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.