Living midst a political reality

Politics is basically the science and art of government, and its aim should be to help people living collectively in a society to live in harmony or 'shalom'. The Bible tells us that the only government system that can ever truly fulfill this aim is that which the Messiah will inaugurate, and the form His civil society will take is that of 'the Kingdom of God'.

Now we should praise God that this Messiah has already come - Jesus Christ of Nazareth! - and he already has been exalted to the position of King of kings and Lord and lords. However, His kingdom is yet to manifest itself in all its fullness - that will only happen once Jesus Christ returns from heaven, which in itself will only happen once enough people have become his 'subjects' through the conversion process outlined earlier in this document.

This therefore means that we who already are followers of Jesus, who already are His subjects, are part of 'two kingdoms' whilst we still live on this earth in this age. We are citizens of earthly kingdoms (cf Acts 22:25) and also citizens of the Kingdom of God (cf Philippians 3:20), but our greater allegiance is to the King of kings who is the ruler of all.
Let us now address how we should relate to the present government systems in this age.

The Bible tells us that we are to submit to the governing authorities, for they have been instituted by God, with one of their chief functions being an agent of God's wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer (cf Romans 13:1-7). They therefore are supposed to be operating at the third level of the covenant pyramid outlined earlier, implementing God's law with justice and righteousness, with the express purpose of ultimately being a tool of God in bringing that person to repentance. They are to be providing an environment in which it is possible for grace, the 'capstone level' of the covenant pyramid, to be exercised. This was one of the chief purposes of the Mosaic law - to be a 'diagnostic tool' in the highlighting of sin (cf Romans 5:20-21), so that it could be dealt with and gotten rid of appropriately. [Incidentally, I believe the highest form of moral law to which any law system can attain is that which God revealed to the Jewish nation.  cf 147:19,20]

Therefore we as Christians are to be actively praying for, and, when directed by the Holy Spirit, working for kings and all those in authority that their systems and decrees may be as such to allow us as Christians to continue to live godly lives to the fullest extent, having unhindered access to being able to spread the news of God's grace, so that as many as possible can come to a knowledge of the truth and thus be saved (cf 1 Timothy 2:1-4). And the more people become followers of Jesus, the less the people in government have to exercise judgment and the more they can focus on the art of justly and righteously administering and organizing the collective concerns of people living in society with the end of shalom. The fact, however, that we know that everything will not be perfect until Jesus Himself returns should not deter us from working and living toward these ends, because they are totally aligned with the values of the Kingdom and our own new natures in Christ.

Now if the government is in itself a wrongdoer, that need not negatively concern us as Christians, because the Bible says that God Himself establishes kingdoms and tears them down as He wills - they are under His control, and whatever they are doing, whether good or bad, God is using and directing for the achievement of His great purpose: maximal salvation of human souls. Therefore, if a governing authority asks us to do something which is against our conscience, we must obey God rather than men, but still submit to the governing authority's decisions against us. The Bible is filled with such examples. There is no need, nor precedent for, radical violent upheaval against the governing authorities by us as Christians. Our prayers and our obedient submission as we seek to do God's will shall accomplish the greater purposes of God.

And if we have to encounter and submit to persecution instigated by the authorities, we also have 'spiritual armour' to help us in that day of evil, knowing that these governing authorities are in that moment currently under the influence and direction of higher evil principalities and powers in the spiritual realm (cf Ephesians 6:10-18). And we are not alone in our stance against these powers, for God has ordained angels to fight for us in the spiritual realm (cf Hebrews 1:14).

Finally, perhaps the final question to address is whether or not a born-again Christian can really be, or should be, a part of government. To this we may say that God distributes gifts to His people as He wills, and it certainly seems that people with the gift of administration (cf 1 Corinthians 12:28) who act justly and righteously would be of great benefit to society! Furthermore, we read how in the Old Testament God raised up and appointed Joseph to be second in charge of Egypt, especially endowing him with wisdom to help the whole region survive seven years of famine, but all within the greater purpose of revealing His glory to the whole world (cf Genesis 41ff).

But what about being a part of a defense force, or police force - can a Christian who is living in the realm of grace, who has the inner desire to love his enemy, actually prosecute vengeance on his enemy on God's behalf? God's first and ultimate desire is to see all people come to repentance, because He does not want any to perish. A part of that process includes being a tool of God to communicate the standards and righteous decrees of God to those who presently are not living in accordance with them (cf 1 Timothy 1:8-11), and they can be communicated in love and grace. Furthermore, just like God Himself, we are to be long-suffering in the face of denial and refusal of grace, and always ready to show mercy. But God does get angry if grace is continually denied, and He does exercise judgment for the greater good. Therefore we, as Christians, may legitimately exercise the same, under His direction.