As conservatives and Christians, we often have to figure out how to respond to people, such as liberals and unbelievers, who are on the other side. On this week’s Liberty Cafe, though, we are going to discuss how to engage with those who are on our side, but who also might be aiding and abetting the enemy.
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In the world of faith and politics, we’re always going to run across people who disagree with us. Sometimes those folks are going to be on the other side, we might even look at them as our enemies. Then there are those folks who are on our side, but it looks like they might be giving what we would call aid and comfort to the enemies. So the question then becomes, how do we deal with the folks who are on our side, but doing what we see is really irreparable harm to the causes we are fighting for. That’s going to be our topic of discussion today, on Episode 114, the Liberty cafe. Hi, my name is Bill Peacock, blessing to have you here with me listening to the Liberty Cafe today, whether you’re doing it driving down the road, or, or maybe sitting out in your backyard, or just maybe falling asleep, hopefully, I’ll keep you awake long enough that she can get through most of the podcasts before you for those off. But anyway, thanks for being here today. And also thanks very much to the folks over Texas scorecard, the sponsor for the Liberty cafe, what a blessing it is to have them here supporting the work I’m doing. And we’re all doing for fighting for liberty, and freedom here in our country and across the world. So I mentioned at the beginning, that I want us to talk about today how to deal with people we disagree with. And let me just start this off by reading a quote. This is from Henry van til he’s a theologian. And he said that one cannot keep on evangelizing the world without interfering with the world’s culture. So he’s obviously coming at this from a Christian perspective. And and what he’s saying there are leading us toward is that if we are Christians, and we’re doing our jobs, we’re going to be interfering with what the world is trying to do. Because of course, the world is trying to turn us all away from God, they’re trying to rebel against God, they are trying to reject Him as rulers. That’s what they talk God talked about in Psalm two, right? They are they are wanting to seeking to cut the cords with God. But of course, they can’t do that. And so they get really angry at people, like Christians who come and remind them of who is Lord and God and Savior. So it’s a given that Christians, and particularly Christians, well, Christians who are preaching the gospel, are going to make enemies and Christians who are teaching the whole council of God’s world. So that would typically be and you have to be careful with all these labels, but but conservative Christians, those who are promoting free markets, which I would suggest is a biblical truth, that, that we need a lot less government than we need today. And you can go straight to the Bible and find these kinds of things. So those Christians who are preaching the gospel and preaching the whole counsel of God are going to make enemies, because that’s the way the world works. And so we have to figure out how to deal with them. But I’d really like us to talk today about so we might call these people enemies of the state. Let’s just think about it that way. But then I’d really like us to think about, for the topic of this show today, how to deal with the people who take many of the same perspectives that the folks on the other side do. But they’re on our side, right? It’s a very difficult thing to know how to do. So for instance, just in my case, I’ve been working in the public policy field, Texas politics for a long time, 30 plus years. And I used to have to sit up in the the lobby, or the the balcony up in the Texas legislature in the House chamber in the Senate chamber. And so during the late at nights, during the end of session, you just have to kind of sit there and watch wait for things to happen. So I was doing that one session, I don’t know, maybe eight years ago or something like that. And my son was up there with me because my wife brought him up to the capitol and he just hung out with me and we looked at stuff and I showed him around and what was going on down there on the Capitol floor. This was over in the Texas House side. And and so this one guy came walking down the aisle there in the Texas House chamber, and I pointed to him and I told my son Hey, that guy you yelled at me one time. And now I started looking around. And I was able to count for, I think it was four or five members of the Texas House of Representatives who had yelled at me at one point in time, I can add one or two Texas senators who have done the same thing. And so they’ve and guess what they were all Republicans. Which is kind of crazy. Because I’m a Republican, well, I guess I’m a Republican, I generally vote Republican, although I get a little upset with Republicans, and it made me that’s really what was going on here. Because I’m a conservative, I deal with legislators all the time. And generally, when I deal with Democrats, we may disagree with each other a lot. Some may even get angry at the things that I’m saying, but they don’t yell at me. Because they know who I am. Right? They understand my positions on things. So they may try and oppose me. But they typically don’t personally attack me. But with Republicans, who are supposedly on my side, the Democrats are on the other side, Republicans are on my side, but they get really angry, why did they get angry at me? Well, because I was representing position as conservative. And typically, these folks would get mad at me when I’d go into a committee hearing or into their office and say, look, the bill you’re sponsoring or the bill, you’re gonna vote for the bill, you’re gonna let out your committee is just not conservative. And they don’t like that, because they want to tell their voters back home, that they’re conservative, so they can get elected as Republicans. And they don’t like it when somebody comes up, and maybe exposes that, that they’re not quite as conservative as they want to. And so that’s an example of what I’m talking about, about how to deal me. And they to, I suppose, how to deal with folks who are on their side. But we have significant disagreements about things. Now, when it comes to politics. In some ways, it’s kind of it’s clear. They’re Democrats were Republicans. But on the other hand, it’s not quite so much, because they, some of these guys who call themselves Republicans, I can think of several folks in Texas politicians who call themselves Republicans, who I don’t think, are Republicans at all in the sense that they stand for the the basic fundamentals that Republicans have stood for over time. Just think of it faith, family, and liberty, perhaps, I think they’re really on the other side. But it’s, it’s a little more challenging. From one sense, it’s clear, but it’s also more challenging when we move her over to faith, right? Because the fact of the matter is, if somebody is really and truly a Christian, they’re on my side, it doesn’t matter how wrong they are. Again, this is from my perspective, I’m sure they have their own perspective about what I think and, and, you know, are we as conservatives, because I’m putting myself out here as a Christian conservative. They have their own opinions about what I think but it doesn’t matter how wrong they are. If they are Christians, they’re on my side. And so, you know, this could be the case, whether we’re talking about race woke racism, that they’re pushing up their white privilege, or they’re talking about the age of the Earth, they think the earth is really old. I don’t think it is. It could be about abortion. I’ve met Christians who are pro abortion, who claim they’re a Christians and, you know, the best I could tell they were right. And all these kind of woke politics that people are pushing out there, many of whom would be Christians and Republicans, right. But if they’re Christians, it doesn’t matter how woke they are. They’re on my side, because we’re both Christians. We were God’s enemy at one point in time. But then God gave us new hearts, and called us to Himself through Jesus Christ. And now we are all on God’s side together. And because they’re on God’s side, I’m on God’s side, we’re on the same side. You know, this is all by God’s grace. I didn’t just sign up one day said, Hey, I’m gonna be go from being an enemy to God to a friend of God, because I wouldn’t have made that decision and nobody does. But by God’s grace, given us this new heart, and calling us to him, we become we make we make that move over to his side. So that raises this important question again, of how do they treat these folks who are convinced that I’m convinced are wrong about what the Bible says? They’re wrong about how to apply the Bible to our lives, maybe in print ticularly they’re wrong when applying the Bible to culture and politics. Well, you know, in one sense, it’s easy for me to think of them as traitors. And that might not be too far off, let me read the definition of treason or the treason clause, or the giving aid and comfort clause from the US Constitution. This is Article Three, section three clause one, treason against the United States, so consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession, an open court. And so if I really believe what the Bible is telling me about these things, what God has said about certain things on public policy on woke racism, Marxism, economic issues, while I realize that these are not things that go to the heart of salvation, because to be saved, all I have to do is confess Christ as Lord and Savior with my heart, and call on Him as my Lord and Savior and believe that He is the things and I’ll be safe. Just to have to ask him for these things, again, by God’s grace, and I’m saved, right? And so, but still, if people are out there misrepresenting God’s word, they’re doing great harm to the sight of God, and the gospel is being presented. It just does great damage to that. And in fact, I think it’s not too far afield to say that they are giving aid and comfort to the enemy. And that when we get to the end of the road, somewhere down the road, that we will look back and see, of course, we will all have done this. In our hearts, we sin and a lot of different ways. So I’m not trying to hold myself up or other conservative Christians up any higher than I am folks who would take more work positions or something, but I think we will see that in the specific area of public policy and politics. Some folks, at least, we’re doing great harm to the spread of God’s kingdom and his culture by misrepresenting the Word of God. So I have to, so I think traitorous is one way we could talk about describing these folks. But it has to make it clear, they’re not traitors in the fact that they’ve gone over to the other side. They’re traitors in the sense that they’ve given aid and comfort to the enemies. And there’s going to have to be some consequences from that. Right. So that leads to the question, how do I deal with these folks who are preaching or teaching or having discussions or raising kids or engaging in politics in ways that are harmful? To what I would say the kingdom of God is to what God’s counsel is to the world? Well, I think there’s really two categories of folks on that there’s the leaders in the church, that would be elders, or pastors, or however you want to describe the folks like that Deacons in your church, who are leaders. And then of course, in politics, there’s the politicians, right. I think, one time, sometimes we make a mistake of treating these folks differently. And but I think really, that’s a mistake. We owe them all. Respect. We owe them all love. And we need to come to them as people on the same side as Christians, yes, conservatives, and say, you know, we love you, but you’re just wrong. Because they can be wrong, for instance. You go back to Ezekiel, and we see that in there that, that Ezekiel is prophesying about the shepherds of Israel. He’s told by God, in fact, to prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Why? Why are they doing that? Why is he supposed to do that? Well, because God says, the shepherds are feeding themselves rather than feeding the sheep. Now, does that sound familiar? To us? It certainly does. I think when it comes to politicians, I’d suggest it also does when it comes to thinking of elders in the church. Not all elders, not all politicians. I would hope that there’s fewer elders doing this and there are politicians, but nonetheless, when they when they’re out there eating the fat and clothing themselves, rather than feeding the sheep. That’s a problem and we need to hear hold them accountable, whether we’re elders or politicians, or just just the people, right, that’s the way God set up government. We’re in my church, and in most churches that don’t have the Catholic Episcopal type of hierarchy Lutheran, we elect people and we send them into office, in a church, it’s the same thing we do. In politics today. Matter of fact, the Democratic Republic form of government here in the United States is basically a biblical, Presbyterian form of governance. And that’s the way it’s set up. And so I think we need to, to reach out to folks who are on the other side and speak to them. But one thing we have to do keep in mind is that God’s really in charge of all this, and let me just read this last passage from the, from the Ezekiel passage in Ezekiel 34, he says, I will require my sheep at their hand and put a stop to their feeding the sheep, no longer shall the shepherds feed themselves, I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, that they may not be food for them. Right. So no matter how much bad stuff is going on out there, whether the bad stuff is from the enemies of God, or to folks on our side, who are aiding and abetting enemies of God, God’s in charge of all this, right. And so when we approach folks who are on our side who are doing bad, we have to put it in this perspective, we have to have the comfort that comes from knowing that God is Lord, and He is ultimately going to take care of all this. And but that doesn’t mean though, we don’t have responsibilities to deal with this. Because we do we and we need to speak clearly to people on our side who are messing up. For instance, let me just read this passage from Galatians 211 through 14. This is where Paul confronts Peter in public about Peters false teaching about what it when it comes to the issue between Jews and Gentiles. And you know, it’s all about the Judaizers. And do you have to become a Jew? Before you can become a Christian back in these days, because there were some people were saying you had to do this. And Peter was back and forth on this somewhat, but but he was confused at times, and he was on the wrong side and this and so let me just read what Paul, it says about Paul. And Paul wrote about how he treated Peter. And Peter is called Sefa seer, because that was one of his names. But when Cifas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James he was eating with the Gentiles. But when they came, he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically, with along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said, to see if us before them all, if you though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews. So here we have a really great example of how we can treat people on our side, we can speak boldly to them, we can speak, be courageous in our speech, we can speak the truth to them. And Jesus did similar things when he was talking to folks, although quite often, he was talking to Pharisees who really were on the other side. So we have to temper that. But nonetheless, here’s a situation with Paul and Peter, where they’re both clearly on the same side. So we can speak that way. But we always have to speak also with love and respect, coming from our hearts. And again, that acknowledgement that God really is in charge of all this. And we need to rest in that. And we also need to be ready to accept correction from others. Right? When we’re making the mistakes, whether it’s in politics, or economics, or religion, or just in our own personal lives, we need to respond with humility, when others come to correct us on these types of things as well. And that’s because we have to speak out because the stakes are really big, right? The entire culture, the entire world is up for grabs. I mean, this is true. It’s gonna they’re gonna go to you know, one way or it’s gonna go the other way. Now, the good news is for us Christians is that we know that Christ already rules the world. He’s our King, and he’s not just Christian’s King, he’s the king of the whole world. And so we also know that one day, his rule will be acknowledged by all, Jesus is going to win this battle. So you don’t have to worry about the outcome. But again, this doesn’t mean that we can just sit back and wait for all this to happen. Because for some mysterious reason, that is just really impossible to fathom. God has given us the task of being the army for Christ’s victory. We’re the shock troops. Some of us are the shock troops for this. Some of us are the infantry. Some of us are the logistics personnel. Some of us are the cooks and bottle washers, but we’re all Christians in the army of God. We’ve been drafted and we have to perform our duty. And we also know that some people who aren’t in the army right now, who will be they will be in the army. And that’s a key responsibility of Christians, right is to maintain that effort, not just to make the world look the way God wants it to, but to bring others from where we used to be into God’s army and onto God’s side. Let me just finish with another quote here from Henry van til who kind of helps explain what that means. What that looks like, it devolves upon God’s people, therefore, to contend for such a society which will give the maximum opportunity for us to live holy Christian lives, and the maximum opportunity for others to become Christians. Christians, we have work to do. So let’s go out there and do it. Thank you for listening to the Liberty cafe with Bill peacock. This show is produced by Texas scorecard. You can learn more about this show and find other shows at Texas scorecard.com. Be sure you subscribe and rate the show on whatever platform you listen to. I’ll see you next time.
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