Victory Groups

Materials App

Civil Government

Weeks 20 to 25

In the Beginning, Politics

𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗠-𝗨𝗣 • What is one thing you were always told to do growing up? Why? • Tell us the plot of your favorite movie. Why do you like it? • What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word “politics”? Why? 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗗 𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩. 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗦 𝟭:𝟭 In the beginning, politics. To some people, that sentence sounds almost heretical. The phrase “in the beginning” has always been heavily associated with the biblical creation story; the word “politics,” on the other hand, belongs to the contentious, dog-eat-dog realm of human power plays. These two concepts don’t go together; they shouldn’t belong in the same sentence. Or so we think. When we ask the question “What does the Bible say about politics?” most Christians jump to a few choice verses in the New Testament and build their theology from there. But if we do that, our perspective will be fragmented and incoherent. Instead of picking and choosing our favorite verses, it is helpful to ask what the Bible says as a whole about politics. The concepts of governance and politics are actually embedded in the creation story itself. As the Bible’s main storyline unfolds, we get to see the full picture of politics and governance that reflects God’s good structural design for the world. One way to tell that story is to divide the biblical narrative into four acts—Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Restoration. In this lesson, we will learn about politics as part of God’s good creation. In Act One, God created a good world and made human beings to reflect His goodness as they live in His good world. Adam and Eve flourished in the Garden of Eden. Their world was characterized by unbroken justice and universal peace. As Lord over all creation and ruler of the whole earth, God gave Adam and Eve a set of divine instructions for the ordering of the world. 𝟭. 𝗔 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯, 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨, “𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘯, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘢𝘵, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘦.” 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗦 𝟮:𝟭𝟲–𝟭𝟳 God wanted Adam and Eve to rely upon Him for knowledge of good and evil. They were not to determine for themselves what they might call good and evil, moral or immoral, right or wrong. That prerogative belongs to God alone. How do you think the world would be different if Adam and Eve had listened to and obeyed God? 𝟮. 𝗔 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, “𝘉𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘥𝘶𝘦 𝘪𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩.” 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗦 𝟭:𝟮𝟴 God mandated Adam and Eve to build strong families, communities, and, by implication, societies. From the beginning, God instituted marriage and family and wanted human beings to flourish in direct relationship with Himself. Since God’s original design included and valued marriage and family, how are we supposed to live in light of this? 𝟯. 𝗔 𝗖𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, “𝘉𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘥𝘶𝘦 𝘪𝘵 . . .” 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗦 𝟭:𝟮𝟴 The “filling of the earth” refers to the spreading out of human families to different parts of the land. “Subduing” refers to the tilling of the soil, the working of the ground, and taking from God’s created world and making something out of it. This is a command to bring out the hidden potential of the world. How have you learned to value work and fulfill this cultural mandate? 𝟰. 𝗔 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲 “. . . 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩.” 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗦 𝟭:𝟮𝟴 God mandated Adam and Eve to rule over the animal kingdom. To “rule” here means that humans are to promote the well-being of animals and protect them. This is not a license to abuse and kill, but a mandate to preserve and protect. Based on this passage, what was the scope of mankind’s dominion? All of these combined form God’s mandate for Adam and Eve to build a human society that: • is in close relationship with God (a blessing to 𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘺), • goes far and wide to work the ground and build culture (𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘥𝘶𝘦 𝘪𝘵), and • is in a benevolent relationship with the rest of the created order (𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 the animal kingdom). Politics, defined as the theory and practice of governing a society, is deeply embedded and heavily implied in these mandates. “Politics” is derived from the Greek words for citizen (𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘦̄𝘴) and city (𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘴). Though the Bible doesn’t use the term explicitly, the mandate to build society, govern it, and put order into it has been there from the very start. Had this world remained untainted by sin, it would have blossomed into a society of people who loved God and each other. Humankind would have developed art, science, education, sports, business, and politics in justice and peace. There would be no wars, no world hunger, no dirty politics, no leadership scandals. The political realm might have just involved leaders deciding relatively simple things together, such as whether to drive on the left or right side of the road, or when to start the academic year. Sadly, Act Two—the Fall—happened, and that idyllic world quickly unravelled. 𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 • If politics is part of God’s good creation, why do many people today think it is a necessary evil? What did you learn today, and how will you apply it in your life? • God created humans to work the earth. What does this say about our jobs and businesses? • The regal mandate tells us that we are stewards of God’s creation, not mere users. How does this affect your identity and the way you view yourself? 𝗣𝗥𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥 • Thank God for making the world the way He did. Pray that you will have a biblical understanding of every aspect of the world. • Pray that God’s design for our society would be followed. Ask Him for wisdom for our leaders and order in our land. • Pray for God’s grace to obey the commands He gave you. Pray for His strength to do your part in building our society and nation.

A Broken World

𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗠-𝗨𝗣 • Do you like following instructions? Why or why not? • How do you respond when things don’t go according to plan? Recall an instance explaining this. • Tell us about a recent argument or fight you had with a loved one. What happened? 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗗 𝘚𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘦, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘵𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘶𝘴𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘵𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘥. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘨 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘴. 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗦 𝟯:𝟲–𝟳 (Read also 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗦 𝟯–𝟰.) We are looking at the biblical narrative as four acts: Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Restoration. In Act Two, the Fall, the idyllic story goes bad. Adam and Eve refused to trust God for knowledge of good and evil. In an act of total defiance to God, they sought to determine “the good” on their own. Their disobedience has far-reaching consequences. Man died, first spiritually and later physically, and along with him, so many good things in creation were broken. Adam and Eve’s disobedience to God’s moral mandate led to the corruption of human life, society, culture, and the environment. In this lesson, we will look at four relationships that were broken because of the Fall. 𝟭. 𝗠𝗮𝗻’𝘀 𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘐 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘥, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘩𝘪𝘥 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧.” 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗦 𝟯:𝟭𝟬 Man was created in close relationship with God. This relationship is seen in many ways in Genesis alone. We were created in His image and mandated to act as vice-regents and reflectors of His glory all over the earth. We are God’s image-bearers. When man rebelled against God, our ability to bear His image was shattered. We fell into sin; we lost the glory of God; we were separated; we died. Something very fundamental to our humanity broke. How did Adam react when God looked for him, and how is this characteristic of us as well? 𝟮. 𝗠𝗮𝗻’𝘀 𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗙𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗠𝗲𝗻 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘞𝘩𝘰 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘥? 𝘏𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘢𝘵?” 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘮 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘦, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘢𝘵𝘦.” 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗦 𝟯:𝟭𝟭–𝟭𝟮 Right after the breaking of our relationship with God was the breaking of our relationship with fellow men. Human relationships turned out to be the second casualty of the Fall. This is why Adam’s first impulse was to blame Eve when God confronted him, and the first crime in the Bible is a murder between brothers (Genesis 4:8). This also eventually played out in society. In Genesis 4:23–24, we see how Lamech killed a man for wounding him. He even called seventy-sevenfold revenge on the person who would kill him. From warring families and tribes to battles between nations, we see how the Fall created an avalanche of broken human relationships that is evident until today. How is this true in the relationships around you? 𝟯. 𝗠𝗮𝗻’𝘀 𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮, “𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶?” 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘐 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘥, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘩𝘪𝘥 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧.” 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘞𝘩𝘰 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘥? 𝘏𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘢𝘵?” 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗦 𝟯:𝟵–𝟭𝟭 In their pre-Fall state, Adam and Eve were both naked and were not ashamed (Genesis 2:25). After the Fall, they began to look inward and noticed their own nakedness. Something shifted. God was no longer their source of authority and identity. The wide, wondrous world in front of them shrunk until it was only about the self. Today, we overestimate our importance while we relegate God to the sidelines. What are some ways you have seen this happen? 𝟰. 𝗠𝗮𝗻’𝘀 𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘈𝘥𝘢𝘮 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶, ’𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵,’ 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶; 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦; 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶; 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥. 𝘉𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥, 𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯; 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯.” 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗦 𝟯:𝟭𝟳–𝟭𝟵 Adam and Eve being kicked out of the Garden of Eden was one of the most dramatic consequences of the Fall (Genesis 3:24). Nature used to provide for their needs. After the Fall, they needed to work the soil and toil harder for the ground to yield fruit. Nature was no longer as friendly or yielding to their needs. Moreover, in Genesis 6–8, God’s punishment came through a great flood. Nature had become an instrument of punishment. And in Genesis 9:2, God planted fear and dread of humans among the members of the animal kingdom. As a result, we no longer enjoy companionship and affinity with most animals. Their impulse now is to run away from us. It is in the context of this breaking of fundamental relationships that we ask, “So what happened to the mandates God gave humanity?” While the world God created remains structurally good (it remains in good order and still allows human flourishing), it is now directionally corrupt. This means that we take what God has given us, such as the commands in Genesis 1:28, and twist them toward wrong ends: • The mandate to be 𝘧𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘺 was distorted and caused issues of overpopulation, abortion, and the breaking of families. • The mandate to 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘥𝘶𝘦 𝘪𝘵 turned into war, colonization, and military takeovers. • The mandate to 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯 and benevolently rule over the animal kingdom became an exploitation of natural resources. This explains why contemporary politics has become contentious and toxic. God’s design for the ordering and governing of society remains good, but our sin and spiritual corruption poisoned it. Instead of viewing civil government as a place for us to wisely steward resources and public trust, we grasp for power and trample on the weak. But the problem runs deeper than most political analysts and theorists ever conceived. Some think that the problem is politics or political parties and ideologies. Others think it’s the systems and forms of government. But these things are the symptoms, not the root cause. Politicians are not the problem. Party lists are not the problem. Activists are not the problem. We are. We all are—because sin has corrupted our hearts and we all have this twisted tendency to turn God’s good creation into idolatry. This is precisely why the solution to the brokenness of the world doesn’t start with politics. It starts with redemption that is revealed in Christ. 𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 • We are inherently sinful and selfish. How will this awareness cause you to appreciate God’s original design and His plan for our redemption? • How do you think God wants you to respond to the broken relationships around you? • How would you respond to people who dismiss politics as something inherently bad? 𝗣𝗥𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥 • Thank God for His original design and purpose for our world. Thank Him for the Scriptures that shed light into this original design and reveal how we can be saved. • In a world of broken relationships, ask God to make you a minister of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18). • Pray that your understanding of God and the world would be based on Scripture and filled with hope in His redemption.

Why Civil Government?

𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗠-𝗨𝗣 • To whom do you go for advice for something beyond your expertise? Why do you consider him or her an expert? • Have you ever held a leadership position in school? What do you recall about it? • Who is one person you would follow without question? Why? 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗗 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. 𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟭𝟯:𝟭–𝟰 The results of the Fall in Genesis 3 cannot be overstated. Humanity is now predisposed to wrongdoing and sin. In Genesis 4–6 alone, we see that humankind’s fall from grace went on to produce a society of violence, murder, and abuse. Genesis 6:5 says that “𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 . . . 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺.” Three chapters later, in Genesis 9:5–6, right after the flood, God spoke to Noah and commanded him to carry out the most severe punishment (the death penalty) for the most horrible crime (murder). At this point, there was no mention of civil government yet—humanity had just restarted after the great flood. But the point God made was instructive: Because the human heart is predisposed to sin and wrongdoing, a system of governance had to be instituted. The anarchy of Judges 18–25 shows in gruesome detail why civil government is needed to restrain evil and execute justice. This explains the need for the government to 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 (Romans 13:4). There are many truths to draw from this text, but for the purpose of our discussion, we will focus on these three: 𝟭. 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆. 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. 𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟭𝟯:𝟭 The first thing that we need to understand about authority is that there’s no other entity in all of creation that holds absolute power over us except God Himself. Everything else is derivative. Only God deserves our absolute allegiance and loyalty. Why is it important to understand and believe this truth? 𝟮. 𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗚𝗼𝗱. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘥. 𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟭𝟯:𝟭 The second thing we need to understand about authority is that if it is not God’s, then it is derivative and secondary. This means that someone above, that is, God Himself, is holding political leaders accountable. No matter what kind of government or regime you are under, that regime will pass and only the authority of God continues forever. This also means that there really is a place for civil authority in the grand scheme of things. Governments are part of the structural good that God designed for the world. How has history shown that governments and regimes don’t last? How should we respond in light of this? 𝟯. 𝗖𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗹 𝗴𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘅𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲. 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. 𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟭𝟯:𝟯–𝟰 The role and purpose of government is to exercise justice. Justice, in this case, means to give each person that which is his due. This can be expressed in two ways: promoting good and punishing evil. A government promotes good for the sake of its marginalized citizens by establishing an ordered and peaceful social space where good is recognized and encouraged. But since we live in a fallen world, this is also where evil is punished and judgment is carried out. Governments are established to secure the peace in a chaotic and discordant society so those wishing to live peaceably with their neighbors may do so. What does 1 Peter 2:13–14 say about the role of governing authorities? The biblical function of civil government is clear-cut and straightforward. In real life, confusion happens when governments and government leaders endorse policies that are oppressive to some sectors. What do we do when governments abuse power? While the Bible contains varied examples in response to this question, there are four things we can do: • 𝙋𝙧𝙖𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙮 (1 Timothy 2:1–4). This is the Christian’s primary response to all concerns regarding civil government. Prayer, in a way, is high-level activism. You are bringing up your complaints not to the streets to make the government listen but to the only Being in the entire universe who actually wields all power and authority to do something about your concern. This is not to diminish the value of activism but to elevate the necessity of prayer as our primary action plan. • 𝙋𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙂𝙤𝙙'𝙨 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙙 (Romans 12:1–2). Real transformation happens when the word of God regenerates the hearts of sinful human beings and turns them into followers of Jesus. God’s method of changing the world starts in the heart of every believer through the transforming power of the word. Politics is just one of the tools God uses to effect change. • 𝙋𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙘 𝙖𝙛𝙛𝙖𝙞𝙧𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣. Jesus taught His followers to be salt and light to the world (Matthew 5:13–16). This happens when Christians are actively engaged in political and civic affairs of the nation instead of just sitting on the sidelines complaining about the corruption of society. We enjoin Christians to pay taxes, vote, campaign for just causes, and even run for public office if one has the aptitude for it. • 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙨 𝙣𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙖𝙧𝙮. This should come only as necessary after much prayer, preaching, and participation. Within the bounds of the law, there is a place for protest to call public officials to uphold the law (Acts 16:35–40). But when we protest, it must be done with respect and the desire to see the justice and righteousness of God reign. Even in our protests, the Scripture says that we must not revile against authority (Romans 13:1–2, 7; 1 Peter 2:13–14). 𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 • Do you believe that God holds absolute authority over the earth? How should the truth of God’s absolute authority affect every area of your life? • What do you believe about the purpose of civil government? How does your mindset or understanding need to be aligned with God’s word? What’s one thing you would like to do differently based on today’s lesson? • Read Romans 13:1–4 again aloud and slowly. What word or phrase stands out to you? Why? Meditate on this throughout the week. Ask God to align your thoughts and will to His. 𝗣𝗥𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥 • Thank God for being the absolute authority over our lives. Thank Him that even when governments and regimes fall, His authority continues forever. • In all honesty, tell God how you think and feel about civil government. Ask Him for wisdom, discernment, and insight into His word so you can respond in a godly manner. • Lift up your nation and leaders to God. Pray for civil government to function the way God designed it.

The Bible & Politics

𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗠-𝗨𝗣 • Do you consider yourself a “political” person? What’s the most political thing you’ve ever done? • Recall a time when someone imposed his or her opinion on you. How did you respond? • If you could change one thing about your nation, what would it be? 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗗 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘵 . . . “𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘦𝘯𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘴𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘴𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨; 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘭.” 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗦 𝟯:𝟭𝟰–𝟭𝟱 The government’s power of the sword is a temporary fix for a world gone wrong. Politics and governments don’t save. They are structurally good, but because of sin, they are directionally corrupted. Like the rest of creation, they are awaiting redemption. This brings us to Act Three of the major storyline of the Bible: Redemption. In Genesis 3:15, God promised to send a Savior who would untwist what had been twisted and cleanse what had been defiled. In the New Testament, we learn that the Savior is Jesus Christ. Jesus came to fix what was broken in the Fall. The Fall produced death; Jesus came to give life. By breathing new life into us, He has begun the work of fixing, not just the brokenness of human beings, but also the brokenness of the rest of the created order. That includes fixing the “misdirection” of our cultural and political lives. He said we are the salt and light of the world (Matthew 5:13–14). As redeemed humanity, we must relate to politics and political issues in a way that reflects the glory of God and is consistent with our future hope in His coming kingdom. However, many Christians are divided about how to relate biblically to civil government. The Bible, in both the Old and New Testaments, shows different ways the people of God dealt with or responded to kings and governments in general. Here are a few examples. 𝟭. 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝗯𝘂𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗗𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗱. 𝘕𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘋𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘥, “𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯! 𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘐𝘴𝘳𝘢𝘦𝘭, '. . . 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥, 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵?’” 𝟮 𝗦𝗔𝗠𝗨𝗘𝗟 𝟭𝟮:𝟳, 𝟵 When David sinned against the Lord by taking another man’s wife and getting her husband killed to cover his own sin (2 Samuel 11:1–27), God sent the prophet Nathan to confront him. While the confrontation sounds like a frank conversation between two men, as a prophet, Nathan needed courage to speak truth to the one in power (2 Samuel 12:1–15). How did David respond to Nathan’s rebuke? 𝟮. 𝗘𝗹𝗶𝗷𝗮𝗵 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗔𝗵𝗮𝗯. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘌𝘭𝘪𝘫𝘢𝘩 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴? 𝘐𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋 𝘪𝘴 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘪𝘮; 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘉𝘢𝘢𝘭, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘪𝘮.” 𝟭 𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 𝟭𝟴:𝟮𝟭 Ahab did more to provoke the Lord to anger than all the kings of Israel before him (1 Kings 16:33). Throughout 1 Kings 17–19, we see that God sent Elijah to confront him on multiple occasions. The confrontation culminated in a public, fiery showdown on Mount Carmel. After that, Elijah ran away from the murderous Queen Jezebel. In 1 Kings 21:27–29, how did Ahab respond to the word of the Lord through Elijah? 𝟯. 𝗢𝗯𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗵 𝗿𝗮𝗻 𝗔𝗵𝗮𝗯’𝘀 𝗽𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗚𝗼𝗱’𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗵𝗲𝘁𝘀. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘈𝘩𝘢𝘣 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘖𝘣𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘩, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥. (𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘖𝘣𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘩 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘭𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘑𝘦𝘻𝘦𝘣𝘦𝘭 𝘤𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋, 𝘖𝘣𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘩 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘣𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳.) 𝟭 𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 𝟭𝟴:𝟯–𝟰 While Elijah was hiding from Ahab, Obadiah, the man in charge of King Ahab’s palace, secretly saved the Lord’s prophets from Jezebel’s wrath. Do you think Obadiah was afraid of going against the king and sheltering God’s prophets? Why do you think he did it anyway? 𝟰. 𝗗𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝗹 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗱 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗕𝗮𝗯𝘆𝗹𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗼-𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗘𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗲. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘉𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘻𝘻𝘢𝘳 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘋𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘭𝘦, 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘬, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘥 𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘥𝘰𝘮. 𝗗𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗘𝗟 𝟱:𝟮𝟵 Daniel was one of the Jewish exiles who showed a God-given aptitude for learning and skill in all literature and wisdom in Babylon (Daniel 1:17–21). He used these skills to serve the king and the entire Babylonian empire. When Babylon was invaded by the Medes, Daniel served under Darius, the new king. How did God protect Daniel even in the lions’ den (Daniel 6:22)? How did King Darius respond to this (Daniel 6:25–27)? 𝟱. 𝗡𝗲𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗮𝗵 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗰𝘂𝗽𝗯𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘦. 𝗡𝗘𝗛𝗘𝗠𝗜𝗔𝗛 𝟮:𝟴 When news about the devastation of Jerusalem reached Nehemiah, cupbearer to King Artaxerxes, he asked for the king’s permission to go and rebuild the city walls. The king granted his request and even allowed Nehemiah to use timber from the king’s forest. As a bonus, the king sent with him officers and horsemen of the Persian army. Why did the king give Nehemiah all that he asked for? 𝟲. 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗶 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴’𝘀 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨’𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨’𝘴 𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘏𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘯, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘪 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦. 𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥 𝟯:𝟮 While Queen Esther was very careful not to break palace protocols (Esther 4:16), her cousin Mordecai defied the king’s command to bow down to his chief minister, Haman. Yet, when Mordecai discovered a plot against King Ahasuerus, he sent a message to Esther and saved the king’s life. According to Esther 8:1–17, how did Mordecai later serve under the king? 𝟳. 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗼𝗱. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘑𝘰𝘩𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘥, “𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘸𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘧𝘦.” 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩. 𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗞 𝟲:𝟭𝟴–𝟭𝟵 King Herod took his brother Philip’s wife, and John the Baptist confronted him about it several times. As a result, the king had John arrested and imprisoned. What did the king’s wife request regarding John (Mark 6:21–24)? 𝟴. 𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘂𝘀 𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝘁𝗮𝘅𝗲𝘀. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘊𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘶𝘮, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰-𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘮𝘢 𝘵𝘢𝘹 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘋𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘹?” 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘠𝘦𝘴.” 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦, 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵, 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨, “𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬, 𝘚𝘪𝘮𝘰𝘯? 𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘮 𝘥𝘰 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘢𝘹? 𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴?” 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴,” 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮, “𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦. 𝘏𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘨𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘢 𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘶𝘱, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘬𝘦𝘭. 𝘛𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧.” 𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗪 𝟭𝟳:𝟮𝟰–𝟮𝟳 Tax collectors had come to Peter’s house to collect taxes. Though rabbis are normally exempt from paying taxes, Jesus told Peter to give the tax anyway. Why do you think Jesus chose to pay taxes even if He did not have to? In Mark 12:13–17, what did He challenge the Pharisees to do when they asked Him about paying taxes? 𝟵. 𝗣𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀𝘁. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥, “𝘞𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘣𝘦𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘮𝘦𝘯.” 𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗦 𝟱:𝟮𝟵 When Peter was arrested the first time in the book of Acts, an angel of the Lord freed him in the night. The next day, he went right back to preaching in public. When the chief priest ordered that he and the other apostles be arrested, they boldly declared that they would obey God, not men. What did the apostles do after they faced the council (Acts 5:41–42)? 𝟭𝟬. 𝗣𝗮𝘂𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘂𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝗺𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗹 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆. 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. 𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟭𝟯:𝟭 𝘉𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥’𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦, 𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘣𝘺 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦. 𝘓𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳-𝘶𝘱 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘭, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥. 𝘏𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘥. 𝘍𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘎𝘰𝘥. 𝘏𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘳. 𝟭 𝗣𝗘𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟮:𝟭𝟯–𝟭𝟳 Both Paul and Peter wrote to the churches to submit to the authority of civil government. Why do you think submitting to Rome would have been difficult at that time? Why did both Paul and Peter ask the believers to do it anyway? For whose sake did Peter ask the believers to submit to every human institution? The ten biblical examples above show how the people of God responded to government leaders in their day. Some worked with emperors (Daniel, Esther, Nehemiah); others rebuked kings (Elijah, Nathan, John the Baptist). Some worked alongside political leaders (Esther, Daniel), while others had no problem encouraging Christians to submit to flawed governments (Paul, Peter). In short, there is no single clear-cut way to respond to politics and government. Every situation has nuance and context. There is, however, one principle upon which we can anchor our response: the glory of God (Romans 11:36). For every political issue at hand, our response must be filtered with the question: Does this honor and glorify God? 𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 • Based on these examples, do you think we are always expected to align ourselves with civil government? When and how can we disagree? • Of the examples we referred to today, which one struck you the most? Why? How does this apply to your life and situation? • Jesus came to give life and fix what was broken in the Fall. In light of this, how can you relate to politics in a way that honors Him? 𝗣𝗥𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥 • Thank God for the examples in Scripture about relating to civil government. Ask Him for wisdom, insight, and courage to apply this in your life. • Ask God to fix and restore the brokenness of human beings and the rest of the created order. • Pray that the Church would be the salt and light of the world. Pray that we would reflect God’s glory in all that we do and say.

The Church & Politics

𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗠-𝗨𝗣 • Did you like studying history? Why or why not? • What was the most recent object you tried to fix? Were you successful? What happened? • Recall a time that you changed your opinion on something after hearing someone’s explanation. What did he or she say to convince you otherwise? 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗗 𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩, 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨, “𝘙𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥.” 𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗪 𝟰:𝟭𝟳 When Jesus started His public ministry, His first message was about the arrival of the kingdom of God. We should not miss the gravity of what He said. While some think the Bible has no political message, the truth is that Jesus’ announcement of God’s kingdom was the strongest political statement He ever uttered. The arrival of a kingdom meant the arrival of a new king. Allegiances would shift; lines would be drawn; people needed to make choices. A new kind of politics had come. But until today, why hasn’t the kingdom of God ushered in all the changes humankind is clamoring for? Why is God’s method of fixing the twists and distortions of sin taking so long? Here’s the short answer: 1. 𝘎𝘰𝘥’𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥. It occurs in the hearts of individual believers. 2. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘧 “𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘺𝘦𝘵.” This means that the kingdom of God has already begun but is not yet here in its fullness. It was inaugurated at the first coming of Christ and will be completed when He comes again. The kingdom is not yet here in its fullness to allow more time for evangelism and missions. This is our mandate as a disciple-making church. Jesus means to save so many people that He is holding the door open a bit longer to allow His gospel bearers to reach the farthest corners of the world and issue the invitation for people to come into His kingdom. At the same time, the people of God are also called to become a witness to the transforming power of the gospel in all spheres of human society. So while we go forth to proclaim the good news, we are also called to demonstrate this same good news through our lives. The gospel should reach and change every sphere of society: family, government, business, media, arts and entertainment, education, science and technology, and sports. Our conduct and public political engagement must reflect our inner gospel convictions. Historically, there are at least five views on how the Church has engaged with politics. As we look at these, think through and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each. 𝟭. 𝗦𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗩𝗶𝗲𝘄 “𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘋𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘭. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘱𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘬, 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘤, 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘬 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭.” 𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗪 𝟱:𝟯𝟵–𝟰𝟬 The separationist view is historically associated with Anabaptists, Amish, and Quakers. They emphasize the teachings of Jesus on forgiveness, grace, and loving your enemies. The separationists take a posture of non-violence, refuse to endorse the use of lethal force or coercion, and teach not to fight back even in self-defense. They believe the Church should be separate from the world, so they refuse to engage culture and instead retreat to their own isolated communities. 𝟮. 𝗧𝘄𝗼 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗱𝗼𝗺𝘀 𝗩𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, “𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘊𝘢𝘦𝘴𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘊𝘢𝘦𝘴𝘢𝘳’𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘥’𝘴.” 𝗟𝗨𝗞𝗘 𝟮𝟬:𝟮𝟱 This view is historically associated with Martin Luther. It teaches that the world is divided into two kingdoms: • a coercive government by the sword to maintain peace and basic justice in the world (Romans 13) • a spiritual government by the word and Spirit to gather men and women into Christ’s kingdom (John 18:36) According to this view, the Church should refrain from direct involvement with politics, focusing instead on molding the hearts of Christians. God’s saving works and word are separate from the realm of politics. 𝟯. 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗩𝗶𝗲𝘄 “‘𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋: 𝘋𝘰 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘣𝘦𝘥. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘳 𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘥𝘰𝘸, 𝘯𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦.’” 𝗝𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗠𝗜𝗔𝗛 𝟮𝟮:𝟯 The prophetic view is mostly associated with the African American church, but is now gaining traction in many parts of the world. The emphasis is on the heart of God for the marginalized, the downcast, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 (Matthew 25:45). Attuned to the sin and suffering of the people, those who hold this view believe that the role of the Church is to speak truth to power and be the prophetic voice in society. Since it teaches that the Church must relentlessly pursue liberation, justice, and reconciliation, this view is more politically active than all the rest. The final hope of those who adhere to the prophetic view is in the eternal kingdom of God, where peace and justice will ultimately reign, and all things will be made right. 𝟰. 𝗖𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗩𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝘙𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴: 𝘵𝘰 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘳𝘱𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥. 𝗝𝗔𝗠𝗘𝗦 𝟭:𝟮𝟳 The Catholic church teaches of seven areas of culture and public life that they engage the most: • the dignity of human life • the call to family, community, and participation • rights and responsibilities • preferential care for the poor and vulnerable • the dignity of work and the rights of workers • solidarity and commitment for the common good • care for God’s creation The Catholic catechism also outlines three specific obligations of all Christian citizens: voting, defending one’s country, and paying taxes. 𝟱. 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗩𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦, 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘣𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘥? 𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦’𝘴 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘵. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥. 𝘈 𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯. 𝘕𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘰 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢 𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘢 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘵, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦. 𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯.” 𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗪 𝟱:𝟭𝟯–𝟭𝟲 The transformationist view is historically associated with John Calvin. Its major emphasis is the teaching that Christ transforms culture through the ministry of the Church. In contrast to the Lutheran view of two kingdoms that have nothing to do with each other, the transformationist view teaches that Christ is over all things, including people, churches, and governments. According to this view, transformation of culture starts with the transformation of individuals. When a person is saved, his or her faith radiates into every aspect of life, both private and public. When this happens, society will be saturated with transformed people, effecting change in the wider culture. Additionally, because of the teaching on common grace (that the Spirit of God also works outside the Church), the Church should not be surprised to find passionate advocates for justice and wise stewards of the common good outside the body of Christ. The views presented above are the five general ways the Church responded to political issues in the last 2,000 years. Each view has strengths and weaknesses. For example, while the separationist view championed forgiveness and humility, it opened the church to more persecution because of its posture of non-violence even in extreme circumstances. On the other hand, the two kingdoms view gave the Nazis the perfect excuse to get away with their blind loyalty to Hitler. When Nazi soldiers were asked why they obeyed Hitler’s orders, they replied, “We were simply obeying the natural kingdom.” We do not need to pit one view against the others, as each of them has biblical backing. Most contemporary churches frame their political responses by combining two or more of the five historical views mentioned above. 𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 • God desires all people to hear the gospel and be part of His kingdom. What is your role and commitment to the gospel as you wait for the full arrival of God’s kingdom? • Of the five views discussed, which do you lean toward most? Why? How does your public political engagement reflect your inner gospel convictions? • The people of God are called to be witnesses to the transforming power of the gospel in all spheres of society. What are two things you can do differently this week in your sphere of society? 𝗣𝗥𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥 • Thank God for His kingdom that is “already but not yet.” Pray that as we wait for it to come in its fullness, we would remain faithful to Him. • Pray to uphold unity within the body of Christ. Pray to respect others’ differing perspectives and love one another in spite of them. • Pray that you will be a witness to the transforming power of the gospel in your sphere of society. Ask God for a biblical worldview and to see things the way He wants you to see them. 𝗥𝗘𝗙𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘𝗦 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗙𝗨𝗥𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥 𝗦𝗧𝗨𝗗𝗬 • Ashford, Bruce Riley, and Chris Pappalardo. 𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘕𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘜𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘎𝘰𝘥: 𝘈 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘏𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘗𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴. Nashville, Tennessee: B & H Academic, 2015. • Black, Amy, ed. 𝘍𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘝𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘗𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴. Counterpoints: Bible and Theology. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2015. • Grudem, Wayne A. 𝘗𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘈𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦: 𝘈 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘜𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘔𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘗𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘐𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘓𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2010.

Doing Politics from the Middle of the Story

𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗠-𝗨𝗣 • Which city do you live in? What’s your neighborhood like and what do you like most about it? • Did you ever have to leave a cinema or theater before the ending? Why? • Who is the best storyteller you know? Why do you think he or she is the best? 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗗 “𝘉𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮; 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘦. 𝘛𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴; 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘨𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴; 𝘮𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘧𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘭𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘧, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘧𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘧𝘢𝘳𝘦.” 𝗝𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗠𝗜𝗔𝗛 𝟮𝟵:𝟱–𝟳 We started talking about civil government by saying that the Bible is better understood if we read it as a narrative divided into four acts: Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Restoration. God created a good world (Act One) but that world was broken by sin (Act Two). The biggest chunk of the biblical record covers redemption (Act Three, from Genesis 3 to Revelation 20), while the last two chapters of Revelation show us a preview of the restoration of all things (Act Four). We live in the middle of the story. What does this mean? We are living in a time when redemption has already begun but is not yet completed. We are in the middle of the “already but not yet.” Like living through a pandemic, the end may be in sight but getting there takes time. It is, in many ways, a very real expression of “already but not yet” in our time. As a church, what do we do from the middle of the story? 𝟭. 𝗕𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝗻 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦, 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘰𝘸, 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥, 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝗣𝗛𝗜𝗟𝗜𝗣𝗣𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟮:𝟵–𝟭𝟭 When we gather as a church every week, we are declaring that Jesus is Lord and Caesar is not. That truth has implications on how we live the rest of the week. The church is a formation center for righteousness, both private and public. This is where we grow in our discipleship. As our lives are shaped by the gospel of Christ, our inner convictions will eventually affect the way we approach political issues. How did you become part of a local church, and how have you grown as a disciple? 𝟮. 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗹. “‘. . . 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘮 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴, 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘦.’” 𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗦 𝟮𝟲:𝟭𝟳–𝟭𝟴 A nation’s true hope lies in the transformation of individual lives. Only the gospel of Jesus Christ can bring about this transformation. We engage in politics not to score political wins, but to preach the gospel and make disciples so that the nations will come to know Christ. How do you think society and even interaction online would be different if we bore witness to the gospel of Christ in everything we do or say? 𝟯. 𝗦𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆. “𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘧𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘭𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋 𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘧, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘧𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘧𝘢𝘳𝘦.” 𝗝𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗠𝗜𝗔𝗛 𝟮𝟵:𝟳 For seventy years, the Jews lived as exiles in Babylon, where they were surrounded by political enemies every day. However, God did not instruct them to destroy their enemies. He told them to build houses, plant gardens, get married, and have families. The Jews were to go about their social and cultural activities in a way that would benefit the broader population. They avoided two extremes: they neither adapted fully to the Babylonian culture nor withdrew completely from it. As believers, we are citizens of heaven (Philippians 3:20). We are strangers here on earth and are only passing through. But for the sake of our Christian witness, we seek our society’s common good. We need to do good whether we are at home, at school, or in our workplaces. Christians should be excellent accountants, waiters, bosses, and politicians. What does seeking the good of the city look like for you where you are? 𝟰. 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋’𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘰𝘧, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘥𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘪𝘯 . . . 𝗣𝗦𝗔𝗟𝗠 𝟮𝟰:𝟭 As ambassadors of the King, we do not put our hope in politics or expect it to save us. After all, politics is only one sphere of society. Instead, we can work faithfully to renew every sphere and institution of culture—not only politics, but also banking and finance, marriage and family, the arts and sciences, education, entertainment, and sports. Our combined Christian witness in all spheres of society will make those who don’t know Jesus yet even more responsive to the gospel. Why is transforming every sphere of society, not just politics, important? 𝟱. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. “𝘏𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴; 𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘶𝘱 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴; 𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 . . .” 𝗗𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗘𝗟 𝟮:𝟮𝟭 Instead of putting our hopes on short-term political activism, we should commit ourselves to consistent political engagement over a long period of time. God’s purposes outlast empires and kingdoms. He is the one who sovereignly 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘶𝘱 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴. Because of this, our political vision should not be limited to our lifetime. We need to work towards comprehensive and sustained cultural witness over generations. How do you think this might look? What are some steps you can take to achieve it? 𝟲. 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆. “𝘈𝘣𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘈𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘩 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘺 𝘪𝘵𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧, 𝘶𝘯𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘦, 𝘯𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘶𝘯𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘦.” 𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗡 𝟭𝟱:𝟰 Doing politics from the middle of the story is difficult. We run the risk of disillusionment, distraction, and discouragement. Our constant connection with God is what will keep our hearts tender, our eyes on the prize, and our hands and feet ready for the task. We must be especially consistent in our prayer and worship. How have you learned to take your concerns and requests to God, and to set them aside to worship Him alone? 𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 • How have the four acts of the biblical narrative (Creation, Fall, Redemption, Restoration) affected your understanding of the world and God’s plan for it? • Consider the action points discussed today. Which of these do you think you need to apply most? What is one way you can do this? • Having discussed these topics, what do you think is your role as a Christian in society? What is the role of civil government in our lives? 𝗣𝗥𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥 • Thank God for making sure Redemption and Restoration are part of His overarching narrative for us. Declare how much you need Him in every area of your life. • Pray that you would seek the good of the city and live out righteousness both in private and public. Pray for God’s strength and grace to carry this out every day. • Ask God for a longer and broader view that carries over to future generations. Pray that you will do your part in being Christ’s witness to your community, nation, and the world.