Should Christians Get Political?

For the longest time, the one thing well-mannered people were told never to do was discuss faith or politics at the table. Why? Because it’s divisive. We all have such strong opinions that instead of developing the capacity for nuanced, respectful conversation and debate, we opted to avoid the matters that, as it turns out, matter most.

In Australia, where I am, voting in elections is mandatory; you can even be fined if you fail to vote, whereas in the USA, voting is optional. Yet nothing consumes the media more than what our politicians, presidents and prime ministers are doing, or not doing.

“Keep your faith out of it!” Christians, whether explicitly or implicitly, have been told to keep their theology and their beliefs out of the political debate. I’ve even heard church ministers say to their church, ‘This pulpit will never be used to speak on politics.’ But is that a biblical position to take? I wonder…

Are Christians really meant to be silent when it comes to the way their nation is being governed? Obviously the consequences for Christians speaking up in places like North Korea or China are vastly different from those in Australia, but should we remain silent here because they’re unable to speak there? That seems irrational to me.

But I don’t want to present my opinion. I would rather consider what Scripture has to say and ask the question: is it right to ‘get political’ as believers? Or should we silently toe the line, submit passively to authority and avoid the rocking of political and proverbial boats?

Perhaps it would be helpful to adjust the language, and instead of categorising certain things as ‘political’ and therefore off the table (or not in the pulpit), I suggest we should simply be willing to speak on anything and everything that Scripture speaks on.

Let’s explore it together.

A Biblical Framework

Before we get into Scripture, let me point out the issue before the issue: we have been conditioned by our culture to bypass Scripture when we form opinions on things. Australia was once a Christian nation, founded on laws and a constitution rooted in Christian ethics and beliefs — not perfect, and with plenty of mistakes along the way, but that’s for another article. Our history, along with that of the rest of the West, is significantly Christian.

Australia used to have a biblical framework for thinking about hot topics and big issues, but that has slowly been eroded. Since WWII, through the feminist movement, the sexual revolution, rock ‘n’ roll, and the psychedelic ’60s and ’70s, much has taken place in a cultural sleight of hand to move away from a biblical framework and replace it with a ‘what feels right’ approach. We’re in a similar cultural moment to that of Israel after Joshua and his peers had passed away:

“And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel.”
— Judges 2:10 (ESV)

The last few generations of lawmakers and culture builders in Australia have largely forsaken the Lord, forgetting all the good he has done in this nation, and the consequences are like those the Apostle Paul describes in his letter to the Romans:

“And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.”
— Romans 1:28 (ESV)

So, when we try to talk about how our society should be formed, how laws should be written, and how our culture, our way of life, should be developed, most people bypass the Scriptures and move on to personal preference, cultural acceptability and new social norms (and what they think will get them likes, follows and votes).

So let us first acknowledge our bias towards ignoring Scripture and that we’ve been subconsciously trained not to think, ‘What does the Bible say?’, and let’s also put aside our preconceived opinions about politics and faith being mixed together, and see what Scripture actually says.

Obey God Over Men

In the hierarchy of the political process, we must put first things first, and God is always first. As followers of Jesus, we are to obey God first and foremost. He is our highest authority, far above any earthly rule or law, and we are his subjects before we are subject to the laws of our government.

In Acts 5:29 when the apostles are told by the Sanhedrin (Israel’s supreme court) not to preach in the name of Jesus, they refuse this command because it is in clear conflict with the command of God: ‘But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.”‘ In Matthew 28:18, Jesus commands the disciples to preach the gospel and make disciples, so they could either disobey Jesus to obey men, or disobey men to obey God. Christians must obey God, even if it means disobeying men and breaking the law of the land.

For example, it is illegal to bring Bibles into some nations, but for decades Christians have been smuggling Bibles into these places to obey God’s command to take the Gospel to the nations. It’s dangerous and illegal, but these people are obeying God.

In Daniel 3, the Jewish men refuse the Babylonian king’s decree to bow to the golden idol, for it violates God’s law to have no other gods or to bow down to carved images (Exodus 20:1–6). The men were thrown into the furnace, but God rescued them.

In Daniel 6, we know Daniel refused to cease his daily prayers and went against the king’s decree. He was thrown to the lions, but God rescued him as well! John the Baptist received no such rescue and lost his head for speaking up against Herod taking his brother’s wife for himself. So, obeying God might not keep us safe when in the hands of men, but it certainly keeps us safe in the will and grace of God.

These examples show us that there comes a time to refuse to abide by the laws of the land; this requires us to know God and his commands intimately so we’re not led astray into blind civil obedience like the Nazis who claimed to be ‘just following orders’. Sometimes we have to resist and rebel to stay obedient to Christ.

How Does This Impact Pastors and Preachers?

The pulpit is the place where the commands of God must be upheld and, where necessary, held up in contrast to the laws of the land so it’s clear for the congregation to see how they ought to conduct themselves.

A significant percentage of the New Testament Epistles is explicitly about proper conduct, while their entire content could be considered implicitly about Christian ethics, morality and behaviour; it is our beliefs that inform our behaviour.

People like to say the Bible is not a ‘book of rules’ and Christianity is ‘not a religion, but a relationship’.

While the sentiment of these statements is true, the reality is not. Christianity is a religion in the truest sense of the word:

The word “religion” comes from Latin religiō, meaning “reverence for the gods, piety, or moral obligation,” but its exact root is debated between two Latin verbs: relegere (to read over, consider carefully, as Cicero suggested) or religare (to bind fast, tie back, as favoured by St. Augustine and modern scholars), implying a bond between humans and the divine. The English term entered through Old French as religion, meaning “devotion or religious community,” solidifying its use for practices and communities, with its modern sense developing later.

The teachings of Jesus and the writings of the Apostles are full of dos and don’ts.

The Bible does contain a lot of rules, and that’s only uncomfortable for people who typically bypass Scripture when forming opinions.

But Jesus is our Lord and King… he’s GOD! So it’s only natural that he gives commands to his followers like he always has since the days of Adam. He said several times in John’s Gospel, ‘If you love me, you will obey my commands.’

The pulpit exists as the place the word of God is divided rightly, where the people of God have it explained to them, so they know how to live lives of obedience to God and his commands. If obedience demonstrates our love, and our highest ideal is to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, then learning what we are to obey should be our highest priority.

Jesus’ final words, as recorded by Matthew, were:

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations… teaching them to observe [obey] all that I have commanded you.”
— Matthew 28:19–20 (ESV, emphasis added)

Do you know when the first pulpit in the Bible was built? It was in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah (Nehemiah 8:4), so the priest could declare the Word of God to the people and have it explained to them. Ezra read the Law for about six hours, and the people wept and repented as the word of God penetrated their hearts, for they realised they had been living in disobedience to the Lord. This was not just the return of the exiles; this was revival, and it came through the expounding of Scripture!

Why This Matters

There are numerous cultural norms these days that are in direct conflict with the way of life laid out for us in Scripture, and unless the pulpit is used as Ezra used it — to hold up the mirror of God’s word, as James describes it — Christians will continue to bypass Scripture and allow culture to form them instead of being transformed by the renewing of their minds.

There are many hot topics today in the socio-political space: gender, abortion, LGBTQ+, sex, marriage, Islam, healthcare, vaccines, protesting, Indigenous Australia, energy, net zero, cost of living, taxes, and on it goes… Are we to assume the Bible has nothing to say about these things? Of course not! God’s Word is a light to our path.

These, and more, are the issues Christians are navigating every day at home, at work, in their relationships and in the community around them as the media pushes them relentlessly. We need to develop our beliefs, opinions and subsequent actions based on God’s Word, rightly divided, without cultural bias, without fear of reprisal, and without compromise or hypocrisy. No small task.

Is it the right answer to do as the Amish have done? Live completely separate from the rest of society and simply allow our lifestyles to be the extent of our political discourse? Perhaps. It certainly is an answer, albeit idealistic and not overly missional in nature. Or is the answer more a combination of both action and speech?

Jesus spoke about tough topics

When Jesus used the phrase ‘you have heard that it was said, but I say to you’ throughout his Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7), he was contrasting the way the Law of Moses had been interpreted by the priests and teachers before him (human authority) with the way the Law was intended to be understood (God’s authority).

Let’s use Matthew 5:31–32 as an example:

“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”
— Matthew 5:31–32 (ESV)

While the culture had made divorce easy and acceptable, Jesus returned to the original intention of the Law and stated that divorce was never in God’s will, and that only on account of unfaithfulness was divorce acceptable. He took it further and called remarriage the same as adultery. Whoa! Jesus?! That’s a bit harsh, isn’t it? It is only harsh if we use our culture as the measuring stick of goodness instead of God’s own words. This is a textbook example of how we bypass Scripture, because it’s not comfortable and conflicts with the cultural status quo we find palatable.

Ask yourself: when was the last time you heard someone preach or teach the clear words of Jesus on the matters of marriage, divorce and remarriage?

Is divorce the unforgivable sin? No, that’s not the point Jesus was making. He was pointing out that culture had lowered the bar on holiness, which makes the cross irrelevant. We needed to be reminded of just how far we’ve fallen and how our idea of ‘good’ usually falls incredibly short of God’s own standard.

We’re comfortable calling drunkenness a sin, or lying a sin, because culturally these things are still considered ‘not good’, which is why you shouldn’t lie to your friends or get drunk before work. But these things are actually wrong because God says so, not because culture confirms it. It’s the same with the hard issues like marriage and divorce; it’s complicated, which is exactly why the pulpit ought to bring clarity to these areas of life.

We Must Obey Men, Under God

While obedience to God is primary, what follows is civil obedience to the governments and empires we are subject to.

“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.”
— Romans 13:1 (ESV)

“Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work,”
— Titus 3:1 (ESV)

“Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme,”
— 1 Peter 2:13 (ESV)

For the early Christians, this meant being subject to the Roman Empire, enduring suffering, persecution and imprisonment. Why? Because submitting to the governing authority was how they demonstrated their obedience to God’s commands to submit to authority! They didn’t submit because they agreed with their rulers or wanted pain; they submitted in obedience and worship to the commands of God through the Apostles.

Only when those human powers commanded things that were against what the Lord had instructed were Christians free to disobey, as we saw the apostles do in Acts 5; otherwise, they were expected to submit and, if necessary, suffer along with Christ.

Jesus Modelled This

We need look no further than the cross! Jesus submitted himself to human authority, because in doing so he submitted to his Father’s command to lay down his life and take it up again.

“For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”
— John 10:17–18 (ESV)

Jesus also dismantled the Pharisees’ attack when they tried to trap him with a legal question concerning taxes: do we honour God or Caesar?

“‘Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?’ But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, ‘Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin for the tax.’ And they brought him a denarius. And Jesus said to them, ‘Whose likeness and inscription is this?’ They said, ‘Caesar’s.’ Then he said to them, ‘Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’ When they heard it, they marvelled. And they left him and went away.”
— Matthew 22:17–22 (ESV)

Christians have a duty to God to live in subjection to ruling authority, to render to Caesar that which is commanded, while refusing, as Daniel and his friends in Babylon did, to bow to the worldly idols and edicts of pagan kings tempting us to disobey the Lord. We give to God what is God’s — our worship, admiration, fear, obedience, love and allegiance — and give to our governments what is theirs: civil obedience, respect, taxes, and so on.

What It Doesn’t Mean

We cannot wave the flag of ‘we-only-obey-God’ as an excuse to disobey civil authorities simply because we deem the law to be unfair or unethical. Unless there is a clear violation of God’s word, we are commanded to be subject to those who rule over us, in accordance with the system of governance within which we find ourselves.

This is difficult for those who have been raised in cultures that affirm ‘human rights’ as God-given. When Paul wrote to slaves/servants, he told them to obey their masters as unto Christ (Eph 6:5; Col 3:22), not to rebel against them because slavery violated their human right to freedom. Likewise, he told masters not to mistreat their slaves but to respect them as brothers in Christ.

That means those in communist China have fewer ‘rights’ to protest or engage in the political process than those living in democracies like Australia. Australians can sign petitions, disagree, protest, and lobby our elected MPs, whereas Christians in nations like Afghanistan and Yemen are not given the civil right to protest their own persecution; they’re usually beaten, imprisoned or executed. This is just as it was in the Roman Empire when apostles like Peter and Paul were writing to the churches and telling them to submit to earthly authority, and to endure hardship knowing that eternal hope awaits them.

Some may think of the Old Testament teenager Esther who, as a young queen, brought the case of her people to the king — yet in doing so she risked her life! She had no more right to speak to the king than a peasant. Being queen did not make her equal to the king; she was effectively his property. Fortunately, the king favoured her, and her voice was heard. A Christian in North Korea might attempt, like Esther, to speak up, but without favour, it will end in imprisonment or death.

John the Baptist spoke out against the adulterous actions of King Herod and was thrown in prison, despite being right. Eventually, he was executed at Herod’s command. Speaking out against injustice and unrighteousness is always an option for the people of God, and at times we may be rewarded and shown favour like Esther, and at other times we may receive the martyr’s crown like John the Baptist.

For a Christian in Australia, we can engage significantly in the political space without fear of death, thanks only to the legal and constitutional system in place to protect us — at least, that is currently true. Yet believers in both persecuted nations and ‘free’ nations are expected to submit themselves to the ruling authority out of reverence for Christ, entrusting their lives into his hands, just as Christ entrusted his own life into the hands of his Father as the Roman soldiers nailed him to the cross.

So, Should Aussie Christians Get ‘Political’ or Keep Their Heads Down?

If evil triumphs when good men do nothing, then the world becomes increasingly anti-Christ when Christians hide their lights.

“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
— Matthew 5:13–16 (ESV)

“In [Christ] was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
— John 1:4–5 (ESV)

What happens when the light goes out? Darkness takes over.

What happens when the conscience of the Empire no longer has the spotlight of heaven shining on it? It becomes darkened and dull.

Society needs the church to shine, to light the way to truth and grace, with gentleness and love. We are not to be on the hill pointing fingers of condemnation, but it can be difficult to speak truth without the ungodly feeling condemned. This is what shame is: the feeling of guilt, hopelessness and condemnation.

The Scriptures say there is no longer any condemnation for those who what…? Are in Christ! (Romans 8:1). So it stands to reason that those who are not in Christ stand condemned.

Jesus said it plainly:

“Whoever believes in [the Son] is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.”
— John 3:18–19 (ESV)

The light comes to expose the poor condition of the condemned, with the invitation for them to believe the Gospel and be saved from eternal condemnation. The light must continue to shine, and while it is grossly unpopular to call out sin and to stand up for the ethics and morality of Christian doctrine, how else will the world know they are in darkness?

Abortion is wrong; it’s evil. But so is lying, and lust, and gossip, and greed and tyranny. And yet there is grace and mercy for all such things, when you stand without condemnation in the forgiveness of Christ.

It’s not unloving to be a voice against that which God opposes. It is unloving, however, to only be a voice against what God opposes without simultaneously holding out the hope of the Gospel. If you preach against abortion, but offer no healing, hope and mercy, then you may be offering Truth, but no Grace, and Jesus came with both (John 1:14).

What about gun control? Education? Health policies? Immigration? Police powers? The energy sector? The environment? Should Christians speak into these spaces? Sure, if they have a biblical framework to do so. After all, we’re not trying to perfect an earthly nation — although we do desire a safe and prosperous one — we’re actually called to prioritise God’s Kingdom.

What does the Kingdom of Heaven say about the environment? A lot!

What does the Kingdom say about children, gender and sexuality? A lot!

What does Scripture say about the different roles of men and women, husbands and wives? A lot!

What’s important is that if we are passionate about some aspect of civil life in our country, we must refuse to bypass the Bible in the way we form our perspective on such matters. We must be submitted to God first, and his Word, then to governing authorities. We must let our light shine and maintain our saltiness; even if it offends the lost and condemned, it honours Christ. Yet it only honours him if we conduct ourselves in the same spirit of grace, mercy and compassion that Christ himself did.

The Tension of Two Kingdoms

Lutheran tradition, along with many other Reformed traditions, argues that the church and state are two kingdoms ruled differently, for different purposes. They’re also quick to point out that God rules both kingdoms, but differently.

The kingdom of the right hand (church) rules by Word and Gospel; the kingdom of the left hand (state) rules by law and sword. Both are legitimate, and a Christian serves in each, and those who hold this view would stress that we must not confuse the instruments of governance. The pulpit preaches law and gospel; the courts rule by laws and civil consequences. The church is not supposed to draft policy, because the state runs on reason and natural law (arguable in today’s climate). In such a view, the pastor may rebuke sin (as John the Baptist did Herod), but he shouldn’t tell the congregation how the energy sector ought to be regulated. That’s considered left-hand-kingdom work for Christians in their vocations (meaning Christians who work in that sector should certainly take their theology to work with them), but it is not a congregational concern requiring a pastor’s input from the pulpit.

This really is where the rubber hits the road. What left-hand kingdom issues should pastors address and speak up about from the pulpit?

So What Should Come from the Pulpit?

I believe those in the pulpit have a responsibility to speak into the issues and topics that Christians are facing every day, and to do so only from the text of Scripture, and only as it relates to our continued obedience to Christ and the mission of the Gospel. It’s not about soapbox issues or being pulled off course. We preach Christ, and him crucified.

However, to those suffering persecution, the apostles wrote about endurance, faith, and submission to authority.

To those prospering but living like the world, the apostles rebuked and corrected, bringing admonishment and the commands of God to live holy lives.

To the wealthy, the apostles warned against trust in riches and instructed them to be generous.

To those living in perversion, lust, greed, and violence, the apostles spoke with great clarity and authority.

If the pulpit refuses to address the issues and challenges its congregation is confronted with in their community and nation, then the media and culture of the world will shout loudly and unhindered. The sheep need the voice of the shepherds saying, ‘This way — this is the way to go, this is the way to live,’ just as Jesus, our Good Shepherd, modelled for us.

I agree, the pulpit is not for politics; it’s for the preaching and teaching of God’s Word so the believer may be built up, strengthened and equipped to live up to the heavenly calling of following Jesus and becoming like him; and this undoubtedly requires having biblically formed opinions on how to navigate the modern minefield of hot topics.

I would also suggest that we don’t need to go looking for political topics to preach about. They will inevitably come up if we simply preach through the Bible. Jesus and the Apostles addressed issues that today are considered ‘political’, but not because they were trying to be; they were simply instructing God’s people on righteousness. Any preacher that speaks more about hot topic issues, like Gender, Israel, Islam, LGBTQ+, Abortion, etc., than the hope of the gospel, in my opinion, has swung the pendulum too far and needs to recentre; let’s be sure we major on the majors without neglecting the minors.

In contrast, any pulpit that is silent on those hot topics probably needs to stir up some courage, and not leave their congregation wondering if God has anything to say about such things.

The Two Greatest Laws: Love and Love

When asked what the greatest commandments were, Jesus affirmed that the entire Old Testament could be summed up as follows:

“And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
— Mark 12:30–31 (ESV)

Jesus also said plainly in John 14:15 that if we love him, we will obey his commands. Loving God and obedience to his commands go hand in hand.

So the second command, to love our neighbour, is also a way of loving God, for to obey God is to love God.

This is where our political involvement can really become important. If the laws of the land oppress my neighbour, am I fulfilling the command to love them if I remain silent?

Reflection

If a movement sought to import the Taliban’s version of Sharia (under which, as Amnesty International reported in 2026, child marriage has been institutionalised, and a girl’s silence counts as consent), could I claim to love my Muslim neighbour, and their daughters, if I remained silent? What if such a group sought to introduce these customs into Australia? Should the church speak up?

If the education department wants to teach our children that their biology and sex are unrelated concepts, and that gender is nothing more than a social construct, am I being loving if I silently affirm this delusion and show no resistance to this ideological evil?

Can I really claim to love my neighbour while standing idly by as politicians draft laws that will, from a biblical perspective, do more harm to our society and increase the darkness?

The priest and the Levite did nothing when they saw the suffering of their brother, beaten and bloody, on the road to Jericho. Doing nothing is not impartial. Silence is not impartial. Switzerland claimed to be ‘neutral’ in WWII, but by doing nothing, were they really neutral?

Jesus makes this startling statement about neutrality:

“Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”
— Matthew 12:30 (ESV)

Either we are actively working to shun evil and to rescue the lost, or we are, by Jesus’ own words, working against him.

There is no neutral, no Switzerland. We have a voice, we are salt, and we are light, and we are called to shrewdly and wisely use what we have for the glory of God in compassion for our neighbours. Consider these Scriptures:

“learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.”
— Isaiah 1:17 (ESV)

“If you are called to testify about something you have seen or that you know about, it is sinful to refuse to testify, and you will be punished for your sin.”
— Leviticus 5:1 (NLT)

“But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any one of them, that person is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand. So you, son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. If I say to the wicked, O wicked one, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked person shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. But if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, that person shall die in his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul.”
— Ezekiel 33:6–9 (ESV)

“Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.”
— Ephesians 5:11 (ESV)

“So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.”
— James 4:17 (ESV)

“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”
— Micah 6:8 (ESV)

“Because of the violence done to your brother Jacob, shame shall cover you, and you shall be cut off forever. On the day that you stood aloof, on the day that strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were like one of them… For the day of the Lord is near upon all the nations. As you have done, it shall be done to you; your deeds shall return on your own head.”
— Obadiah 1:10–11, 15 (ESV)

There is no neutrality; the Kingdom of God is advancing, and the violent take it by force — so much so that the gates of Hell cannot prevail against it — and if we do not gather with Christ, we’re as worthless as those who scatter, opposing him. It’s not soft and cuddly to say these things, I know. But we need to hear it.

No one likes having the curtains suddenly ripped open on a sunny morning while they’re trying to sleep in, the sunlight blasting through the window causing temporary blindness… That is how the culture feels when we shine our light. But it is not the light that is wrong; it is the darkness.

If we are going to obey God and love our neighbours, we must, like the Good Samaritan, be willing to get off our donkeys — our ‘high horses’ — and get into the mud and mire of a beaten, abused society, and put our resources to work for their sake, denying ourselves if necessary, partnering with ‘innkeepers’ to heal our neighbourhood, community and nation.

It’s risky. We might get beaten and mugged too!

We might get persecuted for the sake of righteousness! And Jesus says we’re blessed if we do. But we can’t do all that if we refuse to call evil, evil, and good, good.

Perhaps instead of thinking about it as ‘getting political’, we could reframe it and say, ‘we’re becoming more loving’.

Working Within the Legal System

Paul was arrested and imprisoned on multiple occasions, so for him to instruct believers to submit to authority is not theory, nor does it come from the safety of some ivory tower. No, Paul had skin in the game, earned his stripes and wrote many of these instructions from within the prison cells that held him.

Paul also knew that he could push against authority as long as he did so according to the rules; he had to work within the system before he could work against it.

When Paul was arrested in Philippi, he was beaten and imprisoned. Upon release, he used the fact that he was a Roman citizen to his advantage:

“But when it was day, the magistrates sent the police, saying, ‘Let those men go.’ And the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, ‘The magistrates have sent to let you go. Therefore come out now and go in peace.’ But Paul said to them, ‘They have beaten us publicly, uncondemned, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us into prison; and do they now throw us out secretly? No! Let them come themselves and take us out.’ The police reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Roman citizens. So they came and apologised to them. And they took them out and asked them to leave the city.”
— Acts 16:35–39 (ESV)

Then later, he used his legal rights as a Roman citizen to appeal the legal process, asking instead to be taken before Caesar:

“‘If then I am a wrongdoer and have committed anything for which I deserve to die, I do not seek to escape death. But if there is nothing to their charges against me, no one can give me up to them. I appeal to Caesar.’ Then Festus, when he had conferred with his council, answered, ‘To Caesar you have appealed; to Caesar you shall go.'”
— Acts 25:11–12 (ESV)

Paul was willing to endure the consequences of breaking any laws for the sake of the Gospel, yet not without first leveraging his legal rights.

This sets a great example for us: (1) be willing to suffer and surrender your rights for the sake of Christ; (2) you are permitted, perhaps encouraged, to use your legal rights, as you have them, to your advantage and for furthering the Kingdom.

Paul’s appeal to Caesar was not to save his neck but to gain the opportunity to preach in Rome and to the Emperor himself. It was always about the mission: the Gospel.

Paul shows us that our highest value is to identify with the suffering of Christ, but that the goal of seeing the Gospel spread and bear fruit allows us to leverage whatever political and civil rights we may have (even if others do not, since Peter and John did not have the same rights as Paul) to make it easier to preach, build the Kingdom and love our neighbours.

Reflection

Is my political activity — the things I speak up about — for my own personal benefit only, or also for the benefit of my neighbours?

Is my silence on a political issue driven by revelation and Scripture, or by fear of persecution or loss? Am I silent because speaking up is costly, or because it’s biblical?

When I speak about the darkness in the world and call evil ‘evil’, do I simultaneously hold out the hope of the Gospel, of repentance and salvation? Am I a cynic and a critic only, or do I try to hold Grace and Truth in tension?

Am I silent because I’m not sure if I am ‘allowed’ to speak up about political things in the church? Or as a Christian? Am I worried about what other Christians will think, or what my pastor or leaders will think, and I don’t want to rock the boat?

Am I submitted to the Holy Spirit, and am I expressing the fruit of the Spirit when I speak up about political things, or am I more known for anger, aggression and intimidation?

Do I encourage other believers to develop biblical frameworks for engaging in politics, or do I shake my head at those whom I deem ‘too political’?

“May we be as bold as lions, as shrewd as serpents, and as harmless as doves; Lord, give us wisdom.“

What do you think?