What are the Responsibilities of Believers Regarding Government?
1. Christians can Influence those in Government
Wayne Grudem lists many examples of Christians positively and significantly influencing government: “Christians influence on government was primarily responsible for outlawing infanticide, child abandonment, and abortion in the Roman Empire in AD 374; outlawing the brutal battles-to-the-death in which thousands of gladiators had died in AD 404….In England, William Wilberforce, a devout Christian, led the successful effort to abolish the slave trade and the slavery itself throughout the British Empire in 1840” (Politics: According to the Bible, pages 49-50).
Daniel rebuked King Nebuchadnezzar in 4:27. Jeremiah counseled believers in Babylon to “seek the welfare of the city” in 29:7. Joseph was second only to Pharaoh in Egypt and influenced the decision-making. Moses boldly commanded Pharaoh in Egypt “Let my people go” in Exodus 8:1. John the Baptist rebuked Herod in Luke 3:18-20. Paul preached to Roman governor Felix in Acts 24:24-25.
2. Christians can pray for those in Government (1 Timothy 2:1-6)
Paul teaches churches the responsibility to pray for political leaders from the president (“king”) on down. Paul did not mean we are pray just for presidents we like or voted into office. Who were the political leaders in Paul’s life? Felix and Festus the Roman governors. The Roman Emperor was Nero who martyred believers. Then Paul gives us the reason for praying for our political leaders. We should pray for our political leaders so “that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.” But hasn’t the church flourished under severe persecution? Did not the church decline spiritually when Constantine ended persecution against the church? Is not the church exploding in Communist China? The answer to these questions is “yes” and yet Paul exhorted believers to pray for their political leaders so that we wont be persecuted.
The reason why Paul wanted believers to pray for their political leaders was so they could more easily give out the Gospel. Listen to this important point made by Paul in verses 3-6: “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.”
E. V. Hill, the pastor of Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles who once served as a ward leader for the Democratic party. Hill’s assignment was to get out the vote for the Democratic candidates, and his chief strategy for doing this was to have a block captain for each block of his ward. On Election Day, the block captains were to contact each resident of their blocks to make sure they voted. When Hill came to Los Angeles and began pastoring the church, he was convicted by the thought, that if he did this for the Democrats, why shouldn’t he do it for God; why not have a Christian block captain for every block of Los Angeles? It was not as absurd as it sounded.
In E. V. Hill’s area of the city, south central Los Angeles, the number of city blocks was 3,100. That became the mission of this church. Church members moved into a block for this very purpose. The church adopted an attitude that they existed for the sake of the gospel.
Hill tells of a funny thing that happened on one occasion. One man had been very put off by the block captain where he lived. She was always inviting him to church and other meetings of the church – always friendly, but persistent. He decided to move. In fact, he decided to move to the other side of Los Angeles. The truck came. He loaded up his possessions. His block captain came out to say goodbye. The truck started off. But as soon as he was gone, the block captain went back into her house, got out the directory of the Mount Zion block captains, found the person in charge of the block to which her offended neighbor was moving, and when he got to his new area, there was the new block community captain standing on the street in front of his new home to welcome him and invite him to church. His comment was classic; he said, “My God, they’re everywhere” (Stephen Davey's sermon on Romans 13).