Should We Keep Our Faith OUT of Our Politics? By Cliff Lewis, Associate Pastor of Worship and Music, Clayton Baptist Church
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’m going to go ahead and answer that question from the outset as clearly as I can We must NOT keep our deeply held, biblically informed, theologically significant beliefs out of our political positions and choices at the ballot box. And at this point, some of you reading this may now choose to stop reading. Please don’t. Let me explain why we MUST allow our beliefs, rooted in our faith in Jesus Christ, to inform ALL of our decisions in life...including our political thoughts and decisions. The first reason we must allow our politics to be informed by our faith is that we literally and ultimately serve a King. As believers in Jesus Christ, we are part of an eternal monarchy. Jesus is reigning and will reign eternally as King of kings and Lord of lords. Paul wrote in Philippians 3:20, “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” Jesus told His followers in Matthew, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” And Luke recorded the apostle Peter saying that our deepest allegiance and obedience belongs to God alone, “We must obey God rather than men.” So, in truth, believers in Jesus Christ have no option as to whether they obey the Word of God when making political decisions. We are sojourners and temporal earthly citizens of the country in which God has placed us. Secondly, Christians must allow their faith to direct their politics because God commands us to work and pray for the good of the city in which we live. God spoke through the prophet Jeremiah in chapter 29, verse 7 by giving the instruction, “But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.” This passage speaks immediately to being involved and invested in the community that we live in, which clearly implies the government and politics that go along with that city. We should keep ourselves informed of the plans and problems facing our local leaders and assist and speak to the decisions that we feel convicted about. We should support our local law enforcement officers and pray for their wisdom
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and safety. We should work to help those in our community who need help finding and keeping a job to provide for their families. We should serve as council men and women, and some of us should run and be elected to public office to serve faithfully And since the founders of America established our government as a representative republic, NOT a direct democracy, the decisions we make about who to support and vote for at the state and national level also have massive implications and impact on our lives locally. Again, praying and working for the good of our city, state, and nation is the only option for believers in the God of the Bible. Thirdly, if Christians are not involved in political issues and decisions, then God-ignoring people will be left to run governing bodies. When godless people rise to political power in a city or nation, then the effect on the people who are governed is devastating. The book of Proverbs has much to say about political officials who lead in wickedness. Proverbs 29:12 says, “If a ruler listens to falsehood, all his officials will be wicked.” Earlier in that same chapter he writes, “When the righteous increase, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people groan.” And we all know that our governing leaders are really a reflection of the people who have elected them, so it is no surprise that as we see a culture in spiritual and moral decline that the politics of that culture become more corrupt and morally deficient. This should be of great concern to Christians, both for the times we are living in and for the country that our children and grandchildren will inherit. Lastly, Christians should be involved and outspoken in political arenas because we should be laser focused on the goal of God’s glory and the spread of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Our nation has a problem. It is the same problem affecting and infecting every person on the earth. The problem is sin. We are all sinners, and we all need a Savior. In order to have the freedom to speak and preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, Christians must stay vigilant to fight for those freedoms. These freedoms came at great cost, and they are not guaranteed to continue. God has blessed our nation with great freedom so as to fuel the spread of the gospel throughout this entire globe. We must not squander this great gift.
