As Christians, we should guard against grounding our opinions on world affairs in any theological framework more firmly than the one Scripture gives us with absolute clarity: the Gospel.
The Gospel is the death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and return of Jesus Christ, God the Son; and through faith in Him, our sins are forgiven, our lives are made new, and we are brought into communion with God and His people forever.
That simple yet staggering truth should govern our identities, our actions, and our view of everything, including geopolitics.
As we yield ourselves to the Gospel’s governance, we’ll begin to loosen our grip on the nonessentials of our faith—teachings that often draw us further from Gospel simplicity and deeper into systematic theological theories.
Notice what I said: we’ll begin ‘loosening’ (not releasing) our grip. Just because these teachings are nonessential does not mean they are unimportant, but their influence on our lives and thinking must not exceed the clarity with which Scripture communicates them.
We must shy away from the terrible habit of shouting where God whispers and speaking where He remains silent.
However, there exists in each of us a theological gremlin—an insecure, argumentative, curmudgeon—more interested in befuddling Christianity’s simplicity than in embracing it. This creature feeds off speculative theological theorizing. Left to himself in private study or—worse—placed in a room, sanctuary, or denomination with others similarly bent, his ‘opinions’ will be woven into a dogmatic, theological banner he feels forced to defend at all costs.
And one of the places this happens most predictably is eschatology (end times).
If you paused and loosened your grip on whatever eschatological framework you hold, how would you change? If, upon hearing that question, your fists or gut immediately clench, could that be a sign that the issue has taken on more influence in your life than is wise?
I think we’d all do well to resist the urge to make our personally held eschatology Christendom’s ensign.
Oh, the gremlin would gladly wave that banner.
…but would Christ?
I picked on eschatology because I see it as the most influential issue shaping a Christian’s view of the current geopolitical landscape, but there are others. What are some you’ve seen?
*Also, I don’t claim for a second to be unbiased. I wrote this just as much for myself as for anyone who takes the time to read it.