A Political Appeal

As a preacher of the gospel, every week I reaffirm this most central Christian truth, that Jesus is the high King of the universe, and that he has all authority in heaven and on earth. This is an unchanging truth.

Our political circumstances, however, are largely in flux. Politics, properly defined, is about justice and the just ordering of society. And therefore how society is structured and what exactly constitutes justice in the social conscious is largely dependent on who governs the land. The transcendent things are, of course, unchanging, and virtue does not wax or wane. Jesus doesn’t budge a millimeter between American presidencies or foreign political coups. But a society’s recognition of God’s righteous standard can vary considerably. And this is largely due to the political systems and figures in play.

This point is so clearly stated throughout Scripture, I hardly need to say anything in defense of it. Just read the Judges and the Kings. The people prospered under good kings, and idolatry with foreign oppression was the fruit of bad kings.

“When a land transgresses, it has many rulers, but with a man of understanding and knowledge, its stability will long continue” (Proverbs 28:2).

And

“Like a roaring lion or a charging bear is a wicked ruler over a poor people” (Proverbs 28:15).

Concerning politics proper, I’ve said very little from this platform, but I feel compelled to weigh in. It seems the right time. A number of persons within my fellowship have asked for my thoughts, so let me chime in for a moment. Depending on where you’re sitting, I actually hope to persuade you.

In recent weeks, I’ve witnessed some church leaders who’ve sent their congregants to the principal’s office for taking any interest or active stake in politics. They’ve either stated or implied that Christians who get political are not trusting in Jesus.

This is a tired trope, and I can’t allow the many good Christians I know to go on feeling guilty for their political activity and concern for this great nation. It is a patently false dichotomy, usually said like, “C’mon, Christian! It’s not the elephant or the donkey—it’s the lamb!”

The reason this is a false dichotomy is twofold: 1) Christians don’t think Jesus’ reign is determined by an American election—not the Christians I’m talking to at least; 2) Jesus actually cares about the ways that nations are governed. Yes, he does.

There are so many Scriptures to prove the second point here, but one of the clearest and most express passages is Psalm 2. So I’d like to put that Scripture before you, and then I’ll give a brief commentary on it.

Take a read:

Why do the nations rage

and the peoples plot in vain?

²  The kings of the earth set themselves,

and the rulers take counsel together,

against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying,

³  “Let us burst their bonds apart

and cast away their cords from us.”

⁴  He who sits in the heavens laughs;

the Lord holds them in derision.

⁵  Then he will speak to them in his wrath,

and terrify them in his fury, saying,

⁶  “As for me, I have set my King

on Zion, my holy hill.”

⁷  I will tell of the decree:

The Lord said to me, “You are my Son;

today I have begotten you.

⁸  Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,

and the ends of the earth your possession.

⁹  You shall break them with a rod of iron

and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”

¹⁰  Now therefore, O kings, be wise;

be warned, O rulers of the earth.

¹¹  Serve the Lord with fear,

and rejoice with trembling.

¹²  Kiss the Son,

lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,

for his wrath is quickly kindled.

Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

In this Psalm I want you to notice three things: 1) Jesus is on the throne, and he is not thwarted by wicked schemers (v. 6). The Psalmist expressly says that God laughs at and mocks earthly leaders who try to undermine him. It is precisely their scheme that enthroned Jesus. They crucified Jesus to undermine God’s plan of redemption. It’s the greatest of all irony. And that’s why God laughs. He used their wickedness for good. And this is not the first time he’s done it (remember Joseph’s brothers?), nor is it the last time we should expect him to do it. Jesus is mighty and sovereign, and we can and should take solace in that, always. But because God can use bad rulers to do good things, does that mean he favors bad governments? Of course not.

2) All of the nations belong to Jesus—they are his heritage (v. 8). He did not dispose of nations or politics or governments when he took the throne. He did not make false dichotomies between throne and elephants and donkeys. He simply acquired governments and kings and nations and reordered them as he saw fit. And this is what he continues to do. Paul mentions this in Romans 13, and we see an amazing depiction of it in John’s Revelation. Jesus is the King of kings. Those kings are not irrelevant because Jesus is on the throne, they are subservient because of his throne.

3) Given the first two points, God commands earthly governments to pay homage to Jesus Christ. In verses 10-12, God demands that earthly leaders should be wise. He tells them to serve the Lord. He tells them to kiss the Son. He even warns them of their demise should they lead in any way besides this.

So let me spell this out plainly. God in heaven wills for earthly rulers to serve Jesus. In fact, he commands them to serve Jesus. He commands earthly leaders to rule in a way that is in keeping with Jesus.

Now, take this clear Scripture and consider the following: There are many Christian leaders who are more than willing to put fellow Christians on full blast for desiring a righteous polity and using our available political means as an avenue to attain it.

Is there ever a thing that God wants but that Christians are supposed to not want? Like this: “God wants righteous political leaders…but you’re unrighteous if you step foot into the world of politics.” Does that track? Does it make any sense at all?

I read the other day about how millions of American Christians are choosing not to vote in this upcoming election. I know some of these people personally, and I love them. And given the ugliness of modern politics and the personalities of our current politicians, I can understand and sympathize with those who choose to remain completely separate. And yet, I think that this is a mistake.

On the ballot for this November is abortion through the ninth month of gestation. In fact, perhaps the central feature of the modern Democratic Party is federally protected abortion all the way through the ninth month of gestation. This isn’t a side feature. It isn’t just one subject among many other important issues—this is one of the most fought for and spotlighted issues in this election. The leading figures are saying so daily.

Does this cause you to grieve? It better. My baby girl was born at 34 weeks, weighing in at 3lbs 12oz. She emerged from the womb with bright blue eyes and a set of fully functioning lungs. I’d never held something more beautiful or perfect in my life. She was and is and always was a human being, made in God’s image. And anybody with a conscience knows this. The potential future leader of our land is telling you that mothers and doctors should be able to tear apart and kill such babies with federal protection. This is no light matter, nor should you think lightly of throwing away your vote.

“You’re just appealing to our emotions!” somebody shouts from the back of the room. Yes, I am absolutely appealing to your emotions. Because God gave us emotions to help steer us. But I’m also appealing to your conscience and your reason. It’s so easy to put out of sight and out of mind what’s happening to these babies made in God’s image, but refusing to speak and refusing to take action is an abdication of our Christian duty. And frankly it’s an abdication of the kind of government God has ordained for this land — we the people. If we believe that God causes nations to rise, then doesn’t it follow that our responsibility to vote is in keeping with his will?

And as if protecting babies weren’t enough, it’s not just the lives of unborn babies that’s at stake. On this ballot is the issue of free speech, unregulated immigration, public restroom privacy for our wives and daughters, and the list goes on. I think these are big issues for which Christians should be actively staked. I think that if a Christian father is worried about some dude using his daughter’s restroom, he has every right to fight against it. And in fact he has a moral imperative to fight.

Christians sometimes refuse political involvement because they’re guilted into thinking that they must not really trust God. I think this is a very sloppy kind of thinking. For one, sometimes we can change God’s mind (think about King Hezekiah’s lifespan); think about the miracles of life you’ve witnessed, miracles of healing, God clearly working against the grain of nature to do something powerful.

But also, God often does his work through the activity of people. Most of his work he does through people. God desires for my children to go to heaven, but that doesn’t mean I get to take a back seat and do nothing. That’s called abdication! On the contrary, it means I should be very involved and working every moment to bring up Godly children. God desires for his kingdom to expand, but he expects for us to plant and water with the gospel.

Imagine if Christians treated other issues the way we treat politics. Imagine saying, “Because God is sovereign and Jesus is on the throne, I’m not going to worry about parenting or evangelizing. God will do what he wants, and my inactivity proves how much I trust in him!” As you can see, the logic falls apart.

To truly trust God, we must do our duty and leave the rest to him. If I vote righteously and work to persuade my neighbors to live righteously, I can rest assured in God’s sovereign purpose. Perhaps he will do something unexpected. Perhaps he will punish our nation for its idolatry. Maybe he will spare us. Who knows? We trust him. But to trust him does not mean we throw away the influence he’s given us over our governance. Trust means trusting him no matter the outcome, after we’ve been participant.

So, I encourage you to vote. Neither of our options are Biblically righteous people. I get that. But that’s not the point. Jesus is our moral leader. But our political leader may very well make life harder or easier in the days and years to come. I sure pray for somebody who strikes closer to Biblical justice. And I hope God will grant that.