Over the past 3 years, as I strove to learn and gain knowledge about the founding of America, the U.S. Constitution, and my responsibilities to my country, I became increasingly puzzled over comments I heard from Christians in reference to politics and government. I often heard comments such as, “I don’t believe Christians should be involved in politics”, “politics are dirty and Christians should not be associated or concerned with worldly institutions”, “earthly government should not be important to Christians because we are residents of heaven”, and the most puzzling of all, “Churches should stay out of politics and focus only on preaching the Gospel message.” These ideas and concepts are very foreign to my thinking.
Please do not misunderstand me. I am not downplaying the importance and pre-eminence of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I completely understand the eternal implications of the Gospel message. “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) We desperately need a Savior. I know I cannot save myself from my sin debt and trusted Jesus as my Savior. I pray you have as well. I believe and understand Jesus covered me with His shed blood, and that He justifies me before God. However, I fail to understand a born-again believer separating himself or herself from our culture and civic responsibilities as if to say, “I do not want to chance being tarnished with the filth of the world.” Yet, this occurs in multiple ways in the hearts and actions of Christian Americans across our nation every day.
Allow me to provide a perfect example of my point above. Studies indicate there are 90 million Christians in America, but those same studies also indicate 30 million of those believers typically do not show up at the voting booth.1 Imagine with me for a moment the difference we would see in our culture and in our government if those 30 million potential Christian voters went to the polls and voted using a biblical worldview perspective in their selections for representation. The silence of a significant portion of the American church is deafening. It is a silent scream of arrogance and elitism.
Christian historian, David Barton, teaches what are called “The 7 Mountains of Cultural Engagement.” The Truth and Liberty Coalition (of which Barton is on the Board of Directors) dubs these seven areas “The Spheres of Societal Influence”.2 Whichever title is used, these seven areas include Religion and Faith, Business and Economics, Government and Law, Family, Education, Media and News and Arts and Entertainment. All these areas are part of God’s Kingdom. There is nothing in creation that is not under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Until the late 19th century and early 20th century, the Church had immense influence over these seven areas. However, at some point in history, American church leadership and membership decided that the church should only focus on the Gospel message and relinquished its influence over American culture. I must ask, as we scan our culture today, how did that work out?
In Matthew 28:19-20, the Apostle records Jesus’ Great Commission as:
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”3
Clearly, Jesus mandated us to preach the Gospel, but there is a small word in verse 20 that many believers seem to overlook. That little word is “all”. We are to make disciples by teaching “everything” Jesus taught. We are to teach new believers to become effective disciples by helping them understand everything Jesus taught about the Christian walk. Jesus calls us to be salt and light to the lost world around us. One way we can accomplished this mandate is by living as believers who stand up for truth and impress upon their elected officials the importance of seeking wisdom and direction from God in every facet of life and society. Man did not establish government; God did. Man does not raise up nations; God does. Man did not create liberty; God did. I know of nothing in Scripture that states that Christians should extricate themselves from the culture, government, and their God-given civic responsibility. God gave us the capacity to love more than one thing at a time. Is it possible to love my wife and my children at the same time? Obviously, we would answer yes. If that be the case, is it possible to love Jesus and to love America at the same time? I believe so. We can serve Christ and still be a patriot. Are the Jews who fight in Israel today for their country’s survival wrong? Do we condemn them for standing up for their lives, the lives of their loved ones, and their national heritage? I certainly do not condemn them. I pray for their success. So, why is it wrong for a Christian to stand up for truth and defend and support America. Does serving Christ exclude responsibility to our nation? Is there anything in God’s creation that does not fall under the Lordship of Jesus? How can we say we follow Jesus and then exclude decaying culture, political upheaval, and rogue government leadership because we do not want to be invovled? Is that truly following Jesus?
Luke 19:13 says,
He called ten of his servants, gave them ten minas,[a] and told them, ‘Engage in business until I come back.4
In this verse, Jesus expressed concise instructions for us during the time between His ascension and His return. We are to engage in business. In other words, we are to be part of this life here while we are here. That means, as believers, we should “mind the store” and exercise godly influence over every area of life. We are to live as citizens of this world while also being citizens of the world to come. The most precious gift we receive when we accept Jesus as our Savior is the gift of liberty. We are free not to sin! But as Americans we also have the gifts of liberty and freedom that did not come from man. Our liberty and freedom as Americans come from God. They are inalienable. Should we not be good stewards of those gifts?
I am very passionate about the church being involved in our culture and our government and for Christians to take their civic responsibilities serious. I abhor Christian passivism or Christian escapism. God’s gifts to us are too costly to let them slide out of our grasp because we are afraid to be involved or so filled with apathy, we do not care what happens to America. This article is the first of several that I plan to write giving more credence to my beliefs and convictions. I hope to convince Christians that if we extricate ourselves from our culture and our government, the bad results we experience fall directly at our own feet. We can blame no one but ourselves. In fact, our 20th President, James A. Garfield, who was also an evangelist during the Second Great Awakening, declared during America’s Centennial celebration:
I entitled this article Part 1, because I hope to write additional posts regarding the same topic as God leads. I hope you will continue to read and share future installments.
1 https://www.myfaithvotes.org/about
2 https://truthandliberty.net/
3 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2028:19-20&version=ESV
4 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2019:13&version=CSB
There’s no better time to speak up and stand up! We are definitely seeing the effects of passivity. Shame on us!
Great article Craig. I am 100 percent in agreement. One thing I might add is that if we are not willing to stand against our enemies then we should be praying for them. I would bet that those 30 million Christians who don’t vote don’t pray either.