Think/Pray/Act, One Sermon Version INTRODUCTION it has been said The first step in preparing to vote is to Think. a. To Vote or Not To Vote?

Transcription

1 INTRODUCTION Why should Christians who live in a democracy participate? Are there biblical guidelines for this, or is all the fuss around campaign time just partisan panic? Most all will agree that there are at least three responsibilities for Christian citizens. Let s take them one at a time I. The first step in preparing to vote is to Think. a. To Vote or Not To Vote? i. Some Christians believe that Christ-followers should not participate in any governmental functions, arguing that Jesus taught separation from the world and the state. ii. Others believe that Christians should fully participate, interpreting that in the world but not of the world justifies our participation in the above. How can we sort out that substantial question? b. Understand that biblical discussions of government see God as Ruler of all. i. Lord of Creation based on Genesis 1, 2. ii. Lord of humanity based on divine creation of humanity. iii. Lord of all whom He grants authority under His rule. Romans 13:1. Prov. 21:1 The king s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He wishes. iv. Lord of both kings and their citizens. v. The political design of eternity future describes the Sovereign God, and does NOT picture an electoral process! We can infer that Application: The divine model for political rule is sovereign kingship. The hope for a better king is focused only on King Jesus. All others will fall short of our need. We recognize democracy as did Winston Churchill: Many forms of Government have been tried and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time. Democracy has its limits, but it is the system in place in our country and should be respected for what it is. It will apparently have to serve us until Jesus returns to establish His visible rule in the Kingdom which He alone can rule. c. We must understand that God has established governing authorities. i. Human government is His idea. 1. God intends that human authorities establish justice for all. Rom13:1 2. Those authorities should protect those who obey the law. 3. Those authorities should discipline those who do not; which might endanger their neighbor. 1 Peter 2:13 14 ii. Thus, Paul and Peter both tell us that we are to obey those authorities unless they demand that we disobey Him. iii. Jesus emphatically states that we are to have an impact on the society we indwell. Matthew 5:13 16

2 iv. In a democracy, which allows, solicits, and requires public participation, voting is one way that we can express our commitment to public integrity and justice thus, being salt and light. We must not overstate this! Especially in light of what we have said earlier From the passages in Romans 13 and 1 Peter 2 we can infer that Christians should recognize divinely-appointed human authorities, and also obey them. A third inference is that divine affirmation of secular authorities requires us to carefully screen them, in a democracy to seek leaders of good character, who will pursue what Paul and Peter state serve the good citizens and correct the disobedient. A fourth inference is that having basic requirements and standards of secular authorities specified by Paul and Peter, Christian citizens should apply those standards to candidates for office. Taken together, voting for such leaders will be an act of obedience for Christians. Having determined that believers should participate in democracy by voting, how does one choose which candidate to support? d. We choose candidates to support very carefully. i. Character must be the first identifier Paul and Peter are quite clear about what qualifies a person to fill the divinely-designed role of authorities. 1. The candidate should be those sent out by him to punish those who do what is evil a. Able to discern good from evil morally astute. b. Willing to name the evil courageous. 2. The candidate should be willing to praise those who do what is good. 3. A viable candidate will not remain silent when a citizen acts righteously. 4. The candidate must be ready to celebrate good behavior, rather than to perceive it as threatening or competitive. ii. A second identifier may be the support of other biblical values. iii. Celebrate life generally. iv. Promoting freedom to obey God. v. Finally, to support particular issues that are lower on the political scale of priorities. Alert: virtually every issue of debate has some interface with biblical issues. vi. Caveat: it is vital that Christians interact with those who disagree with them politically, especially politically-engaged Christians who are on the opposite end of the political spectrum 1. Reading and interacting only with those who agree politically perpetuates our blindness. 2. Engaging with our political opponents offers us a chance to step outside our experience and see issues with greater objectivity. That may prove revelatory in choosing viable candidates. Though we live in a democratic society, we must recognize that God Himself is sovereign over all nations and all peoples. Therefore, as we participate in that democracy, we prayerfully follow biblical guidelines that God has given us to recognize true leaders. People will disappoint us, they will not keep their word to us! However, in a democratic society, we have freedom to demand that they keep their word and that they follow through on their commitments to justice.

3 II. Pray a. Pray for kings and all those in authority. 1 Timothy 2:1 4 i. May our political authorities lead well, such that we might live tranquil lives, quiet lives not under threat. ii. May those authorities and their families find life and peace as we pray Ezra 6:10 so that they can offer sacrifices of pleasing aroma to the God of heaven and pray for the life of the king and his sons. iii. May we, the prayers, understand the true intentions of God for us as we live our lives in alien territory. Jeremiah 29:7 Seek the welfare of the city I have deported you to. Pray to the Lord on its behalf, for when it has prosperity, you will prosper. 1. Before someone objects that this was written to Judah in exile in Babylon, not to us in North America in the Twenty-First century! 2. Judah is to seek, not the death of their pagan captives, but their WELFARE!! a. Judah is to pursue the SHALOM of Babylon, the wholeness, the completion, the Eden-ish state of Babylon. b. Idyllic, because the Garden of Eden had probably been nearby! c. That includes the peace/shalom in each of the realms (family, livelihood, even prosperity of Babylon d. Then, rather than citing obedience to the Law as the cause of blessing-to-come, Jeremiah proclaims that the Prosperity of Judah will flow from the Prosperity of Babylon. 3. The instructions to Judah in Babylonian exile also apply to the Church, now living in a secular, perhaps pagan culture. We are to live for the shalom of our own cities, our own neighbors. 4. So, we are to seek the welfare of the secular city in which we live. That means many things a. Social order we are to recognize the work of God in bringing order to our society and work that same commitment to order into our own neighborhoods. b. Peace we are to expand this concept of shalom into peaceful coexistence with those who see life differently and have distinctively different values. They are still made in God s image, and we must not consider them grist for destruction, but human beings, worth our investment in relationships. c. Not isolation, but engagement! d. We pursue the Shalom of our city that sense of WHOLENESS, a place of human FLOURISHING, commensurate with the commands of God in the creation accounts fill, replenish the earth. Our prayers for our community should reflect these desires of God for all humankind. b. Pray that the Lord will bring His kingdom to the earth. i. The ultimate goal is to bring the Kingdom to the earth that is Shalom in that the Prince of Peace will rule on a New Earth. Matthew 6:9 10 ii. Ask the Father to manifest His Kingdom here, now. This may be the most powerful prayer we might utter. iii. May Jesus, Whose Spirit indwells all those of faith,

4 Begin in the realm of your heart c. Pray that His Word will run its course in your heart and others. 1 Thess 2:13 i. As the Word is allowed to have its FULL EFFECT in each of Christ s disciples, our lives will be transformed, the first step in the shalom-ing process. ii. That is, the Word works effectively in you the Lord has specific intentions in His use of the Word in us. 1. We can know that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion (Phil. 1:6). 2. We understand that His good intentions for us include preserving us, our faith in Him, our maturity into Christlikeness, and our obedience in good, Kingdom work. 3. That good intention includes the life-transforming work that we are designed to accomplish: Ephesians 2:10 HCSB-- For we are His creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them. iii. When the Word runs its course in us, we become more like Jesus, and we do the sorts of things that Jesus did. John 14:12 HCSB I assure you: The one who believes in Me will also do the works that I do. And he will do even greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. Continue in the realm of the fellowship of the saints d. Pray in such a way that the answers will prompt praise to God as they appear. i. The essence of prayer is looking to God to do what we cannot possibly accomplish without Him. ii. Paul, in 2 Corinthians 1, explains the connection between our need, God s intervention, and our praise of Him. iii. The deepest and most significant result of our prayer is the glory of God. We glorify Him when those who join us in prayer recognize His intervention in response to our prayers. iv. God is most glorified in our lives as we give Him full credit for His work in our lives. We magnify the glory of God as we give others reasons for praising Him with us. III. Act The sort of political activism that a Christ follower should follow the mandate of Scripture, implemented by the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit, and motivated by a passionate love for Jesus. Those three elements can serve us as we make a difference in our world a. We are very human! Many of us have political opinions and commitments that we have not founded on biblical perspectives. i. It s fairly normal to either adopt the views of our parents and families OR ii. to seek views that are the opposite of our family of origin. Warning! iii. A politically-engaged Christian with political opinions and values based on their family s values or their tribe s values is merely part of a special interest group and should not expect to see divine engagement in those opinions! As part of our responsibility to THINK AND PRAY, we must acknowledge our limitations before God. THAT 1. We are easily motivated by self-interests

5 2. Finding God s heart for people from the writings of Scripture will give us incentive to do what Jesus did and does, to live our lives for those around us. iv. A mature disciple of Jesus will not only Seek First His Kingdom and Righteousness, but will Seek the Shalom of his/her city. 1. Briefly Restate: Jeremiah Illustrate with local examples of your congregation s commitment to the good of the city a. Care for immigrants and refugees? b. Care for the homeless? c. Care for single parents? d. Tell a story illustrating a positive outcome in each of those local outreach arenas. e. Celebrate God s intervention through your hands and feet!! v. A growing disciple of Jesus will expand the influence of Jesus into the public square public debate of issues with compelling arguments that Jesus Himself used! 1. Give to Caesar what is Caesar s Matt 22:21 Then He said to them, Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar s; and to God the things that are God s. APPLICATION: PROCESS WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNED about the candidates for office in your local municipality, county, state, as well as national ones. Verbalize your conclusions about those candidates, writing that out if that helps you clarify your thoughts. Practice communicating those ideas with family or close friends. Remember that the PRINCIPLES you have drawn from the Word are more critical than the PERSONS you vote for. Some of those People will forget or sidestep their commitments. Remember that! INITIATE CONVERSATIONS with your extended friends, especially believing friends, that focus on THINKING about the Shalom of our city/state/nation. These conversations will challenge your friends to THINK about politics and the role of believers in the political realm. Be careful to base your presentations/responses/ points on the Scriptural basis of Christian political engagement Do NOT use fearful arguments to motivate political engagement. Those who act out of fear, even righteous fear, will feast on that fear, arouse fearful resistance, and prove self-destructive. Remember the biblical phrase: perfect love casts out all fear. Thoughtless, emotional arguments produce only emotional responses. Clarity of thought and clarity of communication speaks to the image-of-god in each hearer. Let passion build on thinking. That passion will persevere. COMMUNICATE THOROUGHLY with your neighbors and networks. Build trust. Build consistent communication structures. MOBILIZE YOUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS; make sure they actually vote (on election day, if not before).

6 DEBRIEF YOUR CIRCLES OF INFLUENCE AFTER THE ELECTION. Make sure all in those circles know what happened in the election. Talk to them about the reality that elections matter. Prepare them with the importance of the next election cycle! * Finally, do not neglect voting, regardless of whether you find a viable, supportable candidate. Even choosing to writein a candidate leaves you engaged in the democratic process, WHICH IS A PART OF SEEKING THE WELFARE OF THE CITY! Conclusion Christians who live in democratic nations should participate in the democratic process. They should vote. Believers will not agree on all political issues. Often, there is no Christian position in an array of political matters. The first responsibility of a Christian citizen is to carefully gather information, seek wisdom and counsel, and grasp both the character of a candidate and her/his opinions on key matters. The second responsibility of a Christian citizen is to pray, to seek God s guidance. The third responsibility of a Christian citizen is to act, to seek the shalom, the peace of the city and to pursue that shalom by serving, pursuing justice, and voting. All of these three must be practiced. For further help Steven J. Cole: Lesson 89: Christ: Lord of our Politics (Rom. 13:1-7 and other Scriptures) A helpful summary from Steven J. Cole: REQUIRED OF EVERY CHRISTIAN: (1). TO BE SUBJECT TO THE GOVERNMENT UNLESS IT ASKS US TO DISOBEY GOD (ROM. 13:1; 1 PET. 2:13-14; ACTS 4:19-20; 5:29; DANIEL 1, 3, 6). (2). TO GRANT PROPER HONOR TO THOSE IN AUTHORITY (ROM. 13:7; 1 PET. 2:17). (3). TO DO RIGHT AND COOPERATE WITH GOVERNMENT AUTHORITIES WHENEVER POSSIBLE (TITUS 3:1-2; 1 PET. 2:15). (4). TO PAY TAXES (ROM. 13:6, 7; MATT. 22:17-21). (5). TO PRAY FOR GOVERNMENT AUTHORITIES (1 TIM. 2:1-2). (6). TO EVANGELIZE AND DISCIPLE GOVERNMENT LEADERS WHEN POSSIBLE (1 TIM. 2:3-4; MATT.28:19; PAUL S EXAMPLE WITH FELIX, FESTUS, AGRIPPA, AND OTHERS). (7). TO BE INFORMED AND VOTE FOR CANDIDATES AND ISSUES WHICH WILL, TO THE BEST DEGREE POSSIBLE, UPHOLD GOD S PURPOSES FOR GOVERNMENT (MATT. 5:13-16; TITUS 3:1). Wayne Grudem: Politics - According to the Bible: A Comprehensive Resource for Understanding Modern Political Issues in Light of Scripture. Zondervan. For contrast John Howard Yoder: The Politics of Jesus, Eerdmans.