ShouldJesusfollowersbeinvolvedinpoli3cs?

ShouldChris3ansbeinvolvedingovernment?
Intheearlydaysofourcountrysexistence.TheBibleformedpublicopinion.
Every3mepoli3cianscametoatoughsocialissue,theybroughtintheleading
preacherstosharewhattheBiblehadtosayonthesubject.Thepulpitswere
oneoftheprimarysourcesforinforma3on.Educa3onwasguidedbya
Chris3anperspec3ve.Churcheswereatthecenterofthepoli3calcommunity,
notontheoutsidelookingin.Chris3ans,ofalltypes,exercisedpoli3caland
socialleadership.Chris3ansfoundedourcountry,Chris3ansestablishedour
government.Eventoday,Chris3ansareateverylevelandeverypostofour
na3onalgovernment,military,businesssector,andeverysortofinuen3al
postacrossourgreatland.

ShouldChris3ansvote?
TherewasonceachurchwheremembersthoughtitwasagainstGod'swillto
vote.Concernedthatacorruptpoli3cianwouldwinalocalelec3on,church
membersgatheredforanallnightprayervigil.Inthemorning,however,they
refusedtovoteandthegoodcandidatelostbyfewerthanthenumberof
votesrepresentedbythoseattheprayermee3ng.
Jamestellsusthatourfaithneedscorrespondingac3on,weshowourfaithby
ourworks.
AsChris3answemustbeengagedinthepoli3calarenaifwearegoingtobe
saltandlightinthisworld.Wemustengageinourcommunity.Wemust
engagewithpeoplewhothinkdierentlythanus.

Allthatisnecessaryforthetriumph
ofevilisthatgoodmendonothing
EdmundBurke

Thereisahighcostofindierence.
Selshnesshasnorights.Playnow,pay
later.Ifyoudontvalueresponsibility,you
willneverbenetfromitsfruits.Wehave
anobliga3ontoinuenceandleadour
cultureinthewaysofGod.Wedonthave
arighttobeselshordoselshthings.

Wehavearesponsibilitytobeengagedas
ci3zensofthisgreatna3on.
5goodreasonstovoteinthiselec3onand
allelec3ons,na3onal,state,local.
#1Godhasgrantedusauthority.All
authoritybelongstoGod,butHehasput
humanbeingsontheearthascaretakers.

Whatisourtask?
AccordingtoJesusinMaXhew28:1820,
wearetogooutandmakedisciplesofall
na3ons,teachingthemtoobeyGodin
everyareaoflife.Thisincludespoli3cs.We
mustbeinuen3alineveryarenaoflife
andgovernment.

#2Weneedtostandagainstevil.St.
Augus3nesaidthosewhoareci3zensof
God'skingdomarebestequippedtobe
ci3zensofthekingdomofman.The
alterna3veisunthinkable.Inthe20th
Century,atheis3candsecularhumanis3c
leadersgainedcontrolofna3onsallacross
Europe,AsiaandAfrica.

Whatwastheresult?AccordingtohistorianR.J.
Rummel,almost170millionmen,womenand
childrenhavebeenbrutallymurderedbythese
governments,allinthenameofhuman
progress.ThesefactsledhistorianJohn
Hallowelltonote,Onlythroughareturntofaith
inGod,asGodrevealedHimselftomaninJesus
Christ,canmodernmanandhissocietynd
redemp3onfromthetyrannyofevil.

#3Chris3anvaluescontributeposi3velyto
society.TheBiblessolu3onsmakesense.Itis
Chris3aninvolvementingovernmentthrough
theagesthatgaveushospitals,civilliber3es,
aboli3onofslavery,modernscience,the
eleva3onofwomen,regardforhumanlife,great
worksofartandliterature,aworkablesystemof
jus3ce,educa3onforcommonpeople,thefree
enterprisesystem,andmuch,muchmore.

Whenweseethegoodthatresultsfrom
applyingGod'sprinciples,andthehorrorthat
resultsfromrejec3ngthem,doesn'titseem
cruelandirresponsibletokeepJesusteachings
abouttruth,loveandcompassiontoourselves?
Atveryleast,weshouldvotetokeepOUTof
ocethosewhoaXempttoopposeGod's
authority.

#4Obediencetoauthoritydemandsgood
ci3zenship.TheApostlePaulinRomanschapter
13clearlystatesthatwemustobey
governmentalleadersbecauseallauthority
comesfromGod.Here'sthecatch:inAmerica,
thepeoplearetheleaders!Here,atleast,we
expressourobediencetoGodbyexercisingour
rightsandprivilegesasci3zens.Thatmeans
vo3ng.

Letmegetspecic:
#AWehaveanobliga3ontoalltheunborn
babiestovaluelifeandvotewiththosewhowill
standfortheprotec3onofunbornchildren.
#BWehaveanobliga3ontovaluemarriagethe
wayGoddesigneditandstandwiththosewho
willsupporttradi3onalmarriageandstand
againstthosewhoaretryingtodestroyit.

#CAsChris3ans,wehaveanobliga3ontostandwith
thosewhodesiretokeepGodsstandardsandstand
againstthosewhointendtoseparateGodstruthand
Hisdirec3onfromallaspectsofoursocietyandour
lives.
Thetencommandmentsweretheoriginallawthatour
judicialsystemwasbuilton,itisapartofourfounding
documents,whyonearthwouldwebanitfromcity
buildingsifwewantedtohonorGodandfollowHim.

#5Goodci3zenshipsetsanexamplefor
genera3onstocome.ThosewhoapplyGod's
principlestogovernmentpavethewayfor
genera3onsofblessing.In1768aChris3an
ministernamedJohnWitherspoonbecame
presidentoftheCollegeofNewJersey,now
Princeton.Whiletherehetaughtbiblical
principlesofgovernmenttohisstudents.

Ofthe478youngmenwhoweregraduatedduringhis
tenure,writesauthorJohnEidsmoe,114became
ministers;13werestategovernors;3wereU.S.
SupremeCourtjudges;20wereU.S.Senators;33were
U.S.Congressmen;AaronBurr,Jr.becameVice
President;andJamesMadisonbecamePresident.Asa
Chris3an,Witherspoonexertedanenormousinuence
onthedirec3onofAmericangovernment.

YouandImaynothavethegilsorinuenceofJohn
Witherspoon,butwecans3llmakeabigdierenceif
westepuptotheplateanddecidewearegoingtobea
partofthesolu3onandnotpartoftheproblem.
Weneedtodeterminewithconvic3on,asformeand
myhousewewillservetheLord.

Joshua1:8(NKJV)
8ThisBookoftheLawshallnotdepart
fromyourmouth,butyoushallmeditatein
itdayandnight,thatyoumayobserveto
doaccordingtoallthatiswriXeninit.For
thenyouwillmakeyourwayprosperous,
andthenyouwillhavegoodsuccess.

Thisversedescribeswhatiscalleda
Biblicalworldview,aphilosophywhich
believesthatbehavior,ethics,andlearning
mustbejudgedagainstthestandardsset
forthinGodsWordandthatnothingcan
ul3matelybesuccessfulapartfromthe
applica3onofthosestandards.

Blackstone'sCommentariesontheLaws,the
legalbenchmarkusedinAmericafrom1766to
1920,explainedthatsystemofstandards:These
lawslaiddownbyGodaretheeternal
immutablelawsofgoodandevilThislaw
dictatedbyGodhimself,isofcoursesuperiorin
obligaHontoanyother.

Itisbindingoveralltheglobe,inallcountries,
andatallHmes:nohumanlawsareofany
validityifcontrarytothisThedoctrinesthus
deliveredaretobefoundonlyintheHoly
ScripturesNohumanlawsshouldbesuered
tocontradictthese.

Underthislegalstandard,Godsstandardswere
theplumblineforlaw,government,educaHon,
andAmericancultureforovertwoandahalf
centuries.
Inthishalfofthetwen3ethcentury,muchofthe
churchhasdriledawayfromtheBiblicalWorld
ViewandhavenowembracedChris3anityasa
standardforreligion,butnotasastandardfor
life.

Ourna3ondoesntjusthaveaspendingproblem,our
governmentcannotkeepupwithourna3onssinproblem.Much
ofthegovernment'sskyrocke3ngspendingisonprogramsthat
trytoaddresstheresultsofimmoralbehavior,i.e.,welfare
supporttoteenmothers,researchandtreatmentofovertwo
dozendierentsexuallytransmiXeddiseases,repayingthe
publiclossesresul3ngfrombothviolentandwhitecollarcrime,
crea3onofsubstanceabuseanddrugenforcementprograms,
etc.Manyexpensivefederalprogramsresultfrommoralbased
problems.

OurhealthcareissueinAmericaisnotequalopportunity.
Ourproblemistheeectsofdrugandalcoholabusemixedwith
obesityandpoordiet.
Newsash:youcantabuseyourbodyandexpectthedoctorsto
xyouallthe3me.
Adolescenceandimmaturityneverconsiderthecostof
something.
Americaspends962BILLIONonaddressingpovertyintheUS,
thatiscool!15.1%ofAmericansarebelowthepovertylineof
$18,500,tragic!Ironically,wespend$20,610perperson(not
family)toaddressthisneed,sowhyarewenotmaking
progress?

Inagivenyear,theU.S.governmentspends$21billiononwelfareto
teenmothersmotherss3llaXendingeitherjuniorhighorhigh
school.Is$21billionaneconomicproblem?Certainly,butitis
spendingcausedbyamoralproblem.Thegovernmentspentbillions
onAIDS(accordingtotheCenterforDiseaseControl,87percentofthe
244,939currentAIDScaseswerecontractedeitherthroughsodomyor
illegaldruguse,bothmoralproblems).Millionswerespentonthe
treatmentoftwodozendierentSTDs(sexuallytransmiXeddiseases),
amoralproblem;$200billionwaslosttowhitecollarcrimeand$310
billiononviolentcrime(theinabilitytodis3nguishbetweenrightor
wrongandtocontrolone'sbehaviorbyasocietalnormisamoral
problem).

Inaddi3ontothedirectcosts,addthesecondaryandter3ary
costsofourmoralmalaise:includethecostsoftheaddi3onal
courtsandstaneededtoprosecuteimmoralbehavior;include
thecostsoftheaddi3onalprisonsandstarequiredtohouse
thoseviolators;includetheopera3ngandmaintenancecostsof
addi3onalprisonsandthecostsoftheincreasedbureaucracyit
produces;includetheresul3ngincreasesinthebudgetsofthe
Jus3ceDepartment,theHealthandHumanServices
Department,theCenterforDiseaseControl,theDrug
EnforcementAgency,andnumerousotherdepartmentsand
agencies,etc.

Thelistcouldcon3nue,buttheprincipleisestablished:ifthe
moralissuesremainunaddressed,theeconomiccostswill
remainunbridled.JohnAdamsconcludedthattochange
governmentswithoutaddressingmoralissuesisanexercisein
fu3lity:Itisreligionandmoralityalonewhichcanestablishthe
principlesuponwhichfreedomcansecurelystandifthis
cannotbeinspiredintoourpeopleinagreatermeasurethan
theyhaveitnow,theymaychangetheirrulersandtheformsof
government,buttheywillnotobtainalas3ngliberty(June21,
1776).Whenallthingsareconsidered,aBiblicalWorldViewis
themostlogicalapproach.

TheBible,andChris3anprinciplesingeneral,are
beingcensoredfromourpublicschoolsinfact,
fromthewholepublicsquare.Thereisanidea
inourmodernculturethatthechurchshouldbe
separatefromourgovernmentandmany
aXemptshavebeenmadebythemediatoshow
Chris3ansaseccentric,unbalanced,andan3
everything.

AsChris3ans,werealizethattherealproblems
oftheworldcanonlybesolvedwithreference
toBiblicalChris3anprinciples.Butrecently
Chris3anshavebeentoldthatsuchanavtudeis
uncons3tu3onal;thattheFirstAmendmentto
theUnitedStatesCons3tu3onincludesaclause
thatcallsforthesepara3onofchurchandstate.

Amazingly,TheFirstAmendmentdoesnot
includethephrasesepara3onofchurchand
state.Itreads:Congressshallmakenolaw
respec3nganestablishmentofreligion,or
prohibi3ngthefreeexercisethereof;or
abridgingthefreedomofspeech,orofthe
press;ortherightofthepeoplepeaceablyto
assemble,andtope33ontheGovernmentfora
redressofgrievances.

AsAmericansandChris3ans,wecannotabsolve
responsibilitytoothers,wecannotpassblame,and
standonthesidelines,wemustengageinthewar
againstBiblicalprinciples,andtakeourplaceasleaders
inourcommunityaswellasprayandsupportleaders
whorepresentourvaluesandourpriori3es.Thatrole
willlookdierentforallofus,butlearningand
maintainingabiblicalworldviewisnotop3onal,vo3ng
yourvaluesisnotop3onal,inuencingourcultureis
notop3onal