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Answering Objections to Christians Involvement in Politics           by Bill Anderson

(In a Nutshell}

 

In the past, many Christian leaders have approached influencing government as a prohibition.  They argued that we SHOULD NOT preoccupy ourselves with influencing government on the basis that the “great commission” is our sole calling as Christians. Therefore, anything even perceived political involvement was regarded as a diversion from “Great Commission” and an example of "Christians Trusting in Government".

 

Mathew 28:18-20 NKJV - And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

 

However, when one looks at this view of “political abstinence”, one realizes that this is an example of "tunnel vision" in regard to Biblical interpretation. When one looks at the whole of the Word of God, the UNDENIABLE FACT of scripture is that the Church is given more than one such admonition though we may not refer to those passages as commissions. Another critical one that can never be left out is: 

 

Matt 5:13-16 NKJV:  You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. 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….

 

Now what does it mean for the people of God to be SALT?  In that society, salt was a preservative.  So how are we to act as a preservative in our society? The easiest way to achieve that is for the righteous to encourage their government to preserve Jewish and Christian values formed by our ancestors when our government was founded (without neglecting our principle calling).  Yes, we can, so to speak, walk and chew gum at the same time!

 

Yet there is the second part of that passage is for us to be light.  In order for us to be light, we must articulate the difference between light and darkness, good and evil.  Again, the easiest way for us to do that in a democratic republic is to influence our government to recognize the difference between good and evil which most secularists in our government reject explicitly.  No need to neglect our principle calling while doing that either!  On what Biblical authority do we make a case for defining good and evil in government? A thorough study of Romans 13:1-7 clearly and explicitly points this out in great detail which is summarized in verse 4 (NKJV):

 

For he [the governing authorities] is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. 

 

Was it because of Church’s failure to embrace all of Scripture that we are experiencing government taking our kids and subjecting them “gender reassignment drugs” and “surgeries” without parental permission? Was it because the Church was too afraid of losing its donor base or tax-exempt status to deal with anything controversial?  If so, Churches, Synagogues & other religious groups will have to delegate greater time and resources to para-church like ministries who influence government to even arrest this trend. And that MUST BE NOW or Never!

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