When it comes to current events Christians too frequently fall into one of the twin ditches of either allowing themselves to become spokespeople for one of the approved cultural positions (usually either “conservative” or “liberal”) or withdrawing from the world in the name of “separation of church and state”. The key is understanding that the Gospel of Jesus’ kingdom stands over against all human systems, so the Christian church – while its proclamation will from time to time mirror certain conservative or liberal talking points – must not allow itself to be co-opted by any political or cultural group.
The difficulty of being so counter-cultural causes many Christians to stay silent about current events, but Jesus himself provides a model for faithfully engaging the culture with the Gospel – Jesus could not be borrowed and used by the Romans, the Herodians, the Pharisees, the Saduccees, the Eseenes, or the Zealots. Instead, through his death and resurrection he brought about the kingdom of God – the world’s only hope for justice, mercy, peace, and righteousness.