Nine Keys for Thinking Biblically During Elections

Imagine preparing a steak for the grill, but instead of placing the salt on the steak you shake the salt onto a separate plate near the steak. Once cooked, your guest complains that their steak needs more salt. 

Big surprise! I'm no chef but I do know if the salt is going to have any impact on the meal, it must reach the steak. 

Is it possible that Christians, who are called to be the salt of the earth, are only being salty within the confines of the local church? Are we keeping the salt off the earth and merely placing it near it?

Christians have been lied to about their involvement in public policy, the election of government officials and their civic engagement. These lies have convinced us to keep the salt away from the earth. 

So, how do Christians act as salt and light in lawmaking? How do we avoid being good for nothing in our culture? Here are nine keys for doing so.

1. Prayer changes things. 

God rules over all. He can save life and end life by the simple turning of a head. We must seek Him for a revival of truth and flourishing. Christian political engagement without prayer is to go into battle without our greatest weapon.

2. Disengagement is a dereliction of spiritual duty. 

You can't fully care about your neighbor unless you care about the laws that shape their community. It is as much a mistake to say that we cannot speak biblical truth to government as it is to say we cannot speak it to marriages and families. God created the church, the family and government, and trading His good design for our own vision of the world is to allow idols to reign in that realm.

3. Sitting on the sidelines because you think it will open an opportunity for gospel advancement is ill-advised. 

We are seeing God use His truth in the public square to direct many to the truth of the Bible in their own lives. 

Russell Brand is an excellent recent example of this. His recent conversion was fueled in great measure by seeing the darkness of a world without God, and the goodness of God’s word by comparison. 

Public policy fails because it was based on a false perspective of God's world, and correcting that perspective can be the first step towards a gospel conversation. Demonstrating how God's design is good in one part of life can lead to demonstrating how it is good in all areas of life. If the Bible can't lead us to the truth about good public policy, why should anyone trust it for eternal hope and salvation?

4. Never compromise principles, but you may need to be patient with outcomes.

Waiting for change is far different than caving to untruth. Many are extremely disappointed with the policy platform of the current Republican party. Remain disappointed. Don't cave. But don't allow impatience to cause you to give up. Much of the leftward drift is the result of removing the salt from the Republican equation, and we must be willing to re-engage and work towards needed change.

5. Love the Bible. 

The Bible is the greatest truth written by God Himself. Ignoring its principles in civic policies is not praiseworthy humility. We cannot excommunicate its truth from any part of life, and biblical principles must extend into our decisions about our leaders and the policies they make.

6. Use discernment not clichés. 

“The solution to the nation is in God’s house not the White House.” “Republicans and Democrats won’t save us, only Jesus can.” 

Both of these common clichés, and many others like them, serve primarily to subvert the truth. God’s solution for mankind’s protection includes the national government. It was his plan for the world since Noah left the ark, yet phrases like these imply that God has no interest in using the means He has said he would.

A biblically discerning person would not negate the power of the Bible but they also would not subvert a God ordained institution. American leaders need to embrace God’s good design as they make laws to punish evil and reward good. Unless you believe the church should rule over civic matters, God’s solution for America is a White House and Congress aligned to truth. This requires more than mere clichés. 

7. Don't disengage because of the debate over Christian Nationalism. 

Are you a Christian? Do you believe nations should exist? If the answer to both is “yes” the only question left is, to what degree do you feel a nation should be guided by biblical truth? This is a fair discussion. Be careful if you find yourself regularly fighting against the truth of Scripture being applied to the public square.

8. Don't allow courage and strength to be seen as evil while cowardice and weakness are praised as virtues. 

It is essential for the Christians to speak truth in love. Though it is possible to make the mistake of speaking the truth without love, a more common one is redefining love to imply that anyone speaking the truth is unloving. Those who oppose truth will claim that resistance to their plans is an act of ‘bigotry’ or ‘hatred’, but allowing their narratives to drive you to silence is weakness, not love. Don't be fooled. Real love speaks truth. Often the Christian unwilling to engage in discussion has created an unbiblical theology that excuses their silence as praiseworthy, winsome, and gospel-centered. It isn’t.

9. Remember the words of Sophie Scholl. 

Sophie was part of the Nazi resistance in Germany. After being caught by the Nazis for distributing pamphlets that revealed their evil agenda, she was beheaded. When asked why she would break the law, 19-year-old Sophie responded, “I am a Christian and I am a German therefore I am responsible for Germany.” Christians have a responsibility to speak truth to and about their nation. “I am a Christian and I am an American therefore I am responsible for America!”

Conclusion

For too long Western Christians have kept the salt off the steak. Our once Christian culture has been dismantled because Christians, led by their critics, applauded silence. We were assured that disengagement would lead to interest in the gospel from the political left, and made a fraudulent deal, offering guaranteed political silence in exchange for eternal souls which never materialized. We must realize that all truth - including truth about God’s good design for government - must be spoken. After all, why would silence about truth lead people to the Person who is the Way, the Truth and the Life?

Resist the approval of the world as a gospel advancement tactic. Don’t worship your nation. Pray for it. Speak truth to it. Hold back the corruption.

Faithful Christians must be the salt of the earth.