“What is a conservative?” can only be answered when one knows the standard conserved.
As a sophomore at Fort Worth Southwest high school, the teacher asked me a specific question in front of the entire class:
“Wade, what is a conservative?”
At 16 years of age, the answer didn’t come quickly to my mind.
Today, I’d probably answer, “It depends. It depends on the standard one wishes to conserve.”
The two most significant philosophies in modern American culture are conservative and progressive.
The root word of progressive is progress.
Liberals are proud of what they call progress, overturning former standards for better ones.
A conservative is determined to conserve an old culture, framework, or ideal.
One Considered a Progressive May Be a Conservative
You can’t define a conservative until you know the standard someone is conserving.
For example, for many years, some in the Southern Baptist Convention called me a progressive because I believed ministry in Christ’s Church is never defined by gender.
I conserved the standard of the New Testament, even though my teaching seemed progressive to some. Their standard was the culture of the SBC, not Scripture alone.
The Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts – like teaching, prophecy, administering, mercy, etc – without regard to gender. That’s the standard of the New Testament.
I am a conservative when it comes to the standard of the Bible.
But to some SBC traditionalists, I seemed like a progressive.
We’d have prisoners attend our services (in prison uniforms), men who dressed like women, homosexuals, and transgenders. They were my friends. I would call them by name, get to know them, and welcome them with open arms. However, when it came to “church membership,” repentance of sin was a requirement.
Any of my friends who took “pride” in their sin could attend the services and listen to the teaching of Scripture – but not be church members.
Again, some of my SBC pastor friends thought I was “progressive,” when in reality, I was conserving the standard of behavior displayed by Jesus Christ.
Jesus is a friend to sinners (Matthew 11:19). He leads His sinner friends to repentance through His kindness and goodness (Romans 2:4)
I seek to conserve that standard.
The Mistake of the Progressives and Conservatives
It should be the Church of the Open Door and the State of the Closed Door.
The Bible has a great deal to say about nation-states.
God will destroy every nation that rejects the Creator and thinks themselves gods able to set their own standards and violate Natural Law. Every nation. God brought down the Assyrians (you read about it in Isaiah), He brought down the Babylonians (you read about it in Daniel 5), He brought down the Greeks (you read about it in Daniel 11), He brought down Israel (you read about it in Matthew 24), and He brought down the Romans (you read about it in Revelation).
Nations and boundaries of nation-states are ordained by God (Acts 17:26). Nations are good. Man’s desire for a global government is not good. Countries continue until the Prince of Peace reigns for eternity in His everlasting Kingdom, and the wicked are destroyed (Revelation 7:9).
Until then, nations that exhibit secure borders, a God-honoring moral culture that abides by Natural Law, just punishment for criminals, taxes for the common good (highways, prisons, police, and fire), and a robust military defense for the people are the biblical standards for nation-states.
The Bible also has much to say about the standards of the churches of Jesus Christ.
Open doors and love for sinners, a God-honoring requirement of repentance of sins and confession of faith through baptism before church membership (but not attendance), forgiving criminals freely, feeding the poor and sheltering the needy, and being ready to answer every person who asks about the hope within you by pointing to faith in the LORD, are all standards of the Church.
The mistake in America is that progressives wish the government to act like the church and conservatives wish the church to act like the government.
Think about it.
If the State operated as a Christian nation, all prison doors would be opened, no criminal would be punished, the borders would be open with no standard of immigration, the poor would be fed, the homeless would be housed, and everyone would be forgiven of their sins, and if an enemy attacked, the state would turn the other cheek.
Those are characteristics of the Church, not the State.
Don’t make the progressive mistake of giving the characteristics of a proper church to the nation, and don’t make the mistake of giving the characteristics of a proper nation to the church.
Know the biblical standard for both.
And be a true conservative, conserving the biblical standards for nations and churches.
Wade,
Great Post! The Lord hasn’t brought down the nation of China, but I think He will soon.
Google states: “On Wednesday, the Legacy Ridge Country Club in Bonham turned its golf course into a movie set. “The Short Game” is a local story about the reconciliation of two brothers from Sherman. One is aiming to land a golf scholarship, and the other is autistic. Along the way, they learn they’re better together.”
My daughter is the manager of the golf course.
In my opinion,
there is a panoramic view in the parable of the Good Samaritan that helps us to recognize and avoid ‘labels’ that encourage division and the resulting ‘contempt’ of ‘the other’. . . .
Our Lord, in His portrayal of the Kingdom of God offers us a way to see things differently and to avoid ‘labeling and judging’ those who are ‘not of our tribe’ . . . .
The parables of Our Lord are glympses into the Kingdom of God so vivid that we want to avoid the traps of ‘labeling’ that involve negativity and contempt for those who are ‘not our kind’ . . . and Christ does this so gently, but without avoiding our ‘discomfort’ at seeing our own faults as pride-filled sons and daughters of Adam and Eve. . . . we listen to the parable and re-think what we have held on to as ‘true’ and instead we see the ‘humanity’ of ‘the others’ with all of the dignity of a person created by God and therefore worthy of respect, not contempt because of some ‘label’ we had been told to hate. . . .
biblical lens? Our Lord Himself speaks, and there are none to ‘translate’ His Words which stand and change the way we see things as HE saw them. And we are better for it. We become ‘human’ in the best sense when we lay our stones and labels down to honor Him.
Wade, it was good hearing you call today.
Rex, it was great to visit with you too! I hope the reunion went well! I really enjoyed visiting with Darrel, your DOM.
Wade, a long time ago, my brother-in-law. Rollie Rinker and my sister, Ann drove into a new town, but they argued how to pronounce its name. He asked at a place of business how to pronounce its name and to say it real slow.
A lady said: “Dairrrrrrry Queeeeeeen.”
We’re having a Ray reunion today.
I LOVE Dairrrrrrry Queeeeen! 🙂
I hope the reunion went well!
Wade,
The reunion was good. The next time Rollie tells me a story, I’m going to make him have his hand on the Bible. He told me today that he’d made up the story of Dairy Queen just for laughs.
WADE and REX RAY,
my ‘advice’ is for the protection from scammers . . . my military family has told me not to share my personal info/data “on line” and I trust them.
You all must do as you see fit. But I hope you all will be self-protective and keep from scammers and abusers.
Thanks for the comment above, Rex Ray.
I’m glad Wade contacted you to discuss this. You all keep looking out for one another, please!
c.
Wade and Rachell
HAPPY 40th Wedding Anniversary!
AMEN !
wonderful news !
Wade, the Leader Newspaper has refused to tell my funny story of being in a closet, but today I mentioned the movie being made at a golf course is managed by my daughter, they said they would print it. smile
Wade,
There is a parable in Mathew 13:24-26 where an enemy has planted weeds in a field of wheat. This parable can apply in church if a person goes to sleep or starts thinking about something else; the weeds have taken over.
Rex and Christiane,
Thanks for your kind wishes!
It’s been a busy weekend and week (a great 40th anniversary!).
Later this evening, look for an email from me to you both!
Blessings!
Wade
Wade,
Is it possible to agree with the progressive side of allowing women to teach in church, but feel uneasy enough to not want to encourage it?
The Lord has not put an urgency in my walk to figure out where, or if, there is a line to be drawn with women in the role of leading a congregation, but I can’t help but think it is solely because of men lacking confidence that encourages them to slither down while women take control. This might be my traditional upbringing, but I was always taught to believe that when women ‘take charge’ spiritually over men, then inferiority and battle begins in the marriage.
I believe this is a very common conservative view. Where can I turn to in scripture to filter worldly opinions vs Biblical truths out?
Always grateful for your lessons!
Katy Lentz
Katy,
I have a podcast coming out next week entiteld “Women, You Are Free!” that answers your question. I give grace to hesitancy, but in the podcast, I show how New Covenant living requires an understsanding that the New Covenant places no emphasis on gender, race, color, or nationality in Kingdom serving and leading. In fact, I show how liberal feminism and conservative patriarchalism both have the same root sin of pride – believing that one gender is superior over the other. I’d love your thoughts on it. It should be up soon!