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It is written:
2 Timothy 4:2 (Amplified)-Herald and preach the Word! Keep your sense of urgency [stand by, be at hand and ready], whether the opportunity seems to be favorable or unfavorable. [Whether it is convenient or inconvenient, whether it is welcome or unwelcome, you as preacher of the Word are to show people in what way their lives are wrong.] And convince them, rebuking and correcting, warning and urging and encouraging them, being unflagging and inexhaustible in patience and teaching.
Again:
Acts 24:25-Now as he reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and answered, “Go away for now; when I have a convenient time I will call for you.”
Christians have a sacred responsibility: to preach the Word of God to a world that desperately needs it. This Word is not about worldly politics or kingdoms: ours is a higher calling. However, sometimes moral issues that the Bible addresses intersect with the politics of the world and we as God’s messengers are called upon to address these issues.
Let’s study.
Christians Address Moral Issues That Intersect With Politics Because The Old Testament Prophets Did
The Book of Hebrews 11 is filled with examples of Prophets and others standing against wicked rulers and politicians.
For example, consider Moses’ parents.
Hebrews 11:23-By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’s command.
The Pharaoh of Egypt in the time of Moses’ parents ordered the death of the Hebrew male children. This was the law of the land! Yet Moses’ parents did not obey that law, and neither did the Hebrew midwives. God blessed them for standing against the wicked decree!
Exodus 1:17-21-But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the male children alive. 18 So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this thing, and saved the male children alive?” 19 And the midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; for they are lively and give birth before the midwives come to them.” 20 Therefore God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied and grew very mighty. 21 And so it was, because the midwives feared God, that He provided households for them.
Moral issues take precedent over unjust laws of the land, and God recognizes and blesses those who stand up for His Word and for the rights of others that are being trampled.
Moses himself demonstrates this principle:
Hebrews 11:24-27-By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, 26 esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward. 27 By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.
The Books of Joshua and Judges show multiple and numerous examples of how God’s chosen people stood against opposition and oppression from kings and rulers who abused their power and made the lives of others miserable through wicked treatment. Add to this the names of virtually the Old Testament Prophets, and you will find a large list of godly people who were willing to stand up to and speak out against wickedness in human government.
Christians Address Moral Issues That Intersect With Politics Because The Son of God Did
For years, I believed that Jesus left politics alone. However, I then learned that the majority of people He had disputes with (i.e., the Pharisees and Sadducees) were the politicians of His day and age!
“According to Josephus the Pharisees rejected Hyrcanus’s right to be both king and priest, so he gave his allegiance to the Sadducees. The Pharisees appear in Josephus as a political party who sought to impose their interpretation of the law upon the nation…. When Aristobulus turned once again to the priestly hierarchy, the Phari-sees began to lose some of their authority. With the coming of Roman rule and the establishment of the Herodian dynasty, the Pharisees’ political power was limited and they concentrated on their own fellowships and on influencing the life of the nation on the local level…. The Pharisees were likely both a table fellowship interested in purity and a political group at all periods, with one characteristic more prominent than the other depending of the circumstances…. When Aristobulus turned once again to the priestly hierarchy, the Phari-sees began to lose some of their authority. With the coming of Roman rule and the establishment of the Herodian dynasty, the Pharisees’ political power was limited and they concentrated on their own fellowships and on influencing the life of the nation on the local level…After 70 the Pharisees did take the lead in giving the Jewish people a new center of religious life apart from the temple. 763 The Pharisaic scholars at Jamnia and at Usha after the Bar Kokhba revolt were recognized by Rome as the governing body for the internal life of the Jewish people, so the Pharisees again became a party with political power as well as religious influence. The Judaism that survived was primarily Pharisaic Judaism…The Sadducees were the party of the wealthy priests (some priests were Sadducees but not all) and their friends in the aristocracy (Acts 5:17). They combined conservative religious attitudes with power politics. They rejected the Pharisees’ innovations, and their interpretations were stricter than those of the Pharisees. Although Josephus claims the Sadducees had to follow the legal rulings of the Pharisees, this seems unlikely, for the Sadducees controlled the temple ritual. Their political position and practical sense of survival perhaps led them to an openness toward certain Hellenistic cultural influences, but we lack the sources to conclude that they were heavily Hellenized. They may be characterized as both conservative and compliant. After the coming of Rome, they encouraged collaboration with the ruling power and were interested in maintaining the status quo, which preserved the peace and their power and influence. Their center of strength was the temple.” (Everett Ferguson, Backgrounds of Early Christianity, 9879-9988 (Kindle Edition): Grand Rapids, MI: Williams B. Eerdmans Publishing Company)
What is especially interesting is realizing the issues that Jesus interacted with the politicians of His day. When we look at the Gospels, we find a common theme: Jesus had His most vehement confrontations with these politicians based on how they mistreated other people!
For example:
Look at the disagreements between Jesus and the Pharisees when He showed mercy to those who were suffering (Mark 3:1-6). Interestingly enough, this passage demonstrates one of the few instances recorded when Christ was angry. For example, consider how Jesus stood up for women against the political dogma of the politicians of His time (Luke 13:11-17). Again, recall how the Lord stood up for the common people when the political elite of that time oppressed and hurt them (Matthew 7:28-29; Mark 7:37; Luke 11:17; 19:37-40, 48; John 7:40-46). From the beginning to end of His ministry, Jesus was willing to stand against corrupt government especially when the rights of others were being trampled. He has left us an Example in this.
Christians Address Moral Issues That Intersect With Politics Because The Apostles Of Christ Did
The Apostles of Christ (our examples-1 Corinthians 11:1) were also willing to make a stand against injustice in the world of men. The Book of Acts is filled with examples of how the Apostles stood against government officials when their proclamations went against the Word of God (Acts 5:29). Indeed, the early church’s nonviolent opposition to wickedness while at the same time praying for government officials to be saved (1 Timothy 2:1-6) led to amazing changes within the Roman Empire. Consider slavery as an example:
“Slaves fared no better among the Greeks, whose philosopher Aristotle argued that “a slave is a living tool, just as a tool is an inanimate slave. Therefore there can be no friendship with a slave as slave” (Nichomachean Ethics 8.11). In many instances, Christians freed slaves. During the second and third centuries, according to Robin Lane Fox, the early Christians “were most numerous in the setting of urban households where freeing [of slaves] was most frequent.” He further states that “the freeing of slaves was performed in church in the presence of the bishop.” 6 How many slaves were freed during the early years of Christianity can never be known, but that there were many is illustrated by W. E. H. Lecky, who says, “St. Melania was said to have emancipated 8,000 slaves; St. Ovidius, a rich martyr of Gaul, 5,000; Chromatius, a Roman prefect under Diocletian, 1,400; Hermes, a prefect under Trajan, 1,200. [And] many of the Christian clergy at Hippo under the rule of St. Augustine, as well as great numbers of private individuals, freed their slaves as an act of piety.” 7 It is also known that Constantine in A.D. 315, only two years after he issued the Edict of Milan, imposed the death penalty on those who stole children to bring them up as slaves.” (Alvin J. Schmidt, How Christianity Changed the World, 2)74 (Kindle Edition); Grand Rapids, Michigan; Zondervan)
By our influence in the world, Christians purify society as salt cleanses (Matthew 5:13). When Christians refuse to speak the Word of God because of political allegiances, they are surrendering the King of glory for the things of this world. When that happens we must ask the question that Jesus did:
Luke 14:34-35-Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? 35 It is neither fit for the land nor for the dunghill, but men throw it out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
Christians, please take heed.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. Amen.