Not sure what your point is.
The city on a hill analogy from the Lord and the golden lampstands vision show the testimonial nature of the church.
In many cities across the world there should be within them a smaller city showing the way to live. The seven chucrhes
were according to cities. One testimony of oneness per city.
(Rev. 1:11)
That way to live is to live Christ, live through Christ, live unto Christ and allow Christ to live through us.
That communitiy of called out ones according to each city is to be a beacon of truth for society surrounding to see.
Some people will come to the light. They should come from all manner of work, positions, and careers. Certainly some from
government work also should come to the ekklesia.
This church age is not the age for us to coerce society to be reformed. But it is an age for the church to testify that there
are people under the administration of Christ the indwelling King. Be assured that the day will come when the indwelling King
will be manifested as the King over the nations, deciding justly for peoples all over the globe.
But we need to be trained in the kingdom life now to be co-heirs with Him and co-kings with Him in that time.
Out of quantity He will obtain quality. That is those overcomers who have passed through the transformation of
grace in the church age.
But certainly we should touch the consciences of people in all walks of life
including government work to turn
their whole lives over to Christ and the church.
Are you, like HopeSings, suggesting we stay out of politics?
Without re-reading I would not assume too much. Let HopeSings speak for him/herself.
The proper local church is
the pillar and base of the truth. The proper church life consists of the
house of the living God holding up the truth and supporting the truth of this universe - God can live in man.
But if I delay, I write that you may know how one ought to conduct himself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and base of the truth.(1 Tim. 3:15)
This is the city on a hill and the golden shining lampstand illuminating the darkness of society.
Men and women also from government must see this truth and come to it to be in
"the house of God".
This is the indirect influence the truth bearing house of God, the ekklesia, must have on even some in government.
They too become salt of the earth - a preservative to arrest the decline of degradation of the fallen world.
But the kingdom age of Christ reigning over the nations is yet to come. Don't miss the enjoyment of it.
If so, I ask the same question I asked to him/her: How do you justify your position given that, if we do not advocate for Christian values in the laws of the land, somebody else's values will become the basis for our laws and how we run our society? Do you not see the problem?
The real Christian values is Christ Himself coming into a man and making His home in their heart.
The real Christian values is the living God dispensed into people to saturate and permeate them through sanctification of life.
The presence of the church as the pillar and base of the truth will lead some to imitate Christian values.
It will cause others to oppose. But to imitate Christian values by non-Christians will be like teaching a poodle to
walk like a man. Or to imitate Christ living in men will be like a chimpanzee dressed in a suit.
Now I will concede that some of this imitation may have a positive effect on laws.
But the purpose of the church is not to cause unbelievers to imitate God-men.
It is to grow God-men with Christ living in them. This is "organic" rather than jusrt ethical.
The latter may render some good laws. But the genuine good law is the law of the Spirit of life - the living Person
of Christ regulating men from within.
A Christian who has really given to activisim, I believe, will probably burn out sooner or latter.
I passed through a stage of like this in the 70s as a Christian college student.
Both in Civil Rights and Vietnam protest (from a Christian persepective). It does not take long
to discover other Christians will have thier own viewpoint as to what Jesus wants here or there.
I am not sure anyone deep into politics can ever free themselves entirely from the vested interest of
"What does this
mean to me? This law, how will it effect me?" And through that cultural, racial, ethinc logics, regional, national philosophy, domestic philosophies will divide the church distracting men from living Christ.
We are about growing Christ in people to produce
transformation the
"one new man" throughout the earth.
There there cannot be social schisms and fault lines of cultures overruling the unity of the Body of Christ.
For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
There cannot be Jew nor Greek, there cannot be slave nor free man,
there cannot be male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Gal. 3:27,28 RcV)
That you put off, as regards your former manner of life, the old man, which is being corrupted according to the lusts of the deceit,
And that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind and put on the new man, which was created according to God in righteousness and holiness of the reality. (Eph. 4:24,25 RcV)