Establishing the Kingdom of God through Christians
involvement in national politics.
By: Pastor Tunde Bakare
For purposes of clarity in my presentation I have divided the lecture
into two major segments: the first segment is GOD AND GOVERNMENT and the
second segment is QUESTIONS DEMANDING ACCURATE BIBLICAL ANSWERS IN
RESPECT OF CHRISTIANS’ INVOLVEMENT IN POLITICS.
Under the first
segment, we will look at the origin of government and the role of
government in any progressive society; and under the second segment –
Questions Demanding Biblical Answers – without any attempt to pre-empt
you, but rather in anticipation of questions that typically agitate some
minds in the church, I will endeavour to cover five (5) major areas
that will deepen our understanding of the critical issues. The
questions, both for this lecture and subsequent interactive session at
the end of the lecture, if any, include the following:
i)
Should Christians be involved in partisan politics at all? Emphasis is
on partisanship because casting your vote in any election is already
participating in politics.
ii) How about pastors and clergymen?
Should they be involved in politics, especially in view of the
divisions and rancor such leaders’ involvement could cause in a church
full of members with political inclinations other than the local
pastor’s?
iii) What are the biblical priesthoods and their role or place in national politics?
iv) If Christians and pastors can join or be actively involved in
partisan politics, can they join non-Christians as candidates for an
elective office?
v) What are the pitfalls to avoid?
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS:
EVIL HAS GONE GLOBAL
Almost everywhere on planet earth, the systems of men are failing to
either facilitate development in the third world or sustain it in the
first as evident in the economic crises in Europe with Spain, Greece and
Portugal on the brink; the political shakings among Arab nations from
Libya to Syria; the societal decay in America manifesting in insecurity
and moral tumble; and the seemingly insurmountable problem of
governmental dysfunction, disease, hunger and poverty in sub-Saharan
Africa. It is axiomatic to state, without fear of contradiction, that as
it was at the beginning of creation when God said, “Let there be
light”, so it is in the present: the successful reconstruction of the
social, economic and political landscape of the nations of the earth
must be preceded by the manifestation of light through the carriers of
the glory of God. These carriers of the light of His glory must permeate
the seven mountains of society: Arts and Entertainment, Media,
Education, Family, Religion, Business and Government with the light that
they carry.
Now, to the lecture proper.
GOD AND GOVERNMENT
There are three major institutions created by God: (i) The Family (ii)
Government (iii) The Church. In the wisdom of God, the family
institution supplies the human resources for both government and the
church. Consequently, everyone in the church or government is an
ambassador of his or her family for good or evil -- that is, individuals
in the church and government can only display their family values and
ideals.
From Genesis to Revelation the Bible contains a plethora of
scriptures that settle the matter of God and government. In Isaiah
33:22, all the arms of government are vested in God:
For the LORD is our Judge, The LORD is our Lawgiver, The LORD is our King; He will save us. (NKJV).
In the New Testament, Ephesians 4:1-6 states that the same God who
controls the three arms of government is the Father of all, and He is in
us and through us all:
1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the
Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were
called, 2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing
with one another in love, 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit
in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you
were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one
baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all,
and in you all. (NKJV).
Not only that, Isaiah 9 also spells out that the government is upon the shoulders of Jesus Christ:
6 For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the
government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7
Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon
the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it
with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal
of the Lord of hosts will perform this. (Isaiah 9:6 & 7; NKJV)
Please note the difference between a child and a son:
Ecclesiastes 10:16 & 17 (NKJV):
16 Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child, And your princes
feast in the morning! 17 Blessed are you, O land, when your king is the
son of nobles, And your princes feast at the proper time-- For strength
and not for drunkenness!
Besides all these, Jesus Christ paid
the absolute price for good governance when He died on the cross to
redeem us all and that which was lost:
Psalm 22:1-2 (NKJV):
1 My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from
helping Me, And from the words of My groaning? 2 O My God, I cry in the
daytime, but You do not hear; And in the night season, and am not
silent.
Psalm 22:16-21 (NKJV):
16 For dogs have surrounded
Me; The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My
hands and My feet; 17 I can count all My bones. They look and stare at
Me. 18 They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast
lots. 19 But You, O LORD, do not be far from Me; O My Strength, hasten
to help Me! 20 Deliver Me from the sword, My precious life from the
power of the dog. 21 Save Me from the lion's mouth And from the horns of
the wild oxen! You have answered Me.
What was the answer given to the question in Psalm 22:1: ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani!’
Psalm 22:27-31 (NKJV)
27 All the ends of the world Shall remember and turn to the LORD, And
all the families of the nations Shall worship before You. 28 For the
kingdom is the LORD's, And He rules over the nations. 29 All the
prosperous of the earth Shall eat and worship; All those who go down to
the dust Shall bow before Him, Even he who cannot keep himself alive. 30
A posterity shall serve Him. It will be recounted of the Lord to the
next generation, 31 They will come and declare His righteousness to a
people who will be born, That He has done this.
The Book of Daniel states that God rules in the affairs of men and gives rulership to whoever He wills, even the basest of men.
Daniel 4:13-17 (NKJV):
13 "I saw in the visions of my head while on my bed, and there was a
watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven. 14 He cried aloud and said
thus: 'Chop down the tree and cut off its branches, Strip off its
leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the beasts get out from under it, And
the birds from its branches. 15 Nevertheless leave the stump and roots
in the earth, Bound with a band of iron and bronze, In the tender grass
of the field. Let it be wet with the dew of heaven, And let him graze
with the beasts On the grass of the earth. 16 Let his heart be changed
from that of a man, Let him be given the heart of a beast, And let seven
times pass over him. 17 'This decision is by the decree of the
watchers, And the sentence by the word of the holy ones, In order that
the living may know That the Most High rules in the kingdom of men,
Gives it to whomever He will, And sets over it the lowest of men.'
Daniel 4:34-37 (NKJV):
34 And at the end of the time I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to
heaven, and my understanding returned to me; and I blessed the Most High
and praised and honored Him who lives forever: For His dominion is an
everlasting dominion, And His kingdom is from generation to generation.
35 All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; He does
according to His will in the army of heaven And among the inhabitants of
the earth. No one can restrain His hand Or say to Him, "What have You
done?" 36 At the same time my reason returned to me, and for the glory
of my kingdom, my honor and splendor returned to me. My counselors and
nobles resorted to me, I was restored to my kingdom, and excellent
majesty was added to me. 37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and
honor the King of heaven, all of whose works are truth, and His ways
justice. And those who walk in pride He is able to put down.
In
addition to all these points, the Book of Romans – which I consider the
Magna Carta of our Christian Liberty – labels those in government as
ministers of God and also stipulates that there is a gift of government
given by the Holy Spirit:
Romans 12:3-8 (KJV):
3 For I say,
through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to
think [of himself] more highly than he ought to think; but to think
soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. 4
For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the
same office: 5 So we, [being] many, are one body in Christ, and every
one members one of another. 6 Having then gifts differing according to
the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, [let us prophesy]
according to the proportion of faith; 7 Or ministry, [let us wait] on
[our] ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; 8 Or he that
exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, [let him do it] with
simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with
cheerfulness.
Romans 13:1-7 (NKJV):
1 Let every soul be
subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except
from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. 2
Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God,
and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers are
not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of
the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. 4
For he is God's minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be
afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God's
minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. 5
Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for
conscience' sake. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are
God's ministers attending continually to this very thing. 7 Render
therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom
customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.
Now we know
it was the Holy Spirit in Joseph, David and Daniel that made them icons
of good governance and exemplary leadership gifts to their respective
generations.
· JOSEPH
Genesis 41:37-43 (NKJV):
37 So
the advice was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his
servants. 38 And Pharaoh said to his servants, "Can we find such a one
as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?" 39 Then Pharaoh said to
Joseph, "Inasmuch as God has shown you all this, there is no one as
discerning and wise as you. 40 You shall be over my house, and all my
people shall be ruled according to your word; only in regard to the
throne will I be greater than you." 41 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "See,
I have set you over all the land of Egypt." 42 Then Pharaoh took his
signet ring off his hand and put it on Joseph's hand; and he clothed him
in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. 43 And
he had him ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried out
before him, "Bow the knee!" So he set him over all the land of Egypt.
· DAVID
I Samuel 16:11-13 (NKJV):
11 And Samuel said to Jesse, "Are all the young men here?" Then he
said, "There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the
sheep." And Samuel said to Jesse, "Send and bring him. For we will not
sit down till he comes here." 12 So he sent and brought him in. Now he
was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good-looking. And the LORD said,
"Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!" 13 Then Samuel took the horn
of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of
the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went
to Ramah.
· DANIEL
Daniel 5:8-12 (NKJV):
8 Now all the
king's wise men came, but they could not read the writing, or make
known to the king its interpretation. 9 Then King Belshazzar was greatly
troubled, his countenance was changed, and his lords were astonished.
10 The queen, because of the words of the king and his lords, came to
the banquet hall. The queen spoke, saying, "O king, live forever! Do not
let your thoughts trouble you, nor let your countenance change. 11
There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the Spirit of the Holy God.
And in the days of your father, light and understanding and wisdom, like
the wisdom of the gods, were found in him; and King Nebuchadnezzar your
father--your father the king--made him chief of the magicians,
astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers. 12 Inasmuch as an excellent
spirit, knowledge, understanding, interpreting dreams, solving riddles,
and explaining enigmas were found in this Daniel, whom the king named
Belteshazzar, now let Daniel be called, and he will give the
interpretation."
Part of Joseph’s role was to teach the senators of Egypt wisdom:
Psalm 105:16-22 (KJV):
16 Moreover he called for a famine upon the land: he brake the whole
staff of bread. 17 He sent a man before them, [even] Joseph, [who] was
sold for a servant: 18 Whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in
iron: 19 Until the time that his word came: the word of the LORD tried
him. 20 The king sent and loosed him; [even] the ruler of the people,
and let him go free. 21 He made him lord of his house, and ruler of all
his substance: 22 To bind his princes at his pleasure; and teach his
senators wisdom.
Need I say more? The main reason Christians
are not involved in politics as they should be is the fear of
contamination. Daniel showed that you can have contact without
contamination and Joseph showed that you can be in Egypt without Egypt
being in you. Besides, while the Heroes of Faith in the Bible used their
faith to subdue kingdoms, we use ours for material acquisition,
forgetting that the nations of the earth are our inheritance as kings
and priests of our God, and their thrones and dominions are for us to
take and display the flag of the kingdom of God on top of them all.
Psalm 2:7 & 8 (NKJV):
7 "I will declare the decree: The LORD has said to Me, 'You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You. 8 Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations
for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession.
Colossians 1:12-18 (NKJV):
12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of
the inheritance of the saints in the light. 13 He has delivered us from
the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His
love, 14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness
of sins. 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all
creation. 16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and
that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions
or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for
Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. 18
And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the
firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.
Hebrews 11:32-39 (NKJV):
32 And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of
Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and
the prophets: 33 who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked
righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34
quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of
weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight
the armies of the aliens. 35 Women received their dead raised to life
again. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might
obtain a better resurrection. 36 Still others had trial of mockings and
scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned,
they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They
wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted,
tormented—38 of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts
and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. 39 And all these, having
obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise,
Romans 5:17 (NKJV):
For if by the one man's offense death reigned through the one, much
more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of
righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)
Revelation 1:1-6 (NKJV):
1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His
servants--things which must shortly take place. And He sent and
signified it by His angel to His servant John, 2 who bore witness to the
word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that
he saw. 3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this
prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is
near. 4 John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and
peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the
seven Spirits who are before His throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the
faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the
kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in
His own blood, 6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and
Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Only the ignorant would limit or exclude the participation of Christians
in politics. Such men and women quote out of context the testimony of
Jesus before Pilate when He said, “My kingdom is not of this world.”
John 18:33-38 (NKJV):
33 Then Pilate entered the Praetorium again, called Jesus, and said to
Him, "Are You the King of the Jews?" 34 Jesus answered him, "Are you
speaking for yourself about this, or did others tell you this concerning
Me?" 35 Pilate answered, "Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief
priests have delivered You to me. What have You done?" 36 Jesus
answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this
world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the
Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here." 37 Pilate therefore said to
Him, "Are You a king then?" Jesus answered, "You say rightly that I am a
king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into
the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of
the truth hears My voice." 38 Pilate said to Him, "What is truth?" And
when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them,
"I find no fault in Him at all.
If such ignorant people read
the whole counsel of God, they will understand that it does not make
sense for God to send the whole church to the whole world to pray and
preach “Thy kingdom come” if He has no intention of influencing and
taking over the entirety of the kingdoms of the earth, beginning from
now till He comes.
Romans 1:1-5 (NKJV):
1 Paul, a
bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the
gospel of God 2 which He promised before through His prophets in the
Holy Scriptures, 3 concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was
born of the seed of David according to the flesh, 4 and declared to be
the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the
resurrection from the dead. 5 Through Him we have received grace and
apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name,
Revelation 10:1-7 (NKJV):
1 I saw still another mighty angel coming down from heaven, clothed
with a cloud. And a rainbow was on his head, his face was like the sun,
and his feet like pillars of fire. 2 He had a little book open in his
hand. And he set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the
land, 3 and cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roars. When he cried
out, seven thunders uttered their voices. 4 Now when the seven thunders
uttered their voices, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from
heaven saying to me, "Seal up the things which the seven thunders
uttered, and do not write them." 5 The angel whom I saw standing on the
sea and on the land raised up his hand to heaven 6 and swore by Him who
lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things that are in
it, the earth and the things that are in it, and the sea and the things
that are in it, that there should be delay no longer, 7 but in the days
of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, the
mystery of God would be finished, as He declared to His servants the
prophets.
Revelation 11:15 & 16 (NKJV):
15 Then the
seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying,
"The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of
His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!" 16 And the twenty-four
elders who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces and
worshiped God,
In concluding this first segment on God and
government, I would like to encourage as many as are led by the Spirit
of God to participate in partisan politics to gird their loins and
reclaim the land from the despicable ravages of corruption, kleptocracy
and violence. We are not to fold our arms in the face of massive
oppression and shut our mouths while the ungodly execute their evil
schemes in the corridors of power -- that would be sinful silence.
Ecclesiastes 4:1-3 (NKJV):
1 Then I returned and considered all the oppression that is done under
the sun: And look! The tears of the oppressed, But they have no
comforter-- On the side of their oppressors there is power, But they
have no comforter. 2 Therefore I praised the dead who were already dead,
More than the living who are still alive. 3 Yet, better than both is he
who has never existed, Who has not seen the evil work that is done
under the sun.
Ecclesiastes 5:8 & 9 (NKJV):
8 If you
see the oppression of the poor, and the violent perversion of justice
and righteousness in a province, do not marvel at the matter; for high
official watches over high official, and higher officials are over them.
9 Moreover the profit of the land is for all; even the king is served
from the field.
Psalm 12:5 (NKJV):
"For the oppression of
the poor, for the sighing of the needy, Now I will arise," says the
LORD; "I will set him in the safety for which he yearns."
Exodus 2:24 & 25 (NKJV):
24 So God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with
Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 And God looked upon the children
of Israel, and God acknowledged them.
Exodus 3:7-10 (NKJV):
7 And the LORD said: "I have surely seen the oppression of My people
who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters,
for I know their sorrows. 8 So I have come down to deliver them out of
the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good
and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of
the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and
the Hivites and the Jebusites. 9 Now therefore, behold, the cry of the
children of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the oppression
with which the Egyptians oppress them. 10 Come now, therefore, and I
will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of
Israel, out of Egypt."
Proverbs 22:22 & 23 (NKJV):
22
Do not rob the poor because he is poor, Nor oppress the afflicted at the
gate; 23 For the LORD will plead their cause, And plunder the soul of
those who plunder them.
Proverbs 29:2 (NKJV):
When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan.
Ladies and gentlemen, the gospel is not just about evangelism; it is
also about being salt, light and leaven throughout the whole culture.
God came to reconcile not just our souls but everything to Himself.
Jesus came not just to win souls but to seek and save that which was
lost – to recover the lost dominion.
As Plato said, “One of the
penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up
being governed by your inferiors.” GOD FORBID. The grip of corruption on
the planet earth can only be broken by the manifestation of the sons of
God.
Romans 8:18-22 (KJV):
18 For I reckon that the
sufferings of this present time [are] not worthy [to be compared] with
the glory which shall be revealed in us. 19 For the earnest expectation
of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. 20 For
the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason
of him who hath subjected [the same] in hope, 21 Because the creature
itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the
glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole
creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
Remember: ONLY TRANSFORMED PEOPLE CAN TRANSFORM NATIONS.
SEGMENT II: QUESTIONS DEMANDING BIBLICAL ANSWERS
1. Should Christians be involved in partisan politics? It seems that
the answer to this question has already been made plain within the first
segment of this lecture, but to show the aggravation and degradation
caused by our non-involvement posture, let us consider the participation
of non-Christians in partisan politics. Unlike many Christians who have
separated the secular from the spiritual and confused separation with
isolation, forgetting that God who is Spirit created the physical world
and the Word became flesh and lived among us so that we can come to the
understanding that God does not make such distinctions, Muslims do not
make separation of state from religion their agenda. In fact, they fuse
them together because, in reality, no one can truly separate Faith from
Family and Finances from Freedom.
In this regard, Muslims seem
to have been wiser. A study of Nigerian and even North African history
will reveal the fact that political dominance has been a core element in
major moves to propagate Islam. From the Kanem-Borno empire in 1068 AD
to the Borno empire that subsequently succeeded it in 1380 AD and from
the Hausa City States which emerged from around 1000 AD to the middle
belt state of Nupe, the advent of Islam was accompanied by political
revolution and restructuring in the Islamic order. Islamic traders often
targeted kings and converted them to Islam because they realized that
once they could get the throne, they could capture the city. History has
it that Tunisia in North Africa was a Christian nation which produced
the likes of St. Augustine, the historically acclaimed theologian.
However, at some point in history, schism or division arose in the
Tunisian church over such issues as forms of worship. Hence, instead of
consolidating the Christian presence in the polity, the church was
divided. Christianity was later swept away by desert Arabs who were
unified by the teachings of Prophet Mohammed. This is a classic case of
church politics preventing the establishment of the kingdom through
Christians’ involvement in national politics. It is not surprising,
therefore, that Jesus said that the children of this world are wiser in
their generation than the children of the kingdom.
The point
being made here is that, all things, including and especially the
political, are to be brought under subjection to the obedience of
Christ, and just as Christ ascended and descended, permeating every
sphere so that He can fill all in all, we cannot bring a world that we
fail to participate in under subjection to Christ’s obedience.
· Relevant Historical Examples
History has a record of men and women who stepped out of the four walls
of the church into society to create change in the political landscape.
First we see the biblical Joseph and Daniel who stood tall for God as
political administrators in foreign lands. Their experience should be an
encouragement for New Testament believers because just like we who are
citizens of a Holy nation within an earthly nation, they were strangers
in foreign lands. They were appointed by monarchs who embodied the
sovereignty of the respective foreign lands, Egypt and Babylon. In our
case, there are no longer monarchs in the order of Pharaoh and
Nebuchadnezzar but sovereignty now resides in the people and the people
confer part of that sovereignty on individual leaders through elective
processes. Therefore, as Christians, we can distinguish ourselves to the
point of being chosen by God through the people to serve in political
offices.
However, it is almost safe to state that, while many
people have no problems with Christians in politics, their grouse is
with pastors actively participating in partisan politics. Such people
fail to realize that Daniel was a prophet, that David was a shepherd,
taking care of his father’s sheep before he was called to shepherd a
nation, that Samuel was a prophet who also governed Israel, and that
Melchizedek was both King of Salem and Priest of the Most High God.
Revelation 1:6 also states that Jesus “has made us kings and priests to
His God and Father” (NKJV). It is this revelation that has spurred
several Christian men and women who have stood out and shone as light in
the political terrain. Some of these believers were or are pastors and
ministers. Yet, like Melchizedek, these individuals participated in
politics from the pulpit. It is interesting to note that there have been
Baptist pastors and Baptist leaders in active partisan politics,
including the following:
William Aberhart – Founder of the Social Credit Party of Alberta.
Martin Luther King Jr., the renowned American civil rights activist was a Baptist minister.
Chuck Baldwin – United States Constitution Party activist and Baptist pastor.
Ross Clifford – Australian politician: New South Wales Legislative
Council and Australian Senate candidate; and Baptist theologian.
Jerry Falwell – Republican presidential kingmaker.
Walter E. Fauntroy – Former member of United States Congress and Baptist pastor.
Ernie Fletcher – Governor of Kentucky from 2003–2007.
William H. Gray – former Congressman and minister.
Mike Huckabee – former governor of Arkansas and Baptist minister.
Tim Hutchinson – former Senator from Arkansas and former Baptist pastor.
Jesse Jackson – Presidential candidate, civil rights activist and Baptist minister.
Ron Lewis – Retiring Republican member of the United States House of
Representatives from Kentucky since 1994 and Baptist minister.
Pat Robertson – Republican supporter, former United States presidential nomination candidate, and former Baptist pastor.
President Jimmy Carter – The Sunday School teacher who became Governor
of Georgia and subsequently the President of the United States. He also
later wrote a powerful book titled Religion and Politics Can Mix.
Anglican Priests Walter Lini and John Bani governed their nation the
Republic of Vanuatu, an island nation in the South Pacific Ocean, as
Prime Minister and President respectively; Abraham Kuyper, a Dutch
Reformed Church Minister, was Prime Minister of Netherlands between 1901
and 1905. The list goes on and on.
THE NATURE OF THE KINGDOM
As the topic suggests, God’s intention through the involvement of the
carriers of the light of His glory in national politics is the
advancement of His kingdom. It is imperative that we define the nature
of God’s kingdom and bring it into the context of national politics
especially in our nation Nigeria.
The word ‘kingdom’ comes from
two words, king and domain. The kingdom of God simply means God’s
supreme and powerful rule. God’s agenda is to establish His supreme and
powerful rule, not just in every sphere of human endeavour, but in
society as an organized state such that He will have societies modelled
after His template. This is the mandate for kingdom citizens. The
kingdom of God and the citizens of that kingdom are marked by the
following attributes:
1. The kingdom cannot be shaken: In the
midst of social, economic, and political upheavals, true citizens of the
kingdom of God are unshakeable, hence, have the capacity to hold
society together.
2. It is not meat and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost, hence, religion cannot advance the kingdom.
3. It is advanced forcefully by its citizens whose minds are made up and whose creed is “no retreat, no rethink, no surrender”.
4. The kingdom does not debate or cut deals; it is advanced by uncompromising nonconformists for whom Christ is all in all.
5. The kingdom will cut and grind into powder every impostor; it is
advanced by the Zion church and will damage and break every city that is
not built on the foundation of justice.
6. By implication, it will swallow up other kingdoms.
7. It will fill all the earth.
8. It is not beneath any other kingdom; it is above other kingdoms.
SOCIETY AS AN ORGANIZED STATE MODELLED ACCORDING TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD
When this kingdom permeates the political atmosphere, it shakes the
foundation of injustice and leaves behind an equitable and just society
modelled after its template.
The following are some of the
features of a society as an organized state modelled according to the
blueprint of the kingdom of God:
1. By nature, leadership in such a society is structured to provide solutions to complaints, problems and burdens.
2. Therefore leadership position is given to men and women who are
wise, understanding and knowledgeable. In other words, the brightest and
the fittest are given leadership responsibilities.
3. However,
the form of government is representative as every sub-national entity
elects representatives by a transparent electoral process to produce a
pattern of representative consensus such that God’s choice meets with
the choice of the people.
4. The law and court system are impartial and unprejudiced.
5. It has a process of appeal and the judges know that God is the ultimate judge, hence His fear guides their judgement.
6. The law is comprehensive and deals with matters of justice no matter how big or small.
7. Leaders under such a system are just, ruling in the fear of God, not following the whims and caprices of political parties.
8. The economic system is run on the principle that recognizes that the
profit of the land is for all such that even the king is supplied from
the field (Ecclesiastes 5:9; NKJV).
9. It is furthermore guided
by the principle of just and equitable distribution of resources where
the resources of each region are used for the development of that region
while each region contributes to the national purse.
10. Finally, it runs on the principle of debt cancellation to prevent an indefinite debt burden.
THE NIGERIAN STATE AGAINST THE BACKDROP OF GOD’S TEMPLATE
Let us examine the extent to which Nigeria, a country whose population is between 40% and 50% Christian, models this template.
1. We must realize that when complaints are not attended to, they
develop into problems and when problems are not solved, they become
burdens. Nigeria has seen the evolution of national burdens from
complaints that leadership has failed to attend to. Take, for instance,
the issue of violence. It is sheer hypocrisy to attempt to separate
violence from corruption. The Bible categorically associates these twin
devils. When those entrusted with the sacred duty of managing public
funds loot the treasury in personal aggrandizement and flaunt ill-gotten
wealth as lonely islands of prosperity in a vast ocean of poverty, we
need not wonder why armed robbery in the south, kidnappings in the
south-east, and terrorism in the north, would be the result, 11 The
earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with
violence. 12 So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt;
for all flesh had corrupted the earth (Genesis 6:11-12, NKJV). When many
of these crises were in their budding stage, the government, in many
cases, merely set up committees whose reports were never implemented.
Nigeria is a nation where the groaning of the poor and oppressed, being
not speedily attended to, has developed into serious national burdens
threatening the foundation of our national existence.
2. The
next logical question would then be, what quality of leadership have we
had as a nation, at least since the return to civil rule - wise,
understanding and knowledgeable leaders or self-serving, incompetent
impostors? What leadership wisdom would leave 70% of the population
below poverty line while the leadership feeds fat from looting the
treasury? What leadership wisdom would play games with the vital
question of succession and would leave as its legacy a destabilized
political terrain under the headship of an invalid president brought in
through a questionable electoral process that would leave the nation in
disarray for months thereby creating a power vacuum that became a power
hijack? What wisdom would corner three trillion naira in an
unprecedented fuel subsidy scam, fail to admit connivance and prosecute
offenders, and go ahead to subject the citizens to an excruciating
economic regime under the guise of a transformation agenda? I must point
out here that whereas God has a template for national transformation,
Satan has one, too. While God produces change from within that leads to
change without, Satan merely transforms himself to an angel of light
while what is within is as corrupt as ever; it is a white sepulcher kind
of transformation. That kind of transformation cannot produce God’s
kingdom in national politics.
3. Again, the next logical
question would be, what is the nature of the electoral process that
brought about the kind of leadership we have had since 1999? Since the
return to civil rule in Nigeria, most election results have been
contested in the courts. While a good number were upturned, some were
retained through very controversial judicial processes such as the one
which accompanied the 2011 elections in which a ruling by the President
of the Court of Appeal for the electoral body to subject ballot papers
to forensic test was not only ignored but led to the unconstitutional
removal of the judge who gave the ruling and his replacement by another
who gave a contrary ruling on the same issue. We need to ask ourselves:
Do we as a nation truly have leadership by representative consensus
where God’s choice meets man’s choice? Wherever, God’s choice has been
amended to suit man’s choice, the result has been unpalatable, as seen
in God’s description of the kind of king Israel would have when they
rejected Him and asked for a king like other nations (See I Samuel 8).
Does the spirit of ill will which is being meted out to this government
by the people not speak volumes as to the quality of representation?
4. Having already made allusion to the powerlessness of the law and the
proceeding of perverse judgments from the courts, it suffices one to
state that the constitutional foundation upon which the nation is
currently governed is based on falsehood as “we the people” have not sat
down to agree on how we will be governed, neither has this government
shown any commitment to lasting constitutionalism.
5. The
inequity in the Nigerian economy is glaring for all to see, with the
leaders feeding themselves fat on security votes that are not accounted
for and with the lopsided economic structure characterized by a
mono-product economy that puts a strain on one region while resources in
other regions are not fully utilized; more so, we have been a lazy
nation that cannot refine its crude or process its raw materials because
of the cluelessness and insincerity of government.
One can go
on and on to highlight how the Nigerian state deviates from the God
state in various spheres of societal existence from health to education
where the statistics are dismal with a life expectancy of forty-seven
years, with hospitals that are not good enough to serve the political
class who must go abroad to attend to their medical needs, a worrisome
education sector with an over 60% failure rate in public examinations
which puts the nation’s future at a disadvantage, and so on.
THE NIGERIAN STATE: A VERDICT ON THE NIGERIAN CHURCH
We need to ask ourselves salient questions: Are these events occurring
because we do not have Christians in national politics? Are some of the
looters in government and their counterparts in the private sector - the
corporate cowboys - not members of churches? Do they not get front rows
in churches? Are they not deacons and elders in churches? Are the
priests – the GOs, the Bishops, the Reverends, Pastors, or whatever
label they go by – living up to their responsibilities as watchmen to
warn the princes, or are they feeding fat from the loot and giving them
prayer cover as prayer contractors? To be more succinct, since the
return to civil rule in 1999 which amounts to thirteen years, we have
spent ten years of those thirteen under the leadership of presidents who
claim to be Christians and who have had the backing of the church in
Nigeria and around whose corridors church leaders have hobnobbed. Yet
the nation is in such a despicable state. It was Martin Luther who,
responding to such hypocrisy in his day, once said, “I’d rather be ruled
by a wise Turk than by a foolish Christian”. This is the verdict on the
church in Nigeria. When the kingdom advances with the emergence of the
true church, the compromised church which cannot heal a dying nation
will not stand, it will be sifted and blown away as the impostor that it
is.
THE WAY FORWARD
What, then, is the way forward? The
true church must emerge! In the midst of corruption and decay, gross
darkness taking over the soul of the nation, there has never been a
better time to shine as light. The church must come out of church
politics and step into national politics. Rather than bring politics to
church, let believers take church to politics. But the church that must
take church to politics must not be the Sinai church that is bound by
religion or the compromised church that is bound by greed and corruption
because these will be blown away with the shaking that is coming. It
calls for the Zion church that leans on grace, a new breed without greed
and a radical opposition to corruption. Church leadership must wash
itself clean from the crookedness that is in the polity and must commit
itself to feeding the flock and strategically equipping and positioning
them for kingdom advance in every sphere of influence, including and
especially the political sphere.
The Church must become the mouthpiece of God speaking out to unblock the minds of the people, restore voices to the voiceless.
{Being
excerpts from a speech delivered by Pastor Tunde Bakare on the occasion
of the 70th anniversary of Yaba Baptist Church on Monday, 8 October
2012. Theme: Establishing the Kingdom of God through Christians
involvement in national politics}.