Solomon's Porch: Recent Episodes
Jeremy Mack
Why would we want to produce a sermon series on this topic? Lord willing to aid and to bring unity.
The Gospel is a cosmic immigration plan. As we close this part of our sermon series let's take a step back and look at the language of immigration in the Gospel.... also noting just how rigorous and exclusive that immigration program is, when compared to any nation program in existence. In doing so we will refute the modern blending of vague American Christianity with Neo-marxist ideas that are often used to put forward a social justice agenda that sounds biblical because it uses isolated verses to make its points, but is really profoundly unbiblical.
How should the American Church respond to the current malaise our culture seems to be stuck in regarding immigration? In this episode we look at our particular role as the church, noting that living righteously brings a tension into our lives. It requires careful thought and a literacy of the whole counsel of God for us to accomplish individually and collectively.
Continuing to build a Christian political theory using the foundational material of this series as our guide, in this episode we will ask the question, "What is the Immigrant’s Duty to the Nation of their immigration?" You're gonna want to hang on to your hat as we explore together the implications of having, "one law for the native and for the stranger."
How far does the "power of the sword" of one group reach? How do we determine the boundaries of that civil power? Those are questions we'll be answering in this episode.
Can Christians engage in all wars or only just wars? What makes a war just or unjust? These are the questions we will be answering in this sermon.
While the Church and State are to have separate and distinct powers, yet, biblically there are some legitimate functions for the national government to engage in. In this sermon we will be looking specifically at some Old Testament prophecies regarding the New Covenant era that demonstrate the legitimate functions of the civil ruler in the ecclesiastical sphere.
While the Church and State are to have separate and distinct powers, yet, biblically there are some legitimate functions for the national government to engage in. In this sermon we will be looking specifically at some Old Testament prophecies regarding the New Covenant era that demonstrate the legitimate functions of the civil ruler in the ecclesiastical sphere.
Immigration is an emotionally charged subject in our culture. What is the appropriate context to biblically understand immigration? In the previous episode we gave that context. Immigration is to be understood in the context of acknowledged allegiance to a civil magistrate. Let's explore that subject more fully in this episode by looking at the Old Testament distinction between a stranger and a foreigner.
Is citizenship a biblical concept of just a novel invention of the Greeks or other great civilizations? Before we can discuss immigration we must discuss what it is to be a citizen and is it ordained by God.
Is Jesus' Kingdom only a spiritual kingdom? After all Jesus tells Pontius Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world," in John 18. We wanted to take some time to answer this question before we move on since we are making the claim that Jesus does have authority over all civil magistrates now. Spoiler alert The resurrection changes everything!
Should Christian nations adopt a pattern of peaceful non-resistance at the national level?Can Christian nations lawfully engage in warfare? Now that we have laid a strong foundation of truth, let's begin to use those principles to answer some difficult political questions.
Where did we get the idea of separation of Church and State? Was it the creation of Thomas Jefferson in his famous letter to the Danbury Baptists, or is it much, much older and rooted in the Old Testament? That will be the topic this week on Solomon's Porch Smyrna.
When you think of servants of God, do you only think about church officers or other Christians? There are servants of God outside the church too. These servants carry out the wrath of God on dangerous persons in their communities. Let's learn from the Apostle Paul how Civil Rulers serve the purposes of God.
Who decides what is good and what is evil? Are these things declared from a single human power? No, that would be a dictatorship. Are these things voted on by the masses? No that would be a democracy. Moral law and declaring what is good and what is evil is alone the domain of the Triune God. Let's explore the Civil Rulers relationship to moral law a little further this week on Solomon's Porch Smyrna.
Where did civil government come from? Did it arise from some accidental development in human history, or did God reveal its necessity to us in the Scriptures? That is the question we will attempt to answer in this episode of Solomon's Porch Smyrna.