CHRISTIANS AND POLITICS

“No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier” (II Timothy 2:4).

An emotional, heartfelt desire to see our Christian ideals represented in government has led to the misconception that Christians will lose their religious freedoms unless they become actively involved in the political system. 

It is easy to see that politics have not solved our real problems. At best, many social ills were stayed off a little longer. Abortion still claims the lives of millions of innocent children every year, and the moral fabric of America appears to be unraveling at an alarming rate.

Does this mean we are doomed? It does if we believe the government can do what only the church has been called to do. Government was never intended to change society; it is incapable of producing morality through legislation. It may help restrain immorality, but only if the church has established a moral foundation in the hearts of men and women.

e must keep in mind that no one party is entirely good or entirely bad. The fact is that we live in a fallen world, and thus will always be led by sinners at all levels of government. We must always keep in mind what government can and cannot do. We should work toward good government, good laws and good judges. But we cannot be naive in thinking that government can rescue us from the abyss of moral and spiritual failure. We have to understand that the best news our nation needs will not come from government, but from the lips and lives of followers of Jesus Christ.

As Christian we should not endorse any political candidate. We must stay above the battle, preaching the Gospel to both parties, for God will not ask whether we were Republicans or Democrats, but rather what we did with His Son, Jesus. On the personal level, we can have our convictions and involvements, but not as official representatives of the Gospel.

There are Christians who get involved in politics because in their heart they really believe that they are doing good and that God does not object, but rather approves.  As our text insists, they are sadly, but honestly mistaken.  There is nothing wrong with wanting things to be better, or being against injustice and the like.  Politics is tricky business, many of those who run for office have other motives, such as fame, money, power, and self-aggrandizement. 

The will of God permeates and supersedes every aspect of life. It is God’s will that takes precedence over everything and everyone (Matthew 6:33). God’s plans and purposes are fixed, and His will is inviolable. What He has purposed, He will bring to pass, and no government can thwart His will (Daniel 4:34-35). It is God who “sets up kings and deposes them” (Daniel 2:21) because God is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes” (Daniel 4:17). A clear understanding of this truth will help us to see that politics is merely a method God uses to accomplish His will. Even though evil men abuse their political power, meaning it for evil, God means it for good, working “all things together for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his

purpose”(Romans8:28).

We must understand the fact that our government cannot save us! Only God can. We never read in the New Testament of Jesus or any of the apostles teaching believers on how to reform the pagan world of its idolatrous, immoral, and corrupt practices via the government. The apostles never called for believers to demonstrate civil disobedience to protest the Roman Empire's unjust laws or brutal schemes. Instead, the apostles commanded the first-century Christians, as well as us today, to proclaim the gospel and live lives that give clear evidence to the gospel’s transforming power.

Our responsibility to government is to obey the laws and be good citizens (Romans 13:1-2). God has established all authority, and He does so for our benefit, “to commend those who do right” (I Peter 2:13-15). Paul tells us in Romans 13:1-8 that it is the government’s responsibility to rule in authority over us—hopefully for our good—to collect taxes, and to keep the peace. Where we have a voice and can elect our leaders, we should exercise that right by voting for those who best demonstrate Christian principles.

One of Satan’s deception is that we can rest our hope for cultural morality and godly living in politicians and governmental officials. A nation’s hope for change is not to be found in any country’s ruling class. Christians are mistaken if they think that it is the job of politicians to defend, to advance, and to guard biblical truths and Christian values.

The purpose of the church does not lie in political activism. Nowhere in Scripture do we have the directive to spend our energy, our time, or our money in governmental affairs. Our mission lies not in changing the nation through political reform, but in changing hearts through the Word of God. When believers think the growth and influence of Christ can somehow be allied with government policy, they corrupt the mission of the church. Our Christian mandate is to spread the gospel of Christ and to preach against the sins of our time. Only as the hearts of individuals in a culture are changed by Christ will the culture begin to reflect that change.

Throughout the ages Christians have lived, and even flourished, under antagonistic, repressive, pagan governments and they have sustained their faith under immense cultural stress. They understood that it was the church, not the government, who were the light of the world and the salt of the earth. They understood that, as believers, their hope resided in the protection that only God supplies. The same holds true for us today. When we follow the teachings of the Scriptures, we become the light of the world as God has intended for us to be (Matthew 5:16).

When the church tries to implant it's beliefs on the government, that subverts the basic constitutional prohibition concerning separation of church and state. When we allow politics and Christianity to comingle, and try to use the government to intercede in religious affairs, it inherently weakens the church. By doing this we threaten both our democracy and the church.