The Mirage of Political Salvation

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The Mirage of Political Salvation

“Do not trust in princes, in mortal man, in whom there is no salvation.” – Psalm 146:3

In his Institutes of the Christian Religion, the sixteenth century French reformer, John Calvin, asserts that “the purpose of temporal government is to fit us for human society for as long as we are part of it, to teach us to behave equitably among men, to reconcile us with one another and to promote and preserve public peace and calm.”^[1]

There is a sense in which Calvin’s somewhat universalist construct of temporal government—“universalist” in the sense that it applies to all of humanity indiscriminately—is in stark contrast to the maternalistic/paternalistic idea of government that many people hold today, which supposes that a fundamental function of temporal government is to provide its citizens with a safety net so that all of their needs and even most of their wants are met. I don’t make that assertion arbitrarily but against the backdrop of a recent Pew Research study which showed that 52% of Americans think the government should do more to help the needy, even if doing so results in the nation going deeper into debt.^[2]Conversely, that same study noted that 65% of Americans say the government has a responsibility to ensure all Americans have health care coverage.^[3]

A Biblical Theology of Temporal Government

As I reflect on those statistics, I am compelled to ask: what is it that so influences the kind of that upwards of two-thirds of Americans are convinced it is the responsibility of temporal government to meet people’s needs to such a degree? I pose that question neither flippantly nor ungraciously. Scripture is clear that governing authorities are established by God as earthly “ministers,” or “servants,” as the Greek word for “ministers,” diakonos, imports, of God for our good (Rom 14:1–4a). And yet, the question remains: what does it mean for government to serve humanity “for our good”? I believe the answer to that question is found in the above-referenced statement by John Calvin, the logic of which is supported by the Welsh theologian of the late twentieth century, D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, who cautions:

“We must not expect too much from the state because the business of the state is mainly negative. Its main function is to control and to limit evil and the manifestations of evil. The state, whether it be a monarchy, oligarchy, democracy, or any other form that you may choose, can do very little positive good, and people have got into trouble when they think it can.”^[4]

I submit to you that, taken altogether, both Calvin and Lloyd-Jones are proffering a correct and, more importantly, biblical, theology of the role of temporal government in contradistinction to the one reflected in the results of the aforementioned Pew Research study which, comparatively speaking, is objectively more liberal and broad in its scope.

A Social Philosophy of Temporal Government

Such a magnanimous paradigm of the role of temporal government is often rooted in the altruistic idea that government has an almost salvific role to play in society by creating for its citizens what amounts to a socioeconomic security blanket, a kind of heaven on earth, if you will, that protects and shields them against any situations or circumstances of adversity in this life.

Such an attitude is a dangerously slippery slope. This temporal world—and the temporal systems, precepts, and tenets by which it operates—has been subjected to the corruption of sin (Rom 8:20–22). Consequently, believers in Christ should never expect to have all their needs, not to mention all their wants, met either by or in this passing world (1 John 2:15–17). As the nineteenth century nonconformist^[5] minister, Octavius Winslow^[6], reminds us:

“It is our great privilege, beloved, that we live in a portionless world. This is both our distinctive badge and our Christian charter. When God parceled out the land of Canaan among the tribes of Israel, He made an exception in the tribe of Levi, to whom He said, “You shall have no inheritance in the land, neither shall you have any part among them;” assigning as His reason, “I am your share and your inheritance.” The gospel teaching of this is obvious and significant. As the Lord’s true priesthood, this world is not our portion, nor earth our rest. It may have required some painful discipline, and no small measure of faith, on the part of the devout Levite, as he gazed upon the fertile meadows, the watered plains, and the vine-clad hills of the Promised Land, before he was made willing to relinquish it all for Him who is invisible–and it needs no little teaching and discipline of our God, and no little faith on our part, before we are led to give up the world, the creature, self, and all, for Christ—satisfied to have the Lord alone as our Portion, and heaven only as our inheritance.”^[7]

Our Lord and Savior has promised to meet our daily needs (Ps 23:1; Matt 6:25–34; Phil 4:6–7). That is not to suggest that believers in Christ should view their temporal needs solely through a hyper-spiritual lens. When we petition God to provide for our temporal needs—food, shelter, clothing, finances, etc.—we are asking Him to meet those needs in ways that are very practical and tangible. Jesus was moved to feed the five thousand—not including women and children—out of a genuine concern that they would otherwise go hungry (Matt 14:13–21). Conversely, Jesus miraculously provided the finances needed to pay the requisite poll-tax that was being demanded of Him and Peter at Capernaum (Matt 17:24–27).

A Pastoral Doxology of Spiritual Encouragement

All this to say that as followers of Jesus Christ, it is God, not government, who, ultimately, we are to depend on to meet our daily needs. Though government, as a minister of God for the good of His image-bearers (Gen 1:27; 5:2), may very well have a role to play in, as Calvin said, making us “fit for society,” that role is to be limited and finite (Ps 146:3). Indeed, government can be a means through which God chooses to meet some of our temporal needs—because alltemporal government is under His sovereign rule and authority (Rom 13:1b)—but, even so, government is never to be regarded or viewed as an earthly proxy for the One who Scripture says, “knows what you need before you ask Him” (Matt 6:8b).

It stands to reason, particularly in light of the uncertainties we are often confronted with in this sinful world, that our fragile hearts can be susceptible to succumbing to fears and anxieties about how our very legitimate, real-life needs will be met. Being a Christian does not make us immune to or unaffected by such realities (John 16:33; Acts 14:22). Even so, my encouragement to you, especially in those moments when concerns arise about how your temporal needs will be provided for, is to recall to mind the words of king David who, in Psalm 56:3–4, confidently declared, “When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You. In God, whose word I praise, in God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid. What can mere man do to me?”

[1] John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, The Banner of Truth Trust (2016), Translated from the first French edition of 1541 by Robert White, hardcover, p. 736.

[2] https://www.pewresearch.org/2024/06/24/americans-views-of-government-aid-to-poor-role-in-health-care-and-social-security/

[3] Ibid.

[4] D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Commentary on Romans 13:1-7, The Banner of Truth Trust (2019), hardcover, p. 58.

[5] https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100237291 (accessed 8.01.24)

[6] https://www.christianstudylibrary.org/article/octavius-winslow-1808-1878 (accessed 8.01.24)

[7] The Lord is My Portion or Daily Need Divinely Supplied (1870) https://www.gracegems.org/Winslows/daily_need_divinely_supplied.htm