Harry,

It is good that you are so passionate to see righteous laws in our
society. All of us are called to be salt and light in the vocations
that God has given us, and we need more Christians who are willing
to go into local politics and make a stand for what is right. I also
think that you are probably right in thinking that God is judging
our nation for turning our back on him in many areas throughout
society - politics, family life, education, the media and even in
the church.

However, I do not believe it is possible to "vote in" the kingdom of
God. Or to defeat sin by passing laws against it. The only effective
way to bring in the government of God and see righteous living is
for individuals to encounter the living God and begin to fight their
own sin with the help of the Holy Spirit. What will it profit a
homosexual if he lives a life of celibacy but does not find Christ?

You may not realise this, but the way you talk will lead many non-
Christians to conclude that you simply have an attitude of hatred
for them. This is a gross misrepresentation of the God who loved
sinners so much that he sent his only Son to die for them. And lets
remember that God is far more disgusted by sin than we are. We ought
to be responding to those on the "outside" with gentleness and
respect (1 Pet 3:15), and living such good lives that they can't
slander us (1 Pet 3:16). Jesus willingly associated with some of the
most sinful members of his society to bring them the good news of
the kingdom and actually found them to be some of the most receptive
to his message.

As Christians we commanded not to judge others, but to judge
ourselves. Am I living a holy life? Am I loving, gentle, patient and
kind? Secondly, there is a need to judge sin within the church. This
must be done according to the guidelines set out in Scripture. But
actually we are not given a mandate to judge outside. Paul
explicitly declares this in 1 Cor 5:12. To be sure, governments do
have a mandate to judge (Rom 13:4), and Christians can do so within
that context, but this is not a ministry of the church. Jesus'
second coming will be to judge, his first was to save. (John 12:47)

It is only by the grace of God that we have been saved (as your
excellent email address alludes to) and so we have a wonderful
message of hope to bring to these lost people. We need to feel God's
heart of compassion for them - many are confused, many are broken,
many have even been badly hurt by the church, and all have been
deceived by Satan. Let us pray for them, let us repent of our *own*
sin and let us bring them the *good* news that they can become new
creations. What they "were" will not matter any more - only what
they have become. (1 Cor 11:6)

your brother in Christ,
Mark

--- In
reformeddoctrineforum@..., "not_works_but_faith"
<notworksbutfaith@a...> wrote:
> Calvin's teaching include those of the duties of the Christian to
> govern. We are to be active in political action and to put into
> practice the practical aspects of Faith: laws to protect the weak
and
> powerless from the strong and brutal being a good example.Further
> examples can be seen in Calvin's own activities in Geneva.
>
> Our country today is ruled by a collection of Papists, Pagans,
> Athiests, Moral Relativists , Liberals, Abortionists, Devil
> Worshipers, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, Humanists, Feminists and
> Sodomites.
>
> This is purely and simply a PUNISHMENT FROM GOD. We have been
> biblically and morally gutless.We have voted for political parties
> because they are nice too the poor but who empower and encourage
the
> medical profession to butcher 150,000 babies a year; who introduce
> Section 28 yet made the love of money and getting rich by any
means a
> virtue.
>
> If we are unhappy with the way the country is then we have been
> given, by God, a democracy with which to change it.There is a
letter
> I recently read in the British Church Newspaper which asks "Who am
I
> to vote for" after it was revealed that a quarter of UKIP
candidates
> are sodomites and the General Secretary is a lesbian.Of course
there
> is no political party for Bible believing Christians to vote for.
>
> This today requires Christians to get off their backsides and do
> something more than waffle about doctrine i.e. put doctrine into
> practice. Rev. Ian Paisley stands as the greatest living example
of
> getting up and doing more than talking. He has proven that a clear
> and stern message is mightier than the most ardent Ecumenist. The
DUP
> in Northern Ireland has broken the back of its rival. It is time
that
> we here England and Scotland did the same.
>
> I want to get either an English/ Scottish / Mainland section of
the
> Democratic Unionist Party going or if that isn't possible then
start
> something similar. I would appreciate you e mailing me
> (notworksbutfaith@a...) and see what we can, with God's grace, we
> can do.
>
>
> Harry