For a long time I held the conviction that to be a true “Gospel man” and a faithful preacher of Christ, I should almost entirely avoid talking about things in the news or any “political” issues from the pulpit. Of course, I would occasionally mention the evils of abortion, homosexuality, and other manifestations of immorality depending on the text I was preaching, but I intentionally steered clear of addressing most of the political controversies of the day.
Part of this conviction came from my love for the ministry of Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, whose sermons are timeless precisely because he preached the Word of God, not the newspaper (though on rare occasion he would indeed mention the war, or Hitler, or the assassination of Kennedy for instance).
Lloyd-Jones was a great preacher because he lifted men’s eyes above the passing squabbles of British (and world) politics, to the eternal realities of sin, grace, judgment, and salvation in Christ. That is the kind of preaching I have always aspired to do.
I still aspire to this! Nevertheless, as I immersed myself in Scripture over the years, I began to notice something. The prophets did not hesitate to call out the sins of rulers, governments, and cultural trends, as well as false teachers and bad practices in the Church. Every one of Paul’s epistles addressed spiritual problems and applied the Gospel to them.
Their message was never partisan or merely political – it was theological. Paul proclaimed the Word of the Lord to kings and nations because God is Lord over all the earth, not just over the private lives of His people.
There are plenty of other biblical examples of this. Elijah confronted Ahab and Jezebel, calling them to account for idolatry and injustice. Nathan boldly stood before King David and said, “You are the man!” exposing the sin of a ruler who just had another man killed and could have killed him as well.
Isaiah rebuked entire nations for their oppression, corruption, and moral decay. Jeremiah called out Judah’s leaders for injustice and falsehood. Amos thundered against the powerful who “trample the poor.” And John the Baptist was thrown into prison – and ultimately executed – because he confronted King Herod’s sexual immorality for sleeping with his brother’s wife.
These were not “political rants.” They were applications of God’s Word to the public sins of leaders and nations. And they remind us that God cares not only about what happens in private but also about what happens in the courts, in the palace, and in the public square. I still believe (and always will), with Lloyd-Jones, that we must never replace the preaching of Christ with the preaching of current events.
The pulpit is not a stump speech, and pastors are not pundits. Our calling is to proclaim the unsearchable riches of Christ. And to preach the whole counsel of God means applying that Word to the whole of life – including the pressing moral crises of our time. Silence in the face of cultural sin is not faithfulness, it is cowardice.
When the killing of unborn children is protected by law, when God’s design for marriage and gender is mocked, when corruption is celebrated, and when people are being murdered for expressing their opinions, we cannot pretend that these issues are “off limits” because they are “political.” They are profoundly spiritual. And if God’s people cannot hear how His Word speaks to these things from the pulpit, where else will they hear it?
In the end, the Gospel itself certainly has political implications because Jesus is King. And we cannot separate His Gospel from everyday life. Christ alone is the Supreme Potentate of the universe. That is good news for a weary people, and it is truth that must be heralded with courage, clarity, and conviction.
I am NOT a theonomist, but I AM a Christian, and a pastor, and a preacher, and I want to faithfully apply the Word to all of life.
Why am I writing this? Because some pastors I know don’t want to address the events of the last month, including the murders of Iryna Zarutska and Charlie Kirk, and what has followed. But I think ignoring it all is worse than addressing it. And ignoring momentous events like these that have profound impact on the culture only makes it seem like the Gospel doesn’t apply to them…but it absolutely does.
Pastors, your congregants need to know that Christ is Sovereign over these things. They need to understand that the Good Shepherd isn’t surprised by any of it, and indeed, He said that as Christ suffered we should expect to suffer as well. But in the end, He is coming back, and He will bring Justice on the earth, and make all things new.
