No More Apathy! The Christians’ Call to Transform Civil Government!
For decades the church has been convinced that there is no responsibility to be involved in politics. This complacency in the church is not new. In the early 19th century during the second great awakening, a time when Christians seemed not to care about what happened in American politics, Reverend Charles Finney gave a lecture and firmly stated to the church:
“The church must take right ground in regard to politics. Do not suppose, now, that I am going to preach a political sermon, or that I wish to have you join and get up a Christian party in politics. No, I do not believe in that. But the time has come that Christians must vote for honest men, and take consistent ground in politics, or the Lord will curse them… Politics are a part of religion in such a country as this, and Christians must do their duty to the country as a part of their duty to God. It seems sometimes as if the foundations of the nation were becoming rotten, and Christians seem to act as if they thought God did not see what they do in politics. But I tell you, he does see it, and he will bless or curse this nation, according to the course they take.”
God is not only for peace and order…He is peace and order.
These are characteristics of His kingdom. From this order, civil government has been instituted among men, which is expressed in America’s Declaration of Independence. Moses, as directed by God, established one of the very first detailed structures of civil government. The book of Deuteronomy says:
“Appoint judges and officials for each of your tribes in every town the Lord your God is giving you, and they shall judge the people fairly. Do not pervert justice or show partiality. Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the innocent. Follow justice and justice alone, so that you may live and possess the land the Lord your God is giving you.”
As Christians we have a duty to steward civility and peace in society. This does not mean we force others to believe in God as we do, through civil law. But the church has specifically been tasked with the duty of stewarding God’s creation with excellence, and that includes civil government. Noah Webster wrote:
“It has not been without the unceasing efforts of great and good men, for many years, aided by the authority and influence of Christianity, that the practice of ferocious nations has been softened down to that degree of mildness and equity, which now characterizes the laws of nations.”
Good men, largely through Christianity, have historically brought order to nations under tyranny and chaos. It is up to the church in America to step up and recognize that the body of Christ has been tasked with the responsibility of establishing order through civil government. Christians must reject the lie that religion and politics are mutually exclusive—they are anything but that! Politics without Holy Spirit-led leaders always results in despotism. As Reverend Finney said: