by Irvin Himmel<\/p>\n
Moral statements and positions will, necessarily, impact political issues. This is not because morality is inherently political, but because the government has the task of recognizing the difference between good and evil, so moral issues will have to be dealt with (Rom 13:3-4). This means that, contrary to what is so often stated and argued, morality will be legislated by the government, and it will be legislated from a worldview that either recognizes the significance of God or not. To say that God needs to be kept out of politics, then, is to default to the secularized view of morality; and secularized morality will then be legislated. Why is it that people default to keeping God out of it instead of keeping the secularized views of reality out of it? And why do some Christians seem to be buying into all of this?<\/p>\n
We need to see what has happened here. Many have bought into the notions that<\/p>\n
In fact, both are false. God is never out of politics, and we are fooling ourselves if we think so, given that God rules in the kingdoms of men. Every worldview says something about God. If a worldview says there is no God, then a notion of God is still a part of the position, and actions will be taken that demonstrate that disbelief. Further, every law is a legislation of morality in one form or another; there is no way around it. The question is, will the legislation come from those whose worldview respects God as the foundation or not?<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t say all of this in order to argue that Christians need to get more political. I\u2019m arguing that Christians need to say more about God and morality in every area of life. We don\u2019t check our God at the door when we enter a political arena, and we don\u2019t set aside godly morals when we engage the culture. We don\u2019t take a moral view of something based on politics, but surely our political views ought to be based on godly morality. The point then is not that we need more political activists. The point is that we need to be more engaged in the moral discussions of our culture and take a stand for what is right, regardless of political fallout. In other words, it\u2019s not about being political; it\u2019s about standing for what\u2019s right in the middle of a crooked and perverse generation.<\/p>\n
Even more, we need to hold up the gospel itself to the world. The answer to our problems is not to vote in or out this or that politician. No government in history has been a bastion of godliness, and I don\u2019t expect that to change. The answer is always where it has been: in Christ. The problems of this world won\u2019t be fixed by a human government, but by the gospel. \u201cThe kingdoms of earth pass away one by one, but the kingdom of heaven remains.\u201d<\/p>\n
So Christians should be concerned with<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not politics.\u00a0It\u2019s just what\u2019s right.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Irvin Himmel Moral statements and positions will, necessarily, impact political issues. This is not because morality is inherently political, but because the government has the task of recognizing the difference between good and evil, so moral issues will have to be dealt with (Rom 13:3-4). This means that, contrary to what is so often…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[310,38],"class_list":["post-25957","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-government","tag-morality"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":39478,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/morality-the-government-and-christians\/","url_meta":{"origin":25957,"position":0},"title":"Morality, The Government, and Christians","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 27, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer Moral statements and positions will, necessarily, impact political issues. This is not because morality is inherently political, but because the government has the task of recognizing the difference between good and evil, so moral issues will have to be dealt with (Romans 13:3-4). This means that, contrary\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":38607,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-a-government-legislate-morality\/","url_meta":{"origin":25957,"position":1},"title":"Should a government legislate morality?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 22, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have had a question for some time now, and have found it difficult to find clear answers in the Scriptures.\u00a0 I know there are many Old Testament accounts, but as far as a New Testament church, it seems quite muddy to me:\u00a0 Should a government legislate morality?\u00a0 I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":36545,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-separation-of-church-and-state\/","url_meta":{"origin":25957,"position":2},"title":"The Separation of Church and State","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 10, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Andy Sochor There is an ongoing debate in our society about the \"separation of church and state.\" Though the phrase is not used in any of this country's founding documents, many understand it to be a fundamental principle upon which this nation was built. However, the debate springs from\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/church-and-state-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":32749,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/united-states-founding-fathers-on-god-and-religion\/","url_meta":{"origin":25957,"position":3},"title":"United States’ Founding Fathers on God and Religion","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 28, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Source:\u00a0Original Intent\u00a0by David Barton \"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.\" -- John Adams \"The great pillars of all government and of social life ... [are] virtue, morality, and religion. This is the armor, my friend,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Issues"","block_context":{"text":"Issues","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":49178,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-dont-believe-abortion-should-be-outlawed-or-be-easily-accessible\/","url_meta":{"origin":25957,"position":4},"title":"I don’t believe abortion should be outlawed or be easily accessible","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 2, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi, Thanks for the site that you run. On more than one occasion I have gone there to read your responses. I wanted to follow up on the question of abortion because first, as someone who was raised as a Christian, I do believe it is wrong. I am\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":88561,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/who-is-telling-the-truth\/","url_meta":{"origin":25957,"position":5},"title":"Who Is Telling the Truth?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 10, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jerry Falk A friend on Facebook recently asked, \"How do you know 'facts' are truth or lies?\" Apparently, he was referring to the current political climate in the United States. I took his question a step further. If we reject the existence of God and dismiss biblical morality, on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/questioning-200x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25957","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25957"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25957\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25957"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25957"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25957"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}