Tim Wildmon
AFA president
March 2010 – Have you heard this before? “Politics is dirty business and Christians should not be involved.”
How about this? “Politics is not the work of the kingdom of God, so Christians should not waste their time on it.”
Boy, doesn’t that sound spiritual?
Sadly, there are many Christians, even respected Christian leaders, who promote this philosophy.
I believe that both the premise – the idea that politics is not the work of the kingdom of God – and the conclusion – that Christians should not be wasting their time on it – are in error.
In Matthew 5, Jesus tells His followers to be the “salt of the earth” and the “light of the world.” I believe He meant that in all areas of life – private and public – we are to be an influence for Him. Jesus also says that His followers are to stand for righteousness.
America is a nation of laws in which the citizens choose their own leaders. We select our lawmakers who, in turn, enact laws that we all must obey. If we must obey the laws, shouldn’t we want lawmakers who understand right and wrong? Shouldn’t we want laws that reflect the righteousness of God?
When I ask the proponents of Christian non-involvement in politics and government, I often get an illogical response.
Popular syndicated columnist Cal Thomas, himself an evangelical and an opinion writer with whom I generally agree, takes every opportunity to bash “the religious right” for wasting time in politics rather than doing the work of the Gospel. Bible teacher John MacArthur promotes the same view. Both make a strawman argument that Christians who work to influence public policy somehow think that government is going to “save” us.
I have been involved in what some call “the religious right” for nearly 25 years and I have not met one person who believes that. Yet critics continue to repeat it over and over. Only Jesus can regenerate a sinful human being. This is Christian doctrine 101. So what is wrong with Christians exercising their citizenship to work for good laws?
Are we not able to spread the Gospel of Christ and, at the same time, work for Biblical morality in our laws and government? Must it be one or the other?
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a Baptist minister. He championed the dignity of his fellow African-Americans because of his Christian faith. He gave his life to see laws changed and held lawmakers accountable for violating God’s standard of justice. He spent many years trying to “impose” this morality on other people. Yet, today no one holds this against him. In fact, we celebrate his life and his passion for equality and justice.
I would agree that politics is by nature the business of compromise, which often makes it difficult for the Christians. However, government is not the church. In the church we can demand doctrinal purity because the Bible is our standard and people attend their own respective churches voluntarily. Since politics and government involve the general public, Christians must get in there and be salt and light. We often must defend the Biblical values that are best for society as a whole. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this.
In fact, if we totally abandon the lawmaking business in the name of piety, we then leave all decisions to the atheists, the agnostics, the pagans and others who are hostile to the ways of God. Furthermore, if we leave all the lawmaking decisions to them, we may one day wake up to find that evangelism itself has been outlawed.
Does that make any sense to you?
American Christians have been handed the priceless gift of freedom, purchased by the sacrifice of our forefathers.
Let’s pay attention to what’s going on in our government today. Let’s get involved and work for just laws. Let’s be salt and light in every area of life – including politics. 
