0129. Chapter 3 The society
Chapter 3 The society The governing authorities
Although Christians are part of God’s community, they are at the same time part of a larger community that is made up of all sorts of people. Whether as part of a village, a region, a town or a nation, they live in a society that is regulated for the benefit of the people as a whole. Their Christian viewpoint will at times create tensions for them in their society, but they have a duty to live positively and to contribute to the common good.
God is the overall ruler of the world, and he desires that all societies be controlled justly and orderly. He is the source of all authority and he has given to governments, as his representatives on earth, the authority to administer society.
Christians are told to ‘obey the state authorities, because no authority exists without God’s permission, and the existing authorities have been put there by God’. The twofold purpose for which God put them there is to promote the welfare of society (the state is ‘God’s servant working for your good’) and to restrain wrongdoing in society (the state is ‘God’s servant to carry out God’s punishment on those who do evil’) (Romans 13:1-5). In another place Christians are told to pray for those who govern them, because God desires people to live in peace and contentment (1 Timothy 2:1-2).
Jesus himself set the example for his followers when, in relation to the payment of taxes, he said, ‘Pay the Emperor what belongs to the Emperor, and pay God what belongs to God’ (Mark 12:17). The guiding principle Jesus gives his people is that they are to be loyal to God and obedient to the government. But governments are sometimes guilty of action that is against God’s laws, and Christians find themselves faced with a conflict between their loyalty to the state and their loyalty to God.
Different circumstances The response of Christians to unchristian actions by the government will depend largely on the kinds of issues they object to. It will depend also on what political rights they have. In some countries Christians are in a similar position to those of New Testament times. Citizens have no rights in deciding who governs them or in challenging government actions. Laws may be not merely unchristian but deliberately anti-Christian. In other countries, by contrast, the citizens are the ones who decide who governs them, and they have the right to challenge the government and influence its decisions. Laws in such countries may even be sympathetic to Christianity.
Christians and their rights
There is nothing unusual if Christians suffer government opposition because of their faith. Some of the New Testament teaching concerning Christians’ obedience to the government was given originally to people whom the government was persecuting. If governments persecute Christians, God will hold them responsible for misusing the authority he has given them. Christians, for their part, must follow the example of Christ. They must accept such persecution bravely and not try to retaliate. At the same time the early Christians were not indifferent to the standard of justice that the government administered. There were times when they claimed their rights as citizens, in support of the principle of justice that government officials were supposed to maintain. But in matters of their personal religious beliefs, if the ruling authorities tried to force them to do something they believed was disloyal to God, they refused to cooperate and took the consequences. Their response was, ‘We must obey God, not men’ (Acts 5:29; Acts 5:40).
Jesus taught that although Christians have their rights, they must be willing to sacrifice those rights for the sake of others. Christians are always to think of others before themselves. They are never to use their rights for selfish reasons. Nevertheless, while being prepared to sacrifice their own rights, they must be ready to defend the rights of others. Jesus condemned the oppressors and defended the downtrodden, and so did those who followed him.
Influence for good
Christianity’s first concern is for the salvation of the individual. Its aim is to bring sinners to know Christ, to make them his disciples and to create within them a Christian character that is consistent with their Christian belief. But Christians do not exist as individuals in isolation. They are part of a society, and in society they have to live for God. Their responsibility is to bring others to Christ, and then to teach them so that they too are disciples who reproduce the character of Christ and pass on the message of his salvation.
Jesus and the early Christians disapproved of the evils of the society in which they lived, but they knew that the reason for those evils was the evil within the human heart. Their way of dealing with the problem was not to change society in the hope that people might improve, but to change people so that through them society might improve.
Christians must not think, however, that since they have improved their personal behaviour, they need do no more. It is easy for Christians, particularly those in countries that have a long history of Christian influence, to accept whatever the government does and never raise any objections. Because of this, Christians in various eras have quietly accepted such social injustices as slavery, the oppression of women and child labour; though it is also true that Christians have often been leaders in introducing reforms to get rid of such evils. In different societies Christians deal with issues in different ways. In New Testament times Christians had no power to elect or influence governments, but that did not stop them from working for a better world. By their conduct and teaching they introduced values of human worth that were so superior to those of society at large that cruel and unjust practices were undermined. In some countries today Christians may be a disadvantaged minority, and such action may be all they can do to relieve social injustice. On the other hand, there are many countries where Christians, like other citizens, have the freedom to speak and act in support of what is right and in opposition to what is wrong. And with that freedom comes the responsibility to use it correctly.
Action in a free society
God cares about the well-being of society, and Christians also should care. If they live in societies where governments exist by the consent of the people, they have the opportunity to express their views openly and lawfully. In such societies, policies and laws are formed by the citizens through those who represent them in government. Christian citizens therefore have a responsibility to use their powers to promote those values of justice, freedom, morality, honesty and compassion that God desirers for human society. If Christians pray that God’s purposes be carried out on earth as they are in heaven, they should do whatever they can to help fulfil those purposes. This is not to say that the church should form a political party or seek to govern society. That is not the church’s job. God has entrusted the government of society to civil authorities, not to the church. When the church has tried to do the state’s job, the results have usually been disastrous. But when Christians have weakly given their approval to unjust state actions, the results have again been disastrous.
Christian faith does not make people experts on all subjects. The problems of society – politics, justice, education, finances, employment, health and the like – have to be dealt with by people who have the necessary skills. God never intended the church to be an agency to control these areas; though if Christians had the skills to work in these areas, society would surely benefit.
If Christians live in a democracy, then, regardless of whether they have specials skills, they must use their Christian judgment to decide which things to support and which to oppose. They may lawfully try to influence public opinion. At the same time they must bear in mind the basis of the democratic freedom they enjoy, namely, that the government exists by the choice of the majority of people. A minority may firmly believe its view to be the best, but it cannot expect to use the law to force its belief upon the whole society if the majority does not want it.
Whatever social improvements Christians may hope for through better government action, they cannot escape the duty to sacrifice their time and money to help people personally. Christians cannot pass off their responsibilities to the state. Governments can make laws to provide social welfare, but government programs are no substitute for personal help. To practise Christian love will always be costly.