Christian Responsibility :

Christian Responsibility towards the Government

As I was watching the funeral of the Pope yesterday, one of the commentators attributed the following comment to the Pope 'when you leave God out, world affairs go wrong' - this statement demonstrates that God and the governance of this world should be inextricably bound together - it does not make sense to seek to separate God from politics - the question which we have today is, however, a slightly different one - it is not whether politicians should take account of God in reaching their decisions, it relates to the role of Christians in the political system and, in particular, their relationship with the State.

In putting this sermon in this week Alex clearly knew something I did not - the general election has now been called and so these issues are now further to the front of our minds that they otherwise might have been.

Have a number of points wish to make this morning. Before getting to our responsibilities, it is necessary to describe the context - in doing so, wish to build on the foundation which Alex helpfully laid last week when talking about the environment.

1. God is in the business of government.

This is the point which has already been made, namely that God is intimately concerned with the governance of his world - he is the creator of it and, ultimately the ruler of it - see, for example, Isaiah 9 where Jesus' birth is foretold - note the frequent references to government and to authority - thus 'the government will be on his shoulders' - he will be called 'the Mighty God' 'Prince of Peace' - 'of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and for ever.' - the Bible is full of references to God as King, Judge, ruler - the proposition that God should somehow be kept out of world affairs or of politics just does not make sense.

2. God delegates authority and responsibility to human beings.

This was the point that Alex made last week - this is the point made in Romans 13 v1 - 'there is no authority except that which God has established.' The authorities that exist have been established by God' - this passage does not make for easy reasoning - what about Hitler, Stalin, Saddam, Pol Pot? - the list of oppressive world leaders is extensive - is it the case that God has established these authorities? - the present verse says exactly that - but it is also important to take account of human freedom in the choice of our rulers - look at 1 Samuel 8 where the people of Israel ask God for a King - they looked at other nations and wanted to copy them - God warned the people of the consequences that would follow from the choice of a King - he would take their sons, their daughters, the best of their fields and vineyards, possessions - verse 18 states 'when that day comes you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the LORD will not answer you in that day.' But verse 19 states that the people refused to listen to Samuel - they said 'no.we want a king over us' - then they would be like other nations - chapter 9 records that Samuel anointed Saul and he becomes King - see chapter 11 - then watch the downhill spiral - chapter 15 - the LORD rejects Saul as King - Saul becomes jealous of David (chapter 18) and tries to kill David (chapter 19), he pursues David (ch 23) and David spares his life (chs 24 and 26) and in chapter 31 we read that Saul takes his own life - it is not possible to blame the consequences of all of this on God - he warned the people but they chose to ignore him - same can occur in our day - we get the leaders we deserve.

But note that the leaders will be accountable to God for their actions.

3. Our responsibility is to pray

This is a point which Alex dealt with in some detail last week and would refer you to the tape of that sermon - the same point can be made in the present context - I Timothy 2 v 1 - Paul states 'I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone - for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness' - we are to pray for our leaders, no matter who they are - Nero was the Roman Emperor when Paul wrote these words - this perhaps particularly appropriate at the time of an election as the nation decides who will be our future leaders.

4. Our responsibility is to obey

This is the point made by Paul in both Romans and 1 Timothy - it is made in stark form in Romans where we are told that rebellion against authority is also a rebellion against God - rulers hold no terror for those who do right - but we must see this in context - Paul does not address the issue of the State which demands that which properly belongs to God - as Jesus stated, we are to render under to Caesar that which belongs to Caesar and to render unto God that which belongs to God - but we are not to render under to Caesar that which properly belongs to God - the central thrust is, however, clear - we are to be obedient and not to stir up trouble - this was particularly important in the time of Paul - as FF Bruce points out, Paul's arrival in cities was as often as not a signal for breaches of the peace - Paul is reminding Christians to be careful of their public behaviour and to pay all due honour and obedience to the authorities.

But there are limits to our obligation to obey the authorities:

where the authorities demand that which belongs to God and demand our compliance with the rules - most helpful story is that of Daniel who was a high ranking civil servant in Babylon, having been taken into captivity when Jerusalem was captured - he was a popular man in the eyes of the King because of his honesty and integrity - but others were jealous of him - they laid a trap for him - the King's advisers persuaded him to pass a law to the effect that anyone who prays to any god or man during the next 30 days, except to the king, was to be thrown into the lions' den - what did Daniel do? - verse 10 of chapter 6 states that 'when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened towards Jerusalem . Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before'- this is deliberate, calculated disobedience - yet Daniel is not criticised for his actions - on the contrary, he is right - so if the authorities command us to deny our faith we are entitled to refuse to do so - equally, when the State requires us to do something which is prohibited in the Bible - eg commands us to lie, murder etc.
where the authorities demand that which belongs to God but the law is not directed at ourselves as individuals - are we entitled to take positive steps to challenge the law? - an example in this category was provided by the Everyman programme about the Pope last Sunday - the story was told of a city in Poland which the authorities decided to build without there being any space for a church - it was a symbolic statement by the authorities that God did not matter any more - the Pope, then the Archbishop in Poland, defied the authorities and set up a church - they continued to meet until such time as a church was recognised - this too is justified - it was a deliberate attempt by the authorities to exclude God from civic life and opposition to it was justified

5. Is it our obligation to participate?

This is a more difficult question. There does not appear to be any Biblical basis for the existence of an obligation to participate in civic life as politicians - it is true that Christianity is to have an impact on all aspects of our lives - next week will show this at work and at home - the matter is, however, slightly more difficult in relation to politics because we do not all participate in political life in the same way as life at work and at home. However a number of distinct issues can be identified:

voting - can find no basis for a prohibition on voting on the part of Christians - was a view taken in the past on the basis that we live in this world but do not belong to it - this view finds few supporter today - and can find no reason not to vote, if that is what you wish to do - interesting question how you should cast your vote - should you vote for the individual or for the Party? - some Christians are now organising themselves with a view to asking candidates their views on particular issues so that Christian issues are on the public agenda
campaigning - fairly clear that the nature of democracy is changing and campaigners now tend to rally support for particular causes - see the recent Panorama programme - probably started with the poll tax - but in the views of some campaigners the single issue campaign is more effective than the general election - there are a number of items on which Christians have a distinctive contribution to make - look at what took place in Parliament last week - the Incitement to Religious Hatred clause was dropped at the last minute because of the impending election - but the Mental Incapacity Bill completed its progress through Parliament and there is concern that this legislation fails to give sufficient respect to the value of human life - shortly there will be a challenge in the courts to the licence given to a university professor to do research which will include human cloning - here we can see a much more activist role for Christians - again can see nothing wrong in this in the sense that it is not prohibited by the Bible - but those who engage in such activities must be well-informed and we also have to recognise that there are issues on which Christians do not speak with one voice;
employment as a civil servant or an MP - again see no reason why should not do so - not an obligation, but equally it is not prohibited - on the contrary, there is every reason to encourage Christians to participate fully in civic life - there is a sense in which some Christian groups appear to be tacitly encouraging withdrawal from civic life in favour of the pulpit - the danger here is that the commitment to full time Christian ministry will result in a withdrawal of Christians from places of influence in society and instead they will speak in their pulpits to the few who come through the door of their church - it is vital that Christians engage with the issues that confront our society and are not dismissed to the margins.

In conclusion we are to pray, obey and, where appropriate, participate.

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