Coercive Christianity
by Doy Moyer
Christians desire to see people do what is right. We look at a society that has lost its way and wonder, with echoes of Habakkuk, how long this will continue before God acts in righteous judgment. We want to see people come to Jesus and submit to His will. Yet if we lose patience and forget what it means to let our lights shine, we might cross a line that the Lord never intended to be crossed. We might be so eager to persuade that we end up going too far by manipulating, coercing, and supporting efforts to force people into biblical discipleship.
Christianity was never meant to be a state religion. By this I mean that the Lord did not intend for Christians to Lord it over others, take over a political state, and engage in physical fighting to coerce and control the lives of others. If those in positions of power were to actually become Christians (as biblically defined), then praise God! However, we never find Christ or the apostles endorsing a movement that forced others to become Christians.
Shortly after Peter attempted to kill a servant of the High Priest (and got his ear), Jesus told him that’s not the way this would work. Later, Jesus told Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world” (John 18:36). If anyone could have taken over the state and forced a religion on others, it was Jesus. Yet He expressly said that’s not what would happen. The kingdom of God does not spread by force. Instead, the nations submitting to Him would “beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore” (Isaiah 2:4). If we try to spread the kingdom utilizing physical force and political power, then we are spreading the wrong kingdom.
To impose the kingdom of God on others would require physical force and the political power to lord it over others against their will. Jesus expressly forbids this among His disciples. When His disciples fought with one another, Jesus told them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:42-45).
If we make Christianity into some statist religion, then we are requiring some to be lords over others, exercising authority over others, and violating the point Jesus made. Even within local churches, those serving as elders are not to lord it over those in their charge (I Peter 5:2-3). Instead of trying to force or bend others to our will, we are to serve, be examples, and let our lights shine in a dark world (Matthew 5:13-14; Philippians 2:13-14).
God appeals to the free will actions of others to do His will. While we attempt to persuade others and plead with them to be reconciled to God, God still leaves it up to individuals to make their own choices and serve Him freely (see II Corinthians 5:11-21). Our job as Christians is to facilitate this by making the plea and living in a way that points people to Jesus. We are to warn them of the consequences of turning from light and life (to darkness and death), but it is not ours to physically threaten or harm anyone who chooses to walk away from it (cf. II Corinthians 10:3-5). While there are consequences to congregational discipline, there is never a threat of personal harm or worldly political censure.
While Christians ought to do what they can in culture to hold up the good, the true, and beautiful (which can include voting, etc.), they are not at liberty to turn Christianity into a coercive, political machine that runs roughshod over the free will of others. We are to try to persuade, to be sure (II Corinthians 5:11). We make our arguments, we give the biblical warnings, we live Christ by example, and we love our neighbors as ourselves. However, we do not lord it over others. We are servants, like Christ, and we may wind up being persecuted, like Christ, but we are not justified in forcing or coercing others. Coercive Christianity is not Christ-like at all.
Christians need to see the importance of being the examples we have been called to be. When people turn from the gospel message, pray for them. If we find ways to serve, then serve them. If doors are opened, then pray, as Paul, to speak clearly as we ought to speak, and to do so with grace (Colossians 4:2-6). Speak boldly for Jesus, hold out His word, and let that message be the prod that gets their attention, inviting them to be reconciled with God.
