Things that Matter

[T]he things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. — 2 Corinthians 4:18

As I write this, today is Election Day. Truth be told, I have been rather discouraged at the prospect, for I am unhappy with the nominees of both major political parties. I do not find reason to believe that either one has an adequate grasp of or commitment to the God-given rights of life, liberty, and property or the fundamental principles of limited, Constitutional government on which our federal republic was founded. Yet some perspective is important.

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The rights of life, liberty, and property are temporal rights. As important as they are—and they are extremely important—they relate to our existence in this life only. Property may be successfully guarded and protected, or it may be lost or stolen. Regardless, it cannot be taken with us: at death we leave it all. Liberty may be lost, and one human may be enslaved by another. At death, however, such slavery ends. Government abuse of life and other individual rights, as terrible as it can be, also ends at the grave.

But the end of our physical lives on this earth is not the end of our entire existence, for we have souls that continue beyond the grave. That which is eternal transcends that which is temporal, both in nature and in importance. Jesus made this clear during His life among us. For example, He said:

"Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matthew 10:28)

When I left home yesterday morning on my way to work, I began to notice the election signs. Thoughts of the election came to mind, but they quickly vanished: another issue was dominating my thinking. My wife had run across a blog post by someone we had come across elsewhere in cyberspace. The post quotes a list of items on religious definition, one of which asserts an overly expansive view of what it means to be a Christian. The ensuing comments and discussion only made things worse, presenting a distorted definition of Christian and a distorted picture of the Gospel. This is a major problem, and it was weighing heavily on my mind.

Campaign rhetoric, especially the smoke, mirrors, exaggerations, and lies, may obscure the truth about candidates and issues. It may even contribute to our making bad choices. Yet those election choices relate to the here and now: it is our temporal life, liberty, and property that is at stake. Further, those chosen have terms that will end, and there will be opportunities for new choices and change.

There is a great deal of rhetoric today with regard to spiritual choices. The spiritual smoke, mirrors, exaggerations, and lies, if you will, may contribute to our being deceived and making bad spiritual choices. But such choices regarding the truth or falsity of religion are far more significant. Jesus asked:

"For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? For what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Mark 8:36-37)

Judging truth or falsity in religion is critical business. Our eternal destinies are at stake, and those choices are irrevocable. Get deceived here, and the resulting error can have fatal consequences: eternal death and damnation.

Writing in his 1994 book, Reckless Faith, in which he dealt extensively with the nature of Christianity and the Gospel, Pastor John MacArthur wrote:

Christianity, if true at all, is exclusively true. Inherent in the claims of Christ is the assertion that He alone offers truth—and all religious systems that deviate from His truth are false. Jesus said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me" (John 14:6). . . . If this is true, every other religion is a lie.

Reckless Faith at 92 (emphasis in original). That is not politically correct talk in a relativistic and pluralistic age, but the key question is whether it is true.

We must know the truth, and we must clearly and accurately label both truth and error. We dare not allow equivocal or other imprecise language to cloud our definitions and analysis. We dare not mislabel that which is not Christian as Christian and that which is not the true gospel as the Gospel, no matter how moral or sincere the adherents may be, no matter how much the relativistic and pluralistic spirit of the age condemns such exclusive and divisive talk and calls for unity, and no matter how much we wish to reach them with the truth. When we do otherwise, we not only demean the Gospel, but we risk deceiving ourselves and others as to the nature of Christianity, the Gospel, and salvation. As stated previously, such deception and the resulting error can have fatal consequences.

How does this tie back to the election? I am still unhappy about the choices in this election and the treatment of the fundamental issues. But today's winner gets only a four-year term, and we will get to choose again. But certain spiritual choices have everlasting consequences, and it is far more important that we get those right. Those who are Christians should know this and should conduct themselves accordingly.