Who Are the Christians?
Ventura Star, December 19, 2005

By Terry Paulson, PhD

That first Christmas, there was no room for Joseph and Mary in the local Bethlehem holiday inn. In America today, there seems to be less and less room for Christ in Christmas or in the public square. Nativity scenes have given way to "holiday trees." Most greet with "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas." Santa Claus now takes top billing to keep the cash registers ringing.

But concern about Christians openly celebrating Christmas seems to go deeper. Worried that Christians inside and outside of government will impose their faith on others, some Americans are working to reinforce the wall of separation between church and state. As a result, our courts are being forced to consider taking "under God" out of our Pledge of Allegiance and "In God We Trust" off our money.

Maybe it's time for a little more clarity and understanding about what we dreaded Christians are supposed to be all about.

Let's start with the message of Christmas. As Christians, we believe that instead of sending a warrior king to impose His will on the world, God sent His son in the form of a fragile baby to be with us. In his ministry, Jesus called believers to repentance and toward a life of faith, love and service.

Jesus said that "the first and most important commandment was to love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul and all your mind." As Christians, we may be proud Americans, but we reside here as a temporary residence. We may be blessed to carry a U.S. Passport, but we also have an eternal "green card" from the Kingdom of God and our primary loyalty resides with the King of Kings, our Lord Jesus Christ. Contrary to what some may think, Christians don't rise or fall on the basis of any earthly election. There is a Christian left, a Christian right and even a Christian middle in this land.

As Christians, whether FEMA does its job or not, we are called to serve our neighbors in need. Jesus also said, "The second commandment is equally important-to love your neighbor as yourself." Whether you're friend or foe, with God's help, we are called to pray for you and to be good stewards of our money and time in serving you.

Responding to our Savior's great commission, Christians are called to share the Gospel-the "good news" of salvation that Jesus' death and resurrection has brought to the world. As the Apostle Peter said, "Always be ready to explain the reason for the hope that you have, but do this with gentleness and respect." Witnessing with "gentleness and respect" does not include imposing our beliefs on others or restricting the rights of other faiths. While America's Constitutional "free establishment" clause wisely ensures that America will never have a religious monopoly, Christians, along with other religious believers, are free to share their own beliefs. Thankfully, Americans also have a right to embrace or reject those beliefs.

As Christians, we are called to bear witness to Biblical truths as the normative Word of God in our lives. As Christians we are not to judge or to condemn others; we leave that to God! Since we believe that all people "sin and fall short of the glory of God," our job as Christians is to confront sin while still loving the sinner. We may not be able to approve of your behavior or vote for laws that condone it, but hating sinners is not part of a Christian's job description.

As believers, we are called to work for peace and must seriously question the use of force. We realize that at times in history, war is sometimes the answer, but it should never be an easy answer.

We believe that God created the world and all that is in it. How that was done is open to disagreement even among believers, but that God is behind creation is a matter of religious belief. As a result, we will work to be good stewards of God's creation.

We are called to be good citizens-to "render unto Caesar what is Caesar's and to render to God what is God's." We are asked to glorify God by faithfully exercising our freedoms and fulfilling our responsibilities-to vote, pay taxes, responsibly influence politicians and uphold the laws that are passed. We will use our faith as one of the ways we exercise those choices. Christians may vote differently, but we work to remain brothers and sisters in faith. We know we're not perfect. We believe we're forgiven, empowered by the God to become more and more like our savior and assured eternal salvation by God's grace.

Finally, I would hope as we approach another New Year that we as Christians could affirm a statement made by former UCLA Coach John Wooden, "If I am ever persecuted for my religion, I hope there is sufficient evidence to convict me." For as imperfect as we are, whether we wish you "Merry Christmas" is less important than whether we live the Spirit of Christmas every day!

Dr. Terry Paulson is a psychologist, speaker and author of The Dinner: The Political Conversation Your Mother Told You Never to Have. Share your comments at his PoliticalTalk Blog or contact him at Terry@TerryPaulson.com.

—May we never forget how truly blessed we are!