Thinking Through How a Believer Should Approach the Civil Government in 2024
Howdy!
For the next two months and few weeks we are going to spend our time working through how we as Christians should think not only about presidential races and the like, but government in general. Sometimes this issue can be fraught with emotion born out of the immediacy of the moment and the importance of what can only be described as dearly held beliefs. At no point in this series will I tell you who for or how to vote. That’s not the point of our conversation. As Bible people and as those who descend from men who’ve thought through these ideas before we need to seek first the wisdom of our Lord and the church, especially since there are so many competing voices out there vying for our time and mind.
The first controversial thing I will say is that the Scriptures do not require a particular form of government. While most of the nations we read about in the old and new testaments are either some form of monarchy or despotism there are also republics and democracies and oligarchies of various types as well. Christianity can and does work in each of these, though some better than others. As Americans we might have a fondness for a Republic (if you can keep it), but the Lord will bless whatever is best for a certain group of people depending on circumstance and time and space as long as those countries recognize and confirm the glory of God and His goodness. What matters more than form is purpose. The only real question to ask is does the government and the nation itself recognize Christ as King and Head over all.
As we consider these matters we should first of all be in prayer that our leaders would seek Christ and His Word (cf: 1 Tim. 2:1-2). Secondly, while it may seem some of the content that will be brought forth in these Tuesday prayer and worship helps are pie-in-the-sky ideas that have little hope of coming to pass we need to remember that we walk by faith and not by sight. (2 Cor. 5:7). I’m sure there were plenty of people sitting around in the first century moping about the state of things and here comes the Messiah who turns the world upside down with the preaching of the gospel. (John 5:20, Acts 17:6). We have seen the Lord do mightier works in the conversion of whole cities. (Jonah 3:5-10). Do not let the nattering nabobs of negativity tell you that either our country or our culture is too far gone that Jesus and the power of His promise cannot overcome it. If the gospel can save our soul, it can do it for others.
There are seasons in life where evil is gaining strength and the countries where we reside are giving themselves over to Satan. How are we to then approach these questions surrounding government if all in authority are serving the evil one? We have the promise in the Bible that they, and them, will not last for long. Any nation openly defying the Lord shall be destroyed. Each of the successive empires prophesied in Daniel 7 fail and often in spectacular ways. Our own nation is not long for this world as long as we also spit in the face of the Holy One. That is why thinking about this kind of stuff matters for us all, not matter our situation.
On Wednesday nights we’ve been in the opening chapters of the book of Genesis. It doesn’t take much for things to go to pot. The sons of Cain have children and found cities. Those municipalities I am sure had mayors, garbage collection and maybe even a parks and rec department. One thing they had for sure was a police force. I highly doubt the descendants of the world’s first murderer lived in peace and harmony. We kind of assume sometimes that government was invented by man because someone had to figure out how to control a land besought by sin. However, it is not the case that civil authority came about in a post-fall world. The so-called Anabaptists of the Reformation, those who are now better known mostly as Mennonites and the Amish, were the first group of people to teach such. Others who came later like William Penn of the Quakers and John Wesley of the Methodists echoed these ideas.
Yet those of us who descend from the Reformed-side of the historical ledger have always taught that part of Adam’s call in the creation was to dominion. While you Gamecock aficionados will know the term from Saturday’s beat down of the Monarchs (ironic) the word comes to us from the Latin dominus which is in reference to a Lord or Master. As Adam is given instructions as to what to do in Eden twice we read of God’s call to bring order among the animals and plants, etc… (Gen. 1:28, 2:8). We can also reason that if our first father had not sinned and Eve had born children in the pre-fall world that there would have still been a need for someone to be in charge and see to it that everyone was doing what was necessary for human flourishing. Dad’s are cool and all, but they are not the sheriff.
This is no less an example of what we would expect a civil leader to do in 2024 than it was then. In fact it is Adam’s failure to bring dominion over the creatures that leads to the serpent deceiving his wife and then himself. The king, like many who would come after him, must take responsibility for this negligence to those under his care. We should expect those in authority over us to not only care for our good, but for their own as well. There is nothing scarier than a sovereign who thinks he is above the law and have no one to answer to other than themselves. Seeing the king from the very beginning of the world as having to give an answer for how he ruled and guarded his people should give us both peace as well as a keen reminder that God desires His servants to not forget who they truly serve.
Ultimately as we come to a close this morning our time will be mostly spent in the weeks to come focused on what we should be looking for in a sinful world. But it is good for us to think about what it was that Jehovah understood His purpose to be in Creation for us to then to see that the civil authority was actually given to us as a good thing and we should then expect a lot more from those who are given to be over us in that part of life. Sometimes we see nothing change in the political realm due to the fact that we don’t understand what God desires that they would be and to do. Resting on the lesser of two evils only ensures that evil wins. Consider afresh and be in prayer and we’ll look more into this and related questions as the month of September moves on. If there are particular aspects of the issues around this topic that you’d like covered more please feel free to let me know.
Last word:
https://rpwitness.org/article/de-regno-christi-the-garden-kingdom
Blessings in Christ,
Rev. Benjamin Glaser
Pastor, Bethany ARP Church
