A Vision for PNW Churches (Part 6): Politics + Conclusion

The church must incorporate the world into itself. Governments should be transformed by the gospel and in turn promote piety, but churches are by far the more powerful tool that God has ordained to “turn the world upside down” (Acts 17:6) than governmental power.

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This is part six in a series of articles that have covered the topics of the gospel, worship, family, education, and institution-building. We now conclude with the topic of politics.

The gospel is fundamentally a political message. In Jesus’ resurrection, he was declared to be the Son of God in power (Rom. 1:1-4) which is a distinctly political announcement (Ps. 2:7-9). The gospel is this: Jesus, the crucified and risen Son of God, is the true king of the world, who has given an open offer of pardon to people of all nations to have their sins forgiven and be welcomed into his kingdom, so all people owe him homage and obedience—including governing officials (Ps. 2:10-12). The titles “King of kings and Lord of lords” (Rev. 19:16) are not just superlative titles, and we know this because the psalmist calls kings to kiss the Son and serve him (Ps. 2). The Apostle Paul affirms this obligation, saying that political rulers are servants of God (Rom. 13:1). Therefore, it is their duty to acknowledge Christ’s political supremacy. They have been called by him to punish evil and reward good (Rom. 13:2-4; 1 Pet. 2:13-14). 

If they are called to serve God by punishing evil and rewarding good—a distinctly moral endeavor worked out in making and enforcing laws—we must ask, “How will political leaders have their moral sense refined and brought into greater conformity with the divine standard?” It is the church that must disciple them in the justice of God’s law. And therefore, pastors must speak about political matters in their application of the law and gospel to all of life. 

Lord’s Day worship services are, in one sense, political gatherings. The word ekklesia (“church”) means an assembly of the body politic. Among other things, this is a political gathering of the citizens of heaven. Heaven is the capital city of God’s kingdom, and we are the king’s colonists, extending his rule throughout the nations of the earth. The biblical storyline of history is summarized in Revelation 11:15:

“Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.’” (Rev. 11:15)

The church, then, will not be neutral on the political questions faced in each generation.

Discipleship in Politics

In the case of the PNW, our churches should know that we are politically conservative—not by groupthink but by implication of our theology. The church should rarely (if ever) completely align with a political party, and the Republican Party has much to be criticized. The Bible tells us to “put no confidence in princes,” (Ps. 146:3)—like Donald Trump, for instance—and any support for such leaders should be, at best, tentative. But when the president is clearly supportive of Christianity and the work of the church, putting sincere Christians in positions of significant influence, and taking action against evils like abortion or transgenderism, the church should celebrate this and thank God for it. If the only thing our people hear from pastors is that we are neither Republican nor Democrat, they either believe the church is moderate (which it is not) or that they can be on whatever side they want to be on and it doesn’t matter. We should expect to see left-leaning members of our congregations move right as they receive the discipleship of the church.

“…there are temptations that accompany an emphasis on political action; but our optimism regarding cultural change should be strongly ecclesio-centric.”

Can someone be a Democrat in our churches? They are welcome into our fellowship, but we would be working to disciple them away from those convictions, and we would see those convictions precluding them from some positions of leadership in our church. They should know clearly that we believe progressivism is one of the great heresies (see here and here) of the Pacific Northwest, one that is deeply affecting our churches, and that we need to guard our people against it. Progressivism should be clearly criticized and rejected in a way that conservatism is not. In all the issues that are non-negotiable for Christians (abortion, gay marriage, transgenderism, the importance of the rule of law, etc.), we align more with conservatism. Other issues about which Christians might sympathize with the left—like immigration policy—are in fact far less black and white. “Care for the sojourner” and “no immigration without assimilation” are equally biblical principles (see both Exodus 23:9 and Num. 15:16), and they are far more challenging tensions to resolve than whether it is ethical to kill a baby in utero. 

When young people go to college and lose their faith, politics is almost always involved. And almost always, they lose their faith by becoming more progressive, not more conservative. In general, the Democratic party is hostile to biblical Christianity in a way that the Republican party is not. We understand such a statement could be divisive in PNW congregations, but if it is true, then it needs to be said by our pastors. 

Keeping the Gospel Primary

All of this should come with a warning that there are temptations that accompany an emphasis on political action; but our optimism regarding cultural change should be strongly ecclesio-centric. The church must incorporate the world into itself. Governments should be transformed by the gospel and in turn promote piety, but churches are by far the more powerful tool that God has ordained to “turn the world upside down” (Acts 17:6) than governmental power. We must give our primary focus to holy lives, faithful churches, fruitful homes, productive work, and generous hospitality to those inside and outside of the church. Jesus sent out his disciples with a book, water, bread, and wine. These are the humble means by which Christ changes the world. 

“This series is a call for our churches to go on to maturity. We need the courage to say what we know to be true.”

Therefore, we must moderate how frequently political matters come to dominate our discipleship focus. What God’s people largely need is to have their individual lives conformed to the image of Christ—as Christians, church members, fathers, mothers, husbands, wives, children, employees, workers, and citizens. Our lives of social media are dominated with political commentary, and while the Bible acknowledges the political implications of the gospel, the business of the Senate and the president are by no means the central topics of the Apostles’ teaching to the churches of the New Testament. Let us not neglect political discipleship, but let us also give it its proper weight.

CONCLUSION

It could be argued that the topics addressed in these essays seem peripheral to the basics of Christian discipleship. Certainly, there are more basic topics than Christian education and political theology, for example: God’s sovereignty or justification, covenant theology or the importance of the sacraments. I mentioned at the beginning of this essay that Hebrews calls the church to maturity, to solid food, to learning to “distinguish good from evil.” But just after that verse about maturity, the writer of Hebrews lists the topics of the Christian faith that he calls both milk and the foundation:

“Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, 2 and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.” (Heb. 6:1-2)

These are the basics of gospel Christianity: conversion (“repentance” and “faith”), baptism (“washings”), church authority (“laying on of hands”), eternal life (“the resurrection of the dead”), and eternal judgment. This essay assumes this foundation, a foundation on which all evangelical, Reformed churches are in agreement. But the writer insists, we must “go on to maturity.” The issues addressed in these essays (e.g., feminism, institution building, conservatism, etc.) are matters of maturity. This series is a call for our churches to go on to maturity. We need the courage to say what we know to be true. Those in the world who are hungry for Christ are not expecting us to pander to them. They want a new vision for life, and we need the clarity to offer it to them.

So let us pray for these kinds of mature, strong, faithful, joyful churches, that our God may build them throughout the Pacific Northwest. May the city of God be built in our land in our day, and may the name of Christ be lifted high—in his strength and for his glory.