In this episode, we’re talking about another HOT topic…politics! Don’t let that scare you off. Our aim is to be as unbiased as possible and to present a scriptural understanding of how Christians can and should interact with politics

We’re most likely going to upset people on both sides of the aisle. We are not going to tell you how Christians should vote. Instead, we’re going to give 8 principles for how Christians should think about politics from a biblical worldview. 

General Principle #1

General Principle #1: No matter what, God is to take precedence over any political affiliation.

This may seem fairly obvious, but given the heated nature of politics, we often forget this principle. Whether you lean toward the left or right, you might say this. But when it gets down to it, our emotions normally take over. We need to constantly remind ourselves that God takes precedence.

Consider Matthew 6:33: “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

This passage comes from the Sermon on the Mount, right after talking about laying up treasures in heaven and in the midst of a passage discussing not being anxious about worldly things such as food and clothing.

We often see professing believers become more passionate about their presidential candidate than they are about sharing the gospel, making disciples, etc… We also see Christians get more upset when their presidential candidate loses than when they fall into sin or when someone walks away from the faith. Christians should be more grieved over their sin and people rejecting the Gospel than when a political outcome isn’t what we wanted.

Jesus’ Kingdom

John 18:36 says, “Jesus answered, ‘My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.’” This is Jesus’s response to Pilate when questioned about whether he was the king of the Jews 

Jesus clearly states that his kingdom is not of this world (don’t forget that many Jews believed that the Messiah would be a political savior). Jesus is King, just now how many would expect.  

Many modern-day Christians are similar to the Jews in Jesus’ day. They focus on having a good life, making money, and traveling, and they almost have a “YOLO” mentality. 

We need to ask ourselves: Do we have an eternal mindset when it comes to every aspect of our lives? Including politics? 

General Principle #2

General Principle #2: Our hope is always to be in God, not in any political party

When God rightly takes precedence in our lives, our hope is in Him and His Kingdom and not in this world. This applies far beyond politics, but we must address how it affects politics as well. 

Romans 15:13 says, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” So, where does this hope lie? The context of this verse makes it clear that this hope stems from Jesus! It’s not in everything going perfectly in this life. It’s not in the politics of America being “perfectly Christian.” 

Remember that most of the apostles suffered gruesome deaths. Many faithful Christians have suffered greatly to the point of death throughout history. If their hope was in this world their lives would have been pretty hopeless. Instead, their hope was in Jesus (knowing he would sustain them on earth and knowing every tear would be wiped from their eye in heaven) 

I (Nathaniel) feel like every election I’ve ever witnessed is billed as “the most important election in our lifetimes.” There’s a mentality that if the right candidate wins, America will be the greatest country forever. But, if the wrong candidate wins, America will be ruled by Satan and become an uninhabitable wasteland within a year… Both sides fall into this mentality so easily.

If people evaluated our lives, what we talked about, how we spent our time, and what made us upset or excited, where would they think that our hope lies? 

General Principle #3

General Principle #3: All Christians are called to submit to their governing authorities on issues that are not inherently sinful

Listen to what Romans 13:1 says: “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.”

Now look at 1 Peter 2:13-14: “Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good.”

We are to respect our governing authorities and obey them. Remember that the Roman Government that Paul and Peter were under when writing these passages was much more tyrannical than our own.

Yes, we must obey God and not men, Too often, we need to hear how we are to obey our governing authorities, not our own freedoms. Our life is not purely about gaining our own freedoms.  

Not paying taxes is not obeying God rather than men. Not adhering to certain government laws is not obeying God rather than men UNLESS the government law is inherently sinful.

Scenarios

Let’s use some hypothetical situations to illustrate this principle…

Example #1: Hypothetically, the government mandates that nobody can have fully automatic weapons. Many Christians would be upset about this. But this is not an inherently sinful issue. So as Christians, we should submit to this. There is no concept against this in Scripture. You can advocate against it, but if the government passes this law, CHristians should submit to it.

Example #2: Hypothetically, the government mandates teaching a sexual ethic that is contrary to Scripture. You will lose your job or go to jail if you do not teach this. This is an inherently sinful issue, so Christians should be willing to stand up against it.

Taxes

Matthew 22:21: “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.”

Remember, the Jews HATED the Roman (highly oppressive) government. The Roman government oppressed the Jews, persecuted them at different times, and taxed them heavily.  Here we see Jesus telling Jews to pay their taxes! Give to God what is his and give to Caeser what is his! 

Injustices

Here, we must address an important issue: It is okay for Christians to advocate for certain personal freedoms, but Christians must be willing to endure injustice for the sake of the gospel.

Christians should fight hard for justice for others, but for themselves be willing to endure injustice.

This is a constant theme we see throughout the Bible. Anyone can fight for themselves. Instead, Christians are called to care for the poor and the oppressed and be willing to suffer themselves. 

Christians should be concerned with, and should not stop fighting for justice for others. They should advocate for justice for themselves, but be okay with suffering injustice.

This is a hard truth that we are more and more convinced of the more we read the Bible. Take up your cross and follow me, Paul’s advice to slaves, turn the other cheek, there are so many examples of not seeking vengeance for yourself for the sake of the gospel 

We are NOT saying you suffer abuse quietly while letting the abuser get away with it. If your husband abuses you, you call the cops because that is wrong. If someone sexually assaults you, you hold them accountable and they should go to jail.

But the heart behind these actions is different. It isn’t because they did it to you, it’s because that is what is wrong and unjust. And you aren’t overly concerned with seeking vengeance for yourself, but seeking justice. In 1 Corinthians 7:21, Paul tells slaves to get their freedom if it is possible, but not to be overly concerned about it if not possible.

This is so countercultural and likely hard to hear. You fight hard for justice for others, you advocate for justice for yourself, but you are willing to suffer injustice for the gospel.

General Principle #4

1 Timothy 2:1b-2a says to pray “for all people, for kings and those in high positions.”

It doesn’t say to just pray for Democrats or just pray for Republicans. It says to pray for all governing officials (and not only on a national holiday).

This is convicting! We struggle to make this a regular part of our prayer life as well. The rest of verse 2 says to pray for them “that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.” We aren’t praying that they should fail, but that God would be glorified and that the gospel would permeate their lives.

Do you spend as much time praying for governing officials as you do complaining about them? 

General Principle #5

General Principle #5: It is not inherently right OR wrong for Christians to be one-issue voters.

This is a matter of personal conscience. We see this argument from both sides, especially when it comes to abortion. Christians that lean Republican will often say that abortion is such a horrific evil that they will endure someone’s character flaws if they will fight against abortion. On the other hand, Christians that lean Democrat tend to say we need to view people holistically, not just based on a single issue and stance. 

We have a lot to say on this and think it will especially upset both sides but we will try to keep it brief, biblical, and grounded. We will speak to those who don’t think you should be one-issue voters first.

1. First, imagine that there is the most perfect candidate. They have a glowing record, great character, and amazing policies, but they think that slavery should be legal…. Would you vote for them? Probably not- we don’t know of anyone who would!
   
   If we truly believe that abortion is the taking of innocent life and that it is just as evil if not eviler, we don’t know how we as Christians can justify voting for someone who supports abortion no matter how great their other policies are. 
   
2. Now to those who are one-issue voters: On the flip side, the ends DO NOT justify the means. Just because someone opposes abortion does not mean you have to vote for them. If someone claims they are a Christian and opposes abortion, but lives a morally reprehensible life, I (Nathaniel) just can’t bring myself to vote for them.
   
   Now, it’s important to recognize that there is a distinction between church and state. I don’t just vote for Christians, but I do try to vote for someone that will best fight for and live out the ethic that we see in Scripture. This means fighting for the unborn but also fighting for the poor, oppressed, widow, and orphan. 

Side Note:

We know Christians that voted for Donald Trump that we respect. We also know Christians that voted for Joe Biden that we respect. However, we often think in binary when there are far more options. We have third parties, we have write-ins, and we have the option to abstain…. You might say that these options are wasting a vote but that’s wrong. It is voting with your conscience.

I (Nathaniel) truly believe if people didn’t buy into the lie that there are only two options, we would have different results in our elections. Our presidential elections are designed to fight against compromise. Think about it. In order to win your primary, you must be conservative or liberal enough. But this process takes out the middle ground candidate that more people would likely vote for…

General Principle #6

General Principle #6: Neither Republicans nor Democrats are the “true Christian party.”

This is self-explanatory. There are certain things Republicans better represent about Christ and there are certain things Democrats represent about Christ. To be a Christian does not mean to be Republican or Democrat. In fact, I (Xan) believe that for the most part, Christians should be politically homeless. But we won’t get into that here.

The followers of Jesus ranged from Simon the Zealot to Matthew the Tax Collector. Zealots were Jews who hated the Romans so much that they would carry out radical attacks and murders of Roman officials and Rome-supporting Jews. Tax Collectors literally worked for the Roman empire and were viewed as traitors by fellow Jews…. Both these men were disciples of Jesus. Jesus spoke to zealots and tax collectors, to Pharisees and prostitutes.

As Christians, we must be able to reach across the political aisle because that is what Jesus did. We do this for the sake of the gospel, without compromising biblical teaching. But if our politics are preventing us from reaching out to those who are across the aisle, we need to seriously reevaluate.

General Principle #7

General Principle #7: It is okay for Christians to be apolitical. It’s also okay for Christians to be super engaged in politics!

Throughout history, Christians have taken every opinion on politics imaginable. These beliefs range from the idea that believers should never vote or hold office to the idea that Christians should seek to establish a theocracy akin to ancient Israel. Every view under the sun has been held.

It is okay for Christians to remove themselves from the political sphere. After all, most Jews believed the Messiah would be a political Messiah who would overthrow the Romans and establish Israel as the strongest nation in the world. But, Jesus was vastly different.

It is also okay for Christians to hold political office and seek to defend the poor, the oppressed, the unborn, etc… through legislation. However, they must be careful not to make an idol out of politics.

General Principle #8

General Principle #8: The demeanor Christians take when engaging in politics should exemplify Christ.

When engaging with politics on Facebook, in person, or anywhere in between, we must remember that our goal is not to win elections or get our favorite candidate elected, it is to glorify Christ.

We can hold to our convictions in a gracious manner. In all we do, we are called to glorify Christ. Too often, Christians forget this when talking about politics. I (Xan) see too many Christians make fun of, demean, ridicule, and attack the other side instead of humbly listening, offering gentle critique, and inviting the other side to believe the glorious good news of the gospel. We also encourage you to have these conversations in person!

Concluding Thoughts

We want to end by sharing this quote by Tony Evans at the National Religious Broadcasters Convention in 2021. We are not endorsing Tony Evans or everything he stands for, but this quote, while self-admittedly a little overgeneralization, is convicting and pretty solid.

“The White church has become too Republican. Too many have wrapped their faith in the American flag. And when you go for a nationalistic faith, you have contaminated the gospel. Not because you are Republican, but because you have made the nation subject to the wrong kingdom instead of the nation having to adjust the true King and his kingdom. But the Black church has become idolatrous too. Because what we have done is we have wrapped blackness in cultural identity. So, we have often been more black than biblical. We have decided that our color can trump Christ. So we will endorse a political party who will endorse evil (abortion, misuse of government, homosexuality) because of a race issue. God doesn’t ride the backs of donkeys or elephants. He sits as king of kings. He sits as lord of lords.”

Tony Evans

One Degree Shift

Ask yourself where you have made Christ subject to your political stances rather than the other way around.

We also want you to contemplate the idea that our choices are not binary. We are not forced to choose the Republican or Democrat party. Again, we know many faithful Christians who generally lean Republican and others who generally lean Democrat. But we are not forced into this decision. If enough people saw this and acted on it, America would be in a whole different state than it is now.

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