It is hard to find a specific requirement for political involvement in scripture. God deals with people on an individual basis, and He does not force people to do what is right. He gives guidance, direction, warnings, and incentives, and leaves it to us to choose wisely, or unwisely.
We see few blanket requirements for everyone, but those that exist are very important. Each person was created by the Father as an individual, and when they are grafted into the body of Christ through the new birth, they are created as an individual member of that Body of Christ.
Though they have become part of the Church, they have their own unique God-given function within the church.
We would not expect the same requirements or functions from an eye, as we would from a hand, though they both need a steady blood flow to perform their individual functions.
Some believe they have no duty to be politically engaged, but I believe that we all have an individual duty to to civic engagement. It is certainly possible for us to go overboard, even to the point of obsession, eclipsing our commitment to the Word of God, but I doubt that this relieves us of our duty as an individual Christian citizen of the USA.
In other words, while I’m not suggesting that we place our trust in politics, that doesn’t dismiss us from civic duty.
John Quincy Adams, after serving as the 6th President of the United States of America for a single term, was then elected to Congress as a Representative of his congressional district. There he served for the remainder of his life, and expired as a result of a stroke suffered during a debate on the House floor.
Among his many accomplishments, he mentored a young Abraham Lincoln during his one congressional term, before he was elected President.
“Adams’s long second career in Congress was at least as important as his earlier career as a diplomat. Throughout, he was conspicuous as an opponent of the expansion of slavery and was at heart an abolitionist, though he never became one in the political sense of the word. In 1839 he presented to the House of Representatives a resolution for a constitutional amendment providing that every child born in the United States after July 4, 1842, should be born free…” __Britanica.com
https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Quincy-Adams/Second-career-in-Congress
You may wonder why I included this summary of John Quincy Adams’ life in this context. It is because I believe that it offers a vivid example of the point I’m driving.
Though he was certainly one of the more patriotic, committed, and resourceful among the Americans of his time, (and likely of all time,) we each have particular talents. Those talents may be used for honorable endeavors, or dishonorable. They may be used to improve, and preserve liberty, or to undermine it. They may be used to resist evil or empower it. The choice is up to each of us, and the spiritual significance is found in the issue of faithfulness.
If we choose to let others fight the battles that belong to us, we will likely not be pleased with the outcomes. Citizenship comes with duties as well as liberties, and as Americans, we are free to perform those duties or leave them unfulfilled.
Our mission, if we choose to accept it, is to apply biblical principles in our civic engagement. We should not accept violations of our ruling compact, from our fellow citizens, or our political representatives.
The prophet Jeremiah prophesied to his nation,
“Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
‘O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?’ says the Lord . ‘Look, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel!
The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it,
if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it.
And the instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it,
if it does evil in My sight so that it does not obey My voice, then I will relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it.’”__Jeremiah 18:5-10
While the fate of a nation is ultimately determined by the will of God, the faith and conduct of its citizens play a controlling part in whether His favor is shed upon it. If we choose to ignore the enemies of righteousness and refuse to take part in the spiritual battle, manifesting the defense of righteousness in the temporal, how can we expect the Lord’s salvation to be manifested in our lives, in our nation, and in the future of our children?
Isaiah 5:20 says, “Woe unto them who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter,” and Proverbs 17:13,15 says, “One who returns evil for good, Evil will not depart from his house. One who justifies the wicked and one who condemns the righteous, Both of them alike are an abomination to the Lord.”__
These points should not be mistaken for suggestions if we are honest, and they cannot be fulfilled without challenging the status quo of contemporary American governance.
This is a wonderful article that should be read by every Christian in the USA. The apostle Paul lived under the harsh rule of Rome and he taught that followers of Christ must strive to be good citizens and do that which is good. Our government in Washington DC is the most evil in my lifetime. We must pray for our nation as much as we can. We must vote wisely and we must insist that our elected officials represent our values. We must pray for the COS.