Christians and Politics

Transcription

1 Christians and Politics by Mitch Kuhn I'd like to discuss is how the scriptures and Jesus himself handled political situations in his day. As disciples, this should be the example we follow. Here is what Christ said to Pilate when he was being questioned. (Joh 18:36 NKJV) Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here." As you read through the gospels, you never see Christ taking issue with any roman officials. All of his harsh words are directed towards the Pharisees, the established religious leaders of the day. Christ was not interested the politics of the day; he came for a different purpose. Joh 18:37 Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered,thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. Luk 19:10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. I understand the natural inclination to resist the evil and the irrational things taking place in our own country. We see what is wrong and want to do something about it. However, this is not what we as disciples are sent to do. 2Ti 2:4 No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. This is how Christ tells us to handle the government we live under. Mar 12:17 And Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. And they marvelled at him. This is further explained by the Apostle Paul. Rom 13:1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: 1

2 the powers that be are ordained of God. Rom 13:2 Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. Peter make the same point: (1Pe 2:11 NKJV) Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, (1Pe 2:12 NKJV) having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation. Fleshly lusts make us want to RESIST the laws and leaders that God has appointed over us. (1Pe 2:13 NKJV) Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether to the king as supreme, (1Pe 2:14 NKJV) 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. The rulers have been appointed for the punishment of evildoers. Those that will be punished are those that resist the powers that be and ignore their laws. By doing well, we will put to silence the ignorance of foolish men. (1Pe 2:15 NKJV) For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men (1Pe 2:16 NKJV) as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. (1Pe 2:17 NKJV) Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king. We have been given the task of demonstrating to others how to be submissive to our masters, even to the hard and evil ones! (1Pe 2:18 NKJV) Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh. (1Pe 2:19 NKJV) For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully. Yes, the rulers will punish evil doers, but they will also cause us to suffer wrongfully at times for doing good. 2

3 (1Pe 2:20 NKJV) For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. (Mat 5:10 NKJV) Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. These are the two sides of the narrow way. 1. Obey the laws of the land and those God has appointed over us. 2. Do not obey the laws of the land when it requires that we disobey God s commands. (Act 5:27 NKJV) And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest asked them, (Act 5:28 NKJV) saying, "Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man's blood on us!" (Act 5:29 NKJV) But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: "We ought to obey God rather than men. This very same thing happened to Daniel in the Old Testament. (Dan 6:1 NKJV) It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom one hundred and twenty satraps, to be over the whole kingdom; (Dan 6:2 NKJV) and over these, three governors, of whom Daniel was one, that the satraps might give account to them, so that the king would suffer no loss. (Dan 6:3 NKJV) Then this Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king gave thought to setting him over the whole realm. (Dan 6:4 NKJV) So the governors and satraps sought to find some charge against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find no charge or fault, because he was faithful; nor was there any error or fault found in him. (Dan 6:6 NKJV) So these governors and satraps thronged before the king, and said thus to him: "King Darius, live forever! (Dan 6:7 NKJV) All the governors of the kingdom, the administrators and satraps, the counselors and advisors, have consulted together to establish a royal statute and to make a firm decree, that whoever petitions any god or man for thirty days, except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions. (Dan 6:8 NKJV) Now, O king, establish the decree and sign the writing, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, 3

4 which does not alter." (Dan 6:9 NKJV) Therefore King Darius signed the written decree. (Dan 6:10 NKJV) Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days. (Dan 6:11 NKJV) Then these men assembled and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God. Here is another example from Daniel chapter 3. (Dan 3:15 NKJV) Now if you are ready at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, and you fall down and worship the image which I have made, good! But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?" (Dan 3:16 NKJV) Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. (Dan 3:17 NKJV) If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. (Dan 3:18 NKJV) But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up." Notice that in all of these examples, there was no attempt to overthrow the powers that be, start a riot, or do anything else to resist evil. They all simply declined to disobey God s commands. This is exactly what Christ did. He stood on the truth all the way to his own crucifixion. He even rebuked one of his carnal disciples for attempting to resist evil. (Mat 26:51 NKJV) And suddenly, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword, struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear. (Mat 26:52 NKJV) But Jesus said to him, "Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. (Mat 26:53 NKJV) Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels? (Mat 26:54 NKJV) How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?" 4

5 Those that have the mind of Christ know that God has put all of these leaders in place, and that He is causing everything to happen. All these things MUST take place. One of the first carnal responses to the command to not resist evil and to not get involved in the affairs of this world is summed up quite well by Edmund Burke, an Irish politician in the 1700s. The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. Edmund Burke Most Christians today believe it is our DUTY to get involved in politics and elect a leader that will save our country. They believe it is our DUTY to support the military who will kill our enemies and keep us safe. This is completely logical and quite appealing to the carnal mind, because it is natural to want to save our own life. Let me ask you a question. Was Christ trying to save his own life? No, he was not. Are we supposed to follow in Christ s footsteps? YES! (Mat 10:38 NKJV) And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. (Mat 10:39 NKJV) He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it. The carnal mind is concerned that evil will over run the world if we don t TAKE ACTION, get involved, your vote counts, etc. I certainly felt that way myself, but the scriptures were not on my side. I have not found any scripture to support being involved in political affairs, but find many to the contrary. Here is our job. We represent God himself to the world! 2Co 5:20 NKJV Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. Joh 20:21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. 5

6 So what is love? The Christian world says that it is love to resist evil and protect the lives of others. 1Jn 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. So if we are going to love our neighbor, we have to do it according to how God has commanded us. Gal 6:10 As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith. It is right to do good to all men, but our FOCUS should be "the household of faith". Mat 26:6 Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, Mat 26:7 There came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat at meat. Mat 26:8 But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste? Mat 26:9 For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor. Mat 26:10 When Jesus understood it, he said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me. Mat 26:11 For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always. Mat 26:12 For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial. Mat 26:13 Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her. This alabaster box of precious ointment was poured onto Christ's body. The Church is the body of Christ. 1Co 12:27 Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. I'm saying this because loving our brother has some further instructions. We should do good to all men, but we don't spend our time trying to fix all the problems of the world. The world is full of the poor, and they will always be there as Christ says. We're not going to solve poverty, or stop violence, or get the nations around us to be at peace. Our focus should be 6

7 on Christ's body, the church. We share the Gospel with those that are willing to listen to us. We are also given very clear instructions about how to deal with worldly Government the Lord has put over us. First of all we pray for our leaders that we may live at peaceful life. 1Ti 2:1 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of hanks, be made for all men; 1Ti 2:2 For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. We don't want to be entangled in the affairs of the world because we should be busy dealing with those that are interested in the word of God. We just pray the "kings" of this world leave us alone so we can do the work. Here is another verse that further clarifies. 2Pe 2:10 But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities. Jud 1:8 Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion (government), and speak evil of dignities. We are commanded to pray for peace with our "kings", and we are not supposed to despise the government nor speak evil of them. Every politician in this world is doing something that is against the word of God. God has put them in this role and it is not our job as followers of Christ to be involved in these affairs to try and help the world. Most people get involved in politics to make certain behaviors illegal, such as abortion. Putting a worldly law in place to stop abortion is the same as giving Israel the law of Moses. It did not change them at all. That is why God had planned for the new covenant, because he knows that laws only show you that you are sinful. Rom 7:7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. When the law says, you cannot kill your unborn Child, the selfish intents of the heart are made manifest and pro choice is revealed for what it is, murder for the sake of convenience. 7

8 The best thing we can do is focus on preaching the gospel because it is the Word of God that changes people. Rom 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Heb 4:12 NKJV) For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Heb 4:13 NKJV) And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. If God is not working in someone s heart, no amount of legislation and outward forced obedience will change anything. So let everyone that claims the name of Christ stop wasting time resisting what God is working through the carnal leaders of this world. How to live in an evil world: (Mat 10:16 ESV) "Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. (Luk 16:8 NKJV) So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd (wise) in their generation than the sons of light. (Luk 16:9 NKJV) "And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home. (Luk 16:10 NKJV) He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. (Luk 16:11 NKJV) Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? We live in a physical world and have to work to provide for ourselves, our families, and the Body of Christ. We all have been given physical things to manage, and we should manage those things wisely. We find the narrow way by falling off of both sides of the road. We will be completely entangled in the affairs of this world, or we will be completely ignorant and uninterested in anything having to do with this world. Both are sinful and not the narrow way. We need to be wise and discerning regarding physical matters of this life. 8

9 For example: I am a financial planner. My job is to help people make wise financial decisions. This involves things like taxes, health insurance, Medicare, Social Security, investments, etc. All of these things are impacted by politics and the decisions made by our leaders. In order to make wise decisions, I MUST be aware of what is going on in the world to some extent. As Christ points out, the children of this age (carnally minded) are wiser in physical matters than sons of light (God s people) at first. When we learn of God s sovereignty, the tendency is to stop caring about the physical things in our life and make it all spiritual. When we are aware of the evil taking place in this world, it will make us angry. It is good and Godly to be angry. (Eph 4:25 KJV) Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. (Eph 4:26 KJV) Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: (Eph 4:27 KJV) Neither give place to the devil. In order to speak truth, we can to call evil evil. (Isa 5:20 KJV) Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! We must obey the laws of the land, but that does not mean that we have to agree with the laws. It is legal to kill babies in the womb, and we should not try to change those laws of the land. However, when the opportunities arise we should speak truth to our neighbor and call this evil. (Rom 12:9 NKJV) Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor (hate) what is evil. Cling to what is good. I hate this debt bases economic system that we are trapped in. I hate that we pay taxes to the government only for them to waste much of the money and do ungodly things with it. On and on the list goes. It is good to hate these things, but we must recognize that God has caused this to happen for a season. We can tell people that it will all end one day and God will make all things right. This is our hope and what brings the peace that passes all understanding. 9

10 (Eph 1:13 NKJV) In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, (Ecc 3:1 NKJV) To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven: (Ecc 3:11 NKJV) He has made everything beautiful in its time. Here are a number of studies that will help you understand how to be a good steward and how to live a righteous life in this present evil age