The election year (2015) is fast approaching and current events in our beloved nation, Nigeria point to a heated polity. Alignments and realignments are the order of the day; violence everywhere. The craving for power has gone to such high level that the process of getting to power has degenerated to a ‘Do-or-die’ affair. Should the Church fold her hands and do nothing? If things get out of hand, everybody (including the Church) would be worse off for it.
What can we do to ensure the rule of God is restored in the nation? This question has become imperative because most Christians tend to distance themselves from political issues or activities, principally because many, believing they are heaven-bound, erroneously consider politics as meant for the people of the world. Even when the Church plays a role in politics, it is usually as a ‘junior’ partner. Is this supposed to be so?
Three scriptures in the Bible clearly define the role of the Church in the world pending the return of Christ.
i) Occupying Role: Luke 19:13b “And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, occupy till I come”
ii) Evangelism Role: Matthew 28:19 “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost”.
iii) Accomplishing Role: Matthew 24:14 “And this gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.”
From the above scriptures, Jesus has made us the caretakers of the whole world and expects us to be “in charge” till His return. As we take charge of our environment, we are expected to go to all nations of this world with the Good News, reconciling all souls to Christ. When we have accomplished this then shall the end come. We cannot achieve this objective except we seek and acquire spiritual, political and economic power so we can rule the world for Christ. Out of these three main areas of dominion, political empowerment is the most neglected by the Church. Many Christians today do not believe that Christians should be involved in Politics yet the relevance of Christians in politics and governance is a very topical issue. This is one issue the Church needs to examine extensively at a time like this because that is a major pathway to our God-ordained destination.
Do Christians Have Roles To Play In Politics?
Although the topic presupposes there is a role for Christians to play in politics, it is still pertinent to examine if it is biblical to be involved. Hitherto, the society regards politics as a strictly worldly thing. Where spiritual activities are involved, it is mainly demonic in nature. Christians have been praying for godly people to rule but they hardly ever get involved in the worldly activities necessary to bring this to come to pass, due to ignorance on how to go about it or the doubt that politics is not for believers. Let us then take a trip into the scriptures to ascertain whether or not we should be discussing this topic.
Biblical Perspective:
a) God wants us to rule. When we study the Bible closely, we see that leadership is, indeed, God’s idea. The first description of mankind in the Bible involves leadership. According to Genesis 1:26, “Then God said, "Let us make man in our likeness. Let them rule over the fish in the waters and the birds of the air. Let them rule over the livestock and over the whole earth. Let them rule over all of the creatures that move along the ground”. This passage implies that :
i) being made in God’s image, we are created to lead (like Him);
ii) God gave man authority and dominion over the whole earth;
iii) man had the ability to rule (because God created and commanded us to do so). So we must exercise this gift of ability.
b) In Mathew 5:13-16, God confirms this calling on Christians to rule the world when Jesus said that we are the Salt and Light of the nation i.e. we should be the leaders of the world. A nation takes after the character of her Church, so the Church should be pointing the way to the nation.
c) God established Theocracy which is a form of government whereby governance was by Priests or men who knew the will of God, eg Moses, the Judges, Daniel, Joseph, Nehemiah. He also appointed Kings Himself e.g. Saul, David to lead in theocratic system of government.
d) When there is no godly leadership in the world, like in the era of the Judges, chaos reigned, so God used the Judges to hold the fort (Judges 21:25).
e) Romans12:8 tells us that God has given to some Christians the gift of government. So rulership is a ministry and should be operated with diligence.
f) Romans 13:1 reads, “ Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.” If all political authorities on this earth are ordained of God then God cannot expect His children to be excluded from participating in them.
g) In Isaiah 9:6 we see a most direct reference to government being of God: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace”. The son being referred to here is our Lord Jesus Christ. This implies that government (including good governance and the rule of law) and every process that goes with it must rest on Christian principles for it to work.
The Roles The Church Can Play In Politics
Having established that it is biblical and the will of God that Christians be involved in politics, we now proceed to identify the roles the Church is expected to play. For clarity and better understanding I have classified the roles into three, namely: Pre-election role, Election Period role, and Post Election role.
1. Pre-Election Role:
Pray for elections and political appointments: for the right choice to be made. Rally round other Bible-believing Christian groups and form a united intercessory group to pray God’s choice (not ours!) into power; and to intercede for existing and potential political leaders (Jeremiah 9: 17 – 22).
Establish a 24-hour chain prayer programme.
Conduct electoral education and teach people, especially women and the youth, that they are responsible for entrenching good governance
Sensitize Christians to register for voting and come out to vote as led by the Spirit.
Develop deliberately strategies to encourage members to present themselves for Public Offices; seek out, pray for, disciple, and support them (within what is permissible by law)
Organise workshops on practical ways Christians can take over political power, governance and public life. Articulate action plan.
Have political units/departments where possible
Volunteer to be election monitors
Carry out prophetic actions (prayer walks) at strategic places to sanitize the spiritual atmosphere - which has been so badly polluted - and enthrone God.
2. Election Period Role
Continue strategic prayers and prophetic actions as directed by God.
Monitor elections
Speak out against injustice
Seek solutions to challenges faced by Christian Political leaders eg Victimization, Enticement; For Politicians: Funding, Acceptance, Security, Guarding of votes, Denomination issues in some Communities
- Post Election Role
Ø Intercession for those in authority (1 Tim. 2:2-4)
Ø Speak out! The Church should be in charge and “speak the truth to the Nation” (Jeremiah 1:17)
Ø Have interactions with political leaders in order to influence them positively and shield them from the Elymases of this world (Acts 13:6-12, Prov. 25:5)
Ø Monitor government and political leaders’ activities
Ø Disciple those in authority
Ø Get true Christians appointed into public office
Ø Meet the leadership of Churches to sell these ideas to them
Ø Develop youth and children as future leaders
Ø Evolve a transformation agenda for the nation
Ø Develop curriculum for public re-orientation, and capacity building and implement them
Ø Add “Christians in Politics” in Bible College/Seminary Curricular
THE BENEFITS OF HAVING CHRISTIANS IN POLITICS/GOVERNANCE
A lot of benefits will accrue to the nation and her people if godliness is entrenched in the Politics/Governance sphere through committed Christians at the helm of affairs.
1. Fulfillment of The Great Commission:
The raison-d’etre of a Christian is to fulfill the Great Commission. To successfully exert influence on the people of all nations one needs power and money and where best can one get this if not through the reins of government. Remember the old empires – the governments of the day influenced the religion of the conquered people. So, the motive of any Christian going into governance should be to fulfill The Great Commission.
2. Inheritance of the Earth:
Let us look at some scriptures; Ps 37:9b “……but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth”, vs 34 “wait on the Lord, and keep His way, and He shall exalt thee to inherit the land” vs 11 “But the meek shall inherit the earth …” vs 29 “The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever.” Matt. 5:5 “Blessed are the meek; for they shall inherit the earth.” Ps 2:8 “Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.”
From the above scriptures, it is crystal clear that Christians are supposed to possess the wealth of this earth. How can they possess it if they lack the political power to control it?
Christians have not fared well in possessing their inheritance. They forget that refusal to go into their promised land is a sin before God. (Numbers 13). Today, the world economy is controlled by heathens and heathen nations thus depriving God’s people of Kingdom wealth required for the spreading of the gospel.
I posit that Christians should make concerted efforts to reverse this trend e.g. teach more wealth-shift principles (not prosperity), how to do business God’s way and have strategic warfare intercessions targeted at the key sectors of the economy (education, oil and gas, finance and insurance, IT, media, business, construction, etc) aimed at taking over the control of such.
3. Good governance and rule of law will be entrenched
The Bible says in Proverbs 29:2, “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn”. Need we say more? When a true Christian is on the throne the following will happen:
- No corruption , injustice, wickedness, backbiting, witchcraft, lies, gossip, etc
- God and godly principles will be enthroned in public offices eg Constitution based on God, tithing (Priests will earn better and God will rebuke devourers for our sake), Speaking to/Anointing the Land for Agriculture
- Enthronement of God in the State: Operation Asa (2Chronicles 15:40), maintain Land Army , weekly Prayers in Towns and LGAs , Quarterly All-Day Praise and Worship
- Sanctification of Government establishments/Prophetic actions
- Constant prayers from the seat of power will improve the lot of the people and enhance productivity; Prophesying over the people daily
- Erection of 24-hour Prayer and Worship Altars for Government (1Chronicles 16:37, 40)
- Restore Christian moral standard in Educational Institutions and system
- Regeneration of the society: Sponsor TV programees, Plays and Drama, Talk Shows, Town Hall meetings, Film Industry, Christian Literature and materials, Seminars and Workshops, etc
For Elective Posts: sanitise Party Politics
- Less violence and shedding of blood
- Reduce election rigging/manipulation
Conclusion
Politics is the battle between good and evil, between God and satan, on who gets enthroned to rule over the affairs of men. It is an endtime battle. For this reason, as Christians, we must strive to partner with God to see that matured Christians are enthroned in authority. It is our responsibility to ensure that, “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever”. Now the roles have been spelt out, it behoves every believer to search out his own assignment and run with it. The focus of the Church right now should shift from growing denominations or individual churches to enthroning a righteous leader. Feasting and feasts should be de-emphasized in this war-time season so that we are not distracted. Unity of the Body of Christ cannot be overemphacised as the key to the coming end-time revival. Godly leaders must be put in power so that God will be ENTHRONED in ALL facets of our daily life. Jesus must be enthroned as King upon this earth, thus shall all souls be reconciled to the Father, and Jesus will come Again!
God Bless us as we set out on this most important journey of our life.
Shalom!
