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Religion and politics are by nature divisive, so how should Christians approach politics in accordance to biblical guidelines? This is an important question given the political divide in America today. One benefit to being a Christian in a politically charged and divided nation is that your values and priorities, that is, your allegiance will be tested for its genuineness. Political divide often puts a challenging mirror in front of us. It's then up to us to see what is reflecting back in that mirror and, if necessary, confront the issues we see in ourselves, give it to the Lord and make the necessary changes in our lives to make sure our allegiance is primarily to Him.
***[NOTE – The topic of Christian Nationalism is confronted in a separate article HERE]***
Understandably, this is a challenging topic for some Christians due to their strong political convictions. But if our goal is to please God and be more like Christ, then we'll seek to understand this issue and share with others. Also, remember that the culture one grows up in plays a big role in political perspectives, as do other factors. This article focuses on the simultaneous application of responsibilities and allegiance or loyalty to God and how this is central to how we carry ourselves within the political and cultural scene.
There are a wide variety of views within Christian circles when it comes to being involved in politics. Some believe Christians are not be involved in any politics because “we are not of this world”. While others say the exact opposite, that we have a duty or obligation to be involved in politics.
These are both overly-simplified views. We're not all the same, we don't have the same mission or calling. A sense of responsibility and purposeful calling within your primary allegiance should be the driving force that compels you to act in a certain secondary calling or political way. Follow what God has put in your heart. The real question is, are you doing what God wants you to do? And, where is your primary allegiance?
Do you vote as a Christian? If so, ask yourself, why you voted for who you voted for. Is it because you believe in the values of that politician? If so, which values, and why? Or, did you vote for a person simply because you didn't want to vote for another person of the other party? If so, is your allegiance only to a party even if it means voting for the perceived lesser of two evils?
Obviously in the U.S. both primary political parties (Democrats and Republicans) will tell you they are the righteous party and why. Republicans will focus on issues like family, abortion/pro-life and transgenderism (“out of women's bathroom”) issues to convince Christians they should vote for them, while Democrats will often point to issues of helping the foreigners, the poor, the outcast and underclass as reason why you should vote for them.
One must be still, think beyond the speeches and headlines, decide what's important to you and your family before making a decision. Your decision making process requires wisdom that sees beyond the political talking points, does not yield to the expectation of blind loyalty to a party or candidate and incorporates your true values.
So, where should those values that rise above what a politician or party tells you come from? Let's consider this next.
Consider the events in the book of Acts during the launching of the early church. The context and purpose of the recorded events of the early church should not be confused or applied improperly by anyone on the Left or the Right. When an immoral or unjust political mandate was imposed on the Apostles that directly conflicted with their allegiance to God's law, they disobeyed. Acts 5:29 says:
But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men.
A complex political divide we see in our country centers around the topic of separation of church and state. The Left advocates for the separation of church and state (which I agree with). The Right, especially under president Trump, has done a lot to blur the lines between Church and state. The problem this presents is that once you blur that line many things can go wrong, which the founders of our nation clearly understood. For one, once you legalize a theocratic model, who later gets to decide WHICH religion is the “correct” one??
Jesus was ahead of the game on this topic when he said to - render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's. He didn't say arm up and take over Caesar's kingdom and make it a Christian kingdom. He expected Christians to render their primary loyalty to His kingdom first, then do whatever it takes to be at peace with the ruling authorities, not the other way around.
We want to vote with our conscience not support a mechanism that authorizes itself to legislate morality. Christian Nationalists often point to Old Testament accounts where God is dealing with nations as the reason America must be a Christian theocracy. But Old Testament nation models are not to be used as an excuse to rebel against Jesus' commandments to the individual. Jesus' entire ministry was a demonstration of the separation of church and state. Legislation of morality is simply not a biblical concept.
Ironically some of the same “Christian” politicians and voters often do not want to hear that we're to pray for our political enemies and love others as ourselves despite their political beliefs. All of these examples are litmus tests for testing one's true allegiance.
Finally, let's expand on the issue of God's sovereignty and nation states.
Let's remember that God is sovereign and He, not the individual, controls nations and future events. The individual has a clear and direct obligation to be loyal to God first, to imitate Jesus and put their trust in Him, NOT to put their trust in a party or candidate who says they will legislate God's commandments.
Nations are part of God's model for order and justice, and He rules over these nations and rulers in such a manner to allow His sovereign will to be manifested regarding future events. Christian Nationalists however (as mentioned earlier), use Old Testament models to push the idea that elected politicians in the United States have a duty to codify Christian beliefs.
However, America was blessed by God with many guaranteed freedoms including the freedom of (or some would say, from) religion. This freedom to practice any religion including NOT being religious at all, is exactly in line with God's designed of a sovereign human being who will willingly serve Him.
Thus the Christian Nationalist Old Testament based “Christian nation” model falls outside the model of the individual salvation plan for which Jesus died and rose again for, and thus falls outside the personal duty of the individual Christian. As stated earlier, God, not the individual rules the nations in His sovereign will and He will deal with nations in His ultimate plan of end times judgment.
Ultimately, we're to love God first in all we do and love people [Luke 10:27]
So he answered and said, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself”
This is the model we're working with and nothing tests our allegiance more than these two simple commandments. Hopefully this article blessed you. Thank you for reading!