Q. Why does God love you?
A. Because Jesus died for my sins, and gave me His righteousness.

Q. Will God ever stop loving you?
A.  No, because His love endures forever.

Q. What, then, does God require of you?
A. I am to love Him, because He first loved me.

Q. And do you love God?
A. I do, with all of my heart.

One brilliant passage from Chapter 3 opened up a whole new world for me.  I say brilliant because it’s logically consistent with the Reformed presuppositional approach to epistemology, and therefore a very powerful argument for the author’s view:

In the New Testament the passage with the most explicit teaching on civil government is probably Romans 13. In that chapter it is explained that political rulers “are ordained of God” (v. 1); “they are God’s ministers” (v. 6) who must reward good and punish evil (vv. 3-4). This raises an important question: by what standard is the ruler to distinguish “good” from “evil”? Clearly, that standard can only be the Bible. How can rulers be God’s ministers and yet not rule according to God’s will? In other words, Romans 13: 1-6 teaches not only that God has instituted civil government, but also that the rulers must govern according to the Word of God. The Bible is not only the exclusive rule of faith and practice for the church, but also for the state. With the Bible being the standard for the civil authorities, it is unmistakable that Christianity is the foundation of the law order, i.e., the established religion in this sense. Romans 13, then, at least in a general way, teaches the necessity of the establishment of Christianity.

I agree with the author’s assertion that there seems to be a rise in political activism among evangelical Christians in the past 20 years.   It’s interesting to think about the biblical warrant for such activity, and Mr. Wagner’s article is a good place to start.