Kingdom Of God Versus Government And Politics: Personal Opinion

When many people think of politics they think of corrupt politicians who use politics to gain power, not many see God. A common objection against Christian involvement in politics is that anything that derails the preaching and teaching of the Bible is a distraction from the mission of the church. However, this belief shows little understanding of the Kingdom of God. There are many examples in the Bible on the importance that politics play in our spiritual lives, and how God can be seen through all of it. Even the saying, “Kingdom of God” has political connotations. If God wanted to avoid the political meaning of the word kingdom He would have used the saying “family” of God or the “people” of God. That’s why Jesus’s passion for the growth of the Kingdom of God threatens conflicting authorities. Politics are the center of the story of Jesus. His life on earth ended with a political execution. God designs and empowers human government to protect and preserve society. God is the creator of universe and an intelligent designer. His creation is clearly seen through human government and politics. This concept can be a hard pill to swallow if you don’t fully understand the context in when politics are necessary. Politics from what we see on the news appears to only divide us more. However this very structure we used today, though not perfect still heavily impacts our relationship with God.

The most obvious example of this is the United States of America’s Constitution. The constitution lays out or unalienable rights we all carry intrinsically as humans. English philosopher and physician John Locke explained human beings were created with unalienable rights. Including the rights to life, liberty, and property. Governments are established as contracts with people to protect these rights. But these rights don’t come from Locke they come from God.John Locke developed his ideas out of an understanding of Christian theologians’ reflections on government and humans rights going back centuries. In addition to Calvinist influences on his thought, his argument that government exists to preserve unaligned was built on medieval theologians reflection on the rights giving by God to humanity in the Garden of Eden, before human government.

The Moral Law and how we define ourselves through politics is important. There are moral absolutes. If you want to get a relativist to admit it, treat them unfairly. Their reactions will reveal the Moral Law written on their hearts and minds. – Geisler & Turek I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist, 174. Without a line between justice and injustice or right and wrong there is no way to find common ground. Through the Moral Law we can be sure of an intelligent designer who places our intrinsic morals within us. These morals shape the way we participate in politics and what we believe in.

How Jesus used politics as a tool and how we are meant to obey our political leaders. Politics are at the center of Jesus’s story. Jesus used political means most dramatically in two public political demonstrations. First, his preplanned entry into Jerusalem on a donkey symbolized a kingdom of peace in which the weapons of war would be banished. Second, he publicly indicted the temple as a den of robbers, because the center of collaboration with Roman imperial rule and taxation. So you see Jesus used the earthly idea of politics to benefit His agenda. God honors social and governmental structures. You can see an example of that in Romans 13.

In conclusion, government and politics are unavoidable. God has intelligently designed the systems we used today and calls us to obey and uphold our political authorities. God’s hand is evident throughout politics in the United States. This is visible through the leaders God appointed to built the foundation of our country. Christian Leaders such as, John Adams and George Washington who had a large Christian influence throughout the nation. It is up to us to used the morals given to us by God for the expansion of the church just as Jesus did and use it as a tool instead of heated arguments between people. So let’s take advantage of our political opportunity and go out and vote.