Why Christian Citizenship - God and Government
By Carol Sewell
Does the Bible deal with human/earthly government? Yes. God instituted human government in the beginning with Adam. In Genesis, God created the world and established Adam as the head of the world government at that time. God gave Adam dominion over all the animals, plants and every living thing.
Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground. (Genesis 1:28)
…and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. (Genesis 2:19)
By this action, God ratified Adam’s authority. This principle of authority is evident in the New Testament when God told Joseph to name baby Jesus. In Hebrew culture, the father always named the first-born. God put Joseph in the position of Jesus’ earthly father, and gave him that authority in Jesus’ life. God established a divine order of authority for men as well as a divine order for the family (Isaiah 33:22). The father has the ultimate authority in the family unit and answers to God for his leadership decisions. God expects the father/husband to execute this authority with benevolence, wisdom, and a Christ-like attitude.
When God established Adam as the head of His creation, He set in motion the principal foundation for God’s people to be involved in human government. Jesus tells us in Matthew 22:21, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” In this verse, Jesus acknowledged and confirmed the authority of civil government and its demands on its citizens.
Sadly, few in our culture acknowledge this truth and many Christians do not think it important or necessary to become an informed voting citizen. Some do not believe their one vote will affect the outcome even though historical facts prove otherwise. They also think politics and politicians are self-serving and corrupt. Some think that it makes no difference who is in office. In many of our presidential elections only 50% of the population turned out to vote. Mid-term (non-presidential) elections draw an even smaller percentage. Local elections have a voter turnout of less than 10% of the population. A small group of voters determines who gets elected in your city and county. This should not be happening in our free nation.
In both the recent free elections held in Afghanistan and Iraq, voter turnout was 80 – 90%. Under threat of death for going to the polls, they realized how important every vote was and considered the privilege to vote more valuable than the threat against their life.
In Genesis, we read how Adam’s decisions have affected all of us. Even though Eve was equally as guilty as Adam was, God held Adam to a higher standard because he was the head of the family. Adam’s refusal to accept responsibility for his disobedience resulted in the perpetual sinful state of all of humankind. The actions of one man impacted and forever changed the entire universe. Animals die, stars burn out and plants decay because of Adam and Eve’s actions. Look at what resulted:
…cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life. (Genesis 3:17)
Adam’s actions affected all of us. The most common belief is that Adam sinned by eating the forbidden fruit. Actually, his sin was his refusal to take responsibility for his actions. God gave him a chance to confess, repent, receive forgiveness and, thus, be restored to favor with God. Instead, Adam blamed Eve, indirectly blaming God.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (I John 1:9)
God wants us to avoid sin, because it has negative consequences in the earth. If we do sin, He simply wants us to admit our sin and repent. Sin separates us from Him. Repentance allows Him to forgive us and reconciles us to Him once again.
Pharaoh is an example of a leader who made decisions that seriously affected his people and land. When he refused to allow the Israelites to leave, all Egypt suffered through ten plagues. King David brought about a similar calamity on his people when he ordered the people “be numbered” against God’s will. Israel was and still is affected by many decisions made by its leaders or kings throughout history.
David said to God, “Was it not I who ordered the fighting men to be counted? I am the one who has sinned and done wrong. These are but sheep. What have they done? O Lord my God, let your hand fall upon me and my family, but do not let this plague remain on your people.”
(Chronicles 21:17)
The Israelite kings brought blessings to their people when they obeyed God. Conversely, they brought judgment when they rebelled against Him. Wise leaders will reap positive results and unwise leaders will reap negative results. Solomon recognized this principle when he wrote in Proverbs 29:2, When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked man rules, the people groan. Because of Abraham’s obedience and faith, God blessed him. Through his actions, God’s blessings also flowed to the children of Israel, to his seed, Jesus Christ, and onward to all who believe. There are many examples of this principle throughout the Old Testament.
Throughout history, you can see the two sides of this coin played out. People’s disobedience and rebellion against God always brought death. In this country, we see a type of death through the moral and spiritual decay of our society. Death is not always physical. Daily, we see the death of marriages, the death of the family, the death of innocence and the death of absolute truth. When our leaders are corrupt in their lifestyles or behavior, death spreads slowly, but surely, throughout this nation. Death of our values and beliefs will ultimately kill the one thing that sets this nation apart from all others – “We, the people.”
If we do not vote for leaders who will stand up for righteousness, our nation will continue to decline and our way of life will wither and die. Christians must be informed and vote their beliefs/values to maintain the life we so cherish.
Some say politics is dirty and, yes, it certainly can be. However, in the end, men/women in public life who lack integrity and moral absolutes are the ones who contribute to the notion that politics is dirty. When Christians who live lives that exhibit honesty, integrity, loyalty, and morality get involved, society prospers.
The Apostle Paul’s philosophy in I Timothy 2:1-2 instructs us to pray first for our leaders so our government may be used by God to provide peace and safety. Then we are to obey the laws of the land when they are consistent with the will of God. As the Bible clearly indicates in Genesis (Joseph), Daniel, Esther and Nehemiah; the people of God have favor and wisdom to rule righteously. These obedient believers were promoted to high levels of influence in pagan governments. We can have the same favor and influence if we choose to follow His directions.
God called Moses to lead his people to freedom and into the Promised Land. At that time, God gave His people His law, The Ten Commandments. These commandments formed the basis for all laws of western civilization. Keep in mind that God did not institute government to meet our needs or provide for us. We are to trust God to do that. Government is to provide leadership and promote peace and safety for its citizens.
Carol’s next article “The Ten Commandments” will take a deeper look into how this standard God issued to his people, still holds as the standard for government in America.
This article written by Carol Sewell is the part of a series in which we explore the American system of government and its foundation in Biblical principles. You will find yourself equipped to articulate your beliefs, put them into action and pass them to the next generation.
Check out our Christians Engaged Store where Carol’s book “What Were They Thinking” is available for purchase.