Whomever HE Pleases!
Too often, church leaders exhort their members to work diligently for the election of politicians and political parties of whom they approve, claiming it is God’s will to do so as well as their “Christian duty.” Moreover, they warn of the dire consequences that will befall the church and the nation if they fail to immerse themselves in partisan politics and “fight” for the “values,” social and political policies endorsed by them.
Apparently, followers of Jesus must fight
tooth and nail for their chosen
candidates, even using the immoral means of this world to do so. But chosen
by whom?
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| [Photo by Jeremy Thomas on Unsplash] |
How do these men of God know which politician or political party represents God’s will, or which proposed policy will advance His cause on the earth? Can our Christian leaders see “the end from the beginning,” or do they know what is truly in the heart of any political candidate or officeholder?
GOD GRANTS SOVEREIGNTY
The Book of Daniel begins by
declaring that Yahweh GAVE the king of Judah, Jerusalem, and
the “vessels of the house of God” into the “HAND of
Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon.” He was the same pagan ruler who went
on to destroy the Kingdom of Judah, the City of
Jerusalem, and the Temple and exiled a great many Jews to Mesopotamia.
What patriotic Israelite in his right mind
would have elected that idol-worshipping despot to the imperial throne? Nevertheless,
with that very king in mind, Daniel praised Yahweh as the one who “removes
kings and sets up kings,” and later, he pronounced to Nebuchadnezzar
himself:
- “You are the king of kings, for the God of Heavens has GIVEN YOU the kingship, the might, the power, and the dignity; and wherever the sons of men dwell, the wild beasts of the field and the birds of the air has HE GIVEN into your hand and made you ruler over them all.”
On one evening, after he attributed his
might and majesty to his own power, an angel pronounced punishment on the great
king so that he would learn that the “Most-High has dominion over the
kingdom of men, and to whomever he pleases,
he gives it, and sets up over it even
the basest of men.”
Consequently, Nebuchadnezzar was removed
from the throne for “seven seasons” until God restored him to office. Humbled,
the mighty ruler of the World Empire declared:
- “I rendered praise and honor to the God of Heaven, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation, before whom and all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and according to his own pleasure he deals with the army of the heavens and the inhabitants of the earth, and none there is who can smite upon his hand, or say to him - What have you done?”
He discovered that Yahweh alone has dominion
over all political powers, and He gives the right to rule to whomsoever he
pleases to accomplish His purposes.
GOD’S ARRANGEMENT
Centuries later, writing to believers
living in the very center of the World Empire, the Apostle Paul exhorted
believers to respect governors, magistrates, and the king. It seems “there
is no authority except by God, and the existing ones have been arranged by Him, therefore, he who opposes the
authority, OPPOSES the arrangement of
God” - (Romans 13:1-7).
He wrote this when members of the church had few if any civil “rights” under Roman rule. They most certainly had no ability to elect their political rulers or influence governmental policies.
If anything, this new faith was an
“illegal” religion in the eyes of Rome, and Caesar certainly was no champion of
democracy or religious and individual liberties. He was an absolute ruler whose
word was law. Yet Paul warned believers that to oppose the existing government
was to rebel against the “arrangement” of God.
At the time Paul wrote this, the Empire was
ruled by Nero, one of the most despotic rulers in Roman history, a man who murdered
his own mother, kicked his pregnant wife to death, and became the first emperor
to persecute the Church. And very likely, Paul himself was executed during the ‘Neronian
Persecution’.
God's hand is not limited. He
can save by many or few, and He is well able to employ evil, good, and just
plain incompetent politicians and regimes to achieve His plans on the earth,
and all without missing a heartbeat.
Neither the form of government
nor any nefarious plan by its rulers is an impediment to His purposes. And regardless
of its economic or military might, whenever He may choose, He can dropkick even
the mightiest of empires into the Abyss.
When Satan offered Jesus all
the political powers of this age, he refused them. Instead, he submitted to an
unjust death at the hands of the World Empire. And he taught his
disciples to walk that same path – To deny themselves, take up the cross, and become
servants of all men who are in need.
Since his elevation to the Davidic
throne, Jesus of Nazareth has been calling his church to proclaim HIS Gospel
to all nations, NOT to seize political power and forcibly impose
his reign on the rest of humanity. And in the end, only one political power
will be left standing, namely, the kingdom of God.
His is NOT a call to passivity
or for disengagement from the world, but a summons for HIS true disciples
to engage it in the same way that he did - through faithful witness, prayer,
enduring unjust suffering, and when necessary, martyrdom. He certainly does not
summon his church to advance his kingdom by allying itself with corrupt politicians
or otherwise doing a bit of evil to achieve some supposed great good.
God alone sees the end from the
beginning, and what is in the heart of every man or woman, and He determines
who will wield political power in this age.
Having arrogated to themselves
the right to decide who should govern, according to their own likes and
dislikes, far too many church “leaders” have presumed upon what is God’s prerogative
alone.
