A question comes in from podcast listener Peter. "Pastor John, being created in the image of God, many non-Christians have moral instincts on issues such as homosexuality and gender identity that reflect Christian morals. They can express that homosexuality is wrong, for example, but not that it's wrong because it contradicts God's created design.

So is it possible to partner with non-Christians in the public fight over moral issues?" It's interesting. I was just asked a question almost like this yesterday when I was over Bethlehem College and Seminary by a seminary student. So I had just been thinking about it and so my answer is informed by that conversation.

And it seems to me that I should summarize it something. It's a massive issue. I mean, you could write whole books on this issue. So I'm going to put my answer in two yes buts. So yes but, yes but. Okay, first yes but. So yes, Christians in society should care about the advancement of laws and policies and behaviors that do good to people and put restraints on destructive immoral behaviors.

And of course, there are great complex issues as to what morality can be legislated. Like don't murder. Everybody agrees that moral conviction should be legislated. Well, what about the moral conviction don't covet, don't lust? Well, no, probably not. And a whole array in between. You can't make a crime out of coveting, but you can out of murder.

And who knows what all criteria need to go into thinking through that. But what I'm saying is, yes, it is right and good to pursue obedience to Galatians 610, which says, "So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, especially those of the household of faith." Doing good to everyone would include encouraging lots of people not to kill unborn babies and putting restraints upon people who think they should kill unborn babies, just like we put restraints on people who kill born babies.

It would include, I mean, caring about doing good for everyone would include not saddling the next generation with unbearable debt by selfish spending in this generation with a "Go to hell as far as I'm concerned, you know, 30, 40 years from now. I don't care. I'm getting what I want.

That's sinful." Christians ought to speak against those kinds of attitudes and policies. Another example would be to do good to everybody would surely be to put restraint on abuses of power and wealth and influence, police issues and military issues and rich, white-collar crime issues. Christians ought to care about the oppression and abuses that come from the misuse of power.

We should be talking about that, so we should care. Yes, so that's my yes. Yes, we should obey Galatians 6:10 and try to publicly do good for everybody, but—so here's my first but—in your public involvement, don't conceal the roots of your convictions about what's right and wrong. Don't try to get a better hearing through downplaying your dependence on Christ and his Word and the gospel.

This is where many Christians, it seems to me, lose their saltiness and their light. Advocating for behaviors that are Christian is not the light of the world. Advocating for restraining behaviors is not the light of the world. There's nothing gospel in it. The light of the world is Christ and all that God is for us in him, all his gospel and all his promises.

If Christians become practical atheists in public by simply advocating for behaviors that correspond to Christian ethics, they may see a little more political acceptance and affirmation in the short run, but they will lose the larger battle for the eternal good. Do we really want to invest in a society whose outward behaviors are moral while everybody goes to hell?

Let's call that love. Well, a lot of people would call it love. It isn't. So there's my first yes, do good to everybody, but don't put your light under a bushel to get a hearing. Second, yes, we may partner with—in fact, I think we inevitably must partner with unbelievers wherever the external behavior we are advocating or restraining overlaps with their convictions about that external behavior.

The reason I focus on external behavior is because as a Christian, I will always desire and pray that people do the right thing out of faith in Jesus, not just because it's legal or illegal. Who cares about that in the long run? If they don't do it because they're a Christian, they go to hell, and I've done a not very good thing for them.

So yes, partner with unbelievers in the pursuit of behaviors, policies, laws that you think are good for everybody. Here's my last but. But there are some associations with unbelievers that would be damaging and unadvisable. The principle, I think, of associating with unbelievers in any project would be we may partner with unbelievers in ways that do not compromise our beliefs or do not send the message to others that our beliefs in Christ are negligible.

So for example, you might march in a pro-life demonstration alongside a Muslim because—I would—because no one would seriously see that as an undermining of his or your faith and salvation or whatever you believe, because the conviction that you shouldn't kill unborn babies doesn't have a necessary attachment to one or the other, so that it looks like somebody's sacrificing his beliefs to march in this demonstration.

However, would you—I wouldn't—join in a prayer meeting, a public prayer gathering, where everybody is assuming—and it's been publicly stated—we're all praying to the same God. Buddhists and Muslims and Jews and Christians, we're all praying to the same God, and it doesn't matter whether you pray in Jesus' name or not, because he's going to hear this generic God.

I wouldn't participate in that, because it is sending the message. It doesn't matter if you pray in Jesus' name. It doesn't matter if you believe that all gods are true gods. So summing up, yes but, yes but. Yes, publicly seek the good of all the people by advocating laws and policies and behaviors that do good to most people, the most people, and lessen harm and destruction, but don't silence the roots of your convictions and put Christ to naught and become a practical atheist in your public life as a simple public do-gooder rather than a prophetic witness to the King of Kings.

And lastly, yes but, yes, partner with unbelievers in those processes, but not if it compromises your faith or gives the impression that Jesus is negligible. Thank you, Pastor John. That is complicated indeed, but thank you for the excellent question, Peter. We're going to return tomorrow and look at one core reason why Jesus Christ was incarnate, why he had a body, why he wasn't fleshed.

And it has to do with us, and it has to do with our redemption. John Piper will explain tomorrow as we linger over why Jesus had a body. I'm your host Tony Reinke. I'll see you then. you