Transcript & slides: Christian Citizens

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Christian Citizens
By David Feddes
ChatGPT edit (haven't done final edit)

 

Many of us wish that elections weren't so nasty. We wish that the candidates were noble statesmen as in days of old when statesmen were decent and upright and campaigns were clean and about the issues. If only we could go back to the good old days with great names like Thomas Jefferson and John Adams dominant in politics. Now, George Washington was our first president. He ran unopposed and served two terms. So the first real presidential election in the United States was a choice between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. Wouldn't it be nice if we had candidates like that and campaigns where the press and the media were not so biased?

In the 1796 election, supporters of John Adams called Jefferson a howling atheist and a candidate for cutthroats. Jefferson's campaign claimed that Adams would destroy the Constitution, declare himself king, and make his sons crown princes. Adams won the 1796 election, and none of those things happened. So they had a rematch. The 1800 election again matched Adams and Jefferson. Well, this time Jefferson's supporters invented a tall tale that President Adams had ordered an American warship to bring two mistresses from England for the president's pleasure. The newspapers favoring Adams warned that if Jefferson won, murder, robbery, rape, adultery, and incest would be openly taught and practiced. Jefferson would burn Bibles and burn churches. Jefferson won, and all the churches were in flames, and all the Bibles were burned—well, actually, not really. He never did any of those things. But that's what it was like in the good old days.

The book of Ecclesiastes says, "Don't ask, 'Why were the old days better than these?' For it's not wise to ask such a question." But if we go back to the good old days one more time—to 1804—we have the sitting vice president of the United States gunning down the former secretary of the treasury in a duel. Don't you wish for more civility in politics like we used to have?

Well, if we go back a little further to the old days, we go back to the time 1 Peter was written. In those old days, they didn't have nasty elections. They didn't have elections. They had emperors—nice guys like Tiberius, who was the emperor when Jesus was crucified and who had his own island of little boys for his own pleasure. He had Caligula as a successor, who, among other things, married his sister and his horse. Then there was Nero, who merely burned Christians in gardens for the spectacles and parties that he had. That's what was going to come a few years after Peter wrote these words that we're going to read. That was government in the good old days.

Well, what does Peter have to say when it comes to having such people in positions of government? Well, you might be surprised, but Peter says that we need to actually submit to those who are in positions of power. We looked at, in kind of an overview message, in a previous message, how this is divided up. He talks about living under the system, and there's the political system, there's the work system of that time—often involving slavery—and the marriage and family system of that time. Peter now describes how you live under that system. He says:

"Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires that war against your souls. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us."

That's the overview. And then he goes into the details of living under the system. Today, we're going to look at living under the political system. But then, also, in a couple of days, we are the political system. We get to call the shots for at least one day.

"Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men, whether to the king as the supreme authority or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God's will that by doing good, you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil. Live as servants of God. Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king."

Now, in those verses, the basic points that Peter makes are very clear. He says that we're to honor God's image and rule in the human creatures who govern. As I've mentioned before, the literal translation isn't actually "submit to authorities instituted among men"; it's "submit to every human creature." He reminds us that even the authorities are human creatures under God. And we recognize God's image in them and God's purpose in having some humans in positions of leadership and rule.

He says we need to do this to disprove the ignorant accusations that Christians are ruinous rebels. He doesn't want Christians to be known as the ones who are going around burning courthouses and who are attacking and trying to bring down governments, or who are just eager to smash everything, or who want to be known as those who oppose the existing governing system. Christians were accused of many bad things in those days.

He says we need to live as free people—live freely, but don't say, "Well, I'm free, I can do whatever I please, no matter how bad it is, no matter how much trouble it causes." Live as free people, but live as servants of God, not to indulge your own evil. A little later, he says, "If you suffer, it shouldn't be as a murderer or a thief or any other kind of criminal—or even as a meddler." You live freely, but that doesn't mean you're free to be wicked. So part of living under rulers is being law-abiding—above all, abiding under God's law, and then also abiding under any good laws that are sometimes run by some pretty bad people.

And then, in the final part of that, Peter says, "Honor everybody." It's translated "show proper respect to everyone," but it's actually just the same word. When it says, "Honor the king," the sentence begins with "Honor everybody." Honor everybody. Have a special love for the brotherhood—the people who are your fellow believers in Christ and belong to the body of Christ. Fear God. Tremble before God. Let God be the one who makes you shake. A little later, Peter says, "Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened." A lot of us go around being scared about this or scared about that. Jesus said, "Don't even be scared of death. Only fear the one who can destroy body and soul in hell. And don't fear anything else. And don't be scared of the emperor either."

Honor the emperor, but realize that he's not the big shot that everybody makes him out to be. God is the one both to fear and to love and to worship. In those days, you were supposed to worship the emperor. You were supposed to fear the emperor. Peter says you can honor the emperor, but forget about that fear and worship stuff—that goes to God.

So that's the overview of what it means, according to Peter, to live under rulers in a situation where the rulers were often very bad people. But overall, there was still a governing system that kept some order and room for some good things to happen.

 

 

When he says, "Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human creature, whether the king or the governors," he's echoing something that Jesus himself said. Jesus said, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's." So there is a role for government, and government's role is not to be God. It has a God-appointed role, and it will answer to God for how it handles that role. So give Caesar what is rightly Caesar's, but give God what is God's.

Jesus was asked to pay the tax. This particular tax was to help cover the funding of the temple, but it was a tax imposed by local authorities. And so Jesus thought he'd use that as a teaching moment. He says, "Now, Peter, what do you think? When these big-shot governors and kings are ruling, do you think they make their kids pay taxes?" Peter says, "No, their kids don't pay any taxes." And Jesus says, "Yeah, the sons are exempt from taxes, aren't they?" So, technically, as sons of God, living under a different government, we're exempt from taxes, says Jesus. "But so that we may not offend them, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch, open its mouth, and you'll find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours."

Man, don't you wish that would happen about every April 10? You know, those of you who love fishing—and even some who don't—might go fishing if you could just solve the tax issue by saying, "Yeah, I'm going to pull one in." But again, Jesus is making a point that when you're paying taxes, you're a member of another kingdom. But so as to avoid giving offense, you can still pay taxes, support the government insofar as it does some good in this or that, but always remember that you're strangers and aliens here. You're sons of the king. Your citizenship in your own country may be precious to you—it may not be so precious, it may just be something you put up with, like living under a Roman tyrant—but either way, you live under the King of kings.

Paul says much the same thing. He says in Romans 13:1, "Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established." He says, "Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good." So submission involves just putting up with the government, living under it, obeying it insofar as its commands are right and just, and always being ready to do what's good—even when the government isn't telling you to do what's good. Be ready to do what's good. If the government favors good, well, do that, of course. And then do a lot of good things the government isn't forcing you to do or requiring you to do.

What's right with the government? Well, we are often reminded what's wrong. But let's remember what's right with it—it is put there by God as his servant to punish evil and to promote good. It promotes order and stability. And the only thing worse than bad government is no government. Anarchy—just everybody out for themselves and pillaging each other. So one good thing about government is it prevents hell on earth. But it can't produce heaven on earth.

Remember that, because when you have a government that promises you paradise, a government that will produce heaven on earth, a government that will stop every bug from spreading, a government that will control the climate 50 years into the future—if only you hand over total control to that government—then it controls the bugs, it controls the planets, it controls the sunspots, it controls everything. It controls you, is who it controls. So keep that in mind. If you really, really want a paradise where everybody's happy 24/7, and the government is going to provide that happiness and prevent every danger and make sure everybody's equal and everybody's fine—there are governments who have promised such. And every time, they have enslaved and destroyed.

Believe in a government that is going to do a little something to prevent hell on earth. But when they start sounding like heaven on earth—tune them right out. They're lying.

The Bible says, "Pray for all people—for kings, for those in authority—that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and it pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth." That's a theme that runs through this whole section in Peter—living under the system. You're trying to win people over to the knowledge of the truth. Your biggest priority is not this or that government. You want all people to be saved, like God wants people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

And so you pray to that end. You pray for everybody. And in particular, you pray for kings and people in authority. And what is your special concern when you pray for kings and those in authority? Their main job—or at least the main thing you want from them as a believer—is that they make space for gospel living. They make space for you to live a peaceful and quiet life. They make space for you to live in godliness and holiness. They don't do it all for you necessarily. They can't make you holy. They can't make you godly. But they can do a lot of things to make it hard—very, very hard—for you to be godly.

They can't make you, but they can threaten to punish you if you don't do wicked things. They can take your money through taxes to pay for wicked things. They can make it hard for the righteous. And so you pray for government—that they won't make it so hard for the righteous. Sometimes they will anyway. And then, as Peter teaches throughout the whole letter, you're going to have to be able to suffer, and suffer with a smile, and keep spreading the gospel.

But pray. Pray, says Paul, that you can live a peaceful and a quiet life in godliness and holiness. That the government will leave you alone. Is that too much to ask? Is that too much to pray for? Pray that the government will leave you alone to live a peaceful and quiet and godly and holy life.

That may sound like not much, but throughout a great deal of history, government has not left the disciples of Jesus alone to live peaceful and quiet lives. And so that's part of our prayers: "Lord, just whatever the government's up to, please make room under their rule for God's people to live like God's people without being hunted."

 

 

Throughout time, things often got a little better than they were under the Caesars. There have been governments that, while not perfect, saw some major improvements in governance. Much of that was due to biblical impact—the influence of Jesus Christ and his followers on ideas of governance. So, as we move from the context of Paul and Peter writing in the Scriptures and apply it to our own time, we want to think about the situation as it developed throughout history and the context in which we find ourselves today.

Our coins say, "In God we trust." Our pledge says that we are "one nation under God." The idea of being a nation under God means that the rights of the people are guaranteed not by any politician but by the Almighty himself. It means that the government will answer to God for what it does. The idea of government under God is one of the most liberating things in the history of humanity. Always, governments have tried to pretend they are God—the ones who proclaim emperors and kings to be divine, or the dictatorships of modern days who claim to be atheists and have ten-story-high pictures of the "Dear Leader." They don’t believe in government under God, and you can tell by the way they rule.

Another great principle that has characterized the best of governments is the rule of law. It’s not about this guy or that guy getting to determine and decide whatever they want, or this woman or that leader in a position of governance making arbitrary decisions. Rule of law means that laws are made, and then those in positions of executive power apply and enforce the law—but they don’t get to make it up as they go. They don’t get to say, "Last week, the law was this thing, but this week, I decided the law is that thing." That’s not how good governance happens.

Rule of law is rooted deeply in the Bible. When you read the book of Deuteronomy, it says the king himself should realize that he is not different or above all the other citizens—that he is not above the law. Instead, the king is supposed to be reading the law regularly, to know what the law is so that he can be applying that law. In the Bible, we also get the idea of separation of powers. The power of the priesthood, for instance, was always separate from the power of the king. Even within government, judges often were not just the king.

There was a statement in the Bible that later Christians heard, and it gave them ideas about governance. The prophet Isaiah said, "The Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; it is he who will save us." They read that and said, "The Lord is judge, lawgiver, and king, and he can save. We don’t want anybody else to have the position of judge, lawgiver, and king." Let’s separate the powers of the judges from the power of those who make the laws and have that be separate from the executive or kingly-type power. So, we’ve got those three different branches of government: judicial (the judges), lawmaking or legislative, and executive. Let’s have them separate so that no one person holds all those powers, because we don’t trust somebody with that much power. And none of the branches of government can save us. "The Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our king; it is he who will save us." Now, we’ll have three separate branches of government, none of them being savior, and we’ll move on from there.

The value of each person—even the lowest and least—is treasured by God himself. You read again and again that "the Lord watches over the alien, the Lord watches over the widow, the Lord watches over the fatherless, the Lord watches over the poor." You don’t write anybody off. Everybody counts. That idea—that everybody counts, that everybody gets to vote when they reach an age of understanding—is rooted in the idea that every person matters. And if you have authority, it is not just to get richer and richer for yourself or your family, using government power to do that. It’s authority to serve.

Jesus taught a different model. He said, "The kings and rulers of the pagans want to use their power, and they always want to boss people around, but you shouldn’t be like that. Instead, the greatest among you is the one who serves." Even though the label isn’t always true, I still love the label "public servants." Public service is what you do when you’re in government. It isn’t always fulfilled—by a long shot—but it is an ideal that comes from the Bible. If you hold a big public position, it is to serve others.

The vision of the Bible was also different. The ancient dictatorships did some amazing things—you can still visit the pyramids today. They’re still standing. They are impressive. And it is undoubted that thousands of slaves died building those stone monuments to people we don’t even care about anymore. Real government has a vision that every man is under his own vine and under his own fig tree, with his wife and his family. They have just a little private property, a place where they can flourish, where they can be who they were meant to be. And away with all those stinking pyramids that are built by slaves for the arrogance of the grand poobah on the throne.

So, these were some of the impacts that the Bible has had in influencing good governance. To one degree or another, various governments have been influenced. Where the Christian faith has taken deep root, Dr. J.I. Packer said that representative democracy as we know it is not the only form of government under which Christian citizens have lived and served God. You can be a Christian under all kinds of different governments, situations, and systems. And if that’s the system that you’re dealing with, then you learn to live under that system—sometimes to suffer under that system.

But Dr. Packer goes on to say, "However, there’s no doubt that from a Christian standpoint, representative democracy is a fitter and wiser form than any other." And so, since we have opportunities to try to make the case for better government, then we, as Christian citizens, don’t just have to submit to and live under the system—we have opportunities to have a voice in and make a difference in the system ourselves.

 

 

Now, what is the purpose of governance? It hasn't changed all that much—to punish those who do wrong and commend those who do right. That’s supposed to be the basic thing governments do: punish what’s wrong and reward or praise those who do what’s right. Romans 13 says the same thing as Peter: "Do what’s right, and the leader will commend you. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing." So it’s about punishing wrong and rewarding right.

Now, that is very clear-cut and very simple, but in real life, governance is not so clear-cut and simple. Do you want government to punish everything wrong that is prohibited in God’s Ten Commandments? I don’t. Do you want the government to figure out who’s coveting and then hunt them down and imprison them or whip them or punish them in some other way for coveting? The question with government is usually: What should it permit, what should it prohibit, and what should it promote?

These are the three basic attitudes a government can take toward any behavior or action. It can say, "You may not do that—end of story. If you do it, you get punished." The degree of punishment may vary. If it’s a really bad thing, like treason or murder, you may get executed. If it’s something frowned upon but not as severe, you may get a big fine. If it’s somewhere in between, you may be imprisoned for a while. Governments prohibit and punish certain things—like theft, murder, kidnapping, and treason.

Governments also prohibit certain practices and impose regulations. For example, they may require buildings to meet safety codes, and if they don’t pass inspection, they can’t be used. Over time, what governments prohibit changes. Formerly, many governments prohibited Sunday commerce so that everyone had a day off at the same time. Some governments prohibited blasphemy or divorce, at least no-fault divorce. If there was a divorce, they would determine who was at fault, and the one who abandoned their spouse would face legal consequences. The way governments handle these issues varies over time.

Another stance government can take is permitting something. This doesn’t mean approving it, nor does it mean funding it—it simply means not interfering. This is sometimes called freedom. In certain areas, governments choose not to legislate. For example, from a religious standpoint, blasphemy is a very serious offense against God. Unbelief in Jesus Christ is spiritually catastrophic. Rejection of Christ, heresy, swearing, gossip, and rage are all things that can destroy a soul. However, they are not necessarily things that governments step in to regulate. Some governments have tried to enforce religious beliefs, but many choose to permit a variety of beliefs and practices without mandating them.

Permitting something can come with a frown. For instance, governments once tried to prohibit alcohol entirely during Prohibition. That didn’t work well, so they switched to a "sin tax"—legalizing alcohol but heavily taxing it. The same thing happened with cigarettes; the cost of the tobacco itself is relatively low, but taxes make up a large portion of the price. Gambling was once prohibited in many places until governments realized they could profit from it. Now, many governments run lotteries and casinos, making a major shift from prohibiting gambling to promoting it.

This shift—from prohibition to permission to promotion—is important. When the government starts running gambling operations, it has moved far from merely allowing it. It has chosen to profit from what it once condemned as harmful. These are the tough calls a government must make: Do we prohibit, permit, or promote something?

Governments promote certain things they consider beneficial. For example, they pour vast sums of money into education because they believe it is valuable. However, not all education is beneficial, and sometimes, it can even be anti-Christian. Governments also promote health care by regulating medical practices, funding insurance programs, or even directly providing health care in some countries.

Living in a time like ours, it can be overwhelming trying to determine what the government should or shouldn’t be involved in. Just looking at those three possibilities—prohibit, permit, and promote—helps clarify that just because you think something is good, that doesn’t necessarily mean you want the government to enforce it.

 

 

Just because you think something is good, do you really want the government to enforce it?

I want everybody to believe in Jesus, but I don’t want them to believe in Jesus—or say they do—at gunpoint, because the government wields the power of the sword. Ultimately, it’s the sword. You want people to be generous, so you say, "I think there should be equality. That means the government should take money from those who have more than I think they ought to have and give it to people who have less than I think they ought to have."

That raises the kind of question that was once put to Alexander the Great. He had a pirate in custody, scolding him, and the pirate said, "Well, King, you consider that because I take one ship and its goods, you call me a pirate. But you take an entire empire and call yourself a king." The ability to use power to seize what belongs to someone else does not always mean that it’s the right thing to do. Even if you think wealth ought to be redistributed, there are clear commands in the Bible, such as "You shall not steal," which are not always made right by saying, "Except if you’re the government."

Now, that doesn’t mean the government has no right to tax or no right to do anything in redistribution—I’m not saying that. But I am saying that using government to do any good thing you think ought to be done is often a mistake, even if it is a very good thing.

Focus, I think, on a couple of areas where government—whatever kind it has been throughout history—needs to do at least two things: protect life and protect property. It’s not going to be able to ban all coveting, stop all blasphemy, or correct all heresy. But murder is a serious matter.

I was interacting with somebody the other day who was very offended that anyone would call them pro-abortion when, in fact, they are only pro-choice—or consider them pro-murder. And I said, "Yes, I believe that it’s not pro-murder to be pro-choice; you’re just leaving it to people." Let’s say there’s a person who thinks that everybody ought to be able to shoot people they don’t like. It is pro-choice to say, "Let them shoot people they don’t like." It is pro-murder to say, "And the government will fund the hitman and provide the bullets."

So, pro-choice says, "Murder is up to you." Pro-murder says, "And we will pay for the murders." Now, when we think about the matter of killing babies, if you’re pro-choice, you say, "The murder is up to you." What are you saying when you say, "And we will pay for it too?" At every stage, then, you have moved from thinking, "Killing should be prohibited," to "Permitting it is a disastrous step," to "Promoting and paying for it is absolutely horrendous."

So when we think about these matters, we do have to get through the lies and the false descriptions. Pilate was pro-choice. He said, "I do not favor the killing of Jesus, but I defer to your will on this matter. You kill him if you want to." That’s what it means to be pro-choice when it comes to matters of life. Pro-murder means, "And I will also throw in my soldiers to handle the execution for you," which Pilate ended up doing.

Take another matter. It used to be prohibited to engage in homosexual relations. Then it was permitted. The appeal of those who had that desire was, "Leave us alone." Then it moved to promotion: "Exalt this to the same level as the holy institution of marriage." Then it moved to requirement: "Punish those who even speak against it or refuse to make cakes for celebrations of it."

You see the change over a couple of decades—from prohibit to permit to promote to require. Anybody who speaks against it is fired from their position, penalized, or punished in other ways. It used to be a crime for a doctor to remove healthy body parts from someone. That was prohibited. Then it was permitted—gender reassignment surgeries became legal. Now, the government insists on paying for them. There is even a political party that says, "We are going to enshrine in law the rights of people to have their desires paid for by the government."

So, while government doesn’t enforce everything all the time, you need to discern within your own culture when something has swiftly moved from being prohibited to being permitted to being promoted. And when you have your own responsibilities as a citizen, you must ask: "Is this something that I am going to support? Does it matter if the government allows a certain class of people in my country to be killed? Should I try to resist that where I can? Should I pay for that without protest if the government decides it’s going to fund it?"

These are the kinds of questions that you face as a citizen living in our society today.

 

 

When we think about what role we ought to play as citizens, there are a few different approaches we can take. Dr. J.I. Packer identifies some of these in an article he wrote back in 1985. I haven’t worded it exactly as he did, but they follow his way of approaching the issue.

He says that some Christians tend to redefine the gospel as social justice and shalom in this present world. They want God's kingdom to come, and they want it to come now. They believe it can be achieved in this world through social and political action. The disaster of that approach, of course, is that we are strangers and aliens in this world. We are not going to achieve paradise right now. And as I’ve already said, attempts to achieve paradise by these means generally lead to some very calamitous consequences.

Another approach is to stay out of politics altogether—avoid social action, be a godly person, pray, read your Bible, stick to personal piety, evangelism, and outreach, and don’t get your hands dirty in politics. That’s an appealing stance, and there’s something to be said for it. Especially in Peter’s day, there would have been a lot to say for it because Christians didn’t have political influence anyway, and they weren’t going to. So there may be times when that is the best approach you can take: live for the Lord, stay close to Him, try to win people to Him, and leave the politics to everybody else.

But that’s not necessarily the right approach when you live in a society where you actually do have the opportunity to make a difference. If you can protect the helpless, if you can help those in need, if you can stand up for what’s right—even though it won’t create heaven on earth—shouldn’t you do so? If you love your neighbor, make society a little better where you can.

A third approach that some Christians take is: "Let's take back our country. Let's run it the way it ought to be run, and we’re going to be the ones doing it." This approach seeks to wield political power to make non-believers behave like Christians, whether they want to or not. "If we get 51% of the vote, you’re going to do what we say!"

That approach has its problems. It will turn people very sharply against the gospel and the Christian faith if you do manage to gain that kind of power. And let’s be realistic—real biblical Christianity doesn’t have the numbers or power in our society today to achieve that. Face it and deal with it. And even if Christians did have that kind of power, you’d end up with situations like they had under Emperor Constantine or various rulers throughout history. It is not always paradise when a Christian bully is running the show.

So, there are some missteps to avoid. One is turning Christianity into politics with a "social gospel." Another is avoiding politics entirely. A third is trying to be domineering and forcing non-believers to live by Christian standards.

As I mentioned in a previous message, we need realism. The system is human—it’s not divine. Don’t think that your socio-political engagement is going to make everything good. And yet, the system is needed and helpful, so don’t try to just throw it all out or overthrow it.

The system is worldly and wicked—sometimes called the "beast," sometimes called "Babylon" in the Bible. The Bible doesn’t always paint the system as wonderful. And yet, at the same time, it is needed. The system is also fragile and fleeting. So, live as strangers here. Don’t think that if only you got the right people in office for the next few years, paradise would come. Whatever system gets put in place—no matter how much better it is than the previous one—it will eventually pass away.

And remember, the system cannot save souls. It cannot purify people. It cannot produce paradise. Keep all those things in mind.

That doesn’t mean you should stay out of political engagement entirely. It also doesn’t mean that you have to win everything you want. It doesn’t mean that on every issue, it’s all or nothing. And it doesn’t mean that when choosing a candidate, you must have perfection. Some people think, "It’s got to be King Solomon, King David, Pericles, and George Washington all wrapped into one, or I’m not voting at all. I will not compromise! I will only vote for someone outstanding!"

But in politics, you are dealing with possibilities. That’s the reality. J.I. Packer says, "Compromise in politics means realistic readiness to settle for what one thinks to be less than ideal when it’s all one can get at the moment"—whether in legislation or in choosing a candidate in an election.

In politics, you may say, "I believe in defending unborn children, and I will not compromise." And you shouldn’t compromise your conviction. But let’s say you could pass legislation that would protect all unborn children after the first trimester. You could say, "Anyone who votes for that is a no-good compromiser because they’re saying that any unborn child who hasn’t made it to three months isn’t worth protecting!"

But not necessarily. You might simply be saying, "I am trying to protect as many as I can, and right now, I don’t have the political support to protect the others." So, you take what you can get. Sometimes in politics, something is better than nothing.

Political compromise is not moral compromise. It is not doctrinal compromise. It is simply recognizing that politics is a messy realm where the wicked often mingle with the righteous, where different priorities are at work, and where, if you’re engaged in a system with many different voices, sometimes the best you can get at the moment is an improvement—not perfection.

 

 

I wouldn't want to be a politician, okay? I'm a lot better at saying, "This is right, this is wrong, live for the Lord." And I think that as Christians, we need to keep seeking King Jesus and not trying to round off little corners about how we ought to live in holiness. That is a different thing than saying, "And therefore, we're going to be able to make the government do everything perfectly in line with the rule of Jesus Christ."

Hey, He's coming again. It's going to happen. Until then, when you're involved in the give and take of politics, there will be choices that are much less than perfect. But one still is less bad than the other—whether it’s the persons you're choosing or the policies you're choosing. That does not mean, "Now I believe that wrong is right." It means, "This is as far as we can get."

As it is sometimes said, politics is the art of the possible. You take what is possible at the moment and see if you can make a bigger difference as time goes by.

So where does that leave us as Christian citizens today? Well, submit to the governing authorities. That means obey good laws and resist evil orders. That’s what it’s always meant. "We must obey God rather than men" when the orders are bad. And even when the orders are bad, that doesn’t mean we start a revolution, but it does mean that we don’t obey bad orders.

There have been dictatorships where you were supposed to inform on your fellow citizens. Now, you see some of that coming back. You’re supposed to squeal if an unauthorized governor in Michigan, for example, wants you to tell on your neighbors if you see them doing something they’re not supposed to be doing—like having a party. Okay, just go away.

There are needed orders by the government, but you do not go squealing on your neighbors just to keep a governor happy. If you saw somebody get shot by your neighbor, then you should be a witness in court. But unjust laws? Ignore them.

Use your voice and your vote to protect life and liberty under the law. It’s hard to sort through all the different issues in a particular election, but don’t let go of the fundamental role of government, and that is to protect life and liberty under law. Make sure that the people you choose are people who actually live under the law. Those who tell you, "If elected, I am going to change how the institutions of this country function"—think very hard before pulling the lever for somebody who says, "I’m going to change that whole system of checks and balances that has existed for hundreds of years."

Use your voice and your vote to protect life and liberty under the law. If you're called into public service, do it. Okay? I'm not. Doug Horn is—he can serve on the village board. People who serve in the police can serve in that way—that’s an arm of government. People who serve in the legal professions are involved in governance in some way.

So don’t feel that’s a dingy or murky or bad calling. That’s one of the great callings that Christians can be involved in—governance and making a difference in the political realm. If you have a calling, the ability, and the aptitude for public service, go for it.

Pray for officials, police, and military. Be prayerful. They have a hard job to do. It’s easy to knock them, but they have a very challenging job. And even those who are not Christians—and in the New Testament, none of these guys they were praying for were Christians at all; a lot of them were bad—still, the call was to pray for them, because they serve a function that God wants served.

And in all of it, put your heavenly citizenship first. You are strangers and aliens here. So as these elections come and go, as these politics come and go, if there’s something I’ve said today that rubbed your politics the wrong way, well, please pardon, overlook, and forgive that, because our love for one another in Christ matters more than our political positions.

And whoever happens to win on Tuesday, I can tell you who already won. Jesus Christ is on the throne. It’s not going to be any of the politicians who win on Tuesday that are ruling the throne of the universe.

So be glad and rejoice. Rejoice—the Lord is King! Let’s stand and sing that song together.

 

 

 

Christian Citizens
Slide Contents
By David Feddes

Living under the system

• Political system (2:13-17)

• Work system (2:18-25)

• Family system (3:1-7)

¹³ Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, ¹⁴ or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right.¹⁵ For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. ¹⁶ Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. ¹⁷ Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.

Live under rulers

• Honor God’s image and rule in human creatures who govern.

• Disprove ignorant accusations that Christians are ruinous rebels.

• Live freely to serve God, not evil.

• Honor all, love brotherhood, fear God, honor ruler.

Caesar and God

Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human creature: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors sent by him (2:13-14)

Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s. (Matthew 22:21)

 

Tax exempt—but pay

“The sons are exempt,” Jesus said to Peter. “But so that we may not offend them, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.”  (Matthew 17:27)

Living under rulers

Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. (Romans 13:1)

Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good. (Titus 3:1)

What’s right with the government?

• It is put there by God as his servant to punish evil and promote good.

• It maintains order and stability.

• It prevents hell on earth (though it can’t produce heaven on earth).

Room for gospel living

Pray for all people, for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. (1 Timothy 2:2-4)

Biblical impact

• Government under God

• Rule of law

• Separation of powers

• Value of each person

• Authority to serve

• Vision: free to flourish

Wisest, best system

Representative democracy as we know it is not the only form of government under which Christian citizens have lived and served God. However, there is no doubt that from a Christian standpoint, it is a fitter and wiser form than any other. (J. I. Packer)

Punish bad, praise good

… to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. (2:14)

Do what is right and he will commend you… But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. (Romans 13:3-4)

Three options in governing

1. Prohibit
2. Permit
3. Promote
   
   

Missteps to avoid

1. Redefine gospel as social justice and shalom in this present world.
2. Avoid sociopolitical activity; stick to personal piety and evangelism.
3. Wield political power to make non-believers behave like Christians.
   
   

Systemic realism

• System is human, not divine.

• System is needed and helpful.

• System is worldly and wicked.

• System is fragile and fleeting.

• System can’t save souls, purify people, or produce paradise.

Compromise

Compromise in politics means realistic readiness to settle for what one thinks to be less than ideal when it is all that one can get at the moment. (Packer)

Political compromise is NOT moral or doctrinal compromise.

Christian citizens

• Obey good laws; resist evil orders.

• Use your voice and your vote to protect life and liberty under law.

• Pursue public service if called.

• Pray for officials, police, military.

• Put heavenly citizenship first.