Christians and Politics

Based Upon a Survey of nearly 1,300 young adults who are current or former churchgoers, 75% felt Christians were too political. … CHRISTIANS GET it wrong in the area of politics when they too closely associate their faith with a political party, or engage in slander and mean-spirited partisan attacks. … WHEN IT comes to politics, some Christians say and do things in the name of God that are the antithesis of the gospel. – Adam Hamilton, When Christians Get It Wrong

Question: How often have you received or helped forward slanderous email, or otherwise spread gossip?

Ephesians 4:29-32 - Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God…. Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another.

Question: Does government have a purpose, and does God have a role for Government in our lives?

Romans 13:1-7 - Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience. This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

Thomas Jefferson wrote the following fundamental magnificent statement: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” We also have the The Pledge of Allegiance – “I pledge allegiance to the flag… and liberty and justice for all.”

Question: What is the proper role of government in the pursuit of liberty for all?

Question: What is the proper role of government in the pursuit of justice for all?

Genesis 1:26-28 - Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground. ”

Justice consists of God’s creation acting in his image. It begins with us loving everyone, but it also includes measures to deal with the those who do wrong.

Question: Why do the existence of “liberty for all” and “justice for all” sometimes lead to confusion and conflict?

Question: In what ways do the 10 commandments assimilate and differ from the laws in the US?

Question: What is an essential feature of the first amendment to our constitution, and how does this affect Christians positively and negatively?

Question: Is it right to respond negatively if a political official you oppose is elected?

“… so many people now respond to U.S. political trends in such an extreme way. When either party wins an election, a certain percentage of the losing side talks openly about leaving the country. They become agitated and fearful for the future. They have put the kind of hope in their political leaders and policies that once was reserved for God and the work of the gospel. When their political leaders are out of power, they experience a death. They believe that if their policies and people are not in power, everything will fall apart. They refuse to admit how much agreement they actually have with the other party, and instead focus on the points of disagreement. The points of contention overshadow everything else, and a poisonous environment is created.” – Timothy Keller, Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex and Power…

1 Timothy 2:1-2 - I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.

The Riot in Ephesus (Acts 19:23-32) - About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way. A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in no little business for the craftsmen. He called them together, along with the workmen in related trades, and said: “Men, you know we receive a good income from this business. And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia. He says that man-made gods are no gods at all. There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited, and the goddess herself, who is worshiped throughout the province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty.” When they heard this, they were furious and began shouting: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” Soon the whole city was in an uproar. The people seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia, and rushed as one man into the theater. Paul wanted to appear before the crowd, but the disciples would not let him. Even some of the officials of the province, friends of Paul, sent him a message begging him not to venture into the theater. The assembly was in confusion: Some were shouting one thing, some another. Most of the people did not even know why they were there.

Discussion: Look at the last sentence again, and ask yourselves how often you have observed people acting similarly, or been one of these people, in political discourse.

“Do … politicians admit the limitations of what they can accomplish, or do they make “messianic” claims? There should be a chastened humility about how much any public policy or technological advance can do to solve the problems of the human race.” – Timothy Keller, Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters

Discussion: There are numerous difficult questions that rear their heads in life and politics. Some of these include:

How do we handle health care? How do we deal with abortion? How do we deal with same-sex marriage? How do we deal with immigration? How do we deal with terrorism? How do we deal with the environment? How do we deal with the rising debt?

How can our faith help us deal with these issues, and how does the church sometimes fail when it deals with these issues?

Food for Thought: “Jesus did not change all of history by upending the Roman government and rewriting the laws of the land. He changed all of history by upending the lives of men and women and rewriting the laws that God had written across our hearts by fulfilling them.” – Dave Burchett, When Bad Christians Happen to Good People