A Biblical approach to judging politicians?

Does the Bible allow rulers to exercise arbitrary authority without censure? A long story....

The first Biblical mention of human authority is in Genesis 1&2, in which God gave authority to Adam over the plant kingdom (2:15-17) and the animal kingdom (1:26&28; 2:19-20). Implicit in this account is the context.  Eden was a perfect garden. Apparently God walked in the garden in the cool of the evening (3:8) and since He called for Adam, we might reasonably infer Adam usually walked with Him (until the fall).

Of course, we also know that because of Adam’s disobedience, caring for plants would become tedious labor, not  the labor of the joy of loving plants, but of pulling weeds. (Genesis 3:17-19, 23) The effect of Adam’s sin on his authority over animals was not immediately identified, but it is plain that wild beasts became a source of fear and danger. Despite the fall of man, many human occupations involve caring for, tending, and controlling both plants and animals. Farmers, gardeners, landscapers, environmental scientists, and many others plant, fertilize, weed, and prune vegetation both for food and beauty. Ranchers, veterinarians, zookeepers, and pet-owners care for animals and control them. Either kingdom left to itself would run amok.

God later told Moses to appoint judges to interpret and apply His law, and gave instructions for kings. (Deuteronomy 17:14-20) When Israel demanded that Samuel appoint a king for them, he repeated God’s warning. (1 Samuel 8:10-17) Although David was a man after God’s heart, it was downhill after him; the history of Israel demonstrates both the blessings of godly rulers and the consequences of rulers who lead the people to rebel against God. (2 Chronicles 36:15-16)

There are many dimensions of Biblical standards for those in authority; even David did not meet all of them. But in the New Testament, Paul told his readers to obey, serve, and honor those in authority (Romans 13:1-7). Separately he told them to pray for them with a specific outcome in mind: that they may live in peace (2 Timothy 2:1-2). The primary historical and prophetic narrative in the New Testament is the failure of rulers to exercise authority under God’s commission, leading ultimately to their judgment. (Revelation 6:15-17) 

But what of our present day? The founders of our nation, and the most illustrious leaders since then, held a very strong Christian Faith. They were not infallible. The Civil War had running competition of theological narratives regarding slavery. Few in the 19th century said that the standard of right and wrong was separate from Christian and Biblical values - that is a modern fiction - but argued over interpretation.  At the core of government and political dysfunction, then as well as now, are unmentioned questions: how well do those in authority walk with Jesus in the quiet of the day, hear His voice, learn His will, and share His holiness? 

This line of thought leads to another. Who are we to question leaders, or they to question each other on this score? How well do we individually if we are questioned like this? If we do indeed retreat to the wilderness to be alone with God in the secret place, what then is our attitude towards others? After we experience just a bit of His holiness in our time with Him, dare we judge another? Our leaders may not measure up to our standards, but in the fear of God we should tread lightly in judging them. Perhaps we should pray that He not remind us publicly of how we have failed to meet His standards. 

Does this mean we should never judge anyone, as Jesus commands in Matthew 7:1, and hence no one should ever be accountable? Obviously, since the Lord told Moses to appoint judges, there is an earthly accountability. The New Testament balance is probably best captured when Paul told his readers, “... if anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. Take care that you yourselves are not tempted.” (Galatians 6:1) Two elements: gentleness (humility) in correcting; and self-awareness of the risk of sharing in like sin. John told his readers that the only limitation to seeking restoration is for mortal sin, which  he does not further define. (1 John 5:16)

Since the world rejects Christ, His ways,  and His kingdom (which is evidenced by its behavior), He will return in power and will judge it, as He is the only one qualified to pass judgment in love and holiness. (Revelation 20:11-12) What happens in the world in the meantime, apart from God’s kingdom, is likely to resemble the Hatfields and the McCoys.

Practical predestination and free will

The opposite of free will is not predestination, but God’s sovereignty. C. S. Lewis explains predestination in his essay, Miracles:

“When we are praying about the result, say, of a battle or a medical consultation the thought will often cross our minds that (if only we knew it) the event is already decided one way or the other. I believe this to be no good reason for ceasing our prayers. The event certainly has been decided—in a sense it was decided ‘before all worlds’. But one of the things taken into account in deciding it, and therefore one of the things that really cause it to happen, may be this very prayer that we are now offering. Thus, shocking as it may sound, I conclude that we can at noon become part causes of an event occurring at ten a.m. (Some scientists would find this easier than popular thought does.) The imagination will, no doubt, try to play all sorts of tricks on us at this point. It will ask, ‘Then if I stop praying can God go back and alter what has already happened?’ No. The event has already happened and one of its causes has been the fact that you are asking such questions instead of praying. It will ask, ‘Then if I begin to pray can God go back and alter what has already happened?’ No. The event has already happened and one of its causes is your present prayer. Thus something does really depend on my choice. My free act contributes to the cosmic shape. That contribution is made in eternity or ‘before all worlds’; but my consciousness of contributing reaches me at a particular point in the time-series.”

Thus, predestination misconstrues how God and time relate, which is easily misunderstood because we live in time and He does not. The harder question is this: if God is sovereign, how can we have genuine free will to obey Him or, more importantly, to defy Him? The answer seems to be, because He sovereignly respects our choices. 

But why? Why does a sovereign God allow us free will? Adam and Eve wanted to choose for themselves, instead of accepting God’s choice. They wanted to be like God. (Genesis 3:5-6) The builders of the Tower of Babel planned a tower to reach heaven, in their own power, not trusting God to get them there. (Genesis 11:4-6) God allowed these choices to be made, but limited the consequences of ambitious choices. Not that amateur gods could supplant Him (even Satan could not do that!), but in mercy He did not allow the fruit of errant free will to ripen fully.

Why did God create humankind with free will? We cannot discuss this meaningfully because God is beyond our comprehension, the uncreated creator of the universe. However, He revealed His nature and character in the Incarnation of Christ. In this context, we can choose for ourselves or accept His choices; we can try to exert power of our own, or trust that He will use His power on our behalf. Ultimately, it is His universe. 

Even if we complain or say it is unfair, justice is a concept He gave us and commands us to observe. (Genesis 18:25, Zephaniah 3:5) He apparently finds our struggle to overcome human frailty and temptation, to be like Him in nature and character, so desirable that He created the universe so it would happen. And we succeed only when we receive His grace. What does this say about our future? It is entirely up to the participants, not predestined. Do we trust God enough to do what He says, to ask Him what He wants? Grace is readily available to all who ask, but will never be forced on anyone. There is no predestined outcome. But there is a sovereign and omnipotent God who says, in effect, to receive His grace, or we will reap what we sow. As Solomon wrote, The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. (Ecclesiastes 12:13)

To focus on predestination is to miss the primary point. Consider the Virgin Mary. We often see her as a young, sheltered girl to whom an angel was sent to announce to her that she would bear the Messiah. But isn’t it much more consistent with God’s modus operandi that she had an active life of faith as a child? My inference is that while growing up, she knew His voice, interacted with Him and talked with Him frequently, did what He asked, and learned that she could trust and lean on Him through experience. So that when the time came, even though the virgin birth was miraculous, she was prepared to trust God and continue her daily walk with Him. I think this is the only way she could have raised Jesus as a child. This was not predestined, but simply her loving God as the basis of her life. 

So how should we respond to this rather theological question? If believing in predestination encourages or causes us to accept what is wrong, especially in our own life, then James’ advice is to obey God and resist the devil. (James 4:7) Perhaps it takes the form of honoring others when you really are unhappy with them, for the sake of Christ and others (Romans 13:7), or abstaining from a lawful activity because it is a stumbling block for others. (1 Cor 8:7-13) Believing in free will does not free us from God’s sovereignty in the practical outworking of our daily lives. Obeying and trusting Him is a decision that must be made afresh every day.

Tribal Hearts - Nations and Cultures vs. Jesus

Natural human  loyalty to one’s own group - tribe, peer group, economic or social class, political party,  etc. - directly conflicts with the gospel of Christ. The twelve tribes of Israel lost their distinctive identities during the diaspora, but the thousands of human language and culture groups around the world present a two-fold challenge. The first is that Jesus told His disciples that He would not return and the present age would not end until the gospel has been preached to every nation. (Matthew 24:14, Mark 13:10). (More on this later.) The second is that every person must value his or her connection to Christ above all other identifications, including that of ancestry, language, culture, peer group, social class - any competing loyalty. 

Although Paul identified his credentials for potentially boasting in ancestry and tribal identity (2 Cor 11:22, Phil. 3:5), he wrote to the Galatians: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28, NASB). He elaborated with respect to his own identity to the Philippians: 

More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. [Philippians 3:8-11, NASB].

The key point is that there is nothing meritorious in God’s eyes about tribalism; it is a residual of the Tower of Babel curse (Genesis 11:7-9). God judged humankind for wanting to be like God by confounding their language; sadly, we humans came to love the judgment. Later, God mocked the Israelites’ ancestor worship (Jeremiah 11:10) even before the Incarnation. Any version of Christianity that does not call believers to leave ancestor worship and tribal loyalties does not bring them into the direct connection of knowing Christ experientially (as Paul exhorted, above), however wonderful its doctrine and practices. 

We know that tribalism will persist until Jesus’ return. (Matthew 24:30). The mention of the worship of Christ by every tribe at the time of the end and in heaven (Revelation 1:7, 5:9, 7:9) illustrates God’s final triumph over the sin of Babel. That is why the gospel must be preached to every nation. But it also reinforces the necessity that we must derive our identity from Jesus - who He is and what He calls us to be - through direct experience with Him. Our political allegiances must fall away in the light of the eternal Son of God, or we will perish with them. (Revelation 6:16).