GOD'S POLITICS? PART VIII
"...OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE, AND FOR THE PEOPLE..."
Just to recap a bit, here's what we've learned so far in our studies of the Bible's teaching on politics:
1. The State is a "minister of God, appointed by God" to serve justice and protect people from evil. Those in Government may not be conscious that they're God's ministers, nonetheless, He uses them to accomplish His sovereign purposes over history. (Romans 13)
2. The Church is not the State, and vice versa. They are two distinct kingdoms both ruled by God in different ways. The Kingdom of Man is ruled by justice and vengeance against the evildoer. The Kingdom of God offers grace and mercy to the evildoer through faith in Jesus Christ. Therefore, we submit to the governing authorities as God's servants, praying for them, and following their laws. The only time that we cannot submit to the government is if they call us to do something sinful before God. At that moment, we must resist peacefully, but resist we must (Acts 5).
3. The Christian is a member of both Kingdoms and has certain callings in each. We are called to be "in...but not of" the world. Christians are called not to conform to the culture, or collapse to the culture, or conquer the culture, but to contribute to the culture in various ways.
With all that being said, in our final posting describing a Christian's view of politics, it would be a good thing to discuss how this all applies to us Americans. After all, we live in a different sort of society than the Roman Empire of Paul's day. We are a country that is ruled "by the people, and for the people." How does this change things, if at all? For the answers to that question, let me turn your attention to a wonderful writer named Gene Veith. His insights on all this two kingdom stuff has been very helpful to me, and I hope they are to you too. In his book "God At Work," he summarizes the issue this way:
Just as there are many kinds of nations in the world, each with its own laws, there are many kinds of rulers. Emperors, kings, tribal chieftains-these are all offices Christians are enjoined to obey. There is another kind of ruler, though, the kind found in the Untied States and other democratic systems. This gives Romans 13 a special twist for Americans and others who live under a democratic republic. Our governing officials are not imposed on us from above. Rather, we elect our governing officials. Ultimately we rule them. In a democratic system the "people" rule. Their leaders are accountable to the citizens, who enact their own laws through their elected representatives and who are endowed by their laws with the task of self-government.
Those who have been blessed by a calling to live in the United States or another free country have a more complicated vocation of citizenship than do those who live under a monarchy. In a democratic society citizens are still subjects, but at the same time they are rulers.
An American president is, indeed, a "governing authority" to which we should submit; but he is by no stretch of the principles a king. We should submit to the office, in that we obey the laws he is supposed to execute, but he cannot require citizens to do whatever he commands. Our Constitution does not give him that power. He is neither the source of law nor the interpreter of law. The public elects the President from a field of candidates. Submission to hi authority cannot include always voting for him. Nor can it mean refusing to criticize him. In our legal and political system, the people must assess the President's performance and that of other elected officials; otherwise it would be impossible to have a democratic republic.
Those called to be American citizens, therefore, have a Romans 13 obligation to take an active part in their government. Christians should indeed obey the laws, pay their taxes, and honor- and pray for (1 Timothy 2:2)- their governing officials. Feelings of patriotism and acts of civic mindedness are fitting responses to the blessings God has given this country and to the citizenship to which He has called them. But the calling to citizenship also includes active involvement in their nation and in their government: voting, debating issues, grass-roots politics, and civic activism.
Christians who mobilize for pro-life causes-even when this means criticizing officials and working to change laws- are acting in their divine vocation as citizens. Christians who, like the prophets, challenge the evils in their societies, including those perpetuated by their officials or their institutions , are acting in their divine vocations as citizens. So are Christians running for the local school board, demonstrating at the statehouse, going to precinct meetings, and voting for the candidates who best reflect their beliefs.
This emphatically does not mean turning the church into a political action committee or confusing the spiritual work of the Gospel with the political arm of the state. Christian political activism falls under the vocation of citizenship-not the vocation of faith; and it is important not to confuse the different callings. But Christians are called to be engaged not just in government but in their cultures as a whole, working, through their various vocations, to make their country, if only in a small way, a better place for their neighbors. (Cited from Gene Veith's God At Work, pg. 113-114.)
Tomorrow we'll begin digging into specific issues. I think we'll look at how a Christian Worldview informs our beliefs and values in regard to "pirated" movies, music, etc.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Erick
RECEIVING FROM CHRIST....GROWING IN CHRIST....GOING WITH CHRIST....
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