-It’s been said “whatever you do, don’t talk about religion or politics”. Well this morning I am going to break both of those rules because I am going to be talking about the role of religion in politics.
-they say don’t talk about politics or religion – well I am going to do something really crazy and talk about both at once. In my 14 years of preaching, I have encouraged people to vote for biblical principles but I have never done a whole sermon on voting let alone a sermon series – Why am I doing this? My goal is to help people learn what the Bible says about issues that are so current, so controversial and yet so crucial - Does a Christian have political responsibilities? Voting, the justification for war, the death penalty, poverty, abortion, gay marriage and stem cell research.
-As we think through these issues we should not be blindly following a specific candidate – our allegiance shouldn’t be to a specific party either but to Christ –that is why we are calling this series - Vote the Rock! (this title is a play on the MTV “get-out-the-vote” drive, Rock the Vote!) Right now you may be affiliated with a certain political party but we should be ready to dump a party at a moment’s notice. Our allegiance should be to Christ the Rock and not to the Republicans or Democrats. I don’t know if you know this but the Republican party was not formed along with the first church there in the book of Acts chapter 2. -Rush Limbaugh and Bill O’Reilly are not the two prophets in the book of Revelation who come to prepare the way for Jesus’ second coming. -You say, well I am not even a Republican, I am a Democrat – well to you I say - John Kerry is not a male Mother Theresa.
-Now some of you may be really looking forward to this series but I know what some of you are thinking. You think this series seems like a distraction – that it is even inappropriate for church. Maybe you are on “election overload” already. Now let me be quick to say that I think the primary means of change in the world is through a changed heart when Jesus Christ enters a spirit and makes that person born anew to God – that is our primary purpose. The Kingdom of God will not be ushered in by Christian lobbyists.
However, God has called us to be a witness for Him, to stand up for His ways and to influence our society and I think we should not be intimidated by those who would try to silence us and take every opportunity to influence this culture in positive ways. We need to know why we believe what we believe. We need to be able to explain it to our kids and to those who question us.
-Someone may wonder – “Are we even allowed to talk about this in church – isn’t it against the law or something?” Not it is not against the law and off course we are allowed to talk about it – this is America. Churches are allowed to spend 10% of our budget to influence legislation. Churches can keep our tax exempt status so that donations to the church are tax deductible as long as we discuss issues and values and do not endorse candidates. I agree with that – I think religious organizations should have different rules than political organizations, if a church wants to fully enter politics they should follow the rules that govern political organizations.
And relax, I do not want to turn this church into a political movement. -I am not going to tell you how to vote – our church and our elder board do not have an official position on the candidates. I do want you to grow with me in thinking biblically in regard to politics and I don’t know about you but I need to grow in how I act towards people who disagree with me. Frankly, I think I am a bit immature.
How to speak up for the Lord:
1) We should use our voice and vote for God’s ways (Ephesians 4:15).
2) We should speak up in God’s manner (Ephesians 4:15).
1) We should use our voice and vote for God’s ways.
-Ephesians 4:15 - Speaking the truth in love – we need the balance of both
-Truth without love is cold and harsh – -Love without truth is hate! - tolerance can be the cruelest form of hate when one approves of something that destroys lives.
-Let’s talk about truth – when Jesus mentioned “truth” to Pontius Pilate, Pilate asked the famous question - “What is truth?" – good question – how do we find truth - Truth is found in the Word of God – it is an objective standard – it is a practical guide for life
-but it must be rightly understood - rightly divided – to study an issue, one must take all the verses that deal with the issue and harmonize them for a complete understanding of a topic – we can’t pick and choose the verses – this has caused so much damage in the past
-slavery – sadly for centuries many American Christians have used the passages in the Bible that deal with slaves submitting to their masters as proof that God approves of slavery – yet we can’t ignore all the passages where Paul told slaves to try to get free from their masters, and the book he writes specifically to strongly encourage a slave owner to release his slave – the book of Philemon – we should take all the verse which deal with an issue
-poverty – the Bible talks a lot about helping the poor – but it also says clearly “If a person will not work then do not feed them”
-now granted – the Bible doesn’t address every topic but I think that we might be surprised as we move through this series how many modern day election issues are addressed indirectly or by principle in the Bible
-We can and should use the Bible to help guide us and our society – In the Presidential debate the other night - Mr. Kerry noted that he was a Catholic but added, "I can’t take what is an article of faith for me and legislate it for someone who doesn’t share that article of faith.’’ That should mean that only atheists should vote or legislate
-But the entire Declaration of Independence was written based on religious beliefs – “we hold these truths to be self-evident that all men were endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights…
-The myth of separation of church and state - not separation of the church from the state.
In Ephesians 4:15 - Speak the truth –speaking up is “A sacred duty” - Proverbs 29:2 When the righteous increase, the people rejoice, But when a wicked man rules, people groan.
-John the Baptist spoke up about morality. He tried to hold the King accountable. Matthew 14:3-5 For when Herod had John arrested, he bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. For John had been saying to him, "It is not lawful for you to have her." Although Herod wanted to put him to death, he feared the crowd, because they regarded John as a prophet.
-later of course Herod found his opportunity and killed John the Baptist
Awesome privilege –Jesus said – Matthew 5:13 "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. -Salt was used to preserve things – to keep meat from decaying
-Jesus also said in - Matthew 5:14-15 "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
-In our country as a democracy, we have a totally unique opportunity to be salt and light to influence our society – fathers and mothers have sent their sons to die for the privilege that you have to vote – The big question is not why should we vote but “Why would we not vote” - Luke 12:48 - To whom much is given much will be expected. -apathy and cynicism is totally unacceptable for the Christian – like this sign “Anyone for council”
– In The Wilmer-Hutchins school district – financially broke, teachers unpaid, schools falling apart only 5% turnout for a bond election. - Someone has said - “In a democracy, Christians get the kind of government they deserve”.
Excuses for Christian voter apathy:
1) My vote will not make a difference – people are still arguing about who won the 2000 presidential -polling has shown that over 4 million American conservative evangelicals did not vote in the last election. Variation - “I live in Texas, which is going to vote for Bush.”
2) My vote does not matter - God is in control – It doesn’t matter who is elected. –God hates passivity.
3) My vote will be wasted - I don’t like either of them - pick the one who is closest to God’s ways
Edmund Burke: "All that is necessary for evil to succeed is that good men do nothing."
How to speak up for the Lord:
1) We should use our voice and vote for God’s ways (Matthew 5:13-15).
2) We should speak up in God’s manner.
-Ephesians 4:15 - Speaking the truth in love – again we need the balance of both
-Speak the truth in love – love without truth is not love; truth without love is cold
2 Timothy 2:24-26 The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.
-truth without love is one of the best tools the devil has to recruit people to evil – we may be right about something but if we don’t have compassion and concern for people you repel them from your beliefs.
-So don’t argue when you discuss politics – for some of us this is hard - A rookie baseball pitcher who was struggling trying to get his pitches over the plate, so the catcher walked out to have a talk with him. "I’ve figured out your problem," he told the young southpaw. "You always seem to lose control at the same point in every game." "When is that?" asked the kid. "Right after the National Anthem."
-some Christians who do speak up start arguing right away -Listen to people – I had an African American friend in seminary – one of the best prayer and accountability partners I ever had – his brother was murdered like in the first week of school – me and a couple other new friends I had made tried to pray with him and help him along and just be with him and we all really bonded together -a presidential election came up and we began discussing the candidates and we were amazed at how differently he approached all the issues – he had a high priority on civil rights issues – that’s because his parents were made to sit at the back of the bus and couldn’t drink from the white people’s water fountains and they had separate movie theaters for blacks and whites in his hometown. -I kept wanting to argue with him but God finally impressed on me that I needed to listen.
-don’t misrepresent – slander – bear false witness – be very careful – debates – both candidates were saying things about the other that were not true
-Colossians 4:5-6 Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.
GOSPEL -
