What Did Jesus Do - Politically Speaking

So, I have thought alot about the verse from Romans 13:1 that calls us as Christians to submit to governing authorities and there are a few things I would like to say on the subject. First of all, I know that the Bible is demonstrated in the life of Christ and so I want to examine the world Jesus lived in and his reaction to it. I also want to say for people to look at the word "submit." This is a word that is used in relationships between the husband and wife. In a marriage, a woman is to be submissive to her husband but not in such a way that we are to be a doormat. We can voice an opinion, especially one that affects the whole family, but when the final decision is made, it rests on the shoulders of the husband. I apply the same to government. The truth is too, I would argue that our "governing authorities" happen to be the Supreme Law of our land, the Constitution. The office of the President and even the offices of our congressmen and supreme court justices are bigger than one person. The ultimate power in the government that we have been blessed to live under belongs to the people. We are to hold our government officials accountable. I would also argue that I do not think it is right for Christians to break the law by not paying taxes and things of that such. I believe the Bible is very explicit in that regard. But, living in our blessed country, we can and should speak out. If we do not speak out as Christians, who will? We cannot expect non-Christians to speak out for us.

Now, what did Jesus do? First, remember what the Jewish world was like at this time. Yes, the Romans were ultimately over Israel but, for the most part, they were a self-governing people. Think of it in the way that Great Britain is over Canada, yet Canada is self-governing. The Jewish political world, first of all, was so intertwined with the religious world, that it is absolutely something that we cannot even fathom. We have nothing to compare it to. The Jewish political system was divided into three factions 1) the Sanhedrin-kind of like our Supreme Court (we really don't see too much of them until Jesus' trial) 2) the Saduccees- most comparable to our Senate. They wanted to be buddy-buddy with the Roman government and were a little more high-class. Then there were 3) the Pharisees- closely resembling our House of Representatives. They were known as the "people's party." The Pharisees knew the Law backwards and forwards and told the people how to follow the law and what the consequences were when they did not follow the law. These were also the ones that Jesus had the most run-ins with.

Remember when Jesus was tried and "convicted," Pilate was the one that "represented" the Roman government. Even though history has not been kind to him, Pilate tried to "wash his hands of an innocent man's blood." The Roman government wanted the Jewish rulers to decide what to do with Jesus because they did not feel he had done anything wrong. Remember also that one of the things Jesus was accused of by the Jewish leaders was inciting revolution against the Roman government. The basis for this accusation was the large crowds that followed him and the radical ideas he was espousing. Jesus was innocent! So why would they accuse him of this. He was threatening the Jewish leaders very authority!

We know the people that Jesus confronted the most were the Pharisees. Remember, these were basically the ones who interpreted the law for the people. He slammed the Pharisees all the time for two things. 1)Misleading the people on the interpretation of the law (the rules of the Sabbath for one) and 2) the Pharisees themselves not adhering to the Law that they expected the people to follow. I actually see parallels between what the Pharisees of Jesus' day were doing and what the lawmakers of our day are doing. Even though the Jewish people were looking for a Messiah to overthrow the Roman government, that is not what Jesus did. And I would argue that it is because you cannot legislate people to do right. Instead, he went after people's hearts and called on the church and the individual to affect change. Just because government promises to take of the less fortunate does not negate our responsibility to do so and yet that is what is being espoused today. I would also just like to point out that by going after the various facets of the Jewish religious system, Jesus was also directly going after the political system.

As Christians, we are to submit to our governing authorities, but that does not mean that we are to be quiet. We live in a Democratic Republic. We have a responsibility as a citizen of this great nation to speak out and let our voices be heard, either through peaceful protest, through writing our representatives, or through voting. And as voting citizens, we should always vote responsibly. How will we know who best represents our values if we do not keep abreast of what is happening in our world and hear what different people have to say.

Above all, yes we pray. But we do not use this as an excuse to keep our head buried in the sand.

"There is no greater tragedy than doing nothing for fear of doing too little." Anonymous.

My Biblical journey through the world of politics

So, I am giving fair warning to anyone that reads this: I am going to take you on my spiritual journey through the world of politics. What I mean by this is that I have decided to let you in on the struggles that I have dealt with as I have tried to follow Christ and be involved in politics. You will travel with me as I examine subjects from a Biblical perspective and mesh that in with some common sense along the way. I will look at things such as the role of government, is "social justice" biblical, is there any point which a people can rebel against their government, is the Constitution Biblical, what should the role of women be in government, and important issues of our day. I will also take a break from this every once in a while to address something I feel warrants a blog post. You will also hear me talk about Sarah Palin on my blog quiet often. I really like her and I think she has a lot to offer the world of politics. You don't have to agree with me, I am perfectly ok with that. You also don't have to agree with my conclusions on issues and that is okay, just be sure that you know that you can back it up biblically.

I also want to take this time to just say that people need to be wary of things going on in our political world but also in society in general. I have seen alot of conservatives try to convince the media that they are just as intellectual as the far-left. As a conservative, we will never be seen as equals on the intellectual scale because in the eyes of the far-left, if we were equal with them, we would have come to the same conclusions as them and we would now be far-left idealists. In Proverbs we find that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. This is important because it is when we truly know God and fear Him, not in a way that we are afraid, but more in a way that we respect and are in awe of Him and all of His powers and, yes, in some ways are afraid, afraid of His judgement. The beginning premise must be the Lord. Therefore, when we stick with what the Bible says about specific issues, we will more than likely never be viewed as the intellectuals of the world. In Matthew, Jesus says, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children." In 1 Corinthians it states, "But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty"

If you are looking for approval from the world for being a conservative and strictly sticking to the things that are taught in the Bible, you will be looking for a long time. While we may have many degrees in an educational sense, we will never be viewed as intellectual. Like I said, in order for us to be viewed as intellectuals in the world's eyes, we would have to abandon everything that is taught in the Bible. The Bible lifts up the individual and gives us the power to make good choices and bad choices. Jesus taught us to take responsibility for ourselves and to look out for the less fortunate. The problem comes in when we start to examine how we are expected to take care of the less fortunate and I will be examining that in later posts. I hope you will come on my journey with me.