Christians have a democracy dilemma (or three)
How do you submit to authority when you can also change it?
Christians living in a democracy face a dilemma that their forebears didn’t. The first Christians lived under authoritarian government — namely, the Roman Empire — and the Scriptures speak plainly to that situation. But when the power to change laws is in the hands of “the people,” how should Christians respond?
To my non-Christian readers: Remember that laws and policy can’t do everything. While this article is more relevant to Christians, I hope reading it will give you some insight into how Christians think about politics.
To my Christian readers: Though we believe people’s greatest need is salvation through Jesus, advocating for laws and policies can also be ways for Christians to live out God’s will.
Recap: Biblical truth and theology
I wrote an entire article about the difference between Biblical truth and human theology, and the time has come at last for me to link back to it! In sum, I believe the Bible to be the true, unchanging, inerrant word of God (“direct revelation”), while “theology” is our human understanding of what the Bible says. Refining our theology is the continual process of figuring out how God wants us to live in our culture, based on the principles and stories we see in the Bible.
Dilemma 1: Do I have to submit to laws I don’t like?
If you’re reading this, you probably don’t live in a repressive authoritarian society. However, even as citizens of a democracy, where we can vote to change laws and leaders, it seems clear to me that Christians are still called to obey the law as it stands. God intends law-breaking to be punished by the secular authorities who make the laws.
When Jesus was questioned about taxes, he famously told his followers, “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s.”
In the same vein, the apostle Peter wrote, “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right.” The apostle Paul instructs Christians to “do what is right” and “live at peace with everyone.”
Remember, these commands aren’t coming from a world in which following Jesus was accepted, let alone privileged. The new believers were being told to submit to emperors who could have had them killed for practicing their religion; to pay burdensome taxes; and to forgo seeking revenge, even when the authorities didn’t always prosecute.
Every rule has an exception
There are a few situations, however, in which I believe Christians are indeed called to disobey authority. One is speaking the name of Jesus. Peter and other early disciples were warned by secular authorities “not to teach in this name,” but they did so anyway. When questioned, they declared, “We must obey God rather than human beings!” Nazi resisters or Underground Railroad conductors also fall into the category of righteous disobedience.
That doesn’t mean the leaders changed their minds, though. The disciples were flogged! They didn’t escape the secular consequences of defiance, just as many people protecting Black people or Jews were punished. Which leads us to the next question…
Dilemma 2: What about ungodly laws?
I’m grateful we don’t have to worry about getting flogged. Since we do live in a democracy, we have many means of expressing dissatisfaction with our government that are both legal and ethical, and we should feel free to use them.
Additionally, the Asbury Bible Commentary explains that Paul’s word choice when telling us to submit implies that his instructions are for the “normative” case, when the government is fulfilling its God-given duty. (Sure, starting with Nero, the Roman Empire persecuted Christians, but it was otherwise preserving social order.) That leaves room for some form of resistance.
Protesting is therefore a “matter of conscience” (i.e., something on which believers can disagree). We’re not flying totally blind, though. The verses above give us several principles — primarily emphasizing that Christians’ behavior toward government authority should reflect well on God.
How protesting should look
Pay close attention to these words from Peter, who endured flogging just so that he could preach the name of Jesus. Do these verses describe you?
Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. …Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves.
Here’s a thought experiment. I believe Christian pastors can refuse to perform a gay wedding if it’s against their doctrine, as all clergy can for any religious ceremony (which no one has disputed). But what if a public judge who’s also a Christian refuses out of conscience to perform a civil ceremony for a gay couple? I think the examples above show us that the judge shouldn’t expect to be pardoned but to accept the consequences, up to possibly getting fired.
Now what about peripheral actions, such as baking a cake or making a website for a gay couple’s wedding? A Christian baker or programmer might not be able to in good conscience do so. Whether that’s illegal is up for debate, with several cases going or having gone through the courts. Legal or not, however, Christians must examine their hearts. Your life should be so filled with good deeds (as Peter says above) that even if you refuse to perform a service — possibly accepting civil consequences — you are still a good ambassador of Christ, demonstrating his love to everyone.
Dilemma 3: If sin is the real problem, shouldn’t we focus on evangelism?
In response to a previous essay supporting increased gun control, several Christian friends objected to my assertion that more restrictions will work. The real problem, they asserted, was people who haven’t been saved and thus transformed by God’s grace — the process of (seminary word alert) sanctification.
On the one hand, I agree! The underlying causes of human suffering are people’s sin (i.e., not following God’s law) and the resulting imperfect world. On the other hand, until Jesus returns, our society will still have a lot of unbelievers, nor will Christians be perfect, and we’re called to live godly lives regardless.
Jesus’ last instruction to his followers, known as the Great Commission, was to “go and make disciples.” So yes, a Christian’s primary calling is to help others know the good news that God loves them and wants to be in a relationship with them. Anyone who’s honestly helping people hear the good news is following Jesus.
DOING the good news
But we’re not just sharing about Jesus; the second part of the sentence adds, “and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Those words imply that we Christians are also doing the other things he commanded: to respond to hatred with kindness and love our enemies, to give without seeking praise and to check ourselves before judging others. Jesus condemned hypocrisy, and he challenged the religious leaders to go beyond the letter of the law and also practice “justice, mercy and faithfulness.”
Another thought experiment: Ideally, all employers would treat their workers fairly — but we know they don’t. So if a wage law helps protect laborers from being cheated, should we vote for it, even if it makes our salaries seem less impressive? Or alcohol. Drinking alcohol wouldn’t be a problem if everyone had perfect self-control, but we don’t. So if laws against drunk driving save lives, even if they infringe on our freedom to drive, should we support them?
Especially when political preferences are so polarized, we also have to remember that supporting laws and policies is still a “matter of conscience” — not essential to our faith. Paul agrees we should follow our convictions, but it’s equally important for us to be charitable with Christians who disagree with us.
A change of heart
My entire purpose for this blog is to help people who disagree both be charitable with one another and discover where their values or policies in fact overlap. To that end, I want to point out that many people understand that the heart is the problem, even if they don’t believe Jesus is necessarily the cure. Think of all the secular villains who’ve been “defeated” by having their hearts restored!
That said, the hardest part of politics for me is knowing that laws and policies can only do so much. They’ll always be only as good as humans can write and enforce them — which is to say, imperfectly.
I don’t believe, however, that we therefore have license to do nothing. I asked at the beginning how Christians should respond to democracy. It seems clear that we have a responsibility to follow, protest and support laws in ways that honor God, but I think there’s plenty of leeway for interest and personality in how we engage with it. Whether you’re writing letters, joining public protests, or just being an informed voter, Christians can do it as they do everything — with God in mind.
If you enjoyed this article, consider reading the rest of my publication.
