“You Asked for It” is a brand new Life Lesson series at CrossPoint Community Church.  Hundreds of people submitted their questions the most popular are being answered on Sunday mornings. I’ve invited several of my co-workers to address the “best of the rest” right here.  WARNING - your questions did not hold back - an neither will our answers.

QUESTION | How do I combat those attacking Christianity and conservatism? Can you truly be “liberal” as today’s society defines it and an obedient righteous Christian?

ANSWER | Submitted by Frank Hart

Christianity and conservatism are not the same thing. Jesus is not a Republican, and He is not a conservative. If a conservative is a person who is resistant to change, then clearly Jesus (and His followers) are not conservative. Jesus calls for a total change in anyone who would follow Him, and this is to overflow into all areas of life. They are to no longer put family, friends, nation, politics or any self-interests before Him. Following Jesus means applying His standards to all areas of life. This changes everything.

Consider, how does Jesus want us to view family? What is God’s purpose for marriage and what standards does He give us for it? When does a human life begin and how are we to protect the weak? These are all issues that God speaks about in His word with great passion and clarity. We are not to simply do what is right in our own eyes.

However, there are other issues that are typically seen as part of the conservative position that may look very different when seen through God’s Word. How should the government involve itself in matters of charity and humanitarian aid, how aggressive and powerful should the national defense be? How should we view our borders and how should we treat refugees? God’s Word has much to say about compassion, mercy and kindness.

But, Jesus is not a Democrat either, and He is not a political liberal. The liberal sees individual liberty and rights to be the most important driver of political action. In other words, they think the highest standard for truth and the foundational building block of culture should be the desires of the individual human heart. God’s Word contradicts this notion saying that, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked1,” and Jesus takes it further saying, “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, and slander2.” It doesn’t seem to me that Jesus would support “follow your heart” as the highest aspirations of a culture.

Those who would follow Jesus must not follow any political ideas without first looking at those ideas through the lens of scripture. We must not trust even our own heart, but instead put our faith in Him.

1.     Jeremiah 17:9
2.     Matthew 15:9