Does Jesus set an example for us to use politics in building the Kingdom of God? Is Romans 13 God’s stamp of approval upon his people participating in government? Did Jesus (and the apostles) not address political involvement because they lived during a time where they couldn’t vote?
Since my recent article about why I don’t vote and probably never will, I have been reminded of the many underlying aspects to a discussion about God and government. What we do with our time and where we focus our attention in this life is directly connected to what we believe about the afterlife. Therefore, a question we as disciples of Christ must wrestle through is whether or not we should be spending our time and energy campaigning for political reform.
In dialoguing with different people about voting and the Christian’s role in politics, I’ve noticed three myths that frequently surface. I don’t call them myths as an attempt to intimidate those who disagree with me. I call them myths because you can’t find these concepts in scripture or in history, and yet people hold them as biblical “examples” or “evidence.”
If we’re going to suggest from a Christ-centered perspective that we are to vote and be a part of government affairs, we should be able to see it in his word and in the historical data.
Yet, we can’t.
These myths address Christ’s interaction with government agents, the political climate in New Testament times, and our understanding of Romans 13. Let’s look at the first one.
The first myth is this:
Because Jesus affirmed the faith of government and military agents, he set an example to us that God works through the government and that we should be involved in bringing about the kingdom of God through political reform.
There are two aspects to this myth that I’m going to address. First, there is a logical aspect—just because someone affirms something about someone else doesn’t mean he affirms everything they’re involved with. Secondly, there is the theological aspect—what does it mean to advance the kingdom of God on the earth?
To pull from a couple encounters where Jesus affirms the faith of military leaders (as in Matthew 8) and tells us to give government what we owe it (as in Mark 12) and assume he is giving us an example of how God works through and calls us to be involved in political affairs is to assume so much it’s not even logical.
I can affirm the faith of some people I know who smoke. The life of Christ shines through them. They are bearing fruit of the Spirit of God. It’s just they also have a habit of smoking they find hard to kick.
However, it would be a terrible mistake for my boys to see and hear me affirm their faith and assume I want all my children to smoke. They would have totally missed the intent and meaning of my encounters with those friends.
Don’t get me wrong—I am not intending to suggest that Jesus thinks negatively of government involvement. I am simply pointing out how it is possible for someone to affirm the faith of another perso while not condoning their habits (or vocations).
Furthermore, bearing the image of God as human beings (Genesis 1:26) was central to Hebrew theology.
Jesus took a question meant to trap him in his my-kingdom-is-not-of-this-world type message and turned it to convict the Pharisees of their betrayal in faithfully bearing God’s image.
Since coins bear the image of the political leaders, we are to render them our taxes. Likewise, since we bear the image of God as beings, we are to render God our lives.
We cannot tell from these encounters what Jesus thinks of being involved in politics, positively or negatively. Does he think people shouldn’t be involved in government? We don’t know. Neither do we know if he is affirming their involvement. We can simply see he affirms their faith.
“So, if Jesus is silent on this issue, why does it matter?”
The reason it matters is because Jesus has laid out how we go about advancing the kingdom of God. He has given specific work for us to do in bringing about God’s glory and kingdom in the world around us. It’s Matthew 5, 6, and 7—being salt and light in earth, being the hands and feet of a God who loves and cares for people while simultaneously feeding them the truth of the gospel, the way of a new and free life as God design.
Jesus clearly gave us the command to go and make disciples (Matthew 28). Jesus clearly called us to lay down our lives denying ourselves (which would include our political rights and freedoms) if we are to follow him (Matthew 16).
And he gave us this example: in the face of death—the time when if Jesus saw politics as a way for advancing the Kingdom of God, he would have been most likely to draw upon it—he tells Pilate, “If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest…But my kingdom is not from the world” (John 18:36).
All of this leads me to conclude that Jesus has not set an example for us to be involved with government reforms. Instead, he sets an example for us to lay that all aside. As we will see, the Gospel—the kingdom of God—is about something far more intangible then legislation can ever touch.
The second myth is this:
Jesus did not live during a time when people could vote, so of course he didn’t talk about it.
However, I’m going to wait to address this second myth until the next post.
Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments, below. Stay tuned for more…
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