Christian Government—What Would That Even Look Like?

We’ve seen many attempts to claim Christianity as the official religion of a country, going back much further than Project2025 to the Roman Empire under Constantine. That didn’t work out very well from the standpoint of Christian faith and following Jesus. Then again, Constantine was not attempting to construct a government based on following Jesus’ teachings. He just wanted Christianity to give his governance a stamp of approval. Following Jesus was not his starting point. Power was his starting point. He merely wanted to wield Christianity as one more tool to expand the scope of his power.

But what did Jesus say regarding power?

While the gospels rarely use the specific term power, it refers to Jesus being empowered and able to do various things. Those things are healing, casting out demons, laying down his own life, granting life, granting protection for his followers, resurrecting the dead, forgiving, assisting the tempted, doing good, and creating. None of that has anything to do with imposing one’s will on another. None of that has to do with wielding force and violence. To the contrary, the power of Jesus is all about redemption, life, and reconciliation. These are all used in the service of others, in their best interest. As Luke presents in Acts, Jesus went around empowered to heal and do good.

Related to this, Jesus said that the greatest in Heaven’s Reign are the servants of all. This definition of greatness has nothing to do with wielding the power of coercion. It is rather the power of service that offers and amplifies life for others. That lies in direct opposition to the ways we consider power in terms of governance and those holding political office. Politics is by definition about how we wield power over others. For Jesus, all appropriate use of power is always in the service of others.

What did Jesus say regarding enemies?

If government wields power for coercion, it naturally defines and creates enemies. Jesus, on the other hand, taught his disciples that enemies are not to be created. Rather, enemies were to be transformed into friends through love and redemptive practices. If we are to love our enemies and do good to them, that excludes the very idea of holding people as our enemies. It excludes the idea of treating anyone as an enemy.

Any government based on Jesus’ teachings would need to bar itself from defining anyone as an enemy. It would bar itself from treating anyone from the perspective of being enemies. Rather, it would seek to meet their deepest needs to transform them into its friends, allies, and advocates.

What did Jesus say regarding retribution?

Most famously, Jesus quoted the traditional mantra, “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” He well knew that notion was supposed to be a limiting of retributive justice. Jesus takes that limitation much further, however, ruling it out completely. Rather than leaving any opening for retribution or revenge, he requires his followers to break the notion of retribution by releasing the very notion that there is anything for which to seek revenge. You can’t steal from me what I freely give you. What I have given freely in nothing for which I need to be avenged.

Government built on Jesus’ teachings on retribution would have to exchange any notion of retributive justice or punishment for something completely different. Rather than seeking punishment, it would need to respond positively by meeting the other’s unmet needs. It would need to wield its power to benefit those who would act out of needs that have not been addressed.

What did Jesus say regarding war?

The above teachings of Jesus already deem war completely contrary to how we wield power and respond to others. Jesus does more than simply erase the concept of enemies. He calls his followers to become peacemakers. Waging peace instead of war requires applying those principles of interacting on a personal level to a level of governance. Rather than responding to others with destructive force, we respond to others with the power to meet their needs. We take unexpected actions that shifts conflict into cooperation, assistance, and partnership.

What did Jesus say regarding economics?

Power is tied intrinsically to economics, for economics underlies how we work with the resources of the world of God’s creation. We have already seen Jesus teaching his followers to use power and resources to the benefit of others. That is central to all Jesus had to say on economics. He classifies hoarding resources as injustice in the face of the needs of others. He teaches that the resources in our care do not belong to us at all. The phrase from the Psalms, “The earth is Yahweh’s with all its bounty,” undergirds the basic tenets of Jesus’ economic teaching.

Nothing belongs to us. Everything belongs to God. Nothing we control is for our personal benefit alone. All is for the benefit of all. We have known for generations that there are plenty of resources to feed and care for everyone the world over. The only problem we have with that is where greed interferes with meeting the needs of others. If we love our neighbors as ourselves, however, everyone’s needs are met with plenty left over.

Government functioning along those economic principles would look very different than most any political system the world has ever seen, though some nations have attempted to embrace some of these notions to one extent or another. It would require something like a universal basic income. It would require healthcare for all. It would require meeting the needs of everyone, regardless. It would require that all those things we like to impose on people for receiving assistance of any kind be brushed off as immaterial. It would require that wealth be seen and employed as a resource for the common good, not for individual gratification.

Is there more?

There is much more to Jesus’ teaching and life principles than these few related here. There is much greater depth for discussion of them all. What there is no room for, however, is justifying as Christian any system that wields power over others under threat of any kind. Love is, after all the essential principle of the Christian life. As 1st John reminds us, perfect love casts out fear. Unfortunately, fear is the most essential tool used by government as a means to coerce obedience. That simply has no place in a system operating under the rule of love.

“This is my commandment,” Jesus tells us, “love one another according to my example in laying down my own life for your benefit. That is what sets you apart to be recognized as my followers.” For government to be Christian, it must be self-giving on behalf of all. Constantine’s Rome hardly functioned that way. Nor has any other government since.

Love. That is the way of Christ. That is the way of Christianity if it is to follow Jesus at all. Love is the power of God to create life, not to wield fear in order to control.



— ©Copyright 2026, Christopher B. Harbin 



http://www.sermonsearch.com/contributors/104427/

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