Should we “keep religion out of politics”? Impossible. Unbiblical.

Christians are often told we should “keep religion out of politics,” but this is actually impossible. Not just for Christians, but for anyone. The reason being that our politics are based on what we believe to be good or evil, right or wrong, just or unjust, and these beliefs are based on who we worship. To worship someone involves acknowledging their supremacy above all others, so who you worship will inevitably also be who you look to as law-giver and judge, the one who sets the standard for what is right or wrong. Who you worship determines your morals and therefore determines your politics.

Everyone worships someone, even atheists. The atheist worships himself, believing himself to be the highest authority, rather than any particular god. He decides for himself what is right or wrong, making his own morality the highest standard, and develops his politics accordingly. The Christian, on the other hand, worships God and looks to God as Law-giver and Judge, letting God’s Word be the standard of right and wrong, and develops his politics in light of this. 

So keeping religion out of politics is impossible; it’s not whether there will be religion in politics, it’s which religion will be in politics. And the Bible is clear that the Christian religion must be the religion we bring into politics. Consider the words of Psalm 2:10-12, 

    “Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.” 

The kings and rulers of the nations of the earth are commanded to serve the Lord with fear and “kiss the Son,” which means give honor and glory to Jesus. If a king does not serve the Lord, or a ruler does not honor Jesus, then he is in rebellion against the “King of kings” (Rev. 19:16) and should expect judgment and wrath upon himself and perhaps even his nation. We see examples of this with rulers like Pharaoh, where God first warns Pharaoh saying, “How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me?“ (Ex. 10:3) and eventually brings the plagues upon Pharaoh and the nation of Egypt. We see similar examples with Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar in Daniel 5:21-23,

“[Nebuchadnezzar] was driven from among the children of mankind, and his mind was made like that of a beast, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. He was fed grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, until he knew that the Most High God rules the kingdom of mankind and sets over it whom he will. And you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this, but you have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven. And the vessels of his house have been brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know, but the God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways, you have not honored.”

Rulers are accountable to God. Kings must answer to the King of kings. The Bible teaches that God is the one who instituted government and that all rulers derive their authority from God and are therefore accountable to God as his servants. God, in his wisdom, established the institution of government for the good of humanity, and all rulers have a responsibility before God to govern in a way that honors God, promotes what is good, and punishes what is evil. This is laid out clearly in Romans 13:1-4, 

“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.”

We should expect our civil rulers to serve God because, as the Bible clearly states in Romans 13:4, they are God’s servants. We are to expect them to govern in a way that honors God and accords with his Law. We are to assess the moral value of a civil ruler’s character and platform and policies according to standard of God’s Law as revealed in Holy Scripture. Even if the ruler is not a Christian, having no personal faith in Jesus Christ, he (or she) still has a responsibility before God to rule in a way that accords with God’s moral Law—that’s the nature of the task of governing. We know that “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14:34). In reference to this verse, America’s first President George Washington said in his First Inaugural Address,

“[We] ought to be no less persuaded that the propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which Heaven itself has ordained.” 

So not only is it impossible to keep religion in general out of politics, it’s also unbiblical to keep Christianity in particular out of politics. As Charles Spurgeon said in his famous sermon The Candle, 

“I often hear it said, ‘Do not bring religion into politics.’ This is precisely where it ought to be brought, and set there in the face of all men as on a candlestick! I would have the Cabinet and the members of Parliament do the work of the nation as before the Lord, and I would have the nation, either in making war or peace, consider the matter by the light of righteousness.”

Rulers are commanded to serve the Lord with fear. Citizens are commanded to pray for their rulers, “for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way” (1 Timothy 2:2). We are to pray for our rulers, whether they are Christian or not, to govern in a way that accords with God’s moral law, so that our rights and freedoms are protected and we can lead peaceful and quiet lives with our families and churches, spreading the gospel in our communities. 

The institution of the government should protect and serve the purposes of the institutions of the family (godly marriages raising godly children) and the church (preaching the gospel and making disciples of all nations), not interfering with them, but helping them flourish in society. On this topic, Calvin says in his Institutes:

“[Civil rulers are] assigned, so long as we live among men, to foster and maintain the external worship of God, to defend sound doctrine and the condition of the Church, to adapt our conduct to human society, to form our manners to civil justice, to conciliate us to each other, to cherish common peace and tranquility.”

Similarly, the Westminster Confession of Faith says in Chapter 23,

“God, the supreme Lord and King of all the world, hath ordained civil magistrates, to be, under him, over the people, for his own glory, and the public good: and, to this end, hath armed them with the power of the sword, for the defense and encouragement of them that are good, and for the punishment of evildoers . . . [It] is the duty of civil magistrates to protect the church of our common Lord, without giving the preference to any denomination of Christians above the rest, in such a manner that all ecclesiastical persons whatever shall enjoy the full, free, and unquestioned liberty of discharging every part of their sacred functions, without violence or danger.”

These principles also inform how we can best use our vote. We are given the privilege of casting our ballot for the candidate whom, whether Christian or not, we believe is most likely to pass laws that accord with God’s Law and allow for Christians to live a “peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.” A non-Christian can still rule in a way that accepts and embraces God’s moral standard, and we can obviously recognize that some non-Christians will be better rulers than others. Even so, we should always pray for our non-Christian rulers to come to Christ, for “this is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:3-4). A Christian who rules in the fear of God is the ideal candidate to lead a nation, and will bring blessing on those whom he leads, as we are taught in 2 Samuel 23:3-4, 

    “When one rules justly over men, ruling in the fear of God, he dawns on them like the morning light, like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning, like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth.”

Should we keep religion out of politics? Impossible. On the contrary, we must bring the moral values and standards of the Christian religion into the realm of politics for the glory of God and the good of our fellow neighbors and citizens. 

More on this topic recorded on a podcast you can watch here.

Moving to the Millennium on June 30th

After seven years at 12th and Chicon we are moving our Sunday service to a new location this summer! Starting on June 30th we will be gathering for our Sunday services at the Millennium Youth Complex, an iconic spot on the Eastside.

We have already started meeting in this space on Wednesday nights at 6pm for our midweek Bible study, and we are excited to start meeting here for our Sunday services as well. This meeting space will be more cost effective for us as well as open up several new opportunities for outreach, being located across the street from the Booker T apartments and Eastside Early College High School.

We have a few moving days and times coming up where we will need all hands on deck to help transition to the new space:

• Wednesday, June 12th, 9am-4pm

• Sunday, June 23rd, 1-4pm

• Wednesday, June 26th, 9am-4pm

After our first service we will be having a Block Party in the parking lot, where we can connect with the community and fellowship after church! There will be bounce house, food, music, and good times hanging out and building relationships. We are excited for all that God has for us in this new season!

Make sure you’ve joined our ECC FAMILY page on Facebook so that you can stay in the loop about updates and events!