Do Religion and Politics Mix?

Series: Preacher: Date: November 1, 2015 Scripture Reference: Romans 13:1-7

This week I decided to make a list of things that DON’T go together and I thought it would be good to begin my message by sharing my list with you. So here it is. Here are things that I think DON’T go together:

  • Hair dryers and bath tubs
  • Vegetable flavoring and Ice Cream
  • Sumo wrestling and ballet
  • Texting and driving
  • Laziness and parenting
  • Children, caffeine and puppies
  • A Bakery and a Weight Watchers office

The thing that got me thinking of non-complimentary things is the third question in this sermon series dealing with questions people have about God and faith. These days—especially now as we are entering the presidential election—many people ask: “Do Religion and Politics Mix?”

And—people fall on both sides of this issue. Some are VERY involved—but others skirt political involvement altogether. So who is right? Should Christians be involved in politics? Of course, the place to find all the answers when it comes to the questions of life is the Bible. And the Bible says—“YES.”  Here are some proof-texts.

Titus 3:1 says, “Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good.”

1st Timothy 2:1-3 says, “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior.”

1st Peter 2:17 declares, “Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.”

So, I think we would all have to admit that this instruction manual for life that God has given us calls for a great deal of “mixing” of politics and religion.

  • We are to SUBMIT ourselves to our earthly rulers—obeying the laws of the land.
  • We are to PRAY for our leaders—even if they aren’t from our particular political party.
  • We are to show proper RESPECT for our rulers no matter where they stand on the issues—whether they be senators, presidents, or even kings.

And don’t miss the underlying REASON we are given all these instructions concerning our government! These particular instructions are in God’s Book because government doesn’t just happen. No—the Bible teaches that our sovereign God orchestrates it and establishes it.

1st Peter 2:13 says, “Submit yourselves FOR THE LORD’S SAKE to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, [political leaders] who are SENT BY HIM to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right.”

So to say, “I’m giving up on the political process because religion and politics don’t mix,” is to deny that the origin of governments is God Himself. And to drive this point home a bit further—turn with me now to our text for this morning: Romans 13:1-7 where Paul writes,

1 – Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.

2 – Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.

3 – For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you.

4 – For he is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.

5 – Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience.

6 – This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing.

7 – Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

In case you missed it—Paul is making the argument here that in order to be a good KINGDOM citizen—a citizen of the kingdom of God—you must also be a good CIVIL citizen. And in these seven verses he’s has laid out certain guidelines or instructions as to do that—how a Christian is to relate properly to the government. And—please note—he doesn’t say he is referring to a democracy or a republic like we have here in the good ole U.S. of A.  In fact, the government his readers were under was a dictatorship. Keep that in mind as we study.

Okay—This morning I want to suggest four Biblical PRINCIPLES or GUIDELINES when it comes to the proper mixing of faith and politics—and they are all based on one word: RESPECT.

(1) First Paul says we must RESPECT government because, as I inferred a moment ago, its authority is a DERIVED authority.

We must respect our government—we must subject ourselves to it—because, its authority is not inherent in the governmental officials or offices. Ultimately it comes from God itself.  As Daniel 2:21 says, “God changes times and seasons; He sets up kings and deposes them.” Do you remember when Jesus stood before Pontius Pilate a few hours before His crucifixion?   Now—in my mind, during that interview I imagine Pilate walking around with his chest all puffed out trying to get Jesus to answer him on command. After all, Pilate was the Roman governor—appointed by Caesar himself. But Jesus was unfazed. He just stood silent. In essence, He didn’t jump when Pilate said “jump.”  And finally Pilate got a little testy and said, “You better answer me, Jesus, because I have the power to execute You or to release You and You better understand that!”

Do you remember our Lord’s response?  He said, “The only authority you have is what God the Father has allowed you to have for a season. That’s all Pilate.” The extension of that would be Jesus continuing to say, “Pilate, you have no more INTRINSIC authority than the pauper on the street.”

You see, no human being—even a governmental leader—no president, no king, no governor, no senator—no human has INTRINSIC authority that he wields or exercises over other human beings.  All authority is DERIVED authority. It is authority that is given or permitted by God. God alone is sovereign—so God alone holds ULTIMATE authority. He has given it to governments and because of that, Paul says we need to respect our rulers. As much as possible—and we’ll go into that further in a moment—but as much as possible, we need to cooperate with them and be in subjection to them. In fact, Paul says that violators of this command will be disciplined by God. Look back at vs 2: “…he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.”

Listen. Wherever there are men, there are governments of some kind. And Paul makes one thing crystal clear right at the start: All governments are in power because God has allowed them to be. So, we must honor—respect—governments.

One thing that should help MOTIVATE us to do this is the fact that in His sovereignty God uses governments of all kinds to do His will.

  • He used the Egyptian government to save the Jewish people when drought came.
  • He even used cruel Pharaoh. Romans 9:17 quotes God as saying to that evil Egyptian ruler:

“I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display My power in you and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”

  • God used Cyrus the Persian to bring the Jews back to Jerusalem from Babylon. In fact, Isaiah 45:1 refers to this pagan king as, “God’s anointed.”
  • The Roman soldiers were even following God’s will in crucifying His only Son.
  • God also used the Roman government to bring lasting peace to the world and build roads both of which would hasten the spread of the Gospel.

So you see, our sovereign God uses all authority to do His will.

I believe God is using the actions of the Syrian government to give the Syrian people a chance to hear the Gospel. Think of it. Millions of refugees—many of them Muslim—are fleeing that evil nation. They are leaving a nation where Christian missionaries cannot go and entering countries where Christian missionaries CAN go. What a GOD-GIVEN opportunity to lead these people to Jesus!

Of course, if you don’t have a big view of God, you’ll have difficulty believing this kind of thing. I mean, if the God you worship isn’t the awesome, majestic, mysterious, loving, incredible Creator of the galaxies described in the Bible, you’ll have trouble buying into this. It takes an awesome God to use even dictators to do His will—so if you’re having trouble embracing this first principle, then perhaps your concept of God is too small.

Now—governmental leaders are called to certain standards. After all they are GOD’S servants. They are not appointed to public office in order to promote their own selfish interests. They are where they are to represent God’s rule on the earth. And governmental leaders must realize this.

In fact, if they would read the Bible they would see that it lists the characteristics of a Godly ruler—a leader that God approves. Psalm 72 says that rulers must care for the oppressed and the poor and take care of the disadvantaged and see to the needs of everybody—not just the privileged few.

Listen how serious God is about this. In Isaiah 10:1-3 He says, “Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless. What will you do on the day of reckoning, when disaster comes from afar? To whom will you run for help? Where will you leave your riches?”

So, we are to respect governmental authority—but governmental leaders are to be respectable. They are called to rule in ways that please God. This is a picture of Fiorello La Guardia who was mayor of New York during the Great Depression.  One day as he presided over a Manhattan police court, a man was brought before him who was thin, trembling, and shabbily dressed. His crime was stealing a loaf of bread.  The man pled guilty to the crime, but explained that this family was starving and he was unable to find work. “I’m sorry,” said the mayor, “…but the law makes no exceptions. I’m going to have to fine you ten dollars.” “But,” the defendant said, “I haven’t got ten dollars! I haven’t even got a dime!” “I understand,” said Mayor La Guardia, reaching into his own pocket. “That’s why I’m going to pay the fine myself—here, take this.”

He handed the money to the man and said, “Furthermore, I’m going to remit the fine—that means you can keep the money.” The defendant stared at the ten dollar bill in his hands.  It had been a long time since he had handled that much money. “One more thing,” the mayor added. “Bailiff, take off your hat and pass it around this courtroom. I’m fining everybody in this courtroom fifty cents for living in a city where a man has to steal in order to get bread for his family.” The money was collected and given to the defendant.

Now—in my mind, this is an example of a governmental leader who understood Who put him in office in the first place.  I would say Mayor La Guardia ruled in a way that made him worthy of the authority God had given him.

(2) Here’s the second principle Paul gives. He says we must respect our government because it is God’s instrument to PRESERVE ORDER.

According to the Bible, a just government is one that REWARDS and ENCOURAGES righteous and moral behavior from its citizens—and also brings DISCIPLINE and RETRIBUTION to the law breakers of the land. The fact is we need a government to preserve order by rewarding good and punishing evil, because left to ourselves we are like those people described in the last verse of the Book of Judges when, “Israel had no king; and everyone did as he saw fit.” (Judges 21:25) Paul is saying that the state is God’s wise provision for preserving stability and avoiding anarchy. Governments are one way that God protects us from ourselves.

In 2001 the Leaning Tower of Pisa made the news because it had just been re-opened to visitors after having been closed for nearly a decade. You see, in the early nineties the tower began to lean too far and the risk of collapse was great. It was closed to tourists so engineers could straighten it out just a few inches. They injected super could liquid nitrogen into the ground to freeze it and thereby minimize dangerous ground vibrations during the work that followed. Then they installed cables to pull the structure more upright. Very slowly the tower was straightened to a position that would prevent a total collapse even with the weight of hundreds of tourists climbing around on it at a time. Now to the naked eye the tower still looks the same—but to the engineers what they have done is the difference between utter destruction—and the confidence to allow school children to once again climb the stairs of this 12th century landmark. They say it is now good for at least another 300 years—so you should tour it—but you don’t have to hurry over there!

I share this story because left to itself, our world resembles that leaning Tower of Pisa: it is “tilting” and heading toward catastrophe. To prevent that—to prevent total anarchy, God establishes governments. Our rulers and their laws are like the steel cables that hold the tower and keep it from falling. The tower still leans. It is not perfect, but the cables prevent total destruction.  And, Governments are not perfect either.  They are flawed—they still “lean”—but God uses them to preserve order. So we should respect them.

(3) Here’s a third thing Paul says. We must respect our government by being INVOLVED.

Scripture teaches that as Christians we are to be a part of the legislative process. We are to mix our faith with our politics—we are to apply our religious convictions to our involvement—and we do this in several ways:

  • We vote.
  • We attend town meetings and give our input in a respectful way.
  • We write our congressmen encouraging them to pass just laws.
  • When the Spirit leads, we sign petitions, join in legal demonstrations and marches.
  • And, last but not least, some Christians follow God’s call to actually serve in government—where they can help enact laws that please our Heavenly Father.

I saw this illustrated a few years ago in Spielberg’s film, Lincoln—which is the story of how Lincoln passed the 13th amendment abolishing slavery.  I want to show you a clip—because it illustrates what happens when Christians in government apply their faith to the way they govern.

CLIP 1:58:25 to 2:02:04

I think this little clip from history illustrates how important it is that we elect people to serve in our Government who follow Jesus—people who will apply their faith to their work.

Now—of course experience is important when it comes to politicians—but we should never discount the faith of a candidate because if they are a growing Christian, their faith will guide their governing.  To help underscore this point let me ask you a question. Is it important to you that your stock broker be a person of integrity and not a crook? YES! Well, your president and congressmen—your governmental leaders should be people of integrity as well and one result of a growing Christian faith—is integrity. So we must heed the instruction Moses’ father-in-law gave him in Exodus 18:21 when He said, “Select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundred, fifties and tens.”

When fall rolls around each year I challenge you to study the issues and then vote primarily for men or women on the basis of their values—their Christian integrity. In his work, History of the United States, Noah Webster writes, “When you become entitled to exercise the right of voting for public office–let it be impressed on your mind that God commands you to choose for rulers, ‘just men who will rule in the fear of God.’ If the citizens neglect their duty and place unprincipled men in office, the government will soon be corrupted; laws will be made, not for the public good—so much as for selfish or local purposes; corrupt or incompetent men will be appointed to execute the laws; the public revenues will be squandered on unworthy men—and the rights of the citizens will be violated or disregarded.”

So get informed and pray and then vote—become involved in government because this is one way we are SALT—one way we have a preserving effect on our decaying culture.

If you doubt this read the Bible because it is full of examples of how God’s children were involved in making government better.  Joseph was involved in the Egyptian government—and God used him to save entire nations from starvation. Daniel ended up in a lion’s den because he refused to obey a law forbidding him to pray to God. When he emerged unscathed, King Darius issued a decree commanding all of his subjects to, “…fear and reverence the God of Daniel.” Darius went on to say, “…for He is the living God and He endures forever; His kingdom will not be destroyed, His dominion will never end.” (Daniel 6:26ff)

I’m saying that as Christians we have an obligation to be the very best citizens possible by finding ways to become actively involved. Now, I know it might cause some discomfort for me to mention it—but one of the specific ways God calls us to be involved in government is by paying our TAXES. Look at verse 7 again, “Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, PAY TAXES.” I know it’s painful to focus in on those last two words, “pay taxes”  but is anyone confused by their meaning? Does anyone want to know what the Greek says and what other translations say—or what some deceased German theologian says these two words mean? Well, let me save you the time of looking all that up. Those words we translate as, “pay taxes” literally mean, PAY TAXES. Don’t pay more than you owe but pay what you owe!

Now, think of that for a moment—this verse is saying that part of your worship to God is full payment to Uncle Sam every April 15!  Have you ever thought of filling out form 1040 as an act of worship? Most believers don’t!  In fact, many of us boast that we have found an ingenious but illegal way to avoid paying taxes. Some find ways to undervalue their property—and boast about how smart they are to avoid paying Uncle Sam his due. Some dream up ways to deduct personal items as business expenses. Well, the Bible says that kind of thing is a sin.  According to this passage in Romans, when it comes to paying taxes, our motivation as Christians is not to avoid an audit. No—our payment of full taxes is part of our worshiping God with our honesty. Paul says the Holy Spirit will prod our consciences if we don’t pay what we owe. God will make us feel bad if we short-change Uncle Sam.

I’m reminded of the story of a letter that was received by the IRS saying, “I did not pay the taxes I should have this past year and I have been unable to sleep.  Enclosed is $150.00. If I still have trouble sleeping, I will send the rest.”

So respect your government by getting involved—run for office if God leads, vote, pay taxes—this is one way we help make our world a better place.

However I must remind you that the MAIN way we change our world for the better is not through political involvement but rather by sharing THE GOSPEL MESSAGE. You see, the REAL solution to the social and moral problems in our society is not better legislation or new supreme court justices or a president from the correct political party.  No—the solution is people being reconciled to God through their response to the good news of Jesus Christ. You see, alienation from God is the root problem of our world.  For example, economic crises happen because of the sin of greed—and only the good news of Jesus can address this root problem. Only Jesus can cure a greedy heart. The church’s primary strategy has never been to change the world through the political process—the church’s strategy is to change the world by introducing more and more people to the life-changing power of Jesus Christ. We change the government. We change our world—by changing PEOPLE from the inside out. We must be very careful to not confuse the cross with the flag.

Russell Moore the head of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the SBC says,“For too long we have assumed that the church is a means to an end to save America. America is important. But the end goal of the Gospel is not a Christian America. The end goal of the Gospel is redeemed people from every tribe and tongue and nation and language. As Christians we belong [not to America] but to another Kingdom.”

So to summarize, we must respect the government because its ultimate authority comes from God; because it is God’s instrument to preserve order; We respect it by getting involved—participating in all possible ways—

(4) And then here is one final but very important guideline. We must respect the government—as long as it does not conflict with our doing GOD’S WILL.

The word here in verse 1 that we translate, “submit” does not mean “always obey.”  Submission is to recognize an authority over us but it doesn’t imply blind obedience in every situation. In fact, the Bible teaches that there are two EXCEPTIONS to our obedient submission to governmental authority.

a. First, we don’t obey laws that command us to do something that God clearly FORBIDS.

An example of this is recorded in the book of Exodus. Do you remember when, in an attempt to slow the growth of the Hebrew race, the King of Egypt told the Jewish midwives that when a Hebrew boy was born they were to kill the babies? Girls were okay—but boys were to be terminated. However, Exodus 1:17 says, “The midwives feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live.” Verse 20 says that God was kind to the midwives for taking this stand. They didn’t obey a law that commanded them to do something God had forbidden.

And do you remember Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego?  When King Nebuchadnezzar passed a law requiring them to worship his image they knew better and refused. Because of their civil disobedience they were thrown into the fiery furnace. When God sent His Son into the furnace to save them and they emerged unscathed, the king said, “Praise be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. He rescued His servants. Therefore, I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be cut into pieces—and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way.” (Daniel 3:28ff) Then the king promoted these three to high positions in his government. So we never obey government when doing so involves our doing things God forbids.

Martin Niemoller was one of the Christians who stood up against Hitler and his demonic actions in WWII. In fact, he preached a series of sermons entitled “Christ—NOT HITLER—is my Fuhrer.” Well, he spent seven years in a concentration camp for standing up to Adolph. Niemoller knew that Christians are not obligated to obey laws that endorse behavior God clearly forbids. If that means persecution—jail time—even execution—so be it.

b. And second, we don’t obey laws that forbid us from doing something God clearly COMMANDS.

In the book of Acts there are two times that the Apostle Peter disobeyed the government because it had ordered him to stop sharing his witness of Jesus. Peter knew that would be wrong because he still had Jesus’ command reverberating in his ears, “Go into ALL THE WORLD making disciples!” So when the government told him to stop that kind of thing and be silent Peter said, “We must obey God rather than man.”  In fact, he proceeded to preach a brief but powerful sermon to the same court that had told him to stop preaching in the first place (Acts 5:29). Another example is Paul himself. Tradition tells us that a few years after writing this letter he was beheaded by Nero because he refused to renounce His faith in Jesus Christ. So we obey our rulers—but not if doing so would lead us to do things God forbids or prevent us from doing things God commands.

You know, years ago when visiting Becca at Wheaton, I met a parent who was also a pastor—and as we “talked shop” he told me about a conference he had just attended.  It was held at a mega-church somewhere but the thing that had most impressed him—was what the leader of the conference who was also the pastor of that mega-church said about smaller churches. He said that if the member of every mega-church in America got genuinely serious about their faith—if all those thousands of mega-members were the kind of SALT and LIGHT that God intended—it wouldn’t have near the effect of the members of every “small” church doing the same. He said if the members of every “small” church—and I think Redland would be judged as “small” compared to a “mega” church. He said that if we were to get genuinely serious about our faith it would turn the world upside down. Of course the point he was making was there are a lot more Christians in smaller churches than there are in the mega-variety—but think about that for a moment.  I mean, we all love to complain about the state of politics and government. Well, what would happen if, instead of just complaining—we did something? What would happen if we all mixed—applied—our Christian faith to the political process! Think of the change we could make if we followed the leadership of the Holy Spirit and got involved in every way possible!

For example, are you tired of some of the ungodly policies you see in public schools these days?Well, think of how much better our schools would be if more of us got involved according to the dictates of our faith! Are you shocked by some of the immoral laws that our county council passes?  Well, imagine how much better those laws would be if we prayerfully did our part? Remember, salt is useless unless it is applied to the food!

Let us pray.

Website design and development by Red Letter Design.