Oct 27

Written by: Michael A. Milton
10/27/2008 10:03 AM

Introduction to the Reading
Since the founding of our nation, ministers have always instructed their congregations—not in who to vote for—but what the Bible says about the issues that may be at the forefront, and what the Bible says about government itself. They used to be called “Election Day Sermons.” Today there seems to be some “No Trespassing Signs” that have been erected. We do not want to speak about political affairs and entangle ourselves in such matters. But where God has spoken we not only have the freedom to go there, but the obligation to do so. So in this Election Day Sermon, if you will, I want to begin by reading from 1 Timothy 2:1-2:

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.

Introduction to the Message
There was a little boy who wanted $100.00 very badly. So he prayed for two weeks but nothing happened. Then he decided to write God a letter requesting the $100.00. When the postal authorities received the letter to God, U.S.A., they decided to send it to the President. The President was so impressed, touched, and amused that he instructed his secretary to send the boy $50.00. The President thought that this would appear to be a lot of money to the little boy. The little boy was delighted with the $50.00 and immediately sat down to write a thank you note to God that read:

"Dear God, Thank you very much for sending me the money. However, I noticed that for some reason you had to send it through Washington, D. C., and, as usual, those devil's took half of it.”

That is a cute story about how politics and religion didn’t mix too well for that boy. There are other stories that are not as cute. For instance, there is a pastor who took it upon himself to flash up the faces of candidates on an overheard screen and point to one who is right and one who is wrong. That decision, in my opinion, is not my job as a minister, but yours as a voter. It alienates people from church rather than teaches them what God’s Word says and then encourages them to apply the principles of God’s Word to their lives with their own noggin.

There are other stories that are not so cute like the one about the Mainstream Coalition in Overland Park, Kansas. This group gave me fits in 1993 when I preached a message from Ezekiel concerning being a watchman on the wall. I was actually preaching from my living room where we were planting a church. My message, which sought to bring the Bible to bear with issues that we are still dealing with, ended up getting to the mainstream coalition. From there, the full text got into the paper and a front-page article was written. I did not have the money to pay for that kind of publicity and our church actually grew greatly from that. That was not the Mainstream Coalition’s intentions. They are now sending out monitors to conservative churches in that vast suburban community of Kansas City to make sure there is no hate language in the churches. Hate language to them is calling alternative lifestyles sin. That is not so cute.

The Canadian House of Commons, one day after voting down a measure that would reaffirm marriage as “the union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others,” voted in a measure adding sexual orientation to the country's hate-propaganda law.
Christianity Today noted:
“While Christians of course oppose the promotion of hatred against anyone, including homosexuals, and abhor any calls for violence against gays, many Canadian Christians are worried that yesterday's bill, C-250, limits their freedom to oppose homosexual behavior.”
The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada wrote:
"Bill C-250 has the potential to silence reasonable debate on issues like marriage and school curricula and restrict the legitimate expression of moral and religious views on sexual practices,"
May we never find ourselves in that position, but I would not be surprised if we did. This leads me in this message to say: “Politics and religion may not mix, but Biblical faith and human government must!” If we are silent where God has spoken, we will regret the day we did not speak if we ever lose that right.

Let’s look across the sacred texts and identity four Biblical ideas that define the relationship between the believer and human government.

The first word that defines the relationship between Biblical faith and human government is:
1.  Dominion
Now what I mean by dominion is found in Genesis 1:26:

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

We also find this truth in 2 Corinthians 10:5:

 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.

And in 1 Corinthians 10.31:

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

On Reformation Day when Protestant churches remember Martin Luther, the German professor-preacher, who nailed his protests on the church door in November, 1517, we confess one of the hallmarks of the Reformation: the people of God are called upon by the Lord to live out their faith in every area of life. This was an amazing feature of the Reformation which led to the common man finding dignity in his work as a laborer and seeing that in the eyes of God his life and work had meaning before God no less than a king. It also meant that liberty and freedom began a march. What started as a revival ended up as a reformation of politics. Why? Because when Christians are salt and light in their world they make a difference.

What does it mean to say that the Bible teaches that we take dominion in all of life?
It does not mean that Christians take control to force all others to believe as we do. That didn’t work in the Inquisitions, didn’t work in the crusades and will not work now. For believing in Jesus Christ is first and foremost a response of the will. The will of man becomes affected by the Holy Spirit through preaching the Gospel of God’s love and grace. Man is transformed on the inside and then it works its way out. However, it is to be noted, that where Christianity has gone, all religions have flourished.

It doesn’t mean that we are to apply Old Testament theocratic laws that were fulfilled when the theocracy of Israel ceased to be. A theocracy is a direct rule of God. God did that until there were kings and then he ruled through kings. The civil laws, ceremonial laws were all fulfilled through either the cessation of the theocracy or through our Lord Jesus Himself becoming the High Priest we need. So to take dominion in our society is not to return to Old Covenant laws.

It does mean that whatever we do we must do in the name of Jesus Christ. This means that if God has gifted us as artists, we must create in the name of Jesus and for His glory. Mel Gibson, a devout Roman Catholic, may be an interesting figure to appeal to on Reformation Sunday, but his convictions about telling the story of Christ’s passion in his movie is an example of this. If you are a businessman, you should bring glory to God in your business. I think of Mr. Cathy and the wonderful testimony he has brought to Chik-Fil-A. All of this leads me to say, as citizens and as statesmen, we need to bring out faith to bear in this world. We are ordered by our Lord and Savior to let our light shine. We do that in our vocations, our families and we do that in our relationship with the authorities of this world like human government.

One man who demonstrated this and taught this in a great way was the Dutch pastor Abraham Kuyper(1837-1920). Kuyper was a theologian, scholar, journalist, educator and prime minister of the Netherlands from 1901 to 1905. He taught that the Bible forges a distinctive worldview where Christ is Lord of all. His most famous saying summed up his understanding of the Lordship of Christ:
"There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: 'Mine!'"
This is a mandate we all have.

The second word that defines the relationship between Biblical faith and human government is:
2.  Submission

Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they marveled at Him. Mark 12:17 (See also Matthew 22 and Luke 20).

In Mark the religious leaders wanted to trip up Jesus in this area. But Jesus said render unto Caesar what is his and to God the things that are His. Jesus was obedient as a Son of God. He only did what the Father wanted Him to do. Jesus was obedient to His parents and grew in stature with God and with men. Jesus was submissive even to human governments.

Paul was teaching the same thing in Romans 13. There we read:

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.  Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

Even though the Roman Empire was an oppressive agent, Paul sought to work within the system to get the Gospel out.
The Word of God clearly teaches us that God has established human authorities and that as believers we are to submit to those authorities. The family is our first governor and we are to obey our parents. The Church is an authority that requires obedience to the Gospel. And human government according to Paul is an authority. Nowhere in the Bible do we get the idea of anarchy. To be a Christian is to be a slave to Christ, and thus a slave to others for the sake of Christ.

Is there ever a time when it is not right to obey human government? Yes. When human government orders believers to do what is contrary to God we must obey God. This is what happened to the early church in the Book of Acts. Look in Acts 5:27 and following:

And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, saying, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.”  But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men."

The question of Christian civil disobedience is not a new question. It came to Christians in Rome. When told to curse Christ and worship Caesar, Christians said no. In Communism in our own day, places like Albania told a Roman Catholic priest I interviewed personally in Tirana, Albania that he had to curse Christ. I saw the marks on his back from whips daily for five years because he disobeyed government to obey Christ. Today if Christian parents in China are ordered by the government not to pray with their children, what must those Christians do? Francis Schaeffer, one of the greatest pastor-theologians of last century, preaching from the pulpit of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in 1982, said this:

“When the government negates the law of God, it abrogates its authority. God has given certain offices to restrain chaos in this fallen world, but it does not mean that these offices are autonomous, and when a government commands that which is contrary to the Law of God, it abrogates its authority.”

May that never happen in our nation. But one way we can prevent it from happening is by voting and encouraging political involvement that promotes Biblical values in human government. That is in fact the greatest way to honor government. By being involved in it.

The third word that defines the relationship between Biblical faith and human government is:
3.  Prayer

1Timothy 2:1 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

That passage is a critical passage. In 1 Timothy Paul is teaching Timothy what must be done in the church about problems that have arisen in the church. In chapter two, Paul turns to worship. He is saying that prayer must be prime in the public worship services of the church in Ephesus. And this may just amaze you: he charges that prayers be made for those in authority. Then he explains why: in order for Christians to lead a quiet and peaceable life. Human government provides an authoritative cover under which the Church may carry out the Great Commission. It follows then, that we should pray for the government.
Now that may surprise you. It may surprise you that government is part of the way the Gospel goes forth in our lives. But it shouldn’t. For, once more, human government is a divinely ordained authority. Here we see that we pray for human government so that we can live out the Gospel. Now we can do that under duress. Christianity can go forth under Communism, totalitarianism, and even under hostile atheism. But I want to ask you a question: Would you rather raise your children and teach them the Bible in your church and in your home and in this community? Or hiding in a cave in China? And sending your little ones to forced indoctrination to hate Christ?

Beloved, our nation and our leaders need prayer.
James Merritt, A Southern Baptist pastor from Atlanta recently asked his congregation to consider what it would be like to president:
 “You are Commander in Chief of the greatest military force in the world. You preside over the world's strongest economic entity whose budget exceeds $1.5 trillion. You are the head of a government that spends $3.25 million every minute, $195 million every hour, $4.6 billion every day non-stop. You are the leader of the entire free world. You are on the front page of every major newspaper practically every day. Your every sentence can be publicized and will be analyzed for years to come. You are one of only 42 people in history to be the President of the United States.
Sounds great doesn't it?
But also imagine that you preside over a country where:

There are one million teenage pregnancies annually. 68% of black children and 22% of white children are born out of wedlock. Half of all high school seniors report they
have used illicit drugs. A nation where a murder takes place every
23 minutes, a rape every six minutes, a robbery every 58 seconds, a burglary every
eight seconds. One hundred thousand of America's children
are in prison, four out of ten live in broken homes, seven to fourteen million of these
children will become alcoholics, 85 out of  every 1,000 have received or will receive
psychiatric help. The leading cause of death of young people is now suicide. Juvenile
delinquency is increasing seven times faster than the population. Pornography is now a $6 billion business. Herpes and Aids have now infected 20.5 million people.”

There is one thing I know: I would have to have prayer. We need to pray for the president of our nation. And we are commanded to do so—and whoever wins this election, that man will be prayed for from this pulpit. And one reason is to honor his office that God has given him, and another is found in 1 Timothy 2:1-4: so that an environment is created where the Gospel can be lived out.

The fourth word that defines the relationship between Biblical faith and human government is:
4.  Preaching
Matthew 5:13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."
We understand that we are to be salt and light in the world from this passage. Christ is calling His people—you and I—to share His truth with others. We are told to go and teach whatsoever He has commanded.

But are we to do that with rulers in the political world?
I will never forget a few years ago at a General Assembly of our church, there was a motion to warn the political leaders of our nation about the sanctity of life and the need to do away with abortion. Someone rose to speak and said, “We are to preach the Gospel and not to have anything to do with politics.” To which James Kennedy rose and quoted this passage:
Luke 13:31 At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” And he said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course.

Not only did our Lord speak call Herod a fox and declare that His kingdom had come into the world, John the Baptist was beheaded because he preached against Herod’s immorality. Moreover, Paul preached to a Roman politician in Acts 24:24:

After some days Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, and he sent for Paul and heard him speak about faith in Christ Jesus.  25 And as he reasoned about righteousness and self-control and the coming judgment, Felix was alarmed and said, “Go away for the present. When I get an opportunity I will summon you.”

In 1933, the Church in Germany was faced with an increasingly hostile state that was turning rhetoric against Jews, in particular, into government policies. And so what happened?

Martin Niemöller, a Naval officer turned pastor spent the rest of his life talking about what happened. And his words must never be forgotten:

“First they came for the Communists, but I was not a Communist, so I said nothing.
Then they came for the Social Democrats, but I was not a Social Democrat, so I did nothing.
Then came the trade unionists, but I was not a trade unionist.
And then they came for the Jews, but I was not a Jew, so I did little.
Then when they came for me, there was no one left to stand up for me.”

Niemöller ended up in the concentration camp at Dachau because no one was left to stand up for him.
We must stand for Christ in our generation and preach Christ to our government. This pulpit is not Republican, Democrat or otherwise. But as the Church we are called by God to speak to the authority of the government and to our people to oppose the immorality and immoral policies that defy the Law of God.
In Pastor Neimoller’s day it was the loss of human freedom through the persecution of human beings in his nation. In our day, we must stand for Truth in an age of relativism. The Church must preach that there is truth and Jesus is truth and to follow Him will lead to freedom for all. Marriage is sacred to a man and a woman. That is not just Christian, that is what it means to be human according to God. It is His institution, not ours. Abortion is wrong because God says so and so it’s wrong in public policy. If truth is truth it cannot be compartmentalized. Organ donation and tissue donation for stem cell research when there is a loss of life and the family gives consent does not violate Biblical ethics and is a noble act, but killing unborn children and then harvesting stem cells would be an inhumane practice that must be opposed by all Bible believing people. If that sounds political so be it. But again I don’t respect “No Trespassing Signs” where God has spoken. We must preach the truth. We must defend the lives of the most vulnerable in our society and that includes the unborn, the aged, the handicapped, and the poor. Anything that devalues any one life threatens all human life.

And more than anything, the Church should remain free from politics so we can say these things. The Kingdom of God has come into this world through Jesus Christ and we have come, like John the Baptist, like Paul and like our Lord, speaking to the public and to the government leaders of our nation announcing that we must repent of our sins, repent of a man-centered way of thinking, and turn to the God we know is there, and who has now spoken through His Son Jesus Christ, who has come that we might have life and his it more abundantly.

Conclusion
Politics and religion may not mix, but Biblical faith and government must because God says it must. We have seen from God’s Word that it is summed up in four words:
Dominion – Bring the Gospel to bear in every area of life, including government;
Submission – Honor God by honoring His ordained authorities, which includes government;
Prayer – For orderly government provides a platform for the Great Commission; and
Preaching – We must preach Christ and His Gospel to government leaders and call them to accountability.
When Governor Reagan was running for office, he came to Chattanooga. And one of the elders of First Presbyterian Church rode with then Governor Reagan, from the airport to where he was to speak. During that time, my friend asked Governor Reagan about the Lord Jesus. His aides didn’t like it—and the world never likes it that we bring Jesus up—but Reagan answered him. He told him that he not only believed in Jesus Christ, but he had no idea how anyone could live without Him. On another occasion, in the White House, our elder asked President Reagan again and got the same answer. Now, you can disagree with that president’s policies or philosophy of governing, but we who know the Lord love his answer. I bring this up for this: that president’s administration, his government ended. And his life is over. But there is a passage from Isaiah 9:6:

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of His government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.

You see human government—and all human authorities will one day end—but there is a government that has now come that will never end. It is the government called the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Your greatest decision will not be on Tuesday. It may be today. The greatest vote you will ever cast will not be for a president, but for the Savior of your soul. Have you cast your vote for Him by repenting and receiving Him personally as Lord and Savior? Early voting begins right now.

 

Copyright ©2008 Michael A. Milton

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