William,

The Matthew passage says that we go to all "ethnicities" meaning all people groups of the earth.It does not mean "nations" as in political entities. There are those in the reformed camp who take this to mean nations themselves are to be converted. This position is rejected by Orthodox Lutheran teaching. Some in the Reformed camp are inclined to "post millennialism" which is the notion that nations must be "Christianized" in some sense before Christ returns. This also is rejected by Orthodox Lutheran teaching.

Only the church can do the work of Christ which is baptizing and teaching all that Christ entrusted to us. Find me some words from Jesus that indicate that the church is supposed to transform government. Christians certainly should serve in government and allow their world view to influence the work they do just as any Christian in any vocation but we are not given the "sword" and when we as church embark on making laws we become entangled in affairs that take us from the task which is to baptize and to teach.

C.F.W. Walther lived in an era of great social turmoil and yet refused to engage those issues in his day. He urged the church to live in daily repentance and do their vocations as unto the Lord, leaving government to do its vocation.

In the older Testament, when governments established by the Lord God (and they all are) become abusive, they were punished by other nations which are given the power of the sword. That is how nations are judged and corrected and not by the church.

Our LCMS needs very open and kind discussions of these issues for I fear we are being co-opted by political ideology and in danger of exalting that ideology to the status of "Christian". There is no such thing as Christian politics any more than Christian engineering, Christian mathematics, etc. There are Christians in those vocations and I pray they will all do their vocation as unto the Lord.

The greatest gift we give our nation is to do our vocations as unto the Lord with thanksgiving always ready to give an answer for the hope in us. This is anything but "quietism". It is the most active work we do in any society we are in.

In Christ,

Art