How should the church choose to address politics?
(This was a Ministers’ Meeting talk by Pastor Noel on April 23, 2024. The talk was written for the ministers at FBC Nacogdoches and leaves out some preliminary information and context that would have been included had this been a public presentation or a Sunday sermon. Please keep that in mind as you read.) 2024 is a political year.I want our church to connect properly to politics and political issues. I want our church to never withhold from proclaiming and declaring the truth of God’s Word. We are first the church that is FOR JESUS. But sometimes, to be FOR something, you must be AGAINST something else. Where being FOR JESUS requires us to be AGAINST something, I want us to take our stand without apology. But I want our church not to get distracted, entangled, or mission-driven by politics in any way that Scripture does not support. Honestly, that is a view held by many. Here is my theme verse for politics and the church for 2024:2 Timothy 2:4 | No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in the concerns of civilian life; he seeks to please the commanding officer. (CSB) So, let me address four questions: I. How do we make the determination of when and how we should engage on political issues? The Bible (period).We must declare what the Bible declares.We must learn from the practices and priorities of Jesus and the leaders of the first church.This is the part that many churches and Christians get confused! How do we learn from the practices and priorities of the first church leaders? First, we must remember that the early church lived in an even more politically charged environment than we do. The tax system was oppressive and unfair. Tax rates depended largely on ethnicity, and people without proper Roman status were unevenly and unfairly taxed. Tax collection was a cross between a pyramid scheme and a multi-level marketing company, and the weakest people were taken advantage of the most. Labor practices were brutal, unsafe, and dehumanizing. Religious liberty was severely restricted by the use of extreme violence and executions. The legal system was completely corrupt, and it freely and openly operated on the practice of bribes, denying justice to all but the most elite. There was no access to healthcare for the masses. Extreme police brutality was an everyday occurrence everywhere. Women were mistreated, dishonored, and devalued in almost every corner of society. Most children were treated as economic units instead of people with intrinsic value.No equal access to education. Immigration issues were determined by power politics and economic forces with no consideration for the well-being of the displaced. There were no voting rights. Military service was often forcefully conscripted without compensation. Slavery was common. Secondly, we must see how those leaders balanced addressing gospel issues on hand and these politically charged issues on the other hand. How did Jesus, Peter, James, John, and Paul address those issues (if they did)? We actually have a lot of data on that in the Bible. This is not a hard question if we look at it biblically. II. What should we do when some people disagree with us on the issue of our political involvement? We should explain to them:This is not a matter of patriotism.This is not a matter of not having strongly held personal opinions.But this church is not ours (or yours), and we must take our cues from the one whose church this is. So, we take our cues and directions from the Bible.We look to the Bible for commands and patterns.We seek to be as faithful to those commands and patterns as we can be.And then we should show grace to those who disagree.Their disagreement usually comes from a good place. III. Should our church speak to political issues? Well, it depends. We should speak to issues the Bible speaks to, and we should do this without apology. Practicing homosexuality is a sin. Seeking to change one’s God-assigned gender is a sin. Abortion is the taking of a life created in the image of God. Hating and/or denying justice to some group of people is a sin. Divorce without a biblically prescribed basis is sin. Drunkenness (or being high) is a sin.Limiting religious liberty is a sin. Abusing, mistreating, or devaluing a person for any reason is a sin. Those are not political issues. Those are biblical issues! We should prioritize issues the Bible prioritizes. What issues did the early church prioritize in their preaching and practice? Spreading the gospel. Preaching and teaching the revealed word of God. Creating and strengthening groups (fellowships, churches) of Christians. Honoring the value and dignity of all groups, genders, nationalities, and ethnicities as people gathered inside the church. Crossing ethnic and national barriers with the gospel and ministry. Caring for the poor. Fighting false religious teaching. We should prioritize the Great Commission and the Great Commandment:Matthew 28:19–20 | “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (CSB) Acts 1:8 | “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (CSB) Matthew 22:37–39 | “He said to him, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.’” (CSB) IV. What does the ministry of John the Baptist and Matthew 5:13 say about the question of church and political engagement? I’ve heard the argument in churches all my life that we should engage in political arguments and advocacy because of what John the Baptist said to the political leaders of
