Recently, the question has come up among Christians: “Can Christians serve in an ungodly government?” This is a good question as our government gets farther and farther from God and Christian principles. 

For some, they may be asking the question of whether or not Christians can serve as a governing official. For others, the question has come up in whether or not they can even vote for someone because often we lack having Christians on the ticket.

In Scripture, we have a history of Christians serving in government and high office in the cultures they lived in. We see them serving in corrupt, ungodly governments—not just ungodly, but often opposed to them. Here are a few.

In Genesis 41, we find Joseph serving as Prime Minister of Egypt. This was a culture that had taken him into slavery. This was a government that unjustly jailed him at one point for a false accusation by Potifar’s wife. 

In Daniel 2, we see that Daniel became the chief wise man in Babylon. Not only was he serving in an ungodly government, but a government that had enslaved him and his people.

Esther served in the Persian Kingdom. She was a Jewish woman who an ungodly king made his queen. Yet, there, she served the people of the kingdom, which led to the saving of her Jewish people.

Joseph, Daniel, and Esther all served ungodly secular governments. These governments oppressed them and their people. They didn’t say, “This is an ungodly kingdom; I can have nothing to do with it here.” Because of this, they were able to impact the culture as they served in these governments.

Note that they served in ungodly governments but did not compromise. They stuck to their Christian conviction and followed God throughout. They trusted God to help them despite the pagan cultures they served. 

The question for us as Christians is not whether we should participate in government but how we will serve it. We are not responsible for the government and culture we serve in as much as we are for how we serve within that government and culture. God has instituted the government according to Romans 13:1. Therefore, Christians should seek to point government to the ways God wants them to govern.

Therefore, Christians should be part of the government and culture. They should vote, serve on school and library boards, and serve on city councils. They should seek office as they attempt to bring the government under Christ’s rule.

Thanks for taking time to read this Maddening Theology post. If you enjoyed this content you can find Pastor Tim’s sermons at www.cornerstoneforestcity.org. You can also join us at 520 Marion St. Browndale, PA 18421 on Sundays at 10 AM. To make following the blog easier you can also register. You can also join us on Facebook at Cornerstone Forest City. Also, don’t forget to download our APP on iTunes  or Googleplay.