The Christian political task — Ryan Smit

In part 1 of a 2-part series on Christian engagement in the political sphere, Ryan Smit, Programme Director of the Wilberforce Academy, South Africa, discusses the Biblical bases for socio-political engagement. The series will conclude later this month.

As with all other areas of life and culture, Christians’ engagement with political structures and processes begins with seeking to think Christianly about this topic in order that we might live (act/work) Christianly in practice (Romans 12). Having a solid working knowledge of the WHY and WHAT of a biblical Christian worldview, therefore, is a minimum requirement for everyone who wants to be faithful and fruitful followers of the Lord Jesus in HOW they engage in political processes and with governing authorities instituted by God (Romans 13:1-7).

In this brief article, we’ll take a bird’s eye view of the Christian political task with reference to the following four points:

1. Humans are culture-makers
2. God’s will is knowable – humanity can choose to follow/obey it
3. Those who are “in Christ” are also to be in the world, but not of the world
4. The Christian political task – with reference to the role of the State

Caveat: In this brief introduction, a lot will be left unsaid and not all points and avenues could be fully explored. To assist with fleshing out the subject in more detail, a selection of further reading is provided at the end of this article.

1. We are all culture-makers

Genesis 1 and 2 contains what is referred to as God’s “cultural mandate” to humanity, with two of the key verses being Genesis 1:26-28 and Genesis 2:15:

²⁶ Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

²⁷ So God created man in his own image,
    in the image of God he created him;
    male and female he created them.

²⁸ And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” — Genesis 1:26-28

¹⁵ The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. — Genesis 2:15

Human beings have a creational calling to rule over and develop creation, through speaking and making – in expressing the likeness of the One in whose image we are made, the One who spoke and made.

Theologian John Frame puts it like this: “Culture is what a society has made of God’s creation, together with its ideals of what it ought to make. Or maybe we should put the ideal first. People make things, because they already have a plan in view, a purpose, a goal, an ideal. The ideal comes first, then making things … So now we can see how culture is related to religion. When we talk of values and ideals, we are talking religion. In the broad sense a person’s religion is what grips his heart most strongly, what motivates him most deeply … It is interesting that the Latin term “colere” … also refers to religious service, and comes into English as cult, cultic and so on. Culture and cult go together. If a society worships the true God, that worship will deeply influence, even pervade its culture. If like ours, a society is religiously divided, then it will reveal a mixture of religious influences.”

We can therefore conceive of culture as the fruit of the (spiritual) root of our lives / our heart relationship with God (Colossians 2:6-8). It is, in a certain sense, “religion externalised” – how we show on the outside what we believe and is really valuable to us.

The culture we make will either be covenant-keeping, in worship of the one true God, thereby making culture that glorifies Him. Or our culture-making will be covenant-breaking, in worship of false gods (idols), thereby making culture that rejects God’s rule and ways, and defaces the image of God (humanity) and the rest of creation (nature).

At our best, we create a mix of the two. By subjecting our culture-making to the Word of God through the Holy Spirit’s formation and guidance – under the Lordship of Christ, to bring glory to God the Father – we come closer to making culture (ruling) in line with God’s will, ways and purposes.

2. God’s will is knowable. We can choose to follow/obey it.

Romans 1 and 2 give an account of humanity’s culture-making apart from God. It accounts for both extremes of rebellious rejection of God’s rule and responding in obedience to God’s ways / governing principles for human conduct.

¹⁸ For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. ¹⁹ For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. ²⁰ For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. ²¹ For although they knew God, they did not honour him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. ²² Claiming to be wise, they became fools, ²³ and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. — Romans 1:18-23

¹⁴ For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. ¹⁵ They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them ¹⁶ on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus. — Romans 2:14-16

God’s will is knowable – we can choose to follow/obey it (Him). The fallenness of mankind makes it difficult to do this (at all, for unbelievers who persevere in resisting God (Romans 8:5-8) – or consistently, for those who are in Christ (Romans 7:16-25)).

Humanity, in its unredeemed state, functions on the default setting of rebelling against God’s rule and reign. God, in His goodness, is not hiding Himself from humanity, but is constantly revealing Himself to us. He does this through the Scriptures, through the testimony of the Lord’s work in individual lives, families, the church, communities and nations (including the work of the Holy Spirit in history and personal encounters/experience), through creation, through human conscience, through our image-bearership and non-saving personal knowledge of God.

3. In the world, but not of the world.

¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.^[b] The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. — 2 Corinthians 5:17

Believers (those who have been redeemed by the blood of Christ and have been restored in a living relationship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit) and unbelievers (who have not been born again) inhabit this world together in the last days – in the period known as the “now and the not-yet”, between Jesus’ first and second coming. 

Those who are in Christ and those who are not, have diverging culture-making inclinations, aspirations and enterprises, which ultimately flow in opposing directions. Those in Christ want to honour Father God and Christ as Lord of all through life in the Spirit, while the default for everyone else is to honour some other creature / self-made thing, idea or system as ultimate authority.

It is important to realise that the image of God – although blemished/tainted – remains part of all human beings’ personalities and identities, whether born-again of the Spirit or not (Genesis 9:6-7). All, therefore, have access to the truth through the multiple ways by which God reveals Himself to us. Because of this reality, those who are in Christ can find allies in unbelievers in the course of our culture-making endeavours to the glory of God. Our final allegiance, however, lies with our Lord and Saviour who is King of Kings and Lord of all Lords. We can only serve one master. (Matthew 6:24)

3. The Christian political task

The Westminster Shorter Catechism states:
Q:  What is the chief end of man?
A:  Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him for ever.

¹³ The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. — Ecclesiastes 12:13

⁸ He has told you, O man, what is good;
    and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
    and to walk humbly with your God? — Micah 6:8

³⁷ And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. ³⁸ This is the great and first commandment. ³⁹ And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbour as yourself. ⁴⁰ On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” — Matthew 22:37-40

¹² “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. — John 15:12

³¹ So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. — 1 Corinthians 10:31

In the political arena – engaging with governing authorities instituted by God – like all other areas of life and culture, we are called to be salt, light, knead leaven, reflecting the kingdom we belong to and the culture (values and principles) of that kingdom (the Kingdom of God/Heaven) — manifesting, modelling and proclaiming the Lordship of Christ over all. 

At the most basic level, we are to ask: “What would Jesus do?” and “How is the Holy Spirit leading us to serve/glorify God and love people?”, in whatever situation we find ourselves.

In more practical terms, we are to ask:

• What good can we celebrate, protect, promote, conserve or preserve?
• What evil can we stop or expose, and which cultural expression/convention must we reject, oppose and confront?
• What is missing that we can contribute?
• What brokenness can we restore?

Postscript:

In one of his final works, “A Christian Manifesto”, respected Evangelical author and thought leader, Francis Schaeffer, posited the question: “… what is the [ ] relationship to the state [ ] of anyone whose base is the existence of God?” He answered this question as follows:

1. God commands all persons to be subject to the state.
2. God has not set up an authority – in the state – that is autonomous of himself.
3. Civil government (as all of life) is subject to the law of God.
4. Matthew 22:21 – “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s” – does not affect the state’s submission under God. It is vested with delegated authority from God  for a God-ordained purpose:

13 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. ² Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. ³ For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, ⁴ for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. — Romans 13:1-4

¹³ Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, ¹⁴ or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. ¹⁵ For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. ¹⁶ Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. ¹⁷ Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor. — 1 Peter 2:13-17

5. The state’s God-ordained mandate therefore is to:

• Be a ministry of justice – restraining evil/chaos resulting from fallenness, e.g. by punishing wrongdoers
• Protect the good in society, including commending right(eous) conduct
• Serve God for the good of people

6. When the state fails to fulfil its mandate, e.g. by commanding what is contrary to God’s Word, punishing good/righteous conduct and/or rewarding evil conduct:

• It has abrogated its legitimate authority, has usurped illegitimate authority and become lawless and tyranny.
• Civil authorities that have become apostate to such extent are not to be obeyed (Acts 4:18-20, 5:27-29, Daniel 3:16-18, 6:10-17)

7. Early Christians in the Roman empire were thrown to the lions because of civil disobedience – they did not obey the law of the empire, which required everyone to worship Caesar as Lord.

In the Western world, over the last century, and in our nation, since inception of our current constitutional democracy — and especially over the past five years — we have seen and are now experiencing in increasing measure a totalitarian urge and drive from the state to set itself up as “the messiah of the people”. In some areas (for example, education policy) it does this more militantly than in others. 

We are nearing a juncture where we will have to decide (in certain parts of daily life in South Africa this is already a reality) who we are going to serve as final authority: the Lord Jesus Christ or the idol of the state?

Further reading:

1. Plugged In – Daniel Strange
2. A Christian Manifesto – Francis Schaeffer
3. A Practical Guide to Culture – John Stonestreet and Brett Kunkle
4. Cultural Engagement – Joshua D. Chatraw and Karen Swallow Prior
5. Culture Making – Andy Crouch
6. The Community of the King – Howard A. Snyder
7. In His Image: A Biblical introduction to social ethics – Stephen McQuoid (available from Wilberforce Academy South Africa)
8. Ruler of Kings: Toward a Christian vision of Government – Joseph Boot

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