Our Influence in Government Acts 9:15 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO

Bible believing Christians often get the idea that we don’t need to be involved in government because of the separation of church and state.  But the first amendment doesn’t state that there is a separation of church and state.  It says, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…”

When you look in the Bible you certainly see that men of God were connected with men of government.  Look at the various ways that the men of God influenced the men of government and you will begin to understand our influence in government.  Men of God influenced government by:

Preaching the name of Jesus – Acts 9:15 – it wasn’t any more palatable to mention the name of Jesus during the Acts of the Apostles than it is for us to mention the name of Jesus in public buildings – nevertheless, Paul’s commission was to bear Christ’s name before kings and he did [Acts 26:28].

Praying for those in authority – Jer 29:4-7 – when the Jews were carried captive to Babylon, they were told to pray for the city of their captivity so that the city would have peace – thus they would have peace [1 Tim 2:1-3].

Advising kings on God’s will – 2 Sam 7:17 – see 7:2-16 – God didn’t speak directly to David about his will for the construction of the Temple; he spoke to Nathan, the man of God, and Nathan advised King David on God’s will – notice that there were also times when David inquired of the Lord and the Lord answered him [2 Sam 5:19-24] – so God used his man to advise David even though he could lead him directly.

Counseling kings on public policy – Gen 41:33-36 – Pharaoh didn’t know what to do about a dream he had and once he heard the interpretation he needed to understand what to do about it – Joseph advised him on his public policy and saved the kings country.

Making recommendations to leaders – 2 Ki 5:1-5 – Naaman’s maid who had been captured from Israel recommended that her master go to Israel so that Elisha could heal him of his leprosy – even the king became involved in this decision.

Holding governmental offices – Dan 6:1-3 – Daniel was preferred by King Darius above the presidents and the princes of his whole kingdom.  See also Ps 105:21-22.

Pronouncing God’s judgment upon kings – 1 Ki 21:17-24 – Ahab considered Elijah his enemy because Elijah reproved King Ahab for his wicked deeds – God used Elijah to pronounce his judgment against Ahab.

Conclusion: Our influence in government is quantifiable – we need to pray for all those in authority [by name] – we need to vote for men and women who hold Biblical values [there are 40 million “evangelical” Christians and only 25% of them vote] – we need to advise our leaders when they are voting on bills that affect our Biblical values [6-10 phone calls are enough to make a Senator aware of a significant issue] – we need to preach the name of Jesus to our leaders [you cannot expect godless men and women to make godly decisions] – we need godly men and women to run for office [there are strong Bible believing Christians in local, state and federal offices today; we need more] – we need to preach Biblical values so that this country does not forget God [Ps 9:17].