God & Government 1: Jesus is Lord
There is no aspect of human life or activity that lies outside the scope of the Christian faith, and certainly not so vital an activity as the conduct of civil government. This becomes apparent when the central truth of the Christian faith is properly understood. That truth is this: Jesus is Lord. Many treat this statement, written by the apostle Paul in his letter to the Romans, [1] as little more than a religious platitude. Others see it as simply an expression of one’s own personal religious commitment, still others as a kind of magical salvation formula: “Just say these words, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and you will be saved.” But in fact, the statement is the single most important datum of all reality, namely that all things are subject to the governance of Jesus Christ, the One who created all things in the beginning, [2] maintains all things in existence now and forever, [3] and has reconciled all things in heaven and on earth to God by the blood of his cross. [4] When he completed th...