Christian Civic Responsibility

This is the text of a sermon given by Dave Webster at the Jeffreys Bay Bible Church on Sunday 10th July 2011.

Text: 1 Peter 2: 11-17

Intro:    In the last two weeks of June I was involved in 4 meetings, meetings which have left me challenged and determined to do something. 

The first meeting, on the 15^th June was the J/Bay Residents/Ratepayers Assoc. meeting – Trevor Watkins (the chairman) and others informed us (approx 80 people) of the sad condition of our town and Municipality and they then went on to ask us “what are we doing about it, besides complaining?”

The next day I phoned Trevor and thanked him for his informative and challenging address.  We arranged to get together and have coffee, which we did on the 20^th June and I learned more about our Municipality – and again left challenged to the core.

The third meeting, 22^nd June in Humansdorp, was as a result of a public invite to listen to and interact with the Mayor and the ANC councilors, who make up the Mayoral Committee – these are the seven people who run the Kouga district – this invite to the public was made 24 hours before the meeting – and there were no more than 30 of us from the entire Kouga area.  After the late arrival of the Mayor, on the day, and the “ear tickling”, promise politicking of some of the Councilors, and taking the opportunity of saying something myself, I/we all left disillusioned.

The  fourth meeting on the 30^th June, an invite from the Chairman of the JBay Res Assoc, a meeting at which 6 of us were asked to be part of a new group called “The JBay Res/Rate Payers Legal Watchdog.”  The function of this “Watchdog” group is to fact find (which means reading the 5 Municipal Acts some 336 pages) and then see where the law is being broken; address one on one with the Mayor and or Councilor; then use public media; and finally take legal action, if necessary.

Now beloved, I was/am left in limbo – this is not my thing, my calling, my passion, not even my real interest.  What do I do?  What would you do or more correctly ‘What should we all be doing?” 

Topic:  The Christian and Civic Duty/Responsibility

Let me start with sharing a few Random thoughts/questions: (Think and respond with a ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ or ‘I don’t Know’)

·                     Since, as Christians, we’re “in the world but not of the world” are we therefore to be pacifists, to sit back and do nothing (involving "the world") until the Lord Jesus returns?  After all, mankind messes it up and Jesus returns to fix it up.

·                     Are we to be “so heavenly minded that we’re of no earthly good?”

·                     Are we to allow and say and do nothing about injustice, crime, the murder of unborn babies, unbiblical sexual/marital unions, corruption etc etc?  If you say “No, we must do something” then let me ask “What/How?”

·                     What about paying rates and taxes, from our hard earned God-enabled money, money we know is being mismanaged, used for personal gain by corrupt means, etc.  Where does responsible and good stewardship come into the equation?  Or are we to knowingly dish it out and say, “They’ll give account, not me”

·                     What about taking/holding office in public/political parties?  What about Kenneth Meshoe and the ACDP?  What do say about Joseph in the OT, he ran the economy of Egypt for Pharaoh.  What about Daniel who was made ruler and chief administrator over all of Babylon, second only to Nebuchadnezzar.  What about you/anyone of us?

·                     Does the view of separation between State and the Church mean that neither one, in any way, is to get involved with the other?  Therefore:

·                     Was the RCC and to a degree the Protestant Church biblically correct in not getting politically involved, or even speaking out, against anti-Semitism, Hitler murdering 6 million Jews? 

·                     Just how far are we to get involved?  Is voting for political parties every few years and individuals OK, but no further?

·                     Where do we draw the line/lines with community/party politics/social, civic responsibility?

NB. I think we’re beginning to pick up how either naive or deceived, or possibly even brainwashed, many of us really were and/or still are.  No offence!

A few profound quotes from the Enlightened:

·                     "Evangelicals will inevitably disagree about policy, but we realize that we have many callings and commitments in common: commitments to the protection and well-being of families and children, of the poor, the sick, the disabled, and the unborn, of the persecuted and oppressed, and of the rest of the created order." (If you want a few Scripts that teach the truth of this quote, then start at Gen 1:26 which declares man's God-given dominion over all creation; go through to the Lord's prayer “Thy will be done on earth as it is done in heaven”, and through the rest of the Bible!)

·                     "As Christian citizens, we believe it is our calling to help government live up to its divine mandate to render justice." As we consider this profound quote, let's look at the last question of the many  referred to earlier (“Where do we draw the line/lines with community/party politics/social, civic responsibility?”).

 The answer?  Understand we live in a Democracy, which basically means “the rule of/by/for the people” – that’s every one us who make up the RSA.  We have the second best form of rule in the world, the best being a Theocracy “the rule of God” that’s when the Lord Jesus returns.  We’re not under Communism or a Dictatorship, but a Democratically governed country.  Therefore the people appoint national and local authorities and ensure that they “live up to the divine mandate” – and if they don’t then using our “Constitutional democratic right” we respectfully counsel them, then if needs be admonish them, and then if necessary legally remove them.  And it’s with this understanding we apply (Rom 13:1-7; 1 Peter 2: 11-17).  

SPEECH BY F W DE KLERK TO A LADIES CLUB: MOUNT NELSON HOTEL, CAPE TOWN, 1 JUNE 2011

"The fulcrum on which South Africa’s future will pivot is our Constitution. It is a carefully balanced document that represents an historic compromise between all the significant sectors of our society. It makes provision for a fully democratic society; it is based on the rule of law; it protects the fundamental rights of all our citizens; it entrenches our language and cultural rights; it envisages a society based on equality and human dignity. It is a transformative document that rightly rejects the status quo. If we can maintain this excellent Constitution I am confident that our future will be secure."

The final profound quote, in the light of all that’s been said so far, is this:

·                     “Beloved if we don’t who will? And if not now, then when?”  And the passage that immediately comes to mind is the one our pastor preached from a            couple of weeks ago Mtt 5: 13-16 (read).  We are "the salt and the light ... the world needs to see our good works and come and glorify our Father in heaven!"

In our remaining minutes please turn with me to 1 Peter 2:11-17 (read again).

The last verse (v17) lays out four commands for Christians who daily face the tension of living in this world whilst citizens of another, it says we're "pilgrims" (v11).

As “bond servants of God” v16, here are the Apostle's commands:

1 ) "Honor all men." Treat all men alike, for all have been made in the image of God.  Let’s stop stereo-typing those different from us- be it colour/language/political persuasion! (Testimony: Pam & I - SASSA South African Social Security Agency).  In the words of C. S. Lewis. "We are all kings and queens under wraps." Our language/colour/where we live, doesn't show who God sees us to be.  All equally in need physically, emotionally, and most important spiritually!

2) "Love the brotherhood." Love each other, all of God's people (the redeemed),  with "agape" love (a sacrificial love!), and keep on doing that to all, not just people who are like us and in agreement with us, but all! – the good, the bad, and the ugly.

3) "Fear God." Which means being filled with awe, in light of the fact that all authority is from God, given to--kings and Presidents, and Mayoral committees, etc.--therefore  as His "bond servants"  we will/we must be busy  fulfilling our resposibilities doing good works, “Faith without works is a dead faith” (James 2: 14-26); and “whatever you do do it all to the glory of God.”  Why?  Because we know He is in Sovereign control!

4) "Honour the king." Know that all of our leaders have been placed in leadership by God – understand God’s perfect will, which is a Theocracy and understand His permissive will, in which/through which He is ultimately fulfilling His sovereign plan, even using dictatorships or corrupt democracies. Although voting and involvement may seem like a waste of time, it's our privilege and right and responsibility to partake in a Democratic society, knowing that ultimately God is going to set up His Theocracy.

Although the king may be a tyrant or the democracy be corrupt, God has appointed them as His servant for a reason/season. We must rest in that.  Right through the OT God raises Nations and Kings to deal with His people Israel.  For us, the redeemed, the best is yet to come!

Close with a Challenge:

We, as enlightened “born again” Christians, "servants of God" are surrounded by opportunities for "good works" to fulfill our civic responsibilities – the Ratepayers/Residents Association; Neighborhood Watches; the Community/Police Forum; the Joshua Project; the Business Training ministry headed by Willie and Leon; the Kouga Business Forum,  and many other opportunities, whatever they may be. Let us pray that we will have eyes to see them, hands that will want to participate in them, and feet that will be willing to walk in them.

In this way, Christians can reflect the life of Christ to a fallen world until He comes again! "Even so Lord, come quickly!"

Now if you're here this morning and not yet a "born again" Bible believing person, having acknowledged your sinfulness and need of forgiveness, then I must lovingly warn you that no matter how much good you do/how involved you are with whatever social good it is, without Christ as your Saviour and Lord -- all the good you do will not gain you entrance into Heaven.  Today is the day of salvation, acknowledge you're a sinner, having broken the Law/s of God, ask forgiveness and by faith receive Christ into your live.  Amen. 

SOUTH AFRICA 2011: THE BALANCE BETWEEN FAILURE AND SUCCESS

SPEECH BY F W DE KLERK TO THE ADELE SEARLL LADIES 100 CLUB:

MOUNT NELSON HOTEL, CAPE TOWN,

1 JUNE 2011

SOUTH AFRICA 2011: THE BALANCE BETWEEN FAILURE AND SUCCESS

It is a great pleasure for me to address this gathering of Cape Town’s most influential women leaders. The venue is also splendid. I always enjoy returning to the Mount Nelson - which is one of our most venerable and elegant hotels.

Most of us will also agree that no matter how far - or how often - we travel it is very difficult to find a city that is as beautiful as Cape Town. I travel a great deal and firmly believe that this is the best place in the world in which to live.

There is so much of which we South Africans can be justifiably proud:

• The resilience of our young democracy has once again been illustrated by last month’s successful municipal elections. The elections were free and fair and were preceded by vigorous political debate. Sadly, the great majority of South Africans still voted according to their race. However, there are heartening signs that significant numbers have decided to break racial ranks by voting according to their values and their perceptions of the performance of the contending parties.
• The sound macro-economic policies that Trevor Manuel has implemented have brought us sustained economic growth that was only briefly interrupted by the recent global economic downturn.
• Most countries would envy the fact that our public debt is less than 36% of GDP - and external debt is only 16% of GDP.
• We have the 24th largest economy in the world. We produce more than 30% of the GDP of sub-Saharan Africa with only 6.5% of its population.
• Our natural resources are legendary - including gold and diamonds, platinum group metals and abundant and inexpensive coal.
• Nevertheless, tourism now contributes 8.3% of GDP - considerably more than mining. We have superb game parks, mountains and beach resorts. Cape Town is one of the world’s premier destinations with great facilities including three of the world’s top 100 restaurants.
• Automobile production now contributes almost as much to GDP as mining. In 2008 we produced 600 000 vehicles of which 170 000 were exported.
• Government has made great progress in improving the lives of millions of South Africans. It has built 4 million houses and had brought electricity and sanitation to more than 72% of our homes.
• According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report our auditing and reporting standards and regulation of securities exchanges are the best in the world. We are also in the top seven with regard to the soundness of our banks, financial services and the efficacy of corporate boards. The Report also gives us high marks for the quality of our management schools, our anti-monopoly policy and local supplier quality.
• South Africa has resumed its position as a respected and influential member of the international community - and has become a member of the exclusive BRICSA group.
• The magnificent success of the 2010 FIFA World Cup has shown the world what glories we South Africans can achieve when we all work together.

However, there are many things of which we are not so proud.

We see them in the daily barrage of press reports about corruption, crime, incompetence and divisive racial politics.
Unfortunately, we are becoming so conditioned by such reports that our responses have been deadened. Developments, that in other countries would lead to the fall of governments, are routinely brushed aside by South Africans as being just more of the same old tiresome thing. Among many of us there is a feeling of disempowerment - and almost of detachment.

My message to you today is that we have a Constitution that empowers all of us. We must not allow ourselves to be lulled into a situation where we no longer respond to situations that are constitutionally, morally and politically unacceptable.

• It is unacceptable to sing songs calling for the shooting of anyone. The historical context is irrelevant. It would be equally unacceptable for Afrikaners to sing Boer War songs calling on people to shoot the English - or for Americans to sing World War II songs about killing Japanese people. It is incomprehensible that the government of a non-racial democracy continues to support this song.
• It is unacceptable for Julius Malema to call whites criminals - and to add that they should be treated as criminals and that their land should be seized without compensation. It is even more unacceptable for President Zuma to sit on the same platform, smiling, while Malema, as a key office bearer in the ANC, makes such racist comments. Malema’s behaviour is irreconcilable with the Constitution that the President has sworn an oath to uphold.
• It is unacceptable for the Judicial Services Commission to ignore unambiguous constitutional requirements regarding the manner in which it should be constituted - and then to refuse to fill vacancies on the Cape bench, despite the availability of eminently fit and proper candidates, simply because they happen to be white.
• It is unacceptable for COSATU and the SACP to set as their mid-term vision the utterly unconstitutional goal of “worker hegemony in all sectors of the state and society.”
• it is unacceptable for Gugile Nkwinti, our Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform, to declare in Parliament last year that all “colonial struggles are about two things: repossession of the land and the centrality of the indigenous population.” Just think for a moment about the implications of this statement. He is actually saying that
• the colonial struggle is not yet over;
• whites are colonialists whose land must be repossessed;
• only South Africans who are ‘indigenous’ should be regarded as being central to our society. People from minority communities must presumably be content with a peripheral or second-class status.

Can one imagine the outcry that would rightly ensue if a member of the United States government were to call for the re-establishment of the centrality of the white majority?

Much of the legislation that is currently before Parliament is equally unacceptable:

• Although the Protection of Information Bill has been improved, it will, as things stood a few days ago, still inhibit journalists from publishing stories on corruption and incompetence, based on leaked government information. They will still not be able to make use of a public interest defence and will still be liable to long terms of imprisonment without the option of a fine. Officials in more than 1 000 state organs will still be able to classify any documents that they think will affect ‘national security’ and the state itself will still be the arbiter in the process.
• The Land Tenure Security Bill is equally problematic. It will create unlimited rights for farm workers to build communities, graze animals and cultivate crops on the farms where they work. At the same time it will impose unlimited obligations on farmers to provide land, services and training to farm workers. Ironically, it will also weaken the tenancy rights of farm workers.
• The Labour Relations Amendment Bill is intended to end the practice of labour brokering and contract employment in our economy. Employers will be forced to convert the 3,7 million contract jobs in the economy to permanent jobs. Estimates are that they would re-employ no more than 60% of those involved - which would result in the loss of 1,5 million jobs at the very time when President Zuma has quite rightly identified job creation as our main national priority.

One could mention many other unacceptable aspects of our society:
● the parlous state of our education and health systems;
● unsustainable levels of unemployment;
● the failure of half of our municipalities;
● the deplorable levels of crime;
● the inefficiency of most government departments; and
● recurrent reports of endemic corruption and incompetence.

Unfortunately, South Africans are in danger of allowing this dismal litany to pummel them into accepting the unacceptable as part of the daily reality of their new society. They must not do so.

The fulcrum on which South Africa’s future will pivot is our Constitution. It is a carefully balanced document that represents an historic compromise between all the significant sectors of our society. It makes provision for a fully democratic society; it is based on the rule of law; it protects the fundamental rights of all our citizens; it entrenches our language and cultural rights; it envisages a society based on equality and human dignity. It is a transformative document that rightly rejects the status quo. If we can maintain this excellent Constitution I am confident that our future will be secure.

I believe that we are approaching a pivotal point in our history where all South Africans of goodwill, regardless of their race, circumstances or political affiliation will have to rally around the constitutional rights, values and vision upon which our new non-racial democracy has been established.

The country is balanced between success and failure. If the forces of history come down on the side of constitutional values we can all look forward to a positive future. However, if the balance tips against the constitution, the consequences for all South Africans could be very dire.

The main force seeking to disturb the constitutional balance is the ANC’s National Democratic Revolution.
According to the ANC’s Strategy and Tactics analysis, the establishment of our non-racial constitutional democracy in 1994 was not the end of the liberation struggle - but only a beach-head on the way to the ultimate goals of the revolution.

In the ANC’s own words
“….The notion that South Africans embraced and made up (after the 1994 settlement), and thus erased the root causes of previous conflict, is thoroughly misleading. April 1994 was neither the beginning nor the end of history. The essential contradictions spawned by the system of apartheid colonialism were as much prevalent the day after the inauguration of the new government as they were the day before.”

The ANC admits that it had to make painful compromises in the constitutional negotiations because of the then prevailing balance of forces between it and the former government. Its first priority was accordingly to shift the balance of forces in its favour by seizing what it calls the levers of state power. The levers of state power include “the legislatures, the executives, the public service, the security forces, the judiciary, parastatals, the public broadcaster, and so on.”

Developments during the past 17 years have shown that this is not just empty rhetoric. Assisted by its unconstitutional use of cadre deployment, the ANC has taken vigorous steps to take over - or to try to take over - all these institutions. In the process it is obliterating the constitutional borders between the party and the state; it is undermining the independence of key constitutional institutions; and it is opening the way to large-scale corruption and government impunity.

The ultimate goal of the NDR is a ‘non-racial democracy’ - in which all aspects of control, ownership, management and employment in the state, private and non-governmental sectors will broadly mirror the demographic composition of South Africa’s population.

Like the communist ideal of the ‘classless society’, the non-racial democracy has a superficial appeal - but is equally unattainable in practice.

Closer examination reveals that demographic representivity would simply result in racial domination - what the ANC calls “African hegemony” - in every facet of the government, society and the economy. To achieve its goal of eliminating what the ANC regards as “apartheid property relations” the NDR would require massive and forced redistribution of property and wealth from the white minority to the black majority. It would also require the disemployment of large numbers of people from minority communities.

Whites, Coloureds and Asians would be corralled into demographic pens in all aspects of their economic and professional lives according to the percentage of the population they represent. The prospects of South African citizens would once again be determined by the colour of their skins - and not by their skills, their contribution to the economy or by what Martin Luther King called the content of their character.

Nearly all of the unacceptable developments that I have listed - including Malema’s inflammatory rhetoric, the JSC’s behaviour; Gugile Nkwinti’s land reform proposals, cadre deployment, the failure of municipalities and government departments - can be traced back, directly or indirectly, to the NDR’s corrosive and unconstitutional ideology.

The NDR is, in essence, the continuation of the ANC’s pre-1994 revolutionary struggle against segments of our population based primarily on their race.
Let me put it plainly:
Achievement of the NDR’s goals as expounded in the ANC’s Strategy and Tactics documents would end any prospect for racial harmony in South Africa. It would destroy the basis for national unity that we created in 1994; it would lead to national disintegration; to the loss of hundreds of thousands of people with indispensible skills and to the collapse of Africa’s largest and most sophisticated economy.

None of this is necessary.

No reasonable South African would question the need to promote genuine equality; to achieve fair and sustainable land reform; and to remove any barriers that might remain to black advancement in the economy or in any other sector of our national life. We would, however, disagree fundamentally with the ANC on the manner in which we should achieve these objectives.

South Africans urgently need to speak to one another and to the government on the best ways of achieving these goals.
Such a dialogue is necessary because many ANC members truly believe the myths and historic distortions that underlie the NDR. They really think that the NDR will build ‘a society based on the best in human civilisation in terms of political and human freedoms, socio-economic rights, value systems and identity”.

Black intellectuals sincerely propound ideas that
● blacks cannot be racists;
● the land that whites occupy was ‘stolen’ from the blacks - even it was purchased after 1994; and that
● white wealth was acquired solely - or primarily - through the exploitation of blacks.

We need to talk with one another in the frank and constructive way that we did during the negotiations of the early 1990s.
At the same time it is essential for all people of goodwill to oppose the threats that the NDR poses to our constitutional accord.

The main safeguards against the further erosion of the Constitution lie in
● the genuine support for the Constitution that still exists among many principled ANC members;
● the Government’s reluctance to alienate international opinion and foreign investors by breaching global governance and economic policy norms;
● our Courts, which are for the most part still courageously free and fair; and,
● finally, in South Africa’s free media, civil society institutions and opposition parties.
The media and civil society have an impressive track record in defence of the Constitution:
● the TAC successfully pressured the Government to change its disastrous approach to AIDS;
● in 2006 civil society persuaded the Mbeki presidency to withdraw the Constitution 14th Amendment Bill that would have seriously undermined the independence of the judiciary;
● in 2008 civil society actions led the government to shelve an expropriation bill that would have made it possible for government to expropriate property without payment of court-approved compensation;
● currently, civil society and the media are combating the Protection of Information Bill and proposals for a Media Appeals Tribunal;
● a single citizen, Hugh Glenister, succeeded in the Constitutional Court in having the government’s abolition of the Scorpions declared illegal;
● I am confident that civil society together with NEDLAC will be able to stop, or greatly ameliorate, the worst excesses in the labour and land reform bills that are currently before Parliament.

But it will not be an easy process. The defence of liberty has always been a hard and difficult struggle.
The media, civil society and opposition parties will need all the support they can get from people of goodwill inside South Africa and in the international community to continue to play their role.

My message to the Adele Searll Ladies Club is this:
● Do not regard today’s lunch as just another item in your busy calendars;
● Do not accept developments in South Africa that would be unacceptable in any other genuine democracy in the world;
● Think about - and actively support - other, much more effective, ways of promoting genuine equality, non-racialism and a better life for all our people;
● Consider the concrete steps that you can take to support the work of NGOs - like our own Centre for Constitutional Rights - that are fighting night and day to protect our Constitution - and your own fundamental rights.

I can assure you that your future happiness, prosperity and security - and the future of everyone in this country - depend on it.