“True Christians must do X.” “No, true Christians must do Y.” “All faithful and uncompromised Christians must do Z.” Have you heard these sentiments or something similar? It’s easy for me to be unproductive in responding to what I see. So, to force myself to slow down, I want to examine a few factors in our approach to politics. Examining these, I hope, will help to inform how we can be politically engaged without being politically enraged.
Only Biblical Truth should bind our conscience
First, be cautious of conscience-binding appeals. It is one thing to make a case for why one particular path is aligned with Christian values; it’s another to equate your approach to Christianity itself and to rip all others from the kingdom of God. It is the gospel alone that saves us. Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Paul had severe words for those who sought to add to the Gospel (Gal. 1:8-9).
We also need to recognize how removed our situation is from that of the Biblical authors. Scripture informs how we relate to politics in this world. But we engage through wisely applying principles and theological reasoning, not through direct command. This means that the human element is at play, not just in interpreting the text but in how it is applied within our present context, given how different it is from the original. The more we are involved, the messier things become, and we should have a great sense of humility in our discussions.
Humility, of course, is not the same thing as ignorance or abdication. While we should seek to be humble in our approach to complex topics, we should also steward our responsibility well. I am not saying that every argument is equally valid. We are limited in our reasoning because we are finite and because we still struggle with sin. We can be short-sighted and have blindspots resulting from our compromise. So, let’s wrestle with challenging topics as we seek to be faithful in political engagement.
God is our ultimate hope
Second, make sure to zoom out properly. God is on the throne, and He is our ultimate hope. He is making all things new and will one day set everything right. But until that day comes, there are a lot of unknowns. While all things are being worked for the good of God’s people (Romans 8:28), that doesn’t mean that every action is inherently good (Genesis 50:20).
Life in a good but now fallen world is a mixture of blessing and judgment. While we cannot control the bigpicture realities – and things go really wrong when we try – we can be faithful in the small stuff. We can live all of life before the face of God.
Since God is our primary authority and hope, we can live our lives in faithful obedience to him as we trust in Him as the One who holds the whole world in the palm of His hand. Ultimate hope isn’t found in politics but in the King of Kings. Failing to acknowledge this places a burden on politics that it can’t possibly bear.
Politics matters1
Third, in seeking to address the first two ideas, don’t pendulum too far the other way. Don’t downplay politics or treat it as if only unspiritual people think it’s worth discussing. The great commission isn’t a call for making converts but for making disciples. As disciples of Jesus, our whole lives are affected by his rule. Our submission to and trust in King Jesus is something we proclaim and something that affects our lives. How we treat our family, work, and live as citizens are practical expressions of our heart’s declaration: “Jesus is Lord.”
This matters for us, and it matters for our neighbors. We trust in King Jesus for our salvation and trust that the one who created us and gave himself for us knows what’s best for us. To seal off the beauty of God’s truth merely within the community of faith is to neglect setting it on a hill. It’s to fail to love our neighbor as ourselves. But using our power as citizens is a way to fulfill the call to do good to all as we have opportunity (Gal. 6:10).
Being faithful in political engagement also means understanding the God-given role of government. If we do not recognize this, then we may fall prey to a kind of Christian nationalism that seeks to use the arm of the state to coerce belief or penalize unbelief. But if part of the role of the state is to bless good and punish evil (Rom. 13:3-4), then certainly, Christian morality should determine what policies and laws best align with God’s good design for humanity. Martin Luther King Jr. understood this when he appealed to Christian tradition in his Letter from a Birmingham Jail, quoting Thomas Aquinas, “An unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal law and natural law.” 2
Do we seek to steward our responsibility well so political structures are aligned with God’s good design instead of being directed away from it? Our neighbors flourish when the structures and systems of this world make it easier to do good and harder for evil to flourish. Knowing the best approach to this in a fallen world will, at times, be challenging, but it’s a challenge worth accepting.
God’s glory and our good
If we are seeking to live for God and faithfully steward our responsibility as citizens, this should change the discourse. That doesn’t take away from its meaningfulness. But its meaning is properly situated within a greater call to glorify God (1 Cor. 10:31). When this takes place, it directs not only the ends but also the means (Romans 3:8).
If we seek to use our political involvement to glorify God, we also should seek to use our discussions around politics to glorify God. Perhaps it’s the latter, the discussions and posture toward political opponents, that causes some Christians to lose sight of the good use of politics altogether. But what if distance is too easy, too convenient? What if it’s removing faithful engagement that would benefit our neighbors? I think it is. Instead, I propose we do the hard work. Wrestle with the topics. Form and reform our understanding of Christian political involvement according to the Word of God. And seek to live all of life before the face of God – including the realm of politics – for His glory and our neighbor’s good.
1 I am consciously choosing the path of involvement in this argument. While some seek political involvement through inaction as a subversive course, others actively seek to love through the imperfect system. I believe the latter is the better approach, though the subversive course is better than many today who neglect thinking through this topic altogether.
2 “Letter from a Birmingham Jail [King, Jr.],” accessed October 20, 2024, https://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html.
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