The Christian and Government
by Harley Pinon
As Christians, we are told "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, {21} who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself." (Phil 3:20-21 NKJV) Some have taken this to mean that we are only citizens of heaven, and we are to have as little as possible to do with earthly government of any kind. The question is, is this what this verse, and the Bible, teach? I believe that being a Christian should make us a model citizen of the country in which we live, not a non-citizen.
We, in the United States of America, are especially blessed. We live in a country which was founded by God fearing men. Did they all have the same understanding of scripture that I have? No! Were they all perfect? No, but that doesn't mean that they could not base our laws on the Bible. They did that. Our founding documents speak of their faith in God. "All men are created equal and are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights. . ." These are statements of those who believed in God. I am saddened that we have lost many of the freedoms that our forefathers fought and died for. We have practically lost the right to pray in public places. Bible reading has been banned from our schools. Abortion has become the "right" of women, and the list goes on.
But what is the role of the Christian in government? While Jesus was here on earth, the Jewish leaders asked Him about the tribute money. "Tell us, therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?" {18} But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, "Why do you test Me, you hypocrites? {19} "Show Me the tax money." So they brought Him a denarius. {20} And He said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?" {21} They said to Him, "Caesar's." And He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." (Mat 22:17-21 NKJV)
What is Jesus saying? I think the answer is pretty simple: as citizens here on earth, we reap many benefits from government. We have government at many levels: city, county, state, and federal. The local government provides us with police and fire protection, city streets which are maintained, a sewer system, and local water supply. I find all of these to be very important, and I'm thankful for them. Again, what does the Bible say? Actually, Paul doesn't mention water or sewer, but notice what he does say:
"Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. {2} Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. {3} For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. {4} For he is God's minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God's minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. {5} Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience' sake. {6} For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God's ministers attending continually to this very thing. {7} Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor." (Rom 13:1-7 NKJV)
This is obviously in the section of Romans that is dealing with civil government. If in his day, Paul could say Render “honor to whom honor,” then how much more do we owe honor to our President. Who has to be reminded that it was Pilate, a Roman, who ordered the crucifixion of our Lord. Romans tortured and killed countless Christians. Our country, in spite of its wrongs, is a model by comparison to Rome, and yet Paul could say, pay “honor to whom honor” is due. I am sure there were those of Paul's day who could say, as some would today, there are no honorable men in government. Paul recognized that certain men were to be honored because of their position.
Notice a similar situation that Paul experienced in his life as a Christian and his experience with those who were not what they should be: (Acts 23:1-5 NKJV) Then Paul, looking earnestly at the council, said, "Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day." {2} And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth. {3} Then Paul said to him, "God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! For you sit to judge me according to the law, and do you command me to be struck contrary to the law?" {4} And those who stood by said, "Do you revile God's high priest?" {5} Then Paul said, "I did not know, brethren, that he was the high priest; for it is written, 'You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.'"
This was clearly a case in which a ruler was not acting properly, or even within the law, yet Paul said, for it is written, 'You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.'" Yes, there are times when very dishonorable people have positions of authority. Even so, we are to be careful what we say about these people.
As Paul is writing to Timothy, he says, "Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, {2} for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. {3} For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, {4} who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." (1 Tim 2:1-4 NKJV)
"That we may lead a quiet and peaceable life." What does that require? Go back to Romans for just a moment: "For he is God's minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God's minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil." (Romans 13:4) Now how far does that go? At the national level could it involve protecting us from evil nations? I think it does.
Now let us discuss the war in Iraq. War is war! Do I like war? No, but what is the alternative? The war in Iraq is a war against terrorists. Is it a perfect war? No! There never has been a perfect war—that one is yet to come! God will fight a war. He will make no mistakes, but until then, wars are fought by imperfect men. We did not begin the war on terror. That began before 9/11, 9/11 just hit home harder than other terrorist attacks that we and others had already suffered. Had we responded to some of the earlier attacks perhaps 9/11 would not have happened. We do not live in a world of wonderful people. Perhaps these pictures from a recent rally in London will help explain why we are at war with Muslim people.
Unfortunately, these are real people. They are not kind, loving, understanding, spiritual people. There are those who say we need to "talk to" these people. These people cannot be "talked to." They are extremists, and they are legion. Not all Arabs are like this, but there are many who are extreme. They preach and practice death and destruction. They are willing to die in suicide attacks and see children die in the same way. This is not of the God we know who teaches love and life, not hatred and death.
I have been told by one individual that I must love these people. As Christians we are to love our enemies, but does that mean that government is to ignore those who would destroy us?
It was the God of heaven Who once gave an order to King Saul to utterly destroy the Amalekites. (1 Sam 15:2-3 NKJV) "Thus says the LORD of hosts: 'I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he ambushed him on the way when he came up from Egypt. {3} 'Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.'" These were God's orders to Saul. What did Saul do? He disobeyed by sparing the king and some of the animals for sacrifice. Was God pleased? No!
Samuel said to Saul, "Now the LORD sent you on a mission, and said, 'Go, and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.' {19} "Why then did you not obey the voice of the LORD? Why did you swoop down on the spoil, and do evil in the sight of the LORD?" {20} And Saul said to Samuel, "But I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and gone on the mission on which the LORD sent me, and brought back Agag king of Amalek; I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. {21} "But the people took of the plunder, sheep and oxen, the best of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the LORD your God in Gilgal." {22} Then Samuel said: "Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams. {23} For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He also has rejected you from being king." (1 Sam 15:18-23 NKJV)
The case I just cited is an extreme case. It was God's call, and He does not make mistakes. I'm not suggesting that we should try to exterminate a race as Hitler tried to do, but I am suggesting that there were times when God allowed and even commanded war to be declared on certain people.
Yes, I realize things are different now, but I think what many fail to understand is that under Christ, we have two systems of government: civil government, and spiritual government if you will. That's so that Christianity can be an international religion. Under the Old Testament, there were wars. None of them were pleasant, but there were certain people that God said to destroy.
I'm not for war for
the sake of war, but there are times when war is the only alternative to
being totally overrun by evil men such as Hitler, Stalin, Saddam Husain, and
numerous others like them. How can you deal with such men? All
they really understand is force. A force that is more powerful than
they are.
Some have taken Jesus statement about "turning the other cheek" completely out of context. Jesus was telling us how we as individual Christians are to live our lives on a daily basis. He isn't talking about civil government. Those who like to make "turn the other cheek" cover everything are opposed to capital punishment--perhaps all punishment for that matter. We are told to forgive and forget. Again, this applies to us as individuals, not to the law enforcement arm of government.
For a further discussion of capital punishment, please see my article on capital punishment on this website. The link is:
Capital Punishment -- What Does the Bible Say?
Based on what I've said in this article, I think that we as Christians are to be the salt of the earth. Salt is of little value in a salt shaker. We appreciate it when it is mixed with the food that we eat. Salt, when used properly, brings out the best favor of food. We as Christians should work to bring out the best in every situation where we have the opportunity. There is something else about salt. Before refrigeration, it was used to preserve food from spoiling. Salt becomes involved in what it touches. We as Christians should be involved, in a good way, with the world around us.
In the Old Testament, God called the shots. In calling the shots, he sometimes called for the destruction of certain people. We don't have God calling the shots today, but we have civil leaders who are responsible for helping to protect the citizens of their country. In the United States, we have the opportunity to help provide a government that promotes what is basically good and wholesome. In most states, prostitution is banned. There are laws against sex crimes, and many other laws that make for a better country. These things did not just happen.
To our south, there is Mexico which has pockets of "drug lords." They kill, and kidnap on a daily basis. The government of Mexico has failed to protect its citizens in many cases. Government is important. I think it is important that Christians use their influence to help our nation be the best that it can be.
We recently learned that a convicted sex offender was going to be moving into our community within 500 feet of my home, and 200 feet of our 5 year old grand-daughter. I was asked to help out. Among other things, I contacted our police who immediately stepped in to help. Our community came together, and those who were going to lease their home to this individuals family members, came to me to tell me that they had terminated the lease before the people moved in.
I believe I did the right thing. I believe that we as Christians should be involved in our community, and in our government.