The Biblical View of Government

but God has chosen the foolish things of  the world  to shame
 the wise, and God  has chosen the weak things of the world
to shame the things which are strong, (1 Corinthians 1:27)

I'm not crazy about our choices in the 2016 election. One candidate has allowed a terrorist attack on sovereign US soil where a US ambassador was tortured, raped, and murdered, she refused to allow the military to rescue the victims, then she lied about the cause of the attack to the victims family and the American people. She sold access to her office for personal gain, she endangered the safety of this country by leaving highly classified documents unsecured, she then destroyed the subpoenaed evidence to hide her guilt. She enables rapists, abuses her subordinates, insults rape victims, military members and Secret Service agents assigned to protect her, and her chief aide has familial connections with the Muslim Brotherhood. 

The other candidate says mean things.

So what do we do? What do we as Christians do when faced with a political dilemma such as this? I know there's going to be a lot of people upset come November especially when you look at all the people who actually ran for president and realize that the best people in the race are actually in the running for VP. But now we are down to Trump and Hillary. Looking at both candidates we can see the truth in Calvin's commentary on Romans: "a wicked prince is the Lord’s scourge to punish the sins of the people" It's quite obvious that we are about to be scourged, so what do we do?

We do what God tells us to do:

Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. (Romans 13:1)

Simply put, God put our governments on earth for His reasons and He expects us to abide by their decisions. But this means more than just obeying laws, it means genuine honor and respect for government officials, because they are God's agents for maintaining peace and justice

Does this seem hard to you? There's a lot about following Christ that's not easy. Forget what false teachers like Joel Osteen and TD Jakes tell their goats, God is not going to hand you a 2.1% APR mortgage and the keys to a new Lexus, our reward is not hear on earth, Here on earth we are going to be tempted and tested. Not only are we to honor totalitarian governments (Romans 13:1) but to love and pray for our enemies (Luke 6:27-28) and even then loving Jesus is going to cost us pain (Matthew 24:9) and the only way to pass these tests is to lean on Jesus.

You may argue that when Paul said to be subject to the governing authorities he was speaking to the church in Rome who was facing persecution from the emperor, But at the same time Peter was writing to far flung enclaves “scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia” (1 Peter 1:1) and he said:

13 Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, 14 or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. 15 For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men. 16 Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God. 17 Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king. (1 Peter 2:13-17)

Paul followed his own instruction. He was accused (falsely) of breaking the law so along with Silas he was beaten, thrown in prison in Philippi, and placed in stocks. He could have shouted and verbally accused his jailers of mistreating them and started an "Apostle Lives Matter" rally, instead Paul and Silas spent the night in jail (until the Lord freed them) “praying and singing hymns of praise to God” (Acts 16:25).

God calls believers to be model citizens, not troublemakers, always obedient and respectful to their government. If you want to speak against something speak against speak against sin, against injustice, against immorality, against false teaching and ungodliness and speak with fearlessly. Keep in mind that we must do it within the framework of civil law and with respect for civil authorities. We are to be a godly society, doing good and living peaceably within an ungodly society, living our transformed lives so that the saving power of God is seen clearly by the worldly people around us. (Don't expect our actions to replace preaching the Gospel)

Is it unbiblical to support one candidate over an other? Of course not, that is part of our democratic process. However once a candidate has been elected we need to keep in mind that they are established by God, He chose them and He uses them as a tool to teach us, and if necessary rebuke us, The most important part to keep in mind is that our true citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:21-22)