A man in our congregation recently asked, “Would you preach a sermon about Christians and voting?” My inner voice said, “No!” Is there a topic more guaranteed to send people into their respective corners than politics? One thing is sure about this election: when the votes are all counted, 50% of the country will celebrate, and the other 50% will despair. I heard someone say recently that 100% of Americans can agree on one thing politically: the other 50% of Americans have completely lost their minds.
But my primary motivation in writing this article isn’t what happens on election day, although elections certainly matter. As a lead minister, my primary motivation isn’t to get one-time behavioral conformity. Rather, my aim is Paul’s challenge in Romans 12. In verse 2 (NIV), Paul says God’s people are to be “transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing, and perfect will.”
Does the Bible specifically tell Christians whom to vote for or how to vote on each issue in an upcoming election? No. There are many deductions and opinions about which Christians will disagree—and that’s fine. That is, as long as they disagree with respect and kindness.
At the same time, how we engage politics is a matter of discipleship. Does our thinking—even on political matters—reflect conformity to the postmodern propaganda with which we are bombarded every day, or are we being transformed by the renewing of our minds? How we engage politics is also a matter of love. Jesus said that the greatest commandment is to love God with all of our mind. To be a disciple is to love God. To love God involves taking every thought captive to make it obedient to Christ, as we discern God’s good, pleasing, and perfect will.
“To love God involves taking every thought captive to make it obedient to Christ, as we discern God’s good, pleasing, and perfect will.”
Our aim is not monolithic political uniformity. (The last thing our world needs is for Christians to be viewed as just another political interest group.) Yet, after praying for His followers to be sanctified by the truth, Jesus did ask the Father to make us one for the sake of world evangelism. So, if there is a “good, pleasing and perfect will” of God, and if Jesus prayed for His followers to be united, certainly there must be some fundamentals for Christian unity in political matters.
I am not a political scientist or pundit. But like you, I carry a burden of responsibility to make disciples in our cultural, historic moment. So, I’d like to explore some ways we can pursue biblical unity in our political engagement. If you find these thoughts helpful, that’s wonderful. If not, please send any nasty notes to Bobby Harrington. (That’s sarcasm, by the way; Bobby is one of my favorite people.)
Let’s Be United on the Authority of King Jesus
Jesus began his “Great Commission” in Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV) with these words: “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.” In worship time, we sing that Jesus is “King of kings and Lord of lords.” One area in which Christians can unite is in the truth, as worded by Abraham Kuyper, that “there is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!”
Politics presents discipleship opportunities because discipleship is meant to lead people to a holistic view of life under the lordship of Jesus. Years ago, I heard someone say that each of our lives is like a house. When we surrender our lives to Jesus in baptism, it is like we are saying, in the words of the hymn, “All to Jesus I surrender. All to Him I freely give.” In reality, many of us actually say something more like, “Jesus, you can have the basement. Help yourself to the first floor. But, the second floor is a different story (forgive the pun). That ‘career room’ is mine. You only get limited access to the ‘money room.’ That closet? I’d rather You stay out. And the ‘politics’ room—that’s all mine.”
This kind of thinking is the reason Francis Schaffer wrote, in A Christian Manifesto, “The basic problem of the Christians in this country in the last eighty years or so, in regard to society and in regard to government, is that they have seen things in bits and pieces instead of totals.” Being a disciple maker means surrendering to Jesus’ total authority and then teaching others to obey everything He commands. In other words, disciples see things in totals, not in bit and pieces. Disciples tear down the dividing walls of spiritual/unspiritual and sacred/personal.
“Disciples tear down the dividing walls of spiritual/unspiritual and sacred/personal.”
If Jesus is King, He points even at the way we engage with politics and says, “Mine.” As disciple makers, we need to reflect on how our political thinking might have become simply another example of a “bits and pieces” surrender to Jesus.
Now, the invitation to total surrender to Jesus is, of course, great news! When God holds authority over our political convictions and actions, we can know we are not alone, even when Christian convictions are not in favor societally. As Proverbs 3:5-7a (ESV) puts it,
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight.
Do not be wise in your own eyes . . .”
The quickest way for disciples to get into spiritual trouble is to be wise in their own eyes—including when our political convictions are driven by worldly wisdom instead of truth in God. The path to lasting confidence is to look for Jesus to direct our paths.
So, can we Christians be united on Jesus’ authority even if we disagree when it comes to political details? Absolutely. Politics gives us opportunities for discipleship because it challenges all of us to say, “All to Jesus I surrender” in every sphere.
“Politics gives us opportunities for discipleship because it challenges all of us to say, ‘All to Jesus I surrender’ in every sphere.”
Let’s Be Aware of Our Political Assumptions
Politics also gives us opportunities to expose otherwise-buried atheistic assumptions, such as seeing governments as our ultimate provider and protector, or seeing government as originating from people and not God. While Lincoln famously said we are a “government of the people, by the people, for the people,” he did not say we are a government from the people. In other words, authority is not socially constructed. As Paul makes clear in Romans 13:1-2 (CSB), “Let everyone submit to the governing authorities, since there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are instituted by God.”
How important is this truth? So important that while standing on trial before Pilate, Jesus felt the need to correct the governor’s assumptions. Frustrated with Jesus’ silence, Pilate blasted, “Do you refuse to speak to me? Don’t you know that I have the authority to release you and the authority to crucify you?”
”You would have no authority over me at all,” Jesus answered him, “if it hadn’t been given you from above.” (John 19:10-11, CSB).
By design, God’s cosmos is orderly. It has been made disorderly by sin. God ordered the cosmos by delegating His authority. All authority is derivative. When it comes to personal decisions, God gives authority to the individual (i.e., personal responsibility). In the family, God delegates authority to parents. In the church, God delegates authority to elders to oversee. For nations, there is the authority of the state—civil authority to bring peace and social order.
“For nations, there is the authority of the state—civil authority to bring peace and social order.”
Can you think of another person who, standing on trial for his life, pummeled by false accusations, would choose that moment to have a conversation about authority structure? Of all the lies hanging in the air, the one Jesus’ does not leave unchallenged is that lie about authority. It’s that foundational. In Paul’s words, one who resists authority “is opposing God.”
Christians understand that if authority is merely a social construct, so is marriage, so is gender, so is authority in the home, and so is authority in the church. But, if authority is from God, then He defines its borders, and the greatest freedom is found living within His limits. The American founders recognized these limits and thus argued, “That government governs best which governs least.”
One of the most important political issues of our day is the question of where authority ultimately comes from. Influenced by Samuel Rutherford and British history, the American founders understood the toxicity of unchecked rule by the king. They rejected “Rex Lex” (the king is law), embracing “Lex Rex” (the law is king). The logical foundation of Lex Rex is that there is a law higher than human rulers and their manmade laws, thus implying a “moral Lawgiver” (see Romans 2:4-15).
“The logical foundation of Lex Rex is that there is a law higher than human rulers and their manmade laws, thus implying a ‘moral Lawgiver.'”
Once God, our Lawgiver, has been rejected by a culture, what remains is a new form of Rex Lex. Only now, the king is not a person on a throne; the king is the 51% of the population or the oligarchy of an entrenched bureaucracy. That “king” usually feels justified in dehumanizing another group, born or unborn, since there’s not a higher law insisting that we are all image bearers of God.
Thus, the best news you’ll hear in any election season isn’t about who wins or loses an election or what law gets passed or rejected. The best news in an election season is the same best news we’ve known and preached for a couple thousand years: Whatever happens in the world, Jesus is King. As you engage in politics (and please do!), let that be the truth that motivates you and gives you lasting hope.
Jesus’ Authority and Political Issues
Bringing our political beliefs and behavior under the authority of King Jesus means appreciating God’s design and distinctions for the church and state, which both have unique roles given by God (see and compare Romans 12 and Romans 13, for example). This means we face highly emotional issues in a way that we examine our beliefs and take every thought to make it obedient to Christ (see 2 Corinthians 10:5).
As mentioned earlier, discipleship also means seeking God’s “good, pleasing and perfect will” as we vote. While Christians will differ on political opinions, can’t we be united in asking, “What does the Bible say about issues facing us today?” After all, “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin condemns any people” (Proverbs 14:34, NIV).
“Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin condemns any people.”
Such thinking is controversial, of course. Bob Russell told of a radio interview he heard several years ago, when a political pundit was discussing the difference between Princess Dianna and Mother Teresa. The pundit said, “I think Princess Diana did her works of compassion out of genuine love for people, but Mother Teresa did her works of service with a political motivation.”
The host clarified, “Do you mean the other way around?”
“No,” she pushed back. “I think Princess Diana really cared for people, but Mother Teresa was always trying to advance her political agenda: anti-abortion and anti-divorce.”
In other words, it was fine for Mother Teresa to care for the poor, but she should have kept quiet about abortion. The assumption was that it is good for Christians to provide resources after hurricanes, but they should be silent about things like marriage and sexuality.
Yet when Christians enter a voting booth, we do not remove ourselves from God’s leading. We do not walk in merely as citizens, but as Christian citizens—citizens of Christ’s Kingdom. Our agenda should never be merely political. Our agenda must always be the love and truth of Christ. And we cannot in good conscience leave behind what we know from God to be true when we vote.
“When Christians enter a voting booth, we do not remove ourselves from God’s leading.”
Some Issues That Provide Discipling Opportunities
Since political issues are already on a lot of people’s minds, they can provide apt opportunities for digging into biblical truth together. Here are just a handful of examples.
With abortion and infanticide as hotly debated topics in our world, we can encourage the people we disciple to explore if God says anything about the topic. What is God’s “good, pleasing and perfect will” regarding the sacredness of life?
The million-dollar question underneath these issues is simple yet very controversial: who has authority over life? If God has all authority, and if human life is made in His image, then abortion and infanticide are authority issues. As we help disciples dig into these issues in light of Scripture, together we’ll discover that, while every sin is an affront to God, the taking of innocent human life is one that God especially hates (see Proverbs 6:16-19).
Sadly, few candidates are willing to reflect a logically consistent view on the sacredness of all human life. But which candidates advance a high view of life, and which candidates advocate for a dehumanization which allows certain groups of humans to be killed? Which candidates will nominate judges who reward what is good and punish what is evil when it comes to the issue of life?
“Few candidates are willing to reflect a logically consistent view on the sacredness of all human life.”
Another set of hot topics that provide discipleship opportunities involve marriage and gender. Does God teach any truths about these topics that should affect how we engage politics? The truth is, Christian truths regarding marriage and gender are increasingly unpopular in many circles, and yet these truths may be what lies between Western culture and a lot of societal chaos.
For Christians, Scripture is clear from the beginning that God created them male and female. Jesus affirmed that marriage was designed for a man and woman. So, it’s appropriate for Christians to explore which candidates are confused about marriage and gender and which candidates offer more stability amid the chaos.
Another discipling opportunity involves issues of the state’s authority versus parents’ authority. What does God teach about the job of parents? What roles does God set aside for parents that governments shouldn’t encroach upon? The Supreme Court in 1923 said, “The child is not the mere creature of the State,” but many of today’s bureaucrats have lost sight of that.
“It takes a village” has moved from cliché to mantra, with “village” coming to mean the “state.” Sadly, when parents violate godly laws, the state is right to step in. Yet God has delegated authority of the home to the parent, not to the state. If the people you’re discipling are parents, they likely need to learn what God tells them to do, and not to abdicate that responsibility to the state.
“If the people you’re discipling are parents, they likely need to learn what God tells them to do, and not to abdicate that responsibility to the state.”
We could go on and on about political issues that make for discipling opportunities: What does the Bible teach and/or imply about how to respond to poverty? Drugs? Violent crime? The environment? War? Religious freedom? The point is that each hotly debated topic on people’s minds gives us an opportunity to explore with curious people what God says in His Word. That’s a lot healthier of a perspective than seeing these issues as opportunities to further separate from each other, isn’t it?
How then shall we live?
Alexander Graham Bell is credited with saying, “Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus.” With so many challenges before us, what does it mean for disciples to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness”? Segmenting life between the spiritual and the unspiritual (e.g., keeping God out of how we engage politics) is not the answer.
Surrender to Christ means exploring the Bible, seeking God’s wisdom for tough choices (including political ones), and seeking His comfort in each unsettling matter. It means staying urgent in prayer, as we “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17, ESV). It means praying daily, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:9-10, NIV).
We do not know how God will work in the days ahead. God may work by sending you and me like Jonah to Nineveh. Jonah preached boldly, and a strange thing happened: those blood-thirsty Assyrians repented. Our generation is not further gone than Nineveh.
“God may work by sending you and me like Jonah to Nineveh.”
Yet sometimes, civilizations reject God’s truth and reap chaos and even destruction. Twice in the Old Testament, it was God’s will for a foreign empire to conquer His own chosen people (first, Assyria destroyed Israel in the North, and second, Babylon destroyed Jerusalem and Judah in the South). If chaos and destruction is our own future, Christians need to live as Daniel in Babylon, seeking the good of Babylon even while looking ahead to a future deliverance by God. In any case, our primary focus is clear: “Go [literally, ‘as you are going’] and make disciples.”
Whatever the future holds, Christians never have an excuse for despair. We are more than conquerors through Christ Jesus. If God is for us, who can be against us? (see Romans 8:31).
The first-century church lived under oppressive tyrants. Yet they kept making disciples. They worshiped daily in temple courts and from house to house. The sent missionaries and started churches. They loved and they served. They rescued babies from infanticide. They fed the hungry. They nursed the sick that others left to die. They sacrificed so profoundly that the pagans even admitted, “They care more about our people than we do.”
“The first-century church lived under oppressive tyrants. Yet they kept making disciples.”
In Acts 17:6 (ESV), Paul’s opponents recognized the power of Christ at work through His people. They shouted in exasperation, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also…” And they kept going. For decade upon decade and century upon century, God’s people led a long march of grace and truth through the Roman institutions until, eventually, they looked around and—God had turned the Roman world upside down.
Through discipleship.