Thinking Biblically About Political Involvement (Part 2)

hardly any TV, you've seen more political ads than you want, I know.

I don't know, I don't think I've received any on my cell phone, but the house phone,

the landline, every day there's some kind of political call.

Just about any place you turn on the internet, there's some type of political ad.

By the time November the 3rd rolls around, you're going to be ready to scream,

enough or worse.

But I want to ask you, do you really need all these ads?

Do you really need all this information to help you to decide who to vote for?

I don't know many people who have not, on their own, already decided

who they are going to support come November the 3rd.

What I want to ask you this morning is, how did you decide?

How did you make up your mind?

Did it have anything to do with your candidates' views about issues that the Bible speaks to?

Does what the Bible reveals about this issue or that issue come into play

as you evaluate what the different candidates running for office are saying they believe?

You know, God calls us as Christians to look to His Word for guidance about every aspect of our lives.

Most all Christians understand we're supposed to look to God's Word for guidance in our homes.

What kind of husband we should be?

What kind of wife you should be?

Parents, children.

We understand we're supposed to look to God's Word in personal relationships.

Loving one another, forgiving one another, being patient, things like that.

But we need to understand that God expects us to look to Him as He has revealed His will in His Word

for guidance about every aspect of our lives.

And that includes how we vote.

I want us to conclude the message that I began last week on thinking biblically about political involvement.

And we're going to begin with a review of some of the things we looked at last week.

Let's begin with this question.

Why are all people held accountable to the same biblical standards?

We looked last week how every human being is accountable to God to live by the moral standards that He has revealed in His Word.

Here's a brief summary of why that's true.

First, everyone has been uniquely created by God in the image of God to live in this world governed by God according to the will of God for the glory of God.

And we're not going to look at all those different scriptures that we put on the screen and looked at last week.

But I'm giving you the references here.

That's a summary statement of how God has created us and worked in us and is still working in us.

We belong to Him as our Creator.

Next, everyone possesses at least a basic understanding of God's existence.

Romans chapter 1, Paul talks about that.

Romans 1 · chapter mention

Everyone knows something about God by virtue of the fact that He has created this world.

And we live in it.

And we see that it's complex.

It's orderly.

And other things.

God has revealed Himself through nature in a general way, the scripture says.

And God has revealed His moral standards.

The moral standards of God revealed in scripture.

He has put a general awareness of that basic right and wrong on people's hearts, in their conscience.

Paul describes in Romans 2, 14 and 15.

Therefore, everyone will be judged by God according to the moral standards of His word on the day of judgment.

That's what the Bible teaches.

Everybody at the end of their life is going to stand before God.

They're going to be judged on how they lived based on the truth of God that they have received.

Here's a sobering thought.

Us in this room, we're going to be held to a stricter judgment because we have the revealed word of God in scripture.

If we're Christians with the spirit of God living in us to help us understand that and be able to live it out,

we're not going to have a whole lot of excuses for not living faithful Christian lives when we stand before God on judgment day.

We're going to have no excuses.

Some people who have a limited knowledge of who God is and just that general basic understanding of right and wrong on their conscience,

they will be judged, but they didn't know as much as we do.

So we need to take this seriously, you and me in this room.

Wayne Grudem explains things like this in detail in his book, Politics According to the Bible.

And he points out how this applies to political matters that deal with moral laws.

We looked at that last week, but let me look at it again.

He says,

This truth, that all people are held accountable to the same biblical standards,

has significant implications for how Christians understand political questions that involve right and wrong.

For example, if God says that murder is wrong,

and if it is determined that the command not to murder applies to preborn children,

and to those who are elderly or very ill,

it clearly affects how one views laws regarding abortion and euthanasia.

I didn't put this next statement on the screen last week,

but Southern Baptists make that same point in our denomination's official statement of faith.

It's called the Baptist Faith and Message 2000.

It was adopted, updated in the year 2000.

This is also our church's statement of faith.

But I want you to look at what this says in Article 15,

The Christian and the Social Order.

All Christians are under obligation to seek to make the will of Christ supreme in our own lives and in human society.

Most people would say,

If you're a Christian,

obviously you should seek to make the will of Christ supreme in your own life.

But they would stop there.

But that's not what the Bible says.

I want us all to be clear about this.

There is no such thing as an individual or just a personal faith belief system.

God created this world and everything in it.

He rules this world according to His standards.

All people are accountable to God.

We as God's people who know the truth,

we have been given the charge to teach this to all people, everywhere.

We are, look at it again.

We are to make the will of Christ supreme in our own lives for sure.

That's where it begins.

We can't stop there.

And also in human society.

It goes on.

Every Christian should seek to bring industry, government, and society as a whole

under the sway of the principles of righteousness, truth, and brotherly love.

Six weeks from this coming Tuesday, November the 3rd, Americans are going to the polls to elect a president,

United States senators, some states will that is, and all the House of Representatives members.

And those leaders are going to determine the laws and policies of our country,

including the laws and policies that deal with matters of right and wrong found in the Bible.

You and I, as God's people, we must take our responsibility seriously.

We must seek to vote for candidates who come the closest to supporting biblical morality.

And I want to emphasize come the closest because none of them are models of biblical morality.

But I want you to notice something John Frame, the theologian, says that I think can be helpful to everybody

when it comes to making a decision between people, two people that you don't like, that you don't respect.

Look at this.

Frame says, many political debates do not leave room for a third alternative.

Typically, we have to choose between two candidates or two parties, or we have to vote yes or no on a proposition or bill.

Often, neither alternative represents an ideal Christian choice.

But often, one alternative is distinctly better than the other.

So that the Christian would be wise to be co-belligerent with one party or another.

I think Frame is very wise in pointing this out.

Now, since some people wrongly believe that Christians should not get involved in politics at all,

I want to do a quick review of why we should.

Question number two, why should Christians be involved in the political process in our country?

Well, if you look at the Bible, God has always called His people to be involved in their world.

God's always called His people to make a difference where they are, however they can.

We looked last week, and I just want to touch on it now, for example, how Daniel.

Daniel was directly involved in what we would call the political system or his government.

He was a governmental official in a place where he didn't want to be

because he was taken captive to Babylon when he was young.

But he made the best of it.

He rose to the top, became a respected leader.

But Daniel used his position of power, of influence,

to confront the pagan king Nebuchadnezzar about the way he lived.

Look at this.

Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you.

Break off your sins by practicing righteousness

and your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed,

that there may perhaps be a lengthening of your prosperity.

That was a risky thing to do.

But Daniel knew it was his duty to confront the king like that

because there's only one standard of morality,

only one standard of right and wrong in this world,

that which has been revealed in Scripture.

The prophet Jeremiah told the Jewish people

who were living as captives, prisoners of war in Babylon,

to get involved in the affairs of their city,

to benefit that pagan city,

because as that city prospered, they would prosper.

Look at what he said.

He said,

Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile

and pray to the Lord on his behalf,

for in its welfare you will find your welfare.

And as I showed you last week,

Grudem says this has to include political involvement.

Look, the true welfare of such a city

will be advanced through the governmental laws and policies

that are consistent with God's teaching in the Bible,

not by those that are contrary to the Bible's teaching.

We need to be involved in seeking to bring about

the overall welfare of the United States of America,

of South Carolina, of Pickens County.

And as our county and state prospers,

we will prosper.

That's what he's talking about.

That's part of God's common grace,

the way he works just in this world,

not just in Christians' lives,

but the way he works for good throughout this world.

You remember last week,

Jesus also instructed his disciples

to be actively involved in this world,

and he said we're to exert our influence like salt and light.

Look at this real quickly.

We're to be like salt,

having a preserving and flavoring effect on our community.

We're to be like light,

shining the light of the truth of God's word

wherever we go.

It is a part of our Christian duty,

our responsibility to be involved first here in Pickens County

and in every level of society that we can,

promoting and defending the moral standards of the Bible

as the moral standards of all people

because they're given to us from the God

who has created all people.

This is one way we fulfill also the commandment.

Think about this.

Love your neighbor as yourself.

Jesus said that's the second most important commandment.

Love your neighbor as yourself.

Life works best for everyone

when we try to live it according to God's way.

God's moral standards are for our benefit.

They make life better for us as individuals,

for our families, for our communities.

And so we need to believe it, practice it,

and seek to influence as many people as we can,

live life God's way,

according to the way he's revealed in his word.

Now, one of the ways that we need to do this right now

is to look at where the political party and candidate

stand on the issues

and then vote for those who most clearly align

with the truth of God's word.

What I want us to do now is look at this.

Third question.

Where do Republican and Democratic candidates

stand on issues addressed in Scripture?

Now, with rare exception,

there are a few exceptions,

but with rare exception,

the men and women running for president,

United States Senate,

and House of Representatives,

they support their political party's platform.

Therefore, let's compare the Republican

and Democratic Party's platforms

on the issues addressed in Scripture.

If you look at those,

you can look at them,

go online,

just type in

Democratic Party platform,

Republican Party platform.

They're long documents.

They cover a lot of areas.

What we're going to look at now

are some of the issues

that could be considered,

that are considered biblical issues.

The first one is abortion.

Abortion destroys the life of a baby

in his or her mother's womb.

Every baby that is conceived

is a living human being

created in the image of God.

Every life that is conceived

is a gift from God,

and that little living human person

is being shaped and molded

to be the person that God wants them to be.

I want you to look at an example.

The psalmist describes this in Psalm 139.

He says,

For you formed me in my inward parts.

You knitted me together in my mother's womb.

I praise you,

for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Jeremiah describes himself like this.

Now the word of the Lord came to me saying,

Before I formed you in the womb,

I knew you.

And before you were born,

I consecrated you.

I appointed you a prophet to the nations.

Every child is conceived

by the supernatural,

just miraculous work of God,

you might think.

It can be explained.

But every conception,

that's God's allowing it to happen,

causing it to happen.

And that child is conceived

and grows and develops

according to the plan and purpose of God.

You are like you are

because God made you like you are.

But like Jeremiah talks,

God makes us like we are

because he has a purpose for our lives.

Now,

to share the slide,

I'm not going to read all this,

but it's here for you.

The Democratic Party platform

strongly opposes

any laws that would prohibit

or even restrict

the killing of a living human being

in his or her mother's womb.

And that's what abortion is.

Someone might say,

well that's sort of inflammatory language.

No, that's just real language.

Abortion is the murder,

the killing,

the destruction

of a human being

in the mother's womb.

That's what it is.

Democrats say,

a woman has the right

to do that.

The Republican Party platform

opposes abortion

and defends the unborn baby's

right to life.

That's the emphasis

of the Republican Party.

That's the emphasis

of the Bible in this case.

That which is growing

in the womb of a mother

is a living human being.

And as a living human being

created in the image of God,

that person has the right

to life

that should be protected

until natural death.

But let's move on now.

Second issue,

transgender issues.

We're talking about

biblical issues

that are found

in the Republican

and Democratic Party platforms.

A transgender person

is someone who chooses

to live their life

as the opposite sex

or gender

of how God made them.

A man declares

that he's going to live

his life

as a woman.

Or a woman declares

she's going to live

her life

as a man.

Such people

want what is

their denial

of reality

to be protected

by law.

Now I want to emphasize

that.

Every male

who is born

into this world

biologically male

will always be

biologically male

regardless of what

they call themselves

or how they dress

or how they act.

And for a biological

man

or a biological

woman

to say

I feel like

the man

I feel like

I'm a woman

trapped in a body

a woman's

I feel like

a woman trapped

in a man's body.

That's denying

reality.

That is a mental

problem.

That is not something

that normal people

would think.

And it's certainly

not something

that should be

protected

by law.

God determines

our sex

or gender

when he forms us

in our mother's womb.

God creates us

male and female

as you see

the scripture

on the screen

that we've looked

at numerous times

God decides

whether we'll be

male or female.

And that is

who we are

regardless of

how we think

or what we declare.

Now

the Democratic

Party platform

affirms

people

choosing

their

gender.

For example

they want to

make it legal

for a biological

male

to identify

himself

as a female

on government

documents

like say

a driver's

license.

If

biological

man

chooses

to be

act like

a woman

he can go

to the DMV

and get a

driver's license

that says

female.

Democrats

also want

to allow

boys who

call themselves

girls

to use

the girls

bathroom

at school

and locker

room

and in

other places.

They also

want to

allow

male athletes

who identify

themselves as

female

to compete

against

female

athletes.

There's a few

states that are

allowing that

but most states

still have

enough common

sense

not to allow

that.

Well the

Republican

Party

platform

opposes

this

nonsense.

Opposes

making this

the law

of the

land

and just

pretending

that your

biological

sex

does not

matter.

The third

issue

religious

liberty.

This is the

right to

practice your

religious

convictions

everywhere.

Not just

at home

not just

at church

but at

work

at school

and just

out in

the

community.

This also

applies to

business

owners

being able

to conduct

their

businesses

according to

biblical

convictions.

For an

example

colleges

like

Anderson

and

North

Greenville

Universities

here in

South

Carolina

they're

Baptist

institutions

they now

have the

right

based on

their

statements

of faith

to say

we're not

going to

hire

somebody

who is

a

homosexual

in

administration

or to

teach.

They now

have the

right

because of

their

statement

of faith

to say

we're not

going to

allow students

to openly

engage in

homosexual

behavior

on our

campus

and they

do those

things

because

the Bible

clearly

teaches

that homosexual

behavior

is sinful

behavior.

I'll give you

one example

from 1

Corinthians 6

Paul is

writing to

these people

do you not

know that the

unrighteous

will not inherit

the kingdom of

God.

Do not

be deceived

neither the

sexually immoral

nor idolaters

nor adulterers

nor men

who practice

homosexuality

nor thieves

nor the

greedy

nor drunkards

nor revilers

nor swindlers

will inherit

the kingdom

of God.

Homosexual

behavior is not

singled out here

as some kind

of unique

sinful

behavior.

Paul is just

saying that

anybody who

chooses to

live a sinful

lifestyle like

this including

practicing

homosexuality

will be

excluded from

the kingdom

of God.

It is

contrary to

the way

God made

us and

the way

that God

regenerates

a person

when he

saves a

person.

It is

contrary to

living a

Christian life.

Now there is

good news in

the next

verse.

Paul goes on

to say to

point out that

all sinners

can be changed

by God's

grace.

All sin can

be forgiven.

Look at

this.

And such

were some

of you.

But you

were washed,

you were

sanctified,

you were

justified in

the name of

the Lord

Jesus Christ

and by the

Spirit of

our God.

There were

people in

that church

who had

been alcoholics.

People in

that church

who had

committed

adultery.

There were

people in

that church

who had

been involved

in a

homosexual

lifestyle,

but they

repented of

their sin.

They changed.

They were

not living

that way

anymore.

Another

example.

This has

been upheld

by the

Supreme

Court of

the United

States.

Currently,

a Christian

baker does

not have to

make a

wedding cake

for a

same-sex

couple that

wants

decorations

depicting

two men

or two

women being

married because

that would

violate the

Christian

baker's

convictions

that marriage

is between

a man and

a woman

only.

As the

scripture says,

look at this,

the foundational

statement about

marriage in the

scripture,

Genesis 2,

24,

therefore a

man shall

leave his

father and

his mother

and hold

fast to

his wife

and they

shall become

one flesh.

Now,

I want you to

show the

slides.

There's

going to

actually be

two.

Make note

of these.

The

democratic

platform

forbids

such

religious

liberty.

The

democratic

party

platform

considers

running

your

business

or your

school

or institution

or even

personal life

according to

your

religious

convictions

to be

discrimination.

For

Anderson

University to

say,

we're not

going to

employ

a homosexual

to teach

here.

The

democratic

party says,

we're going

to outlaw

that.

We're going

to ban

it because

that's

discriminatory.

The

Republican

party is

saying,

no,

that's what

the Bible

teaches.

That's what

your religion

teaches and

you have a

right to

practice your

religion even

as an

institution,

Anderson

University.

The

Republican

party supports

religious

liberty.

It affirms

the rights

of businesses,

institutions,

and

individuals to

practice their

beliefs in

life, work,

school, as

well as home

and church.

This applies

not just to

Christians,

I want you to

understand all

of this, this

applies to

people who

practice any

religion.

You can live

out your

faith in

this country

without being

discriminated

against.

Now the

fourth issue

is traditional

marriage and

family.

So I'm

going to go

straight to

this slide

and be real

quick with

this.

Look at

this if you

would.

The

Republican

party states

this.

I'm going to

look at it

here.

Supports

traditional

marriage and

family based

on one

woman and

one man.

Every child,

here's the

quote,

every child

deserves a

married mom

and dad and

our laws and

government

regulations should

actively promote

married family

life as the

basis of a

stable and

prosperous society.

That statement

is a statement

of fact.

All the

research shows

in every

demographic,

in every

demographic,

in every

racial group,

a home where

there is a

stable presence

of father and

mother strongly

impacts a

child's well

being throughout

their lives.

People will

talk about the

problems of

poverty today.

One of the

greatest ways to

deal with

poverty is for

our government

to have

policies that

actually promote

and reward a

man and a

woman living

together as

husband and

wife staying

together and

bringing up their

children in a

solid home.

A lot of the

racial problems in

our country today

could be eliminated

by focusing on

both husband and

wife, father and

mother, being

there, being

present, being

involved in the

lives of their

children.

Well, the

Democratic Party,

as you see on the

screen,

Democratic Party

has sections

supporting every

group you can

imagine under the

sun except the

family.

Look at it.

Go online and

look it up and

you will not find a

statement supporting

what we would call

traditional families,

a husband and

wife, a father and

mother, being in the

home, raising their

children.

If you doubt me,

what I'm talking

about, ask any

teacher in this

room where the

problems are in

their classrooms.

Children can't

help it.

But the ones that

suffer most are

being raised alone

by someone and a

lot of times neither

father or mother.

You know, there are

other biblical issues

addressed in the

Republican,

Democrat,

platforms like the

role of government

in our lives.

That's another way

of talking about

socialism and we

did, we've done

that enough over the

last few weeks.

But let me just say

this.

Democrats look more

favorably at

socialism and

giving the

government more

power in our

lives and

throughout our

country.

Republicans are

opposed to

socialism and

want to limit the

power of government

government to

control our lives and

control everything in

our country.

Now, in light of all

we've looked at last

week and this week,

it's clear that God

does call his people to

be involved in the

world.

We can't pretend that

what's going on is not

going on.

And that includes being

involved in political

matters.

matters.

I think John Frame says

it best in his

explanation of why he's

involved in political

matters.

Look at this.

He says, I try to base

all my ideas not only

about theology but about

everything else on the

scriptures.

That includes politics.

If I am to do all

things for the glory of

God, that surely

includes my voting

behavior and my other

efforts to improve the

government of my country.

I want to ask you, are

you involved in the

political process of

this country to the

glory of God?

Are you informed of

what the Bible teaches

about the issues of

today?

The Bible doesn't

address every issue

that's being discussed

today.

But the Bible does

strongly state clearly

a position on the

issues we've looked at

and many more.

Do you look to the

Bible for guidance

about what is right,

what is wrong?

Are you informed about

what the candidates

running for office

believes about these

issues?

How they line up with

the truth of God's

word?

And are you planning to

vote according to the

truth of God's word?

For the good of our

country and for the

ultimate purpose of

glorifying God.

Now I want to make

one thing real clear.

This is not some kind

of campaign speech or

rally for any

candidate.

I want to make this

clear.

I don't think either

Republican Donald Trump

nor Democrat Joe Biden

has the moral character

to be president of the

United States.

You know a lot of

times evangelicals get

blasted by the liberals

in this country because

many evangelicals support

Donald Trump.

They talk about his

lifestyle and so forth.

Most all evangelicals that

I've ever heard or read

speak about this all

denounce Donald Trump's

moral character and

lifestyle.

And I do too.

I do not hold him up in

any shape, form, or

fashion as a model of

integrity.

As an example of

someone I would want my

grandchildren now to

grow up to be like.

But neither would I Joe

Biden.

Or four years ago neither

would I Hillary Clinton.

But the fact is this.

One of these men,

Donald Trump or Joe

Biden, is going to be

elected president of the

United States in

November.

It doesn't matter what you

think about either one of

them.

Therefore as Christians,

we need to vote for the

one whose policies and

party platform most

closely support biblical

principles.

That also applies to

choosing our senator from

South Carolina that we're

going to do this year.

Either Republican

Lindsey Graham or

Democrat Jamie Harrison.

Final thought.

Voting matters.

It's important for us to

be involved in political

process.

But we must guard against

putting too much

confidence in any human

being or any human

institution.

Our unreserved confidence

must always stay upon our

sovereign God.

He alone controls this

world.

Our country.

And our individual lives.

Regardless of the outcome of

an election.

I think the scripture is very

clear about certain issues

that will help us to evaluate

the two parties, the two

platforms, the two

candidates.

I think the Bible is very

clear how we should vote.

It matters that we vote.

The outcome of this election

matters.

But no matter what, once this

election is over, God is still

in control.

He is still working in this

world for His glory and our

ultimate good.

And He will do that no matter

who is in the White House.

No matter who controls the

Senate or the House.

We must never lose sight of the

fact that God is sovereign.

God will be the one who

determines the outcome of this

election.

Read Romans 13 if you have any

doubt.

So trust Him.

But be involved.

Recognize that God works

through His people to bring

about His outcomes.

Let's pray together.

Father, help us to think

biblically and deeply about

about these issues.

Help us to be involved in the

political process.

Not just voting, but right now,

voting November the 3rd.

And help us, Father, to be

guided by the truth of Your Word

and what the candidates and their

parties say in relation to the

truth of Your Word.

And we pray, Father, that You will

bless our country through this

process, through the outcome of

this election.

But help us, Father, no matter

what, to keep our true faith and

confidence in You and You alone.

Let's just in an attitude of prayer

listen to the Lord and respond to

Him during these next few minutes.

When I say this to God, we pray for

the darkness of what is

this morning.

You have to accept if CHC

and that you release any

related to

Our point of Órght

onor

was