I recently responded to a Facebook post in one of the many groups I follow.  The post I responded to was a charge for Christian Men to Stand Up and Speak Out.

I have been reflecting on this charge since writing that response, and this blog article expands and clarifies that response in more profound thought.

We are in a very complex and troubling time in the republic we call The United States of America.  As Christians, both men and women, we have been misled to believe we are meant to hide behind the doors of our churches in protected circles, ignoring what is going on in our communities, towns, states, and nation.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  We have been duped into believing that there is a Constitutional wall separating church and state.   It is verifiable that no such statement, language, or amendment exists in the United States Bill of Rights or Constitution or the annals of the discussion and debate during their creation. 

The words “separation of church and state” only exist in a letter of response authored by Thomas Jefferson to a letter received from the Danbury Baptist Association in Connecticut as a response of agreement, not a constitutional law proposal or definition. The definition of Jefferson’s usage of these words was to clarify that “the government” Can Not interfere in the church’s religious practices. In the context of this letter, the Danbury Baptists were seeking protections and clarity that Congress had no authority to declare an established religion [or denomination by modern terminology] constitutionally. These words, “separation of church and state,” are regularly misquoted to take a meaning other than the intended point Jefferson was writing. They are commonly presented as a protected tenant by many who are against a biblical viewpoint, which is historically inaccurate and mistaught in many of our school classrooms.

We are called to be stewards of ourselves, our families, our communities, and our nation.

10 Just as each one has received a gift, use it to serve others, as good stewards of the varied grace of God. [1 Peter 4:10 CSB]

Our duty to our God is to educate and defend these aspects of stewardship. We must educate in God’s word and the truth of our nation’s Godly founding and intended design. We need to prepare and educate those men and women younger than us to defend not just Christ’s Kingdom but the very communities, towns, states, and nation our God gave us as our portion of creation to steward over. In that stewardship, the commands of making disciples and loving our neighbors and enemies are enveloped.

43 “You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” 44 “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” [Mat 5:43-44 CSB]

19 “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” [Mat 28:19 CSB] 

We need to teach everyone, believer and non-believer, not to get polluted by political rhetoric, party warfare, or the idolizing of candidates and politicians but to stand behind the Word of God with a healthy biblical worldview. We need to see past the media misdirection and posturing and hold the values this nation is founded on with clarity and biblical grounding.  We need not strive to reshape our government into a theocracy, which many will insist is our goal, but instead be insistent in preserving, protecting, and engaging the proper design, course, procedure, and policy our forefathers designed for our republic by original intent and not misguided legal interpretation or special interest opinions.

Every Christian man and woman should participate in a Biblical Citizenship education program and participate in voting with a biblical worldview. I facilitate classes on Biblical Citizenship as a Constitution Coach for Patriot Academy, so I am partial to that program’s material. It provides an education on the truth of the god-fearing founding of our country. But there are many other great resources with the same focus as well.

It is factual that not all of our founding fathers were devout Christians. However, they still respected the tenets and moral compass of biblical teaching. Yes, it would be factual to say that some of the founding fathers had or would develop interesting [some believe misguided] perceptions of biblical content, such as Thomas Jefferson would question the divinity of Jesus in later years. However, these interpretations still did not defame the moral compass of our nation’s founding.

We must embrace and teach our history’s errors, sins, and dark times, not to bring them honor or approval, but as lessons to prevent us from making the same mistakes in future generations. The Bible has done this very well in showing the sins of biblical history, and we have lost that model of example in our modern times to revisionist and social cleansing mindsets long before any of us were born. Christian Men and Women, Leaders, and Pastors need to come out of hiding behind the churchhouse doors and speak out on all aspects affecting our communities nationwide, socially and politically. It is our inalienable right to do so without intimidation or interference. Leaders such as Martin Luther King operated on this very principle.

Christ is King over all of us, and it is our duty to our King to stand in a battle line and defend all we are to steward. Not by the sword unless this be God’s will alone, but by faith in Jesus Christ, the knowledge of scripture, and non-polluted education. It is even more imperative as Christian Leaders and Pastors to be outspoken on all matters that affect our church and communities. In my studies and preparations for my Biblical Citizenship presentations, I was pointed to Malachi 2:7, which reads.

7 “For the lips of a priest [Pastors & Leaders] should guard knowledge, and people should desire instruction from his mouth, because he is the messenger of the LORD of Armies. [Mal 2:7 CSB]

This scripture is relevant to all my points, but what sent a shudder up my spine was not the charge of this scripture but the two scriptures that follow it.

8 “You, on the other hand, have turned from the way. You have caused many to stumble by your instruction. You have violated the covenant of Levi,” says the LORD of Armies. 9 “So I in turn have made you despised and humiliated before all the people because you are not keeping my ways but are showing partiality in your instruction.” [Mal 2:8-9 CSB]

I felt a shudder as I pondered these scriptures and reflected on whether remaining silent as Leaders and Pastors [priests] on what happens outside our churchhouse doors is not in some form us repeating history by neglecting the stewardship of our nation and guarding the knowledge of our nation’s founding for the benefit of future generations. We, as Christians, especially Pastors and Leaders, are frequently despised, ridiculed, and even humiliated in many social circles today because we are misrepresented and misunderstood. Of course, we are; how can we be understood without publicly facing the issues? This reaction was a personal reflection, but every leader and pastor should contemplate it during these turbulent times. Though we await the return of Jesus Christ, the scriptures do not revoke or rescind our stewardship responsibility. Jesus said,

4 “Remain in me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me.” [Jhn 15:4 CSB]

I struggle to understand sometimes how we have allowed ourselves as Christians to become divorced from the affairs of our nation. The scriptures we hold as truth instruct the need and design of godly influence in government affairs. The Old Testament outlines instructions several times in the construction and management of various governments.

Many cite scripture, such as Mark 12, as our divorce point from government affairs.

14 When they came, they said to him, “Teacher, we know you are truthful and don’t care what anyone thinks, nor do you show partiality but teach the way of God truthfully. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn’t we? ” … 17 Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were utterly amazed at him. [Mar 12:14, 17 CSB]

This scripture would be relevant in that context of separation if we, as American Christians, lived under the rule of an emporer and exchanged currency bearing that emperor’s image. But as the Biblical Citizenship materials I instruct teach, we are a nation founded by the people, for the people. We Are Caesar in the design of our republic. We have been misled to believe that our government controls and gives us our rights. This thinking is wrong; God, not government, grants our inalienable rights. It is this very aspect that makes them inalienable. As such, the context of this scripture takes a different interpretation when applied to our nation’s design.

When you apply the Mark 12 scriptures to the design of our republic, we are to give our stewardship to [Caesar].  In our case, Caesar is our “We The People” republic, our “One Nation Under God.” From our founding, we dedicated our nation to God.  Did you read and understand that We Gave Our Nation To God.  We gave it as a “thing that is God’s.”

So, I ask this rhetorical question. If we are [Caesar], what are we divorcing ourselves from besides our responsibility as stewards of a nation that belongs to God? 

Many Christians and leaders see politics as dirty and corrupt.  Pastor Rob McCoy is quoted as saying. 

“we’ve relegated to say. Look, Politics is dirty. That’s what Pastors say: politics is dirty. I don’t do politics. Well, the church is dirty. What’s your point?”

Politics, disagreements, misunderstandings, hurt feelings, and, sadly, dirty dealings sometimes happen with our churches because we are fallible human creatures.  We can’t have our heads in the sand and believe these things don’t happen.  As Pastors and Leaders, we strive to curb these things in our churches.  Yes, sometimes Pastors and Leaders can also be the source of these. However, just as we strive to combat this inside our respective churches, government, and Politics are only dirty and corrupt because we have allowed them to become that way by not being faithful stewards.

Governments of man in any form exist below the higher government authority of Christ Jesus; as far back as creation, the scriptures prophesied this.  Here is a scripture, for example.

6 For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on his shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.  [Isa 9:6 CSB]

Our government rests upon the shoulders of our Lord Jesus Christ, and ours is a government for the people, by the people.  As “We The People” in Christ, we are intended to be stewards of God’s wonderful creation and all that encompasses our portion of creation we are given stewardship of, the republic known as The United States of America.

So I charge all men and women of Christ, Leaders, Teachers, Pastors, Mothers, Fathers, Young, and Senior.  Speak up and be stewards in Christ of all things under God.  Take charge of your stewardship responsibilities by understanding the biblical worldview of your church, community, and nation.  Vote! with a biblical worldview and support those candidates who share that view.