Background:
Historically, evangelical
churches avoid participating in political activities. However, there have been
changes in the US where the Christian Coalition began their activities in 1986
trying to mobilize Christians to elect like-minded politicians. In Canada, the
Evangelical Fellowship of Canada tries to represent Christians before the
government. Many pro-life pro-family groups have been organized by Christians
to influence the political system.
a. The Bible explicitly
teaches two things about government:
(1) The main duty of the
government is to maintain order in the society; this can be achieved by
rewarding the good and punishing the evil (Ro 13:1-7; 1Pe 2:13-15).
(2) Christians are to submit to
the government because all authorities are from God:
o
Taxes are legitimate even for a foreign
government (Mt 17:24-27; 22:15-22).
o
God had given the government authority to rule
(Jn 19:8-11).
o
Paul asked Christians to submit to the
government which at that time was a foreign government (Ro 13:1‑7; 1Pe
2:13-17).
b. Modern governments
extend their authority to many more areas than those specified in the Bible.
Should Christians support it?
·
Some functions are necessary for all countries,
such as defence, diplomacy.
·
Some activities of the government is part of the
work of providing justice, including helping the poor and the powerless,
especially widows and orphans (Am 5:11-12; Isa 10:1-2).
·
There is always a danger of a power grab by the
government. Most western democracies have expanded into all aspects of life
(even intervening into family life and religious life). They have too much
power which is supported by too much taxes. [In Canada, the tax freedom day is
June 15, meaning that almost half of everyone’s income is used to pay taxes. In
the US, it is April 19.] Such power grab can only be curtailed with a tax cut.
c. Limit to government
power:
·
Private morality of an individual should not be
subject to government interference. But it is the proper function of the
government to concern with the interests of public morality, that is, once the
action of an individual affects other persons. The government must aim at using
ordinances and laws to facilitate and advance morally good behaviour in the
public. For example, one has the freedom to abuse one’s own body with all kinds
of unhealthy habits. But when one tries to encourage other people to follow
one’s unhealthy lifestyle, the government should stop it.
a. The ideal government is
a theocracy, one that is ruled directly by God. Since theocracy is not imposed
by God in this world, democracy is the next best form of government which
shares its power among all citizens. It is based on two Biblical principles:
(1) Since all are created in
God’s image, everyone is equal before God and power should not be totally held
by a small group or a single person.
(2) Since man is corrupted by
sin, human power needs to be curbed and regulated. (“Power tends to corrupt,
and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.”
Lord Acton, 1834-1902)”
b. Human authority is from
God (Jn 19:11; Ro 13:1-2), including all governments. Opposing a
legitimate government is opposing God-given authority. Christians are commanded
to submit “for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men” (1Pe
2:13).
c. Paul lived under a
foreign authoritative and polytheistic government of the Roman Empire but still
asked Christians to submit. Thus Christians should not oppose the government
simply because it is atheist.
a. Submission to the
government is not to ignore divine principles of morality.
b. Christians have no
obligation to obey the government when:
·
The government commits actions contrary to its
duties (such as persecuting the innocent).
·
The government writes laws that violate moral
principles (such as legalizing same-sex marriage).
·
The government conflicts with the God’s commands
(such as forbidding worship).
c. In these cases, God’s
commands take precedence (Ac 5:29). Example in the Bible: God rewarded the
midwives who disobeyed the evil command of the Pharaoh (Ex 1:15-21).
a. Voting in an election
is a civic duty of every citizen. A Christian should not neglect his duty.
b. The government is a
very powerful institution that affects (and often controls) almost all aspects
of our lives. If such power falls into evil people’s hands, everyone will be
affected by the evil policies and the society will fall into evil ways. This is
surely not what God wants.
c. The government is a
power that controls lives of all citizens because:
(1) It can allocate resources.
It can legitimize activities that would otherwise be regarded as illegal. For
example, Robin Hood robbed the rich and gave to the poor but his action was
illegal. But if a government passes laws to redistribute income from the rich
to the poor. Such action becomes legal.
(2) It can allocate values, that
is, deciding what is right and what is wrong. Political decision-making is
never value-free. The government uses laws to encourage behaviour that it
regards as right and to discourage behaviour that it regards as wrong.
(3) It uses its power through
force. It holds legal rights to use brute force to enforce its laws, such as
using the police to apprehend criminals. More often, it uses the threat of
force and the financial clout to enforce compliance.
(4) It applies its force to all
society. The government directs its use of force to every single person. No one
can escape the government, whether one desires it or not.
d. Christians are to be
salt and light of the world (Mt 5:13-16) – to permeate and influence our
society. Light is used to offer guidance and to shine into the darkness – we
are to uphold a moral way of life in this morally dark world. Salt is used to
preserve and to soak into decaying meat – we are to preserve the world from moral
corruption in this morally declining society. Both goals can be achieved if we
use the vote to give power to like-minded politicians.
e. Christians need to be
careful about the choice we make in an election. When we elect someone to
represent us, we are giving power to this person to act on behalf of us. If we
elect politicians who use that power to harm our society, we are also
responsible of causing this harm.
f. Christians should
cast the vote on the basis of issues, not personalities.
g. A government’s social
policies often influence the morality of the society and have long-lasting
impact on our culture. It is unfortunate that too often Christians, like
everyone lese, vote for our pocketbooks. We vote for a government which is more
likely to give us economic prosperity. Christians should put greater emphasis
on social policies when voting.
·
Participation by the individual in politics is
encouraged but God’s guidance has to be sought. Many Christians, once got
power, become corrupted and use power in ungodly ways. Others sacrificed their
Christian principles to maintain their power.
·
The church, however, should avoid association
with any political party or would risk discord and division within the church.
Yet, the church has the responsibility to speak up against ungodly laws and
ungodly actions promoted by the government.