Solution for America's Chaos in Leadership - Pamela Christian Ministries LLC

I wrote the article below years ago. However, I don’t think it’s ever been more pertinent than today. It was first published in The Godly Business Woman’s Magazine, 2004. I welcome this being passed along in its entirety for non-commercial use. Protected by copyright 2021.

Since God Ordained Civil Government, Why Aren’t Christians Involved?

I love a quote I heard the late Dr. Adrian Rogers, former Pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee, made over the radio where he asked, “Would God ordain civil government for His people and then tell His people not to get involved?” Any minimally studied Jew or Christian knows that it was God who ordained civil government. As documented in the first five books of the Bible, God established the religious, moral and civil laws for social order and society’s benefit.

In His sovereignty, God oversees all matters of law, but He has allowed mankind some participation in the process. Initially, priests and judges were ordained among men, by God to govern people. Moral laws were adjudicated by both priests and judges, while civil matters were the strict responsibility of the judges, (Leviticus 19:15; Deuteronomy 16:18-19). Religious ceremonial matters were that of the priests. The natural and spiritual laws remain in God’s direct control.

God desired His people remain under His care in a theocratic style of government, but His people weren’t satisfied. They demanded a king from among their own, thus worldly governments were birthed. According to the Bible, mankind is governed by men appointed by God, (Romans 13:1 & 6, Titus 3:1).

Some governments choose to recognize God of the Bible as Sovereign, some do not. America, gratefully, is one place that not only recognized God, but also the Bible as the guiding standard in the formulation of our laws and policies.

The Founding Fathers of this great nation all held to a Biblical worldview whether or not they personally professed Jesus Christ as their Savior. The evidence for this statement is found in the Declaration of Independence. It was their personal conviction or respect for the Biblical worldview that directly influenced the formulation of America’s government.

“The American community presumed a common set of values which were principally biblical.”¹ The Bible is irrefutably the standard the Founding Fathers used to establish our American style of government.

So why aren’t more Christians involved in our governmental process? Could it possibly be because of politics?

Think about it: politics aren’t limited to civil government. Politics are essential in any government, family, office, even the government of the gospel. Consider the definition of politics as it applies to the Christian’s duty to share the gospel. A Christian is to be shrewd in managing and dealing with the facts, while tactfully promoting and convincing others about the Truth. Politics are essential and necessary in any effort where issues of promoting policy, ideologies, philosophies, preferences or matters of faith are exchanged. Politics are essential in the art of persuasion and the science of logic and reason.

Likewise, government is essential for every society. Government can control, direct or strongly influence the actions and conduct of others or it can exert a determining or guiding influence in or over others, or it can exert a determining or guiding influence in or over others. It can also hold in check, or restrain human conduct and serve as a precedent or deciding principle. Laws and politics are essential—politicians are not.

Today, it seems as though many “politicians” are primarily interested in political office from a selfish or other narrow interest. Those that conduct the business of government in this manner are violating the original intent for our American representative political process.

We need more statesmen and women and fewer politicians, and the only way we’re going to achieve this is by voting for those who are able to serve as a genuine public servant—which is in the best interest of the people, not themselves. The power in this government is still (at the present) held by the vote of the people. It is not in the hands of those who have been elected, but in the hands of those who do the electing.

Christians are to make disciples of all nations.² To accomplish this requires that we get involved in every arena of influence. Our mission fields are not limited to foreign countries, but includes our neighborhoods, our community our county, state and nation, our businesses, schools and government. Government in America was established to be “for and by the people.” The idea is that the people direct the elected officials in how to represent them—to represent their ideals, their philosophies, and their preferences. Unfortunately, the “Separation of Church and State” (which is not part of the Constitution) has come to create the “The Separation of Christians and Government.”

For many self-serving reasons, including the philosophy of secular humanism, there is a growing number of people who want the disengagement of the Christian influence in our nation in order to further their own agendas. They claim they want religious diversity while working to extinguish the Christian influence. Today, from this perspective, the Constitution is being fractured and redefined by the judges of the land. This is a perversion of power.

Obedient to Christ, Christians should automatically be involved in all arenas of life, including civil government. In fact, an argument can be made that the darker a place, the more it needs the light. Christians are to influence the world to uphold the God-given morals, values and ethics of the Judeo-Christian faith. We not only need Christians to engage in the political process by way of voting and communicating with their elected officials, we need to vote into office true Statesmen and women.

Irish philosopher and statesman Sir Edmund Burke is ascribed to have said, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”³ There has never been a time in American history where the need for the Judeo-Christian influence in government has been greater than today. What is the correct response for the Christian? Considering the basis upon which our government was established, perhaps Christians have the greatest burden to be involved:

Register to vote.
Exercise your right to vote.
Stay informed through responsible media.
Support Christian media/organizations that proclaim the Truth and fight against lawlessness.
Communicate your position to your elected officials, your local newspapers, etc.
Get re-educated and trained about the process. It’s yours and your children’s future at stake.
Actively support honorable Statesmen and Stateswomen. Prayerfully consider running for office yourself.
Pray for those in authority. Pray that our precious rights and freedoms are protected.

A Little History…

The Founding Fathers, having experienced abuse of governmental power that radically imposed upon religion, set out to establish a new form of government that would protect the people from such oppression. “Religious Freedom” is a phrase they coined and a banner they waived as they established this American nation. The cry for freedom was from government oppression and control of religion. When the Puritans settled in New England, they were steadfastly opposed to the established Anglican Church. “Distrust of an established church influenced their descendants, who at the time of the American Revolution and thereafter, sought to restrain the state’s interference in the exercise of religion.”⁴

They sought a dual authority; one being state and one being church. According to Grolier, Inc. Encyclopedia copyright 1997: “This dualistic view of religion and politics began with the Jewish nation which, forced to submit to a succession of conquerors, nevertheless retained its independent religious identity, separating spiritual from worldly matters. Christianity, growing out of Judaism, preserved this distinction, as exemplified by Christ’s injunction to “render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s” (Matthew 22:21). This doctrine of dual authority in church and state was referred to as the “two swords” doctrine.” This dual authority does not preclude Christians from work in and influencing government. Rather, it precludes government from working in and influencing religion.

The founding documents clearly claim that the people have certain inalienable rights, specifically including the rights to freedom of religion. Further, the American government was established based on the Bible, evidenced not only by the language in the founding documents, but also in practices of government while officiating. For example, the Bible was used to swear in George Washington and every President elected since. Closing prayers were, and still are, an integral part of various meetings and sessions for government. The minting of coinage, architecture, monuments, literature, music, the arts and more, all reflected then, and still do to this day, the Judeo-Christian perspective.

We still have the blessing of liberty and a representative style of government. Christians still have mandate from God to hold back wickedness, to be Salt and Light.⁵ Americans need to replace the corrupt self-seeking career politicians with men and women who are true Statesmen; men and women who will conduct themselves on behalf of the people. Further, we need people everywhere to uphold the Judeo-Christian morals, values and ethics by letting their voice be heard. Just as we can’t expect to enjoy the benefits of society, culture, government or family if we don’t participate in it, neither can we expect to experience the benefits of our representative style government if we don’t participate in the process.

END NOTES

“America’s Unchristian Beginnings?” by Greg Koukl, Stand To Reason https://www.str.org/articles/america-s-unchristian-beginnings#.V_UyeuArKUk (October 2016)
The Holy Bible, Matthew 28:18-20
The Columbia World of Quotations, 1996, Number 9118
The Holy Bible, Matthew 5:13-16