What is the Christian’s responsibility in the political process? If you ask 12 different people you’ll likely get a dozen different opinions. One of the challenges is that in Biblical times there was no form of government where the people had any power or influence, or did they?
Believe it or not, the Apostle Paul has some thoughts on this subject that I’d like to explore as we seek to answer the question; should we as Christians get involved?
In Second Corinthians 5:20 Paul writes: We are therefore Christ’s Ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God!
I love that Paul uses this word Ambassador. What do we know about an ambassador?
- They are sent from their homeland to a foreign land.
- They are sent by a king or leader to represent the homeland.
- If they do their job well, they don’t push their own agenda but seek the best interests of their King and country!
Wow! That’s the believer in Jesus! The scripture tells us we are strangers in a strange land, that our citizenship is in Heaven, and that we take our orders from Christ, the King of Kings and we should do everything in our power to influence this foreign land for the benefit of Heaven!
So how did this play out in the Apostle Paul’s life? The Roman Empire could hardly be considered a Republic or a Democracy. Caesar called the shots to be sure but citizens of Rome, like Paul did have rights. We read in Acts 21 and following that when Paul got in trouble, he was beaten then they tried to let him go quietly. Paul let them know that he was a Roman Citizen and they couldn’t do that. He said, I want to go to Rome and take my case to Caesar! And so it was! You see the great Apostle Paul used his Citizenship to spread the Gospel to Rome.
There are a lot of issues hanging in the balance in this great nation. Issues that could be decided in this upcoming election, issues of importance to our King, Jesus and our homeland, Heaven. Issues like Life, Justice, morality, the traditional family and religious liberty. This election isn’t about party or about candidate personality, it’s about where our elected officials will stand on the issues that resonate in Heaven!
In recent years some have threatened to take away our religious liberty. Other rights have become more politically correct than our first freedom of worship. But imagine if you will, someone getting into office and with the stroke of a pen eliminating our ability to share the Gospel with others or to export it from these United States through missions! Luke 12:48 reminds us that to whom much is given, much will be required!
As a believer, you may not feel called to run for public office, or even campaign for someone who is but you can certainly vote, for Heaven sake! We, who have been given so much freedom to do good and to share Christ dare not let that slip away because we chose not to engage on election day!
If America loses her moral compass, her ability to spread the Gospel throughout the world and all the freedoms her people once enjoyed, let it not be because God’s people sat idly by and watched it happen.
Resources can be found at PRAY VOTE STAND to help inform you about where the candidates stand on issues of importance to Heaven. So be a good Ambassador. Represent your King and your homeland well where you have been assigned in the United States of America. Become informed and then on November 3rd, Vote for Heaven’s sake!
