see a bunch of homeless people, that's what slap city is. But like so here we are on Salvation Mountain, and right over the mountain. On the other side, it's very eerie. If you've seen the movie The Hills Have Eyes. Oh yeah, that's what you feel right? And it's like, don't leave Salvation Mountain. I think there's an out an analogy here for the
Ethan hoover:Well, speaking of lawlessness, my favorite place that I've ever traveled is Thailand. in Phuket, Thailand, it's it was beautiful, like tropical, but I think we were there for like 10 days and we saw one cop and I don't think he was even on duty. He was just, he was just getting groceries. So like, they people just do whatever they want. There's no sense of Police or law and order there, it's just kind of like do what you want. It's nuts. Wow. But landscape beautiful. They have like sort of those. If you've watched the movie Avatar, those islands that look like, like pillars just out of the sea type of thing. Like they're floating almost like they, that's what they, they look like it's beautiful. So we got to do like a bunch of cool stuff like snorkeling and you know, going to all the different beaches, we were able to feed elephants and all kinds of really cool stuff there. But that was probably my favorite. Welcome back good food. Yeah. Anyway, in that icebreaker, we kind of talked about location. And today we're talking about politics. And so which kind of goes with location and citizenship. So what we're going to address is the political gospel.
Unknown:You can't talk about politics and be a Christian at the same time.
Ethan hoover:So what do we mean by the political gospel when we say
Unknown:that, all right, let's set the stage. In the previous episodes, we talked about the progressive gospel. So if the progressive gospel or the progressive Christian movement can be marked by leftist ideas, the political gospel initially can be marked by right wing ideas. And the reason I want to start there is because I don't want anybody to ever think that our show is partisan. We're not prescribing to any one party. But the Christian, actually, let me say something that we all need here, we all should be partisan, we should be partisan to a person and that person is Jesus Christ. So to be clear, the gospel is political. But we're going to talk about the political gospel, every Christian should identify with a biblical worldview, which helps us define right policies, right? Politics, how do we handle the political arena? I think it's worth defining, right? The Greek word Palace is actually the word that we know as city. That's where we get the word citizen, which is what you just said, being a citizen where God has placed us, in our context. It's the United States of America, a citizen part of a city would concern himself with the affairs of the society or the community. In fact, that's not only biblical, it's a mandate. God gives us a mandate in the Bible, in engaging with the world around us. So that's a politically charged word. That's right. That's why I chose it. We have been mandated by God to be citizens of heaven on earth. Paul would write that citizens of heaven, he wrote to the Philippians, the Philippians knew best what it meant to have dual citizenship, did you know that they would never really some of these Philippians might not have ever been to Rome. But guess what? They had Roman citizenship. So he understood where they were, they could tap into Roman citizenship, and that meant something, it came with the rights and responsibilities of the state they lived in. Okay. So that's why Paul chose that the Philippians themselves would go, I know what that means. I'm a citizen of heaven. I have dual citizenship, here I am on earth, yet I have the role and responsibility to represent the God of heaven. Jesus said, We're the salt. We're the light. That of course, would lend itself to understanding salt engages what it touches. Okay, so I'm a Christian, I engage what I touch, but I don't compromise my integrity, which is biblical truth. Right. So while I mingle with the world, I influenced the world like salt influences a meal, I don't allow the world to alter my substance,
Ethan hoover:we're not going to change from salt into a different like form. That's right. We're gonna stay salt and impact whatever we're touching, flavor, preservation.
Unknown:That's right. And when salt loses its flavor. That's what Jesus said, it's good for nothing. He was saying when it's leached out, which is what you just said, when it's when it's mingled with other ingredients. So yes, we're in the world, but we're not to be of the world, we're called to be the light of the world. So we basically are the conscience of any given community that the, the church and Christian are, we are the conscience, we are the moral standard. We are the pillar and the ground of the truth. That's what Paul would write in one of his letters. You are the church of the living God, you are the pillar, what do we know about a pillar pillars uphold? So if we're not in our right place, as the church as a Christian, then of course society is going to go wayward? Yeah. Is that not what we're seeing right now? Jeremiah, chapter 29, will again give us this idea before we even go further? Want to make sure we understand? We're gonna talk about the political gospel. But we must understand as Christians, the gospel is political. In the way we just defined it. The Gospel lends itself to the affairs of a community, gospel implications impact, humanity, period. Jeremiah 29, the law Letter from Jeremiah to the captives in Babylon. He says something that we can glean from he says basically, while they're in captivity while they're in this foreign land called Babylon, they're to build homes, dwell on them, plant gardens, eat their fruit, take wives, baguette sons, daughters, take wives for your sons give your daughter likes, here's the cycle of life, like live life, you're in captivity, but live. And then he says that seek the peace of the city where I've called you to be carried away captive, pray to the Lord for it for its peace, you will have peace. We what? You seek the peace of the community that God has placed you in. Because as the community has peace, you will have peace. If you don't seek the peace of the community you live in. How do you do that? Wherever the Bible is front and center, biblical values, biblical morals, biblical guidelines, the people flourish, when the Bible is put aside, cast out, the people run amok. There's no peace in our world right now. Why? Because the Bible and God have been pushed completely out. Right. So what's it got to do with politics? Well, a lot of the ways that legislation hits community is through politics. So we should care about the laws on the books. Why? Let me say it this way, so our listeners don't miss what's being said. Here's the error, the political gospel places the hope for the people of God in political power, as opposed to spiritual power. Okay, so that's the political gospel is a Christian going, you know, I'm trusting in man and man system, more than God, and God's wisdom. Yeah, the political gospel believes people can be saved by passing laws. So while laws matter, legislation, matter matters, why laws are useful to restrain evil, and to sustain good Romans 13. And we'll tease that out in a little bit. But no matter what, no matter what laws hit the land, man is wicked. Laws and policy cannot set a man straight. Only the gospel can change a man from the inside out.
Ethan hoover:So what you're saying is the political gospel is like, someone going, this President is my Savior. That's right, rather than go and Jesus is my Savior. That's right.
Unknown:It's about doing the right thing. You're responsible with what you do on Earth, which means I'm going to do the next righteous thing. Which means if it requires me to cast a vote for a platform that aligns with my biblical worldview, I do it but then I remove my trust in the platform, and I leave the outcome to God. That's the difference. Right? True. Christianity goes, I'm gonna do whatever I can to engage culture to be sought to be like, hey, sign the petition, hey, go to the voting polls, do the right thing, know what God would require of you and then take your hands off it, we have lost the heartbeat of God. And that's why in the last election, Ethan people they were arguing about, you know, what side should we be voting, the one guy's personality is rubbing everybody the wrong way. So that's not godly. God would condemn that. He's an adulterer. He's this. He's that you know what, I'm not going to do anything. I'm actually going to cast the vote on the other side, because he's got a gentle personality. And he's like, my grandpa, I'm going to hold up a second. It's not a personality competition. It's not a popularity competition. These legislations on the books, appointments of justices, judges, they last for decades. It's about policy. It's about platform. So we align these platforms politically speaking with the Bible, and we affirm what is godly. And then we take our hands off, like I said, and we trust God for the outcome, saying God's will be done should never be an excuse not to do God's will. That's what people have done. You know what? Not going to touch it. God's will be done. And you know what, whatever happens happens, I'm going, that's an indictment on you. Let's get back to the origin. Right? Where did the political gospel come from? It's man's longing to make man, the Savior, like you said. And we actually see that happen in First Samuel chapter eight, verses five through eight. And I, I want to add a verse to this Ethan that I've never saw before, but it's simply remarkable. So here's Israel demanding a king, the first king of Israel was a man named Saul. He was the people's choice. He wasn't God's choice. And this is how God allowed the people to be given over to their decision, because God is gracious and he's not going to force his way on us. Watch this. First Samuel, chapter eight, verse five through eight. Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and call to them Samuel and said to him, Look, you are old your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations they wanted to be like the nation's God was supposed to be their king. God was supposed to be their judge. But this thing please displease Samuel when they said give us a king to judge us. So Samuel Pray that the Lord of the Lord said to Samuel, heed the voice of the people and all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you. they've rejected me, that I should not reign over them, according to all the works, which they have done since the day that I brought them out of Egypt, even to this day, with which they have forsaken Me and served other gods. So they are doing to you also like Samuel, it's not about you, they've rejected me. Now, watch this. I never saw this. In Deuteronomy, chapter 17, verses 14 and 15. God said this, this is his principle for governing kings or government. Now, government is God's idea. So God put it in place, we see that in the Old Testament, we see what happens when man goes against God's standard, you get tyranny, you get oppression, we see God's standard of government and the New Testament, we see Romans 13, giving giving us a case study on how it should be properly executed. But here in Deuteronomy, it says this, When you come to the land, which the Lord your God has given you, this is to the Israelites, and possess it and dwell on it and say, I will set a king over me like all the nations that are around me, we just read, that's what they did. This is what God said, you shall surely set a king over you, whom the Lord your God chooses one from among your brother in you shall set as king over you. You may not set a foreigner over you, who is not your brother, just just see what you see was added
Ethan hoover:there. That should be from it should not be a foreigner. At what else though? Whom the Lord chooses, Oh, yeah. Whom the Lord chooses. Yeah. So then you see it in what you're saying is what? First Samuel? That then the people chose? That's right. And God's like, so God was like, I'm gonna give you a system to govern you. But trust you, I
Unknown:choose. They don't they trust, who they choose, they get Saul, Saul was a disaster. Who do we get after Saul, we get God's choice. We get the one that God said, He's the one. And then you see the system of government. And of course, it's just a cool case study to to see there's an origin to this man's desire to choose man over God. And the result will always be chaos unless the man and God will use different people in different places in different pomp prominent positions to influence culture, in a righteous way.
Ethan hoover:All right, so we could talk about the origin of the political gospel, and all those different veins for probably like, a few hours. But what is like, the main pitfall or the first pitfall I guess, of the political gospel? Right.
Unknown:So in one sentence, the first pitfall of the political gospel is we make the state God, we bow to these politicians, these elected officials, as if they can save us and they can. So again, it doesn't shirk the responsibility of making sure we vote in the people who align with our values. But we saw in the past X amount of years, and it's even happening now, there's this obsession, that the evangelicals, many of which say they're Christian, they still have with Donald Trump. Now, and now here's how I want to tease this out. Because I will unashamedly say, that was the right choice in 2016. And the world didn't see it coming. And there's a whole spiritual component attached to this. That's what this is what we're talking about biblical worldview. How do you see it comes down to nowhere, that was God ordained God put them in place, which exposed a lot of us a lot of people's hearts, a lot of industry, a lot of lies. A lot of the deep entrenched deception and evil that is called government. And this guy comes along. He's brass, orange, orange, orange MAN bed. He's, you know, arrogant. He's blunt. He has mean tweets. Like you could say a billion things, and I would I would affirm that like, Yeah, okay. Yeah. So, but you're missing the point, God puts this guy in place. God, Daniel to ordains, God raises up kings, God takes kings down, biblical worldview, don't matter who it is, does not excuse again, not to vote righteously. So the party platforms were Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, they could not have been more opposite. If there was ever a time for any Christian to go, I want to disassociate with the platform, it would have been then. But then the moment you do that, and you hit your, you know, vote to the other side, you then run into well, you're you're supporting a personality that is an adulterer, and this and that and it's gone. Hold up a second, you all missed the point. But then what happened was he wins. He's in the White House for four years. If you read between the lines, and you read the platform and the policies that were executing those for you yours you see that man he was upholding biblical values pro life. He was protecting our children, pro military capitalism, which is personal responsibility, like everything that is aligned with biblical worldview. Well, what about the borders? That's a biblical worldview to God's for borders, there's nothing about being against immigration, it's illegal immigration, like huge difference, like huge difference. So every argument breaks down when you start critically thinking about what's being said, okay, but he's racist. Oh, my goodness, that is the cultural Marxist way of deflecting the true conversation. Back on Track, he, he did something good for the land, even though you would see a lot of the waves that were created, okay. He loses against Joe Biden, who's now our sitting president, the argument during that the election cycle was, you can't possibly vote for him again, because of what he stands for. And that's his personality, versus you can't possibly vote for the other side, because everything on their party platform is antithetical to the Bible. So many of Christians removed themselves completely, and said, I'm not gonna engage, which I think is the wrong thing to do. Welcome to 2022. You're seeing the ramifications, the consequences of that type of response. So thank you very much. For those of you and 2020, who used that type of philosophy, you now have to buy a carton of eggs and milk for like, $12. I just filled up my car for $70. Yeah, it's crazy. So anyway, that's a whole nother topic. Don't get me started. I need to be recharged right now. So we go from Cyrus, biblically, God uses a man. And now he's becoming Saul. What do you mean? Because there's still people like hanging their hat, or hitching their
Ethan hoover:track or trail or whatever you
Unknown:want to say to this guy. And I'm going, that's the political gospel, he's not going to save you. He's not going to save America. He's not going to make America great. Again, that's not happening. The church needs to get godly again, that that needs to happen. When the church gets godly again, we will begin to see the remnant of true believers making the impact that God has for us. That's the point. So it's not majoring too much on a person previously was the platform. Okay, I believe in that platform. And we could tease that out for days, bro, I'll talk to you better Hey, anybody wants to push back? You better come with your Bible. Come with your Bible, baby know your Bible. And we can talk about every major issue. And I'll take you right to the scripture to come correct. If you don't come correct, don't come at all that's researched. Now we're in a position where we're looking at, here's what we're content with. If the state isn't God, we're content with a godless state.
Ethan hoover:And why is that? Why? Why is why are we content with just a godless, the of as adjust? Because we're going to hear for a little bit. Yeah, the Christian is told that separation of church and state is how we should operate. So they're taking some Christians are taking the idea of polis citizenship, and applying it just to have in which is true. But we also have a temporary citizenship that we have to uphold, like you said, salt and light. So they're taking that and kind of running with it with forgetting they're, they're shirking their responsibility. Now,
Unknown:in the American context. 1,000,000%, we have a different framework of government. That's the point when Paul wrote Romans 13, it was a Roman government, it was an oppressive, it was really a type of Monarch with an emperor, he was God. That's why they said Caesar is Lord. So Romans 13, applied with third government or framework was submit when the government is good. And if the government is no longer upholding good and punishing evil, which is God's intention, do you submit to it still? Well, of course you don't you don't submit to a God cause a well, but that doesn't mean we don't pay our taxes, doesn't mean we're not upstanding citizens, doesn't mean we don't abide to traffic law. And even tort law which can be defined by Love your neighbor as you love yourself. That's what tort law is, I don't want to hurt you, Ethan, because I'm a good citizen. So all of those things are true. However, we should care about laws and legislation because God gave us 10. And those 10 can be reduced to two and the two are love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. Love your neighbor as you love yourself. So if God is not front and center, and God is not on the throne of our government, then of course you get the opposite of vacuum and evil will always fill that void. And government has always been the number one persecutor of the people of God in human history. Alright, so I want to dive into Romans 13, because it talks about submission to governing authorities. And you mentioned Romans 13 a few times that we would dive into it. So case study that takes you in two different directions has been misused over the years because Paul wrote to, like I said earlier, a context with a Roman government. So right away Let every soul be subject to who the governing authorities who are the governing authorities in Paul's day, Romans. Okay, so let's now add it to the American context, Let every soul be subject to who the governing authorities who are the governing authorities in our day, the President and the Constitution. tution. Yeah. The Constitution is the supreme law of our land. So it's We the People, just to remind people, we the people are the governing authorities. And we put in place presidents and politicians and the House and the Senate, and that entire system is put in place to protect people's rights, aka the Bill of Rights. So let's keep going. Yeah, the Bill of Rights were rights, in essence that were given by God. That's why they added him, these alienable rights, these are rights that cannot be taken away, and the government has put in place to protect those rights in the American context. So let's keep reading it. So the government then is a minister of God, to do what sustain good, uphold good or punish evil or punish evil. When we submit to a government that is now punishing good and honoring evil. You're seeing something inversed that welcomes a curse, God did not intend government to punish good, righteous living. So what we're talking about laws that go against moral law, ethical law, spiritual law, when there's an attack against truth, for example, in 2015, they legalized homosexual marriage, that is against God's law. So Christians should not have you not submit to that. You In fact, try to push back as much as you can. And this is where you go, alright, we lost that battleground, and you move on. But you don't use politics as an excuse not to engage in laws that affect moral order, ethical order, the order of truth, family, life, in our last episode, pro life pro choice, the list goes on. So you keep reading through this, you realize, this is the execution of the proper Biblical way. Government is used by God. So when government is no longer used by God, they forfeit their authority. That's the point. How do I know that? Because a man who has a husband, who starts to cheat on his wife, or is abusive to her sexually, physically, emotionally, he forfeits his divine appointment. There's no blessing on his life, even though that's a God given role. But he's not acting out the responsibilities of that God given role. So God knows I can put my favor on you. Similarly, in the American context, the favor of God is not on our current governmental structure, it is evident throughout our land. And when God takes his hand off the land, because the government is no longer honoring him, you see, evil and lawlessness unleashed like never before. And this is where the church has urged greatly. We've not gotten involved. And we are currently seeing the ramifications of not being involved. And we are also seeing, like I said earlier, the political gospel is a right wing problem, like people are still holding on to hope of man, and there's no hope in man. So I doubt Donald J. Trump is going to be dropped off by Air Force Two squared on the White House lawn, to take over the presidency. Yeah, don't say that. I don't say that people believe that people are actually still holding on to that I'm going, it's time to let that go. And it's time to focus on what the Church of Jesus Christ is required to do. In this timeframe, the window of grace is getting smaller and smaller. And we have to understand our role and our responsibility for such a time as this look in the mirror in the current condition of our land. And realize we did that the church, we've been silent, which will lead us into the next episode, Ethan, which is I wanted to find separation of church and state. And I really want to put to bed that lie. Because imagine if I used a lot of the scriptures that are used, like, well, people have used so many scriptures to make sure that we're not supposed to be involved in politics, and I'm going show me the Bible, because the Bible is filled with political narratives. Imagine if I was in jail, and I've said this before, and I use that verse like, jail wasn't a permanent destination for me. I was just passing through there. Ethan wasn't my home. I don't, I wasn't gonna live there forever. There was another destination for me on the other side of jail. Imagine if I said, You know what, I'm just passing through here. And I stayed in my area, and I read my Bible, and I prayed, and I conducted myself like a good Christian, inmate, citizen of that that realm and didn't engage the non believing world around me and didn't make an impact and didn't do whatever I could possibly do to make that godless culture, a righteous culture. That's that's exactly what God called me to do. Yeah, we're shirking the Great Commission. At that point, we just, and you know what, and it's a selfish gospel, the lawless environment that we live in, actually went from lawlessness to law. But it wasn't because the system changed. It was because the people within it began to take seriously treating each other the way we wanted to be treated. And all of that came from God's Word. And I watched it. And I watch God move. Because I said, like Jeremiah 29, hey, you seek the peace of the place you're in. And the peace is going to benefit you too. That's how you properly engage the world that you live in. But you don't hold tightly to anything. You move through this world, knowing it isn't your home. But while I'm here, salt delays the decay of the day, by simply being in the way, as long as God has put breath in my lungs, I'm going to engage the world around me in a righteous way. And if that requires me to vote, if that requires me to move in a political arena, swim in a political stream, hey, here's how important this is. Let's tie last several episodes, progressive gospel to the political gospel, progressive gospel, of course, affirms all these things that we said are not biblical. The political gospel has allowed those things to actually make their way into our society through the political arena arena. Right? Yeah. So Roe v. Wade, actually legalized abortion. So the progressive, Christian says, Well, of course, it's a women's choice, the political gospel person says, we're going to overthrow the system. And yet, you got to find a balance. The goal isn't to overthrow the system. The goal is to recognize we let it happen. We got to stand up for truth. And now we got to stand up and do whatever we can. And politics matters. Because if it was in the hands of the judges to make it swing one way, it's in the hands of the judges to swing it back the right way. My whole point is this. They're currently the Supreme Court is currently seeing now this, this is the political arena, currently going to preside over a case that's going to deal with its Dobbs versus Jackson's women health, which is tied to Roe v. Wade. So the 1973 landmark case of Roe v. Wade, that legalized abortion could possibly be overturned by judges who were appointed by a president who carried certain pro life values. So yes, Christians should care about that type of appointment, that type of value system, that type of platform. The pushback about why we don't engage again is because of the lie of separation of church and state, and I want to spend an entire episode, teasing that out. I really wanted to make sure my own filter my own upbringing, didn't get in the way of presenting the error of the political gospel where we trust man, the hope we places in man a system, while at the same time making sure nobody out there goes, well, we shouldn't engage in a system anyway. Right? And I'm going no, you got to find the right integration of not trusting man, but doing the righteous thing, which requires you to support man, like you see the balance there.
Ethan hoover:But it's it's a balance that I think you find, by obviously, being in the Word. But I think it's something the Holy Spirit gives you. Like, it's not something that you can go, Oh, here's a formula for to do that. It's something you prayerfully do and engage with. Would you say that? Because there's no there's no formula? Like, oh, yeah, if, hey, listeners, if you do, X, Y, and Z, that will equal a perfect balance on how to engage with politics. Yeah, it's like you individually have to be in the Word. Gotta be the word from a biblical worldview, like an actual biblical worldview. Check yourself that's right, and allow the Holy Spirit to check yourself, and then be led by not yourself, but the Holy Spirit, right. And I think it sounds cliche to be led by the Holy Spirit. But I think the Holy Spirit is the helper. Right, right, for us to understand truth in ways that we couldn't naturally understand it, right. And so I think that's the only way we can balance and see with new eyes, how to engage properly in a political world
Unknown:from a perspective of a Christian. That's right. Does that make sense makes too much sense it is, knowing the Word and the Word has to live in your conscience, which is how God the Holy Spirit governs our decisions, our perceptions. And the reason I say that is because I actually sat with people Ethan, before the 2020 election who told me, I just don't see it that way pastor, and they would give all the popular political correct opinions about why they didn't see it that way. And this is what they would say, and I'm just gonna vote my conscience. And I would say, It's okay to allow your conscience to be your guide. If it's God's Word that guides your conscience, there's a huge difference. So God's word has to guide your conscience. And there was a lot of people that just couldn't get past their hate for the President. And they were completely blind to what was happening in the president. This is what wakes up the true believer to be willing to stand for their faith, even in a godless day. And age. That's what it's going to take. While at the same time, I don't want to leave anybody off the hope not even myself, right? I'll talk about the person that did put their hope in that administration, or in a person or in or in pence, or in Trumper, or this, I'm going, we should never do that. We should never do that we should do what's righteous. And we should take our hands off it and leave the outcome to God. But the point is, my conscience will be clear before my god because I did the right thing. I was willing to engage even when it wasn't popular when it wasn't politically correct. And now that the decision came in, whether there was fraud, or not, whether it was manipulated, or not. Whatever happened, God allowed it, God is sovereign over it, we now have a new administration. And they are the complete example of what it looks like when God's judgment hits the land. So then we say what is the Christians role now, because of separation of church and state, that lie is what got us here. And a lot of Christians didn't engage like they should have, then what's the response? Now? I think that's what we want to talk about in our next episode.
Ethan hoover:That's a great way to leave the play, man. Well, I think we're going to end right there. And we'll see you guys in the next episode. Again, make sure you like the podcast, make sure you follow and subscribe, and share this podcast with your friends with your family with your network. Truth is, as the church we need to be recharged, we need to be refined in our biblical worldview. And we are not the end all be all for that. The Word of God is but we hope that this is a tool to help you become recharged. So thank you for listening. Make sure to submit a question for our q&a episode that is happening at the end of season one. For information about our podcast information about us, your hosts to apply to become a sponsor and to submit a question, you can go to recharge podcast.com. We will see you in the next episode. God bless