It is good to be able to see evil for what it is, and to speak out, as the Spirit leads one to do, against any evil. That is one way that we are “the salt of the earth”. But it is a terrible mistake to encourage God’s people to become “entangled in the affairs of this life”, as Paul said. Politics is clearly an “affair of this life”, and other than pray for the leaders of a nation and obey the laws that do not contradict God commandments, God’s people do well to stay out of politics. The hope of God’s children is NOT that a Republican be elected President; it is that the Lord Jesus will keep us from sin and save us from the coming wrath.
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Deanna L. agreed- amen
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Deborah K. That is exactly how I feel! I vote for God!
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Glenda R. I have to disagree. Someone will be in charge of making our laws and enforcing them. We need Christian leaders, politicians, businessmen, artists, homemakers…..Christians involved in every aspect of life, to be a witness to others and to direct the affairs of our communities and our country. Our Founders were largely Christian, and thank God for that. I do agree that our country’s salvation is not based on electing a particular person. However, much further evil and destruction can be averted by removing the current administration. All of our leaders, at every level of government, certainly need our prayers on a daily basis.
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John Clark I will post another response I got, from a dear friend in Florida, David, and my reply to him will follow. He wrote the following: “John: Are you saying that Christians should not run for office or be aware of whether those who do are godly or not? Please share with us your understanding of Deuteronomy 16:18-20.
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Deborah K. Praying for the right leadership is very important too! The more Prayer the better!
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John Clark This is a little long, David, but I hope it will not seem tedious: The nation of Israel was an earthly kingdom and was given an earthly system of government to handle such earthly things a criminal behavior and the waging of earthly wars. That is what those verses in Deuteronomy are about. If you pay close attention to the NT books, however, you will see that there are no such civil commandments given to God’s NT people because we have no earthly kingdom. Until our King returns to reign on earth a thousand years (and us to reign with him), the only warfare we are to be engaged in is spiritual warfare, for “the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds.” Politics is as carnal a weapon as a gun or a bomb; it is not for us who believe. If someone does not understand that, they just don’t know what the word “carnal” means. Further, when Pilate asked Jesus if he was a king, Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. if my kingdom were of this world, then my servants would fight.” Politics is a more civilized form of fighting and shooting at people, but the spirits of hatred and strife involved are the same. The cruel abuse and ll-will that many Christians now publicly express toward this President is ungodly, and it leaves the impression that the USA is the kingdom of God. It is not. Jesus will abolish this and every other government on earth when he returns, without partiality. Finally, Jesus said that they who find the right way would be few in number. I believe that. I KNOW that is true. Then, if those who have found the way of life are in the minority, what sense does it make for them to promote rule by the majority? Our kingdom is the kingdom of God, and it is not a democracy; it is a KINGDOM. That is, it is a nation governed by an absolute ruler, One who is perfect in all His ways. Let us be content with that, and serve Him “in spirit and in truth”. Doing that, we will walk in the Spirit where there are no worldly partisanships, political or otherwise. God raises up rulers and puts them down, and He uses sinners on earth to do that, whether through earthly wars or earthly politics. God put Mr. Obama in office for some wise purpose, and He will remove him from office when He sees fit. What he desires is that His people to have enough faith in Him to (1) pray for whomever He puts in power, whether in this country or some other, and (2) keep their minds on the business of His kingdom!
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John Clark PS I did say “It is good to be able to see evil for what it is, and to speak out, as the Spirit leads one to do, against anything that is wrong.” I( hope that answers your question about whether we should “be aware of whether those who do are godly or not.”
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John Clark I wrote this article about 30 years ago. I would edit some of the wording, but the point is still valid. http://www.goingtojesus.com/site/php/politics.html
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Natalie E. John, soooo good and true!!!!
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Glenda R. Pastor John, I don’t see how the Bible supports your extrapolation that the Israelites wanted to return to Egypt for reasons of political conquest. Old and New Testament passages indicate that they were ready to go back into slavery because of yearning for certain foods.
Aaron led the Israelites into worshiping the golden calf. These people lived in a society where they did not have the right to vote. They did not participate in government. They were ruled with an iron fist and had their every decision made for them. The same is true for New Testament believers. Writers of the Epistles were addressing a people who had no opportunity to participate in government. So how does one conclude that the “affairs of this world” to be avoided was politics, and not food production or education of the young or the fine arts or any other particular aspect of civilized life?
By extension of your thesis that believers should not become politicians, it could be argued that Christians should not become farmers….because God supernaturally provided food for his children in the desert. Or that Christians should not become doctors….because the Israelites had no doctors; they relied on God to heal them and then on the priests to verify that they were healed. If one considers that Christians are part of the army of God, and therefore are not to be involved in civilian affairs, then the question becomes who provides for their food, clothing, and shelter? The government?
The Israelites were in the desert for a time. And then they arrived in the Promised Land….where God set up a new society with new ways of doing things. He told them how to do these things. He did not tell them not to not do them. He gave them the laws and procedures, and He fulfilled the promises He had made.
Our country was founded by God fearing men, many of them devout Christians, who believed they were led by God to establish a new society. They created a new Constitution….after months of concerted prayer and divine guidance. They set up the procedures by which this new country would be governed. They gave citizens the opportunity…..and responsibility…..to participate in this new government.
Christ followers are called upon to be salt and light in this world. Surely, if the medical profession and the food industry need salt and light, then so does government at every level.
If the Apostles’ admonition actually is against becoming entangled in something, and not against participating in civil government, then one must realize it is possible to become entangled in anything one pursues with a passion…..including ministry. We all have heard of ministers who have become so wrapped up in their ministry that they have neglected their families, and even their relationship with Christ.
It disturbs me to hear any devout believer categorically declare that another believer’s call, purpose, passion, or life’s work is invalid before God. True Christian believers are out all around the world, serving effectively in God’s army, in positions of service and leadership. Paul said the Holy Spirit gives gifts and abilities to believers as He sees fit. Some are apostles, preachers, teachers, healers, etc. And some have gifts of administration, ie, the ability to govern. I am thankful for people who use their gifts out in the world, as well as in the church. I am thankful for senators, representatives, administrators, …even bureaucrats…, at every level of government who are dedicated to serving God in their capacity and to working for the betterment of our society. There are many such Christians. Please see Charles Colson’s “Born Again” and Jim DeMint’s “Saving Freedom” for examples. We know God’s judgment is coming, and probably has begun. That does not mean we should withdraw from trying to govern and better our society…for ourselves and for those around us, regardless of what we believe their eternal destiny might be.
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John Clark Oh my. To reply to much of this, I would have to repeat much of what i have said already. First of all, I should remind you that I am, by the grace of God, not a Christian. So, the life I describe is not for those who are seeking how to be good Christians. Christians DO belong in politics, from all that I can see. Political entanglement with the ruers of the earth is the birthplace of the religious system called Christianity. But I will, very successfully, argue that none of that has anything whatsoever to do with the real Jesus Christ. The biggest reason that what I am saying is not understood is that the fundamental difference between the Old and New Testaments is not well understood. The Old Testament was a religion of symbols and ceremonies, and an earthly kingdom. The New Testament, being the fulfillment of those ceremonies and symbols, is a covenant of spirit. Believers have no earthly nation; they are scattered throughout all nations. The enemies of God’s children are not nations of the earth but spiritual darkness, and our weapons are not carnal. As for your beginning comment, you are correct in pointing out that there is no scripture that says the Israelites in the wilderness intended to return to Egypt in order to rule it. But you yourself went too far when you stated that they intended to return to be slaves. For my part, I was making a deduction based upon the fact that Pharaoh and his entire army were dead, the land of Egypt wasted, and the Egyptians who survived the plagues felt great fear of the God of the Israelites. So, if as you say, the Israelites intended to go back to Egypt to be slaves, then, to whom do you think they intended to serve? You see it just makes no sense to think they wanted to return to slavery, and it makes perfect sense to think that they felt they could return to be the head, not the tail, of society. Your logic about becoming “entangled in anything one pursues with a passion” is sound, but it does not apply to something that God does not want His people in at all. And as for the “Founding Fathers” of this nation doing a lot of praying, such has been the case with many of the world’s rulers, even before going into bloody battle with each other. God certainly did use them; but then, who does God not use to fulfill His wise purposes? Finally, in that list of positions of service that Paul gave, I missed it if he included “politicians” along with apostles, prophets, teachers, healers, etc.”
