In case you hadn't noticed, we have a national election next week.
There seems to be some confusion over the role of the Christian citizen as it pertains to his relationship to the government, and how involved we are to be in effecting governmental change. This is easily cleared up when we have a correct understanding of the roles ordained by God. We are in a tripartite, triangular relationship; there is the relationship between the Christian individual and God, our government and God, and the individual and government. God is obliged to no one and does not have duties to the other parties; He makes promises. The other parties have duties. Therefore, God makes promises to us and we have duties to Him, God makes promises to nations/governments, who in return have duties to Him, but government has duties to the individual and we have duties to government.
It is clear for the Christian that his primary citizenship is in the kingdom of God. We are not of this world, but in it, and this is not our home (John 15:19, 17:14, I Peter 2:11, Phil 3:20). Our secondary citizenship is in the United States. Our allegiance, obedience, and duties are first and foremost to our Creator. In any conflict between what the Bible commands us as Christians and what government commands, we must obey God's Word. God also ordains not only the individuals chosen to be our leaders, He has ordained our form of government. We live in a constitutional representative republic, and therefore we are in a position of stewardship of our country. In a dictatorship, the people are not in a position of stewardship, the dictator is. In the United States, our leaders are in a position of stewardship over the country, and we, the people, are in a position of stewardship over our country by choosing those leaders. The Apostle Paul and others in the New Testament, living under Roman occupation and dictatorship, did not have this blessing and luxury.
There is abundant Biblical evidence for God enacting judgment on individuals, cities (Gen 19, Matt 11:20-24), and nations (Psalms 110:6, Matt 25:32). God made numerous promises to the nation of Israel, and Israel had duties to fulfill for God to continue His blessings on that country (Exodus 19:5, Deuteronomy 28:1, Leviticus 26:3). Conversely, great curses were promised for national disobedience (Deuteronomy 28:15-68, Leviticus 26:14-39). The United States was founded on Judeo-Christian principles, and those who would argue otherwise should be prepared to be buried under a mountain of evidence to the contrary. Although God did not directly or explicitly make promises to the nation of America or detail our duties to Him, our country is a spiritual descendant of Israel and those expectations are continued through us. As citizens of the United States, we are to be obedient to our government and leaders. This is spelled out in Romans 13:1-7, where words such as "subject to," "resists," "do good," and "be in subjection," are used to proscribe disobedience. However, nowhere in the Bible are we enjoined to refrain from criticizing our leadership or working towards their removal by our established form of governance, if that leadership is exhibiting poor stewardship and lack of Godly principles. This is not disobedience. This is execution of good stewardship of our government and leadership on our part. Yes, we are commanded by God to pray for our leaders, but it is also our responsibility to change that leadership, not by violence or disobedience but by our God-ordained electoral system. To remain silent in these matters is assent, and the harshness of the criticism should be commensurate with the degree of failure of our leadership to do as God commands them to do. In our ordained system of government, the leaders are accountable to us.
As detailed above, when a nation or government does not fulfill its duties to God, there is precedent for God to carry out judgment on that nation. There were four major prophets in the Old Testament as well as a host of minor prophets who spoke out against Israel and that country's disobedience to God and progressive immorality, which led to God's judgments on both the Northern and Southern kingdoms. Christ condemned various cities and warned the nation of Israel of impending judgment as well. Speaking out or criticizing poor or immoral leadership is not done for pleasure or preference; it is done to forewarn the nation of consequences. There is a vast difference between advancing an argument and being quarrelsome or encouraging strife. Arguing for the removal of leaders who do not follow Godly principles is our duty as Christians to God as stewards of the country He has given us. There is ample reason to fear God's judgment on a nation if the correct leadership is not in place as well as disobedience on the part of the nation as a whole. When a nation practices financial irresponsibility, fails to protect innocent life, or encourages sexual immorality, it is not being obedient to God's standards. These standards do not change with the time or culture.
Although there is Scripture in II Timothy 2 that advises us not to become entangled in this world's affairs, that is admonishing us to remember where our primary citizenship resides. We are not to love this world, but we must be involved in it and our governance; otherwise no Christian would run for public office or even vote, for that matter. You can be a secular Democrat or a secular Republican but you cannot be a secular Christian. Not all citizens of the world were granted by God the right to speak out in defense of His standards, but with that right comes the responsibility to use that right to do all that we can to make sure this nation brings glory to and honors Him.
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