Should church leaders keep out of politics? Strictly no.

In one of my classes,  I loved what my prof said on the case of John the Baptist criticized King Herod for marrying his sister in law publicly on moral ground.

The law of God is not just for Christians, but its for all human beings whether they recognize it or not because they are all made in the image of God. God’s people have the right and obligation to speak publicly on moral and political issues. Justice of God for all people. Christians to stand up and say its not right, evil wicked. Should church leaders keep out of politics? Strictly no.

Yes! God’s people have the right and obligation to speak out publicly on moral and political issues, justice for all. My question is why are the reformed pastors, leaders, scholars so quiet on the ongoing society moral sexual immorality that has affected our elementary schools, and universities and everything in between? And our politicians of certain political party pushing for abortion, and same sex marriage, transgenderism? These issues affect thousands and millions of Americans.

I think the key is the understanding that all men & women are made in the image of God. And church leadership in the House of God must also speak of any concern that affects anyone bearing the image of God and not just being exclusively confined to church. Because all men and women are created in the image of God and therefore it’s incumbent on pastors & theology scholars to speak out on moral and political issues and justice for all people. In fact I would argue that is even more incumbent and responsibility upon the leadership of the church to speak out on such because they know more of the theological issues from the holy scriptures and being good shepherds assigned by the great shepherd our Lord Jesus Christ comes with the responsibility and honor to do the job. I think the question is to confine that in the church or speak out on issues in our society, our city, our nation in general?  Kuyper famously said that not a square inch in this world that Christ doesn’t say “it’s mine!”.

If God’s leadership from the churches don’t speak out and the scholars don’t speak out, there exists a huge vacuum of lacking the voice of God in some very crucial issues in our society like abortion, same sex marriage, or marriage between a man and a woman like in Genesis 1,  God brought Eve to Adam and God said the man shall leave his parents and be joined to his wife and become one. That kind of thing needs to be expounded to the society at large. The separation of the church and state has gone too far in constraining the voice of God in the hands of pastor’s leaders and theologians that has crippled God’s voice to the society at large. John the Baptist spoke out against the king and his time and he didn’t care about the separation of the church and state. Augustine wrote the book City of God to rebut the voice of the political world of the Roman Empire which had just fallen and blamed the church for its downfall. Augustine became the most powerful voice of the Christian churches or Christendom against such tyranny and lies of the Roman world. In fact the biggest spiritual battle is the lies of the devil perpetrated into our postmodernism world in their ideas that have poisoned and influenced thousands and thousands of young people, college students, and that’s what we see for example recently what happened to Harvard University, U Penn, and MIT.

We need leaders in the House of God to speak with conviction and be filled with the Holy Spirit to our modern era.

I think the biggest fear of Christians and pastors and scholars of scripture to speak out on moral and political issues it’s the fear of backfiring. As far as the moral issues go, Christians leaders have no qualms to speak out against social injustice, crimes etcetera but the problem comes on the issue of sexuality. We have to know and understand that there’s a difference in speaking out against sin and speak it out against  sinners. To be perfectly clear we are all sinners in the process of sanctification by the grace of God. But that doesn’t mean we cannot speak out against sin and by doing that we are not attacking the sinners or the people who commit sins, in fact on the contrary we pray earnestly that sinners will repent and come back to the way of godliness in Christ and that applies to our society overall and in general. So by speaking out on moral issues like John the Baptist, he criticized king Herod he in fact went a step further than most churches today. I’m sure if king Harry repented John the Baptist would have been so pleased and congratulate him and pray for him. In the same way we pray for sinners to come back to God and at the same time we expose the darkness of our society as the scripture says to expose the deeds of darkness.

Ephesians 5:10–13 (ESV)

10 and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. 13 But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible,

So conclusion is are we exposing them?

Wedding Sermon Reflection and Plan

Al Ngu       December 14, 2023

My philosophy of performing weddings as a Pastor

I am to officiate the ceremony in the presence of God in front of invited guests and families. In other words to be solemnized.

59-2. Christians should marry in the Lord; therefore it is fit that their marriage be solemnized by a lawful minister [1]

This is based on Genesis 2, when God brought Eve to Adam.

Genesis 2:22–23 (NIV) 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. 23 The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.”

This is a very important verse or I call it as the foundational principle of marriage, the goal and meaning of it. God brought the woman to the man. That will be the basis of foundational principle of the union between a man and a woman. Its God who brought them together. Not by human effort only. The divine providence and human responsivity working together.  Therefore a flourishing marriage will have to be a God centered marriage. In fact, there is no other definition of marriage. So how would God bring nonbelieving people together? Or one believing person, while the other is not? It would not make sense.

Also marriage is a covenant between a man and a woman before God . It’s not a contract, but a covenant in God’s presence, who also instituted his covenant through the bread and wine with us by our Lord Jesus in the last supper, which we celebrate in all churches monthly if not weekly.

“The covenant made between a husband and a wife is done ‘before God’ and therefore with God as well as the spouse. To break faith with your spouse is to break faith with God at the same time.” [2]

Therefore I would only conduct marriage:

Between two believers, and of course, it will be between a man and a woman, as in the design of God’s bringing a woman to the man. Not two women to one man, but one to one. So in order for marriage to flourish, God will have to be the centrality. Not only that:

24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.

There will be a leaving of parents and cleaving to his wife in marriage, and that’s from the bible which also prophetically points to the ultimate marriage between Christ and the church.

Logically therefore I would refuse to perform a wedding ceremony to be solemnized in the presence of our Almighty God if they are not believers in Christ and walking in their faith in Christ. Also I will not conduct a wedding ceremony for any other violations of what God instituted as marriage like same sex marriage, as He brought a woman to the man.

BOCO writes: 59-3. Marriage is to be between one man and one woman, in accordance with the Word of God. [3]

Ceremony, music and photography:

Should point to the joyous uniting of a man and a woman as a covenantal way. Commitment is the message in the love and providence of God. Music worship songs should reflect that.

Reflect on your research and develop a personal plan for performing a wedding ceremony

I will quote this verse as a wonderful shower of blessing and joy and confidence to the joyous couple in the presence of the witnesses, friends, and families.

“ The Lord bless you, and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace (Numbers 6:24-26).[4]

I will also read out the scriptures of the call of God for the husband’s duty towards his wife, and also the wife’s duty towards her husband as in this wonderful, glorious verses.

“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it” (Ephesians 5:26). “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:22).

The happiness contemplated by this union is realized only by those who fully appreciate its sacredness and are faithful in the performance of the mutual obligations growing out of it, and seek daily God’s blessing.[5]

I will expound the significance of this sentence from BOCO which says beautifully that a married couple’s happiness is realized only by those who fully appreciate its sacredness.[6] Marriage is sacred, and therefore it means God is in the center of our blessed marriage, and hence sacred and holy. It’s not some kind of play around, and try around ritual, but a lifelong covenantal commitment.

Also, it says happiness only realized by those who are faithful in the performance of the mutual obligations growing out of it, and see daily God’s blessings. I believe such performance of mutual obligations is only possible as the couple both seek daily God’s blessings. [7]

Finally, as BOCO puts it that the new relation is consecrated by heaven’s benediction. Consecrated means set apart for God and hallowed by all that is tenderest and truest in human affection.[8] I love it that it’s a combination of God’s blessing and consecration, and also blessed by the tender and true human affections. It’s important that couples express their affections towards one another continually through their lives.


[1] THE BOOK OF CHURCH ORDER OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN AMERICA, 59-2

[2]  Tim Keller in The Meaning of Marriage, p 83

[3] Ibid, 59-3

[4] Ibid, Appendix A

[5] Ibid, Appendix A

[6] Ibid, Appendix A

[7] Ibid, Appendix A

[8] Ibid, Appendix A