Neither Enemy nor Savior
Whatever nation you live in, you live under a government you did not design, and you probably have complaints about it. Some readers of this page can vote. Some live under a king or under one ruling party. Some live under rulers who hate the Gospel. Scripture speaks to all of you, because the New Testament was written to believers who had no vote for Caesar.
When Paul wrote to the church at Rome about AD 57, the emperor was Nero. In 64 he would turn on the believers of that very city and make their deaths a public show (see the persecution under Nero). Paul wrote this anyway.
“Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.”ROMANS 13:1 · KJV
Some treat government as an enemy, and they speak of those in office with contempt. Others treat it as a savior, and they place their hope in the right leader or the right law. Scripture will not let us do either. Government is God's servant. He ordained it, He uses it, and He will hold it to account.
Three Questions Keep It Clear
Few subjects get tangled faster than this one. The three questions from How Christians Decide Right and Wrong keep things in their proper place.
- What must someone believe to be saved? The Gospel of Christ's death, burial, and resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:1–4). No nation, party, or law can save anyone, and your standing with God has nothing to do with your politics.
- What must a Christian believe and obey? Scripture commands every believer to be subject to rulers, pay taxes, show honor, and pray for those in authority. These are not political opinions. They bind you whoever is in office. God's moral commands also stand, whoever votes for them.
- Where has God granted liberty? Much of public life: how to weigh an imperfect ballot, which policy will best reach a good end, whether to enter politics at all. Believers who love the Word may land in different places, and they must not doubt one another's faith over it.
If someone knew you only by the way you speak of those in authority, would he guess that you belong to Jesus?
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For Deeper Study
- How the Nations Rage: Rethinking Faith and Politics in a Divided AgeAmazon Jonathan LeemanA Baptist elder and the editorial director of 9Marks on how a Christian should think about government and the public square. Written for American readers, and Leeman is Reformed in his theology of salvation, where we differ.
- Why Government Can't Save You: An Alternative to Political ActivismAmazon John MacArthurA California pastor's call to put hope in the Gospel and not in politics, with Scripture's teaching on authority, taxes, and civil obedience. MacArthur is dispensational and Calvinistic, and we differ with his Calvinism.
- Romans: The Gospel of God's GraceAmazon Alva J. McClainA clear dispensational exposition of Romans, including chapter 13. McClain, a Grace Brethren teacher, founded Grace Theological Seminary.
- First Freedom: The Baptist Perspective on Religious LibertyAmazon Thomas White, Jason G. Duesing, and Malcolm B. Yarnell III, eds.Essays by Southern Baptist scholars on the biblical and historical case for religious liberty, including how it bears on the believer and the state.
- Foxe's Book of MartyrsAmazon John FoxeThe classic Protestant record of those who died for the faith, from the early church to the English Reformation.
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Separation of Church and State
Separation of church and state means that Christ rules His churches through His Word and that civil government has no authority over the soul, not that believers must leave public life.
Open Doctrine