No, of course not. Does Jesus reign over all things? Is He king of kings? Are all things being brought under His subjection? Does He command us to disciple the nations? Indeed, yes, absolutely and yup. I find it hard to believe that this is even a question.
A hundred years ago the Protestant church found itself split in two. On one side were those who believed the Bible and wanted to see people brought into the kingdom. On the other side were those who were embarrassed by the Bible but wanted to use it to bolster their social agenda. This, the fundamentalist-modernist controversy shows that black hats are deeply dark and white hats are badly stained. That is, both sides, one much more than the other, had their problems. The problem with the modernists was rank unbelief. The problem with the fundamentalists was unbelief with respect to Christ’s reign in the here and now. The modernists were all in on already, the fundamentalists all in on not yet.
This is the root of the divide in our own day. Now the modernists call their social agenda “putting feet to the gospel” and call the fundamentalists’ social agenda Christian nationalism, Trumpism, racism. The fundamentalists have gotten better insofar as they are in fact more engaged. The trouble is, sometimes the loudest in our camp have confused the Republican party with all that is pure and noble. We’ve been taken for a ride for almost fifty years on Roe, redefining “pro-life” as “slightly less bloodthirsty than the Democrat.”
I’ll grant, nodding in the direction of my two-kingdom friends that Christians should not act as though every policy decision is a matter of eternal life and death. We should not excommunicate our brothers and sisters in Christ simply because they think a capital gains tax rate of 30% is better than 25%. Jesus did not say, “Disciple the nations, and when the price of gas gets above $3.50 a gallon scream until Washington releases some of its strategic reserves.” I’ll grant as well that we ought not to be shrill, unkind or partisan to party. Poking those inside or outside the camp in the eye with political snark probably does no one any good. I know, physician heal thyself. Amen.
That said, just as the gospel does not leave us orphans, so the law does not leave us in our blindness when it comes to the issues of morality attached to the government’s use of force. The truth is, the Bible does speak to how we treat those who are different from us. It most certainly speaks to the protection of the unborn. It speaks to the rapacious spending habits of politicians, and the bloodlust that leads to war. And where the Bible speaks, we are responsible to speak.
Let the world, and the modernists rail all they like. Let them accuse us of stepping outside our boundaries. Then remind them they have stepped into our territory in telling us to be quiet. Remind them that Peter once stood before the governing authorities and told them when they insisted he be silent, “Thanks, but no thanks. I’ll obey God rather than you, since you insist on contradicting Him.” Do not confuse America, in our early history, much less today, with the City of God. Do, however, let us work together to see that justice rolls down like thunder.