my exchange with Steve Camp

I sent a comment to former CCM artist Steve Camp on his website, and he actually e-mailed me to ask me to explain myself. (Very cool!) (Also see the entry on this blog: My Rebuttal to Steve Camp.)

Mr. Camp and I have been going back and forth a little, and his latest response referred me to an essay he's written entitled, "God Directs the Heart of the King." I'd encourage you to read it, and then consider my response to him:

Steve,

In regard to your points, I see a number of problems with the reasoning in your "God Directs the Heart of the King" article:

Now I'm going to do what Francis Schaeffer called "taking the roof off." Applying your logic with consistency, there is no reason for us to vote or doing any of the other things you encourage us to do. For no matter what the election outcome, God will direct things.

In fact, since we also know from Scripture that God determines the times and places in which we shall all live, it also follows that there is no reason for us to try and save another person's life, including the guy mugged in the Good Samaritan parable -- for it is God who determines when we shall all die. And why feed the hungry? They will die when God wants them to. And why criticize the Pope, for "there is no authority except from God"? God gives leaders in the church certain authority. The Pope is corrupt [Camp and I are Protestants], sure, but he's got authority. And he's no more corrupt than emperor Nero. God could remove the Pope if he wanted to. It's not our place to intervene.

Let me offer a position I think is a little more Biblically balanced: Authority is delegated by God. There is a responsibility that comes with that. The one in authority is not authorized to go against the will of the one granting that authority -- in this case, God. He is obligated to be a faithful steward with the authority he has been given. (Think of the parable of the talents.)

Let's take an example: I am the head of my household. I have been granted certain authority over my wife and my children. That does not mean I am authorized to be evil in the execution of that and go against God's revealed will. The same is true of a pastor or a king.

God's will is not that authorities be wicked. For instance, it was not God's will that certain Jewish leaders command the early Christians to refrain from preaching the Gospel as is recorded in the book of Acts. (Would it be God's will that the Great Commission be both obeyed and disobeyed?) Because these leaders were violating God's will, the Christians were free to disobey them and "obey God rather than man."

Steve, I know you know this (Isaiah 1), because I've heard you sing it. But consider the parts in bold that you didn't sing:

"So when you spread out your hands in prayer,
I will hide My eyes from you;
Yes, even though you multiply prayers,
I will not listen
Your hands are covered with blood.
Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean;
Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight
Cease to do evil,
Learn to do good;
Seek justice,
Reprove the ruthless,
Defend the orphan,
Plead for the widow.
...
Your rulers are rebels
And companions of thieves;
Everyone loves a bribe
And chases after rewards
They do not defend the orphan,
Nor does the widow's plea come before them."

Does it sound to you like these judges and rulers were doing God's will? Does it sound to you like these people could, as you say, "rest in the truth that God is sovereign"? By no means! God was telling them, You have no excuse! Clean house, or I will clean it for you!

This is the mandate by which something like Justice Sunday occurs. Steve, these are commands from God. We are commanded to reprove the ruthless. How exactly does one do that in our particular society without becoming a political activist? And how does one do it without, as you predict, "alienating the very ones we long to reach with the gospel"?

It seems to me, Jesus did not particularly worry about alienating people. Nevertheless, "those that had ears" heard Him. That is a truth we can "rest in," as you say. Those who God has called will come. We don't have to worry that obedience to God's commands will prevent people from receiving the Gospel. The fruit of the kingdom is not fertilized with the blood of the innocent.

Like I said in my blog, the Great Commission is not our only commission. It looks to me like you are encouraging us to neglect one of the "weightier matters of the law," namely, justice.

In this country, we probably have more influence than the population of any nation in history, in that we have a government that derives its authority "from the consent of the governed." To whom much has been given, much is expected. It's not like we don't have a say. I see you as asking us to do something akin to burying our talents in the sand.

I applaud our Christian leaders for leading! You should, too.

Mike