What’s Our Christian Goal & How Do We Obtain It?

The apostle Paul wrote to the Christians in Corinth (1Cor.9:24-26):

“Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize. Run in such a way that you may win… Therefore, I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air.”

As Christians, what is our goal here on earth? Overall, I believe the Bible teaches to help build His church, which is the Body of Christ – thus to win people to Christ and build Believers mature in Christ.

But is that it, to just keep making the church bigger? But for what purpose is the church here on earth anyway, to just keep getting bigger and become a nice BIG FAT church? Does it not have any goal or purpose beyond itself? For many churches and many church leaders today, it seems that is all they focus on, becoming a nice big fat church, so we can tithe more and build more buildings.

But Jesus made clear He wants HIS church, HIS people to impact the “earth” [society etc.], the “world” [institutions etc.], the “nations” [governments etc.] (Mat. 5:13-14, 28:19):

• “You are the salt of the earth.”
• “You are the light of the world.”
• “Go and make disciples of the nations.”

You see, somebody is going to rule the earth, the world, the nations. I don’t have time here to go over all the Scriptures again, Old and New Testament, that makes clear that God wants to be ruling over all three of these areas. They all belong to Him. And indeed, He is already over all these areas, but unless His people are in place for Him to carry out His righteousness, then the “prince of the power of the air” and his non-Christian agents will fill the vacuum where Christians have abdicated their authority in Jesus’ Name.

First, we Christians need to realize IT IS GOD’S WILL for us to rule everywhere on “the earth”, “the world”, and “the nations” in Jesus’s Name. Every Sunday around the world over a billion Christians pray what Jesus said to pray – His “will to be done on EARTH as it is in heaven”! Only you and I as Christians can fully carry out Jesus’ pray and therefore, we need to take back His land that we have abdicated His authority over to His enemy of darkness.

HOW?

Are you ready to hear? Practically, I see only two general ways – geographically – where we presently live or to move to another place where we might better succeed. Jesus did say, “follow Me.” We should never say never, but rather pray, “not my will but Your will be done.”

First, look at where we presently live. It may be different in different cities or nations, but God’s Word applies to every place. In the U.S. one of the easiest ways to turn everything around, literally within any 24-month voting cycle, is for Christians to mobilize in voting out the unrighteous. Churches have the highest voting block in the nation, and much more so when you add the many other sectors in our society who generally embrace Judeo-Christian values.

However, presently only under half the true Christian population votes and out of them about 20 percent vote for the less biblical candidates. This is not only shocking if not biblically sinful, though unrealized by many Christians – “Do not withhold good… when it is in your power to do it” (Prov. 3:27).

But there is hardly any city or town, where if just the Christins that regularly attended all the churches in that town would vote in the primaries and next general election, those cities and then the nation would be taken back for the Kingdom of God!

David Lane reported that, “In the 2022 elections in North Carolina 50 pastors and spiritual leaders ran for local offices with 25 winning the primary, and 10 of the 25 being elected to local offices on November 8, 2022.” Praise God for them. But if the churches in their towns had been taught Scripturally, every Christian’s biblical mandate to vote, and vote for genuine God-fearing men, they could have all won. But again, “My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6). Where are these pastors?

Over the years many cities have been taken over by only a hand full of united immoralists running for city councils. San Franciso was one of the obvious early cities. In open defiance and contrary to federal law these few brazen council persons started putting in place many of their own ungodly vile laws. And the federal government never had them arrested or marched troops into the city to stop them. Their example ignited this to happen in many other cities all over the nation. Think about that.

What if a hand full of bold God-fearing Christians took over a city council and began replacing the unbiblical laws with biblical laws, God’s Law. If churches in any city got together with this mission, in most cities this could be done by the next election. And at the same time, they would be able to vote in a lot of other persons, not least of which, supporting a bold God-fearing sheriff who would support God’s Law and the city Christian councilors.

There are a multitude of smaller towns where if only ONE church mobilized their congregation, there would be enough Believers to swing the votes… and it would be much easier than they might imagine. A multitude of city councilors win by less than 50 votes and there are places where no one is even running against them!

Now if only ONE city or town was ever taken over by bold Christians establishing God’s Law, like San Franciso was by the immoralists, this would spart Christians across the nation to rise up and do the same. As churches, we are already organized and in a much better position to take back the land more quickly, and certainly with God’s help, than the immoralists did in capturing our cities.

And how do you take over a nation – one town at a time. That’s exactly how the immoralists have taken over our nation. By the way, that’s exactly how the 16^th century Reformers took over one nation after another in Europe. And did you know, that’s the exact strategy, and only strategy, that God gave Joshua for taking over the nation of Canaan, “little by little” (Ex.23:30). Joshua followed that strategy literally, systematically overwhelming only one small town at a time. But if you don’t have any pastors or Christians in your town that you can unite with that are mobilizing for God’s civil mandate to take over your town for His Kingdom, you should consider the only other alternative.

Second, if where you live there are no pastors willing to mobilize their church to obey God’s civil mandate, then you may want to pray about moving where there is a church being obedient to God’s civil mandate. Does this seem too radical to consider or think God would never want that for you or His Kingdom?

This was God’s will for over 5 million of His people! They were in a nation where they were oppressed and persecuted. God told them all to get up and move to where they would rule their own nation, taking over the land of Canaan.

The mission was not easy, many times they wanted to go back to Egypt but God’s plan for His people was to be the civil rulers for Him and His Law in a nation. At times they were a great example to the world and other times they were not, but even then, they were an example of how God will judge any nation that turns against God and His Law.

After A.D. 33, God now commanded His people to carry out His ruling plan for “all nations”! Jesus had just then “been given all authority… on earth.” So Jesus said, “Therefore, go to… all nations… and teach them to obey all that I have commanded you and I will be with you always, even to the end of the age” (Mat. 28:18-20).

The above pronoun “them” in context, is not referring to the disciples but rather commanding them to go and “disciple” and “teach” the “nations” (i.e. civil governments) — for “nations… to obey all that He has commanded.” There are many N.T. verses mandating Christians to get the gospel out to everyone. But the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20), is not one of them. There is NO reference to the gospel in Jesus’ Great Commission.

God never desires to share His rule through His people with some democratic pluralistic mix of believers with nonbelievers, neither in the Old or New Testament (2Cor. 6:14-18):

“Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever?… As God said:

‘I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people. Therefore, come out from among unbelievers, and separate yourselves from them, says the Lord… And I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.’”

 Again, for the church age, Christians today, the apostle Peter also declares that God’s people need to understand that they are to be a nation – “a holy nation” – which would require holy men ruling (1Peter 2:9):

“But you are… a holy nation, a people for God… who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”

So it makes sense that the apostle Paul would also tell us to establish Christian law courts, separate from secular courts (1Cor. 6:1-6):

“When one of you has a dispute with another believer, how dare you file a lawsuit and ask a secular court to decide the matter instead of taking it to other believers! Don’t realize that someday we believers will judge the world? And since you are going to judge the world, can’t you decide even these little things among yourselves? Don’t you realize that we will judge angels? So you should surely be able to resolve ordinary disputes in this life. If you have legal disputes about such matters, why go to outside judges who are not respected by the church? I am saying this to shame you. Isn’t there anyone in all the church who is wise enough to decide these issues?”

Did you know that the custom of Christian ministers wearing black robes came from Constantine the Great after he took over the Roman Empire for Christendom. He established God’s Law in place of Roman pagan law and had the church leaders wear black robes so people on the streets would recognize them as the city’s new civil judges.

When the Pilgrams and Puritans came to America, they referenced what they were doing the same as what God had His people do in leaving Egypt, to establish a godly nation. They wrote in saying they were setting up a “a new Israel.”

Did you know what Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson wanted the design to be for the Great Seal of the United States – Moses parting the Red Sea with Pharaoh and his chariots being overwhelmed by the waters!

Franklin and Jefferson both knew what it would take to establish a new morally Christian nation. For that reason, they also both wanted the United States Motto to be – “Rebellion to Tyrants Is Obedience to God”. And by the way, they got that from Scripture. They didn’t get their motto, but Jefferson had it inscribed on his personal ring which he wore for the rest of his life. Maybe it’s time we wear such inscriptions… and not just wear them but act accordingly as did they.

Even early American non-Christians were more motived to die for our Judeo-Christian heritage and freedom, as many did, more than most pastors today are willing to even speak on our national issues, despite the Bible addressing all of them, every political and civil issue there is.

Though it may sound somewhat humorous to some of us today what Benjamin Franklin said on the day they all signed the Declaration of Independence; yet when they all signed it, in fear of their very lives – Franklin rose and said: “We better all hang together or most assuredly we will all hang separately.”

In the Old Testament (1Sam. 17:16-51): young David went to the front battle line trenches where God’s army was facing their enemy. All David’s brothers and all the rest of God’s troops were there, all hiding behind the trenches. And every time their giant enemy Goliath came out strutting in from of God’s army and started shouting and taunting them and their God, they would all run and hide.

This is not unlike many Christians and their pastors today. When the enemy giants come out publicly taunting against JESUS our GOD and KING, His Word, and His people, many today run back into the trenches of their churches and hide… to then hear a nice feel-good sermon… never taught or equipped to face the God taunting civil giants of today, much less how to kill them. 

But not young David. When the mighty giant Goliath come out to fight, mocking God and His people, and all God’s men ran and fled for their lives, young David said – “Is there not a cause?”.

“Goliath walked out toward David with his shield bearer ahead of him, sneering in contempt at this ruddy-faced boy. ‘Am I a dog,’ he roared at David, ‘that you come at me with a stick?’ And he cursed David by the names of his gods. ‘Come over here, and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and wild animals!’ Goliath yelled.

David replied to the Philistine, ’You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the Name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. Today the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head. And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel! And everyone assembled here will know that the Lord rescues His people, but not with sword and spear. This is the Lord’s battle, and He will give you to us!”

As Goliath moved closer to attack, David quickly ran out to meet him. Reaching into his shepherd’s bag and taking out a stone, he hurled it with his sling and hit the Philistine in the forehead. The stone sank in, and Goliath stumbled and fell face down on the ground.

So David triumphed over the Philistine with only a sling and a stone, for he had no sword. Then David ran over and pulled Goliath’s sword from its sheath. David used it to kill him and cut off his head.”

Need I say more. This is enough for me to bow my head and say again with Isaiah, “Here am I Lord, send me.”

God said (Ps. 94:16): “Who will rise up for Me against the evildoers? Or who will stand up for Me against the workers of iniquity?”

“God, where is Your army today? Where is everybody?” As said – If not now, when? If not here, where? If not me, who?

 Yours “to fight the good fight”,

Jim

PS: There are details in all the above that I’m not taking time to address but I welcome your questions or thoughts.