“See, I have taught you statutes and rules, as the LORD my God commanded me, that you should do them in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’” Deuteronomy 4:5, 6

For the Christian, public policy begins in conversation with God. If we do not first talk with God about the work of government, we run the risk, like Joshua in the first assault on Ai, of charging ahead in our own efforts, doing whatever we think is best without respect for God’s purposes of concerns.

We talk with God about public policy, then we enter the arena of public policy and talk with those who engage with us in this important work. Here Christians need to be reminded about a couple of obvious, but easily-overlooked, guidelines to help us in bringing the teaching of God’s Law to bear on the work of public policy.

First, making public policy is not a work of evangelization. Of course, Christians must be always ready to give a reason for the hope that is within them to anyone who asks (1 Pet. 3:15). But in making public policy we are seeking to shape government not for the salvation of souls but for the kind of society where such salvation can be freely proclaimed and lived (1 Tim. 2:1-8).

Thus the language of public policy-making must not be the language of preaching; indeed, it will probably not even be the language of God’s Law, at least, not obviously or directly. Nothing shuts down conversation in the public policy arena in contemporary America quite as fast as someone who feels obligated to preface all his opinions with, “Thus saith the Lord” or to punctuate his every comment with “Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!” Such language is appropriate in its place, of course, but it is not likely to enable us to achieve a persuasive voice in the arena of public policy-making.

But just because we do not use the words of God’s Law does not mean that we are not seeking to achieve in public policy the spirit of what it encodes. Biblical exposition makes sense to us, and we would not think of engaging the arena of public policy – or any other arena of life – without adequate Biblical preparation and instruction. However, we need to present God’s good and perfect will to people in language that makes sense to them. We must seek to persuade policy-makers that what we propose in any area of public policy embodies true wisdom and understanding and will contribute to a peaceable, quiet, safe, just, and good society. The burden is on us to understand the times in which we live – the views and worldview of our contemporaries, and their hopes and aspirations – and to propose our public agendas in ways that resonate with those worldviews and hopes.

As Jesus became incarnate in a form men could recognize, doing works they could admire and speaking words they could readily understand, so Christians who are seeking to affect public policy according to God’s good Law must couch their proposals in arguments and forms, the wisdom and goodness of which can be properly debated, evaluated, and implemented within the public square by people who may have no regard whatsoever for Biblical teaching.

T. M. Moore

Visit our website, www.ailbe.org, and sign up to receive our thrice-weekly devotional, Crosfigell, featuring writers from the period of the Celtic Revival and T. M.’s reflections on Scripture and the Celtic Christian tradition. Does the Law of God still apply today? Order a copy of T. M.’s book, The Ground for Christian Ethics, and study the question for yourself.