In popular usage, the English term ‘Christendom’ refers to “that part of the world in which Christianity prevails,” either because most of a nation’s citizens claim to be “Christian,” or because a specific church is recognized by the State as its official religion. That nation thereby becomes identified as “Christian,” it is one of the “Christian nations” of the world as opposed to the less enlightened peoples and cultures of the planet.
In political contexts, the term is virtually
synonymous with “Western Civilization.” Christianity becomes associated and identified
with specific regions, political blocs, ideologies, economic theories, ethnic
groups, and cultural values. This may indeed be appropriate when speaking of
the “Christian” religion, but the very idea is incompatible with the biblical faith
preached by Jesus and his Apostles.
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| [Photo by Kelsey Knight on Unsplash] |
Unfortunately, too many followers of Jesus have yet to embrace the idea of separation from the world - “In the world, not of the world.” They use and often love the methods, institutions, and religious and political ideologies of this fallen age.
This practice has prevailed since the
merger of Church and State under Constantine the Great in the fourth
century. The English term ‘Christendom’ is a combination of the name “Christian”
or “Christianity and the noun “kingdom.” But the resulting word occurs nowhere
in the Hebrew or Greek Bible.
Today, we have political operatives in
the Church masquerading as pastors and prophets who speak of ‘American
Christendom.’ This is madness. ALL the kingdoms, empires, democracies,
and other regimes of the present age will disappear sooner or later, and only one
realm will remain, the Kingdom of God.
In contrast to ‘Christendom,’ Jesus proclaimed
the “Kingdom of God,” a realm in which the old social, national, and
ethnic barriers of this sinful age have no place. God’s Kingdom welcomes
“immigrants” from even the remotest corners of the planet, especially those marginalized
and rejected by human society.
Public pronouncements about ‘Christendom’ by
political and religious leaders are roadblocks to the proclamation of the Gospel
since they associate the name of Jesus and his message with specific nations,
cultures, and ideologies. It is a counterfeit of the true faith that hardens
hearts to the Apostolic message, especially among those not well-disposed to
the nation or culture that claims to represent Jesus.
‘Christendom’ is a pale imitation of God’s Kingdom, and politicians use it and similar terms to advance their agendas and gain popular support, implying to the gullible and ignorant that God backs their presumptions of power. Unfortunately, their efforts are often joined by far too many “howling imposters” and political agents working within the Church.
In contrast, Jesus summoned all men to
repent and submit to God’s sovereignty, and his Kingdom is a political reality
that transcends all national, ethnic, economic, political, geographic, and
cultural boundaries.
REDEMPTION, NOT CONFLICT
Through his death and resurrection, Jesus
began to redeem men and women from every nation, tribe, tongue, and people, making
them a “Kingdom of Priests,” a “holy nation,” singular, and one new covenant
community.
In him, all divisions based on national
identity, economic status, race, or gender are disallowed and wholly
inappropriate. Such things are contrary to his self-sacrificial death for others,
including the “enemies of God” - (Galatians 3:28, Revelation 5:5-12).
God has dissolved the “middle wall of
partition” between the circumcised and the uncircumcised, between Jews and Gentiles.
No man or woman is advantaged or disadvantaged before Him because of gender or
nationality.
Any attempt to identify or limit the Apostolic
faith to specific nations, societies, or “civilizations” contradicts scriptural teaching and
constitutes idolatry, if not blasphemy.
Jesus was not Egyptian, Russian, or American.
God is one, and He created all men. Christ certainly was Jewish while on Earth,
but now he is the Lord who reigns as Sovereign over all nations. What counts before
God is not national identity but whether a man or woman is “in Christ.” All
those who belong to him are children of the same Father.
The methods Jesus bequeathed to his disciples
for establishing his Kingdom differ radically from those employed since time
immemorial by the political institutions and politicians, and far too many church
leaders.
He tasked his disciples with engaging society through Gospel proclamation, by living cruciform lives and serving others, not through political might or collective and state-sanctioned violence.
The “weapons” that he gave us are contemptible
in the eyes of the world, yet they are the very means by which he is redeeming
humanity. His method is epitomized by his own submission to arrest, trial, and
execution by the World Empire.
The more politicized the institutional
church becomes, the more it identifies the name and message of Jesus with the culture
and political ideology of the nation in which it resides. When it adopts the
ways of the world, church leaders and many of its members embrace the insidious
heresy named ‘Christendom,’ thereby paganizing the Body of Christ and
perverting the Gospel.
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| [Photo by Red Zeppelin on Unsplash] |
The blame for this satanic deceit is not with the politicians of this age. They live in darkness under the dominion of Satan. They act according to their nature. Those who are responsible for this idolatry are the church leaders who chose to employ the ways of this world rather than deny themselves and embrace the Cross of Christ. Caesar and Rome are more appealing than Calvary.
The deception of ‘Christendom’ is the attempt
by politicians, pastors, and preachers to domesticate the Jesus of Scripture and
exploit him to validate the programs, values, and ideologies of national
institutions, values that all too often are more Antichrist than Christian.
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