Who will be your savior this November 4th? (pt. I)
urban myth of christian politics #1: the Church must vote for a “Christian” president.
I have no idea where this came from and to be honest with you I’d like to spend the following post showing how unbiblical this view is. Romans 13:1b clearly states, “For there is NO authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, yes even Hitler were put into power by God himself. The implications of what Paul wrote are that God’s will is inevitable regardless of the outcome of this election. In fact, the outcome of this election is God’s will. It is silly to think that suddenly in this point in history our votes should be based on the “Christian-ness” of our president. God has, throughout the centuries, put many a non-Christian into power- and all have brought about the outworking of His will.
Who is your Nebuchadnezzar or Cyrus of Persia?
“This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I will send for my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon” [Jeremiah 43:10]
“This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: ” ‘The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah.” [Ezra 1:2]
I don’t know who you consider a more godless candidate this election, and to be honest with you I don’t see much of a life surrendered to Christ in either of them. Regardless, Nebuchadnezzar and Cyrus of Persia were both pagan leaders of two of the biggest empires in the Ancient Near East who God used to bring about His will. Whether that was the brutal massacre inflicted on the Israelites by Nebuchadnezzar or the blessed decree by God for Cyrus to rebuild the temple- God’s will involves all of these things- and I’d like to think that God’s sovereignty can even be preeminent over Obama and McCain’s leadership. I know that these two examples took place before Christ, but God does not change (Malachi 3:6), so why should His means?
I think when we believe that we must vote for a “Christian” president we have in mind that he is somehow incapable of sin or wrongdoing (as President Bush has clearly proven false)- in fact, we might think that God is on “his side”- and not the other candidate’s. Brothers and sisters, let me exhort you, let us be mindful whether or not we are on God’s side. I don’t believe that Obama or McCain has God’s whole heart in mind with regards to their political platforms. I think both of them are lacking in different areas and I DO not think that EITHER party has a monopoly on morality. Abortion and gay marriage are not the only moral issues- and neither are stewardship of the earth and social justice. And this is why I’m often left dumbfounded at how some Christians are so adamant about preaching that God’s will is for or towards one candidate and not the other.
So why vote if God’s will happens regardless?
That’s like asking why pray. I don’t have time to get into the depths as to why God wants us to pray aside from saying because He wants us to, and Jesus did- alot. Without taking Jeremiah 29 too out of context, I’d like to exhort to you, as a citizen of heaven, to understand why it is important to vote.
“This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” [Jeremiah 29:4-7]
Here we see Jeremiah preaching a very unpopular message. The Israelites needed to face the reality that God was sending them into exile, and that this would not be for a short time. Here we see God exhorting them to be concerned with the city where they’ve been placed- to not stay isolated, but instead “seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which” they were carried. Likewise, since our citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20), we too are in exile (to some degree). We too should seek the peace and prosperity of this nation, and what a blessing we have that we are given the opportunity to vote for our ideals and beliefs.
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you mean there’s more to Jeremiah 29 than just verse 11?