CAESAR AND GOD: POLITICS AND THE GOSPEL

Posted on Jan 19, 2021 in BLOG |

Caesar and God: Politics and the GospelThe images are jarring, borderline blasphemous. The mob attacking the capitol on January 6 unfurled a massive banner at the top of the steps proclaiming, “JESUS 2020,” while marchers carried flags announcing, “TRUMP 2020.” An American flag blew in the wind as the mob broke down the doors to the capitol building. On one side of the flag, the words read, “Jesus is my Savior,” and on the other side of the flag were the words, “Trump is my President.”

GIVE IT UP FOR TRUMP … and Jesus!

Jacob Chansley (aka Jake Angeli), the half-dressed man who wore the Shaman headdress with the horns, carried a sign that said, “Hold the line, Patriots, God wins!” In the crowd, a man yelled, “Give it up if you believe in Jesus,” and the crowd cheered. Then he shouted again, “Give it up if you believe in Donald Trump,” and the crowd cheered even louder. People held wooden crosses with the words “Jesus Saves” in bold print. Some wore sweatshirts that read, “You need Jesus,” while nearby, a man wore a “Camp Auschwitz” sweatshirt. The syncretism of pagan and Christian symbols – political and gospel messages – fused Caesar and God into the idol of nationalism.

God thundered from Mt. Sinai, “Thou shalt have no other gods besides me” (Ex. 20:3). He did not mean that we can have other gods as long as He is the first God. God meant that we are to have no other gods at all. Israel regularly interpreted the command to mean “no other gods before me,” implying that they could have other gods who were subservient to God. This led them to add faith in idols to their faith in God, a syncretism that the prophets often had to correct. They wanted Caesar with God but often chose Caesar over God.

Moses had warned Israel that when God appointed a king to govern the nation, the king should not multiply horses and wives or grow his gold, for these would turn his heart away from God (Deut. 17:15-17). Horses were the symbols of military might, and wives were the collateral for political alliances. Wealth, wives, and horses symbolized the idols of money, politics, and power. Solomon, for all his wisdom, gathered all three, and his heart was turned away from God (1 Kings 10:26–11:13). It is far too easy to merge our faith in politics with our faith in God so that politics slowly becomes the idol we worship, the golden calf of the church.

SYNCRETISM

Syncretism is sin, whether in ancient Israel or the modern church. We have always faced the danger of yoking politics with the gospel. Paul warned us about the danger of becoming unequally yoked with unbelievers in commercial and political causes (2 Cor. 6:14-16). He was not talking about marriage, although an application can certainly be made to marriage. Paul warned the Corinthians about the danger of merging their businesses with the worship of idols in the temple and conflating their loyalty to God with their allegiance to the imperial cult. Despite Paul’s warning, most white, evangelical Christians aligned themselves with Donald Trump so completely that the gospel became indistinguishable from a politician on January 6. “JESUS 2020” and “TRUMP 2020” merged into one message.

Why?

The fear of socialism grips the hearts of many Christians. Christian leaders proclaimed that the end of America would come if Democrats won the election. We would lose our freedom to worship because the socialists would persecute the church. Donald Trump, not God, was the hope of the church. The church must put her faith in politics over the gospel. When Trump lost the election, many Christians argued that nefarious groups stole the election despite the 60 court cases that said otherwise. Having put our faith in Caesar, we are distraught that Caesar did not come through for us. Apparently, God is so impotent that He could not control an election!

WHO IS OUR KING?

Driven by fear and seduced by power, Christians claim that God needs our help to restore America as His chosen nation. “We must fight to the death,” Christian leaders shout, “lest we lose our country and our freedom to worship.” Yet, Jesus said,

“My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.” (John 18:36)

We have forgotten that we belong to a heavenly kingdom, and our allegiance is to Christ our King (Phil. 3:20-21). Christ is not an American king! His realm is global. We should not be fighting with the weapons of this world but with the gospel, the most powerful message in the world (2 Cor. 10:3-4). The supremacy of Christ means that HE must never be compared to, joined with, or used for any human leader, political cause, or earthly kingdom. We have demeaned our King and lost sight of our mission. Caesar has supplanted Christ in the priority pantheon of many Christians.

BEWARE!

Beware of syncretism, the merging of God and Caesar, the gospel, and politics. We have so identified Christianity with an individual politician that the gospel has become polluted by politics. Our allegiance to Caesar compromises our witness for Christ whenever loyalty to a political party obscures the gospel message.

As we watch the inauguration of a new presidential administration this week, let us neither put our faith in politics nor fear Caesar. Let us rekindle the fire of the gospel in our churches and avoid entangling that gospel in the fights of this world.