How Will I Decide How to Cast My Presedential Vote?
I am not an expert on political matters, but I have the responsibility and assignment to help my church and community think and act biblically in their civic duties. So, this brief article describes how I sit down with my Bible in one hand and the newspaper (or the internet) in the other and make important decisions about how I will vote in upcoming elections. I’m not looking to start a debate. I’m not trying to pick a fight. The words I share in this article are MY views. I believe them to be carefully considered Bible-based views, but they are mine. If you disagree, open your Bible and craft your own argument. The most important thing every Christian can do is to seek to honor the Lord with his or her submission and allegiance to God’s word and how God says we can best be ambassadors for Christ as we live as strangers and exiles in today’s world. The first order of business here is this: I won’t tell you who to vote for! My reluctance to tell you who to vote for is not motivated by fear of reprisal or government restrictions on pastors or churches. Before this article ends, I will make many politically incorrect statements, and I’ll clearly tell you who I plan to vote for in the upcoming presidential election. My reluctance is connected with my purpose. I don’t want to simply use some influence I might have to push you to a particular candidate or position. I’m a Bible teacher. I want to teach you how to take the Bible and ferret out answers about not only the upcoming election but future opportunities to vote for candidates and issues. I’m going to attempt to answer all of the following questions briefly… Let’s begin. Should Christians Get Involved in Politics? The simple answer is YES. However, there is more to this issue than that simple answer. First, Christians must keep the main thing, the main thing. We do not live for a political party or even the US Constitution or Declaration of Independence. We may (and I do) love the American flag, but we live for the glory of God, and we live to herald the gospel of Christ! Anything that hinders or distracts from the main thing, is a sinful thing. The Bible calls us strangers and exiles in this world. It reminds us that our true citizenship is in heaven. And it declares and proclaims that Christ is our only hope. The limitations of this brief article preclude a detailed analysis. Still, it sure seems that Jesus and the Apostles were so occupied with spiritual things that they gave little or no attention to the political matters of their day. Christians in the first and second centuries lived under much greater governmental oppression, persecution, injustice, and inequality than anything we experience in the United States today. Yet, in that political environment, Jesus, Paul, James, John, and Peter were basically silent on political matters. Some readers might point to John the Baptist confronting King Herod. John did confront Herod, but if you read closely, the confrontation was not political. John confronted Herod over his sexual sin. That confrontation was moral, biblical, and spiritual. Further, some readers will point out that Jesus commanded Christians to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. He did, but those commands have often been badly misinterpreted and misapplied. I’ve written a lengthy article about the proper interpretation of this passage, but suffice it to say here that these commands are about righteous living, not political influence. Other readers will point out that perhaps Christian leaders in the first-century church did not seek to assert political influence because the system of government in their day did not allow the average citizen to affect policy. There could be something to that argument. However, at best, that argument only eliminates restrictions on political engagement; it does not endorse engagement. For me, three arguments provide the best support for a Christian’s political involvement. First, often, what the world calls political issues, the Bible calls spiritual issues. I have not veered into politics when I preach on subjects such as the sanctity of life and the composition of marriage and the family. If anything, politics have veered into the Bible! Much of a Christian’s political engagement is not motivated by opinions and convictions about public policy, but rather by Christians standing up for the clear teachings of Scripture! Christians must stand on and for the word of God. And in today’s modern political environment, that means political involvement and purpose-driven voting. Secondly, we read in 1 Timothy 2:1–2 that Paul commanded young Timothy to lead the church to pray for political leaders. Paul said, “I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all those who are in authority.” This warning does not explicitly endorse political action, but it underscores the fact that Christians should be concerned for political leaders and their actions. This concern sets us up for the third reason. The third reason Christians should vote and be involved in politics is Jesus’s command to love our neighbors. Loving neighbors includes many things, and one of those things is creating a world where people are safe, can flourish, and have the liberty to hear and respond to the gospel of Christ. Sometimes, people ask me if Christians can have a position on issues such as gun rights and health care. I don’t know if we can really have an official, Bible-endorsed and specific Christian POSITION on these issues, but we can and must certainly have a Christian CONCERN about these issues. The Lord has put us (Americans) in a country and in a time where we have the freedom and opportunity to influence our government. What an incredible privilege that most people in history could not have imagined! I believe it is a Christian’s responsibility and obligation to use this
The Valley of Vision Reading Suggestion
If you are a regular at FBC Nac or often watch or listen to my teaching, then you have likely heard me mention my love for the book, The Valley of Vision, edited by Arthur Bennett. I know a number of you have purchased the book and share my love for how it helps teach the art and discipline of humble prayer. The Valley of Vision is an edited collection of Puritan prayers collected from the writings of Thomas Shepherd, Thomas Watson, Richard Baxter, John Bunyan, Isaac Watts, William Williams, Philip Doddridge, William Romaine, David Brainerd, Augustus Toplady, Christmas Evans, William Jay, Henry Law, and Charles Haddon Spurgeon (though all of those men were not technically Puritans). Arthur Bennet, the editor, does not identify his specific sources, but Justin Taylor (linked below) has compiled a likely list of sources: Williams, William. Free translations from “Y Caniedydd Cynulleidfaol Newydd” [Welsh congregational hymnal, 1921]. In the preface of the book, the editor describes the purpose of his work: “[These] prayers should be used as aspiration units, the several parts of which could become springboards for the individual’s own prayer subjects.” And that is exactly how I use the book and its brief chapters. I have read through (and prayed through) the book a number of times in the past ten years. I really go through it in spits and spurts. Sometimes I’ll read a little in the book every day for a month or two. Then maybe take a break for a couple months. Then maybe read a little a couple times a week for a few months. I enjoy reading it most when my prayer life needs a little priming, if you know what I mean. I always read it as a supplement to reading the Bible. But, when I do read the book, I don’t read the chapters in the order they were written. The book is arranged thematically, but I like to read it more randomly. So, I sort-of use a reading plan developed by Joe Thorn. Joe suggests reading three prayers from the book each day. I’ve never done that. But I keep a printed copy of Joe’s guide stuck in the book and use his suggested reading order. Each time I read a chapter, I mark it off the guide so I know where to read next. Joe’s webpage is no longer active, but I have an old PDF copy of the reading guide. There is one version keyed for the leather-bound version of the book, and one keyed to work for many (though, not all) editions of the paperback version of the book, as the page numbering is different. (But, really, the purpose of the reading guide is just to give you a random path through the book instead of reading prayers from the same theme on consecutive days. So, you could just flip the book open to a random page. Then read a prayer and date the page so you will not come back to it too quickly.) • Leather-Bound Reading Guide • Paperback Reading Guide If you are interested in more information for The Valley of Vision, check out these links. www.desiringgod.org/articles/the-valley-of-vision An Encouragement to read and pray through The Valley of Vision, edited by Arthur Bennett – C.S. Lewis Institute www.cslewisinstitute.org/resources/an-encouragement-to-read-and-pray-through-the-valley-of-vision/ www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justin-taylor/valley-of-vision/ www.ligonier.org/podcasts/open-book-with-stephen-nichols/john-macarthur-on-bennetts-the-valley-of-vision
Tips for Reading the Book of Proverbs
I’m working on outlining my morning devotions from Proverbs today, and I’m reminded that as I present these Proverbs to our church each day, I’m not just presenting a moral code or a few life hacks. The book of Proverbs is not for us just a religious version of some website with tips for happy living. Jesus is the true Word and Wisdom of God (in a capital “W” sense). Jesus is the embodiment of the book of Proverbs and the wisdom of God. Isaiah 11 comes to mind… Isaiah 11:1–2 | Then a shoot will grow from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— a Spirit of wisdom and understanding, a Spirit of counsel and strength, a Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. (CSB) AND, IN JESUS ARE HIDDEN ALL THE TREASURES OF WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE! Colossians 2:3 | In him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (CSB) So, Jesus should be a significant part of our study of Proverbs. Our study should look different than what could be found in a common Bible commentary on the book of Proverbs. Those resources are about defining words and explaining sentences. That has value. But we are studying God’s word as Christians, saved by the work of Christ and the grace of God. We come to the book of Proverbs not as commentators but as heralds of the gospel seeking to see the full picture, the real truth, the truth that can truly change lives. There are a number of ways we see Jesus and the gospel in Proverbs… The moral instructions in Proverbs function much like the Laws seen earlier in the Old Testament. Romans 7:7 | What should we say then? Is the law sin? Absolutely not! But, I would not have known sin if it were not for the law. For example, I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, Do not covet. (CSB) Romans 3:20 | For no one will be justified in his sight by the works of the law, because the knowledge of sin comes through the law. (CSB) Galatians 3:24–25 | The law, then, was our guardian until Christ, so that we could be justified by faith. But since that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, (CSB) The only hope we have of following the wisdom found within Proverbs is Jesus. (By the way, most of Proverbs came through the mind of Solomon who definitely did not live out most of what he knew and said. So, we aren’t just trying to be educated to his level.) 2 Peter 1:2–4 | May grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. By these he has given us very great and precious promises, so that through them you may share in the divine nature, escaping the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire. (CSB Philippians 4:13 | I am able to do all things through him who strengthens me. (CSB) Titus 2:11–12 | For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, instructing us to deny godlessness and worldly lusts and to live in a sensible, righteous, and godly way in the present age, (CSB) If we are successful at motivating and equipping ourselves and others to be more disciplined, more moral, more ethical, and more financially and relationally responsible without Jesus, then we have just created Pharisees (who were very very good at “the Proverbs”). Philippians 3:4–7 | Although I have reasons for confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he has grounds for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised the eighth day; of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; regarding the law, a Pharisee; regarding zeal, persecuting the church; regarding the righteousness that is in the law, blameless. But everything that was a gain to me, I have considered to be a loss because of Christ. (CSB) Acts 10:2 | He was a devout man and feared God along with his whole household. He did many charitable deeds for the Jewish people and always prayed to God. (CSB) And then the rest of Cornelius’s story… As I go through Proverbs in the next couple weeks preparing these devotions, I’ll come up with additional and more specific Jesus connections, and I’ll share those each day in my daily devotion video as I do.
Waiting on God
This has been a hard week for our church and community.We’ve lost a dear sister in Christ who decided to end her life six days ago, and many have struggled with some difficult questions in their private thoughts.There are questions that we don’t dare to ask out loud, questions that sometimes we are scared to even think about too deeply.But it is healthy to give voice to these questions. It is only when we give voice to them that we can hope to find the answers we need. Questions: The inability to answer these questions often leads to despair, suicidal thoughts, resignation, and a thousand sins meant to numb our senses and drown our sorrows.There is a one-word answer that will not sound very helpful when you hear it, but that is because you may not know all the Bible means with this word.What should we do? We should WAIT! I know it doesn’t seem helpful, but there is much more to this than you may notice at first glance. This idea of waiting is a bigger theme in the Bible than you might expect. Key Verses on WaitingGenesis 49:18 | I wait for your salvation, Lord. (CSB)Psalms 25:3 | No one who waits for you will be disgraced… (CSB)Psalms 25:5 | … you are the God of my salvation; I wait for you all day long. (CSB)Psalms 27:14 | Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart be courageous. Wait for the Lord. (CSB)Psalms 33:20 | We wait for the Lord; he is our help and shield. (CSB)Psalms 37:7 | Be silent before the Lord and wait expectantly for him… (CSB)Psalms 40:1 | I waited patiently for the Lord, and he… heard my cry for help. (CSB)Psalms 130:5 | I wait for the Lord; I wait and put my hope in his word. (CSB)Psalms 130:6 | I wait for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning… (CSB)Isaiah 8:17 | I will wait for the Lord, who is hiding his face… (CSB)Isaiah 25:9 | … it will be said, “Look, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he has saved us… (CSB)Isaiah 26:8 | Lord, we wait for you… Our desire is for your name and renown. (CSB)Isaiah 33:2 | Lord, be gracious to us! We wait for you. Be our strength every morning and our salvation in time of trouble. (CSB)Micah 7:7 | I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation… (CSB)Isaiah 40:31 | They who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. (ESV) Waiting is a Spiritual DisciplineWaiting is a means of grace, a tool for growth, and a pathway to peace. It is the nitrogen and fertilizer for the fruit of the Spirit. Galatians 5:22-23 | The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things. (CSB) We will explore the biblical concept of waiting, its importance, and how to practice it as a spiritual discipline. The Biblical Mandate to WaitWaiting implies wanting. To wait means there is something you need or desire but do not have. Waiting for dinner, payday, 5:00, retirement, or marriage reminds us that life is filled with moments of longing. The biblical mandate to wait alerts us to the fact that we will experience times when: Waiting is normal and activates faith. Romans 1:17 | The righteous will live by faith. (CSB)Faith grows strongest in seasons of waiting. It focuses on the journey and anticipates God’s goodness. Romans 8:28 | We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. (CSB) How to Wait ConclusionTwo ways to wait: anticipation or fear. Which one will you choose?
