To vote for Jesus is to love all immigrants like Jesus and toward a life that follows Jesus and the laws of the land...

This week, we have been examining the issue of immigration. Specifically, I would like for us to ask and answer two questions. And the two questions are “What policy would Jesus promote when it comes to the immigration of people from other countries? And what would Jesus say we should do about illegal immigrants who are now in the United States?”

So far this week, we have looked at four passages in the letters that make up the Bible that address the issue of immigration and the responsibilities that an individual follower of Jesus and a government has when it comes to the issue of immigration. We looked on and discovered that what the Lord is addressing in these passages is how we are to treat our fellow man who bears the thumbprint of God. What the Lord is addressing in these commands is that we are not to wrong, oppress, or persecute immigrants.

 Now this reality leads us to the fifth passage that addresses the issue of immigration and the responsibilities that an individual follower of Jesus and a government has when it comes to the issue of immigration. This passage is found in a section of a letter that is recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible called the book of Romans. In Romans 13:1-7, we read:

Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. ² Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. ³ For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; ⁴ for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. ⁵ Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience' sake. ⁶ For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. ⁷ Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.

As we talked about a few weeks ago, God, who is sovereign over all nations, created the institution of government to represent Him in a way that promotes the good of people and punishes the evil of people. Thus, government has a responsibility to make laws for the good of the people and uphold the law in a way that protects and promotes the good of the people in that nation. And because of that reality, it is legally and morally acceptable for government to deal with those in the country illegally according to the nation’s legal provisions.

This passage also reveals for us the reality that immigration policies of a nation should be designed to benefit the citizens of that nation and not immigrants that are in the nation illegally. In addition, the letters that make up the Bible reveal that nations in the world placed a high priority on protecting their borders and having the right to decide who would enter and who would not. And finally, throughout the letters that make up the Bible, we see a clear connection between immigration and assimilation. The expectation was that those who immigrated to a foreign land were expected to assimilate into that foreign lands, culture, religious views and political system.

And it here that I believe that we see the greatest tension and emotion when it comes to the issue of immigration today, don’t we? There is a feeling, there is a perception that many immigrants enter the country illegally with no desire to assimilate into the American culture, but instead are forming their own ethnic communities in which their primary loyalty is not to the United States, but instead to their nation of origin. Combine that with the incredible economic cost of illegal immigration and the threat of terrorism, and we quickly see how this issue has become so heated and toxic.

So what policy would Jesus promote when it comes to the immigration of people from other countries? And what would Jesus say we should do about illegal immigrants who are now in the United States? It is the answer to this question that provides for us a timeless truth when it comes to voting for Jesus. And that timeless truth is this: To vote for Jesus is to love all immigrants like Jesus and toward a life that follows Jesus and the laws of the land.

You see, to vote for Jesus is to love all immigrants as we would love fellow followers of Jesus and as we would love ourselves. To vote for Jesus is to love all immigrants in a way that asks “If I was an immigrant in their situation, how would I feel loved?” and then responding in a way that expresses the love that you would want expressed to you to that immigrant. To vote for Jesus is to love all immigrants in way that provides for the pressing and practical needs of the immigrant as the vehicle to reveal Jesus to the immigrant. And to vote for Jesus is to love all immigrants in a way that gives wise and law abiding counsel to the immigrant so as to encourage assimilation, not isolation.

To vote for Jesus is to support policies to promote the protection and the good of the nation against potential threats to the safety and security of the nation. To vote for Jesus is to support policies that provide access to America for immigrants who are committed to assimilating into American cultural, religious, and political values. This means that immigrants have the same freedom of religious expression that we have as American citizens as long as that religious expression does not threaten the safety of the nation. And to vote for Jesus is to support policies that protect America from those who refuse to assimilate into American cultural, religious, and political values and are committed to harming America.

You see, as so often is the case, Jesus does not fit into one political party or ideology. Jesus is for security for the nation and for loving access to the immigrant in the nation. Jesus is for national borders and Jesus is for love without borders. Could it be, as John Piper has pointed out recently, that while we as followers of Jesus have been called to go to the nations, that God is now bringing the nations to us. That is why, as an EFCA church, we are such big supporters of Immigrant hope. Immigrant hope is a part of the EFCA that desires to equip churches to provide immigrants with the HOPE of the gospel, HELP finding a pathway to legal residency, and a HOME in a church that cares for their needs.

So, do you view, talk and treat immigrants in a way that loves them as you love yourself? Do you view, talk and treat immigrants in a way that reveals and reflects the love of Jesus to them? Do you view, talk and treat immigrants in a way the leads them to Jesus? Do you view, talk, and treat immigrants in a way that provides the HOPE of the gospel, HELP finding a pathway to legal residency, and a HOME in a church that cares for their needs?

The implications of the history of the Jewish people on the issue of immigration...

This week, we are examining the issue of immigration. Specifically, we are answering two questions. And the two questions are “What policy would Jesus promote when it comes to the immigration of people from other countries? And what would Jesus say we should do about illegal immigrants who are now in the United States?”

Yesterday, we looked at the reality that in our current political climate, the conversation surrounding immigration can best be described as heated and toxic. At one end of the conversation when it comes to the issue of immigration would be politicians and others who advocate for open borders. On the other end of the conversation when it comes to the issue of immigration would be politicians and others who advocate for drastically limiting immigration to the United States. And in between these two ends of this conversation on immigration, there are many who simply believe that the solution to the problem of immigration is the enforcement of current laws concerning immigration, which they believe are not being enforced.

Today, with all that background in mind, let’s take a look at what the message and teachings of Jesus have to say when it comes to the issue of immigration. When you look at the letters that make up the Bible, the word immigration is not found. However, while the word immigration is not found, there are five specific passages that address the issue of immigration and the responsibilities that an individual follower of Jesus and a government has when it comes to the issue of immigration.

The first four passages are found in the Law, which is the first five letters that are recorded for us in our Bibles today, which the Jewish people referred to as the Law or Torah. So let’s look at these four passages together and then spend a few minutes unpacking how these particular passages address the issue of immigration. The first passage is found in Exodus 22:21:

You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.

The second passage is found just two chapters later, in Exodus 23:9:

You shall not oppress a stranger, since you yourselves know the feelings of a stranger, for you also were strangers in the land of Egypt.

Then, in the very next letter in the Old Testament of the Bible, called the book of Leviticus, we see the Lord say the following in Leviticus 19:33-34:

When a stranger resides with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. 'The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt; I am the LORD your God.

The fourth passage records the words of the Lord to the Jewish people as they prepared to enter into the land that the Lord had promised them, in Deuteronomy 10:17-19:

For the LORD your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God who does not show partiality nor take a bribe. "He executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and shows His love for the alien by giving him food and clothing. "So show your love for the alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.

Now to fully understand what the Lord is communicating in these four passages we first need to understand the context that these passages occur and ask and answer some questions. The first question that we need to ask and answer is “What does the Lord mean when He uses the phrase “for you were strangers or you were aliens in the land of Egypt?”  With this phrase, the Lord is reminding the Jewish people of a time in their history that is recorded for us in a section of the very first letter in the Bible called the book of Genesis.

Beginning in the 35^th chapter of the book of Genesis, we read about Joseph, who was sold into slavery by his brothers. While a slave in the house of an Egyptian leader named Potiphar, Joseph remained faithful to the Lord and did the right thing, even when it was not the easy or the popular thing to do.  Joseph ended up ascending to a place of leadership where he was second in command of the entire nation of Egypt. And it was in that position of leadership that Joseph prepared the nation of Egypt for a devastating famine that would ravage the Middle East during this time in history.

And it was during this famine that the Jewish people immigrated to Egypt and were provided for by the Lord, through Joseph, during the famine. However, after Joseph died, a new Pharaoh led the nation of Egypt to enslave the Jewish people for over 400 years. After being enslaved for over 400 years, the Lord sent a man named Moses to deliver the Jewish people from slavery at the hands of the nation of Egypt.

And after delivering the Jewish people from slavery and oppression in the nation of Egypt, as the Jewish people left Egypt and headed toward the land that He had promised them, it is in these passages that we see the Lord remind the Jewish people of the reality that they knew what it was like to live as a stranger in a strange land. The Jewish people knew what it was like to live as an immigrant. The Jewish people knew what it was like to be taken advantage of and to be oppressed as a minority in the land that they had immigrated to.

And because of that reality, as the Lord led the Jewish people to the land that He had promised them, the Lord commanded the Jewish people to treat those who would immigrate to their land much differently than they were treated in Egypt. Instead of wronging those who immigrated to the Promised Land; instead of oppressing those who immigrated to the Promised Land, the Jewish people were to love the stranger and the immigrant as they loved their fellow Jewish countryman. The Jewish people were to love the immigrant as they loved themselves.

Now to love someone as themselves is simply to ask “If I found myself in a similar situation or circumstance that this person finds themselves in, what would make me feel loved by someone else?” And then that is what we do for that person. That is what is means to love someone as yourself.  The Jewish people were to love the immigrant as they loved their fellow Jewish citizen and themselves because the Lord does not show partiality of take a bribe.

The Jewish people were to love the immigrant as they loved their fellow Jewish citizen and themselves because the Lord executes justice for the widow and orphan, which in the culture of the day were often the poor, the marginalized, and the oppressed. The Jewish people were to love the immigrant as they loved their fellow Jewish citizen and themselves because the Lord desired to provide for the needs of the immigrant and desired to use the Jewish people as the vehicle to reveal Himself to the immigrant.

Now here is a question for us to consider: Is this how we view immigrants? Is this how we talk about immigrants? Is this how we treat immigrants? Do we view, talk and treat immigrants in a way that loves them as we love ourselves? Do we view, talk and treat immigrants in a way that reveals and reflects the love of Jesus to them?

Now a natural question or pushback that could arise here is “Well Dave, the Lord here is talking about legal immigrants, not illegal immigrants”. Surely the Lord isn’t referring to those who violate the laws of a country to enter illegally, is He?” If that question is running through your mind, I just want to let you know that is a fair question to ask. And my response to that question is this: There is no evidence in these verses that the Lord is making a distinction regarding the legal status of an immigrant.

What the Lord is addressing in these passages is how we are to treat our fellow man who bears the thumbprint of God. What the Lord is addressing in these commands is that we are not to wrong, oppress, or persecute immigrants.

However, that leads us to a second question that we need to ask and answer when it comes to understanding what the Lord is communicating here, which is “What exactly is a stranger or an alien? Does the word stranger or alien correspond with how we use the word immigrant in our culture today?”

To answer that question, we again must go to the context of the Jewish people in Egypt. When the Lord uses the phrase “strangers”, or “aliens”, it is important to understand that the Jewish people first immigrated to Egypt to seek relief from a famine that had struck the Middle East. In addition, God, had predicted and proclaimed to Abraham, who was the father of the Jewish nation, that they Jewish people would spend 430 years in Egypt prior to leaving to travel to the Land that the Lord had promised them.

Thus, the Jewish people never intended to become citizens of the nation of Egypt; they were seeking temporary shelter, not permanent settlement. That is why the Lord commanded the Jewish people not to assimilate with the nation of Egypt. The Jewish people’s intention was to stay in Egypt temporarily but to reside in the land that the Lord had promised them permanently.

In addition, the letters that make up the Bible make it clear that a stranger or alien who desired permanent status among the Jewish people was to assimilate to become a part of the Jewish people. The stranger or alien who desired permanent status among the Jewish people was to assimilate in such a way to adopt the culture, laws, and religious practices that made the Jewish people the Jewish people. The stranger or alien who desired permanent status pledged allegiance to live as a part of the Jewish religious, cultural, and political system. The stranger or alien entered the Jewish nation and followed the legal procedures to assimilate into the Jewish nation.

Now this reality leads us to the fifth passage that addresses the issue of immigration and the responsibilities that an individual follower of Jesus and a government has when it comes to the issue of immigration. This passage is a passage that we have already looked at in this series and is found in a section of a letter that is recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible called the book of Romans.

Friday, we will examine this passage and its implications on immigration…

The current conversation surrounding the issue of immigration...

At the church where I serve, we have been spending our time together in a sermon series entitled “Vote for Jesus”. During this series, our hope and our prayer is to accomplish three specific goals. First, our hope and our prayer is to demonstrate that Jesus is not a republican and Jesus is not a democrat. Instead, Jesus is God and as God Jesus is the one that we are to place our hope in, not a political party.

 

Second, our hope and our prayer is to equip and empower us to think critically and Biblically when it comes to the issues that our culture is faced with that often find themselves expressed in the political process. And third, our hope and prayer is to provide a framework from the message and teachings of Jesus when it comes to how we as followers of Jesus are to engage in the government and in the political process in way that reveals and reflects Jesus to those around us.

This week, I would like for us to spend our time together transitioning to address specific political issues that would be a part of the political platform of Jesus if He was running for office. In other words, if Jesus was running for political office, what position would Jesus hold to when it comes to a specific issue that is in the forefront of the political conversation today?

This week, the issue that I would like for us to examine is the issue of immigration. Specifically, I would like for us to ask and answer two questions. And the two questions are “What policy would Jesus promote when it comes to the immigration of people from other countries? And what would Jesus say we should do about illegal immigrants who are now in the United States?”

However, before answering these questions, I would like for us to spend a few minutes examining the current discussion in our country when it comes to the issue of immigration. In our current political climate, the conversation surrounding immigration can best be described as heated and toxic.

At one end of the conversation when it comes to the issue of immigration would be politicians and others who advocate for open borders. Now an open border is a border that enables free movement of people between different countries with limited or no restrictions on movement. As the website openborders.info argues:

 

“The best argument for open borders is that it would allow people, not their birthplace, to control their lives. Open borders would offer people who had the bad luck of having been born in poor and/or unsafe countries the opportunity to escape their unfortunate circumstances and find a better life in a safer, more prosperous country. It is wrong for the lucky who were born in the developed world to deny this opportunity to the unlucky who were born in poor countries.” And many who promote the concept of open borders often paint those who are against open borders as being racists, isolationists or xenophobic.

On the other end of the conversation when it comes to the issue of immigration would be politicians and others who advocate for drastically limiting immigration to the United States. There are politicians across the political spectrum who reject the idea of open borders, but for differing reasons. Some politicians who would be viewed in our culture as being on “the left” reject the concept of open borders for economic reasons, believing that immigrants would be exploited by wealthy corporations and drive down wages for American workers.

Other politicians who would be viewed in our culture as being on “the right” reject open borders due to national security concerns, calling for a temporary ban on immigration of Muslims to the United States. And many who promote the concept of reduced immigration often paint those who are for open borders as being anti-American, one world order, socialist communists. And in between these two ends of this conversation on immigration, there are many who simply believe that the solution to the problem of immigration is the enforcement of current laws concerning immigration, which they believe are not being enforced.

Now, with all that background in mind, let’s take a look at what the message and teachings of Jesus have to say when it comes to the issue of immigration. When you look at the letters that make up the Bible, the word immigration is not found. However, while the word immigration is not found, there are five specific passages that address the issue of immigration and the responsibilities that an individual follower of Jesus and a government has when it comes to the issue of immigration.

The first four passages are found in the Law, which is the first five letters that are recorded for us in our Bibles today, which the Jewish people referred to as the Law or Torah. Tomorrow, we will look at these four passages together and then unpack how these particular passages address the issue of immigration…

As followers of Jesus, we are to support some form of a government that is chosen by the people who are being governed...

This week, we have been asking the question "What kind of government is the right government? Does Jesus promote socialism? Communism? A monarchy? Democracy? A republic?" So far this week, we have discovered that  humanity was divinely designed to live in relationship with God and one another and have been given responsibility over the earth as His representative here on earth.

We talked about the reality that while there is no single verse that we can point to that says “Thus saith the Lord, you shall be governed by X type of government”, there are biblical principles that support some form of a government that is chosen by the people who are being governed. Now a natural question or objection that could arise here is “Well Dave, didn’t the Jewish people have kings over them? Didn’t God give the Jewish people a procedure when it came to having a king? So how can you say that the Bible supports some form of a government that is chosen by the people who are being governed? ”

Today, to respond to this question or objection, let’s look at an event from history that is recorded for us in the Bible called the book of 1 Samuel, where the Jewish people asked for a king to rule them. At this time in history, a prophet named Samuel was leading the Jewish people, as the Lord’s spokesman and representative. However, as Samuel neared the end of his life, his children were not following in his faithful footsteps when it came to their relationship with God. It is in this context that we see the following event from history take place in 1 Samuel 8:4-20:

Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah; and they said to him, "Behold, you have grown old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king for us to judge us like all the nations." But the thing was displeasing in the sight of Samuel when they said, "Give us a king to judge us." And Samuel prayed to the LORD. The LORD said to Samuel, "Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them. "Like all the deeds which they have done since the day that I brought them up from Egypt even to this day-- in that they have forsaken Me and served other gods-- so they are doing to you also. "Now then, listen to their voice; however, you shall solemnly warn them and tell them of the procedure of the king who will reign over them." So Samuel spoke all the words of the LORD to the people who had asked of him a king. He said, "This will be the procedure of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and place them for himself in his chariots and among his horsemen and they will run before his chariots. "He will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and of fifties, and some to do his plowing and to reap his harvest and to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. "He will also take your daughters for perfumers and cooks and bakers. "He will take the best of your fields and your vineyards and your olive groves and give them to his servants. "He will take a tenth of your seed and of your vineyards and give to his officers and to his servants. "He will also take your male servants and your female servants and your best young men and your donkeys and use them for his work. "He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his servants. "Then you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the LORD will not answer you in that day." Nevertheless, the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel, and they said, "No, but there shall be a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles."

So here is a question to consider: was a monarchy God’s idea? Was a form of government where government ruled over people without their consent God’s idea? No a monarchy, a king, was what the people asked for out of their selfish rebellion against God. And as a result, God gave the selfish and rebellious Jewish people what they wanted. And how did a king work out for the Jewish people? How has a monarchy, a dictatorship, communism, or socialism worked out for humanity historically?

A Biblical worldview reveals that, because we live in a flawed and fallen world as a result of the selfishness and rebellion of humanity, governments should establish a strong and clear separation of powers. Because of the selfishness and rebellion of humanity, even Godly leaders can abuse power. In the letters that make up the Bible we see several examples of this reality.

For example, Saul repeatedly put his own interests first. King David misused his power in his sin with Bathsheba. Solomon wrongfully accumulated 700 wives and 300 concubines that turned his heart towards rebellion. As a matter of fact, most of the kings of the Jewish people abused their power and did evil.

And because of that reality, there should be some type of separation of powers within government. Even in the church, power and decisions were never given to just one person. You see, when you read the letters that make up the Bible, what we discover is that government seems to work best when people have consent when it comes to who governs them. By contrast, the letters of the Bible reveal for us the reality that governments work the worst for those who govern and rule without the people’s consent.

Now another question that could arise here is “Well Dave, if what you are saying is true; if the Bible supports some form of a government that is chosen by the people who are being governed, then what should the relationship be between the church and government? What does a Biblical worldview look like when it comes to how the government relates to the church and vice versa?

Wayne Grudem does a great job of addressing this question and in so doing reveals for us four principles for a right relationship between government and the church. First, as we discovered last week, the Church Should Not Govern "The Things That Are Caesar's” so to speak. In other words, the church should have no responsibility in local or national government. There is no indication in the New Testament that church leaders had any responsibility in local or empire wide government.  In addition, Jesus refused to assume any type of governmental role. This principle implies that the Popes in the Middle Ages were wrong to attempt to assert authority over kings, or claim a right to select civil leaders.

Second and similarly, the Civil Government Should Not Govern "The Things That Are God's”. In other words, the government should have no responsibility when it comes to church. Jesus and the early church were involved in evaluating and selecting leaders for the church, not the government. Third, civil government should support and encourage churches and legitimate religious groups in general. As long as the government is not supporting a single religion or denomination, it is appropriate to support religious institutions with things such as tax-exempt status, as it falls under the government promoting the general welfare of the nation, as we talked about in the first sermon in the series in Romans 13:4.

The fourth principle, however, is that the most difficult church/government questions arise when people disagree over whether something belongs to the realm of the church or the realm of the government. And for the rest of this series, we will find these principles at work as we begin to lay out the political platform that Jesus would have if He was running for political office in our culture today.

In the meantime, however, the timeless truth that we discover today is that, as followers of Jesus, we are to support some form of a government that is chosen by the people who are being governed. As followers of Jesus, we are to support a government that is chosen by the people who are governed because every human being is created in God’s relational image and bears the thumbprint of God as His representative here on earth. As followers of Jesus, we are to support a government that is chosen by the people who are governed because, because no human being has a special right to rule over others without their consent.

As followers of Jesus, we are to support a government that is chosen by the people who are governed because human beings have an inward bent towards selfishness and rebellion that can result in the abuse of power if not kept in check. And as followers of Jesus, we are to support a government that is chosen by the people who are governed because those who are governed are best suited to choose who should fulfill the purpose of government to promotes good for people and punishes the evil of people.

The impact that being an image-bearer of God has on what type of government is the right type of government...

This week, we are asking the question "If government was designed by God to represent Him in a way that promotes good for people and punishes the evil of people; if we are to seek to influence government towards its divine design and towards the message and teachings of Jesus; then what kind of government is the right government?"

Yesterday, we looked at what is referred to in church mumbo jumbo talk as a Biblical world view. We discovered that a world view is a mental map, so to speak that one uses to help navigate the world effectively. A worldview is that a worldview is a prism through which we look at the world so as to help us analyze, interpret and respond to what is occurring around us.

So when we use the phrase, a “Biblical world view” we are referring to using the message and teachings of Jesus and the letters that make up the Bible as the roadmap to navigate the world. When we use the phrase, a “Biblical world view” we are referring to using the message and teachings of Jesus and the letters that make up the Bible as the prism by which we look at the world around us so as to help us analyze, interpret and respond to what is occurring around us.

We discovered that a Biblical worldview maintains that the world began as a result of the Creative actions of God as the Creator and that the One true God reveals Himself and His moral standards clearly in the letters that have been preserved and recorded for us in the Bible. 

A Biblical worldview maintains that the answer to the question "What went wrong? What is the source of evil and suffering? Why is there war and conflict?” is that what went wrong is we went wrong. All humanity has a selfish bent to love ourselves over God and that selfishness leads us to reject the relationship with God that we were created for. And part of that selfishness and rebellion is to reject and rebel against the clear moral standards that have been provided by us by God in the letters that make up the Bible.

Thus, human nature, at its core, is driven by selfishness that results in us being flawed, fallen and broken people. Human beings are also responsible for their actions, because we were created by God to live lives of responsibility, but reject that responsibility to do things that are irresponsible. And a as result of the selfish bent that human beings have to live rebellious and irresponsible lives, God created the institution of government to represent Him in a way that promotes good for people and punishes the evil of people.

Finally, a Biblical worldview maintains that there is nothing that any human being can do, in their own power to restore the relationship with God that they were created for as a result of the selfishness and rebellion that has separated them from God. Instead, God initiated the process of making things right again by sending His unique one of a kind son, Jesus Christ, as God in a bod, to enter into humanity to live the life we were created to live but refused to live, and then willingly allowed Himself to be treated as though He lived our selfish and sinful lives so that God the Father could treat us as though we lived Jesus perfect life. And there will be a day when Jesus will return to set the world right again and usher in the kingdom of Heaven in the fullest sense.

Today, with the framework of a Biblical view in mind as a roadmap to help us navigate life here on earth, let’s use that roadmap, to address the question of what kind of government is the right government from a Biblical perspective. When we read the letters that make up the Bible, we discover that there is not an explicit command or teaching when it comes to how governments should be chosen. There is no single verse that we can point to that says “Thus saith the Lord, you shall be governed by X type of government”.

With that being said, there are several principles in the letters that make up the Bible that can help us to understand the answer to this question. So to begin to answer that question, let’s take a minute and look at a section of a letter that is recorded for us in the Old Testament of the Bible, called the book of Genesis, beginning in Genesis 1:26-27:

Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

Here we see the Triune God’s design and desire for the creation of humanity: “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness”. To be created in the image of God means that every human being bears the thumbprint of God. We were created in God’s relational image. We were created for relationships. Just as God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit live in relationship with one another, we were created for relationships. We were created for a relationship with God vertically and for relationships with one another horizontally. That is why the most devastating feeling is that of loneliness, because we are living outside of God’s design for our lives.

But not only were we divinely designed for relationships. Here we also see that we were divinely designed to rule over the earth as God’s representative. When God uses the phrase “let them rule” this phrase literally means to have rule or dominion. God created humanity and placed humanity on earth as His representative on earth. You see, we have been divinely designed to live in relationship with God and one another and have been given responsibility over the earth as His representative here on earth.

Now, if every human being is created in God’s relational image and bears the thumbprint of God as His representative here on earth, how should that impact what type of government lines up with the message and teachings of Jesus? If every human being is created equal in the image of God, then should anyone think they should have a special right to rule over others without their consent?

In addition, if the message and teachings of Jesus in the letters that make up the Bible clearly teach that human beings have this inward bent towards selfishness and rebellion so that they act on in a way that hurts God and others, then what keeps kings and rulers from abusing their power if there is not some type of accountability to the people who are governed by kings or rulers? If, as we discovered in the first sermon in this series in Romans 13:4, one of the purposes of government is to be God’s servant for our good, then who is best suited to choose who should do this for them?

Does communism, or socialism, or a dictatorship, or monarchy line up with any of these Biblical principles or a biblical worldview? Are not the people who are to be served by government the ones who are best suited to choose who should govern them? You see, while there is no single verse that we can point to that says “Thus saith the Lord, you shall be governed by X type of government”, there are biblical principles that support some form of a government that is chosen by the people who are being governed.

Now a natural question or objection that could arise here is “Well Dave, didn’t the Jewish people have kings over them? Didn’t God give the Jewish people a procedure when it came to having a king? So how can you say that the Bible supports some form of a government that is chosen by the people who are being governed? ”

Friday, we will respond to this question or objection by looking at an event from history that is recorded for us in the Bible called the book of 1 Samuel...

What is a Biblical Worldview? And how does a Biblical worldview help us to know what type of government is the right type of government?

At the church where I serve, we are currently going through a sermon series entitled “Vote for Jesus”. During this series, our hope and our prayer is to accomplish three specific goals. First, our hope and our prayer is to demonstrate that Jesus is not a republican and Jesus is not a democrat. Instead, Jesus is God and as God Jesus is the one that we are to place our hope in, not a political party.

 

Second, our hope and our prayer is to equip and empower us to think critically and Biblically when it comes to the issues that our culture is faced with that often find themselves expressed in the political process. And third, our hope and prayer is to provide a framework from the message and teachings of Jesus when it comes to how we as followers of Jesus are to engage in the government and in the political process in way that reveals and reflects Jesus to those around us.

This week, we asked the question “Well Dave, if what you have said is true: If government was designed by God to represent Him in a way that promotes good for people and punishes the evil of people; if we are to seek to influence government towards its divine design and towards the message and teachings of Jesus; then what kind of government is the right government? Does Jesus promote socialism? Communism? A monarchy? Democracy? A republic?

That is a great question. And this week, I would like for us to ask and answer that question. To answer that question, we are going to spend part of our time together discussing what is referred to in church mumbo jumbo talk as a Biblical world view. Now when anyone talks about a worldview, this word simply refers to how someone views the world. Pretty deep, huh? A world view is a mental map, so to speak that one uses to help navigate the world effectively. Another way to think of a worldview is that a worldview is a prism through which we look at the world so as to help us analyze, interpret and respond to what is occurring around us.

So when we use the phrase, a “Biblical world view” we are referring to using the message and teachings of Jesus and the letters that make up the Bible as the roadmap to navigate the world. When we use the phrase, a “Biblical world view” we are referring to using the message and teachings of Jesus and the letters that make up the Bible as the prism by which we look at the world around us so as to help us analyze, interpret and respond to what is occurring around us.

Now that leads to the natural question, which is “Well, Dave, what is a Biblical world view”? I am glad you asked. In any world view, three questions are asked and answered. The first question revolves around the issue of the origins of the universe, or creation. The first question is “How did it all begin? Where did we come from?”

The second question revolves around the issue of what is referred to in church mumbo jumbo talk as the fall. The second question is “What went wrong? What is the source of evil and suffering? Why is there war and conflict?” The third question revolves around the issue of what is referred to in church mumbo talk as redemption. The third question is “What can we do about it? How can the world be set right again?”

Now with that in mind, let’s take a minute and look at how a Biblical world view would answer those questions. A Biblical worldview maintains that the world began as a result of the Creative actions of God as the Creator. In other words, God is the uncaused cause of everything that exists. There is a God who exists outside of creation that created everything that exits. In addition, everything that God created was very good. A Biblical worldview also maintains that the One true God reveals Himself and His moral standards clearly in the letters that have been preserved and recorded for us in the Bible. 

Now an immediate response or objection to the answer to this first question would be “Well Dave if there is One God who created everything from nothing and everything that He created was very good, then why is the world so jacked up and messed up?” If that question is running through your mind, I just want to let you know that that is a great question to be asking. And that leads us to the answer to the second question, which is “What went wrong? What is the source of evil and suffering? Why is there war and conflict?”

The short and simple answer to that question is that what went wrong is we went wrong. While humanity was created to live in relationship with God, every human being, following in the footsteps of our first parents, Adam and Eve, selfishly place ourselves over God and others and do things out of that selfishness and rebellion that hurt God and others. All humanity has a selfish bent to love ourselves over God and that selfishness leads us to reject the relationship with God that we were created for. And part of that selfishness and rebellion is to reject and rebel against the clear moral standards that have been provided by us by God in the letters that make up the Bible.

Now this reality leads to several important implications when it comes to the issue of government and politics. The first implication is that human nature is not basically good. And human nature is not morally neutral. Instead human nature, at its core, is driven by selfishness that results in us being flawed, fallen and broken people.

The second implication is that human beings are responsible for their actions, because we were created by God to live lives of responsibility, but reject that responsibility to do things that are irresponsible. And a as result of the selfish bent that human beings have to live rebellious and irresponsible lives, God, as we discovered the first week in this series, created the institution of government to represent Him in a way that promotes good for people and punishes the evil of people.

However, while government was designed by God to represent Him in a way that promotes good for people and punishes the evil of people, government was never designed to be the object that we place our ultimate hope in. Government was never designed to be a vehicle that fundamentally changes human hearts. And government cannot rescue someone from the selfishness and rebellion that separates them from God.

Now that leads us to the third question, which is “What can we do about it? How can the world be set right again?” A Biblical worldview maintains that there is nothing that any human being can do, in their own power to restore the relationship with God that they were created for as a result of the selfishness and rebellion that has separated them from God.

Instead, God initiated the process of making things right again by sending His unique one of a kind son, Jesus Christ, as “God in a bod”, to enter into humanity to live the life we were created to live but refused to live, and then willingly allowed Himself to be treated as though He lived our selfish and sinful lives so that God the Father could treat us as though we lived Jesus perfect life. It is God’s activity through Jesus that results in followers of Jesus receiving forgiveness and the relationship with God that we were created for by believing, trusting, and following Jesus as Lord and Leader. And there will be a day when Jesus will return to set the world right again and usher in the kingdom of Heaven in the fullest sense.

In the meantime, as we talked about last week, as followers of Jesus, we are to seek to influence government towards its divine design and towards the message and teachings of Jesus. We are to live our lives as followers of Jesus in such a way that our hope is firmly planted in Jesus and not the government or politics. As followers of Jesus, we are to seek opportunities to shine the light of the kingdom of Heaven into the dark, spaces, places and people around us as we strive to influence people toward Jesus and the relationship with God that they were created for. As followers of Jesus, we are to seek opportunities where we can influence civil government in way that promotes the welfare and well-being of the nation.

Tomorrow, we will use the framework of a Biblical view as a roadmap to address the question of what type of government is the right type government…

As followers of Jesus, we are to seek to influence government towards its divine design and towards the message and teachings of Jesus...

This week, we have been be looking at the different ways that followers of Jesus have tended to view to role that government has and how followers of Jesus are to engage government. On one end of the continuum or spectrum would be those who would advocate for what could be described as the view that government should compel religion. A step to the left on this continuum would be the “Do politics not evangelism” position that advocates for Christians to flood the political and government arenas as a means to bring political and cultural change.

On the other end of the continuum would be those who would advocate for what could be described as the view that government should exclude religion. Proponents of this view would advocate that we should exclude religion from government and politics. A step to the right of this view would be those who hold to the “do evangelism, not politics” view that followers of Jesus should disengage from government and politics to live as outsiders that just focus on telling others about Jesus and keep the culture out of the church and focus on following Jesus until He returns. 

However, I believe that the view that government should compel religion where followers of Jesus place their hope in government by attempting to legislate morality does not line up with the message and teachings of Jesus. And I believe that the view that government should exclude religion and that followers of Jesus should disengage from government and politics to live as outsiders focused solely on the gospel does not line up with the message and teachings of Jesus.

Instead, I would like for us to look to a third way, a way that seems to be repeated throughout the letters that make up the Bible. And that way is what Wayne Grudem refers to as Christian influence. We see the way of Christian influence revealed for us in a section of a letter that is recorded for us in the Old Testament of the Bible called the book of Jeremiah. So let’s look at this section together, beginning in Jeremiah 29:1:

Now these are the words of the letter which Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the rest of the elders of the exile, the priests, the prophets and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. (This was after King Jeconiah and the queen mother, the court officials, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen and the smiths had departed from Jerusalem.) The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, saying,

This section of the book of Jeremiah begins by providing us the context for what we will be looking at this morning. At this point in history, which was in 594 B.C., the Jewish people were living as a conquered people in the land of Babylon, which was the dominant military and political power in the world at this time in history. Yet, while the Jewish people were living as a conquered people in exile in the nation of Babylon, there were prophets who were predicting and proclaiming that the exile would soon end and that the Jewish people would return to Jerusalem.

And as Jeremiah received word that those in Babylon were being told that the exile would soon end and that they would be returning to Jerusalem, Jeremiah sat down to send a letter to these exiles in Babylon. You see, Jeremiah wrote this letter to these exiles because Jeremiah knew something that they did not know and that the prophets who were telling them that they would soon return to Jerusalem did not know. Jeremiah then reveals what he knew that no one else knew in Jeremiah 29:4:

  "Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, 'Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their produce. 'Take wives and become the fathers of sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; and multiply there and do not decrease. 'Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare.' "For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, 'Do not let your prophets who are in your midst and your diviners deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams which they dream. 'For they prophesy falsely to you in My name; I have not sent them,' declares the LORD. "For thus says the LORD, 'When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place. 'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope."?

Here we see Jeremiah reveal to the Jewish people two things. First, we see Jeremiah reveal the reality that what he knew that they did not know was that the Lord was behind their defeat and exile from Jerusalem to the nation of Babylon. Notice what the Lord says to the Jewish people through Jeremiah in verse 4: to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.

You see, the Lord was not surprised at their exile; the Lord was behind their exile. The Lord was behind their exile because the Jewish people selfishly rebelled and rejected the Lord by refusing to follow the Law of the Lord. Because, as we talked about earlier, you cannot legislate morality, legislation does not change human hearts, legislation only reveals the selfishness and rebellion within human hearts and punishes that selfishness and rebellion.

After revealing the reality that the Lord was behind their exile, Jeremiah revealed to the Jewish people something else, which was how the Jewish people were to live as exiles. Let’s look at these verses again, beginning in verse 5:

'Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their produce. 'Take wives and become the fathers of sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; and multiply there and do not decrease.

In other words, the Lord basically says to the Jewish people “You need to settle down in Babylon because you are going to be there for a while. And since you are going to be there a while, put down roots and live life there. Get your degree, start your career. Don’t put your life on hold but move forward in your life when it comes to your residence and your relationships.” Then look what the Lord says in verse 7:

'Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare.'  "For thus says the LORD of hosts,  the God of Israel, 'Do not let your prophets who are in your midst and your diviners deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams which they dream. 'For they prophesy falsely to you in My name; I have not sent them,' declares the LORD.

Notice what the Lord does not call the Jewish people to do. Notice that Jeremiah does not call the Jewish people to protest their captivity by starting a new political party in an attempt to promote, compel, of force the residents of Babylon to worship the Lord. And notice that the Lord does not call the Jewish people to segregate themselves from engaging culture or government and only talk about the Lord. Also, notice that the Lord does not call the Jewish people to compromise His message and teachings so as to be accepted by the culture.

Instead, the Lord calls the Jewish people to seek the welfare of the city where He had sent them into exile. In other words, the Jewish people were to engage the nation and culture in a way that would result in the good and prosperity of the nation. In addition, the Lord called the Jewish people to pray for the nation of Babylon. And the Lord did call the Jewish people to pray for the downfall and destruction of Babylon. Instead, the Lord called for the Jewish people to pray for welfare and well-being of the Babylonian Empire.

The Lord then explained that the reason behind His call to seek and pray for the welfare of the Babylonian Empire was that for in its welfare you will have welfare. The Lord called the Jewish people to leverage their lives in such a way that would promote the health, peace and prosperity of the nation. The Lord called the Jewish people to live in exile as exiles that were an influence in their area of influence that promoted the good of the nation and peace and prosperity within the nation.

And it is here that we discover the timeless answer to the issue of how followers of Jesus should view the role that government has and how we are to engage government as followers of Jesus. And that timeless answer is this: As followers of Jesus, we are to seek to influence government towards its divine design and towards the message and teachings of Jesus. As followers of Jesus, we are to seek opportunities where we can influence government toward God’s design and purpose for government. As followers of Jesus we are to seek opportunities where we can influence government toward the message and teachings of Jesus when it comes to living in the relationship with others as a nation. As followers of Jesus, we are to seek opportunities where we can influence government in way that promotes the welfare and well-being of the nation.

 This means that as followers of Jesus, we seek to exert influence in a way that protects the religious freedoms of all people, even those who are not Christians. You see, without the influence of followers of Jesus, government will have no moral compass as almost every political decision and law has a moral component.

Now what this does not mean is that followers of Jesus are to be Bullhorn-toting, Bible thumpers. You see, you can only exert influence if you are viewed as being influential. And you are only influential when you are given a sphere of influence. Instead, as followers of Jesus, we are to seek to influence others in a way that reveals and reflects Jesus as a result of being loving, engaging, and persuasive, both in our words and actions.

In addition, to exert influence as a follower of Jesus does not mean that, as a Christian, you should only vote for people who say that they are Christians. Exerting influence as a follower of Jesus means that we vote based on how a candidate votes and engages in politics. We are voting for a political leader not a pastor.

Now a natural question that might be running through your mind is “Well Dave, isn’t America a Christian nation?” My response would be this: It depends on how you define what one means when one says "Christian nation". If you define being a Christian nation based on America being founded on Judeo-Christian principles, then yes, America is a Christian nation. However, if you define being a Christian nation on a nation promoting Christian principles, then no we are not a Christian nation.

Most studies show that, at best, only 20% of Americans would be considered to holding a Biblical worldview and having a Biblical relationship with Jesus. That is why this idea of followers of Jesus seeking to influence government towards its divine design and towards the message and teachings of Jesus is so important. As followers of Jesus we have an obligation to understand how the message and teachings of Jesus speak into the various social, cultural, and political issues so as to be well informed and vote intelligently as we live lives as missionaries and as exiles. That is the whole point of this series.

In addition, we see the example of such influence throughout the letters that make up the Bible. Examples of such significant influence include, Joseph, Daniel, Esther, Nehemiah.  As we discovered last week, God is the God of all peoples and God has called us to be missionaries to all peoples who are far from Him. And one of the ways that we do that is to live lives that seek to influence government towards it Divine Design and towards the message and teachings of Jesus.  

Now, and a natural question that arises is “Well Dave, if what you have said is true: If government was designed by God to represent Him in a way that promotes good for people and punishes the evil of people; if we are to seek to influence government towards its divine design and towards the message and teachings of Jesus; then what kind of government is the right government? Does Jesus promote socialism? Communism? A monarchy? Democracy? A Republic?

That is a great question. And next week, we will spend our time answering that question...