Church and government politics overlap all the time. On one issue people demand separation of church and state. On the next they leverage the church to expand the state. It is quite the conundrum. Everyone wants to bring Jesus in to support their worldview when it is convenient. When Jesus taught, his challengers were political. They tried to trap him and force him to reject the state or reject the church. They wanted to put him in lose-lose situations because politics is almost always lose-lose.
Christian Nationalism
In the post-COVID era a new brand of politics is growing under the name of Christian Nationalism. This brand is not well defined. Everyone seems to have their own view of what it might look like.
Originally in the 1940s there was a Christian Nationalist movement of no real significance. It was anti-communist and antisemitic. A highly unusual combination from my perspective. Most antisemitic ideology loves fascism as a way to get what they want. But this group thought Jews invented Communism to destroy Christianity.
In 2020 some liberal academics plucked this obscure name out of history and tried to use it to smear modern evangelical Christians. Doug Wilson, a pastor from Moscow, Idaho, embraced the name (not the original obscure group) because he like it better than some of the other names for his movement. From there its embrace has grown and spread, not as a smear but as an idea of how Christians should operate in the public square.
Wilson’s idea of CN is that secular humanism which runs America has failed. We should stop making God angry by putting sin into every cultural institution in every aspect of America. He states that “Christian nationalism is the idea that society needs God in order to function.”
Those opposed to CN from the left fear Christianity taking over government and trying to make people live according to the Bible. These people do not want God injected into society and oppose God’s standards for life at every turn.
Give to Caesar
And they came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone’s opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?” But, knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why put me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” And they brought one. And he said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said to him, “Caesar’s.” Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they marveled at him. Mark 12:14-17 ESV
There was a raging debate at the time of Jesus on whether citizens should pay taxes that were unjustly levied. The gospels group tax collectors with some of the worst kinds of people. So the debate comes to Jesus.
If he says pay your taxes, the political conservatives would be mad at him. If he says don’t pay, he could be charged by the Roman authorities. Jesus defuses the bomb. He will not side with the left or the right because as King and Creator he is calling us to his side.
The coin used for payment had the government official on its face. Do you pay your taxes? Give to Caesar his coin. Jesus destroyed the entire argument without picking a side. Then he follows up with something even more profound, drawing all men to his side: “and to God the things that are God’s.”
Give to God
This is what we are going to dwell on. I think it is a place where a form of Christian Nationalism stands tall. A place that honors Christ in every action of a Christian’s public life.
Every person on the planet is born into a tribe or nation. Every person is subject to the authorities of that nation. Jesus tells us to submit to that authority as a citizen by giving to the king what is owed. Pay your taxes and follow the laws because we use the roads and accept the military that keeps us safe from hordes that would take it all away.
God Installed Governments
Paul elaborates on the point Jesus made:
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. Romans 13:1-7 ESV
As a citizen of America I have certain rights, and one of those rights is a say in how our city, county, state, and federal governments are shaped. For much too long evangelical Christians have sat by and watched as all these organizations were captured and controlled by godless secularists who push godless secular ideas. “Separate church and state” has been the mantra my entire life.
Christians Should be Vocal
The Christian Nationalist view says sitting on the sidelines is wrong. Every law and policy is someone’s morality. Today much of that is secular morality. Because of this families have become dysfunctional. Schools rot. Fraud and abuse of government spending is out of control. All because Christians exited the public square.
CN looks to inject God’s view directly into the public square.
American Protestants
For CN to be valid and on God’s side it must work within the framework of government that God has already instituted. America was founded as a Protestant Christian country. The government was not neutral toward Christianity at the founding, but it was neutral toward denominations of Christianity. The idea behind separation of church and state was not to separate Christianity from the state but to keep specific church organizations from controlling government. No single church should take power over government. Yet members of the government and voters who elect people to public office can and should advocate for Christian standards in law and policy.
Christ then Country
Wilson’s position is that if Jesus is King of kings, then nations (including America) should publicly honor Jesus rather than pretend to be neutral. Jesus is either being injected into the operation of society or that society is injecting godlessness into policy and laws. There is no middle ground. Neutrality is a lie.
Going back to the answer Jesus gave, to give to God what is God’s means each individual who is created by God must give their life to Jesus. His answer blows up all politics and side choosing, left or right. Jesus wants us to give due authority to the government, but as men made in the image of God, Jesus wants us to give ourselves to him.
