The Christians during the New Testament times knew nothing of democracy. They lived under kings or emperors—many of them as slaves. They had no right to participate in nor influence the government that controlled much of their lives. Jesus was their Lord, yet they were model citizens who obeyed the laws and prayed for their ungodly leaders.
    Christians in America live in a system unknown to the first century Church. This became a concern for the members of the Restoration Movement in the middle of the 1800s as the country became polarized. Questions such as slavery, war and Christian unity during political unrest were debated with no clear scriptural guidance or command.
    Our leaders took the approach of allowing for personal opinion on these topics, but to keep the debate out of the pulpit. Preaching was for proclamation and explanation of the Gospel, not for promoting or attacking social issues facing the populace.
    How well did this work? Think of all the current denominations that still identify themselves by their geography or political sentiments. Ours was the only Christian group to not divide between North and South as the country fought the Civil War. This position of staying politically neutral is still good policy!

Denis Whittet