Titus, part 4

"Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men." (Titus 3:1-2, NIV)

Returning to the book of Titus, recall that Paul in chapter 2 outlines to Titus the guidelines of instruction for the congregation in the church at Crete.  further recall that Paul's instruction on these matters is derived from the principle in 2:1 ("teach what is in accord with sound doctrine").  In chapter 3, Paul wraps up his teaching to Titus.  These first two verses sum up what Paul instructs Titus to teach the church regarding the matter of the Christian's behavior to people and authority outside the church.

Given the recent attacks on Christianity in the United States, the issue comes up how should a Christian carry himself in a world that is increasingly hostile to Jesus Christ and the gospel?  Consider Judge Moore, the Alabama supreme court judge and the recent incident over the display of the Ten Commandments in the courthouse rotunda.  When a federal district court ruled that Judge Moore should remove the Ten Commandments display, he refused on the grounds that their ruling was unlawful.  There was an immediate ground swell of support for the embattled judge as Christians around the nation protested the ruling.  Two key figures in this protest were Dr. James Dobson, chairman of Focus on the Family and Dr. James Kennedy, president of The Center for Reclaiming America and pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian church in Florida.

The question in all this is: should a Christian engage in political protest and activism?  Furthermore, was what Judge Moore did right?  This is a very sensitive topic.  Americans, at their hearts, are very rights driven people.  We have become spoiled in a sense; we are so used to a life of liberty and the pursuit of happiness that we become enraged when something stands in the way of that pursuit.  This goes for Christians and non-Christians.  This country was founded on the principle of free exercise of religion, and Christians in this country have enjoyed the awesome blessing of unfettered worship and exercise of Christianity for over 200 years.  However, for the last 35-40 years, this country has become increasingly anti-Christian.

The sexual and cultural revolutions of the 60's and 70's continued a slow erosion of Christian values in this country to the point where the great majority of the liberal elite in politics, the media, and academia are openly anti-Christian.  Combine that with the fact that modern Christianity has watered down the gospel to appeal to a post-modern culture, and it is no wonder that orthodox Christianity is under attack; not only from without, but from within.

Now I say all this to point out that what we are seeing now is a gradual movement in conservative evangelicalism to "take back the culture."  To quote from the movie Network, modern evangelicalism is saying "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore."  I return to the question posed earlier:  should a Christian engage in political protest and activism?  The Apostle Paul speaks to this in our passage.

"Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities."  Paul's instruction to Titus is to remind the people (i.e., the congregation in Crete) to be subject to rulers and authorities.  The word "subject" is the Greek word hupotasso and it means to subordinate oneself under an authority.  It is the same Greek word found in Ephesians 5 in reference to wives being subject to their husbands.  People are to subject themselves to the rulers and authorities who are over them.  Does this come as a shock to Christians?  It should not.  Paul says the same thing in Romans 13:1 ("Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God").  According to this verse, the reason we are to submit to the authorities is because all earthly authority has been established by God Himself!

In case you think this is a Pauline bias, the Apostle Peter says the same thing:  "Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men" (1 Peter 2:13).  The general principle from Scripture is for Christians to live peaceably in society.  We are to be model citizens.  Why?  For the same reason back in Titus 2:2-10 that we are to live godly lives:  Evangelism!  If the unbelieving world sees Christians protesting and engaging in political activism, they are going to see Christians behaving in much the same way as non-Christians.  God calls us out of the world to be different than the world in order to witness to the world the transformation of our lives.  The only time a Christian is allowed to defy the civil authority is when the civil authority calls on us to act in a way that is contrary to Scripture (cf. Acts 4:19 for a prime example).

"To be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate."  Paul now goes on to describe the manner in which this submission to the rulers and authorities is to take.  This list is fairly self-explanatory.  Christians are to be obedient, ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one and to be peaceable and considerate.  In other words, as I stated earlier, we are to be model citizens.  Considering this list of behavior traits, I find it hard to justify political activism.  There is nothing in this list that allows Christians to be public nuisances demanding their rights.

"And to show true humility toward all men."  Moving from the Christian's attitude toward the governing authorities, Paul addresses the Christian's attitude toward people outside the congregation.  We are to be humble toward all people ("men").  Again, if the command is to be humble, does that give us an opening to be loudly demanding our rights?  No.  By definition, the humble person is not concerned with their rights.  In Romans 12, Paul gives the following instruction:  "If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone" (Romans 12:18).  We are to be doing everything we can to live at peace with everyone.

In summary, the Christian is to be in submission to all governing authorities in a manner that is obedient, eager to do what is good, peaceable and considerate.  We are also to be humble toward everybody.  Notice the command to submit to authority.  It is unqualified.  It does not matter how benevolent or how malevolent the government is, the Christian is to be in submission to it as long as the government does not call on the Christian to act contrary to Scripture.

So, to answer the question we started off with:  A Christian should refrain from political protest and activism.  This does not mean we completely disengage from the political arena.  It is perfectly acceptable to act in full accordance to the rights allowed all citizens.  For example, we can (and should) vote.  We can (and should) voice our views on social/political subjects when the time is appropriate in a manner that is in accord with Scripture (e.g., humble, peaceable and considerate).  We can write our elected officials, etc.  The folly comes in when Christians attempt to "take back the culture."  The Apostle John says, "the whole world is under the control of the evil one" (1 John 5:19).  Christians are not going to change the culture from the top-down, nor by ramming Christian values down the throats of unbelievers because Satan (the "evil one") is in control of the system.

Men like Judge Moore, Dr. Dobson and Dr. Kennedy, while good-intentioned and well-meaning are wrong and misguided in what they are doing.  Judge Moore was patently wrong to defy a direct order from a superior no matter how much I agree with his point of view.  Furthermore, Dr's. Dobson and Kennedy have spent a considerable amount of time, money and energy in organizing rallies and protests.  Time, money and energy that could be better spent proclaiming the saving gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Christians will never "take back the culture" through political and social channels.  The only way to regain the culture is by capturing people one heart, one mind at a time through the transforming power of the gospel.

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