I've watched politics destroy a church. Not in the sense of internal politics causing a church to fracture; that's bad enough. Rather, I am referring to a church which became so engaged in secular politics she was no longer a church. The gospel message was compromised, the mission perverted, and all with the enthusiastic support of the voting members. It went to the point of temporarily hiring an administrator who was never there, but whose sole purpose in life was to give speeches and slide shows promoting a particular political agenda. Hiring him allowed him to pursue this political campaign until his books and articles began to sell, and his political foundation began producing enough money to pay his living expenses. Sure, he quoted Scripture the whole way through his many speeches, but not once did he share the gospel message, nor point to it. The church had become a secular political institution with religious overtones. It was not a lighthouse to the lost.
It is all well and good to seek a biblical understanding of modern political issues. The problem is far too many assume God favors their particular party, and anything the party supports is de facto the one and only proper Christian position. The assumption is their values are God's values, because the meaning of Scripture has been so twisted in their minds they can't see it condemns them. This is hardly different from perverting the vernacular to force political meanings into common words and phrases. At one time, to "discriminate" meant drawing a distinction between one thing and another. The ability to do this indicated an educated and fine logical mind. There was a time when "free market" meant there we no entry fees, and no one was permitted by sheer wealth to purchase a dominant position, nor use bribes to purchase favorable regulation. Just so, we have twisted the meaning of God's Word to support a political involvement He condemns.
With so very many Western churches involved in politics these days, often loudly proclaiming they follow God's hand in supporting sometimes contradictory policies, the genuine biblical position must inevitably sound radical. It helps if we first examine the context. It requires going quite far back, even to Genesis.
Understanding why politics don't belong in the church requires understanding the history of Covenants. The original covenant between God and man is implied, but not clearly stated in Scripture. I call it the Covenant of Creation -- if you exist, you are obliged to acknowledge God is your Creator. This is reflected in Genesis 4:26, "Then men began to call upon the name of the Lord." Obviously, this would include some effort to avoid offending Him. It incorporates the most basic sacrificial system, including blood offerings. Also note, Balaam knew God from this angle.
Next comes the Covenant of Noah, something widely recognized among Jewish scholars. It applies to all humanity, and particularly aimed at sinners. Taken from the Genesis 8-9, it cites God's promise to maintain a natural order, with predictable seasons. This is tied directly to the requirement to hold men accountable for murder. That symbolizes a much larger requirement to maintain a civil order. Civilization is defined as the set of habits required for large numbers of people to live in close proximity without killing each other. Allowing humans to become predators is unacceptable. No civil order, no natural order.
With Abraham we have the first clear enunciation of personal salvation. The Covenant of Abraham is more than just a promise to bring forth a nation from him. The substance of it was offering to Abraham such as would represent in his mind eternal salvation, in exchange for Abraham offering up everything he would have valued as a man. In essence, this is the same as Galatians 2:20. It is in the following chapter of Galatians Paul makes clear the promise of Abraham was not actually to those of his bloodline, but of his faith-line. Clearly, this same covenant still stands, and in Christ was merely renewed, given a clarification in the Son of God.
In order to create the proper setting for the birth of that Son, God gave the Children of Israel a covenant of law through Moses. This Covenant of Moses was poorly understood from the start. Paul continues in Galatians 4 explaining how the Law was never intended to be permanent. It was a temporary annex falling under previous covenants, having a distinct set of limits: that people, that time, that place. It was set to expire on the Cross. There is nothing of it left to fulfill. Natural Israel was never more than a symbol of Spiritual Israel, and the two coexisted until the final revelation of the Spiritual. At that time, the natural Israel would cease to exist. As Paul so plainly says, there is no longer any distinction between Jews and Gentiles, as all must come to God through faith in the Son as a gift of divine grace. He connects it to the Covenant of Abraham by calling all those born-again "Children of Abraham."
The Law of Moses was limited in many ways. When discussing the issue of divorce (Mark 10:2-12), Jesus made it clear Mosaic Law was a poor shadow of the actual Law of God. This accords well with the explanation in Hebrews, how the Tabernacle was simply a model of the Temple in Heaven (Hebrews 8:5). Even during the time when the Law of Moses was in effect, moments of clarity showed ritual purity was not what God really wanted from mankind (1 Samuel 15:22-23). Examine Leviticus and you'll see very few violations were fatal; most could be dealt with in a proper show of repentance. Personal redemption was still a matter of faith, and the Covenant of Abraham still applied.
This is not to say the Law did not offer any benefits. Prominent under the Law was the promise obedience to its provisions would bring shalom, usually translated "peace." Along with mere tranquility, this kind of peace implied much more: prosperity, protection from plagues, and political stability and dominance. In other words, all the things required for a society to remain stable and strong. This is the epitome of worldly comfort, what is now today often called "success." Today's American middle-class dream was offered to the Children of Israel as God's response to their adherence to the Covenant of Moses.
Here we arrive at the crux of matter. If all you really want from life is success and happiness, you need but apply the Law of Moses. Not so much in the sense of becoming an observant Jew, but simply understanding the basic common-sense principles discernible in the Mosaic Code. You see, the Law was not entirely a new thing handed Moses on the Mount, but incorporated a great deal of lore already common to most Semitic cultures since the days of Noah. For example, tithing was well established before Abraham. The basic elements of kosher (dietary laws) were known to Noah. Pare away those items merely ceremonial, and one can extract good principles of daily life; it's not that hard. Surely you can grasp the educational and self-fulfillment guidelines, the healthy diet, economic principles, etc. All you need is to ensure the society in which you live observes this lifestyle.
This is precisely what most big names are preaching today as their "gospel." Sure, there's plenty of talk about being born again, but the real crux of the matter is having a prosperous, healthy and happy life. These programs seek to make the local church a cultural center, the guiding light of social renewal. That it works so well for that purpose is what keeps it selling. It goes under all sorts of labels: Purpose-Driven, Seeker Sensitive, Victory Living, etc. Somehow, they've gotten the wires crossed, convinced this is what Jesus came to reveal.
However, they fail to go far enough in obeying the Mosaic principles, and are certainly avoiding the gospel of grace saving us from a sure damnation. Indeed, do you really want a good and happy existence? Will you settle for that? Then you must first take back the social and cultural dominance of your country. Further, you will have to more arduously enforce the provisions. Want to end sexual impurity in your world? It really is necessary to execute adulterers and perverts, or politics will allow them to demand full freedom. Don't forget you must stop charging interest to anyone on your side ("the righteous"), but sock it to those with a differing social agenda ("pagans"). This places the balance of economic power with the "good" people, and impoverishes "sinners." Naturally, this includes making sure everyone votes for the right policies, and the right people. History proves such oppressive measures are necessary, and they do work, but it's not what Jesus taught.
Meanwhile, Jesus promised His followers the world would not give them prosperity and happiness. From the Wilderness Temptation on, Jesus made it clear He had no interest in ending hunger and poverty, spared no concern for keeping folks entertained and motivated, and certainly planned to avoid politics (Luke 4:1-13). His interest was revealing His Father's real agenda, then fulfilling that agenda by dying on the Cross. How did our churches get all this backwards? What happened to a bold and blunt warning to folks they were sinners, and deservedly going to roast in Hell?
It's a matter of focus. There's nothing wrong with success in this world, unless it comes at the price of interfering with the gospel. There were dozens of examples where Jesus defied the typical understanding of worldly success. It was not a waste to pour exotic perfume on His feet. Fasting had nothing to do with cleansing the system, and everything to do with preferring spiritual strength over the physical. Not a single healing was based on simple human need, but on demonstrating His authority from God. He most often used that authority to shake up the established order in religion, not in politics. He made it clear investing in worship facilities could be quite pointless (John 4:23-24). His demands of the Rich Young Ruler (Matthew 19:16-22) were not about trading up to a higher level of wealth, but a wholly different kind of wealth. Broken homes (Luke 12:51-53) were to be expected, and social admiration and respect were considered unlikely (John 15:18-20) for those who truly followed Jesus.
That all of this ran counter to Jewish expectations for the Messiah is all too obvious. Even the Twelve, after the Resurrection, kept expecting Jesus to announce it was time to campaign for a restoration of the Davidic throne with Him on it. In the last hour in Gethsemane, Peter tried to use human means to preserve this dream. Had Jesus the least concern for breaking Rome's dominance, evil as she was, He could have called an army of angels to handle it (Matthew 26:52-53). Instead, He had already warned the Jews Rome's control over the common currency gave her every right to tax oppressively (Matthew 22:15-22). Righting every wrong was far from Jesus' mind and mission, as it was far from His commission to His followers, as well (Matthew 28:18-20).
It's not a question of who rules the world: "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and earth." Rulers and laws are His problem, so leave it in His capable hands. Your calling is to focus on making sure you are empowered by your worship of Him, united in your love for Him, and committed at all costs to making sure the gospel is heard. None of this requires feathering your nest by making sure the world around you is loaded with shalom. Rather, it means being so powerfully committed to Him, and having so completely abandoned all human desires, hopes and dreams, no earthly power can prevent you sharing the gospel message. That's the real victory, the real success, real wealth, real peace, real power.
Ed Hurst
revised 27 February 2007
COPYRIGHT NOTICE: People of honor need no copyright laws; they are only too happy to give credit where credit is due. Others will ignore copyright laws whenever they please. If you are of the latter, please note what Moses said about dishonorable behavior -- "be sure your sin will find you out" (Numbers 32:23)