The Devil hates it when Christians get political. He wants them to keep their religion to themselves and just leave the culture alone.
 
Satan isn’t really worried about Christianity as long as it’s kept inside the walls of the church and so long as it doesn’t creep outside and infect society.
 
In fact, most people don’t care about what Christians do as long as they do it behind closed doors and out of public sight.
 
They just don’t want them “pushing their religion on anyone else” or “forcing their beliefs on the rest of us.”
 
And, to be honest, I think churches are okay with it. They seem to like staying out of the fray anyway. They don’t want to upset the establishment or stir the cultural pot.
 
After all, they just want to save souls. They want to be left alone to do their thing on Sundays and only with those who want to be there.
 
As long as society lets them be (and keep their tax-exempt status), they are happy to fly under the radar and just keep doing ministry.
 
The only problem is that they aren’t really “doing” anything. Churches that are content with worship services, small groups, and service opportunities are really just clubs for Christians.
 
Yes, they are busy “doing” church events, programs, and activities. But offering services, small groups, and potlucks are what affinity groups and social clubs do too.
 
So, what’s the difference between the church and the country club? It’s the MISSION.
 
The Archbishop of Canterbury William Temple said that “The Church is the only society that exists for the benefit of those who are not its members.”
 
While social associations, trade unions, and civic clubs are designed to serve their own members, the church is meant to serve and influence those outside of it.
 
The primary mission of the church is to "go and make disciples of all nations" rather than cater to themselves and preserve the status quo.
 
And the way to do that is by teaching everyone everywhere to “do all that I (Jesus) have commanded.”
 
You see, Jesus told Christians to disciple ALL cultures to obey ALL his commands. This is indeed a cultural commission for the church.
 
It is universal and timeless, and it is a vision for worldwide transformation. Jesus was crystal clear about His intentions for the world—to transform it and to use us to do it.
 
As renowned biblical scholar Matthew Henry said, “What is the intention of the commission? To disciple nations. Do your utmost to make the nations Christian nations.”
 
So, despite the demonic and public pressure on Christians not to mix religion with politics, maybe we ought to push back on hell and heathen by doing it anyway.
 
After all, if mixing politics and religion is something the Devil hates, then wouldn’t that suggest it’s something we ought to love?
 
Getting Christians to hate it and churches to avoid it too is just spiritual manipulation. It’s a demonic deception to make us inactive and unengaged in the public square by keeping us safely preoccupied with endless church activities, programs, and events.
 
The truth is if you and your church think that “mixing religion and politics” is a bad idea and something you actively avoid, then YOU BOTH are being played by the powers of darkness and are complicit in keeping the Kingdom of God culturally contained.