Certain biblical themes are increasingly becoming political — at least in many people’s minds. But keep in mind that all six of the biblical themes I will list below were biblical long before they became political (in the sense most of us think of politics). Furthermore, all of these themes are clear and emphasized in the Bible.
To keep this post simple, let me just list the six themes, along with a few supporting Scriptures. To each of these themes could be added other supporting Scriptures and theological observations — and for someone disposed to disagree that a given theme is important, these few Scriptures will seem inadequate — but this is, after all, only a blog post and has to be kept short. Someone could also legitimately argue that all six themes are not of equal importance — and I would agree. But I would not agree that they aren’t important biblical themes. Someone might further notice — correctly — that these themes are not all developed in the same way and with the same kind of reasoning in the Bible. That also is true. But all six themes are individually significant in the Bible.
Okay, here is a list of six biblical themes that of late have come to be viewed as political.
1. Sanctity of Life
Genesis 9:6: “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.”
Exodus 20:13: “You shall not murder.”
Psalm 139:13-16: “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made…. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.
Jeremiah 1:5: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
Luke 1:15: “…he [John the Baptist] will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb” (cf. Luke 1:41, 44).
2. Care for the Poor
Isaiah 58:6-7: “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?”
Luke 4:18-19, quoting Isaiah 61:1-2a: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
James 2:15-16: “If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?”
3. Sanctity of Gender
Genesis 1:27: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”
Genesis 5:2: “Male and female he created them, and he blessed them.”
Mark 10:6: “But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’”
1 Corinthians 11:11-12: “Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man nor man of woman; for as woman was made from man, so man is now born of woman.”
4. Care for People of Differing Ethnicities
Acts 13:1: “Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.” [A multi-ethnic ministry team]
Acts 17:26: “And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth.”
Colossians 3:11: “Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.”
Revelation 5:9: “And they sang a new song, saying, ‘Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.’”
5. Sanctity of Marriage
Genesis 2:24: “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.”
Matthew 19:6: “So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”
1 Corinthians 7:2: “But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband.”
1 Thessalonians 4:3: “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality.”
6. Care for the Sojourner
Leviticus 19:33-34: “When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.”
Deuteronomy 24:17-18: “You shall not pervert the justice due to the sojourner or to the fatherless, or take a widow’s garment in pledge, but you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you from there; therefore I command you to do this.”
Hebrews 13:2: “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”
Now, let us grant that individual Christians can legitimately disagree about the manner in which each of these themes should be addressed in our current cultural context. For example, Christians can disagree about the best way to protect marriage or care for sojourners. But what Christians cannot disagree upon is that these six themes are clearly emphasized in the Bible and thereby ought to matter to us.
So, here is my question for you today: Are there any of the six themes listed above that you really don’t care about (or don’t care much about), or because of current political rhetoric you have inadvertently (or advertently, if that’s a real word) de-emphasized?
If the Bible emphasizes something, let’s also emphasize it. Even if it is politically unpopular.
Note: The idea for this post originated from something I heard Tim Keller speak (in a sermon?) a few years ago, but I do not remember and cannot find the actual source. I think that Keller called out life, marriage, the poor and the sojourner, that is, four of the six items on the list above, but I’m not entirely certain.
This post and other resources are available at Kindle Afresh: The Blog and Website of Kenneth Berding.
