Christians and politics
Resources & Thoughts around Christians in politics.
In today's politically charged climate, you may have noticed that Christians are often confused and split on how to engage with politics. What is the proper role of the Christian in the political space? The foundational truth to convey is that God wants us involved in the public square - and this includes politics! And in the US, we not only have the responsibility to be involved, but the privilege of easily accessible ways of doing so.
Voting is one way of engaging with politics, and it is both a gift and a responsibility; after all, not voting at all gives tacit approval to the status quo! Some Christians might argue that, since God is sovereign, we do not need to involve ourselves in politics. What these believers miss, though, is that God uses means to accomplish His ends, and our involvement in the politics of our nation is one of those means. God is advancing His kingdom in the world, and He has given His followers a moral, ethical, and spiritual command to engage in this work, willing the good of others through action. We obey, in morals, politics and other areas, and trust that He is bringing His plan to completion.
The real question, then, isn't whether or not Christians should be involved in politics, but how they should be involved. There is the importance of being aware of politics on a local level and loving nearby neighbors before centering attention on national issues. Think through the problem of hypocrisy in politics (and the disillusionment it brings) and work through the dynamics of being willing to partner with non-believers in politics while still holding to biblical values. Christians must, they explain, avoid the pitfalls of adopting secular expectations of the world around us, elevating politics such that it takes priority over our faith, allowing political engagement to crowd out spread of the gospel, and looking at others as merely conservatives or liberals. We must give to politics what belongs to it without making it the center of our identity, and we must encourage the presence of evangelistic Christians in politics. And think about a healthy balance of news intake, the importance of praying for political leaders, and aiming to impact the world by raising godly children
We shouldn't be wrapped up, hyped up by, nor fear situations, nor glued to news around politics, or make it part of your identity, so that it kinda or does suck you into it to be consumed by it, and are living life as seen through a political lens instead of the Biblical one. As Christians we are citizens of heaven and we need to be focused on God, Scripture, the gospel and "today" because our purpose here is to share the gospel, and walk in righteousness (growing in holiness day by day).
Podcast 👈 on topic (76)
Important point on topic noted here (136)
The Gospel changes people, culture and nations.
Thru Salvation, Christian living and conforming to Christ naturally has a impact on the culture as more become followers of Jesus and apply Scripture to life
"Believers need to understand that what happens in America politically and socially has nothing to do with the progress or the power of the kingdom of God. Cultural change can’t accelerate the Kingdom’s growth; nor can it hinder it (see Matthew 16:18).
Christ’s kingdom “is not of this world” (John 18:36).
That’s not to say I’m dismissive of our democratic process or ungrateful to have a voice in it. It’s a great blessing to have a vote and to be able to support biblical standards of morality. Many Christians throughout the history of the church have lived through far worse circumstances than ours, with no legal means to do anything about it.
But the presumption that a social movement or political clout could make a significant spiritual difference in the world is evidence of a severe misunderstanding of sin.
Believers need to put our energies into ministry that can transform lives, not laws. The work of God’s kingdom is not about overhauling governments, rewriting regulations, or rebuilding society into some version of a Christian utopia.
Political and social justice efforts are, at best, short-term, external solutions for society’s moral ills, and they do nothing to address the personal, internal, dominant matter of sinful hearts that hate God (see Romans 8:7), and can be rescued from eternal death only by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ."
— John MacArthur
Righteousness & perfection will reign in Eternity. We are not to focus on this fading world which Christ will burn one day soon.
Political leaders are not the Messiah. But we are to participate in society to shape it towards Christ.
Points to realize regarding this
see Podcast clarifying info @9:04+ 👈
Note: We are only here temporarily...
We shouldn't be focused on rearranging the deck chairs (playing too deeply in politics) on the titanic that's going down (the world), we need to be getting people into the lifeboats (Jesus) so they can be saved.
God will work on growing them in a biblical worldview after that.
Our focus is on eternity and the world to come.
On the Gospel
The Gospel.
See also pdf
More helps
The Christians relationship to Media:
The unfortunate reality of our day is that the average Christian spends vastly more time with media content than the Word of God. The danger here arises from the fact that what we consume shapes and flows out of us. Podcast 👈
Spend a good amount of time reading Scripture daily.
More Resources
Turn from the things of the World, to ministry of Christ and the Gospel
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