Christians are increasingly finding themselves at odds with the culture around them, and in some cases, this has caused legal problems for the Christian involved.
Even in the face of such evil as human trafficking, slavery, etc., Christians should not stay silent. The situation only seems to be getting worse, with those encroaching on religious freedom.
This brings up the logical questions as to why Christians should not be silent in the face of evil, and what form our responses to evil should take.
How to Address Conflict as Christians
In all cases of conflict, that is, when two authorities demand contradictory obligations for members owing allegiance to both powers, Christians will find themselves in a difficult situation. On the one hand, we are bound by the dictates of the Word of God to obey our governmental authorities.
On the other hand, those authorities are legislating immorality into the law of the land, which Christians cannot give any ascent to. In all such conflicts where secular authorities and the Word of God find themselves in conflict, the authority of the Word of God must prevail over that of the State.
Moral issues such as abortion, the definition of marriage, the immigration of the poor and undocumented, and school curricula advancing immorality and/or values at odds with the Christian worldview are just a few of the issues we must speak out on and be a witness to in civil society (Matthew 5:14-16).
Anything that is held to be important to a life of righteousness is the duty of every single Christian to defend in civil society since all of those things are essential to the salvation of souls, our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, and a healthy ordered society.
It is the responsibility of the church to use its spiritual authority to inform the State as to what is morally upright and what is morally evil and reprehensible. Now, this does not mean that any Christian is permitted to use violence or threats of violence to achieve this goal, as these are forbidden by the very same Word of God that informs us to be salt and light to the world, we live in.
Violence is not the guiding behavior of Christians. Our mandate is to be Christlike, not violent. Christians must, whenever possible, act within the laws of the land to achieve change.
The goal is to come to a common agreement on such issues (Romans 13:1-2). Our first principle in speaking out against evil, whether from individuals or the government, is that those things are essential to allowing us to meet our created end and be saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
Christians Participating in Unnecessary Conflict
I do not want to leave you with the impression that the State and the church need be in conflict. While it has often occurred that this has been the case, the church harbors no animosity toward the State as a temporal power. As I said, they should work together to ensure a healthy organic society. In fact, Christians should do all in their power to defend their nation.
We do this best when we educate our youth (and adults in our modern society) as to the divine origin of human governance, the proper role of government, the importance of obedience to laws, as well as by praying for our nations, elected officials, and doing our best to meet our own obligations to society.
However, should we abdicate this role, then we can blame only ourselves for the subsequent lack of moral sense our governments exhibit. Civil disobedience is a last resort and is acted upon when the State seeks to impose a law or mandate that demands we violate our faith and the Word of the Lord.
At that point, your duty to your country requires you to speak out and act in peaceful civil disobedience. The emphasis is on peace (Romans 13). Revolution is not in the Christian dictionary, nor is it an act of faith.
Our civil disobedience is also not a result of hatred for our nation, but simply a response to the governing authorities enacting legislation or mandates that are so grossly in error that they force us to choose between Christ and the State.
Our goal is never revolution or violence. I refer my reader again to the early Christians and their examples.
"I owe no duty to the forum, the election-ground, or the senate-house; I keep no obsequious vigil, preoccupy no platforms, hover about no praetorian residences; I am not fond of the canals, am not fond of the lattices, am no constant wearer out of benches, no wholesale router of laws, no barking pleader, no judge, no soldier, no king: I have withdrawn from the populace. My only business is with myself: except that other care I have none, save not to care.
But as those in whom all ardor in the pursuit of glory and honor is dead, we have no pressing inducement to take part in your public meetings; nor is there aught more entirely foreign to us than affairs of state. All the powers and dignities of this world are not only alien to, but enemies of, God; that through them, punishments have been determined against God’s servants; through them, too, penalties prepared for the impious are ignored" (Tertullian).
"Above all, Christians are not allowed to correct with violence the delinquencies of sins..." (Clement of Alexandria).
Why Does This Matter?
We should never sit by quietly while evil takes place, as when we do we become complicit in that evil. A great Christian means, just as Dietrich Bonhoeffer understood it well, he could have remained silent in the face of the evils of the National Socialist government and its treatment of Jews, Christians, and others deemed subversive by the State, but he didn't.
Instead, he chose to stand up for the Word of God, to speak out boldly, and to disobey every law and mandate that violated the gospel, even when he knew it would, and did, cost him his life. Our calling today as we face increasingly hostile governments is to be our generation's Bonhoeffers, and to stand against evil in all its forms.
For further reading:
Why Do People Call Evil Good and Good Evil?
Are the Governing Authorities That Exist Really Established by God?
Did Evil Exist Before Adam and Eve Sinned?
What Is the Difference Between ‘Your Truth’ and The Truth?
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/Deagreez
J. Davila-Ashcraft is an Anglican priest, Theologian, and Apologist, and holds a B.A. in Biblical Studies and Theology from God’s Bible College in Cincinnati, Ohio. He is a recognized authority on the topic of exorcism, and in that capacity has contributed to and/or appeared on programming for The National Geographic Channel, Discovery Channel, and CNN. He is the host of Expedition Truth, a one-hour apologetics radio talk show.
