Did Jesus ever stand before a great crowd of people preaching a sermon that said something along the lines of, “Don’t ever get involved in the public sphere. The church is only effective if you preach my Word within the walls of your buildings and synagogues, but you should never influence a country through politics.”
Not at all. Jesus encouraged us to get involved – to witness to the whole world!
However, there are certain sects of Christianity that try to guilt Christians by calling them nationalists or colonialists for spreading Christianity in the public sphere. These are wrong views. Christians have an obligation to spread Christianity in both the public and private spheres.
Here are the real words Jesus spoke in Matthew 5:14-16.
“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (NKJV).
READ MORE! DEBUNKING THE MYTH OF CHRISTIAN NATIONALISM: IT’S BEEN REDEFINED.
CHRISTIANS IN POLITICS: IS IT BIBLICAL?
The Bible is the filter through which we send our lives and decisions. Think of it as a strainer on top of a jar. You pour your tea over the strainer into the jar. The actual tea is in the jar ready for you to drink, and the tea leaves stay in the cheesecloth.
Likewise, we send our decisions and actions through the cheesecloth of the Bible, and the tea that gathers in the jar below is what is right for us to do. The actions still in the cheesecloth didn’t pass muster.
Do Christians in politics pass through the cheesecloth or gather on top to be thrown out?
Daniel 2:21 says, “And He [God] changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding” (NKJV).
God is sovereign over political events, and He takes pleasure in using His servants just as He used Daniel in the courts of the Babylonian and Persian kings.
God used Esther, a Jewish girl in captivity, to stop the king from killing all the Jews in his kingdom (Esther 4).
Esther 10:3 and 9:4 record Mordecai as “second in rank to King Ahaseurus” of Persia (Wayne Grudem).
Mordecai “was second in rank to King Ahasuerus” of Persia (Esth. 10:3; see also 9:4).
RELATED: 3 REASONS CHRISTIANITY AND SOCIALISM ARE NOT COMPATIBLE.
God used Joseph, the son of Jacob, to provide a safe haven for the Hebrews during the famines for 7 years. Joseph was the spoiled, bratty son of a rich Hebrew, and when his brothers became jealous, they literally sold him into Egyptian slavery where he prospered (even through sexual assault accusations which were untrue and unjust imprisonment) until Joseph was third in command in Egypt during a severe famine. His Hebrew family was able to take shelter in Egypt and prosper into a great nation. Joseph used his political power for good to protect his family and the Israelite nation (Genesis 37-47).
Nehemiah was another captive Israelite and served as the Persian King Artaxerxes’ cupbearer (Nehemiah 1:11- 2:10). Nehemiah took courage and asked the king if he could lead an expedition back to Jerusalem to rebuild the city and the temple of God. Nehemiah used his political power to bring Israel back.
In 374 AD, the Christian influence on Roman politics was so powerful that the government outlawed abortion and infanticide along with gladiator fights and child abandonment.
Wayne Grudem records that Christians fought to end the Indian tradition of “burning women alive with their deceased husbands” and by 1829, they had achieved their goal.
If you look at church history, “Christians had a decisive influence in opposing and often abolishing slavery in the Roman Empire, in Ireland, and in most of Europe”, and William Wilberforce is a recent example of “abolish[ing] the slave trade and then slavery itself throughout the British Empire by 1840” (Wayne Grudem).
Looking at American history, Christians who supported slavery in the American South were outvoice and outnumbered by anti-slavery “Christians who were arden abolitionists, speaking, writing, and agitating constantly for the abolition of slavery” including “clergymen who were preaching ‘politics’ from the pulpit, saying that slavery should be abolished” (Wayne Grudem).
The list is endless, but it all boils down to one point: the most important and moral accomplishments in history were largely influenced or accomplished through biblical Christians who fought for moral equality because their foundation was rooted in the Bible. They were not afraid to use the pulpit and politics to accomplish their ends because it was a righteous war on immoral issues (slavery, abortion, infanticide, eugenics, etc.).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WQsG9uEQNM
IS AMERICA A CHRISTIAN NATION?
Much of the controversy surrounding “Christians in politics” centers on whether America is a Christian nation or not. Progressive historians claim the Founding Fathers were anything but Christian and that America has no roots in Christianity. They claim that no country can be Christian just because a country is “founded on religious, ethical and moral principles” (Bible Issues).
However history portrays it, America was founded by many (though not all) Christian men. Most of the Founding Fathers have extensive essays, books, and journal entries detailing their devout belief in the God of the Bible.
So is America a Christian country? No, it is not. We no longer adhere to biblical principles. We no longer know what the Ten Commandments or Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount are. We don’t go to church. We don’t believe in monogamous, faithful marriage and sexual purity. We don’t have a nuclear family unit.
America is not Christian.
But it was founded on Christian principles. The American founders tolerated and allowed contrarian views and religions, but the majority of Americans were Christian, and our laws reflect that belief.
With that in mind, a Christian in America has every right to get involved in politics. So do Muslims, Hindus, atheists, etc. We all have rights. But the church dropped the ball in continuing its influence in culture, which is why we have so many people standing up against Christianity. If Christians had stayed involved in the public arena (instead of shutting up and sitting down like they were told to), America may still be a moral light to other oppressed nations who desire the freedoms we have.
READ MORE! THE BATTLE IS NOT JUST POLITICAL: IT’S SPIRITUAL TOO.
AMERICA’S MORAL DECLINE IS NOT POLITICAL
The moral decline in American society is not a political problem, however. The moral decline is a spiritual problem. The church stopped talking about cultural problems and how to combat these issues. The church stopped teaching biblical principles and instead hosted pizza parties for the youth and shallow Bible studies for the adults. Sports at school took priority over Wednesday night at church. Life got busy. People weren’t learning from the church, or they felt “preached down at”, and they trickled out.
The church must seize this moment and become the strong body of Christ that it is commanded to be.
The exciting part about all of this is that you are the church. You are the body of Christ if you are a Christian. You have the chance to take the lead and shine bright as the hope of the gospel of Jesus.
Whether you run for political office or simply devote your time to teaching a Sunday school class with some actual depth to it, you can help make that difference. Get married if you can, and have kiddos. Teach them the Bible. Reach out to a younger person in your life and mentor them if they are willing.
If the church steps up to make a difference, more will follow.
The church’s place is not on the by-side twiddling their thumbs and cowering every time another Marxist law is passed in Congress. The church’s place is in Congress. The church’s place is with political personnel. The church’s place is with people and in their lives, helping them as they need help and teaching them the Bible.
The church is to be active and alive, not dormant and weak. We are not to lose our focus on the Bible but to keep our eyes trained on God’s Word and His will and follow where He leads. Just like the heroes of old in the Bible, our place is at the forefront of God’s will for our lives, wherever that may be.