3 Principles for Christian Political Engagement
January 7, 2022
One of the most pressing issues for Christians in this cultural moment is how we should interact with politics. With which party should we align? Should we remain silent or should we be outspoken? Should we run for office or retreat into exclusively Christian communities?
This topic should lead us to think deeply and prayerfully consider our words and ways. I’ve personally wrestled with this for many years and have cringed as I’ve observed some of my Christian brothers and sisters miss the mark and misrepresent Jesus. This is by no means my final word on this topic, but I feel like these thoughts are now formulated enough to provide some biblical guardrails to consider when seeking to live out the way of Jesus in the political arena. Here are three guardrails I consider when engaging politically.
1- Follow the way of Jesus.
While there are few specific directives about political engagement in the bible, there are many general directives that apply. One of these is found in Paul's well-known fruit of the Spirit list in Galatians 5:22-23. In this short list, Paul lays out what a life led by the Spirit looks like, which includes traits like love and gentleness. This doesn’t mean we don’t speak truth, but our approach must be loving and gentle, rather than hateful, brash, and condescending.
In one of the few explicitly political directives in the New Testament, Peter says, “Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.” (1 Peter 2:17) Even amidst extreme persecution of the first century, Peter says that the path of the Christian is to honor political leadership, even if it is evil. Honoring does not however always mean obedience if it goes against biblical directives. We obey Jesus, but honor everyone. This posture of honoring leaders is much different from what is common from both parties today, and if we’re not careful Christians can be sucked into the cultural currents of slander and outrage.
When Jesus began his public ministry, many expected him to be a political Messiah who would overthrow Roman oppression. They expected him to do this by military force, but instead, he was a suffering servant who died on a cross, praying for those who were torturing him. Jesus’ teachings on loving your enemies and praying for those who persecute you were just as countercultural in antiquity as they are today.
One of the reasons I think we find it hard to love people we disagree with is because we have forgotten who our real enemy is. Scripture is clear that we have a spiritual enemy, the father of lies, who is prowling around seeking someone to devour. When we lose sight of this spiritual reality we will demonize people instead.
The way of Jesus is the way of love, gentleness, honor, and enemy love. To be a faithful witness of Jesus in this cultural moment, we must embody these realities in our political engagement.
2- Be careful to not bear false witness.
Part of being a faithful witness is also thinking through the lens of how we are representing Jesus to the unbelieving world. Our main purpose as the people of God is to bear witness to the reality of God. Before posting anything political on social media we should ask ourselves how this will be perceived by people who don’t know Jesus. Is this going to give them a clearer picture of who God is or is this going to distort their view of him? Again, this doesn’t mean we don’t speak up about Kingdom issues, but it does mean we should think deeply before speaking.
In the post-truth age of social media, everyone can be a self-proclaimed expert on any topic. People can hear something on TikTok from a person they’ve never met and allow it to change their thinking on a particular topic. This is not only illogical, but it’s also harmful to society as a whole. We can get in echo chambers of false information and begin declaring loudly on social media false claims. Deuteronomy clearly prohibits this type of activity. (Deuteronomy 20:16) We must recover the practice of checking our sources. Before believing or sharing a truth claim, we should ask ourselves if the source and the claim are credible.
How will our claims of Jesus be perceived by people who don’t yet believe if we are consistently posting conspiracy theories and doing it in a way that is contrary to the way of Jesus outlined in the previous point? It’s my conviction that if we “win” a culture war, yet lose the souls of millions because we did not bear faithful witness, we lose the most important war.
3- Be skeptical of parties and more convinced of the Kingdom.
In a recent podcast, Mark Sayers, a pastor and cultural commentator in Australia, said that followers of Jesus should be more skeptical of political parties and more convinced of the Kingdom of God. I tend to agree with Sayers, in that our primary allegiance and identity cannot be to a political party, but should be to the Kingdom of God.
In observing the early church, Tim Keller outlined five behaviors Christians were known for that drew people to faith, even when it made little sense culturally to do so:
Sanctity of Life: Cared for unwanted babies left to die in the elements or sold into slaver and prostituion.
Sexual Counterculture: Offered a sexual ethic of one man and one woman in the context of marriage that went against the oppressive nature of Roman sexuality, where men would sleep with whoever they wanted. (other women, slaves, men, children, etc.)
Multiracial: The church was organically diverse and multiracial, which went against the tribalism of the day.
Mercy: Cared for the poor and suffering Christians and non-Christians alike.
Nonviolence: Offered forgiveness, reconciliation, and enemy love to those who were persecuting them.
Both parties have aspects of their agendas that are more in line with the way of Jesus than the other and both parties are touting ideologies that are contrary to the Kingdom agenda. I’m by no means saying not to lean one way or the other (I certainly do), but I am saying to make sure your worldview is coming from the Kingdom and not from Tucker Carlson, Anderson Cooper, or fill in the blank of your candidate/commentator of choice.
Our worldviews are formed by the stories we believe, the information we hear, and the things we digest. As Christians, we must be formed by Scripture more than the news outlets. This means if we are attending church once a week, but watching your news outlet of choice seven days a week, we are going to be formed more by the news anchor than God’s truth. If we are spending thirty minutes in the Bible each morning, but then digesting political content on podcasts, radio, blogs, or articles for many hours each day, we are likely going to be formed more by politics than the Word of God. I am by no means saying to read your Bible 24 hours a day or to hide from current events, but I would recommend thinking deeply about how you’re being formed by what you are digesting.
Throughout the Old Testament, every time the people of God put their hope in a king other than God, things went poorly. Throughout church history, every time Christians have become overly aligned with political leaders, things have also gone poorly. Is your hope in an earthly king and political party or the King of kings and his eternal Kingdom?
I love our country and we should pray for it and its leaders, but America is not the Church and the Church is not America. Even if we believe American freedom was shaped by the bible, America is not the New Testament version of Israel. The people of God are those who are called by His name. We are exiles and strangers, no matter our political alignment, because our allegiance is to the King and His kingdom. Only in Jesus do we find a home and a hope.
We find ourselves in a crucial cultural moment in redemptive history. The people of God are called to be faithful witnesses that live, speak, and act in ways that reflect the reality of Jesus and His Kingdom. With many swirling questions of how we should engage politically, a few things are certain…
We must live out the way of Jesus in a compelling way, with love and gentleness. We do speak truth, but we do it in a way that is in line with Jesus, rather than the age of outrage and slander that is the cultural air we breathe. We must also be careful to not bear false witness with our words and actions. We check our sources and think deeply before posting theories that may or may not be true. We think through the lens of bearing faithful witness. And lastly, we are humbly skeptical of political parties and leaders, and instead, align ourselves with Jesus and the Kingdom of God.