02/01/17 ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL

02/01/17 ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL

My son David posted that when people argue for allowing Muslims into our country, they reference the Old Testament directive to Israel and Judah to take in the stranger, foreigner, alien, and then David correctly adds that the Old Testament also told Israel not to allow the foreign gods to come in with the foreigner.

I not only agree with this observation, I also point out that Israel was ruled by God as a Theocracy. THERE IS NO THEOCRACY TODAY. The USA is not a Theocracy. As the King, God gave command to Israel and Judah to kill those who worship false gods. America is not a Theocracy, the USA is not under the same rules of Israel or Judah.

However, there is an Old Testament principle we can apply here, and it supported by New Testament principles. When people had terrible sickness (as leprosy, which is Biblically typical of sin) in Israel or Judah, they were to treat the afflicted mercifully, but the lepers were to be kept separate from the population, including family members, until they were healed and cleansed. The New Testament tells us that evil companions corrupt good behavior and that we are not to be companions with those who are idolaters. It is wrong to wish God's blessing on those who follow false gods.

Christians can, AND SHOULD, be compassionate and welcoming to the lost, and even our enemies, but we must not be receptive to the false gods of this world, even if our families are dedicated to those false gods.

When I meet and converse with a Muslim (or Mormon or any other follower of a false religion) I reach out in love, but I do not make them my companions. Light cannot be companion to darkness. When I meet a pedophile, or a druggie, or a homosexual, or anyone who walks in opposition to God's revealed word, I love that person, but I do not allow that person to freely wield an influence over my life or the lives of my loved ones. Christian compassion reaches out to the lost, but it does not make the ungodly its companion.

Also remember, the directives God gives to Christians in our ministry to the lost, are not the same directives God gives for leaders in leading nations. The State has the right to wield the sword of steel, but the Church is given the Sword of the Spirit. The State has the responsibility to protect the righteous from its enemies. Since before the time of America's founding as a nation, Islam has been the enemy of Christianity and the principles of America. It is right that Christians love our enemies. It is not evil for our leaders to protect our nation from our enemies.