Coral Ridge MinistriesThe Bible is very much a political handbook. After all, its central figure is the “King of Kings and Lord of Lords” and many of its lesser characters—Moses, Joshua, Samson, Deborah, David, Solomon, and Daniel—were all political leaders. Two Old Testament books are called “Kings.” The Bible gives us both the Mosaic legal code—a detailed set of civil laws designed for ancient Israel, but with clear applications for modern states—as well as a set of first principles to guide our thinking about civil government.
Lord of All—Including Politics
The first such principle is that God is sovereign— even over politics. The psalmist cries out that “The Lord has established His throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all” (Psalm 103:19). “To deny that this area [politics] of decision-making is to be affected by religion is to deny the lordship of Jesus Christ over a particular area of life,” writes historian Gary DeMar, president of American Vision.
God also determines who’s up and who’s down. Civil rulers, ultimately, are “elected” by God: “But God is the Judge: He puts down one, and exalts another” (Psalm 75:7). Pharaoh held sway over Egypt and the children of Israel—but only because God placed him there for a reason. “But indeed for this purpose,” God told Pharaoh through Moses, “I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth” (Exodus 9:16). A primary purpose of civil government is to provide order and justice to restrain the wicked acts of men so that citizens may be free to seek God. Paul told Greek thinkers that God “made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord” (Acts 17:26- 27). Toward that end, Christians are told to pray “for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence” (1 Timothy 2:1-3).
Separation of Church and State in the Bible
The Bible also teaches—and this may surprise you—the separation of church and state. Now this doesn’t mean a wall should quarantine Christians from the civic life of the nation. Rather, this is a biblically based distinction which allots to church and state separate duties under God’s sovereign reign. The ancient Jewish king Uzziah discovered that distinction, to his great regret, when he tried to usurp the role of the priests. Uzziah had become proud, the Scripture states, and “transgressed against the Lord his God by entering the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense” (2 Chronicles 26:16). He was king, but had no authority to act as priest. Some 80 priests, led by Azariah, quickly confronted Uzziah, mustering courage and telling their king in no uncertain terms to “Get out of the sanctuary, for you have trespassed!” (2 Chronicles 26:18). Uzziah’s angry reply did not escape God’s judgment. Leprosy appeared on his forehead and he was hustled from the sanctuary by the priests.
Uzziah spent his remaining years in isolation; his kingdom was given to his son, and he never entered the temple again. This is clear evidence for how seriously God takes the division of labor he has ordained between church and state. Jesus acknowledged the separation of church and state when a few of his adversaries tried to corner him by asking if it was lawful for an observant Jew to pay taxes to Caesar. Christ saw their true agenda and answered them by pointing to a Roman coin which bore the image of Caesar. “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s,” he told his questioners, “and to God the things that are God’s” (Mark 12:17).
Along with showing the image of Caesar, the coin in Christ’s hand bore an inscription that was “virtually an ascription of deity to the reigning emperor….” The blasphemous Roman requirement to worship Caesar, which was indicated on the coin, was a “thing” owed to God, not to man. Christians, then, are obligated to obey the state when it acts within the limits of the “things that are Caesar’s.” But when Caesar invades the sanctuary and exceeds his authority, Christians have a duty to resist.
Duty to Obey and to Disobey
Paul instructed Christians in Rome to “be subject to the governing authorities” (Romans 13:1) and to pay their taxes. Those who TRUTH 3: THE BIBLE GIVES GUIDANCE FOR GOVERNMENTS AND CITIZENS disobey the state, he wrote, resist “the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves” (Romans 13:2). However, the Bible also demonstrates that unrighteous decrees are not to be obeyed. The Hebrew midwives feared God more than the king of Egypt and disobeyed his cruel command to kill newborn Hebrew boys. God blessed them as a result: “And so it was, because the midwives feared God, that He provided households for them” (Exodus 1:21).
Shortly after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, Jewish authorities grew troubled at the growth of His followers and strictly instructed Peter and the other apostles against teaching about Christ. The apostles refused, telling the high priest, “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). Along with the duty to disobey unrighteous commands, the Bible indicates that God’s people have a duty to confront political authorities who stray from God’s moral standard. The Old Testament often recounts how the prophets confronted the Jewish monarchs with God’s verdict upon their unrighteous behavior. The prophet Samuel announced God’s judgment on King Saul for his disregard of God’s word to him (1 Samuel 15:22-23). Elijah challenged wicked King Ahab over his Baal worship and was called the “troubler of Israel” for his effort (1 Kings 18:17). Nathan confronted David for his sin with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband, Uriah (2 Samuel 12).
Besides confronting evil and refusing to go along with it, there is another role outlined for the saints in both the Old and New Testament—to be “salt and light.” God, through Jeremiah, told the Jewish exiles in Babylon to “seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the Lord for it; for in its peace you will have peace” (Jeremiah 29:7). The exiles were not to withdraw from their ungodly environment into a cultural enclave, but rather to seek its peace or shalom—a Hebrew term also translated as “welfare.”
Sodium Saints
Jesus calls his people to be like salt in their influence on the world around them (Matthew 5:13). Just as salt was used in first century Israel to flavor and preserve food or to cleanse wounds, Christ’s followers are to bring the flavor of God’s grace and the healing and preserving power of His Word into every area of life—including the world of politics.
Christ’s followers are to bring the flavor of God’s grace and the healing and preserving power of His Word into every area of life— including the world of politics.
Christians in America at the time of our founding took that role— and the Bible’s relevance for political questions—as a given, and they built a land that is unique among nations. The next chapter shows, however, what happens when governments try to keep God and His laws out of the equation.
Coral Ridge Ministries. Copyright 2008. All Rights Reserved.
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