Politics

Last week, we kicked off this class entitled: “Against The Current: Current Issues from a Biblical Worldview” by defining what it means to have a biblical worldview versus what it means to have a secular worldview.

We talked about whether or not you have thought deeply about your worldview, we all have one.

It is simply the way we see the world and answer the fundamental questions of:

Why is there something rather than nothing?

What has gone wrong in the world?

What should we do about it?

And where is this world headed?

The way we answer these questions shape the way we see the world and everything in it,

And for believers, we follow our Lord and Savior who we believe is Lord of all things,

And we believe God’s word is authoritative in all things,

Meaning we are to apply God’s truth in his word to every area of our life to be joyfully living under the Lordship of Christ.

So, as we go through our class, I want to expose some winds of doctrine we see in our culture regarding current issues like politics, race, sanctity of human life, gender, and sexuality,

and I want us to understand what those trends of thinking are,

And I want us to grow to understand the biblical worldview to combat the lies of the world.

So, tonight, I want us to think about politics.

Now, I know just mentioning the word politics in this day and age conjures up a lot of different emotions, many not pleasant, and I totally get that.

Our current political climate is so harsh and nasty that many Christians are tempted to throw up their hands and give up on politics altogether.

While other believers feel very passionate about being engaged.

And, no matter where you find yourself on that spectrum, there are truths for the believer to help us ground our understanding of politics and its role in life and society.

Now, if you are hoping I am going to stand up here and give you my take on present candidates in this year’s election, you will be sorely disappointed.

Instead, I want us to think about what politics is, what the Bible teaches us about politics, and what kind of role we as followers of Jesus play, because after all, at the end of the day, as your pastor my concern is not ever primarily how you vote, but do you think about politics from a framework of Jesus as Lord and the Bible as authoritative.

In other words, are you being discipled to think about politics like all other areas of life from a biblical worldview with Jesus as Lord?

I am going to do my best to be biblical with a heart of discipleship, if I do say something you disagree with, that’s okay, as long as it is not while I am reading the Scripture.

I have no doubt I don’t flesh these things out perfectly as none of us do.

So, first, a definition:

Politics is any interaction among individuals, groups, or institutions that seek to decide how to make a collective choice or solve a collective problem.

The aim of politics is to organize and sustain community in a way that best promotes human flourishing.

So, wherever you have more than one person, you have politics.

So, first, let’s try to answer our four worldview questions for a secular or non biblical worldview.

Why is there something rather than nothing? or From where does politics derive?

Politics is derived from men and its authority is derived from either the majority, the most powerful, certain traditions, or family lines.

What has gone wrong with politics?

We have lived under insufficient policies.

People who disagree with us is what has gone wrong.

Government has been too limited, or it has not been limited enough.

What should we do about it?

Vote in the right people.

Advocate for the right policies.

Defeat those who disagree with us.

Where is this whole thing headed?

It depends completely on what leaders we have and how they lead us.

Or nowhere good for the pessimistic ones.

I think it is pretty easy for us to answer these questions from a secular worldview, so now, I want us to spend a lot more time on a biblical worldview of politics.

So, once again, using our four worldview questions:

Why is there something rather than nothing? or From where does politics derive?

Matthew 22:21

21 They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

Romans 13:1–7

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. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 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, 4 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. 5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7 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.

Politics is derived from God.

There is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.

Proverbs 8:15–16

15 By me kings reign,

and rulers decree what is just;

16 by me princes rule,

and nobles, all who govern justly.

Proverbs 21:1

1 The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord;

he turns it wherever he will.

Jeremiah 27:5–7

5 “It is I who by my great power and my outstretched arm have made the earth, with the men and animals that are on the earth, and I give it to whomever it seems right to me. 6 Now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, my servant, and I have given him also the beasts of the field to serve him. 7 All the nations shall serve him and his son and his grandson, until the time of his own land comes. Then many nations and great kings shall make him their slave.

Daniel 2:21

21 He changes times and seasons;

he removes kings and sets up kings;

he gives wisdom to the wise

and knowledge to those who have understanding;

Daniel 4:17

17 The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, the decision by the word of the holy ones, to the end that the living may know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of men.’

What has gone wrong with politics?

Of course, our natural inclination is to assign blame to specific people and policies, yet we know the root issue is sinfulness in the human heart leading us away from promoting human flourishing for all and instead leading from greed, selfishness, and a hunger for power.

What should we do about it?

I want to spend the majority of our time here because this is where the rubber meets the road for Christian discipleship and politics.

If politics and government have a derived authority from God for the purpose of human flourishing, even if the climate feels ugly, inefficient and even corrupt, what are some biblical principles to help us think well about our role as followers of Jesus?

I want us to consider a few more passages and then a few baptist doctrines that help us answer this question:

We have already looked at Romans 13 where we have general commands to be subject to the governing authorities, do what is good in society, and pay what is owed in regards to taxes and honor.

1 Peter 2:13–17

13 Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, 14 or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. 15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. 16 Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. 17 Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.

Listen to the Baker Commentary on this passage:

“Peter here begins to specify how citizens of God’s holy nation are to relate to the sociopolitical authority of the world in which they live. It may be tempting for Christian believers, especially in pagan societies, to construe their loyalty to Christ as a license for rebellion against the ungodly authorities that govern them. In Peter’s view, Christians must be subject to even pagan authorities, even those as ungodly at the Roman emperor, who, at the time Peter wrote, was probably Claudius or Nero. Not only must Christians be subordinate to secular authorities, but they must also “do good”, for by doing so they will silence slander against Christians, as is God’s will.”

So, we are clear on God’s establishment of government, and our general role in submitting to and obeying government authorities.

Of course, we also have examples of believers practicing civil disobedience when the governing authorities command them to disobey a command of God.

Acts 4:19–21

19 But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, 20 for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” 21 And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of the people, for all were praising God for what had happened.

Going beyond the ideas of honor and submission that we have seen in these texts, our Baptist Statement of Faith provides us two articles that we believe align with the teachings of Scripture that give us a balanced biblical view of how we can approach politics.

XV. The Christian and the Social Order

All Christians are under obligation to seek to make the will of Christ supreme in our own lives and in human society. Means and methods used for the improvement of society and the establishment of righteousness among men can be truly and permanently helpful only when they are rooted in the regeneration of the individual by the saving grace of God in Jesus Christ. In the spirit of Christ, Christians should oppose racism, every form of greed, selfishness, and vice, and all forms of sexual immorality, including adultery, homosexuality, and pornography. We should work to provide for the orphaned, the needy, the abused, the aged, the helpless, and the sick. We should speak on behalf of the unborn and contend for the sanctity of all human life from conception to natural death. Every Christian should seek to bring industry, government, and society as a whole under the sway of the principles of righteousness, truth, and brotherly love. In order to promote these ends Christians should be ready to work with all men of good will in any good cause, always being careful to act in the spirit of love without compromising their loyalty to Christ and His truth.

Exodus 20:3-17; Leviticus 6:2-5; Deuteronomy 10:12; 27:17; Psalm 101:5; Micah 6:8; Zechariah 8:16; Matthew 5:13-16,43-48; 22:36-40; 25:35; Mark 1:29-34; 2:3ff.; 10:21; Luke 4:18-21; 10:27-37; 20:25; John 15:12; 17:15; Romans 12–14; 1Corinthians 5:9-10; 6:1-7; 7:20-24; 10:23-11:1; Galatians 3:26-28; Ephesians 6:5-9; Colossians 3:12-17; 1 Thessalonians 3:12; Philemon; James 1:27; 2:8.f

We are going to dive more into some of the topics brought up in this doctrine in subsequent weeks, but for now, I want us to realize that we are called as followers of Jesus to love our neighbors.

Love of neighbor requires that we genuinely care about the shape of our society.

And while the things in this statement apply to primarily to families and churches,

It also involved politics to a degree.

We are biblically commanded to submit to our governing leaders, and we live in a country where we have the civic responsibility to vote, and I believe one little way to be salt and light is to be an informed Christian voter.

And I want to remind you that there is a lot more than just a presidential election when it comes to voting.

I know that’s what gets media attention, but there are state and local things going on that we can vote for as well.

Dr. Jeff Myers is a Christian apologist who speaks primarily to students about thinking about Christianity and culture, and he offers 3 P’s to political engagement that he learned from reading from America’s founders that can help you think about voting:

Principles - Start with foundational principles.

Policies - Then consider the policies of how the leaders desire to flesh out those principles.

Personalities - While personalities matter, in a fallen world where I don’t expect people who are not Christians to always act like Christians, I still want to see if there are principles and policies I can get behind even if the personalities rubs me the wrong way.

I believe in freedom of conscience and am not going to judge someone making a different decision than me on every issue, but I find Dr. Myers helpful with three more thoughts:

Lessen Evil - How might I use my vote to lessen evil?

Keep the leash tight - Is government seeking to take over responsibilities that should belong to families? Is government seeking to deny religious freedom?

Focus on local issues as well as national ones - Leaders are easier to know and keep accountable on the local level.

XVII. Religious Liberty

God alone is Lord of the conscience, and He has left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men which are contrary to His Word or not contained in it. Church and state should be separate. The state owes to every church protection and full freedom in the pursuit of its spiritual ends. In providing for such freedom no ecclesiastical group or denomination should be favored by the state more than others. Civil government being ordained of God, it is the duty of Christians to render loyal obedience thereto in all things not contrary to the revealed will of God. The church should not resort to the civil power to carry on its work. The gospel of Christ contemplates spiritual means alone for the pursuit of its ends. The state has no right to impose penalties for religious opinions of any kind. The state has no right to impose taxes for the support of any form of religion. A free church in a free state is the Christian ideal, and this implies the right of free and unhindered access to God on the part of all men, and the right to form and propagate opinions in the sphere of religion without interference by the civil power.

Genesis 1:27; 2:7; Matthew 6:6-7,24; 16:26; 22:21; John 8:36; Acts 4:19-20; Romans 6:1-2; 13:1-7; Galatians 5:1,13; Philippians 3:20; 1 Timothy 2:1-2; James 4:12; 1 Peter 2:12-17; 3:11-17; 4:12-19.

Read page 162-163 from The Baptist Faith and Message Study.

Read page 86 and 88-90 of Convictional, Confessional, Cheerful Baptists by Nate Akin.

This warns against some modern notions of Christian nationalism.

If we mean that I am Christian, and I am for nation states, great.

If we mean Christianity should be the sanctioned religion of the state and governed by the church and its doctrine, that goes against the concept of freedom of conscience, religious liberty, and another baptist distinctive we hold dear, a regenerate church membership.

Given the role of the church to make disciples of all peoples, we will support and encourage all who are politically involved at salt and light, but we do choose not to as a church promote certain candidates or parties, understanding that the church of Jesus Christ is not a monolithic voting bloc but believers in Christ as Lord from every nation, tribe, people, and language.

Where is this whole thing headed?

Isaiah 9:6

6 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.

Revelation 11:15

15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”