Tomorrow our church is hosting an event entitled “For the Good of the City: A Christian Perspective on Alberta Independence.” The event itself has generated some “discussion” on social media and correspondence to our church. With the religious zeal of the Pharisees in Jesus’ day, many are indignant that our church enters the realm of public policy discussion. It is like we’ve committed an unpardonable sin and breached the impregnable wall of separation between church and state. For many, Christians getting involved in political matters is not just unbecoming, it is illegal. Several people have claimed we are violating charitable law in Canada and should have our charitable status revoked. This accusation and warning have caused many churches to remain silent on the ideas swirling in the halls of public discourse, effectively hiding their light under the proverbial basket. So let me address any naysayers or questioning Christians about the intersection of the church and public policy discussion.
The Threat of Removing Charitable Status
First, allow me to clear up some confusion as it regards charitable status. Most churches in Canada operate as a charity recognized by the government of Canada. Changes to the Income Tax Act in 2018 specify that a charity can engage in unlimited “public policy dialogue and development activities” (PPDDAs) if these activities are connected to the charity’s stated purposes and are non-partisan (meaning they do not directly or indirectly support a particular political party or candidate.) PPDDAs can include advocating for or against laws/policies, public education on issues, research, or calls to action like petitions, marches, protests, email campaigns, etc.
As a church, we have the following stated purposes in our constitution:
- To advance the Christian faith including its religious tenets, doctrines and observances and the culture associated with that faith;
- To teach, preach, advance, demonstrate, and implement the Gospel of Jesus Christ and related truths of the Bible within the local community and globally and thus fulfil the Lord’s command of the Great Commission as in Matthew 28:19-20 (to disciple the nations);
- To establish and carry on a ministry of Christian education in the knowledge of God and guidance of all life as revealed in the Bible;
- To help and strengthen Members in adherence to the Christian faith and the discipleship of believers.
While this list is not exhaustive, it defines our charitable work of teaching and advancing the Christian faith and educating the public on biblical truth. Whether the issue is COVID-19, Alberta Independence, Gay Straight Alliances in schools, home education, abortion, conversion therapy, MAiD, legalized narcotics, or a gun registry, the church has the freedom—or better, responsibility—to speak to these issues from a biblical perspective.
Our church has no desire to be an advocacy arm for any political party or candidate, even if the law were to allow such a thing. However, the church is the pillar of truth (1 Tim 3:15) and the one entrusted with proclaiming and teaching the word of God (2 Tim 4:1–5). And while the word of God does not speak about everything, it does speak to everything. The word certainly speaks to laws, ethics, behavior, motivations, truth, principles, and a myriad of other things relevant to life together. Therefore, the church, entrusted with the word, has a divine duty to be the voice of a prophet, declaring God’s truth to the people around us.
Sometimes we are chastised that by speaking to these issues we’ve abandoned the gospel and have “gotten political.” But it is simply that Christ’s gospel—which includes the declaration that Jesus is Lord of heaven and earth—is connected to everything. If the church is a body, the gospel is the heart. A heart is not designed to sit on a table in a glass box like a detached gospel that has no impact on the world. The gospel is the pump that brings the lifeblood with the air of truth to every organ and muscle of the body. The body then moves, serves, speaks, acts, and lives, advancing the redemption of Jesus Christ in a sin-cursed world.
The Real Play: Get God Out of the Public Sphere
Second, I’m under no delusion that we’re having a good faith discussion about the role of charities in public political discourse. The warning of removing charitable status is out of the same playbook as accusing people of mixing faith and politics or using epithets like Christian Nationalist or Theo-fascist or far-right extremist. These slanders, along with the charitable status threat, are designed to achieve one goal: get God out of the public square. The devil’s play from the beginning has been to gag God and keep his truth out of the public ear. This fact alone should move us to declare God’s truth from the housetops, highways, byways, and every street corner.
Christians cannot be surprised that the world runs on unbiblical ideas while Christians who know their Bibles sit on the sidelines. Our Lord has called us to be salt and light, not dirt and darkness. Salt stings in a festering wound. Those who want to hide their deeds hate the light. The biting comments from those feeling salt’s sting or being exposed by truth’s light should never dissuade us from being faithful to our Lord. When you start receiving flak, know that you’re over the target.
Conclusion
Jesus Christ is Lord. That statement is political dynamite. It turned the world upside down (Acts 17:6–7). To be sure, Christ’s kingdom is not from this world, meaning it does not advance like the kingdoms of this world—like partisan politics and military might. Christ kingdom comes through the preaching of the gospel: the good news that Jesus Christ is God’s king and will establish God’s perfect rule, defeating sin, death, and the devil through his substitutionary death and resurrection.
While the cosmic gospel cannot be confused with a mere political message, the declaration that Jesus Christ is Lord has significant political ramifications.[1] The word “politics” comes from the Greek word polis, meaning city. “Politics” refers to the matters pertaining to the city or public life. The declaration that Jesus Christ is Lord affects a city, it affects public policy, it affects laws, attitudes, ethics, morality—it affects everything.
Christians should never be ashamed of their Lord or his lordship and sovereignty over every realm, institution, government, policy, ideology, or person. It is our task to speak our Lord’s truth, proclaiming his gospel, advancing his words, and praying that his will would be done on earth (including our city and province) as it is in heaven. The world today is in desperate need of Jesus and his word. Church, be salt and light.
—Tim Stephens
[1] By cosmic gospel, I mean that the gospel impacts the entire cosmos and includes a universal redemption, a new heavens and new earth, through the eventual and complete reversal of the curse (Colossians 1:15–20).