If we think the biggest problem we face is a political problem, we will be focused on looking for a political solution—for political salvation, and if we are focused on political salvation, we will be looking for a political savior—a political Messiah with a political gospel.

There is a reason why it is often said that you shouldn’t talk about religion or politics. They are both topics that people are very passionate about, and they sometimes lead to discussions that create more heat than light. As a Christian and as a professor of theology, I cannot avoid the first topic and wouldn’t want to anyway. As a human being living in this world, it’s difficult to avoid the second.

Several days ago, I posted a blog about the insatiable lust for political power at all costs that is so prevalent in American evangelicalism. I knew that some people would read into it things I don’t think or believe, but I posted it anyway because it is important for us as Christians to be self-critical. We should always be evaluating our thoughts, words, and actions according to the standard of Scripture.

In that article, I pointed out how lust for political power at all costs thoroughly corrupted the medieval Roman Catholic Church and how it will corrupt our churches as well. Today, I want to think about how we get to that point of craving political power at any cost.

Ultimately it boils down to what we are most concerned about. I hear and read Christians almost every day saying that their biggest concern is the direction in which the United States is headed. Or they are most concerned about the collapse of Western civilization. Granted, many people are concerned about these things because of their love for their children or grandchildren. They worry about what kind of world those children will inherit. Their love for their children and grandchildren is not the problem. The problem occurs when this world becomes the main concern for their children and grandchildren.

The problem occurs when our main concern is fundamentally a political concern.

Why is that a problem?

If we think the biggest problem we face is a political problem, we will be focused on looking for a political solution—for political salvation, and if we are focused on political salvation, we will be looking for a political savior—a political Messiah with a political gospel.

If it is not clear why this is a problem, we need to go back and re-read the Gospels and look at what the first-century Jews were focused on and how it contributed to their rejection of Jesus.

The first-century Jews lived under the tyrannical rule of the Roman Empire. That was the world into which Jesus was born. These first-century Jews longed for the day, promised in the Old Testament, when the Messiah would come. Sadly, however, they misunderstood these prophecies. They focused on only one aspect of the Messianic prophecies, and it created a distortion in their expectations. They saw the promises of the coming king, but they tended to ignore the prophecies regarding the suffering servant. They did not clearly understand that that the Messiah would fulfill both.

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