PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

1. Have you seen this morning’s bulletin?

2. If so, you have probably read some or most of the article on the right.

3. An elder jokingly said to a preacher,

4. “You have stopped preaching and started meddling.”

TO SOME EXTENT I GUESS YOU COULD SAY THAT I AM GOING TO USE THIS MORNING’S TIME TO “MEDDLE.”

a) We are almost ready to have another Presidential election.

b) All around us people are talking about the election; most of us have about had our fill of this subject.

2) As we look at what has been written and said, we find people who are ready for an all out battle.

3) A week ago about 10,000 lawyers were standing by ready to launch any kind of legal battle.

4) Now that number of attorneys has skyrocketed to about 20,000.

5) Imagine 400 lawyers scattered throughout every state of the U.S. and looking for a legal battle.

6) We have been warned how this election may well decide the future of our country.

a) It may redefine marriage.

b) It may set a general tone for years and decades to come.

c) Whoever the next President is, he may select one or multiple Supreme Court justices.

7) It seems that no matter which way we turn, everyone says the stakes are high.

8) Some would have us believe this is the “mother of all elections.”

9) We have plenty of political commentators, but I am not part of that crowd.

10) Plenty of people have opinions, but for this morning we are not interested in them either.

11) As we come to a Presidential election, Christians must look to the Scriptures.

12) What do we find regarding guidance regarding elections and the government?

13) This morning I want to present a variety of Bible principles.

14) Our beginning place is the life of Jesus.

15) Let’s extract from the gospels some snapshots of first century life.

16) What was first century life in the Lord’s culture like?

a) We know that Jesus came into a time and place of poverty.

b) Lk. 16:20 tells of a poor man who was so destitute he had to beg for not food, but crumbs.

c) Jesus came into a world that didn’t have good health care.

d) Lk. 16:20 says dogs licked the poor man’s wounds.

e) John 9:2, 8 tells of a man who was both blind a beggar.

f) There was no Social Security system so he had to beg.

17) Poverty and poor health were wide spread in Jesus’ world.

18) First century life was also a time of cruelty.

19) People were crucified. When Jesus died, there were two people with him who died in this same way.

20) Romans crucified literally thousands of people, and this was a brutal form of death.

21) Abortion and child abandonment were common.

22) If people didn’t want their babies, many parents tossed newborns over the city wall.

23) Today discarded children are put in trash dumpsters or garbage bags.

24) People were doing the same kind of thing 2,000 years ago, and there were no child protective services.

25) When I was working on this exact part of this outline, the phone rang.

a) The caller was a woman, and she wanted to know if I could supply a babysitter.

b) She needs to drop off children at 3:30 p.m. and pick them up at 2 a.m.

c) Childcare is a problem in our society.

d) We find a similar difficulty in New Testament times.

e) Think about Mt. 22:24; a woman was married and she and her husband had children.

f) Like now, there were times when husbands passed away before their families were grown.

g) Women had small children, and sometimes as a single mom she had to be away from home.

h) In Mt. 22:24 Jews reminded Jesus that a man’s surviving brother would marry the widow.

i) These marriages didn’t occur the day after the funeral.

j) A wife with children but without a husband sometimes needed childcare.

26) In addition to childcare, taxes were a problem. Taxes were high.

27) Government corruption existed.

28) Acts 24:26 says Felix hoped to receive a bribe from the apostle Paul.

29) Another “big issue” for our nation at the present moment is war.

30) Jesus lived in a world that knew something about war.

31) Mt. 24:6 refers to “wars and rumors of wars” that would occur before the destruction of Jerusalem.

SINCE WE HAVE SOME IDEA ABOUT WHAT JESUS’ WORLD WAS LIKE, WE ARE ABLE TO ASK A VERY LOGICAL QUESTION:

a) What did Jesus do when He came to a world filled with problems? Did He try to change the tax code?

b) Did He seek to end all wars, all the bribes, fix healthcare and childcare problems?

c) Did He rally people to end disease and poverty and create protective services for children?

d) After I prepared this lesson I saw an article from a person in West Bend, WI.

e) The writer (a male) said “I think” instead of “the Bible says,” and things went down hill from there.

2) This man said Jesus would have been concerned about hunger, the environment, and corporate crime.

3) He would have been caring for children, and pushing for fairness, justice, and decency.

4) This was a person’s opinion about the Lord, and I do not believe he is a lone; other have this same view.

5) Is this the picture that we have of the Lord in the New Testament? No.

6) Jesus did not spend the bulk of His time dealing with all the social problems of His day.

7) We cannot say that the Lord totally ignored them, but they were not where His attention was focused.

8) If we look at the Bible we find that Jesus came to create a kingdom; to this some might say, “see!”

9) He came to create a kingdom without poverty and a bad environment.

10) It was a kingdom of free health care, childcare, and no poverty.

11) This is interesting idea but it is not true.

12) Jesus said His kingdom is “not of this world” (Jn. 8:36).

13) Jesus put emphasis on the spiritual side of life.

14) In Mt. 16:26 Jesus asked a question.

a) What will a man gain if he has the whole world but loses his soul?

b) Let’s take that question and rework it.

c) Here is a world that has all the things I mentioned.

d) No one is sick, no one is poor, all possess childcare, there is no corruption, the environment is good.

e) We have peace and prosperity to an almost utopian degree.

f) What have we accomplished? Absolutely nothing if we and others are unsaved.

15) Let’s consider century life from yet another perspective.

16) Those leaders who took bribes are gone. They are dead.

17) Those who faced poverty are now no longer struggling with that problem.

18) All the health issues those people faced have ceased.

19) Yet, all those people who were unsaved are still suffering the consequences of sin.

20) During a time of a Presidential election the words of Peter need to come to mind.

21) We heard what he wrote during our Scripture reading.

22) A day of judgment is coming (2 Pet. 3:11).

23) All that we know to exist will one day be destroyed (verse 10).

24) Based upon this information, Peter asked a question in verse 11:

25) If everything will one day be destroyed, how should we act?

26) We need to concentrate on the eternal; focus on what will not be destroyed.

27) Our efforts must be concentrated on salvation and the salvation of others.

28) This is where Jesus put His emphasis and this is the right place for ours.

29) In eternity, this election and all others will have no significance. Being lost and being saved will.

I USE THE WORD “EMPHASIS” FOR A SPECIFIC REASON. EMPHASIS IS NOT THE SAME AS “ALL OUR ATTENTION AND ENERGY.”

a) Last week I cited Mt. 6:10 to say that God has a will.

b) Jesus gave a model prayer and He spoke of God’s will being done in 2 places.

c) God has a will “in heaven” and He has a will “on earth.”

2) His will on earth is not our making this an ideal home.

3) As we sing in one of our songs, “we are just a passing through.”

4) We need to remind ourselves of this fact from time to time.

5) Too, passing through does not mean that we are traveling at the speed of light.

6) There are things that we need to stop and do along our journey.

7) Part of what we do as a Christian is “God’s will on earth.”

a) One question I have seen debated among Christians over the years is voting.

b) Should a Christian vote?

c) In view of Mt. 6:10, we might word the question this way:

d) “Is voting in an election God’s will?” or “Is voting a sin—an act opposed to God’s will?”

8) Some might try to take the information I cited earlier and say “voting is wrong.”

9) After all, was it not said that Christians need to focus on the eternal; what is temporary does not last?

10) I didn’t tell the full story.

11) Jesus did not endorse the idea of being completely separated from the government.

12) Through the apostle Paul the Lord said to pray for government leaders (1 Tim. 2:1-2).

13) If we are praying for our leaders, we have not separated church and state; we are joining them.

a) Furthermore, think again about Mt. 6:10; God has a will on the earth.

b) In view of this verse let’s imagine a mock election.

c) There is a judicial position available (i.e. a judgeship).

d) One candidate for this position says the Bible should be banned; preaching should be illegal.

e) Evangelism is a detriment to society and it must be stopped at any cost.

f) Another judge says the Bible is beneficial and should have free circulation.

g) Does God have a will about people hearing the gospel and free course for the Bible?

h) Yes. Jesus died for all, and God wants all to hear the truth. This is God’s will on earth.

i) One judge pledges to support God’s will and the second man promises to oppose it.

j) Our country says to its citizens, “You are entitled to vote for one of these 2 judges.”

k) Will our voting help carry out or defeat God’s will in the case just described? Yes.

l) Voting is a way to do exactly what Jesus described in the Sermon on the Mount.

m) If someone does not want to vote, that is their right.

n) No one can defend the position that voting is wrong; it is a tool available to Christians and others.

14) As we use this tool our eyes must always be upon Jesus, Heb. 12:2.

15) We must bear in mind that this life is temporary, and what is eternal is our area of emphasis.

16) While striving for eternity, we can also seek to accomplish good in the hear and now.

17) Jesus did.

18) He healed those who were sick, He rebuked dishonesty, and made life a little better.

19) If He took part in the problems of this life, so can we.

20) The Lord never looked away from the eternal.

21) This is the right perspective for Christians as we come to an election time.

22) If we examine the Scripture, the Bible tells us again and again how to live our lives.

23) For this reason it is the best book ever written.

24) It is our hope that you are following this book which is God’s revelation to man.

25) Our journey begins by faith. Then comes repentance, confession, and baptism.