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I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh…as to righteousness, under the law blameless. (Philippians 3:4,6)

The believer in Jesus Christ understands what many public officials do not: They are servants of God to accomplish His good purposes of order, justice, prosperity, and peace (Romans 13:1-4; 1 Timothy 2:1,2). Given the sinful nature of every human being, and the tendency of sinful human beings to act, well, sinfully, the external restraints and encouragement of civil government are necessary; otherwise, society would be either tyrannical or anarchic and the strong would prey on the weak by every possible means.

God ordained civil governments in part to keep in check man’s penchant for taking advantage of others by violent and unjust means. God’s purpose for human society is that His good should flourish. Governments are established by God to aid in accomplishing that end. Therefore part of what believers in Jesus Christ owe to the powers-that-be is to do everything in their power to promote goodness and justice in society, beginning with obeying and supporting just laws. This may seem self-evident; certainly this is the bare minimum of what government should expect of us, at least insofar as civil law does not contradict or hinder the Kingdom purposes of God.

But the duty of the Christian to pursue goodness and justice in society goes beyond mere compliance with existing just laws. We have a responsibility to work for justice, goodness, and uprightness in every area of civil society. This is a two-fold duty.

PERSONAL AND SOCIAL GOODNESS AND JUSTICE
In the first place, each believer must be careful to maintain a course of goodness and justice in his or her own life. We need to be able to say, as Paul could, that with respect to the good and just laws of our nation, we are blameless. No one should be able to point to us as an example of fudging, skirting, or scorning the laws of the land. This applies across the board and to the details of everyday life—how we drive our cars, take care of our homes, show concern for the needy, pay our taxes, and everything else.

Second, the demands of goodness and justice require that we engage in promoting and supporting such laws, not yet on the books, that will further this cause within our communities, and in opposing all changes in the law that do not conform to the requirements of goodness and justice. By whatever means are available to us—including political means—we must be active campaigners for laws and statutes that further the cause of goodness and justice, and outspoken opponents of those that threaten these fundamental social needs.

Fulfilling these two obligations encumbers believers in two distinct but equally important ways.

UNDERSTAND THE ISSUES
In order to work for justice and goodness, believers in Jesus Christ need to stay abreast of the issues being debated in the public square. Today there is no shortage of moral concerns which public officials will be seeking to resolve by legal means: economic instability, immigration, the status of marriage, biotechnology issues, and, more locally, questions relative to zoning, schools, public services, and community covenants.

Every year scores of thousands of laws are revised, updated, or written for the first time affecting areas of the public weal both large and small. These are not all equally critical, but they are all equally moral, that is, having to do with matters of goodness and justice. When school boards and city councils and county governments and state and national legislatures inscribe protocols and practices into law, they are directing the moral conduct of their citizens. We will not be able to participate in the process whereby these civil codes of conduct are established unless we stay abreast of the issues of the day and seek to understand them from the perspective of our biblical worldview.

Believers need to talk among themselves about such matters, to search the Scriptures together and consider the demands of sound reason in determining which laws to support and which to oppose. The churches, as agents of the Kingdom of God—a Kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit—should take an active role in helping their members to think about such matters of public policy according to a biblical worldview. Pastors and lay leaders should teach their people to think about specific matters with the mind of Christ. Churches should sponsor forums for public discussion and debate.

In pre-revolutionary America, the church building was the center of public life. Not only did it serve as a house of worship and instruction, it was also the place of meeting for town councils, the forum for public hearings and debates, and the polling place where matters were decided in free elections (always preceded, of course, by the election day sermon). Churches today are a far cry from performing such a role in their communities, but this should not prevent them from beginning to take up this calling with greater energy and consistency.

UNDERSTAND GOODNESS AND JUSTICE
The second responsibility incumbent on every believer is to nurture a growing understanding of the biblical teaching concerning matters of goodness and justice. We can only work for biblical standards of goodness and justice to the extent that we actually understand these standards, and know how to argue for them on the basis of sound reason.

Where shall we look in the Scriptures to discover such norms and guidelines?

First, the Law of God. We do not seek a theocracy in America; however, we do believe that whatever is holy and righteous and good should be incorporated, as far as possible, into public policy and law. The Law of God—beginning with the Ten Commandments—is plain enough, and while certain of its strictures have been superseded or re-framed by the requirements of grace, still, the essential principles of biblical law have much to offer in leading us to a good and just society.

The Law of God, for example, demands that the poor be treated with compassion and integrity; at the same time, it requires that they take responsibility for their needs within a community that is determined to work with them. The Law of God is concerned as well about the state of immigrants. It insists that they be subject to the same laws as the rest of society; at the same time, it demonstrates compassion and forbearance in helping “sojourners” to find a niche in the civil order.

The Law of God guides us in thinking about matters of restorative and distributive justice. It teaches neighbors to live responsibly together, requires fair and equal wages in the marketplace, provides guidelines for the proper care of the environment, protects the innocent, and honors local magistrates. It also gives detailed counsel in how to protect and preserve the family, marriage, and the rights of individuals. The righteous person, according to the Scriptures, is the one who meditates in the Law of God continuously, so that he might understand the good and just purposes of God (Psalm 1). Jesus walked according to the teaching of God’s Law, and He expects His followers to do the same (1 John 2:1-6).

This is not to insist that understanding and applying the counsel of biblical law in a secular society will be easy. Certainly there are large issues of how to approach such a strategy when it comes to influencing law makers, judges, and others involved in the policy-making arena. While we may not choose to adopt a “Thus saith the Lord” tactic before the town council, still, if God’s Law is, as we believe, good and upright, we should be able to find language to express the goodness and uprightness of God’s Law that can be made agreeable to the reason of public-minded citizens.

Second, the many biblical examples of good people can also help us to think about what justice and goodness might look like in a society. By studying and discussing the stories of Joseph, Ruth, Daniel, the good Samaritan, Cornelius, and others, we can develop a clearer understanding of the nature and benefits of justice and goodness, and encourage ourselves and our neighbors in such courses of action.

Third, there are excellent historical precedents within the Christian tradition to guide us in thinking about justice and goodness. Luther’s insistence that the churches work with civil magistrates to care for the poor of Wittenberg; Chalmers’ re-organizing of his church to address the needs of his community; Wilberforce’s tireless efforts on behalf of a wide range of social justice issues; Kuyper’s labors on establish a system of education free of government control; Martin Luther King’s patient, persistent efforts on behalf of civil rights—these and many, many other examples from the history of the Church can guide us in thinking about matters of justice and goodness in our own communities.

It will be evident that fulfilling our duty toward Caesar in this area will require some study and preparation on our parts. This is the duty of churches toward their members. In a day such as ours, when moral issues are being debated and decided at all levels of civil society, churches can no longer be content to promote discipleship, and instruction in discipleship, that fails to take into consideration the demands of following Jesus for life in the public square.

Let teachers and pastor seek out training in biblical worldview; let them engage a course of reading and study to enlarge their understanding of the scope and application of biblical truth; let them become active participants in conversations and discussions concerning biblical approaches to matters of social justice. Our responsibility to support the civil magistrate as a servant of God for good requires that we ourselves both live exemplary lives of justice and goodness and that we speak and act on behalf of policies and statutes that reflect biblical teaching on such matters.

To be sure, civil magistrates at every level in our society will continue to enact laws that guide and constrain the moral practices of the citizens of the land. Given the rapidly growing relativist agenda of our postmodern age, Christians cannot be content with a piety that fails to proclaim the Truth of God into the public square on all matters of life. We owe Caesar as much of the light of Truth as we can bring to bear on such matters, so that he may perform his role as a servant of God for justice and goodness with all wisdom and expediency.

FOR REFLECTION
Does the educational program of your church support such an approach to discipleship as is outlined in this essay? Should it? What can you do to help?

T. M. Moore is dean of the BreakPoint Centurions Program and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of 20 books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are Culture Matters (Brazos) and The Hidden Life, a handbook of poems, songs, and spiritual exercises (Waxed Tablet). Sign up at his website to receive his daily email devotional Crosfigell, reflections on Scripture and the Celtic Christian tradition. T. M. and his wife and editor, Susie, make their home in Hamilton, Va.