Shortly after Jesus entered Jerusalem to die on the cross, He entered the Temple and saw people using the Temple as a place to make a profit of sell things. Jesus quoted the Old Testament and said: “My house shall be called a house of prayer,” but you are making it a den of robbers” Matthew 21:13” Jesus was quoting Isaiah who wrote,
“7 these I will bring to my holy mountain and make them joyful in my house of prayer;their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar,for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples” Isaiah 56:7.
And Jesus also quoted Jeremiah who wrote,
“11 Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your sight? I, too, am watching, says the Lord” Jeremiah 7:11.
Christian evangelism is defined as the spreading of the Christian Gospel by public preaching or personal witness. Christian evangelicals are unfortunately preaching a political gospel which is far removed from the Christian Gospel of Jesus Christ. Christian evangelism can - and should - inform you regarding your vote, but evangelicals can easily run the risk of turning the Gospel of Jesus Christ into a document that supports their political views. I have heard sermons that are political rallies in favor of a political candidate running for office.
The “Separation of Church and State” is an interpretation of the “Establishment Clause” of the First Amendment. Although not explicitly stated in the First Amendment, the “Establishment Clause” has often been interpreted to mean that the Constitution requires the separation of church and state. Roger Williams, the founder of Rhode Island was the first public official to speak of the “Separation of Church and State,” and the most famous use of the metaphor was by Thomas Jerrerson in his 1802 letter to the Danbury Baptist Association. In it, Jefferson declared that when the American people adopted the establishment clause they built a “wall of separation between the church and state.”
So I ask you today to think seriously about this. Pray about this. Jesus was crucified by the State who were influenced by church leaders. I believe that the “Separation of Church and State” is a very important aspect of our American life. But today I see more and more power that our politicians and courts of our country are having over our decisions that are our religious, moral, and ethical decisions to make, right or wrong.
I think we need to keep our churches as a “house of prayer” and not allow our churches and country to be taken over by a “den of robbers” who are inflicting too much politics on our lives and faith. I lived for a spell as a missionary in China who has a functioning department under the State Council of China that is responsible for managing religious affairs. This is called the Bureau of Religious Affairs, and it controls all religious life and beliefs in a country that does not support the “Separation of Church and State.”
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me a sinner.
From the Bible:
“Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God” 1 Peter 2:16.
“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery” Galatians 5:1.
“But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men” Acts 5:29.
“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” John 1:12-13.
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