“The Gospel is not about winning through power.” -John Dickson, author, speaker and public advocate for the Christian faith

I recently learned of Mr. John Dickson while watching the Holy Post Podcast Episode #623 “Posting the 10 Commandments & America’s Secular Future” on YouTube. Part of the discussion was on Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry signing a mandate on June 19, 2024 requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in all Louisiana public classrooms. This should thrill every Christian, right? Especially in an immoral society that needs to be “reined in.” Laws that will put the culture and people back in morality, right? (Especially as the church has in many ways abdicated from its role of being the church and now we’re trying to make up for it) That would seem to be the thinking here. And yet, I know God said in Ezekiel 36:26, “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” (ESV) This passage signifies a desire from God to have intimate relationship with us–beyond simply establishing rules that tell us what to do and not to do. But to have His Word written on our heart signifies something much deeper and not something done by a state mandate.

We can’t be bullies and saints at the same time. While we desire to see more godliness in our world, it will not come about through attempting to legislate morality or by being a political baseball bat. I work in public policy so I know. If we as so-called Christians want to truly see hearts, minds, and communities transformed in the Lord, it will not be done by power or might but by HIS SPIRIT (Zechariah 4:6). Not by force. Do we not believe that the Word of God is indeed powerful to break down strongholds? To bring hearts and minds into the obedience of Christ? This is not a work done by man’s heavy-handedness but a gentle work of the Holy Spirit. We, as those in Christ Jesus, are as a love letter from Christ to the world–“written not with ink (or not armed with a sledgehammer) but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.” (2 Corinthians 3:3, ESV) We must do the hard work of loving others rather than legislating as those far removed.

As Mr. Dickson said during the podcast interview, “You can’t ‘win’ (people, hearts) without looking like Christ. We ‘win’ through loving others and suffering for the gospel and sharing with people about the suffering Messiah.”

At the moment, and in holding ourselves up to the gospel as a mirror, it appears that several in the body of Christ through not only this action, but additional actions to “keep the culture in check,” are not serving as a love letter to the world, but rather a cascade of contradictions.

Heavenly Father, let not the power be wielded by our hands to transform, but by your Spirit. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

-Nicole

FYI: A great “Faith and Law” lecture “From the Garden to Government: What Does Creation Have to Do with Politics?” with Dr. Vincent Bacote, Professor of Theology at Wheaton College.