Dear Minister: Why are you silent on so many issues that God’s Word clearly addresses?
Answer: You see, in order to effectively reach the lost, the pulpit needs to biblically teach the found. And that is why I am convinced that where the pulpit goes, the pew goes. And where the pew goes, the populace goes. In other words, the Church and Christian are supposed to be the conscience of the nation. Spiritually. Morally. Practically. And yes, even politically.
The Bible says, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord” (Psalm 33:12). So, when we determine to make Christ our sovereign and His Word our supreme law, we open up our land to the blessings of God. However, as the pattern of human history attests, we are also responsible for pushing God out of the public square. And when we openly rebel against the law of the Lord, we see the resulting degradation that is left in the wake of such decisions.
Yet, when God’s people get out of tune with His truth, God does what He has to do to bring us back to what’s true. Welcome to 2024! How did we get so far off from the Lord’s standards in America? Well, in Second Chronicles 15, we are introduced to a roadmap that has led to our trouble. It reads, “For a long time Israel has been without the true God, without a teaching priest, and without law” (II Chronicles 15:3).
Do you see it? To be without the true God is caused by having a vacuum in the pulpit (“without a teaching priest and without law”). And without biblical truth and righteousness being the pulse of the pulpit that instructs the pew, then the people cast off restraints (Proverbs 29:18). The restraints that God has put in place over human affairs first begins with moral order (our conscience), then social order (our community made up of families), then law and order (civil authority), and finally spiritual order (the church). There is an outright attack against these restraining orders of God, yet ultimately, when those restraints break down, it is most likely because the Church and Christian are bowing down to the culture instead of the Scriptures, the world instead of the Lord.
You see, all hell breaks loose when the pulpit fails to preach truth. Because when the pulpit becomes more about keeping people happy, it becomes less about making people holy. And holiness and “righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14:22). There are really only three types of churches these days – the courageous church, the complacent church, and the complicit church. And those churches produce their likeness in their congregants. Sad, but true.
So I will end with the same thought from the beginning, which stated, “where the pulpit goes, the pew goes. And where the pew goes, the populace goes. In other words, the Church and Christian are supposed to be the conscience of the nation.” Therefore, regardless of the outcome over the battle of politics in the White House, let us recognize how the battle is won by the power and purity of the Church House.
Matthew Maher
Pastor | Landmark Church
300 E. 8th Street Ocean City, NJ | 609-399-4747
