THE CHURCH IN SOCIETYThe Church, Government, and Politics

Some Initial Thoughts• We all carry tons of bias on this subject—national, state,

family, etc.• We all carry tons of negative feelings on this subject, and

not all that many positive ones.• And I believe it is one of our greatest opportunities to

show the Spirit of Christ to the world—our objectivity based on truth and God, our humility based on our unselfish surrender to God, and our hopefulness based on our faith and knowledge of God’s ways and plan.

• Jesus said ours was to be a message of love and good news—John 13:34-35; Matt. 28:18-20

Introduction• Where there are fallen humans, there is a struggle for

power and power equalization.• Where there is human power, there is trouble.• Institutionalism

• Institution = an organization, establishment, foundation, society, or the like, devoted to the promotion of a particular cause or program, especially one of a public, educational, or charitable character (dictionary.com)

• Institutionalism = over-reliance on institutions, as opposed to individuals, to meet needs

• Institutions are not inherently good or inherently bad, but they are necessary in God’s order of things.• God created the first institution when he created marriage and

family• Christ himself created the church

• But when any institution becomes the least bit self-serving (and they always do because of fallen humankind), organization drives mission rather than mission driving organization.

• Government = the form or system of rule by  which a state, community, etc., is governed (dictionary.com)• An institution for governing

• There are many forms of social government, to list a few broad categories• Patriarchal – led by oldest (usually males), as in clans, tribes, and

cultural people groups • Monarchy – led by an appointed king or queen• Dictatorship – led by a person in control• Republics – elected representatives• Democracy – individuals participation

• Socialism – social ownership of property as opposed to individual ownership with the goal of equalizing wealth• Communism is a specific form of socialism as espoused by Carl

Marx and further developed by Lenin• Communism = a classless, moneyless, and stateless social order

structured upon common ownership as the means of production• Communism sees socialism as a necessary transition state to pure

communism• Capitalism – individual ownership of property with the goal

of making a profit or accruing wealth

• Politics = the practice or profession of conducting political affairs. • Derived from Polity: 1530–40;  < Latin polītīa  < Greek polīteía

 citizenship, government, form of government, commonwealth, equivalent to polīt́e-,  variant stem of polīt́ēs  

• You will want to note the derivation then of the word we often use, “polite”, having originally meant being a citizen, and then later a “good” citizen.

• So, politics for our discussion is simply engagement in the formation of, the organization of, the selection of candidates in, and the control of governments of any kinds.

• Government and politics is a complete discipline within itself.

• It is a much, much more complicated subject than we would ever want to get in for our purposes.

• Suffice it to say that our purpose is to discuss the church’s collective and individual role and approach in social order and government.

God and Government• Garden of Eden – God-led “society”• East of Eden – patriarchal; familial; clans; tribes

• “your desire will be to your husband and he will rule over you”• “honor your father and your mother”

• Regional collectives, nations, empires• Israel—appointed leaders, monarchy, priests, elders• Church—came into existence over-laying all human

empires. Jesus is Lord and King.

• There is the overarching reality of God’s control over all institutions – Rom. 13:1 – Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.

• Then there is the underlying reality of evil’s influence within that – Eph. 6:12 – For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

• Satan indeed offered to Jesus something which apparently was his to offer – Matt 4:8-9 – 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”

• And it was God created all things, including the “destroyer” – Col. 1:16 – For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.

• Isa. 54:16 – See, it is I who created the blacksmith who fans the coals into flame and forges a weapon fit for its work. And it is I who have created the destroyer to wreak havoc…

• There are obviously some “necessary evils” in our fallen world, in some way “created” by God, but in all ways ultimately under his control.

• Jesus, Matt. 28:18 – All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

• Col. 1 – 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

• So, God’s original government was familial and tribal—“patriarchal”.

• There also seems to have been some God-instituted forms of monarchies/priests as with Melchizedek, the King/Priest of Salem (Jerusalem). His name means “king of righteousness” and his title means “king of peace.” Abraham recognized his “priesthood” and gave the first recognized “tithe” to him.

• Israel was first patriarchal – Abrham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and then Moses

• Moses organized leaders in Israel of 1000s, 100s, 50s, and 10s (Ex. 18; Deut. 1)

• Joshua became the leader• The “Judges” were God-appointed military/judicial leaders• It was the people who demanded a king, and God saw it

as a rejection of him—God to Samuel: 1 Sam. 8:7 – “It is not you they have rejected as their king, but me.”

• It was under this human-demanded, human-led kingship that Israel suffered for the rest of its early existence.

• But during all of that God promised that he would ultimately reestablish his own kingship, and not just over Israel but over the whole earth.

• Dan. 2:44, Summation of Daniel’s vision – “In the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever.”

• Israel earlier, and the church since, remains in dispute about the kingdom prophecies and their fulfillments.

• What does seem apparent is that Jesus indeed did establish a kingdom and he is already king, but that the kingdom is still “coming” (still developing) and the final fulfillment of His ultimate reign is yet to come. How and when is where the main dispute lies.

• Jesus, Mark 9:1 – Some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power.

• In Acts 2, when the Holy Spirit came to the Apostles, and subsequently on all believers, the kingdom came with power. Prior to that time the kingdom is spoken of in the future. After that time, its existence is spoken of in present tense (e.g. Rev. 1:9), even though there is still the constant inference of much more to come.

• John 8:36 – “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”

• Luke 17 – “20 Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, 21 nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.”

• Phil. 3 – “20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

So…What are we to do with all that?• We must accept that for good and for bad, God’s got it.

He is in ultimate control and it will turn out the way he wants it to. We can relax in that regard.

• When we try to “play God”, or even figure God out, we tend to want to play his role and neglect our own.

• God uses evil to accomplish his purposes and once he’s set on it, we’re not going to stop it.

• A big part of the problem is the church can’t get its own act together. We have never agreed on church government and we tend to want to tell the rest of society how to run things.

• Why would society want to trust religion generally and the church specifically to tell it how it ought to run? When religion has gotten control, some of the worst governments/outcomes ever have resulted.

• In order to shape our own approaches, we must first look for God’s will through Scripture and the Holy Spirit, then we must come to understand how society thinks and how society sees us.

The Bible is a Political Book• Individuals, clans and families• Israel/Judah – Moses, other leaders, Judges, and Kings• Jesus’ time – Pharisees, Sadducees, Herodians, Zealots,

Priests and teachers of the Law, other• Church – Jews, Christians, Rome

Some Propositions• The most basic form of government and politics is the

individual. He gave each of us the right to become children of God (John 1:12-13), and with that gave us individual responsibility to first and before all to govern ourselves under the Lordship of Christ! In that we are commanded to live lives of submission to one another and to all instituted powers.

• The second most basic is the home.• The third most basic is the church locally.• The fourth most basic is the church at large.• Within that context, the Christian and his institutions are to

exist as the kingdom of God amidst a world of seemingly “necessary evils.”

Jesus Expose on Politics—The Sermon on the Mount, Matt. 5-71. Selflessness – kingdom of heaven, 5:32. Concern for others – comforted, 5:43. Humility – inheritance of the earth, 5:54. Godliness – satisfied, 5:6 5. Mercifulness – shown mercy, 5:76. Purity – see God, 5:87. Peacefulness – called sons of God, 5:98. Accepting persecution – kingdom, 5:10

• Salt of the earth: preserving and seasoning, 5:13• Light of the world: showing truth and hope, 5:14-15• Doers of good deeds, 5:16• Keepers of laws, 5:17-20• Godly relationships, 5:21-26

• Don’t kill, don’t hate, don’t curse, settle matters quickly• Don’t seek revenge (not a statement about defense as much as a

statement about attacking); be giving to enemies; be generous to borrowers, 5:38-42

• Love even your enemies, 5:43-47

• Respecters of marriage/God’s institutions/commitments (vows), 5:27-37• Don’t lust/covet• Don’t divorce• Don’t swear at all— “yes” and “no”

• Don’t be showy, self-righteous, and ostentatious with your religion, 6:1-18

• Invest yourself in the kingdom of heaven not the kingdoms of the earth, 6:19-21

• Have God as your only master; can’t serve “money”; don’t be anxious about things of the world, 6:24-32

• Seek God’s kingdom first, 6:33• Live in the “now”, 6:34• Don’t be judgmental/focus on your own improvement, 7:1-

5• Don’t wallow with pigs and dogs, 7:6

• Depend on God, not the world for your needs, 7:7-11• Treat others as you want to be treated, 7:12• Follow the narrow path of Jesus as Lord, not the way of

false prophets/world, 7:13-23• Build your life on the foundation of Christ, not on the

foundations of the world, 7:24-27

Conclusion1. We must be about advancing the kingdom of God, not

the kingdoms of the world.2. We must not allow worldly government concerns to

supersede kingdom concerns.3. We must practice politics with the principles of Christ,

not the the principles of the world.4. We “fight” with God’s weapons, not the world’s.5. We must never seek revenge or act as the world does.6. We must never serve money.

Conclusion7. We must seek and support bases of unity not points of

division.8. We must identify with Christ not with worldly institutions.9. We must use godly wisdom, not worldly wisdom, in the

way we engage the world around us…

James 3 – 13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15 Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18 Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.