{"id":69856,"date":"2024-09-19T13:10:46","date_gmt":"2024-09-19T18:10:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=69856"},"modified":"2024-09-19T13:10:46","modified_gmt":"2024-09-19T18:10:46","slug":"two-political-principles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/two-political-principles\/","title":{"rendered":"Two Political Principles"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t

by Doy Moyer<\/p>\n

Two prime principles should help Christians navigate through the various political systems of this world, whatever they may be:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Worldly powers are ultimately in God’s hands. “It is He who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings<\/em>” (Daniel 2:21). Likewise, “the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind, and bestows it on whom He wishes and sets over it the lowliest of men<\/em>” (Daniel 4:17). At the end of the day, God has this. Christians need to trust Him in all matters.<\/li>\n
  2. Christians, as citizens of heaven above all else, are also to be valuable citizens wherever they live on earth. Even as God’s people had gone into Babylonian exile because of their sins, they were nevertheless told to build houses and plant gardens, to get married, and to have children. “Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare<\/em>” (Jeremiah 29:7). This is an important principle for God’s people. Though we long for our eternal home with God, we live in our present circumstances by God’s will and to do God’s will on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10). We ought to be a blessing to the nation in which we live and demonstrate our love for neighbors. Therefore, any political activity needs to have this principle in mind so that God is ultimately glorified.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    by Doy Moyer Two prime principles should help Christians navigate through the various political systems of this world, whatever they may be: Worldly powers are ultimately in God’s hands. “It is He who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings” (Daniel 2:21). Likewise, “the Most High is ruler over the…<\/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,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[310,353],"class_list":["post-69856","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-government","tag-influence"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":68782,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-the-gospel-political\/","url_meta":{"origin":69856,"position":0},"title":"Is the Gospel Political?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 9, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer No\u2026 and yes. First, no. The gospel is not about parties and political power. It is not a brand of worldly government, for it transcends all governments (see Isaiah 2:1-4; Daniel 2:44-45). We can be Christians regardless of the political system in which we live. Some are\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":57785,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-kings-of-the-earth\/","url_meta":{"origin":69856,"position":1},"title":"The Kings of the Earth","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 9, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"by Wayne S. Walker \"All the kings of the earth shall praise You, O LORD, when they hear the words of Your mouth' (Psalm 138:4). While we understand that God's greatest gift to mankind involves salvation through Jesus Christ, we know that His plan for our lives here on this\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\/2006\/01\/bronzeCrown.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":55652,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-establishment-of-the-kingdom\/","url_meta":{"origin":69856,"position":2},"title":"The Establishment of the Kingdom","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 13, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Daniel 7:13-27 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Few argue the importance of the Kingdom in God\u2019s plan. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It is not of this world - John 18:36 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It is a spiritual kingdom - Luke 17:20-21 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Yet there remain arguments as to when it was or will be established. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In part\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":93169,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-christians-putting-too-much-hope-in-government\/","url_meta":{"origin":69856,"position":3},"title":"Are Christians Putting Too Much Hope in Government?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 12, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer via InLight Media How should Christians respond to government and political authority? In a world where elections, leaders, and policies dominate the conversation, it's easy for Christians to place too much hope-or too much fear-in government. But the Bible reminds us of a deeper truth: earthly rulers\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Video"","block_context":{"text":"Video","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/video\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":52806,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-christians-be-involved-in-government\/","url_meta":{"origin":69856,"position":4},"title":"Can Christians be involved in government?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 29, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Dear sir, I trust this email finds you well. I'd like to ask a question. I've been trying to learn from the biblical point of view if a Christian can participate in politics. Do we have brothers and sisters in the faith who are actively participating in politics? Thanks,\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":63708,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-makes-a-good-ruler\/","url_meta":{"origin":69856,"position":5},"title":"What Makes a Good Ruler?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 29, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Daniel 4:8-27 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Accepting the idea that Christians should vote when their government gives them the opportunity to do so, the question then turns to whom should we vote? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Far too often we are presented with choices where it appears we must choose between the lesser\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69856","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=69856"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69856\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69856"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}