The American Christian and Civic responsibility
Romans 12:21 instructs “Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.” After being imprisoned and warned by the high priests (the governing body of the Jews) to not conduct ministry in the name of Jesus, Peter and the apostles responded in Acts 5:29, “We ought to obey God rather than men.” In developing the governing principles over the children of Israel, Jethro advised Moses in Exodus 18:21, “…provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them (the people)…” This is the basis of American government the Founders used. There are many justifications of civic responsibility in the Bible, but are Christians using them?
The foundational social contract from which our Republic was derived is that there are inalienable rights endowed by the Creator and that government is formed to protect those rights. The basis of representative government is predicated on an assumption that God created man and conveyed certain rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. These rights are protected in our Constitution. They are specified in detail by the Bill of Rights, among them are freedom of religion, of speech, of gun ownership, of privacy, and of due process. Government was limited by the Constitution to protect these rights and the security of the people.
Government has extended far beyond its intended Constitutional limits. Tares among the wheat have entered in and twisted the meaning of the Constitution’s words. Contemporary government has become the source of rights rather than the Creator through the infiltration of progressive humanism thought and representation. As we stand today, political parties are a well spring of such thought, and Christian America seems confused on how to oppose them. John Jay, a Founder and first Supreme Court Justice, put it succinctly: “Providence has given our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty, as well as privilege and interest, of a Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers.”
Errant teaching from the pulpit and from Christian leaders has created disillusionment and apathy in Christians about their civic responsibility. Some are acting in error under the direction of the anti-biblical theology of dominionism. Others are failing to act because of a hyper-response to teachings about the rapture. There are many other teachings that have contributed to Christian ineffectiveness in self government. Be not confused. As an American and as a Christian, we all have civic responsibility. God gave us a nation where we have freedom of self government. The Founders said it would only work with a moral and religious people. If Christians shirk their civic responsibility, the nation will fall. And it is. We’ve got to engage, not pull back. Shine your light wherever you are. State your opinions. Influence those around you.
