Articles
Some Thoughts on the Christian and Government
When countries face some sort of upheaval or crisis, questions of responsibility to or interaction with government arise in the minds of Christians. This happened in the U.S. during the World Wars of the twentieth century. There were impassioned debates among Christians about serving in the military and what constituted a “just war.”
Similar questions are arising again in regard to two specific issues: the presidential election and our government’s increasing intrusion upon religious freedom. While this space is too short to explore these issues in detail, I hope the following perspectives help us order our thinking in a positive way.
#1: Most of God’s people throughout history have lived under civil rule that was imposed upon them; i.e., monarchies and/or empires. Those governmental powers have not always been friendly toward saints individually or God’s overarching purposes. A hostile pharaoh declared an edict of extermination against Israel (Ex 1:16), but God intervened and foiled his plans. A Persian official named Haman plotted against post-exile Jews, and again God neutralized his attempted genocide.
Christ’s kingdom began in the cauldron of Jewish persecution, and by the end of the first century His church faced horrific onslaught of blood-crazed emperors such as Nero and Domitian. The prophet John and the apostle James were beheaded. Paul was beaten, imprisoned and eventually executed. John was exiled for a time on Patmos. Countless “lesser lights” suffered mercilessly at the hands of government officials who neither understood nor cared about the heavenly authority under which their citizenry also lived.
In spite of such despicable malfeasance of civil power, the Spirit directs us to “submit … to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men” (1 Pet 2:13-15). Paul concurs: “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore, whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves” (Rom 13:1-2).
God has not always spared His people the injustice of civil malpractice, but He will affirm His purposes and vindicate His saints in the end. We are not to be anarchists, revolutionaries and scofflaws, for such are carnal weaponry unsuited for the kind of victory we are after.
#2: Our citizenship in a spiritual kingdom sometimes brings us into conflict with civil authorities. This conflict may result in a clash of conscience which those powers will not understand or sympathize with. When government compels the Christian to obey its edicts above the laws of God, the Christian’s duty is clear: “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard … We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 4:19-20; 5:29).
This matter between the apostles and the Sanhedrin was pretty clear cut. Jesus had commissioned them to “be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem” (Ac 1:8). Indeed, the Sanhedrin admits, “You have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man’s blood on us!” (Ac 5:28). The apostles’ choice was stark: to comply with the Sanhedrin would have been patent disobedience to the Lord. Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego faced a similar stark choice about worshiping Nebuchadnezzar’s image as did Daniel relative to Darius’ injunction against prayer to God.
But not all conflicts of conscience are as obvious. It would behoove us to carefully consider our duty to the Lord and how far we can accommodate civil law before we cross the line and compromise with evil.
#3: Throughout history God has raised to power wicked or at least spiritually insensitive people whom He used to further His purposes. “For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, ‘Even for this same purpose I have raised you up, that I might show My power in you, and that My name might be declared in all the earth’” (Rom 9:17). “Who says of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd, and he shall perform all My pleasure, even saying to Jerusalem, “You shall be built,” and to the temple, “Your foundation shall be laid”’” (Is 44:28). Thus men such as Shalmanezer, Nebuchadnezzar, Alexander and others ruled with God’s permission, and through them He shaped the course of human events. World rulers have free will and operate according to their own desires and ambitions, but God is the potter who uses His vessels, even in rebellion, to pour out His will upon the earth.
As Americans in the 21st century, we have a privilege not many previous saints have enjoyed: citizenship which gives us a say in who holds office, what laws are enacted, and how we feel about the policies, morals and competency of our officials. This raises the question of how to participate when revelation does not define the particulars of God’s providence. For example, some brethren will not vote fearing that to cast a ballot for one candidate may interfere with whom God wants in office. But we do not know whether God wants Trump or Clinton in office; neither do we have complete insight on what the result of either presidency will have on the country four or eight years down the road.
But this is not a unique conundrum; it is a dilemma we face every day. Since we cannot know God’s will on anything He has not disclosed in Scripture, we are left to apply the principles and instructions He has given to us to specific situations. We must make the best choices we can based upon what we know at the time and how we determine Scriptural ideals to apply to the situation. Beyond this, we are not responsible for “interfering” with God’s plans. He will ensure that His will is done regardless and will not hold us accountable for violating something unrevealed. The way through the darkness is to pray for God’s guidance and His will to be done through or perhaps in spite of our decisions.
