How Christians Can be Effective in Politics

December 6, 2020

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa

The subject of Christians in politics is as old as the modern church. This was not an issue for
Christians in the early church who lived under monarchical style of government. But with the
advent of democracy where public officials are elected to govern the people, the debate about the
compatibility of politics and religion has raged for centuries.
On the one hand, are the ‘purists’; those who believe that Christians should avoid politics like a
plague. They see partisan politics as a dirty game full of intrigues, corruption, lies, hypocrisy,
dishonesty, betrayals, and double standards that could infect the Christ follower.

This school of thought finds refuge in the famous pronouncement by Jesus Christ that we “are
not of the world, even as I am not of the world” (John 17:16) “Wherefore,” the scripture further
admonishes, “come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the
unclean thing; and I will receive you” (2 Corinthians 6:17).
It is the conclusion of this school of thought that a Christian, no matter how good or well
intentioned, will end up being smeared by the harsh reality of politicking, and wind up losing
his/her testimony thereby bringing reproach to the body of Christ.
On the other hand, are those who say Christians are obligated to participate in partisan politics
for the overall public good. Since the policies and actions of government affect our everyday
lives, they argue that it is incumbent on Christians to run for political office for the purpose of
shaping public policy to entrench godly values and implement programmes that benefit humanity
and glorify God.
This position has given rise to what is commonly referred to as Dominion Theology, a doctrine
that has gained significant currency since the 1970s. Drawing from the dominion mandate given
to the first man, Adam, this school of thought believes that Christians should leverage their faith
to take over politics and govern the nations according to Biblical standards and values. Hence, it
is further canvassed that the more Christians we have in politics, the easier it will be for this to
happen seeing that “righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs
14:34).
Each side has its merits. It is true that politics, whether in Nigeria or the United States of
America, can be full of dirty intrigues, power play, lies, and backstabbing. But nowhere does the
Bible support insulation or isolation of God’s people from politics. If we are to be the salt of the
earth and the light of the world as Jesus declared, we cannot do that by running away from
politics. Salt has a cleansing, seasoning, and preserving effect. Just like you put salt into soup to
make it tasty, Christians have to be involved in the political system to have any hope of
reforming it or the society.
The Greek philosopher Plato once said that “one of the penalties for refusing to participate in
politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.” Romans Chapter 13 emphatically
declares that God ordained human government so it would be quite illogical for His children to
be excluded from it. As Christians, we have dual citizenship – heaven and country of origin. It is
evident from the whole counsel of scripture that God fully expects His children to participate in
every facet of human life here on earth in order to enforce His will.

However, this is not to say that dominionism is God’s standard. While it is true that Christians
must not shy away from politics, it is equally true that salvation does not come from any human
government. Unwittingly, advocates of the Dominion Theology tend to redirect the faith of the
Christian towards political platforms/leaders to redress humanity’s ills, thereby ascribing to
human government what only faith in Jesus Christ can do. Jesus Christ is the Saviour of the
world. The problems of this world are the result of sinful humanity; indeed, the heart of the
problem is the human heart. The ultimate hope of the Christian is not in any political platform or
human leader but in Jesus Christ.
As Christians, we are not even under obligation to vote for someone just because he/she
professes faith in Christ. First of all, there are hucksters who use religion for political gain.
Secondly, just because somebody is a Christian does not mean he will be a wise or just leader.
He must possess demonstrable capacity to govern and the moral backbone to resist corruption.
Thirdly, you don’t need salt in large quantities to make a difference; you just need a small
quantity. I have said it before and I will say it again: It is not that Christians are not where they
should be; it is that they are not always what they should be. The truth of the matter is that we
have enough Christians in the political and civic affairs of this nation to make a difference. If this
is not happening, then the question to be asked is why. What is apparent is that many people are
Christians only in name.

Having established this background, I will now proceed to give a few thoughts on how Christians
can be effective in partisan politics.
Be informed – God said through Prophet Hosea that “my people are destroyed for lack of
knowledge” (Hosea 4:6). This simply means that ignorance carries a far more destructive power
than the devil. That being the case, it is incumbent on every Christian to acquaint himself/herself
with all the relevant information about how the political/electoral system works.
Every politics is local. But it never ceases to amaze me how some people, claiming to have the
divine instruction to run for political office, will jump into the political fray not having the
requisite knowledge or experience. In most cases, you discover that they have not been active in
any political party and don’t even know the basics of how ward delegates emerge; they cannot
tell you the different power configurations, the number of registered voters or the number of
polling units in their wards. Yet they are contesting an election! Without that information, how
can you make any intelligent projection? Ignorance has been the major undoing of many
Christians claiming to have heard from God to run for political office.
Let me hasten to add that getting information is not only for those aspiring to political office. We
owe ourselves the responsibility of knowing what the various parties and candidates in an
election stand so that we can vote wisely. Too often, we don’t even bother to read the
manifestoes of the candidates but rather choose to queue up along ethnic, sectional, or religious
lines.
Be Involved – There are three major ways we can participate in politics namely; by voting,
running for political office, and setting agenda for the government. I have talked a bit about the
first in the preceding paragraph; we must exercise our right to vote whenever the opportunity
comes.
It is the area of running for political office that is most contentious. I am aware that there seems
to be a consensus to get more Christians involved in partisan politics. There is nothing wrong in
that. I must, however, caution that as Christians, politics is not what we do as an ambition of the
heart but out of a sense of calling to serve in that sphere of life. If God is the one leading us, we
can be sure of His sustaining grace. That is the secret to the success of Joseph, Daniel, and Esther
who served in idolatrous kingdoms of their day. So, it is important for me that we are absolutely
sure of His leading and guidance before we jump into the partisan political arena.
We cannot all run for political office. Some of us may discover our calling in other areas such as
forming an activist group or civil society organization to act as a pressure group on the
government to do the right thing. We have witnessed the growing clout of these organisations in
influencing governments all over the world. But it does seem to me that they tend to be
dominated by people with questionable values and motives. I will like to see Christians form
NGOs to advocate for the right persons to be elected into office, eradication of social inequities,
and enthronement of righteousness and justice in the political space.
Be prayerful – The Bible enjoins us to pray without ceasing. This is a commandment we can ill
afford to take lightly. For the Christian in politics, the danger is greater. If you don’t pray you
will become a prey for the enemy. Prayer is our declaration of dependence on God; it is our
acknowledgement that we cannot do anything apart from Him. We need clarity of mind as
political leaders to function with godly wisdom and deliver good governance; prayer is our
insurance against demonic influence.
One of the qualities that stood Daniel out in his political career was his prayer life. “Now when
Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being opened
in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day and prayed, and
gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime” (Daniel 6:10).
A Christian in politics must guard against prayerlessness; it is a clear and present danger
confronting him/her owing to the very nature of politics and the pressure of work. To neglect the
prayer factor is akin to depending on your abilities, intelligence, and skills. If that happens, it is
very easy to lose focus and direction. King David wrote: “Commit your way to the Lord, trust
also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass” (Psalm 37:5).
CONCLUSION
In concluding this address, I wish to stress that we must take advantage of every available means,
including politics, to promote the kingdom agenda. Events around the world clearly point to the
imminent return of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. We must, therefore, gird up our loins and
brace up for the unfinished task of global evangelism.
We do not have to wait until we occupy public office to influence public policy or governance.
Wherever God has placed us is our opportunity to be good ambassadors of the Kingdom by
reflecting Christ in our words and actions; we must walk the talk and let our works outweigh our
words.
We must embrace humility and lead by good example (1 Peter 3:3-5). In or out of office, the
Christian in politics must always strive to affect lives positively, especially the poor and
vulnerable. We must have a distinctive character that truly portrays the Spirit of Christ in us. The
change that we desire begins with each person choosing to do the right thing wherever he/she is.

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2020/12/how-christians-can-be-effective-in-politics/amp/

Overview of Politics in Nigeria

The Federal government of Nigeria is composed of three distinct branches: legislative, executive,
and judicial, whose powers are vested by the constitution of Nigeria in the national assembly, the
president, and the federal courts, including the supreme court, respectively. The constitution
provides a separation and balance of powers among the three branches and aims to prevent the
repetition of past mistakes made by the government.[1][2]

Tobi, Niki (1981). "Judicial Independence in Nigeria". International Law Practitioner. 6: 62.

Herskovits, Jean (1979). "Democracy in Nigeria". Foreign Affairs. 58 (2): 314–335.

doi:10.2307/20040417. ISSN 0015-7120. JSTOR 20040417

Nigeria is a federal republic, with executive power exercised by the president. The president is
the head of state, the head of government, and the head of a multi-party system. Nigerian politics
takes place within a framework of a federal, presidential, representative democratic republic, in
which executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is held by the federal
government and the two chambers of the legislature: the house of representatives and the senate.
Together, the two chambers make up the law-making body in Nigeria, called the national
assembly, which serves as a check on the executive arm of government.[3] The Economist
Intelligence Unit rated Nigeria a "hybrid regime" in 2019.[4] The federal government, state, and
local governments of Nigeria aim to work cooperatively to govern the nation and its people.[5]

ago, Lydia Mosiana 11 months. "The Executive Arm of Government | Arms of Government".
Nigerian Scholars. Retrieved 2022-02-20.

"SOURCES AND CLASSIFICATION OF NIGERIAN LAW". Newswatch Times. Archived

from the original on 2016-02-21. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
 "THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT SYSTEM IN NIGERIA" (PDF). Commonwealth Local
Government Forum.

*Why Christians should be involved in politics*

Ken Leech, a vicar who started the homelessness charity Centrepoint said:

‘All Christians are political, whether they realise it or not. But especially when they don’t realise
it.’
Christians need to be involved because we believe in a God who cares passionately about his
world and his creation, and consequently how it is run. The Bible is hugely political – in that it
is about how God wants people to behave and act towards him, and towards each other. This
involves economics and law because these are tools that need to be used to build justice. So
often it is injustice which dominates God’s world and this grieves him.

As believers in God we have much to bring to politics – a deeper commitment to justice and
compassion which throughout history has made a difference in the political sphere through
people like William Wilberforce, Lord Shaftesbury, Elizabeth Fry, Martin Luther King,
Desmond Tutu and many others.

https://gracetruth.blog/ethics/why-christians-should-be-involved-in-politics/

Christians should take part in politics so as to reflect christianity through their leadership and be
examples to others.

Believer’s should join politics so that they may bring Righteous public service governance
because righteousness exalt a Nation Sin is a reproach for to all people and territory.
(2)To correct some wicked evil errors that politics are dirty game.
When have always allow dirty people to play politics.
Politics are governance that every believer should involve him or her self.

Krish Kandiah was published in the book Just Politics, 2010)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Just-Politics-Kandiah-Krish/dp/1850788650

Religion and politics are two different institutions that exist in the state and contribute their quota
in different capacities to better the life of citizens of the state and the sustenance of humanity.
Nevertheless, there have been continuous romance between religion and politics, to the dismay
of many especially who thinks it should not be so. This commonalities between the two
concepts are unavoidable since participants in electoral or political activities are in themselves
religious, particularly in Nigeria. Even in religious institutions, politics is in itself a necessity, for
want of organization and responsible leadership.

Doubtlessly, there are varieties of religion in Nigeria, but the interest of this research is focused
on the Christian Religion and its response to political affairs in the country. This research is set
to unravel two apparent realities confronting Christianity and politics in Nigeria. First, that
Christian denominations through literal interpretations of some biblical passages seek to exclude
Christians from political participation, secondly, the fact of political misconducts, malpractices
and faulty democratic leadership in a process many Christians are involved in, considering the
moral Christian ideals.

The ideals of Christianity are good guides to better political conducts, but the practice of such
ideals are usually influenced by the socio-cultural institutions in the society, including politics.1
this suggests that Christians have the moral norms needed to better a society, but if Christians do
not participate in policy making, where politics is a mechanism needed to exercise that, then,
these qualities are as good as nothing. Therefore, Christians from every walks of life should
heighten their political participation with the view of ameliorating the political system in Nigeria
from every corruption.

Again, many Nigerians have resorted to tag politics as a ‘dirty game’, owing to the misconducts
prevailing in the political system. This is due to assumptions that people have lost confidence in
the political class and on the electoral processes in the country, where votes cast by electorates
are presumed not to count, where there is so much of political thuggery and ballot theft. Worst of
all, these anomalies prevail amidst Christian presence in the process, the same people who are
supposedly taught the ethics needed to build a morally viable world. In view of the above, this
work seeks to restate those Christian ethical principles that is poised to better the society, as well
as encourage Christians to participate in the electoral processes, party politics and other
politically related activities, so that they could use their moral consciousness to improve and
sanitize the political system and ensure sustainable democracy in Nigeria.

Statement of the Problem

Man they say is a ‘Political Animal’ suggesting that man has in his nature, inherent
political motivation and impulse and thus partake in it, inevitably. Thus, problems accrues when
society tries to determine who should or should not partake in political activities. In Nigeria,
Christian denominations whose main sermons target low societal value system, political
corruption and have a persistent approach to holiness have sought to condemn politics in its
entirety, thereby discouraging its members from any form of participation whatsoever.
Adetoyese, John traced this back to the inception of Christianity in Africa. He wrote that “the
early missionaries distant Christianity from politics, especially in some African countries and
this brings a significant forebear towards politics by Christians and they have transferred that to
their children which brought about wrong impression that some Christians have about politics
and its role in human existence.2

Many churches uses literal interpretations of some biblical passages to drive home their points on
why Christians should not be politicians. Passage such as 2 Corinthians 6:14 “Be ye not
unequally yoked together with unbelievers; for what fellowship has righteous with unrighteous?
and what communion has light with darkness?”3 etc. have been instrumental to this Christians’
apathy to politics in Nigeria. The lack of effective Christians’ participation in politics have
culminated to so many ill fates to the Christian faith in a multi-religious state like Nigeria. We
now have Christian wailing here and there that they have been sidelined politically, that
government pays deaf ears to their cries and that they are suffering unfavourable government
policies which does not allow the church to thrive. These have been traced to the fact that the
Nigerian church is unable to produce a political Christian leader, making it difficult to harmonize
the various groups in the church into an effective political machinery.4

Addressing some basic problems in Christian political activism, Redekop, John queried “Politics
press the Christian toward compromises, can a disciple keep his integrity there?”5 However,
question such as this, throw Christians off balance and in many cases, harden their
determinations to stay off politics. This is due to the way politics is practiced in Nigeria today,
which has made it look dirty in the perception of committed Christians who have in turn seen the
politicians as fraudulent people.

Despite the afore stated points, Christians have explicitly not opted out from politics. For
instance a Christian dominated state like Akwa Ibom has her politicians and political leaders
majorly from the christian stock. In fact all the state governors from her inception have been
christians. Thus, political misconducts in a system controlled by Christian is also problematic
and of course the researcher’s burden.

*hebrew pericope*
The Hebrew Bible contains a complex chronicle of the Kings of Israel and Judah, written over
the course of many generations by authors whose relationships and intimacy with the rulers of
the several kingdoms fluctuated widely in both intimacy and respect. Some historical passages of
the Hebrew Bible contain intimate portrayals of the inner workings of the royal households of
Saul, David and Solomon. The accounts of subsequent monarchs are frequently more distanced
and less detailed and frequently begin with the judgment that the monarch "did evil in the sight
of the Lord".[citation needed]

The Christian New Testament instead begins with the story of Jesus, crucified as a criminal who
had offended both the Jewish priesthood and the Roman imperial authorities. At least to outward
appearances, Jesus was at the periphery of political life and power in the Roman province of
Judea.
Early Christians were described by Celsus as those who refused military service and would not
accept public office, nor assume any responsibility for the governing of cities.[1] Origen
confirms this description and adds that Christians do more for the good of the empire by forming
an "army of piety" that prays for the well-being of the emperor and the safety of the empire.[2] It
has been argued that Christianity made a significant positive contribution to the development of
modern democracy.[3][4][5]

In the Epistle to the Romans, chapter 13:1-7, Paul instructs Roman Christians to submit to
government. See also 1 Peter 2:13-17 and Titus 3:1 for parallels. Mainstream theologians and the
Christian right have interpreted Romans 13:1–7 to mean Christians should support the state and
wield the sword when necessary, as God has instituted the idea of governments to be his main
tool to preserve social order.[7]

1. Wilken, Robert (1984). _The Christians as the Romans Saw Them._ Yale University Press.
pp. 125. ISBN 0-300-03066-5.
https://archive.org/details/christiansasroma0000wilk/page/125

2. Wilken, Robert (1984). _The Christians as the Romans Saw Them._ Yale University Press.
pp. 117. ISBN 0-300-03066-5.
https://archive.org/details/christiansasroma0000wilk/page/117

3. Polygyny and democracy: a cross-cultural comparison. Cross-Cultural Research, 34/2 (2000),

190-208.
https://www.academia.edu/35769782/Polygyny_and_Democracy_A_Cross-
Cultural_Comparison

4. Korotayev, A. (2003). Christianity and democracy: A cross-cultural study (afterthoughts).

_World Cultures_, 13(2), 195-212.
https://www.academia.edu/36002782/Christianity_and_Democracy_A_Cross-
Cultural_Study_Afterthoughts_

5. Unilineal descent organization and deep Christianization: A cross-cultural comparison.

_Cross-Cultural Research_, 37/1 (2003), 133-157.
https://www.academia.edu/35902348/
Unilineal_Descent_Organization_and_Deep_Christianization_A_Cross-Cultural_Comparison

6. Shields, Jon A. (2009). _The Democratic Virtues of the Christian Right._ Princeton University
Press. pp. 46–67. ISBN 978-1400830107. "Christian Radicalism"
https://books.google.com/books?id=1qDWddtIlpAC&pg=PA46
7. Christoyannopoulos, Alexandre (2010). _Christian Anarchism: A Political Commentary on the
Gospel._ Exeter: Imprint Academic. pp. 181–182. Paul's letter to Roman Christians, chapter 13"