Home School Heartbeat Radio Program

Mike Farris:
Ned, many Christians today seem to be reticent to be involved in politics, and they believe that somehow it's dirty business and not the place for Christians. What reasons do evangelicals give for this view, and what does Scripture actually say about it?

Ned Ryun:
Mike, I recently heard from a woman that said godly and politician don't belong in the same sentence, and I believe this is a mindset that is prevalent among Christians—that somehow politics is morally corrupt. And I believe that recently politics might have become corrupt because Christians have not been following Christ's mandate to be salt and light in all the world. Scripture clearly teaches, from Exodus 18:21 to Proverbs 29:2 to Romans 13 to Hebrews 11:22–34, that we are to elect godly leaders from among ourselves, that the people rejoice when the righteous rule, that we are to pray for our godly leaders. And if you look at Hebrews 11 closely, you'll see that all the heroes of our faith—many of these heroes of faith from Hebrews 11:22–34 are involved in civil government. I believe this clearly teaches that Christians are to be involved in government.

Mike:
Ned, one of the passages that I look at in Scripture on the subject is Deuteronomy 17 starting at verse 14 where God gives the instructions on how to pick a camp, and the standards there on how to pick a political leader are very applicable for today. God wants people—his people—to be involved in the areas of picking leadership according to his standards. I'm Mike Farris.