IS THIS WORD OF THE LORD FOR ME?
Local and Federal Elections are upon us. For
months we have endured politicking, campaign signs and commercials. This is
just part of life in the world and we ought to rejoice that we live in a
society where we have opportunity to choose our representatives. What is
intolerable about this time of year is the inevitable intrusion of churches
into politics. Every election cycle some churches get into the spirit of the
season with pastors preaching about electing godly leaders and suggesting that
if only we had Christians in public office then our nation would flourish once
again. They reason that if we, as a nation, were to repent of our sins and
embrace a Christian rule then the Lord would grant material blessings to our
nation. Usually this revolves around a misreading of 2 Chronicles 7:14 which is
a favorite way for ‘evangelicals’ to “biblicize” their politics. There the Lord
says to Solomon:
If
My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek
My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and
will forgive their sin and heal their land.
This verse, along with Philippians 4:13, has become one of
the must misused passages in North American Christianity. Many evangelicals interpret
the U.S.A. as the “my people” to whom God is speaking. In some, this comes from
a belief that the U.S.A. is a “Christian” nation that serves as the modern
equivalent of Old Testament Israel. This reading also arises from an
interpretive idea that believes all of God’s words are spoken directly to the
reader regardless of time or place. This is the idea that a person can open
their Bible and apply whatever is said directly to them in their
situation. In short, this interpretive method ignores the
context of bible verses (as is the case with the aforementioned Philippians
4:13) and what I like to call the “contextual recipients” of specific words of
God.
Dr. Luther ran into these sorts of people in his own day. They
wanted to make Mosaic Law the Law of Saxony. They argued that Mosaic Law is the
Word of the Lord, so it would be far better than any human law. Luther argues
that these theologians were ignoring the fact that Mosaic Law was spoken only
to the children of Israel, since they were both church and state. He addressed
this way of thinking in a 1525 sermon entitled How Christians Should Regard Moses. He writes:
It
is all God’s word. But let God’s word be what is may, I must pay attention and
know to whom God’s word is addressed. You are still a long way from being the
people with whom God spoke. . . One must deal cleanly with the Scriptures. From
the very beginning the word has come to us in various ways. It is not enough
simply to look and see whether this is God’s word, whether God has said it;
rather we must look and see to whom it has been spoken, whether it fits us.
This makes all the difference between night and day. (LW35:170)
The spirit than claims “The Word of God says!” yet ignores
the context of that Word is a false spirit. Luther’s point is that God’s Word
is not to be taken out of context and applied evenly across the board. The
“contextual recipient” of Mosaic Law was not the Saxons, the Irish, or North
Americans. It was Old Testament Israel. Luther’s idea can be distilled to this
question, “To whom is the Lord speaking in this passage?”
Luther then uses several examples to show the dangers of
ignoring context. God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his firstborn son Isaac as
a test of faithfulness. Luther points out that no one in his day applies this
command to themselves. Why not? Because the Lord commands that specifically to
Abraham. Another example is the promise of a son to sit on David’s throne in 2
Samuel. Christians, Luther argues, are not to expect that these words about a
child apply to them. He continues:
The
word in Scripture is of two kinds: the first does not pertain or apply to me,
the other kind does. And upon that word which does pertain to me I can boldly
trust and reply, as upon a strong rock.
(LW35:170)
Mosaic Law does not apply to the Christian because Mosaic Law
was given for the nation of Israel to follow and to set them apart from other
nations. Mosaic Law as also given to serve as shadows and illustrations of the
promised Messiah and His work of salvation. It was given to Israel. Not to
anyone else.
It becomes the duty of every Christian (and especially the
preacher) to rightly divide God’s Word. A good question which needs asking,
especially when reading the Old Testament is, “To whom does God speak this
word, this to me or someone else?” And if the Lord speaks it to someone else
then it is not directly for me.” So we do not sacrifice our Isaacs. We are
allowed to mourn the death of loved ones (Ezekiel was commanded not to mourn
the death of his wife). I am not commanded to stone adulterers, observe the
Sabbath, or abstain from eating shellfish. Neither am I commanded to bathe
seven times in the Jordan or dwell in booths.
When God’s word is directed at a specific contextual
recipient that does not mean we get to ignore that word though. The Lord gives
us the Old Testament to teach us about Himself and how He relates to sinners.
St. Paul writes: “All Scripture is given
by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for
correction, for instruction in righteousness.” (2 Timothy 3:16) Even if a word of God is not spoken directly to
us, that word of God is always efficacious and wants to teach us about the
Lord’s way of dealing with us: Law and Gospel.
So not every word of God applies to me. 2
Chronicles 7:14 does not apply to the United States of America because we, as a
nation, are not God’s chosen people. That word was a word of warning given
Solomon in a dream after the dedication of the Temple. Our nation is not the
New Testament Israel. Neither is the current nation-state of Israel the chosen
people of God. The Israel of God is the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic
Church. “My people” in the original context was Old Testament Israel, so this
Word of the Lord falls into Luther’s first category: that which does not apply
to me.
