Introduction
Our nation- experiencing serious difficulties- affecting everyone of us- gas prices, investment losses, etc.
There is much anxiety in the hearts of people over the economy and how it will affect them personally.
What does- Bible counsel us to do- Phil 4:6-7 NASU-
Php 4:6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. NLT
Jesus made an interesting statement 2000 years ago …
Lk 12:54-56
Of all people’s on the earth- Christians should be able to understand the times in which we live.
It is easy to allow others to tell us what to think- but-
what does the Bible say to us about these days?
what is- Spirit of God speaking to our hearts?
Presidential elections- getting much media attention.
There are 13 people on ballot running for President.
I want to answer the question …
How should Christians vote?
If you came to- pastor for counsel- personal problems,
they would look to- Bible- identify the problem.
If you came with family problems, they would take the same Bible to identify your problems.
If a pastor came to us- problems in his church, we would take the same Bible to identify the problems
In each case- take the same book to solve the problem.
What if there are problems in our country/culture?
Unfortunately, to answer these problems, many people, including Christians, change books.
Many problems we have in our nation/culture is because we have changed books.
What I want to do is establish the framework from which we make our decision of who to vote for.
Christian Framework
Rom 13:1-3
We cannot discuss politics or Obama, McCain, Biden, or Palin, without bringing God into the discussion.
God is to be an essential part of government because it is a divine institution- He established it.
Psa 103:19 The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, And His sovereignty rules over all. NASU
Dan 2:21 "It is He who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings … NASU
Psa 22:28 For the kingdom is the Lord’s
And He rules over the nations. NASU
The world is already a theocracy.
Theocracy- theos- God, kratos- to rule, or God rules.
Opposed to homocracy- homo- man, man rules.
Question- not whether God rules- how does He rule?
Rom 13:1-2
There is only one governing authority, God, under which there are many governing authorities.
Every government must recognize its boundaries and that it answers to- one governing authority- God.
There is a danger when leaders try to turn government into something beyond what God intended.
Mtt 23:9 "Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. NASU
Call no man your Father or- no one your source.
Government should not become the entity to which we look to provide our every need.
Act 12:21-23 death of Herod
Only God can meet every need that man has.
Four Levels of Government
God has broken government into four levels …
1. Self-government
This is the most important level of government.
When citizens govern themselves then they do not need everybody else governing them.
Every man will give an account to God for theirselves
2. Family Government
Families have a specific jurisdiction.
Parents- over children, husbands over their wives.
The family has specific structure established by God.
3. Church Government
God establishes leaders to guide the people.
4. Civil Government
As we saw in Romans, God established government.
As Christians we should vote for the …
person, platform, and party, that
best represents the values of God’s Kingdom.
This will determine how God relates to our country.
Goal of government- reflect or mirror the rule of God.
Does not matter who you elect- but if they go against God, God will judge the nation accordingly.
The Government and Righteousness
Pro 14:34 Righteousness exalts a nation,
But sin is a disgrace to any people. NASU
Righteousness- doing right, keeping the commands of God, conforming our heart to God’s heart.
In beliefs, God wants us to think like He thinks …
In actions, God wants us to act according to His Word
Isa 55:8 "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," declares the Lord. NASU
Exalt- to rise up, to be set on high.
As individuals- if make right choices God will lift up.
As nation- if make right choices God will lift up.
Rom 13:3-4
Government- keep evil in check so good can flourish.
How will the government know what is good/evil?
God told Adam/Eve …
Gen 2:16-17
Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil- man determining for himself what is good/evil.
Man cannot make that distinction w/natural mind.
God wants man to live by what He says about a situation, not by what man feels about the situation
It is the job of the church to inform the culture and government about what God thinks about a matter.
There is a separation between church and state in the sense that they are two different institutions.
However, there is no separation between religion and government because of the goal of government is
to reflect or mirror the rule of God.
You do not merge church and state, but the church is to inform the state about what God thinks, so the government can make decisions that God agrees with, and the citizens can therefore enjoy the blessings of God. T Evans
God/government- not separate- God puts people in office … Joseph in Egypt, Daniel in Babylon.
God will allow a nation to put evil people into office an indication that they do not want His government
The word of God must trump our political alliances if we call ourselves a Christian. Tony Evans
When we are aligned with God, He blesses.
When we are not aligned with God, He will resist us.
Rom 13:5-6
Rulers are first servants of God/then serve people.
A good politician wants to know what God says first and then brings it to the people.
If a ruler bows to men, ignores the principles of God, he brings hurt to the people he is called to serve.
John McCain, you are a minister of God.
Barack Obama, you are a minister of God.
We must look for people to put into office who are moving closer to divine revelation from God.
Dan 4:29-32
Nebuchadnezzar failed to recognize his success was due to God’s blessing- God removed him.
God does the same to governments today.
God Bless America
Politicians from both sides of the political spectrum will quickly say, God bless America.
However, consider what our children recite every day-
I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands: one Nation under God, indivisible, With Liberty and Justice for all.
One nation under God is much different than the trite way some politicians say God Bless America.
When under something you are subordinated to it.
Since we are a nation under God, what does the God who is over us think about … immigration, taxation, racial relationships, abortion, social justice.
If one party proposes a policy- we must ask ourselves- is this a legitimate sphere God has for government.
My allegiance cannot be so much to a party that I do not understand whether that party is under God.
Conclusion
We must not allow our political parties to push God off to the side- they need to be held accountable.
People what to push God into church buildings where He cannot affect society- put God in-box on a shelf
When Pilate questioned Jesus, He said …
Jn 18:36 My kingdom is not of this world …
He did not say my Kingdom is not in this world, He said My Kingdom is not of this world.
In other words, I operate in this world, but I do not get My instructions from this world.
We must live in this world, but we should not get our instructions from this world … including …
how we vote and what policies we support.
The way I work in this world is by getting data from another world that I take to this world and I implement within this world. Tony Evans
How do we vote?
We should get our data from another world and bring it down to this world and then vote in light of that data.
Example …
United States has embassies in foreign lands. Those embassies do not belong to the country they are in but the country they represent. Those embassies do not take instructions from country they are in but from the country they represent.
You/I are like those embassies- ambassadors for God.
Pilate said to Jesus- Do you not realize I have authority over you?
Jn 19:11 Jesus answered, " You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above … NASU
The government has a limited role that is established by God- not by man or politicians.
Shoemaker- 5pm, time to quit. Customer comes in comes in last minute- would you take care of my shoes. Shoemaker says, it is late I must go home. The customer looks out in the parking lot and sees only his car. What do you mean you must go home, my car is the only one in the parking lot. The shoemaker turns to a spiral stair case and says I live up there, I only work down here. Tony Evans
Too many Christians- live down here/work down here
Cannot bring anything unique into- political process.
It does not matter if you are a republican or a democrat, as long as you know where you live.
If you know where you live, when your party goes against God, you know what stand you must take.
Know where you live while you are doing your work, so you do not get confused by the politics of men. Tony Evans
(Many thoughts for this sermon came from a series by Tony Evans called, How Should Christians Vote)
Church Fast
