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Welcome to the Daily Blade. The Word of God is described as the sword of the Spirit, the primary spiritual weapon in the Christians' armor against the forces of evil. Your hosts are Joby Martin and Kyle Thompson, and they stand ready to equip men for the fight. Let's sharpen up.

Should Faith Affect Politics

Deuteronomy On Undivided Allegiance

Salt Of The Earth And Civic Duty

Closing Charge And Share Request

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Alright, guys, let's close out the week. So all week we've been sounding the alarm on a crisis of discernment that is quietly reshaping evangelical Christianity. We're using Legionier in Life Way's State of Theology 2025 survey as our launching pad, looking at what self-described evangelicals believe, and then bringing every statement before the authority of Scripture. So yesterday we challenged the prevailing view amongst many self-described evangelicals that we do not have an obligation to a local body of believers. And today we're looking at whether Christians should operate in the world of politics. So I know that most people say that you shouldn't talk about politics nor religion, but those are two of my favorite things to talk about. So we're going to talk about them and we're going to talk about them today. But what we're seeing a lot in modernity from Christians and non-Christians alike is the idea that we have to pick one of those things or the other or neither. So we can either talk about politics without religion, we can talk about religion without politics, or we just keep our trap shut on both, right? And even though their arguments advocating for this way of operating aren't good, it seems to have worked. I mean, I've seen people of all stripes buy into the ideology that politics and religion should have absolutely zero crossover. And a lot of those people consider themselves to be evangelicals. So here's a statement from the State of Theology 2025. Christians should not allow their religious beliefs to influence their political decisions. Fifty-four percent of self-described evangelicals agree with this statement. So more than half of evangelicals think that there is no place for the commands, dictates, laws, and morals of God in the world of politics. Just stunning stuff. But let's actually see what the Bible has to say. So if we go to Deuteronomy 6, verses 4 and 5, hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all of your might. So we see here that the Lord is one. So if he is one, that means he is supreme. And if he is supreme, that means that there is no competing authority that outranks him, right? And if no competing authority outranks him, that means that all of the subservient authorities must appeal to his standard when doing just about anything. And when it says that we should love the Lord your God with all your heart, guys, there's no separation of the heart into different parts with different focuses. Okay? It doesn't say that we should love the Lord your God with the religious part of your heart, but not your political part. Like it doesn't say that we should love the Lord your God with the public part of your heart, but not the private one. I mean, that's just not a thing. It says that we are to love him with all of our heart. And attached to the heart is the will and the mind, right? And downstream of your will and your mind are your decisions and your actions. So yes, your political decisions and actions are part of the heart. And it goes on to say that we are to love the Lord our God with all of our soul and might. So that encompasses all of the other categories not covered by the heart. I mean, this includes your resources, your energy, your activity, your attention, your influence, right? All of it. Which leads us to the teachings of Jesus. And we see the following in the Sermon on the Mount as recorded in Matthew 5, verse 13. You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. So, as Christians, we are the salt of the earth. But what is salt? Its most basic function is as a preservative. And what does a preservative do? It prevents, or in most cases, slows decay. So Jesus is telling Christians that we are to preserve the earth, and in order to preserve anything, we must stay salty. As Jesus said, if we lose our saltiness, we're no longer good for anything as it pertains to this world. So if you don't like politics, or if it's confusing to you, or if it scares you, this might make your tummy hurt a little bit, but here's the reality: if Christians abdicate their responsibility to the political sphere, then the vacuum will be filled by wicked people who hate God. Is that what you want? Is that what you want for your country? For your state, for your city? Is that the legacy you want to leave for your progeny? That you, you know, didn't get involved in the political process because you became convinced of some nonsensical abiblical blather about how Christians should just stay out? Well, that's a pretty good way to lose your saltiness, and I would caution you against it. Alright, guys, thanks for your attention this week. Stay sharp.

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