Church and nation: A guide to Christian political theology
This is a series of links to articles here that tackle various issues related to politics, government, and Christian nationalism.
These aren’t written from a partisan standpoint, but they discuss Biblical and spiritual principles that should govern how Christians participate in politics and think about topics like power, winning, and the place of nations in God’s plans. Some are lessons we can learn from some of the kings in the Bible, and a few of them address Scriptures that are commonly misapplied to America.
Power and winning
The hope and point of Christianity is not this life
Whether it’s politics or prosperity, many professing Christians seem to place their hope in worldly winning and success. But over and over, the Bible points us to eternity, to the only hope that God blesses.
Holiness is more important to God than victory
The way some Christians talk, you’d think the highest priority for the church is defeating our political and cultural enemies. Winning. Let’s search the Scriptures to see what God’s priority is.
Our holiness and witness are worth more than our lives
Some Christians are willing to sacrifice our holiness and gospel witness for the sake of winning in politics and culture wars. But God prioritizes those things above anything else in this world, including our country, families, and very lives.
Winning in the Bible: God defines it differently than us
Some Christians use the word “winning” a lot, often in a political or cultural context. But in the Bible, victory often doesn't look like what we think it does.
Many Christians want power and winning; God wants losers
Many Christians long for the church to have the world’s power and strength. They want “winning.” But in 1 Corinthians 1, God tells us what kind of Christians He’s looking for: weak, lowly, and foolish.
The absolute, universal, inevitable corruption of power
The axiom “power corrupts” has been fulfilled throughout Scripture and history, even in God’s people. Why, then, do Christians still crave the world’s power, when we have an infinitely and eternally superior power working through us?
Nations and the Bible
The godliest nation of all time failed
Biblical Israel had everything today’s Christian culture warriors want – God’s law, presence, glory, and king. They use that as their model – even though it all came crashing down.
There’s no such thing as a Christian nation
Many Christians say America is, was, and/or should be a “Christian nation,” but nothing in the Bible defines or commissions that.
Can a nation be saved? What Jesus sent us to ‘disciple’
Some Christians believe “make disciples of all the nations” means Christianizing countries. Let’s break down the Great Commission in Matthew to see what Jesus meant.
Why God no longer works through nation-states
One of the more stark differences we see from the Old Testament to the New is that God stopped advancing His people through the political power and force of earthly nations. Why do we still seek that, then?
How Christ undoes Babel: The nations through the Bible
Yes, God created the nations. No, we shouldn’t just ignore our nationality. But in Christ, from all nations He created a new nation, one without borders, that finds its identity in Him, a unity that transcends earthly nations.
Lessons from the Bible
How Jesus reacted to an oppressive, godless regime
Imagine your most hated enemies slaughtering your countrymen. Would you want to fight? That happened in Jesus’ time, and His reaction was, you’re no better.
No kings. That’s not politics, that’s the Bible
Some professing Christians want the equivalent of a king, but the entirety of Scripture teaches us that only Christ is worthy of the throne.
When pride brought God’s wrath on a successful king
Does God care more about a national leader’s policies or personal sins? Hezekiah was one of the Bible’s greatest kings, but all of his godliness and success was undone by his pride.
When God’s people wanted a strongman to fight for them
There was a time when God’s people wanted a strongman to fight for them, and for their country to be great like the other nations of the world. God was not pleased with their desire for power.
But look at the good things King Saul is doing
The king kept delivering win after win for his nation and his people, but he was disqualified for a personal failing. Here’s reaction from one of his angry supporters.
Jeroboam: The popular but evil leader raised up by God
Here’s the story of a national leader, chosen by God and the people, who liberated them from an oppressive tyrant and gave them freedom to worship. But the Bible casts Jeroboam as the most evil king Israel ever had.
Why do Christians despise the day of small things?
Zerubabbel’s temple was built not by might, not by power, but by God’s Spirit – and so is the church, His new temple. But both times, those who don’t understand how He works “despise the day of small things.”
Politics and tribes
The differences between politics and Christianity
Many Christians are obsessed with politics, which is strange and disheartening, since politics and Christianity are such starkly different realms.
Jesus punched right, and so should Christians
Most Christians’ political and cultural outrage is directed toward the other tribe – leftists and Democrats. But the Bible consistently teaches us that we should punch first and hardest in the other direction – ourselves.
Why the Woke Right is not Christian
Here are five ways that the Dissident Right, defined as a movement whose overriding priority is to use political power to destroy the Left in an existential war, is the opposite of Christianity, despite many of its warriors claiming to be Christian.
The church's biggest threats are on the inside
Most Christians put up their defenses against attacks and persecution from enemies in the world, but overwhelmingly, the Lord tells us in His word to be more on guard against corruption from within.
Why partiality may be the most pervasive sin among Christians
Whether it’s related to politics, celebrities or family, many Christians show partiality even though it’s widely condemned in the Bible. See how.
Yes, Joe Biden’s presidency is the will of God
The Speaker of the House said that Joe Biden’s presidency is God’s will. That claim is shocking to a lot of Christians, but in light of multiple Biblical examples of God raising up wicked rulers, it shouldn’t be.
Misused Scriptures
America cannot be ‘the nation whose God is the Lord’
“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord” is a Bible verse frequently applied to America, but you only need to look at the second half of Psalm 33:12 to see that it can’t be about that.
‘Heal our land’ doesn’t mean America, in this life
2 Chronicles 7:14, with its conditional promise for “My people who are called by My name” to “heal their land,” is often applied to Christians and America. But its context puts that into question, and raises another one: Do we even have a land?
Why do we want another David? He was a failure
Some Christians defend a certain politician by saying “King David was a sinner, too!” But David's sins had disastrous consequences not just for him, but for his nation. We shouldn't want another David, and we don't need another David.
How the Lord’s enemies are made His footstool
Many Scriptures say that the Lord’s enemies will be made His footstool. Christians often disagree about what that means. Let’s unpack the psalm where that phrase originates.
America, Moses, and the Red Sea: Hijacking the OT
House Speaker Mike Johnson said God wants him to be a “Moses” who will lead America through “a Red Sea moment.” Do we really want that, considering what happened after the Red Sea?
