How Should a Christian View Politics?
Transcript
INTRO: Good afternoon and welcome back to the Sunday School Podcast, the pod all about digging deeper into the Bible using social, historical, and scientific context. I’m Sean Parker, and today we’re going to talk about how a Christian should view politics.
We are living in troubling times, and a very volatile political environment. What’s the posture a Christian should take? How did Jesus view the politics of His time? We will answer these questions and more in today’s episode of Sunday School with Sean.
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(Transition)
Today’s world is rife with political division. Here in America, we seem more divided than ever before. Christian values seem to be getting attacked from all sides. What type of lens should a Christian be looking through when viewing our political climate?
Let’s start by examining the political climate of Jesus’ time. I’ve mentioned in a previous episode that the time Jesus came was very peaceful, due mostly to a lack of wars with foreign countries. That peace didn’t necessarily extend to the politics of the land. I mean, if you think about it, Jesus’ death was a political assassination.
Jesus was usurping the power of Jewish leaders, so they had Him killed. I don’t believe any politician today has faced the type of character attacks that Jesus did. So what was Jesus’ take on respecting our leaders and obeying our government?
We will see that the Bible is pretty clear on the posture a Christian should take when getting involved in politics.
Let’s start by viewing an example Jesus set.
Mark 12:13-17 says
13 And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians, to trap him in his talk. 14And they came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone’s opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?” 15But, knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why put me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” 16And they brought one. And he said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said to him, “Caesar’s.” 17Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they marveled at him.
Two groups of people try to trip Jesus up here. Kind of like you will see the media do in interviews today. This is a form of “gotcha” question. If Jesus says don’t pay taxes, then He could be arrested. If He says pay the taxes, He could lose popularity with His followers.
But, nobody plays Biblical politics better than Jesus. He directly answers their question, but His answer requires them to interpret it with Biblical principles. He doesn’t dodge the question like most politicians would today.
Jesus’ answer tells us something that applies to today. How should we view our own taxes? I hate taxes, as most of you likely do as well. Nobody seems to spend my money worse than the government. But, that raises a question. If our government is spending my money to do things that are contrary to my beliefs, should I be required to pay them taxes? Our government sends funding to Planned Parenthood to support abortions.
As much as you may or may not want to hear it, I think these verses show us that we are still to pay our taxes. Romans 13:1-7 goes on to support this.
For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. 5Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.
So we are called to be obedient. But this isn’t without exception. We see in the book of Daniel that when a government calls its people to live in a way contrary to God, we should rebel from that direction. Daniel was told He could no longer pray to God, yet he continued to pray with His windows wide open. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were told to bow down and worship an idol. They refused to do so.
In a more recent example, hiding Jews from the Nazis would have been rebellious, but also the right thing to do.
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So our government has a place. As we read a moment ago, our government is also a blessing from God. But what about our leaders? Do we have to respect them as well? If a President is elected that I disagree with, do I have to show him respect?
I think the Bible is clear on this as well. God is the one who puts rulers on the throne, or Presidents in office, in this instance. Regardless of if the president is Obama, Trump, or Biden, the office should be respected. Emphasis on the office and not necessarily the person themselves.
1 Peter 2:13-17 says
13 Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, 14or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. 15For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. 16Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. 17Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.
Our leaders are fallible people. They have sin in their lives and often act contrary to God’s word, but we have to remember that they are still serving God’s purpose.
Romans 8:28 says
28And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
God is in control. He is the master weaver, stitching together everything to bear fruit for His kingdom. As believers, we don’t have to worry. He’s not necessarily working everything to our earthly good or comfort, but instead preparing for His final eternal kingdom.
Our earthly leaders and governments are fleeting. Romans 22:1-5 say
1Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. 4They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.
So we don’t rely on our leaders of today. We are sustained by God alone. There will be a time when all of these nations are washed away and only God’s eternal kingdom remains.
But for now we do have to exist in the world in which we live. We only have to look to the Bible for what can give us courage. Think of all of the believers who flourished through antagonistic leadership. We can remain optimistic.
However, being optimistic can still be a challenge. It can still cause you to get down about the world we live in. Jesus even said those who feel this way are to be blessed. Matthew 5:6 says
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
But in feeling this way, we are also called to action. A few verses later in Matthew 5:13-16 Jesus says
13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.
14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
So I believe as Christians, we have a duty to be active in our communities and politics. We should be attempting to influence policies that support God’s kingdom. But, regardless of how godly or sinful our nation is we are still, as our pledge states, “one nation under God”.
That doesn’t change if those words are removed. It applies to all nations. Iran is a nation under God, because God is sovereign to all nations. And thankfully we have only one king, Jesus.
So don’t let politics suck you in. Don’t let it get you angry. It’s OK to hunger and thirst for our nation to be more Godly, but if or when it doesn’t happen, we still have hope.
Revelation 17:14 says
14They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.”
Jesus will one day be the only ruler remaining. Right now, he is the ruler we are ultimately subject to. I try to remember that when I get wrapped up in politics.
This recent election was the most troubling and divisive of my lifetime. I spent way too much time on Twitter and message boards. It was easy to get sent down a rabbit hole and not return to the surface for hours.
There is also a lot of misinformation on the internet as well. Many of us get sucked into believing some of these falsehoods. I know it’s hard for me to decide what’s true and what’s not. I think we should pray for discernment, and also acknowledge our actual source of truth.
John 8:31-32 says
31So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
I see a lot of Christians get wrapped up in politics, and in some cases it’s understandable. There are a lot of evil policies that need to change. But, at the same time, we need to stop relying on the government to solve our problems. It’s not the government’s job to care for the poor. That should be accomplished by the church.
If the church were a stronger force in our country, there wouldn’t be a need for the government to have so much power. If we were caring for our children, pro choice activists wouldn’t be able to say, “you only care about life up until the child is born.”
So let’s be an active part of our communities so that people come to rely on God, and not the government. Let’s be respectful of our government so that people see us setting an example and being a light unto the world. Finally let us understand that God is our source of truth and our hope for the future.
Outro: As always, I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, don’t forget to leave a review in whatever player you use to listen to podcasts.
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Sources
https://www.gotquestions.org/Christian-politics.html
https://www.crossway.org/articles/what-did-jesus-teach-about-politics/
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jesus/Jewish-Palestine-at-the-time-of-Jesus