Submission to the Authorities

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

With all of the polarizing political issues that are currently facing us in this nation, as Christians we must never forget that we are children of God first.  Our primary duty is to continually protect and uphold the absolute truth that is found in God’s Holy Word.  We are to be salt and light in a world of melancholy and darkness. 

How do we accomplish those tasks successfully you might ask?  We are successful in this charge when we correctly view our lives as humble servants of the Lord.  We are successful when we daily live our lives as soldiers for Christ, when we handle sensitive issues with love, when we sacrificially support the case for Christ in a fallen world, and we show unwavering support for all Biblical scripture not matter how it might contradict with culture.  We fail when we change scripture, or soften it, to fit with a man-made sense of political correctness.  We fail when we deliver all truth with no love.  We fail when we offer all grace with no claim for the necessity to adhere to Biblical authority concerning sin in our daily lives. 

So, to answer the original question concerning Christians and politics.  As Christians we must be concerned with every aspect of this world and how those aspects may affect reaching the lost.  Doing nothing in the political realm would contradict our Biblical call to publicly stand for Christ.  Ultimately, we are called to both elect and support leaders who most closely reflect Biblical values.  No leader in our world will ever be perfect, but we must still participate in the selection process.  Even when things do not go the way we wish during that process, we are Biblically commanded to obey and respect our government, unless it is in direct conflicts with Biblical teaching.

Sometimes our greatest witness to this world may come when we show love and respect to leaders, and other authority figures, who disagree with us politically.  Our ability to love those who are different than us reveals that we see a bigger picture than just what is occurring here on this Earth at this moment.  As Christians, we should look at all matters of life through a Biblical lens of eternity, rather than a short-sighted carnal lens of self-satisfaction and personal satisfaction.

Dr. Harrison