A Biblical Blueprint for Engaging in Politics

Where should we look for guidelines for engaging with politics in ways that demonstrate love for God and our neighbors? What biblical principles can guide us as we seek to honor God in politics and government?

A Blueprint for Politics in the Old Testament

The Ten Commandments provide a helpful starting point. The first commandment calls us to worship God alone, and the second follows from it, prohibiting idolatry:

You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. (Exodus 20:3–6)

Only the one true God is worthy of worship, yet other gods capture our attention and fight to take His place. Political power is one such potential idol. If Christians lose confidence in God’s sovereign control and instead look primarily to politics to restore society and culture, they can make government into such an idol.

Likewise, the third commandment reminds us of the power and holiness of God and His perfect name: “You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name” (Exodus 20:7). Far more than condemning swearing, this commandment warns against using God’s name for anything that does not honor Him.

When defending our political views and actions, we should follow the principles of the third commandment, using God’s name with utmost care and reverence. As one pastor explained, “God’s answer to a world that blasphemes His name is a community who honors His name. Honoring the Lord’s name is our highest calling. Christ will be honored when the world sees a community of people who show awe and affection for Him.”[1] In politics as in all spheres of life, we should honor God and serve as light to the world.

A Blueprint for Politics in the New Testament

In much the same way that the first three commandments offer principles to guide Christians who are thinking about politics and government, New Testament passages also provide important insights. Many commentators rightly direct believers to Paul’s discussion of civil authority in Romans 13. Although this passage provides a useful description of God’s provision for government, when I am asked what biblical text I find most practical for developing a Christian approach to politics, I point first to a different passage, 1 Corinthians 12 and 13.

In this letter, Paul encourages and instructs the church in Corinth, a church struggling with internal division and with a culture fixated on status and power. As one commentator observes, “Paul’s purpose is not to correct their theology but to get them to think theologically so they would respond properly to their polytheistic, pluralistic culture.”[2] We, too, can find guidance in this epistle to help us think theologically about interactions with politics and government.

First Corinthians chapters 11 through 14 offer Paul’s teaching on worship, life in community, and spiritual gifts. He is concerned that some in the church are too prideful, and he writes to correct them. In a short detour from the specific topic of spiritual gifts, Paul reminds the Corinthians that love is the central guiding principle for interaction with God and with one another. Toward the end of this famous description of God’s unconditional love, Paul writes:

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:8–13)

Even as we are reminded of the power and depth of God’s love, we are also cautioned of our human limitations. Paul warns against spiritual pride, reminding us that we all “see but a poor reflection as in a mirror” (v. 12). Our own sinfulness and the fallen state of nature cloud our vision. We can look with hope for the day we will “see face to face” and “know fully,” for everything will indeed be clear in God’s eternal presence. But, in the meantime, life this side of heaven will be marked by confusion and uncertainty.

[1] Colin Smith, The Ten Greatest Struggles of Your Life (Chicago: Moody, 2006), 49.

[2] David E. Garland, “1 Corinthians,” in Dictionary for Theological Interpretation of the Bible, ed. Kevin Vanhoozer (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2005), 133.