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.