OUR 5 CORE DUTIES AS CHRISTAIN CITIZENS Chapter 1
Background
Citizenship in a free nation like Nigeria is a blessing from God, this is so because, we cannot decide what country to be born in and which not to. This therefore implies that just as the country owe us a duty, so do we owe a duty to our country more so as Christians. Our system of government assures every Christian a voice in the affairs of the nation and enables us to bring a heavenly perspective to the earthly realm. God want us to do his will in government, just as in church and home (I shall elucidate that in the next chapter).
But too often have we disobeyed our Lord. We as Christians have die away from been “the salt of the earth” and the “light of the world” just as Christ commanded us. On the basis of that, the moral fiber of Nigeria is rotten away and our freedom to worship our Lord is in grave danger. We as Christians are in danger of losing our nation by “negligence” and with it our freedoms of assembly/gathering and probably our lives with it. God forbid this (amen)
Edmund Burke a British statesman said “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men (Christians) to do nothing”. Nigeria is the most populous black nation in the world with more than half of the voting population Christians (R.C.C.G Statistics). If only this percentage of Christian voters will vote, we would produce the next president and hopefully some other public officers who off course, should be from our faith (not minding his denomination). Only by so doing, can we save our heads’ temporarily from the unruly annihilation bad regime might cost us as Christians and further achieve freedom to serve Him.
Charles Finney in 1835 wrote: “the time has come that Christians most vote for honest men and take consistent ground in politics, or the Lord will curse them… God cannot sustain this free and blessed country that we love and pray for, unless the Church will take right grounds. Politics are a part of religion in such a country as this, and Christians must do their duty to the country as part of their duty to God… God will bless or curse this nation according to the course we Christians take in politics”. Charles Finney helps introduce half a million Americans to Christ, thou his words were to the Americans at that time, I strongly believe we can relate to this as Christians in Nigeria. Our nation’s course is up to us.
God’s plan for a Nation’s Leadership : To protect his people, God warns us against un-godly leaders. The rule of a heinous leader is a direct violation of His desire. “The wicked shall not rule the godly, lest the godly be forced to do wrong”. (Psalm 125:3). Instead, God’s plan is for us to have leaders who know Him and rule in accordance to his word. 2Samuel 23:3 says “He who rules over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God’’.
“Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty- as well as the privilege and interest – of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers.” (John Jay) Voting for and supporting moral candidates who support moral public policies is the minimum required of a Christian citizen in a system of democracy like ours. Godly people must vote for godly rulers. If Nigeria is to be saved, saved Nigerians must lead the way in leadership and elections.
In the next chapters, I shall laconically explain the 5 core duties of Christian citizens, which are:
Pray for our nation
Register to Vote
Become informed
Help elect Godly people
Vote
By his grace each of above stated duties will be back up with references from the Holy Scripture. Hopefully by so doing us Christians will understand that it is our godly duty to vote godly candidates in any elections and at whatever level.
God bless us as we read and may this text find an expression in our hearts.


Edited by
Ngwai, Godwin Boyi.
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