Jesus Christ gives us the task of discipling the nations (Matt. 28:19). He does so because He is “King of the nations” (Rev. 15:3). He has been given all authority in heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18). We therefore affirm, “A nation, being a moral subject of Messiah, is as much bound to make a profession of religion as any private individual whatever” (Messiah the Prince, p. 287). Sadly, this doctrine is less prominent in our circles than it once was.

Not only so, but our society holds out pluralism and tolerance as sacrosanct. These principles are believed to be too important to allow Christianity to interfere. However, the tolerance of a false religion like Islam is a suicide pact. Islam has no interest in pluralism or tolerance except insofar as these principles further their purposes. Yet we may readily make excuses for, or make more room for, Islam as opposed to Christianity.

The world editor of Time magazine, Bobby Gosh, made the following statement on MSNBC about Muslim riots in response to the burning of a Koran. “The thing to keep in mind that’s very important here is that the Koran to Muslims…is not the same as the Bible to Christians. The Bible is a book written by men. It is acknowledged by Christians that it is written by men. It’s the story of Jesus…But the Koran, if you are a believer, if you’re a Muslim, the Koran is directly the word of God, not written by man. It is transcribed, is directly the word of God. That makes it sacred in a way that it’s hard to understand if you’re not Muslim. So the act of burning a Koran is potentially much, much more inflammatory than if you were to burn a—burn a Bible.”

There are two issues here. The first is the implicit stance for the Koran. If it is indeed “directly the word of God,” then Allah is the true god and Muhammed is his true prophet. This becomes the reason (defense?) for riots in response to Koran burning.

The second is the stance against the Bible. Unfortunately, the assumption is that the Bible is not revelation from God. This is a widely held assumption, even within the confines of the visible church. Seminaries across the land presuppose that the Bible is but the words of mere men. As a result, many spurn Jesus Christ as the Second Person of the Trinity who died in payment for sin and rose again from the dead.

The leaders of ancient Israel, God’s vineyard, spurned Christ when He personally visited them (Mark 12:6-7). “What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vine-growers, and will give the vineyard to others” (Mark 12:9). Our Lord points back to the parable of the vineyard in Isaiah 5. Because Israel repudiates her God, judgment hangs over her (Isa. 5:4). “Therefore My people go into exile for their lack of knowledge” (v. 13). God gives Israel into the hands of the Assyrians. Later He gives Judah into the hands of the Babylonians. It does not bode well for the nation that repudiates the God of the Bible and Jesus Christ His Son.

The church, our church, must regain her prophetic voice. We must vigorously proclaim the Kingship of Christ over men and nations. Our economic and social problems are only symptomatic of a deeper spiritual problem.