No 1 - Legal coercion will not produce the kingdom of God in a fallen world.
No 2 - Because Christians agree to make room for non-Christian faiths (including naturalistic, materialistic faiths), not because commitment to God’s supremacy is unimportant, but because it must be voluntary, or it is worthless.
No 3 - Because we have a God-centered reason for making room for atheism. The Lord Jesus said, 'My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight,' John 18. 36. Christians don't have the right to alter this world or to get involved in its political system, Phil 3. 20. The fact is that God will establish His kingdom through the supernatural miracle of faith, not firearms or force. This means that Christians in this age should not endorse coercive governments, Christian or secular or get involved in Christianization of society!
No 4 - Christians resist, in principle, the coercive secularization implied in some laws that repress Christian activity in public places.
No 5 - It is not that we want to establish Christianity as the law of our land. That is intrinsically impossible, because of the spiritual nature of the kingdom of God, Romans 14. 17. It is rather because repression of free exercise of religion and persuasion is as wrong against Christians as it is against secularists.
No 6 - Tolerance is rooted in the very nature of the gospel of Christ. The current spiritual nature of God’s kingdom is until Christ comes to implement rights and authority that we do not currently have.
So what is required of us?
The primary responsibility of the Christian is to go into the world with the gospel. Jesus said - 'Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen, Matthew 28:19,20.
For more information go to www.seekthetruth.org.uk.
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