Can a “Moral” Government Produce a “Moral” Society?

I recently read Carl F. H. Henry’s book The Uneasy Conscience of Modern Fundamentalism. Here are a few thoughts concerning applying Henry’s points to my life and ministry.

I appreciated Henry’s emphasis on the all-encompassing reality of Christ’s reign in the life of the believer.  I also appreciated his emphasis on Jesus being the answer for all that is wrong with the world.  Sin is the disease and Christ is the cure.  Every so-called answer other than Christ is a mere Band-Aid on a bleeding artery.  Only Jesus can save the man from his drugs, regenerate him, save his soul from hell, and provide him the Holy Spirit to compel him to go and sin no more.

I did not learn anything new in this work, but Henry did reveal inconsistencies in my life and ministry.  With the past Presidential election and the current emphasis on the economy in the media, it is tempting to think, even as an evangelical Christian, that we need more jobs and this can be sustained by a mere “moral” government or “moral” society.  Apart from the rule and reign of the Triune God, is there any sustainable morality?  No.  Also, will a good economy sustain man either physically or eternally?  No.  Is the chief end of man economic?  No.  I knew these answers prior to reading this book, but ashamedly, these realities were in the back of my mind instead of the front.  The truth of the all-encompassing reign of Christ will affect my ministry in how I present applying the moral commands in Scripture concerning loving one’s neighbor.  Continue at Jared Moore