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...