No doubt you have sometime heard someone say, "Religion and politics don't mix." This unwritten and silent rule is so entrenched into our culture that Christians and especially Christian preachers feel pressure to avoid subjects that touch on politics. In recent years certain churches have even been threatened by the IRS with the loss of their tax exempt status when their preachers happened either to publicly commend or criticize some political candidate or official. The silent but understood rule is that religion and politics are not to be too much mixed.

It may come as a surprise to you to learn that God's great prophets and preachers have always been willing to commend or criticize political rulers as the need happened to be. The prophet Nathan came to King David and confronted him when David committed adultery with Bathsheba. Then there was Elijah who publicly pronounced God's judgment against King Ahab and Queen Jezebel when they murdered Naboth. God gave the prophet Jeremiah the unhappy task of sending a letter to the king denouncing the nation's sins and pronouncing impending disaster. John the Baptist told Herod to his face that he was wrong to have married his brother's wife. John lost his head over it! Paul spoke to the governor Felix (who was also an adulterer) not about the economy or the latest tax plan but about righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come. In every case, God's preacher mixed religion with politics! God's prophets commended morality and condemned immorality and they didn't care if what they said applied either to politicians or politics!

The NT teaches that God has ordained rulers and governments and that he has given them the responsibility to reward what is good and to punish what is evil. "He is God's servant to do you good... He is God's servant to bring punishment on the evil-doer." This is the God-given responsibility of every political government and authority. Governments and government officials are responsible to know, practice and uphold what is morally good and to know and oppose what is morally evil. The idea being promoted by some that an official's morals or private life are not relevant to his ability to lead is absolutely opposite to what the Bible says on the subject. It is also contrary to reason. Would we ever tell our children that just so long as they get a good grade or even learn the subject that what they do in their private lives doesn't matter - just lie, cheat, and carouse to your heart's content as long as you bring a good grade home. Nor can we logically send this message to our public officials.

The truth is, God has always expected his people to hold governments and governments leaders accountable to moral standards of what is right. Rather than be intimidated into silence by someone's theory of the separation of church and state, Christians and Christian preachers must be willing to do what God's faithful people and preachers have always done. We must be willing to stand up for God's standards in public. We must be willing to humbly but plainly denounce the sins of governments and individual officials when they come to light. In Nazi Germany Hitler cowed the church into silence and acquiesence. We must not be cowed into silence. The church has the responsibility to hold leaders accountable to what is morally right. We are the politician's conscience. If we fail to speak, who will?

I am Stan Bryan of the Cherryvale Church of Christ reminding you that sometimes politics and religion really do mix!