In Colonial Virginia, Baptist preachers were beaten and jailed for preaching the gospel. This is why John Leland and Isaac Backus argued vigorously with James Madison to include the first amendment and Bill of Rights in the constitution. If you were an outsider, as Baptists were, in a state with an established religion, you never wanted the government to control religion again. Those early Baptists believed in a free church in a free state.
What did the Roman governor Felix want from Paul and Christians? Felix was well acquainted with the Way, the name given to the Christian church in those days. Thankfully, he showed kindness to Paul, giving him some freedom and letting his friends help him. He and his Jewish wife Drusilla even listened to Paul speak about faith in Jesus Christ. One day, when Paul talked about righteousness, self-control and judgment, his words frightened Felix. Felix sent him away until a more convenient time. But what he really wanted from Paul was a bribe, so he brought him back frequently.
The relationship of church and state is still tenuous in our day. In my observation, the church will use the government to get things we want. Likewise, government leaders also use the church to get what they want. This calls for discernment. Everybody has an angle. What does a secular government want from Christians in our culture? Our votes? Our money to finance their campaigns? Our praise of their work? But do they want Christ to transform their lives? I am hopeful but skeptical.
What the church has to offer to our secular leaders is Christ. Pure and simple. Paul talked about Jesus because he knew Jesus was Felix’s only hope. Do we speak enough truth to power to give our leaders holy fear, as Paul did for Felix? Or do we rubber stamp their choices because they give us what we want? I know this for sure: Christ will never be “convenient” for any of our lives. “Love, so amazing, so divine, demands our souls, our lives, our all.” Give them Jesus! Whom? All of them. Give them Jesus. He is all we have and all the world needs.
