Do you ever wonder how you, as an ambassador for Christ [2 Cor. 5:20], should be involved in politics? Do you disagree with some of your nation’s laws or policies but are unsure how to effectively work toward change? Do you tend to initiate conversations about hot-topic social issues, or do you prefer to avoid these types of discussions? Would you like to learn more about your role and responsibility in society, knowing that your true citizenship is in Heaven?
Staying on mission, especially while under persecution, is so difficult that the Lord gave us His Word overflowing with direction and encouragement on how to live in the world but not of it.
This article addresses 4 questions we all are (or should be) asking ourselves about how to live out our faith in a society that rejects God. While some answers may surprise you, I hope they will challenge you to consider how you think about your involvement in civil government; and I pray that if you are experiencing public shaming, persecution, religious discrimination, oppression, or censorship, that you will receive encouragement as we look into God’s Word.
Whether you live in communist China, socialist Mexico, the democratic United States, theocratic authoritarian Iran, the monarchical United Kingdom, or any other land, it is important to know that God has placed you right where you are for this very time in history to fulfill the purposes He has given you.
God gave us the answer thousands of years ago through Abraham:
As a Christian, you have the amazing opportunity (and command) to bring blessings upon all nations [Gen. 12:1-3].
While God could have snapped his fingers and…Poof!…established a country for Abraham and his offspring, along with gentiles that dedicated themselves to God, His plan began with the Israelites being sojourners - foreigners traveling through hostile countries. At one point, Yahweh instructed Abraham's son, Isaac, to make his home in Philistine (yeah, that’s right...the country of the ruthless warrior, Goliath, that David later conquered). Witnessing how God was blessing the Hebrew people with great wealth, the Philistines sought to crush them by destroying their wells - their source of water. Rather than going to war with them, Isaac took the path of peace by re-digging well after well after well until their enemy gave up.
Then, after moving to a new area to avoid continued attacks, and likely feeling dejected, the Lord appeared to Isaac with a message of encouragement and a reminder of His promise: “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham” [Gen. 26:24]. Watching the Israelites continue to flourish despite their oppression, the Philistine king asked Isaac to make a peace treaty because it was obvious that the all-powerful God was on the Israelites’ side. Isaac agreed to make a pact, and the two nations celebrated together.
[Related: Bible Recap 101: Your Essential Guide to the Bible's Core Storyline]
Personally, as someone whose knee-jerk reaction is to fight for my rights, this story is uncomfortable. My faith is stretched every time my sense of security and control is threatened. Like the Israelites, by remembering God’s promise to make a nation of His devoted followers, you too can have the strength, motivation, humility, and love to be a blessing to ruling powers when they are using their position to subjugate Christians.
We find this answer in the dark 400+ year period of the Israelites’ enslavement to the Egyptians:
Incline your heart to God, invite even your adversaries to receive the love of God, and stand and see what the Lord will do to fulfill His promise to bring restoration in His time.
As slaves, the Hebrew people’s daily reality involved forced labor, beatings, a ban on their religious practices, the threat of infanticide, and refusal to let them go find a new home where they could build a life of liberty. Largely, they did what they were told but, at times, they rightfully disobeyed their taskmasters when ordered to do something that violated God. One example is the Hebrew midwives who refused to kill the Hebrew boys they delivered.
While many persisted in obeying God's laws and crying out to Him for relief from their slave drivers, some gave up believing they’d ever be free and subsequently chose to embrace their surroundings rather than holding onto the vision of the fulfillment of God’s promises to them.
As someone who has experienced negative consequences for aggressively and fruitlessly speaking against injustice, I imagine some may have received harsher treatment because they pushed back on the Egyptian taskmasters.
Looking ahead at how Yahweh eventually conquered the Egyptians through the plagues and burying the Egyptian soldiers in the Red Sea, what we can learn from the Israelites’ experiences is that God fights for His people. We need only to incline our hearts to the Lord, obey His commands, and wait for Him to act.
One essential part of this story to remember is that, upon being set free, the Hebrew people allowed Egyptians who worshiped God to come with them [Ex. 12:38]. This detail reminds us of the Lord’s master plan to invite all people everywhere to become part of God’s family by receiving His love and forgiveness.
When you cry out to Yahweh for help during times of persecution, you can receive the peace that surpasses understanding [Phil. 4:7], the wisdom to know how to lovingly proclaim Christ to oppressors, the courage to obey God's commands, and the perseverance to stand and see the Lord’s power on full display in His perfect time.
This answer can be found by looking at how the Israelites handled themselves in the Promised Land while they were held captive by the Assyrians, Babylonians, and Persians.
Serve with excellence, pray continually, and steer clear of assimilation; in so doing, you will bring honor to God and lead unbelievers to Christ.
During their time in the wilderness, transitioning from slavery in Egypt to freedom in Canaan, God taught the Hebrew people how to structure their lives and community. He provided the ten commandments as well as the levitical laws to help them thrive and enjoy a life filled with abundance.
Though they were warned about the enticement of some things they would see the surrounding nations doing [Dt. 11], sadly, in the years to follow, the Israelites slid further and further away from God into destructive idolatrous ways. Some of these behaviors included: prostitution [Hos. 4:13-14], homosexuality [1 Ki. 14:22-24], orgies [Ex. 32], sorcery [2 Ki. 21:1-6], child sacrifice [Jer. 32:35], and consulting with the dead [Is. 8:19]. By choosing to worship the false gods of these peoples [2 Ki. 17:7-19], the Israelites’ became so defiled that they surpassed the pagans in their evil practices [2 Ki. 21:9].
The more the Israelites assimilated into the idolatrous cultures, the more vulnerable they became to being overtaken by surrounding kingdoms. Rather than remaining under God’s cover of protection by following His wise leading, after many years of choosing to decline God’s invitation to return to Him, He gave the Israelites what they wanted by removing His intervention in their lives. This, not surprisingly, led to their captivity by several ruthless nations.
What happens in this time of exile may uncomfortably surprise you. Not only does Yahweh tell the Israelites not to fight against their adversaries, but He instructs them to bless their enemies through building relationships, serving with excellence, and being an example by trusting in and devoting themselves to the Lord.
Two examples where this can be especially seen are in the stories of Daniel and Nehemiah.
Daniel obeyed God by serving King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, who took Daniel captive to work in the king’s palace. He learned the literature, culture, and language of the land, becoming so proficient, knowledgeable, and wise that the king found him to be “ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom” [Dan. 1:20] and “made him chief of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and astrologers'' [Dan. 5:11]. Daniel then served the next two kings, the second of which was Darius, who promoted Daniel to one of the highest offices of the kingdom. Remaining devoted to God in prayer and lifestyle no matter the cost or penalties, Daniel got to represent the Lord and had the privilege of seeing two of the kings honor God! King Darius even made a decree that “in all [his] royal dominion people are to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel, for He is the living God, enduring forever” [Dan. 6:26].
Likewise, Nehemiah provided exceptional service to Artaxerxes, king of Persia. We know this because Nehemiah became his cupbearer, a position of great trust. As a cupbearer, Nehemiah held the responsibility of protecting the king from poisoning. He was one of a small number of people in Artaxerxes’ inner sanctums. To be given this position, Nehemiah would have served the king with integrity and excellence long enough to be noticed, observed, tested, and then promoted.
I wonder if Nehemiah ever got too comfortable in his job enjoying the fringe benefit of tasting all the king’s delectable foods...especially the ancient delicacies of sweet fruits and cinnamon (now, if chocolate was available, I could especially relate to any temptation Nehemiah felt!).
By joining forces with other Christians through praying and serving together, you can help protect each other from falling into destructive worldly practices. Then you will feel empowered and have the wisdom needed in using your strengths, interests, and talents to contribute to society in ways that honor and represent God.
The New Testament is full of answers to this question.
Everything Jesus did during His ministry on earth was for the purpose of saving people and teaching His followers to carry out this mission.
Jesus, like His fellow Jews, lived under the ruling Roman Empire. In addition, they had hundreds of religious laws to follow, demonstrating that, if we’re not careful, religion can become legalistic and political. Many of Jesus’ teachings make mention of unfair and oppressive treatment they received from both the Romans and the hypocritical Jewish leaders.
We can learn important principles involved in carrying out the Greatest Commandments [Mt. 22:37-40] and the Great Commission [Mt. 28:19-20] by reading what Jesus said and did in response to the national and religious authorities. His instructions can be difficult to hear, and are impossible to carry out without the help of God through the Holy Spirit. But, when we look to God for power and to meet our needs, our hearts and minds become liberated from the bondage of oppressors. As Jesus said, “in the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” [Jn. 16:33]. As you read this list from the Gospel of Matthew, I pray you will recognize the freedom that comes through living within the Lord’s boundaries.
Be a peacemaker - Matthew 5:9
Be salt and light so unbelievers will turn to God - Matthew 5:11-16
Be forgiving, confess wrongdoings, & seek reconciliation - Matthew 5:21-26
Be loving to your enemies - Matthew 5:43-48
Be an abider of the golden rule - Matthew 7:12
Be wise as a serpent and gentle as a dove - Matthew 10:16
Be watchful and prayerful about the temptation of assimilation or militarism - Matthew 26:36-56
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A common theme in all these stories is how God’s followers influenced society through their personal integrity rather than focusing on trying to change a whole system of government to make it fit God’s laws. You can do this too, in big and small ways, whether you serve as a government officer, a construction worker, a soldier, a student, a caretaker, a prisoner, or a teacher. Righteousness cannot be legislated. Laws are made by people and reflect what is in the heart. By pointing people to Jesus through your love and excellent service, you can witness unbelievers’ hearts change and, over time, see societal rules reflect more of God’s ways.
It would be beneficial to humbly go before God in prayer, asking Him to show you whether you are acting more like a Jonah who wished God would punish his adversaries, a Matthew who became like the Romans as a way to unfairly make money, or a Stephen who asked God to forgive his murderers while they were stoning him to death.
Throughout history, followers of Yahweh have lived among and often been ruled by pagans following evil, oppressive, and destructive practices. Jews and Christians alike have had to figure out how to put their faith into action within the societal atmosphere in which they live. By looking at the political environments recounted in the Bible and reading how God directed His followers, we can glean ways to constructively apply His Word in the society in which we live.
By remembering that our citizenship is in heaven and that our greatest responsibility is to love God and humanity, we can remain unified in the greatest mission to lead people to a life-saving faith in Jesus Christ.