Should Pastors Be In Politics? by Steve Ary

 

The secular world and the mainstream media has the reigns on what is spoken about politically, swaying us with every news piece. The secular world has no inhibitors when it comes to influencing the population by speaking their minds and opinions about politics. But what about the Christians? Have we no say in the political arena? Are we supposed to remain outside of politics?

It has often been stated that Pastors and Christians should do just that, but Christians also have an obligation to comb through the whole of the scriptures to discover whether this opinion is even scriptural. I believe it is also our responsibility to remain relevant and effective in the world around us. So, let us investigate to find out which way is correct. Let’s start by defining politics.

“Politics” usually refers to involvement and influencing those who govern. If we are going to fulfill God’s purpose in ministering to people’s needs, then surely this means that we are going to have to deal with social problems. How can we implement God’s Word and demonstrate love for the poor if we do not get involved in politics? How do we take care of the poor, the widows and the orphans, without being involved in politics?

 

It is very important to influence government officials because the poor are usually impacted first by changes in the economy, and these changes are generally brought about by new laws and policies as passed by government.

Joseph influenced the Egyptian government. Nehemiah influenced the government of Persia. Daniel influenced the Babylonian government. Elijah influenced Ahab and the Israelite government. Jonah influenced the government of Nineveh. And Jesus told Pilate the prefect/magistrate/governor of Judea that He, not Caesar, has all authority in Heaven and Earth.

God has also commanded us to liberate the oppressed. Government policies can play a role in protecting the oppressed such as, unborn babies murdered by abortion, protecting women and children from exploitation in pornography and sex trafficking. Abuse and rape can be corrected by the passing of godly laws, and godly laws cannot be passed nor administered/enforced without godly accountability in government. And what happens when ungodly laws are passed? Governments eventually decide IF we are free to worship God or face persecution for doing so (see – well, all of history).

Governments govern people, they will decide if we are going to live as free people or oppressed people. Here are just a few scriptures on God’s statements about government.

A wicked ruler is as dangerous to the poor as a lion or bear attacking them – Proverbs 28:15

With good men in authority people rejoice, but with the wicked in power, they groan – Proverbs 29:2

When rulers are wicked their people are too, but good men will live to see the tyrants’ downfall – Proverbs 29:16

Where there is ignorance of God, the people run wild, but what a wonderful thing it is for a nation to know and keep His laws – Proverbs 29:18

While the institution of government is ordained of God, it is obvious that God does not approve of all governments. It should be obvious that God did not approve of Hitler, Stalin, Mao or Idi Amin or any other bloodthirsty dictator in history. Furthermore, when God’s Law comes into conflict with man’s law, then we as Christians need to obey God’s Law above man’s law. And, this might also mean that we need to physically resist the wicked when they oppose the Law given to us by God.

In 1 Timothy 2:1-4 we are instructed to pray for God’s wisdom and for direction for our leaders so that we might “live peaceable and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good and pleases God our Savior who wants all men to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth.”

We know that the function God has given government is the dispensing of justice and the restraining of evil (Romans 13:1-4). For God to demonstrate His justice in government, He uses godly men and women in government to do His will. Evil men don’t understand the importance of justice, but those who follow the Lord are much concerned about it – Proverbs 28:5. A good man knows the poor man’s rights, the godless don’t care. – Proverbs 29:7.

If the moral, righteous people of our country do not take their responsibility in government, then we leave the doors open for our nation to be governed by the wicked and immoral. We need to defend those who can’t defend themselves (Proverbs 31:8). We are to give fair judgment to the poor, the afflicted and the orphans. How can this be done in a society, when Christians remain outside the areas of politics and justice?” Excerpts in “quotes” from frontlinefellowship.org.

Isaiah 9:6 says that the government will be on His (Jesus’) shoulders. The next verse says “Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.” But does a king rule over a land without a government? No. A king appoints people to rule with him. So who did Jesus appoint? According to Revelation 1:6, He has made us kings and priests.

And finally, the common term, “church” used today is not used in the same sense as the term used in the majority of the New Testament. “Church” today means a group of people sitting under a steeple. Church in the Greek New Testament was Ekklesia, which means a governing body of judicial, legislative believers in Jesus Christ. Wait! What? Judges and Legislators?

“Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life?” 1 Corinthians 6:3

So, if all of these scriptures prove that believers are responsible for government and judicial influence, where do we get this notion that we are NOT supposed to be involved in politics? Simple. It was never a Biblical teaching. Pastoral absence from politics came from… you guessed it, the U.S. government.

Prior to 1954, Pastors and the integrity with which they walked held great influence on Presidential elections. The government saw this and realized that the Christians had too much influence, so they came up with a plan; Arrange it to where churches don’t have to pay taxes due to their service to the community in helping the poor and keeping the peace… as long as the pastors do not speak about their preferred presidential candidate from the pulpit. That’s it! That’s as far as the law goes.

501c3 Pastors can talk about every single other type of political topic from the pulpit or in any other arena, as long as they don’t speak about the candidate they are voting for while they are in the pulpit (which is actually a violation of the pastors’ 1^st Amendment rights). In 1954, the Dwight Eisenhower Administration along with TX Sen. Lyndon Johnson drafted the 501c3 laws to decrease the influence of pastors on the elections, and the church has bowed to a mass deception that we aren’t supposed to be involved with any politics at all ever since, and we can clearly see the decline of our culture everyday as a result of our decades of silence. Now, that is a far cry from what the scriptures tell us.

So to answer the question, “Should Pastors be in Politics?” Heck Yeah! I would even venture to say that many pastors need to be called to the carpet for rejecting the scriptures for a largely misunderstood secular government amendment which opposes the Word of God. And each of us should study the Word, hold our teachers accountable to the truth, and be used by God to fill the whole Earth with His glory… and that means using our influence in every aspect in life… not just the one aspect that keeps the money flowing under a steeple. It is our responsibility.

After all, if the Christians, who have the greatest moral compass, who love our enemies, who pray for those who despitefully use us, who have the height of honesty and integrity laid out in the Biblical foundation of our beliefs… out of all the people groups of the world… If we don’t influence our governments and hold them accountable to a higher moral standard, who on Earth will?