Most pastors and Christian teachers believe Truth—singular and sovereign—can be known in the person of Jesus. But they remain largely unaware of how often their congregations filter their experiences through “the truths viewpoint,” which posits that truths—multiple—are up to each individual. Even among churchgoing, self-identified Christians, the percentage who believe that ultimate Truth can be known has shrunk to around 50 percent.
That’s a dire situation because having a biblical worldview means to be on board with Jesus’s revolutionary transformation project. History is in the making, and it’s not merely a sequence of chronological happenings. History is going somewhere, and it’s going there for a reason. Guard-railed by Truth.
In the last 200 years, Christian theologians have continued to think through what makes a balanced, well-functioning society. Groen van Prinsterer (1801–76), the royal archivist of the Netherlands, was concerned about the revolutionary impulse that had destroyed France and was threatening the rest of Europe. He wondered whether it was possible to have a system that doesn’t force justice and wise political decision-making but fosters them.
One of van Prinsterer’s protégés, Abraham Kuyper (1837–1920), fleshed out his mentor’s ideas through what he called “sphere sovereignty.” He saw each sphere of society as united under God but diverse in its service to humans.
Theologians today have expanded this idea. Depending on their perspective, they include spheres such as education, commerce, government, church and family. Given the importance of the fast-approaching midterm elections, let’s focus on the government, church and family spheres.
Government. Government’s purpose is to secure liberty and make just laws. It pursues justice, secures freedom and punishes wrongdoing.
Church. The church’s purpose is to manifest God’s love and grace on earth. It uses persuasion and compassion to foster worship and lift people up, restoring them as image bearers of God.
Family. The family’s purpose is to manifest God’s community and creativity, including procreativity. It influences the world by raising children who will make a positive contribution to society.
These three spheres balance one another. Picture three balloons in a box. If one is overinflated, the other two get squeezed. Currently, 55 percent of Americans say the government has too much power. Only 7 percent say it has too little. These numbers should be taken seriously, because one cannot easily opt out of a government. It influences everything one does.
That is why a healthy nation demands involvement. We may love our families and attend church, but we also ought to teach, coach, serve on boards, volunteer and share ideas with others. And, yes, we ought to be involved in politics. When we fail to take our citizenship responsibilities seriously, government can get out of bounds, harming the very people it is sworn to protect.
Here are two principles we can learn from Jesus followers who influenced politics guided by Truth:
1. Worship God yet hold government accountable. Everything good in life requires allegiance to something. A good spouse does not say, “I consider myself married three days a week, but not the other four.” In the same way, it is disloyal for a Christian to say, “I will think Christianly about my church and family, but how I vote is not a faith decision.”
Think about it this way: If the earthly city is worshiped as God and it goes astray—which the sin nature view says is inevitable—who will hold it accountable? The citizens of the heavenly city make good citizens in the earthly city precisely because they have a higher allegiance.
2. Keep our priorities straight. In the writings of America’s founders, there is a flow of political engagement from principles to policies to personalities, not the other way around. If we start with principles, we can develop rational policies that guide our interactions, even with those who rub us the wrong way.
If we focus on personality first by avoiding candidates whose personalities we don’t like, we end up with a whiplash approach to policy: “I’m for whatever my hated candidate is against.” In this situation, there is almost no chance we can arrive at principled leadership.
Therefore, I tell my students at Summit Ministries, “Start with principles, not personalities.” The founders started with principles (“We hold these truths to be self-evident”), then developed policies (such as the government consisting of three branches). With these firmly in place, they gained perspective for the personality clashes that would inevitably arise.
What principles should Christians apply, anchored to what they know to be the Truth of Christ? Here is my thinking:
- Actively oppose evil. When we vote, we’re not merely choosing the lesser of two evils. Evil is everywhere—even in our own hearts. We should ask, “How do we protect the vulnerable and cultivate freedom so that people can lift themselves up?” Asking the question “How might I lessen evil through my vote?” leads me to put issues like the protection of innocent life and economic opportunity at the center of my political thinking.
- Keep the leash tight. Our founders recognized that government’s power must be firmly balanced with our other priorities. Is government taking over responsibilities that families should share? Is it hurting religious freedom and denying religious expression? Candidates who seem to grasp that these are serious questions are who I look at first.
- Focus on local issues, not just national ones. The leaders who can best solve problems are those closest to them, not those in a far-off capital issuing one-size-fits-all regulations. Plus, local leaders are easier to hold accountable. We can meet with and admonish them to do right.
Now is the time to take an unflinching look at what Truth is and why it is under attack. Now is the time to sit at the feet of Jesus followers who, in times of great crisis, stood for Truth. Now is the time of choosing for our own age. If ever we needed Truth, it is now.
Excerpted from Truth Changes Everything: How People of Faith Can Transform the World in Times of Crisis by Jeff Myers. Copyright 2022 by Jeff Myers. Published by Baker Books. Used by permission.
