Responsibilities of the Church and the State

Here is a comment I wrote on Facebook a couple of minutes ago. It has to do with the responsibility of the church and the effect it will have on the community when the church takes seriously the claims of the word of God.

Here's the deal: The state cannot legalize morality. The state is limited in what it can do to 'help' in a situation with unwed mothers or providing funds for birth control. It can help in the areas of benevolence, charity, etc. It cannot do what the church was intended to do. The church's responsibility is to declare and demonstrate the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the only answer to the dilemma of brokenness. 

The church is not responsible for supporting people who live lifestyles that are contrary to the word of God. But I believe if the church is healthy (and I am not speaking of one particular church, but the body of Christ in general), then people will come to know the Lord. If they have genuine conversions, they will have the power to live lives that are in line with God's word. This has nothing to do with having the state support the church. But I really do believe if the church will genuinely turn back to God, in humility and trust, as well as obedience, then the church will be in the place of being able to be the Instrument of Righteousness that God intended for her to be. 

The problem we have today, is that the world and its principles have crept into the church (maybe they were there all along) and we have a watered down church presenting a powerless Gospel and a small, powerless God, who is not capable of changing anyone's heart. If we presented the God of the Bible, the way He identifies Himself, then we would have a different picture of what is right and wrong. People make wrong choices simply because they don't see anything better than the choices they have made. They haven't seen God in His holiness and majesty. They have only seen a god we have created and wish we could believe in (like a Genie in a bottle, or a Santa Claus god). We turn to God when we want something, but we avoid Him when something is required of us. But if we truly knew God, the way He is, and in His awesome power, we would be different, those around us would be affected, and I believe those in the White House would in turn be affected as well. Broken people would be healed. Drug addicts would be delivered. Young girls wouldn't be spending their time trying to win some guy's love for them. Abused women wouldn't be tempted to commit suicide. Men would learn to love their wives and treat them with respect. There would be a worthwhile cause for us to live for. The alternative is just an empty life where we go from one thrill to the next, to pass the time away while we exist on this little planet.