I Corinthians 11:1  Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.

Leadership carries responsibility. Leadership should never be accepted in a vacuum. Canada is currently being run by a government that has a very friendly relationship with China and is trying to hide this fact from those who are concerned. Sadly, there are not that many who are concerned about good leadership.
The U.S. is just days away from its “election”. This past week Mr. Trump spoke enthusiastically about gaining the support of Imam’s for his candidacy. This is an extremely dangerous thing, but he is out there promoting this support. It should be clear that the man is lost and delusional. I would never support the Democrat running in that race but there certainly is no viable reason to support someone who does not even understand the danger of the Islamic movement.
People have stated that I am wrong in my views of government. I understand that we will never have a true Christian government in Canada or the U.S. I also understand that the role of government is to allow the citizens to live peaceably. Peace begins with knowing the true God. Those who are truly born again can only support the government when they honour God. Democracy is not a Biblical form of government. At times God put godly men in a position of great influence in government. God’s design for Israel was a Theocracy. He was to be in charge and the people were to follow Him. In the New Testament era, Jesus Christ is to be the head of every man and of every true church. We also understand that the governments are not the church. Christians are called upon to be the voice of reason and truth. Jesus Christ lived in a time of a wicked government. He did not bow to that wickedness. He lived within the law and He taught the truth. When a person receives the truth, they will not try to overthrow the government. He will try to show individuals the importance of knowing the truth and living for the truth. The apostle Paul also did not try to overthrow the wicked government of his day. He also obeyed the law and taught the truth, which was contrary to the religious laws of that time. He got into trouble for proclaiming the truth, but he was not in trouble with God, just with ungodly man.
It is important for us to consider carefully who we will follow and on what basis. The apostle Paul was directed to challenge the saints to follow him, but not just because. They were to follow him as he followed Christ. That should be the criteria today as well.
In God’s economy, the local church takes a higher position than the local government. Our country prides itself on ‘separation of church and state’. They believe the state has the right to control the churches. Most churches have agreed to that position. In past history, the Catholic religion has controlled the state. That is not Biblical. God works in the heart of individuals. The apostle Paul stood before governors and kings but he did not try to force them to believe the truth. He testified boldly before them. They did not repent and get saved but he made it very clear to them that they needed to repent and be saved. That is what Jesus had taught as well. That is what true born again Christians need to do as well. We cannot force anyone to be saved. We can teach with boldness so that others will know that we believe what we are saying. There must be a consistency in our walk and our talk.
Proud people think they make up their own minds on life. Proud people think they are independent thinkers. They think they are just a little bit better than everyone else. They think that way because of their pride. They are delusional.
The apostle Paul did not have a delusional view of himself. He knew he was a born again Christian. He knew he was a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. He knew he was called to be an apostle. He was personally taught by the Lord Jesus Christ. The people could examine his life and his words. They could see whether he was following Christ or Gamaliel. We need to remember that Paul had been a very faithful follower of Gamaliel prior to his salvation. Gamaliel was a prominent and proud Pharisee. When Paul was saved, he turned away from that former training and he chose to follow Christ. In Philippians 3 he was directed to give his testimony regarding what he valued. He was a genuine child of God. As we read in our verse, he was a follower of Christ. He did not promote the government. He did not endorse the government. He was not intimidated by the government either. He was obedient to the will of God and thus God’s will took a higher priority for him than the laws of the land. When God’s law has Its proper place in a person’s life, the laws of the land will have their proper place as well.
There are religious people who believe that the government cannot force them to have a driver’s licence or to licence their vehicle, etc. That is not Biblical. Submitting to having a driver’s license does not go against God’s law. Driving the speed limit does not go against God’s law. Being silent on the preaching of the Gospel does go against God’s law. Accepting the corrupt ungodly secular standards of marriage is against God’s law. Accepting the murder of unborn children is against God’s law. Accepting the abominable doctrines of the sodomites is against God’s law. Supporting anti-semitism is against God’s law. We could go on but the point is that those who are truly saved need to be followers of Christ.
God gave us all we need to know about Christ, in the Bible. At the close of John’s account of the Gospel of Jesus Christ we are told that the world could not contain all the things that Jesus did. God gave us what we need to know. We have more material in the Scriptures than we will ever fully comprehend. We need to humbly submit to the will of God and be saved first of all. After we are saved we need to become a part of a true local church. That is clearly taught in the Bible. We need to grow in the Lord and we need to be willing to proclaim the truth to others as God gives us opportunity.
In our current time, we have the privilege of reaching into many different countries with the Gospel through the internet. That is currently a tool that the governments are not able to silence yet. The governments are working hard to try to get control of that tool, but they have not been successful yet. Even in Iran, a pagan country, pictures of the recent attack by Israel were broadcast, even though it was forbidden by the government. Christians can and should proclaim the truth wherever possible.
The love of God is what will motivate the true child of God to be willing to speak the truth to others. We will care more about their soul than about the threats of humanism. We are not looking for vain glory. We are seeking to glorify God.
The apostle Paul was not offering an option to the saints in our verse for today. He was not entertaining the carnality of the saints. He was directed by God to show them the need to be single minded. They needed to follow him as he followed Christ.
James warns us that a double minded man is unstable in all his ways. God is good. He will lead the true child of God to those He wants us to learn from. He will not endorse the confusion that has engulfed so many in our time. Many people have no firm foundation and they do not know what to believe. They claim salvation, and they seem to be united around resistance to the truth, but open to a variety of false teaching. The true child of God will make Christ his absolute Truth and nothing will interfere with that position. God is still in control, and His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ is still building His church. Follow Him and know His blessing.
Pastor Bartel