I’m really bothered by all the political banter I’m hearing among Christians, especially since last week’s vote about healthcare. Now don’t misunderstand me. I have political opinions. I’m happy for others to have them, even if they disagree with me. I’m not one of these guys who thinks just because someone expresses a political opinion they must not be properly centered spiritually. What bothers me, however, is how many Christians and religious people are beginning to accept the lead of the religious right that says one of the church’s main goals is to get to Washington and enact “Christian legislation.” I’m very bothered by the number of Christians that seem to think their political opinions are bible opinions and judge those who disagree as not quite as spiritual as they are.
Let me share with you some principles that help me keep my balance about politics and my relationship with God. I know this is not the normal position for today’s Christian. I simply ask that you give me a fair hearing before you start judging me as having lost my mind.
God never asked for a Christian nation.
Christians everywhere are upset because President Obama told somebody America is not a Christian nation. I don’t know what he meant by it and I don’t know what you mean by it, all I know is God never asked for Christian nations. So why get stressed about it?
In Hebrews 12:26-29, the Hebrew writer claims God was going to shake out the Old Covenant kingdom so we could receive a kingdom that cannot be shaken. Why would we want to stress having another kingdom that can be shaken out of the way (and eventually will, no matter how much we love our country) when God is giving us a kingdom that can’t be shaken? Is God’s kingdom so trivial to us that we have to boost it with our earthly kingdom as well?
In John 18:36, Jesus said His kingdom is not of this world. Why then do we get bent out of shape when we learn that a kingdom of this world is not Christ’s kingdom? Jesus said if His kingdom were of this world, His disciples would stand up and fight by earthly means. But they weren’t fighting because that wasn’t what His kingdom was about. Yet today, His disciples are completely caught up in an earthly fight through political means to somehow preserve a Christian Nation that God didn’t establish.
God has His kingdom. According to I Peter 2:9, we are part of that kingdom because we are in Christ, not because we are in America. The fact is there are Russians that are part of God’s nation, there are Mexicans, Canadians, French, South African, Nigerian, Italian, British, and all other nationalities of people in Christ’s kingdom and it has nothing to do with their national citizenship. I love America. My Dad’s life was devoted to defending America. My brother is devoting his life to the same cause. I have good friends who have done the same. I’m proud of their patriotism and their sacrifice to defend our nation. But I have to keep very clear that defending America is not the same as defending Christ’s holy nation.
God worked through an earthly nation during His old covenant, but He has moved on from that now. He has a spiritual kingdom. If He wanted a Christian nation, He could have revealed through the apostles how to get Rome to be His nation, but He didn’t. Why are we getting all bent out of shape about that now? What passage would we go to to tell us how to establish the Christian nation God supposedly wants?
God has never asked us to spread His gospel through political means.
In 2 Corinthians 10:3-6, Paul makes it clear that we don’t use earthly, fleshly means to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. They weren’t under a democracy. They wouldn’t vote. They would take up arms and revolt. But Paul said that wasn’t what they were about. They weren’t concerned with overthrowing the Roman government in order to make it a Christian one. They didn’t go to Caesar and try to get him to pass Christian friendly laws. Why on earth would we think our job is to spread the gospel through political means?
In Matthew 28:18-19, Jesus didn’t say go make Christian nations. He said to make Christians within every nation. In Mark 16:15-16, Jesus didn’t say to go and turn every nation into a democracy. He didn’t say, go and make sure all the nations have Christian laws. He said go and make disciples all over the world. In Romans 10:15, Paul didn’t write how beautiful are the feet of those with certain political opinions or who vote for certain laws. He said the feet of those who preach the gospel are beautiful. In II Timothy 2:2, when Paul was concerned with Timothy leaving behind a legacy for Christ and preparing the way for another generation of Christians, he didn’t tell Timothy to go to Rome and appeal to Caesar for better laws. He told Timothy to teach faithful men who would in their turn teach other faithful men to teach.
Somehow, we’ve bought into the distraction of the religious right that getting a law against abortion or homosexuality ratified in our Constitution will actually be some kind of major victory for Christ. Bologna. Let’s face it, not one single person has been saved because of anyone’s vote for any candidate or for any law. The victory that Christ wants is not to outlaw abortion or homosexuality. The victory Christ wants is for us to carry the message of His saving death to new people whose lives will be changed so they won’t have abortions or commit homosexuality anymore no matter what the national law is. If righteousness could come by a law, then the Old Covenant law of Israel would have done it. Why do we think if we get American law to correspond with the New Testament teaching that it will produce righteousness among Americans? Only the message of faith in Jesus is going to accomplish that and Jesus doesn’t need a national law to back Him up for it to work.
We need to remember that immorality and idolatry were rampant in the days of the New Testament, but God didn’t once ask anyone to try to get the emperor to pass any laws against all that. He simply asked His children to spread His soul saving gospel.
The Constitution is not the Bible, Part 2
I love the Constitution. I think it is one of the greatest political documents of all time. I have strong feelings about how it should be read and interpreted. I have many concerns that it is not being interpreted properly by our government today. I am concerned about what that means for our nation’s future. However, those are political opinions, not spiritual ones. I have to remember that the Constitution is not divine or divinely inspired. We don’t have the Old Testament, the New Testament, and the Constitution Testament.
I can get into all kinds of arguments about defending the Constitution, but that is not the same as defending God’s word or God’s will. The fact is, the Bible never says anything about how to read the Constitution. It never even says anything about whether or not the Constitution is the right way to govern a nation. The Bible never says anything about whether or not a nation even needs a Constitution like ours. It just isn’t there. Yet, Christians nationwide act like they are defending the Bible when they defend their interpretation of the Constitution.
I’ve heard people claim that we need to protect our “God-given rights.” We have these rights by the providence of God because Romans 13:1 says the government is established by God. That is not an accurate view of that verse or our American rights. Our rights to free speech, practice religion as we want, assemble, bear arms, speedy trial by a jury of our peers, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are not God-given rights. Please, if you are convinced that they are, find the passage in Scripture that claims we have any of those rights? These are government-given rights. I’m very happy to live in a nation whose government claims we have these rights and I will gladly stand up to fight for these rights. But, again, that is a political opinion, not a spiritual one. It is not a Bible opinion.
Romans 13:1 isn’t talking about democracies. It isn’t talking about American government. It is talking about all governments. It is talking about Nero’s government, Hitler’s government, Stalin’s governments. The point behind Romans 13:1 is not that what a government established by God does is the right thing to do and we as Christians must defend it like it is the same as the Bible. Rather, it simply means we must submit to our governing authorities (unless, of course, they ask us to disobey God; Acts 5:29).
When I’m defending my opinions about the Constitution, I’m not defending God’s will. When I’m defending America, I’m not defending Christ’s nation. The Constitution is not the Bible, part 2, and I must not trivialize God’s real word by trying to somehow equate a document of men with it.
God only expressed one political opinion.
There are a bajillion political issues out there. We can argue about taxes, healthcare, marriage, abortion, immigration, the environment, defense, homeland security, our President’s birthplace and on and on and on the list goes. To my knowledge, God did not express a political opinion on any one of these issues. We need to realize that all of these issues were present in the Roman world. They dealt with taxes. They dealt with defense and security. Abortion was going on. They even killed children after they were born. Homosexuality was commonplace. Idolatry was rampant. But God never once said anything political about any of these things.
1 Timothy 2:2 is the only political opinion expressed in the New Testament that I know of. Paul didn’t tell the Christians to get up in political arms about the bad laws governing the Roman empire. All he asked was for the Christians to pray that their government would allow them to lead peaceful, quiet, godly lives. We should still be asking for that. Right now, God is granting that request. We are allowed to lead peaceful, quiet, godly lives. I know some people pitch a fit about it. I know some people don’t like it. But right now, we are allowed to serve God as we wish, practice obedience as we wish, assemble as we wish. Nobody has stopped that. Maybe they will one day, but they aren’t stopping it right now. Maybe instead of complaining like we don’t have these freedoms, we should spend more time thanking God that we do have these freedoms and asking Him to continue them. Then maybe we can go talk to our neighbors about God’s saving Gospel and it might change their lives so they don’t practice homosexuality or get an abortion.
God expects His children to unite around principles greater than politics.
I love being in a democracy, but I’m increasingly convinced it may not be the best situation for Christians. Why? Because democracy came on the scene and Christians have been dividing over politics ever since. Maybe it was better when there was no vote under the Roman Empire and Christians just accepted what they were given and did the best they could to live godly lives in the situation they were given.
I’m often astounded by the conglomeration of people Jesus pooled together to form His group of apostles. I’m most astounded by the coming together of Matthew the tax collector and Simon the Zealot. I wonder what kind of political discussions they had around the fire at night. A tax collector was a Roman sympathizer, not only did he not have a problem with Roman occupation, he used it to make money. A Zealot hated Roman occupation and tried any means to get them out, even insurrection at times. These two were complete polar opposites politically. But there is no indication they had to change their politics to serve Jesus. Matthew didn’t have to become a Zealot to be among the 12 and Simon didn’t have to become a Roman sympathizer. Jesus expected them to unite around something greater than politics.
Satan will use anything he can to get us to divide among ourselves. Politics seems to be the big thing right now. I’ve even heard of some Christians defriending each other on Facebook over the political opinions surrounding the healthcare vote. How sad is that?
Jesus did not die to form the Republican party. Jesus did not die to form the Democrat party. Jesus didn’t even die to start democracies. We do need to remember that neither Jesus nor any of the apostles were believers in democracy. There wasn’t democracy in their day. We need to understand that someone can have completely different political opinions from us and still be a good Christian, just like the apostles were.
Jesus did not die to make sure healthcare was privatized or nationalized. In fact, I’m guessing Jesus doesn’t care how we get healthcare. Jesus died so our souls could be cared for eternally. He expects us to unite around the eternal principles of salvation in Him and not divide around temporal political concerns about nations.
Here is what I try to remember. If I really want to do something good in God’s eyes for my nation, instead of worrying about everyone else’s political opinions, I need to talk to someone about Jesus. He didn’t die to make Christian nations. He died to make Christians in every nation. If I’m going to keep my proper spiritual perspective, I’ve got to understand that political opinions are just that. They are political opinions. I’m allowed to have them. You are allowed to have them. If we disagree, we can discuss them. But we must not let them divide us. We must not think a political discussion is a biblical discussion. God never intended that.
Let’s remember that the most important thing that happened last Sunday was not the vote on healthcare. The most important thing is the gospel was preached to millions. The death of Jesus was remembered by multitudes. Some were added to the Lord through baptism into Christ. What happened in Washington was neither a victory or a defeat for Jesus or His people. Rather, Jesus was once again victorious in a multitude of ways because His people gathered and proclaimed Him as He asked. We’ll continue doing that no matter what happens in Washington.
Please, remember, God’s way works and God’s ways are not political.
Normally I don't comment with just an amen, but this article deserves a very hearty, AMEN!
I will be posting the link for this page, I am sure.
I agree with most of what you said but if we don't take a stand for what is right, we too will fall, and great will be the fall………Clay Joseph
Rome fell and great was the fall there of………..Clay Joseph
Hey Clay,
I appreciate your comment.
I agree that the United States of America will fall and its fall will be great, just like Rome. What I'm hoping we'll see is that our patriotic concern, which runs deeply in me, is not a biblical opinion.
After all, Rome did fall greatly and it was actually a victory for Christ's church when it did. What I hope we begin to see is that if our nation dispenses with the Constitution, becomes completely different, or is totally overrun by some other nation, Christ's kingdom still lives on and our main goal will still continue.
The church is not here, and neither are Christians, to make sure the United States of America continues on any particular course or to make sure that the nation is even preserved.
Please, don't misunderstand. I'm a very patriotic person. I love my country. I'm concerned about its future and I want it to continue to follow the Constitution and stay powerful. I simply want to realize those are all secondary concerns to my concern for Christ's kingdom. Further, they are not based on anything biblical. They are not part of my Christianity, if you will. That is, while I believe God allows national patriotism, patriotism is not a responsibility I have because I'm a Christian. I hope that makes sense.
Thanks for you addition to the blog.
Dan, thanks for the encouragement.
I love this post so much that I am almost ready to drive to Franklin just to hug you. Oh, how we need this message in the church. I am writing some material write now on this subject and I am so delighted to see this on your blog.
As always, you are the man!
God speed brother,
Jim Canada
I am old enough to remember when political affairs were conducted outside the realm of God's church. This is a relatively new development, and not one that is biblically approved. If only half the time and energy directed toward this were redirected towards converting lost souls, could our buildings hold the number of saved?
Excellent thoughts. They are very much needed.
I guess another political "opinion" expressed in the Bible is to pay taxes (render to Caesar what is Caesar's), and that's true regardless of whether those taxes are going to Obamacare or not.
That's true, Joel. Just to clarify, my point about political opinions was not about whether something with political ramifications came up, but rather a political point about which God expressed that we should have some concern. While taxes is talked about, God never asks us to have any concern about what the tax laws are or what they are spent on. Or what we should spiritually do about it if we think the tax laws are unfair.
Edwin,
I agree with some of the basic principles in your article, i.e.,. God did not call us to be a "Christian nation" nor to "enact Christian legislation." The church is not a political machine. However, I do believe God cares whether or not we are promoting and supporting beliefs and ideas that are true and right according to His word. Something is wrong when a person professes to uphold the word of God while at the same time "takes to the streets" to support a political platform whose tenets fly in the face of scriptural soundness, or whose associations call in to question his character or sound beliefs.
You are right: our home is not this world;God's kingdom is not of this world. But we do (as of today) have the freedom to choose our leaders and influence our legislation. Will God hold us accountable for how we use this freedom? And how are our actions effecting our brethren? Are we supporting/voting for ideas that will harm their well-being? I struggle with the fact that some of my own brethren voted for a president and legislators whose policies are causing greater financial difficulties for more families and a health care system that will soon result in catastrophic consequences for Christians alike. If in the future a Christian man who is a husband and father dies because he could not get the surgery he needed to remove a cancerous tumor (a possibility that does not currently exist but will under the new legislation), is is really so very unimportant that many of his own brethren voted for the men and women who put this plan into action? I suppose it's possible that God could then use them to assist their brethren who are dealing with the consequences of political decisions.
I see how political philosophies can clash (or mesh) with scriptural doctrine. For that reason, Christians should be careful about what they do with their liberty.
Hey Kim,
Thanks so much for sharing on this very touchy topic.
I believe I understand where you are coming from on this. You are saying that as Christians we need to make sure that whoever we vote for will uphold biblical principles and we should make sure our vote supports what is right. Otherwise we are not following God's will ourselves.
On the one hand, I agree. However, I'd like to offer you something to consider regarding this. Because of hot button issues like abortion and homosexuality, we Christians like to think we really are voting in ways that support God's will. However, I think we should perhaps reconsider. Are any of us actually voting for God's will to be done?
I'd like to ask us all to consider the very first Amendment to our Constitution, the first statement of our very precious Bill of Rights:
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
I will take to the streets all day long in support of this. But I don't believe it is a bit more biblical than supporting the practice of homosexuality. The fact is, God does not give us the freedom to practice religion any way we choose. If I understand the Bible correctly, Matthew 7:13-14 teaches there is only one way. There are not many. When I am fighting for a right to religious freedom, I'm actually fighting for something God hasn't asked for and is not supported in Scripture. If I were to preach that from the pulpit, I think I would be preaching false doctrine. However, I believe our founding fathers understood something. They understood that for me to have the freedom to worship God in what I believe is the right way, they have to give everyone that freedom.
Further, God does not believe in the freedom of speech. In fact, his law declares in Ephesians 4:29 that we must let no corrupting talk come out of our mouths. According to Matthew 12:36-37 God plans to judge people based on the words they speak. He has not given us the freedom of speech. If I were to preach that we have the freedom of speech before God, I would be preaching error. However, I will take to the streets and fight for that freedom politically and legally. Why? Because I believe in order to have the freedom to speak what I believe, others should have the freedom to speak what they believe as well.
For years, I liked to throw up my two pet issues of abortion and homosexuality and act like my politics were based on the Bible. However, when I take a moment to be honest almost nothing about my politics is based on the Bible. The most fundamental political and legal rights I enjoy and fight for are not really consistent with God's will. In fact, which political candidates really are defending God's will? Who is out there proclaiming the fornication should be illegal platform? Who is building the political platform to make gossip and slander, outbursts of wrath, clamor, bitterness, and resentment illegal? Who is building the platform that says everyone must believe in Jesus? No one. And, to be honest, if someone was, I wouldn't vote for them. Why? Because the moment I do that, I open the political door for the next candidate who can legislate that we all believe in the one god Allah and his prophet Mohamed.
Now, here's the sticky part. I do believe the practice of homosexuality is against God's law. However, though I haven't followed this idea for my own voting, I can actually see how a Christian might fight for the legalization of the practice if they considered that giving the government the power to enter the bedroom might also grant the government the power to enter my house and demand that I not teach what I believe or lead my family the way I believe I should.
Regarding the healthcare situation to which you refer: I think under our healthcare system there might well be Christian dads who can't get a surgery for a tumor because they don't have insurance and don't have the money. The fact is under any system people are going to die and some Christians are going to die. My mom died when I was 12 because her heart transplant surgeon was in the middle of another heart transplant and couldn't leave the patient he was with, whose heart was laying out on the table, to help my mom when she went in to organ rejection. Does that mean as a Christian I should lobby for some kind of legislation that demands enough doctors to handle all the needs that might arise? Or does that just indicate that no matter the situation choices get made and someone may die because of the choice? I imagine someone supporting socialized medicine could make a very similar heartrending argument about the Christian who can't afford health insurance and so doesn't get the continued medical care he needs and dies young, leaving children behind.
Finally, if God has never expected us to spread His will through political means and He never intended there to be a Christian nation, then doesn't that mean that our political efforts are not about preserving God's will but simply about preserving our nation? Is it possible that a Christian might appreciate the freedoms we have in this country and believe that some issues other than the moral hot button issues are more important for the preservation of our country? Perhaps they agree with the taxation policy or the immigration policy or the welfare policy and really believe that will have greater impact on preserving our nation than those moral issues. Can they not allow their politics to be about preserving the nation they love while their personal teaching with other individuals will be about helping them submit to Jesus? Granted, I know that most of us who are opposed to abortion and homosexuality, are pretty certain our fiscal, social, and other policies were also handed down from God, but the fact is, God hasn't said a word about how people should get healthcare. He hasn't said a word about immigration. He has certainly demonstrated that taxes are allowed, but hasn't said a word about how they should be collected or limited. Those are all political opinions that we have developed through political philosophy and not through Bible study.
The fact is, political philosophy is far more complex than two hot button issues. Certainly, we are allowed to vote based on any issue we want. I'm simply suggesting that since God hasn't asked us to spread His will through political means, that we need to allow Christians the freedom to let their politics be about preserving the nation and not about spreading God's will. They can spread God's will the way God said, by teaching their neighbors while still voting based on some issue they think is more important for preserving our nation.
I'm afraid I've started rambling. However, I hope I've been able to shed some different kind of light on the spiritual and political spectrum.
Edwin,
I appreciate your response. I'd like to address your comment regarding the first amendment. The early Jamestown settlers were forced to be a part of the church of England or face death. This kind of tyranny is what the first amendment sought to prevent. The first amendment was not designed to eliminate religion, God, or Christian principles from American life. As a matter of fact, did you know that Thomas Jefferson invited preachers from various denominations to hold services at the White House? Having said that, I'm not suggesting that America become a "Christian nation," and I believe in the freedom of religion because that concept gives us as Christians the freedom to spread the gospel and practice our faith. I'm also not a one-or-two-issue voter.
The concept of complete freedom to live as we chose certainly would allow Christians the freedom to live according to God's word without fear of government interference. But is that the case in reality? I don't think so. One party — and I'll just go ahead and say it — the Democrat party is more tolerant of everything but Christianity. Proposed legislation, whether it comes to a vote or not, to prevent preachers from teaching against homosexual behavior originates from the Democrat party. Every aim taken at Christianity comes from the Democrat party. Even if the Republican party did want to ban homosexual marriages, do you really believe they would interfere with a parent's right to teach your children as you see fit? One party supports Christian principles, the other does not. So in reality I don't see a threat of losing my freedom to practice Christian principles if the Republican party is in control.
God certainly condemns wicked rulers, so would it be wrong to try to elect a man or woman who at least attempts to be godly? Most of the time, voting comes down to choosing the lesser of two evils, however.
Regarding socialized medicine, people will die because they will not have a choice as to whether or not to seek treatment. The government will make the decision. It won't matter whether or not you can pay for medical care; you won't be allowed to. Under our current system, I don't know of any Christian who has to forgo life-saving procedures due to financial hardship. The brethren always take care of them (or Medicare, which is an option for the poor).
From purely a political perspective, if Christians want to preserve our country, the choice is obvious. Just look at what has happened since our current president and administration took over. The foundation of our country is crumbling, we are losing freedoms, and the Constitution is being violated over and over again.
Hey Kim,
I know the purpose of the first amendment and that is exactly my point. The first amendment guarantees a right that I don't actually believe is biblical. God says there is one way to eternal life. He doesn't allow me to follow religion as I choose. He has His way and my job is to pursue it. When I support and fight for the first amendment am I really fighting for God's will as revealed in Scripture? No. I do fight for it because I believe that is what will cause the government to allow me to pursue God's will as I feel it is revealed in scripture.
I don't know anything about proposed legislation regarding preaching on homosexuality. I certainly think you are allowed to vote on that, but what if that is the legislation? What do we do? Say Christ's kingdom suffered a defeat? Know, we simply keep teaching what we believe the Bible says and live with the consequences. Our first century counterparts did that because it was illegal to preach Jesus as the king.
I know this may sound odd, but I'd like to know where the Bible says God cares about how our healthcare is provided? To make an opinion on healthcare a litmus test for true spirituality is to go way beyond the Bible.
However, let me highlight your last statement. "From a purely political perspective…" That is my point. This is all purely political. It is not spiritual. It is not about obeying what God has said about politics because God hasn't said anything except that we should pray that we be free to live peaceable and godly lives, which we are able to do right now. Even if I agree with you about losing freedoms and violations of the constitution, we need to remember that God doesn't care if the Constitution is violated. As I said in the post, the Constitution is not God's word. He didn't put us here to make sure the Constitution was preserved or that the USA is preserved. He put us here to tell people about Jesus no matter what nation we're part of or what our government does.
Thank you for your responses and I look forward to hearing more from you.
Hi, Edwin,
I enjoy discussing these issues with my brethren and want you to know that I respect you as my brother-in-Christ and as a gospel preacher. I'm familiar with your articles and appreciate your service to our Lord. I'm not trying to be argumentative, and I want to be careful that I keep my place as a woman. The internet is a wonderful thing, but sometimes I fear it blurs our ability to handle things the proper way.
I agree with much of what you are saying. But it all comes down to this: Unlike the New Testament Christians, we have the freedom, privilege, and blessing of choosing our leaders and lawmakers. Will God hold us accountable for how we exercise that freedom? Can you imagine the early Christians purposely electing Nero? Is it wrong to support/elect leaders and legislators who openly support immoral behaviors and fight to have them legalized? Will we be judged because we aligned ourselves with a political agenda that seeks to destroy our ability to serve God openly? Again, we most often have to choose the lesser of two evils.
You're right: God doesn't tell us what kind of healthcare is "scriptural." But He does tell us what attitudes we should possess, which often go hand-in-hand with what we believe politically. It is difficult for me to remain completely neutral that some of my brethren are supporting a healthcare option that is destructive and will harm other Christians.
Having said all that, you and I surely agree that our whole purpose in life is to "fear God and keep His commandments" and to teach the gospel to the lost. The only way we can change the world is to change the hearts of men and women and turn them towards Christ. I also understand that my relationship with my brothers and sisters-in-Christ is of utmost importance.
God bless you, and thank you for your insight!
Thanks for you input, Kim. Keep coming back.
Of course the church's work is not political. Obviously sharing God's message is overwhelmingly more important, but I can do that AND stand up for a more moral (no homosexual marriage, no murders of babies. etc.) America. I'm glad you said you would "gladly stand up and fight for these rights." I'm afraid others might not read your article carefully and think you are saying not to bother. We do live in a democracy and to not utilize our freedoms to try and keep these freedoms for our children and grandchildren is sad. I wish more Christians should stand up and let there voice be heard. I do not want taxes/healthcare that force me to pay for the murder of babies. Other countries are forbidding the preaching against homosexuality (under their hate crime laws). It would be a sad day if America gets to this point and I think if we don't speak up/vote, etc, we could certainly get there. The Romans could not vote. We can. We do live in a democracy and I am thankful for it. That could change. And I do not plan on doing nothing and letting our country fall without speaking out and doing what I can. I have bible studies, I talk about Christ and God to many others. And I speak out about our freedoms and whats right and what's immoral in our country. We can do both.
Hey Debbi,
Thanks for chiming in. I hope to make it abundantly clear that I believe Christians can be involved in politics. I would not in any way suggest that Christians are not allowed to be in favor of preserving some aspect of their nation, no matter which nation it is. John the Baptist did not condemn Herod for being political but for being immoral. When John preached he didn't tell the soldiers and tax collectors to repent and quit, he told them to conduct themselves properly in their jobs, giving tacit permission to continue their governmental jobs.
Having said that, I will also not say that being involved in politics is a Christian responsibility. Christians are not shirking their duties when they don't bother with politics. Further, Christians are not shirking their duties when their politics disagree with mine. I'm not asking Christians to quit being political. I'm asking, and I believe the Bible teaches, that we shouldn't allow our politics to be some kind of litmus to determine if someone is really faithful to Jesus. I do not believe God has asked us in Scripture to make sure to stand up for a moral America through political and legislative means. He has asked us to share the gospel with people so that they might pursue personal morality. In fact, I think there is in the "Christian" political agenda, to borrow a phrase from Rush Limbaugh, more symbolism than substance. I think about the vote we had in Tennessee about legalizing homosexual marriage. It was touted as a great victory of a moral Tennessee that homosexual marriage was not legalized. Is that really a victory? What is the substance? Did anyone practicing homosexuality stop practicing it because of that decision? In the states that have legalized it, was that really a defeat for Christianity? Did anyone start practicing homosexuality because of those votes? There was no substance in that supposed victory, there was simply symbolism. And we felt like we had done God's will by voting a certain way.
I think we need to be very careful with how readily we demonize those who disagree with us politically. I see this as an extension of what we do with a lot of things. I'm a homeschooler and see other homeschoolers demonize public schoolers. They can make some pretty spiritual sounding arguments about how someone who doesn't homeschool doesn't really love God or their children. I've heard the demonization work the other way too. I've seen this kind of thing get really extreme, I've heard of one person demonizing those of us who use disposable diapers. If we really loved our children the way God has commanded us to, we would only use cloth diapers. I've seen people develop litmus tests of spirituality around nursing vs. bottle feeding, co-sleeping vs. crib-sleeping, attachment parenting vs. independence parenting and on and on the list goes. It seems that by nature we can't simply recognize that there are some things God really doesn't care about. If it is important to us, we think it must be important to God and then we go about demonizing those who have made a different decision than we have. So I guess it is not all that shocking that we do it with politics as well.
If God wanted us to make a country have moral laws, He could have said that in the New Testament. But He didn't. We quickly say, "Yeah, but they weren't a democracy." So what? If God's goal was creating nations that had moral laws, the mere fact that those countries didn't like that wouldn't have stopped Him from telling us how to do it. He has asked us to pray that our governing authorities allow us to lead peacable and godly lives. Right now, we're getting to do that. Maybe we are on the path to losing that freedom. I don't know. All I know is we're not there today.
On the one hand, I agree that it would be a very sad day if America ceases to let me have my freedom of speech regarding what I preach about anything I think is sinful. But where has God said our Christian duty is to make sure America preserves that freedom? I believe the Bible demonstrates it is lawful to be political, in the same way I think the Bible demonstrates it is lawful to be a school teacher. You can be very passionate about education and therefore passionate about the state of your local school. But being active in preserving your local school is not a Christian duty. It is not required of you. God didn't send Jesus to make sure your local school taught certain subjects or had certain programs or even continued to exist. In the same way, God didn't send Jesus to make sure the USA was preserved as a nation. I believe we are allowed to be patriotic, so long as our country doesn't become our idol. But God has not commanded patriotism.
So, if it is important to you to preserve certain laws in our nation or establish certain laws, then, by all means, be active regarding that. But please don't assume that someone is less Christian because they don't see that as important as you do.
Edwin,
In response to your comments to Debbi, I don't view this discussion as "political" vs. "spiritual." We are to "take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them" (Eph. 5:11 ESV). Just because those "unfruitful works of darkness" may occur in the "political realm" of our earthly life doesn't mean we ignore this verse. Are we participating in these works of darkness when we knowingly and willingly approve of these behaviors by "amening" a candidate with our vote? Is it wrong to expose the corruption taking place in our government ("instead expose them")?
You mentioned that we are "not there today" regarding our loss of freedom to lead a peaceable and godly life. How DO we "get there"? I would say we get there by neglecting to take advantage of the freedom we have to elect leaders and legislators who believe in preserving that freedom OR by electing those who will take away that freedom. Why would a Christian purposely do that?
In Romans 13, God doesn't make a distinction between the spiritual and political realm when he instructs Christians to be subject to the governing authorities — an institution God created. God tells us to pay taxes, which is a "political" subject.
I personally believe Christians are making a big mistake by trying to separate their Christianity from upholding and choosing leaders/legislators who will at least attempt to do what's right. As a result of this separation, Christians end up justifying their selection of corrupt leaders as a separate function from their lives as Christians. This doesn't even make sense.
Hey Kim,
I appreciate your continued consideration.
First, let me say that our spirituality should govern everything we do. I'm not trying to act like we are allowed to be Christians everywhere, but in the voting booth we can forget that we are Christians.
My point is simply this: God has never asked us to spread His will politically. We can do a whole lot of human reasoning to try to convince folks that they have to agree with us politically to be really spiritual, but God doesn't have that in the Bible. This is not because the first century Christians weren't in a democracy. This is because God was not trying to establish a Christian nation. He is striving to save souls in every nation, no matter what that nation does.
Would you say that teach false doctrine that will damn souls to hell is an unfruitful work of darkness that should be exposed as per Ephesians 5:11? I would say so. However, if a Christian was running for office who claimed he would outlaw teaching anything but the true gospel of Jesus, I would vote against him. Why? Because I disagree with his view of the gospel? No. I would vote against him because the moment I give the government the power to tell everyone else they can't teach what they believe, I've given them the power to do the same to me. I would vote for the person who believes error but stands for freedom of speech before I would vote for a person I think believes truth but wants to take freedom of speech away.
Regarding Romans 13, God did not make a distinction between the spiritual and the political realm. But he also didn't say go trying to change the political realm. Instead, He simply said submit to the government you have. That's what it meant to be a Christian in a political realm-submit to the government. Obviously, the Bible teaches an exception when the government asks you to disobey God (Acts 5:29). But even that case is telling, because God simply told us to obey Him rather than man; He didn't give any instructions about changing man's laws so they would correspond better with His.
By the way, I don't think there are any Christians who are presently purposefully voting to elect people who will take our freedoms of speech and religion away. You may be convinced that is what folks like Obama are going to do. Who knows, maybe they are. However, that is your political perspective and many people just don't agree with you. Politics are much too complex to think that because some elected official is in favor of legalized homosexuality that they are trying to take our freedoms away. In fact, they may well be trying to preserve them. They may be personally opposed to the homosexual act, but think the government should not be so large as to tell consenting adults what they can and can't do sexually. In the same way, I'm personally opposed to anyone teaching error about God's plan for salvation. However, I don't think the government should be so large as to tell folks what to believe and teach religiously.
My wish is that Christians could start to recognize that God didn't send Jesus to establish democracies. He didn't send Jesus to make us Republicans. He didn't send Jesus so we would have a particular view about healthcare, immigration, or taxation. He didn't send Jesus to get countries to have certain laws. He sent Jesus to save souls. If we could really keep our focus on that, who knows what kind of strides our nation might make on the whole.