Posted at Reformation Scotland:
Voices on the political right-wing have become louder recently in calling for more respect to be given to Christian values. This is positive as far as it goes, although God is not there to be co-opted into any political cause whether left or right wing, and using Christian words and imagery must be more than virtue-signalling. “Christian values” are not some nebulous form of niceness which coincides with nostalgia for a less complicated Britain of some decades back. The real value of “Christian values” appears when distinctively Christian truths are lived out in a distinctively Christian lifestyle, i.e., when devotion to the one living and true God expresses itself in the pursuit of godly living. It is when Christians are flourishing in godliness that the nation will be able to see real benefits in both the temporal (political, financial, social) and spiritual domains. This point was made by John Collins (1632?–1687), a fellow of Harvard who was appointed to preach in Scotland in the 1650s before pastoring in London (when he was ejected in 1662, he preached a powerful farewell sermon which was later published). In the following updated abridgement of a sermon on Isaiah 6:13, Collins draws on the metaphor in Isaiah’s prophecy which pictures a nation as a tree, and the Lord’s people in it as its solid trunk.What kind of people count as Christians?
The really righteous of a nation are, under God, the strength of it — I mean those who have these features.
As far as doctrine goes, they keep to the only foundation which God has laid, the Lord Jesus Christ. They hold as much truth as is ncessary to the life of faith and power of godliness, and maintain no false doctrine which is inconsistent with these.
As far as practice goes, they fear God and work righteousness. They not only believe in Christ, but live in obedience to Him.
All true religion consists in faith and holiness — it glorifies God by believing and obeying.
Clearly, this excludes atheists (who have no religion), idolaters, heretics, and those who follow a false religion.
It also excludes:
- those who don’t know the first thing about Christian teachings, and don’t understand what they say they believe,
- those who lead profane lives, despise those who are good, and persecute powerful godliness,
- those who claim to be Christians, but only for worldly reasons.