The Christian and Politics
Posted on 24th January 2025 by Joshua Eden No comments

This week, Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th President of the United States. The mere mention of his name spreads ripples of debate about his policies around the world. The question regularly comes up in church fellowships: how much interest should Christians have in politics? Is there a place for religion in politics? What party should a Christian support and where should our political views align to, the left or the right? The short answer is that the Word of God should dictate all our political views and that our identity is first and foremost, as members of the body Christ.
It is important to remember that God is sovereign, and that He is in control over everyone and everything. No King, President or Prime minister has ever come to power that God was not aware of. He is the one who sets them up and brings them down for his sovereign purposes. Proverbs 21:1 tells us that the king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, and he turns it wherever he will.
It is also important to remember that politics and better government is not the ultimate answer to solving the social problems we have in our country. Better policy can help to improve society, but it will never be the cure. Better policy can provide the relief of a painkiller in times of trial, but it is unable to solve the problem at the core. Our nation’s greatest need is the gospel, because our nation’s greatest problem is sin.
Sin is like leprosy. You can try to cover it up, isolate it, or castrate it, but eventually, it seeps through and spreads like gangrene through any garment. The smell of rotting flesh is potent, making it clear to those around that death is nearby. Likewise, there seems to be an aroma of death around western civilization as we know it. Not because of Donald Trump, but because of the promotion of sin; the rejection of Christ; and erosion of historic Christian foundations that were the root of stability, prosperity, and liberty in the West.
Nevertheless, the Bible is clear that believers are the salt and light of the earth (Matthew 5:13 – 16). The Christian is a type of preservative salt in the land and a light in moral darkness. The light of Christ shines through the believer by the purity of their testimony which contrast to the darkness of the world and, more importantly, by the preaching of the Gospel.
We should have an interest in politics because politics has an interest in us and our neighbour who we are called to love. If we love our neighbour who is elderly, then we ought to have an interest in politics regarding their care. If we love children, then we ought to have an interest in politics involving education and abortion. If we love those who are sick, then we should care about policies regarding assisted suicide and the national health service. If we want to continue sharing the gospel freely then we should care about policy impacting free speech and our liberty to worship God faithfully and biblically without interference.
The answer is certainly not to stick our head in the ground. We are exhorted to pray for those in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way (1 Tim 2:2). To submit to authority (Rom 13:1) as long as what they require does not go against God’s word (Acts 5:29). To seek justice and correct oppression (Isa 1:17), advocate for godly values, while remembering the mission of the church is not to change the nation through political reform, but in changing hearts through saving gospel of Jesus Christ.