A BIBLICAL UNDERSTANDING OF GOVERNMENT
2 Chronicles 7:14
… and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
The most important thing that the government needs to do is to return to a biblical understanding of the definition of civil government, as well as the scope of responsibility which that entails. Yes, church and state are functionally separate and distinct institutions with specific spheres of responsibility and jurisdiction (2 Chronicles 26:16–19). But the idea that the church has nothing to say about how society is governed is wrong simply because all law has a religious foundation.
There can be no separation of religion and state since civil government is answerable to God. While the church’s job is to make sure that the state doesn’t lose sight of the truth that God rules and that there is a moral standard in which the political realm must operate, the state needs to recognize and protect the church’s freedom to exercise its prophetic role of being a voice for God and His righteous standards, since government is a divinely authorized institution and only God is autonomous, not civil government. Our government is in desperate need of people who can inject righteousness and justice into our political bloodstream, for a society can never rise above the quality of its leadership. Then and only then will God’s kingdom agenda for all of life be made manifest.
REFLECTION: How can we encourage politicians who are ruling wisely? How can we make sure that we don’t get involved, as a church, in the roles God gave to government? How do we deal with arguments that some moral issues are “political” and thus outside the realm of which Christian leaders should speak publicly? God, I lift up to You those You are cultivating to serve in government positions throughout our land and ask that You will guard them in Christ Jesus and give them wisdom.
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