In two months we will vote to elect the next president
of the United States. But you did not need me to tell you that an
election is coming up. The fact that an election is near is not new
information. After all, we have been bombarded by the reality that this is an
election year for over a year. Over the last year, the intensity and frequency
of election coverage has seemed to increase exponentially.
And over the last year, the tone and tenor of this
political season has been unlike any in recent memory. The tone and tenor of
this political season has been one of outright rancor, hostility, and division.
There is rancor, hostility, and division between political parties and there is
rancor, hostility and division within political parties. And people from every
part of the political spectrum have strong emotions and strong opinions on a
variety of issues.
Over the past year, we have seen the strong emotions
and strong opinions expressed in ways that filled with anger and hostility. We
have seen the strong emotions and strong opinions expressed with vulgarity and
vitriol. And over the past year, we have seen the Bible used as justification
for many of the political positions held by both parties.
We have heard democrats cite the message and
teachings of Jesus to justify their political positions. And we have heard
republicans cite the message and teachings of Jesus to justify their political
positions. And I have repeatedly heard Christians on television, radio, social
media, and in conversations claim that the reason that they held to a particular
political position or candidate was based on the message and teachings of
Jesus. Many followers of Jesus say they are republicans because the Republican
Party best portrays the message and teachings of Jesus. Other followers of
Jesus say they are democrats because the Democratic Party best portrays Jesus
care and concern for the poor and marginalized.
But is Jesus a republican? Or is Jesus a democrat?
Or is Jesus a socialist? And how do we know that the message and teachings of
Jesus actually are being used accurately by politicians, their spokesmen, and
other Christians? And just as importantly, how are we as followers of Jesus
supposed to participate in a political environment that is so hostile,
divisive, and toxic?
Should followers of Jesus even bother to engage in
the political process as it is today? Should followers of Jesus engage in the
political process if they believe that there are no candidates that hold to
their values and convictions? Or should followers of Jesus stay away from the
political process? Should followers of Jesus even get involved in
government?
To answer these questions, at the church where I
serve, we are going to spend the weeks leading up to this election in a sermon
series entitled vote for Jesus. During this series, our hope and our prayer is
to accomplish three specific goals. First, our hope and our prayer is to
demonstrate that Jesus is not a republican and Jesus is not a democrat.
Instead, Jesus is God and as God Jesus is the one that we are to place our hope
in, not a political party.
Second, our hope and our prayer is to equip and
empower us to think critically and Biblically when it comes to the issues that
our culture is faced with that often find themselves expressed in the political
process. And third, our hope and prayer is to provide a framework from the
message and teachings of Jesus when it comes to how we as followers of Jesus
are to engage in the government and in the political process in way that
reveals and reflects Jesus to those around us.
To accomplish these goals, I am not going to tell
you how you should vote on any particular ballot measure. In addition, I am not
going to endorse any political candidates. Instead, I am going to strive to present the
political platform that Jesus would run on if Jesus was running for political
office. Now, I just want to let you know that at some point I will probably
offend every one of you. At some point I will probably say something that will
challenge how you have applied the message and teachings of Jesus to the
political process. And because of that reality, right up front, I would simply
ask that when I offend you, that you would ask a simple question. And that
simple question is this: “Am I offended and what Dave said because Dave said it
or am I offended at what Dave said because he said what Jesus said?”
This week, I would like for us to spend our time
together addressing the question of whether or not followers of Jesus should be
involved in government in general. More specifically, I would like us to
address the origins of government. In other words, is government a human
endeavor invented by humans? Or is government something that comes from God
that humans are to be involved in? Where did government come from?
To answer these questions, I would like for us to
spend our time together looking at two passages that are found in the letters
that make up the Bible. And it is in these two passages that we will discover
the origins for government and the purpose for government. We see the first
passage in the very first letter of the Bible called the book of Genesis,
beginning in Genesis 9:5-7. Let’s look at it together:
Surely I
will require your lifeblood; from every beast I will require it. And from every man, from every man's brother I
will require the life of man. Whoever
sheds man's blood, By man his blood shall be shed, For in the image of God He
made man. "As for you, be fruitful and multiply; Populate the earth
abundantly and multiply in it.
Here we are given a glimpse into a conversation that
occurred between the Lord and a man named Noah. However, to fully understand
what is happening here, we first need to understand the context of this
conversation between the Lord and Noah. As a result of the open and defiant
selfishness and rebellion of humanity at this time in history, the Lord decided
to bring a flood of water to the earth to wipe out every living thing on the earth
in His right and just response to the selfishness and rebellion that filled His
heart with sorrow and outrage.
However, God chose to extend grace to Noah and his family
and used Noah and his family to preserve two of every type of animal from His
response to the selfishness and rebellion of humanity. And it is in this
context, after the waters of the flood receded, that the Lord had this
conversation with Noah. In this conversation, we see God reveal to Noah that the
consequence that would occur for willingly and thoughtfully taking another’s
life was death. Murder was to receive a punishment that matched the crime.
Today, we call this capital punishment. During this series, we will spend an
entire sermon on the issue of capital punishment.
But in the meantime, did you notice who is responsible
for carrying out capital punishment? “Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his
blood shall be shed”. You see, the Lord was not going to carry out the
consequence of capital punishment. Instead, other men, as His representatives,
were to carry out the consequence of capital punishment.
Notice also that this command was given at the very
beginning of the reestablishment of humanity. This command was given before the
Jewish people existed as a nation as a principle for all humanity. The timeless
reality is that the Lord is sovereign over all nations,
and all people are accountable to Him. And it is this verse that we see the foundational principles for the
establishment of government.
Here we see the Lord delegate to human beings throughout
history the responsibility to carry out the punishment of evil and to protect
the common good of society. That is why anarchy, which promotes the idea that
there should be no governmental authority whatsoever, is so dangerous. If you
want to see how well anarchy works, just read a letter that is recorded for us
in the Old Testament of the Bible called the book of Judges. The book of Judges
reveals for us the reality of what happens when there is no government and when
everyone does what is right in their own sight.
And because of that reality, one of the purposes of government
is that government has been given the responsibility to punish evil and
encourage good. We see this
reality reinforced in a section of a letter that is recorded for us in the New
Testament of the Bible called the book of Romans.
Tomorrow we will begin to look at this section of this
letter…
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