Silence is not an option
Christians have long wrestled with how best to engage the political process, and few things are more political than elections. We may be tempted to drift into one of two extremes in response to the heated rhetoric and conflict that erupts during election season. On the one hand, we may seek to disengage entirely from the political process. On the other hand, we may identify one candidate or another as an avatar of heavenly wisdom, righteousness, and judgment.
Most Christians rightly reject these extremes but live uncomfortably in a middle space seemingly under pressure from both flanks. Occupying that space well, however, comports with Christ’s admonition that, as His followers, we serve as “salt and light” in an unregenerate world.
In John 17, Christ prayed for his disciples in the upper room on the night of His betrayal. His prayer to the Father illuminates several truths about our current state as travelers in a foreign land and offers guidance for approaching our political moment.
And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. – John 17:11(ESV)
They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. – John 17:16 (ESV)
In these two passages, we see the outlines of the oft-quoted phrase, “in the world but not of the world.” This catchphrase has been used at times to justify arguments that Christians should fully abstain from the political process, including voting. But is that what Christ was urging when he described the conflict between our nature and our temporary residency?
I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. – John 17:14-15 (ESV)
Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. – John 17:17-18 (ESV)
These verses provide a deeper context for Christ’s statement that we are in the world but not of it. We have not been abandoned in the world; rather, we have been sent, empowered, and equipped with the truth of the Gospel. Moreover, how can the world hate us because of the truth we have been given if we don’t speak that truth to the world? Ours is an active, not a passive, faith.
How should an active, truth-telling faith intersect with the political realm, particularly as the state extends its reach to questions with clear moral and Biblical dimensions? Take, for instance, the question of abortion, which implicates fundamental Biblical teachings concerning the dignity of human life and injunctions against taking it. Or consider the question of whether minors should permanently alter their bodies in service of a warped ideology that teaches, contrary to Scripture, that our embodied nature as male or female is incidental and infinitely malleable. Or consider whether Christians should be free to proclaim the full truth of the Gospel, touching every area of life.
When the state takes clear sides against truth on such issues, it is appropriate and necessary for Christians to engage—even when that means engaging the legal and political processes. If government efforts to embrace and enforce lies are not opposed, then pro-life pregnancy resource centers in states like New Jersey and Washington would have no defense against government efforts to silence their work. Minors in states like Tennessee and Alabama would lack protection from predatory surgeries and interventions seeking to alter their bodies in service of gender ideology. And female athletes would be exposed to harm from much larger, stronger male athletes seeking to identify as female in states like West Virginia and Connecticut. Christian artisans like Jack Phillips and Lori Smith would be prohibited from expressing truth within the marketplace using the creative skills God has given them. In each instance, Christians—ordinary citizens, lawyers, and even elected officials—have stood for Biblical truth within the political and legal systems.
This call for engagement quite naturally extends to voting. It would be folly, and contrary to Scripture, to believe that any political party or candidate will usher in our salvation. Short of Jesus being on the ballot, we will always have to choose between imperfect and fallen humans. When stewarding our vote for good, we should reject the temptation to categorize all candidates and positions as “morally equivalent.” They are not. Distinctions can and must be made, particularly on issues—such as life, gender ideology, and freedom of speech and conscience—on which Scripture provides clear teachings.
After all, we are sent to the world to speak the truth. Silence is not an option.
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