What about the election?

You can’t turn on the TV without seeing a political ad. You can’t drive down the street without seeing a political sign or bumper sticker. Elections almost seemed to have reached the status of TV entertainment and no more. The law has put churches and pastors in a defensive position when it comes to politics, so much so, that some pastors have said that the church isn't about politics so why get involved in any way and they fail to give any direction whatsoever when it comes to elections. In doing so, I believe they are on the precipice of failing to be the shepherd of their flock and maybe that is the primary reason that according to statistics only about 28% of Evangelical Christians will vote in this election.

Here is an older stat but the numbers haven't significantly changed. According to the Pew Research Center during the 2000 Presidential election there were 59 million people who called themselves Evangelical Christians who were eligible to vote. Of that 59 million only 35 million registered to vote and of the 35 million registered only 15 million voted. That is only 25% of eligible evangelical Christians voting in a Presidential election.

Our countries founding fathers believed that politics and government do not have a place in the church and in our worship of God, but I also believe, like our founding fathers did, that God and the church belong in government and politics.

What does the bible say about that? Now some of you might not agree with what I say, but you do have the right to be wrong. Seriously if you don’t agree don’t fire back at me, but rather grab your bible and show me where I strayed from the truth of God’s word. I need the accountability of God's word as do you.

Here’s some of reasons that Christians give for not voting. 1) Evangelical Christians, according to national polls (Barna, etc) report a greater level of satisfaction with their lives than the general population, so they don’t feel a pressing need to vote. That’s the kind of thinking that leads to apathy and complacency and God when He addresses the complacent church in Revelation says He is going to puke them out of His mouth. 2) God is in control anyway. God is in control but to use that as a reason not to vote is a distortion of the truth. That would be like saying, “God has promised to supply all my needs, so today I’m not going to go to work.” God uses your job as a means to supply your needs just like He uses people to carry out His will when it comes to a countries leadership. 3) Lack of time. It is a fact that people of faith have less discretionary time and may get overwhelmed by voter guides and the time it takes to vote. Make the time, we will be held accountable for it. 4) There is no one who is worth voting for. Guess what, there was only one perfect man and we crucified Him. There will be no perfect candidates.

Remember government is God's idea.

Romans 13:1 (NIV) “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.”

The civil authorities ultimately serve the purposes of God. Scripture notes a number of examples where God raised up a certain king or country in order to accomplish a specific task that would bring God glory among the nations or would bring judgment on people for not following God.

Government fulfills biblical functions.

A. Provides for judgment and laws.

Romans 13:4 (CEV) After all, they (government) are God's servants, and it is their duty to help you. If you do something wrong, you ought to be afraid, because these rulers have the right to punish you. They are God's servants who punish criminals to show how angry God is.

This world would be a perfect place if we didn’t need government, where we could just rely on God and His Word to keep us in harmony. But God, knowing how rebellious we are to His laws, put civil governments in place for our protection. Do you know what’s so interesting about these verses in Romans? They are written by Paul, a church leader, who was observing a Roman and Jewish government which killed and tortured Christians for their faith in Jesus Christ and even killed the Son of God.

1 Peter 2:13-14 (NIV) Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right.

Did you get that? God uses the government to punish wrong. The point here is that God intends government to be His tool to provide for our civil protection by punishing wrongdoers. There is a huge myth that says you can’t legislate morality. There’s a Greek word for that, “Bologna” All laws are legislated morality, unfortunately today we can probably say that there are more and more laws that are legislating immorality, like those laws that allow for and pay for abortions, etc. than those that protect morality.

God tells governments to punish criminals? What’s a criminal? Someone who breaks a moral law. Why do we have stop signs and speed limits? Just to irritate people? No! It’s because it is morally wrong to endanger people with your vehicle because you want to get somewhere too fast or because you are running late. Why do we have laws against murder? Because it’s morally wrong to take the life of an innocent person.

B. Provides for rewards.

The end of 1 Peter 2:14 tell us that the government is to reward or commend those who do right. Unfortunately, at times, our government is so busy trying to regulate everything, they forget to reward those who do right. Our founding fathers understood this verse when they wrote the Bill of Rights. Those rights are rewards for those who do what’s right by following the laws. They set up what’s called the American Dream. That dream is that you will be rewarded for hard work and right living.

C. Provide for military protection.

Throughout the Old Testament we see God command Israel to form armies to protect the people of Israel. I know this is implied that it should continue today as a function of our government, but I believe it does put in place a principle that God expects countries to protect their citizens by forming a military presence.

Essentially that is it, the problem has become that our elected officials have stepped into areas that biblically they shouldn't be.

D. Functions government shouldn’t have.

There are some things that governments do that are not biblically supported. If you look in scripture you won’t find God demanding the government to provide free public education. If we are hanging our hat on that issue, no matter how good or bad our public school system is, biblically it’s not the government’s job.

How about the programs like welfare, social services, social security or health care. The Bible says that taking care of the poor, those unable to work for their food, the elderly or sick is the responsibility of the church and us as individuals. Unfortunately, the church has given this over to the government and so have we as individuals. It’s easier to pay taxes and have someone else do the dirty work. We now have government programs in place that were never intended by the constitution or the Bible. When the government takes over this responsibility it only makes the world a nicer and more comfortable place to go to hell from, not a biblically correct society.

I am thankful for and support those organizations like the Salvation Army, who take this biblical mandate seriously. And what about religion? It’s very important to understand that while God has ordained government, He did not ordain it to be His instrument to mandate or regulate religion. You will find no Scriptural support for the notion that the church should subject its teachings to government approval. Did you know that in Canada, right now, it is conceivable for a pastor to go to prison for using the Bible to support a position against homosexuality, because portions of the Bible are viewed by the Canadian government as hate speech. Remember, governments are to be tools of God, not the other way around.

Here's 4 Biblical principles to Guide Us in our voting.

A. Vote for principle over party.

Some of you are probably straight-ticket Republicans or Democrats. You go in and vote right down the party line and would die at the thought of voting for the opposite party, even if your party’s candidate is a sleaze-bag. I want you to know that there are Christian people in both parties. If you are a slave to your party affiliation, you are setting aside Biblical principles for politics.

Oh, and by the way cross over votes do not cancel your ballot in general elections. That only happens in the primary elections which some states have, yet there are many people who think that cross over votes invalidate their ballot.

B. Vote for principle over pocketbook. (Mt 6)

When our vote comes down to who is going to put more money in our pockets, who is going to get us a better economic advantage, who will bring less taxes, more social security or less expensive health care, remember none of these is the biblical responsibility of government and when we trust the government for them where does our trust in God as our provider come in?

Is it wrong to want to be prosperous, and to strive to expand and upgrade business? No, but the Scriptures are very clear that it is God who brings the increase, not politicians and if that becomes a priority for us in our voting it is called greed and that displaces God from His rightful place in our hearts.

A poll by Pew Research asked what are the priorities important to you in who you will vote for in the election. 78% said the economy, second at 77% was terrorism, third at 76% was jobs, fourth at 73% was health care. Unfortunately this shows us the state of America, only protection from terrorism is a biblical responsibility of our government. All the other issues deal with our personal financial status. I wonder how that fits with the financial principle found in Matthew 6 that says not to worry about these things because our heavenly Father has these under His care.

C. Vote for principle over popularity.

Galatians 1:10 (NIV) Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.

D. Vote for principle over political speech.

Matthew 7:15-16 (NIV) “….They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognized them…”

Does the candidates personal life and voting record match their talk.For instance, if a candidate says they are personally against abortion, yet consistently votes for it or is gone whenever their turn to vote comes up, they cannot be trusted, and therefore have no right to serve in a position of trust.If they constantly try to bring their faith into the picture, even speaking in churches, yet support ungodly and immoral legislation, then they cannot be trusted, and therefore have no right to serve in a position of trust.

It doesn’t take a lot of research to find out whether someone is living their life by Christian values. God’s word says we know whether or not someone is a Christian or not by the fruit their life produces. If a candidate does not go to church in non election years and then suddenly prior to the election they are in church all the time that should tell you something about the hypocrisy in their lives. If a candidate doesn’t give any financial support to charitable organizations for years, but starts when their record is checked during an election year that should tell you something about the generosity of their heart towards others and God.If someone claims to support the family, an institution established by God of one man married to one woman, yet do not stand up for legislation to protect it, then how can they be trusted to support family values?Are you getting the picture here? Actions speak louder than words. Don’t be swayed by words of candidates, words of supporters and most of all don’t be swayed by the media.

That's all I have time for now. Hope to talk again soon.