If there’s anything that’s divided American churches in the last 5 years, it’s been politics or politically-adjacent topics. It’s a topic that is filled with many potential landmines.
And with the 2024 election right on our doorstep, it is imperative that Christians have a proper framework for thinking through the issues of politics.
My goal today is to approach the subject of politics holistically. What is politics? How does politics fit within the storyline of Scripture (biblical theology)? And how does the Bible think through particular political issues (systematic theology)?
In this post, I’m going to stay away from partisan politics, i.e. what Republicans and Democrats are doing and saying. My goal isn’t to tell you who to vote for or anything like that, not because those issues aren’t worth addressing but because we tend to fixate on those individual trees and miss the whole forest.
Rather, my goal is to stick as closely to what God’s Word teaches. God’s Word and the Holy Spirit are what unite us as a church, and it is to God’s Word and his Spirit that we must ultimately submit. And, it just so happens that God’s Word does speak to political issues or to issues with political implications. So, we, as God’s people, should not be afraid to speak where God’s Word speaks.
At the same time, we must be very careful not to go beyond what God’s Word says and to “teach as doctrines the commandments of men,” as Jesus warned against (Matthew 15:8-9; Mark 7:6-7). Where God’s Word does not clearly speak, and where disagreement might exist, we need to be able to show one another the grace and kindness that was shown to us in Christ.
We can do this because, as a Church, what sets us apart is the Gospel, our Gospel mission to make disciples, and our Gospel destination of eternal blessedness in Christ under his perfect and eternal rule and reign. Our hope can be built on nothing other than these Gospel truths.
Though what happens in the earthly kingdoms in which we live is important, it is not of ultimate importance. If our hope is tied to the kingdoms of this world rather than the kingdom of God, then we have misplaced our hope.
Let’s approach the topic of political theology in that spirit.
Defining “Political Theology”
Many of you are probably familiar with the term theology, which means the study or doctrine of God, who he is, and how we relate to him.
But when we talk about politics, as Americans, we tend to have a very narrow view of what that means. When we think about politics, we tend to think about elections, voting, Republicans and Democrats, or maybe specific issues like abortion or immigration. Those things are a part of politics, but that is not the essence of it.
Politics comes from the Greek word polis, which means city. In ancient Greek thought, politics “was seen as the science and art of seeking the common good.” (Elizabeth Phillips, Political Theology, p.4) Even though questions like “What form of government should we have?” are a part of politics, such a question is meant to be asked in service of the larger question: What makes for human flourishing? How do we order our common life together such that it leads to that flourishing?
I remember Al Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, in a podcast describing politics as merely answering the question of “how do we live together.”
So, when we talk about political theology, we can think of it in simple terms like:
- How does God intend for us to live together in community such that it leads to human good and God’s glory?
- What is God’s intended purpose for things like governments and nations?
If we think about politics and political theology in this broad sense, then we all, at some level, are engaged in politics already because we all should (and I think do) care about seeking the common good of our neighbor, our families, our friends, and our church.
It is impossible to be completely apolitical.
For example, here in Tempe, AZ, we live in a polis (i.e., a city), that makes certain rules and regulations about building codes. That affects how much it will cost to rebuild our sanctuary. I’m sure many of you send your kids to a school that receives state or federal funding and determine what your kids are taught in school. We drive on roads with certain rules about which side to drive on or where you can turn. Governments fund police and fire departments to help keep us safe. All of these things are done with the intent of pursuing the common good.
Because we live in community with others, politics is a given, and political theology seeks to answer the question of, “What does God have to say about that?”
To begin that process, we’re going to first do some biblical theology and trace how the Bible speaks to politics and the institution of government in the storyline of Scripture: Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Restoration. Then, we’ll do some systematic theology to try and construct a political theology of government and what we are meant to do in the here and now.
A Biblical Theology of Politics
Let’s begin by looking at creation in Genesis 1.
Creation
At a basic level, our broad definition of politics begins with God, who is Triune. Three persons in one Godhead. God is in a perfect and holy relationship within himself. In that sense, God is the perfect political being.
So, coming to Genesis 1, when he creates all things, including humanity, he enters into relationship with his creation—you could say a political relationship, one that is marked by God’s complete authority and power. God created all things, orders all things, and all of creation ultimately submits to his rule and reign. So, when we read the creation narrative of humanity, listen to it with this framework in mind.
Let’s begin in chapter 1, verse 26:
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” (Genesis 1:26-28)
God, in the beginning, creates humanity in his image and after his likeness. And we can see from the text that this carries some political implications with it.
First is the fact that we are called to be fruitful and multiply. From the beginning, God intended for us to be in community with one another—in other words, to be in a political body.
Second, the thing that most readily stands out here connected to politics is the word “dominion.” God commands, as his earthly stewards, that humanity have dominion over the earth and rule over the animals and other living things on earth. That exercise of authority is political in nature. That is part of what it means to be made in God’s image. As we have authority over creation, we reflect the image of the one who has authority over us.
That tells us something important—namely that authority is good and that authority in the context of relationship, ruling, and reigning (what we might call political authority) is also good and part of what God has woven into the fabric of creation.
All authority ultimately traces its origins back to God and belongs to God. We can most clearly see this principle in Romans 13:1.
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. (Romans 13:1)
So, we see that authority is good, that it is grounded in the nature and character of God, and that the authority that God has delegated to humanity is also good. In God’s providential wisdom, this is how he chose for his creation to be ordered and ruled.
Fall
After God creates Adam and Eve, we get about one chapter of the ideal political world in Genesis 2 before Adam and Eve disobey God and fall into sin in Genesis 3. And what is the result of that?
In chapter 3, verses 14-19, we see that where once was harmony and peace, there is now strife, discord, and enmity.
- Where there was harmony between humanity and creation, God says that there will be enmity.
- Where there was harmony between husband and wife, there are now contrary desires between them.
- God also curses the ground and changes the nature of our dominion over the earth. We now have to toil in pain and arduous work for the ground to yield its fruit.
These broken relationships continue to build in chapter 4, where Cain murders Able. And throughout the next several chapters, we see the effects of sin permeating, such that it says in Genesis 6:5,
“The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”
So, in response, God wipes out humanity apart from Noah and his family, and God reestablishes his covenant with Noah in chapter 9. This is where we start to see the origins of civil government as we understand it in a post-fall world today.
And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and upon every bird of the heavens, upon everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea. Into your hand they are delivered. Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man. “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image. And you, be fruitful and multiply, increase greatly on the earth and multiply in it.” (Genesis 9:1-7)
It is in this reestablishment of the covenant with Noah that we see several key things:
- First, the command to “be fruitful and multiply” frames this passage. So we see that the political nature of the dominion mandate still stands from Genesis 1. God still intended humanity to fill the earth and live in community, even after the fall.
- Second, man still retains dominion over the animals and over the earth as it was stated in Genesis 1.
- But what’s most different from the original Genesis 1 mandate is verses 5-7. In light of the reality that people are killing other people, God says that it is up to other people to enact justice upon the one who commits murder. “From his fellow man, I will require a reckoning for the life of man. ‘Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.’”
So we see that God establishes the use of coercive force between humans as a result of the presence of sin and for the purpose of retributive justice (meaning that certain crimes deserve punishment). This is, in essence, the beginning of civil government as we know it today.
What is the ultimate reason given for this system that God is setting up? It says right in the text: “by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.” The fact that we are made in the image of God warrants the establishment of civil government as a political system in a sinful world. Why might that be?
First, being made in God’s image imparts an inestimable value to human life. Our lives are a gift from God, and for one image-bearer to take the life of another without just cause is to violate that image-bearing nature that we possess. Murder destroys image-bearers of God on earth, and God won’t stand for that.
Second, as his image bearers, we also bear the marks of God’s moral character, including his justice. In a sinless world, all would be perfectly just, but in a sinful world, we, as his image bearers, are called to image God’s justice on earth. And as we see throughout Scripture, civil government is the institution that is called to carry out justice as one of its primary roles.
Following the establishment of this principle in Genesis 9, mankind begins to multiply and fill the earth, and begin to form tribes and then nations as we see in Genesis 10, which is sometimes called the table of nations. What is God’s purpose for nations?
An important Scripture about nations comes from Acts 17:26-27, which says,
And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him.
What are the important principles we see in this passage?
First, God is sovereign over the nations. He is the one who determines their political boundaries as well as how long they exist. As Daniel 2:21 says, “He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings…” God simply does with the nations as he chooses.
Secondly, we learn that God establishes nations so that people would seek him and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. How would nations help accomplish this? Just as parental authority in the institution of the family and spiritual authority in the institution of the church are meant to reflect the ultimate authority of God in their ordained capacities, so also does kingly or civil authority in the institution of government. By bearing their God-given authority of enacting judgment, justice, and righteousness (Romans 13), they are able to reflect those same qualities in God and cause people to long for their ultimate source – God himself.
Having said all this about nations generally, let’s move on to the rest of the Old Testament storyline.
God, having told mankind to be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, subdue it, form families, and then tribes, and then nations, and then after confusing their languages in Genesis 11 at the Tower of Babel, the political complexity on earth has also multiplied.
Yet, in the midst of that, in Genesis 12 with Abraham, God begins the process of choosing a special people and a special nation for himself, through whom would come the Messiah Jesus Christ. Deuteronomy 32:8-9 tells us,
“When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he divided mankind, he fixed the borders of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God. But the LORD's portion is his people, Jacob his allotted heritage.”
God chooses Abraham, and promises him several things in Genesis 12 and 15.
- God promises Abraham descendants, such that they will outnumber the stars.
- God promises Abraham the land of Canaan
- God promises to make Abraham into a “great nation.”
Why does God do this? For the ultimate purpose of being a blessing to the world that we see fulfilled in Christ.
And so begins the nation of Israel.
Now at this point, I’m going to have to take a lightspeed tour throughout the rest of the Old Testament, or this post would be exceedingly longer than it already is.
Through the rest of Genesis, God blesses Abraham with Isaac. Isaac fathers Jacob and Esau. Jacob inherits (or steals) the blessing, is renamed Israel, fathers twelve sons who become the twelve tribes of Israel. Eventually, Jacob and his descendants go down into Egypt. We have the story of Joseph. And then during their 400 years in Egypt, God blesses their descendants and multiplies them into a great nation. Then comes Moses and the Exodus and eventually the conquering of the Promised Land. At this point, Israel might be called a nation in the way we think of it today now that they have land over which they have political rule.
After that, Israel’s politics become very complicated and topsy-turvy because of cycles of Israel’s obedience, disobedience, God’s judgment, and Israel’s repentance. It’s interesting to note that over the course of Israel’s history, the nation’s political structure changes many times.
- During the transition from the Exodus to living in the promised land, Moses and then God establishes a system of judges to rule and govern the cities of Israel.
- That eventually transitions to having a king in Saul, then David, then Solomon, and then others.
- Israel is then divided into two kingdoms of Israel and Judah, who are then subsequently conquered by the Assyrians and the Babylonians. God’s people, thereafter, live in exile until they are allowed to return to the Promised Land under Persian rule.
That’s more or less where the Old Testament ends, looking towards a Messiah figure who would restore and redeem Israel.
Now in the midst of all that history and political change, what ought we to learn for ourselves today?
Israel’s history shows us that even with God’s chosen political nation, no matter what system of government they had or who was in power, the sin of humanity would have led to downfall and ruin of Israel but for the intervention of the Lord. Of course, there are bright spots along the way, from Joseph to Moses to Joshua to David to Solomon to Josiah to Daniel. But when it comes to political theology, what we need to learn from Israel’s history is that no system of civil government will be perfect so long as sinful people are in charge.
Christians need to reject any kind of utopian thinking that says we can build a perfect society here on earth if only we had the right system of government, the right people in charge, or the right laws. So whether that’s the utopian vision of Marxism and communism or the utopian vision of some of the more extreme versions of Christian nationalism, we need to reject any notion that says sinful people can build a perfect society.
Only under the perfect and complete rule and reign of Christ can politics be made perfect.
Redemption
Now we come to the New Testament to the culmination of our hopes in Christ. When Jesus started his ministry, he began by saying,
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17)
“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:15)
What is this “kingdom of God” that Jesus spoke of? And why use this kind of language that has obvious political overtones?
In a Gospel Coalition article, pastor Jeremy Treat defines the kingdom of God as “God’s reign through God’s people over God’s place.” God’s reign—meaning his rule, his authority, and his sovereign governance—is what the substance of the kingdom of God is about. But God’s reign is meant to be worked out through God’s people over God’s place. It’s a pattern that we see throughout Scripture:
- The Garden of Eden: God’s reign through Adam and Eve (God’s people) over the earth and Eden (God’s place).
- Israel’s history: God’s reign through God’s people (the nation of Israel) over God’s place (the Promised Land).
The same pattern holds true now as we shift to focus on the life and work of Christ.
Jesus, the Word of God Incarnate, the future King, took on human flesh and dwelt among us, proclaiming “the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel.” Part of the gospel (good news) is that the king is at hand, God’s chosen Messiah is here! And that’s why he said the kingdom is at hand and in the midst of you.
Since the beginning, God has desired to have a people for himself. But with the fall into sin, God’s people needed salvation and redemption. God’s purpose, then, is to save a people for himself. And so part of his kingly rule, as John Piper says, “implies engaging in a saving and redeeming activity on their behalf”—namely, Christ’s death on the cross, his resurrection, and the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.
So when we think about “God’s reign through God’s people over God’s place,” how does the New Testament define “God’s people” and “God’s place.”
God’s People
Through passages like Romans 4, Romans 9-11, Galatians 3-4, Ephesians 2, and many others, we learn that God’s people under the new covenant are those who have faith in Christ. As it says in Galatians 3:26-29,
For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.
Therefore, the promises that God made to Abraham way back in Genesis find their fulfillment in Christ. By faith, we become “Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.” In other words, the New Testament defines the “people of God” as the people from every tribe, tongue, and nation who have faith in Christ—i.e. the Church.
God’s Place
So if God’s people is now the Church, what then is God’s place? Where is God ruling and reigning?
I’m sure many of you are familiar with the passage from Isaiah 9:6-7, which says,
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.
On the surface, that could sound like Jesus is coming to establish an earthly kingdom. Yet, when Jesus was here on earth, he said,
“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.” (John 18:36)
Likewise, in Luke 17:20-25, while on his way to Jerusalem, Scripture records Jesus saying this:
Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.” And he said to the disciples, “The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. And they will say to you, ‘Look, there!’ or ‘Look, here!’ Do not go out or follow them. For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.
Jesus seems to make fairly clear, that at this time, his kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. Where then, is his kingdom?
Over the scope of the New Testament, the kingdom of God is primarily talked about as a spiritual kingdom, a heavenly kingdom, something that Christians have received here and now (Heb 12:28) and dwells in our midst through the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:28), but at the same time will later inherit (Matthew 25:34) and the Holy Spirit serves as the guarantee of that inheritance (Eph 1:14). There’s an already, not yet, aspect to the kingdom of God.
In other words, “God’s place,” at this time, is spiritual, and exists in heaven where God dwells, but it also exists where God’s Spirit dwells in his people. In that sense, though the kingdom of God is not tied to any physical location here on earth, where God’s people gather together in corporate worship, those serve as earthly outposts of sorts of the heavenly kingdom—until such a time when, as Revelation 11:15 says, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”
But until such a time, in this redemptive age that we now live in, we can say that the kingdom of God is God’s reign through God’s people (the Church) over God’s place (the kingdom of heaven and where God’s Spirit dwells in God’s people on earth; not a physical location or an earthly kingdom).
We’ll come back to the last part of biblical theology (restoration) at the end. For now, let’s turn towards how systematic theology can help answer specific questions about political theology.
A Systematic Theology of Politics
So, where does this framework of a biblical theology of politics leave us today? Let’s begin with the political language that Scripture uses to describe us – namely that of citizen and that of ambassador.
Our Identity: Citizens and Ambassadors of Heaven
In the Church age, we, as God’s people, no longer have ultimate allegiances to earthly nations and people groups.
As we read in Galatians, in Christ, there is no longer Jew or Greek and God has made us all one in Christ. Or as it says in Colossians 3:11, “Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.” Our allegiance to Christ supersedes our allegiances to every earthly tribe, tongue, or nation. This is why Paul says in Ephesians 2:19,
“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God”
Paul emphasized this same point when he wrote to the Philippian church. The city of Philippi was particularly know for its pride of being a Roman city, hence why he reminds them:
But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. (Philippians 3:20-21)
Likewise, our ultimate allegiance is not owed to any homeland or piece of real estate here on earth, but to our eternal home with the Lord.
Hebrews 11 commends Abraham for “looking forward to a city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God” (11:10) and for desiring “a better country, that is, a heavenly one.” (11:16)
Likewise, Hebrews 12 tells us that we Christians “have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem” (12:22) and that “therefore, let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken” (12:28).
Of course, such truths don’t negate the fact that we are still citizens of earthly nations, just like Paul had Romans citizenship. It also doesn’t negate a good and proper love—what you might call patriotism—for one’s homeland. But our ultimate citizenship and loyalty is to the eternal kingdom of God, not the kingdoms of this world.
This is also why Scripture describes us using the language of ambassadors. In 2 Corinthians 5, Paul again reminds us of our heavenly home, and that, in light of the work of Christ, we are to be ambassadors for Christ.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. (2 Corinthians 5:17-20)
Now if you think about what an ambassador is, an ambassador is a representative of one country to another. You are entrusted with speaking on behalf of your home country, negotiating, and making decisions on their behalf.
And Paul draws on that imagery to say that we need to be ambassadors of our heavenly homeland as ministers of reconciliation to the world—in other words, preaching the Gospel.
Our Mission: Be Faithful Witnesses
With this mentality of heavenly citizenship and being ambassadors of the heavenly city, then what action does Scripture call us to take when it comes to politics in the earthly kingdoms that we live in? I will give you 2 explicit commands and 2 implicit commands.
Explicit Command #1: Pray for those in authority
In 1 Timothy 2:1-4, Paul says,
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Paul expects us to pray for our political leadership in civil government, regardless of whether we agree or disagree with them—and not just kings or presidents but for anyone holding a political office. Whether that prayer is for that person’s salvation or whether it is for wisdom to govern well, these prayers please the Lord (verse 3).
But to what end does Paul want us to pray? He tells us in verse 2. We are to pray so that “we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.”
Over the years, I’ve heard some Christians say something to the effect of: “Oh, wouldn’t it be great if we had mass persecution in America like they do in other countries? That would really wake the church up and separate the wheat from the chaff and the people following Jesus would be really committed.” And I get where that sentiment is coming from. In a culture where a large number of people claim to be Christians, their bad actions are seen to reflect poorly on Christ. So, it’s good to desire that the people who claim the name of Christ are genuine Christians and represent Christ well.
However, Scripture nowhere asks us to pray for persecution. It assumes we will be persecuted because we bear the name of Christ (John 15:18-21), but 1 Timothy calls us to pray for the opposite, a “peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.” As much as God uses persecution to bring about godly ends, it shouldn’t be something we long for because persecution from the world is ultimately a sign of unbelief from the world. We should be praying for the world to believe in Christ, not persecute God’s people.
Next, notice what verse 4 says: that God “desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” This should remind us of the Scripture in Acts 17, where Paul tells us that nations were established so that people might seek after God. Here in 1 Timothy 2, we also see the idea of prayer for those in authority and prayers to peaceably live out our faith connected to the idea of God’s desire for all people to be saved.
Thus, by praying for the ability to peaceably live out our faith, we aren’t praying for the sake of being able to live a comfortable life. Rather, we are praying for the freedom and ability to be faithful witnesses of the gospel to the world around us.
While God can sovereignly work in any kind of political environment, I’m thankful that we live in a country where, in general, we can freely share the gospel without fear of punishment by the government. That’s something to be thankful for.
So, let’s make sure to pray for our political leaders and that we can lead a peaceful and quite life, godly and dignified in every way.
Explicit Command #2: Submit to those in authority
The other principle Scripture makes explicitly clear is that we are called to submit to civil government. Look with me in Romans 13.
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. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For 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, for 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. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay 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. (Romans 13:1-7)
1 Peter 2:13-17 is another similar passage to Romans 13.
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. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor. (1 Peter 2:13-17)
Here’s what we can gather from these passages:
First, God establishes the institution of civil government, and because God has established the institution of government, we are ultimately called to submit to it.
Second, we are also called to submit to civil government because God has established civil government for our good. Look again at these passages:
- “Rulers are not a terror to good conduct but to bad.”
- “He is God’s servant for your good
- “He is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.”
- “governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good”
Thus, in order for the government to fulfill its role, it needs to know what good and evil are.
One of the myths about government that pervades our culture is this idea that government can somehow be a morally neutral institution. It’s just not true. Without a moral code of some kind, governments could not carry out their duty to justly punish criminal activity like murder or theft.
Furthermore, any system of law (what the government enforces) is also based on moral principles. So the whole bit about, “Don’t force your values or morals on me” is completely erroneous because the law is always enforcing values of some kind. So the question is not whether morality is enforced but whose morality is enforced and to what extent.
I will say that the question of “to what extent should morality be enforced” or “which morals should be enforced” is an area of genuine disagreement amongst Christian thinkers. I’m comfortable saying that the laws of our government ought to be based on godly principles because I know obedience to God’s principles leads to human flourishing. At the same time, that doesn’t mean every single moral principle needs to be enforced by civil government. All laws ought to be moral, but not all morals need to be law.
If little Lucy steals a cookie from the cookie jar, it’s not the government’s job to pass a law forbidding the stealing of cookies from cookie jars and put those Lucy lawbreakers in jail. It’s the parent’s job to put her in time out. Or, to give another example, although belief in Christ is the ultimate good one can think of, it isn’t the government’s job to compel such belief because, in fact, it is impossible for the government to do what is ultimately a work of God’s Spirit.
Do Christians always need to submit to the government? Are there exceptions?
During any discussion about submission to government, it’s very common to ask the question, “Do we always have to submit to government? What about if they tell us to do something wrong?”
As with any authority, whether it’s a parent, a pastor or elder at church, a boss, a husband, or a government official, if someone in authority commands you to disobey God, you are to obey God over that lesser authority. Why? Because God is the highest authority.
We have very good examples of this principle in Scripture. For example, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did not obey Nebuchadnezzar’s command to worship the golden image (Daniel 3). Likewise, Daniel obeyed God and disobeyed the edict of Darius to only worship the king (Daniel 6). In the New Testament, the apostles disobeyed the Jewish authorities’ command to cease preaching the gospel, saying, “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). So while there are clearly exceptions, our general disposition should be one of obedience and submission.
Of course, what is a black and white line in theory, quickly becomes grey when you actually have to apply this principle. There are many shades of grey, and it would be impossible for me to have an answer for every shade of grey because all that would tell you is where my conscience leads me on grey issues, not where your conscience ought to lead you.
It’s interesting that in Romans 14 (right after chapter 13 in which government is discussed) Paul addresses matters of opinion and difference of conscience. Even though chapter 14 addresses differing opinions about food and the Sabbath, the same principles apply to these grey areas concerning the ethics and morality of submission to government.
COVID-19 and the pandemic are perfect examples of this. You have a very clear command from Scripture in Romans to submit to the government. You also have a clear command from Hebrews to not neglect meeting together as a church. And you have commands throughout Scripture to love our neighbor, either through our physical affection and presence or by not needlessly endangering their lives by spreading diseases.
So, how do we balance these 3 very clear commands? The answer is… It depends! It’s also not my place to tell you. Why? Because this isn’t a black-and-white issue. We have 3 seemingly black-and-white commands, that, in a fallen world, come into tension. And the Lord, in his wisdom, calls for each of us to use our noggins and apply wisdom to make the best choices we can, rooted in the faith that we have in him.
As we do this, we need to be okay with the fact that not everyone will come to the same conclusion that we do. Romans 14 gives us some very explicit warnings about this:
- As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. (Rom 14:1)
- Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand. (Rom 14:4)
- Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” So then each of us will give an account of himself to God. (Rom 14:10-12)
- For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. (Rom 14:17)
- So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding. (Rom 14:19)
- For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin. (Rom 14:23)
In other words, if you are going against your conscience, then you are very likely sinning. There may be particular answers that the Lord leads you to but he might not lead someone else to because of how that would affect your sanctification.
So, now that we’ve explored the explicit commands that Scripture gives about civil government, let’s address what I think are two implicit commands in the Bible about civil government.
Implicit Command #1: Political Responsibility Must Be Stewarded
As citizens of the United States, a constitutional democratic republic, we bear some of the governing responsibility through voting and elections. Just as the governing authorities and those in political leadership ought to steward the responsibilities they’ve been given, so also should we steward our political capacities and responsibilities.
I fully acknowledge that this argument only really holds up in systems of government in which the citizens are allowed to participate. So I would not make the same argument to a Christian in North Korea or China or Iran. This is merely a call for Christians to steward the governing authority that they have in their particular context.
The second implicit command is similar to the first
Implicit Command #2: Loving our Neighbor Implies Stewardship of Political Responsibilities
Within the explicit command to love our neighbor, there is an implicit command to care about how civil government affects our neighbor. Christians should take appropriate civil action to love our neighbors well.
Another way to say this is that: Christians ought to care about civil justice and injustice enough to do something about it.
Some of you may have heard the story of Abigail Martinez from California. Last year, she testified before the California Senate Judiciary Committee regarding a bill being debated about whether, in divorce and custody cases, parents had to affirm their child’s gender identity. In asking the legislators to not pass this bill, Abigail shared the story of her own daughter. Listen to what she had to say.
Unjust laws and unjust rulers have consequences. I think we can probably all agree that what happened to that mother and her poor daughter was unjust. But the question is, do we care enough to do something about it? I’m not going to prescribe for you exactly what “doing something about it” means because a lot of these issues are complex and we all have many responsibilities to deal with as it is. But if we aren’t at least thinking about how to change the laws and elected officials that either enable or compel a situation like that to happen, that’s a big miss on our part.
Don’t let injustices like this simply happen. As Proverbs 29:2 says, “When the righteous increase, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people groan.” Unjust laws and unjust rulers only bring unrighteousness and misery upon our neighbor.
Let’s love our neighbor and be faithful Christian witnesses to the truth by stewarding our political responsibilities well.
How Important Should We Make Politics?
As we start to wrap up, I want to step back and look at the larger perspective because it’s easy to lose sight of that. In light of what I just said about stewarding our political responsibilities, how highly should we prioritize those responsibilities against the other responsibilities of life? How important should we make politics?
Part of the answer is to remember that politics is more than what we do with civil government.
As we discussed in the beginning, politics, first and foremost, starts with our relationship with God. If we are not living in obedience to the commands of Scripture and the Holy Spirit, then it will be impossible for us to do anything else well.
The next thing we are to prioritize is our families. Civilization is built upon the foundation of marriage, the family, having children, and raising those children to love the Lord and be good citizens. That process repeats if they marry and have children.
Likewise, we are to prioritize our spiritual family – the Church. Are you attending and serving faithfully in your local church, evangelizing the lost, and making disciples? Ensuring that other people know Jesus and grow in spiritual maturity is one of the easiest ways to bring about cultural change because culture is built upon little micro subcultures like families and churches.
You can also throw work into the mix here too. Are you serving your place of work faithfully and being a light and a witness to your coworkers?
Prioritize those duties and relationships which are most proximate to you. Then, after all these things, you can start thinking about engagement with civil government.
If any of these first 4 things are neglected or suffering due to your involvement in civil government and partisan politics, then I would say your priorities are out of order and you might need to ask yourself whether you’ve made politics an idol.
Putting these duties in this order doesn’t mean civil government isn’t important, but it’s a recognition that when we think of politics holistically, it starts from the ground up. Too many Christians can fall for the trap of trying to make change from the top down in civil government while neglecting their relationship with the Lord, their families, the church, or their place of work.
Fulfilling those responsibilities that we are most closely connected to first naturally affects the community and the larger spheres of politics around us. If all the people in this country who say they are Christian were to focus on those foundational things first and then engage civil government in appropriate ways, the political landscape in this country would change overnight.
Restoration
I want to close by looking towards the future of politics in the book of Revelation.
As we read in Revelation 11:15, the ultimate vision that Scripture portrays for us is not one in which we are living as disembodied spirits in heaven while the earthly perishes away, but one in which the earthly is remade and renewed, and the heavenly and the earthly are unified and brought together.
John writes in Revelation 21,
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:1-4)
Heaven and earth will be brought together. God will dwell with us as his people. And Jesus will sit enthroned as King.
In the age of restoration, the kingdom of God will look like God’s reign through God’s people (the Church) over God’s place (the new heavens and new earth brought together).
That’s the vision of politics that Scripture ultimately leaves us with, and it’s the vision of politics that always needs to be top of mind. Even as we strive to be faithful political witnesses here and now, we must never seek to make the politics of now what is ultimate.
The Gospel must be at the center of all of our politics.