What About This Election

If you would please stand with me for the reading of God's word. The Old Testament reading comes from 2 Chronicles chapter 19, verses four through 11, on page 372 of the Pew Bible. 2 Chronicles chapter 19, verse four.

Jehoshaphat lived at Jerusalem, and he went out again among the people from Beersheba to the hill country of Ephraim, and brought them back to the Lord, the God of their fathers. He appointed judges in the land and all the fortified cities of Judah, city by city, and said to the judges, consider what you do, for you judge not for man, but for the Lord.

He is with you in giving judgment. Now then, let the fear of the Lord be upon you. Be careful what you do, for there is no injustice with the Lord our God, or partiality, or taking bribes. Moreover, in Jerusalem, Jehoshaphat appointed certain Levites and priests and heads of families of Israel to give judgment for the Lord and to decide disputed cases.

They had their seat at Jerusalem, and he charged them, thus you shall do in the fear of the Lord, in faithfulness and with your whole heart. Whenever a case comes to you from your brothers who live in their cities concerning bloodshed, law or commandment, statues or rules, then you shall warn them that they may not incur guilt before the Lord, and wrath may not come upon you and your brothers.

Thus you shall do, and you will not incur guilt. And behold, Amariah the chief priest is over you in all matters of the Lord, and Zebediah the son of Ishmael, the governor of the house of Judah, in all the king's matters, and the Levites will serve you as officers.

Deal courageously, and may the Lord be with the upright.

New Testament reading is Romans 13, verses one through seven. 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. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority?

Then do what is good, and you will receive approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain, for he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer.

Therefore, one must be in subjection not only to avoid God's wrath, but also for the sake of conscience. For the same reason, you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God attending to this very thing.

Pay to all what is owed 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. You may be seated.

Centuries ago, when this country was young, it was the custom of pastors to get up and preach election day sermons, and I think that's a good idea. So I thought today would be a good day, seeing how this is the Sunday that precedes election day, that we consider what the scripture has to say to us.

And I hope that God uses this to encourage and to convict and to help in any way the spirit sees fit as we enter into the political foray that will certainly unfold on Tuesday. Now I'm talking to you as a pastor, I have to admit, I am a political animal.

I love politics, I love to see how it unfolds, good or bad, it's fascinating to me how things are, and to stay up on election night to the next day until two o 'clock in the morning is not unusual for me.

And yet, God has not called me to persuade you politically, but to call, he's called me to minister the word of God to you, and I think the word of God has much to say to us as citizens of this country.

And so let's pray and ask God to teach us, to help us, to convict us, to give us hope as we approach Tuesday. Let's pray. Father, we are your servants. We are disciples of Jesus, and you have called us to be disciples, obeying what Jesus commands in every venue of our life.

Our church life, our family life, our work life, in every one of those venues we are to show that we are disciples of Jesus, we are to be lights to the world. And so I pray that you would help us to understand your word in light of that.

God, help us now as we consider what your word has to say to us in this country, at this time, in Jesus' name, amen. Well, the day's coming, a big day, Tuesday. We elect our president, our vice president, senators, representatives, state legislatures, judges, and a variety of local officers.

And of course, like every four years, most of our attention is riveted on the presidential race. However, this time around, an air of hopelessness hangs over the whole democratic process. You have one candidate some would describe as a proud, angry, immoral, groping fascists.

On the other hand, some would say you have a corrupt, lying, anti-religious, dim-witted communist. And the way people view this election can be seen by their reactions. There is fear. If you don't vote for Donald Trump, you will witness the destruction of America as you love, the America that you love.

If you don't vote for Kamala Harris, you will end up with a bungling, loud-mouthed idiot who certainly will bring this country to the brink of destruction. So now you may ask, well, then who should we vote for?

And I would say to you, I'm not gonna tell you who you should vote for, because if I do, I'd just contribute to the anger and the hopelessness and the fear that's running rampant through us. I wanna point you to the word of God and let God tell you how you ought to think about your place in this country and in light of what's happening.

I believe that we expect too much from our election process. We lose hope because we forget where our citizenship lies. We get angry because we think we're going to lose our most precious possession, a particular kind of country.

We're afraid because we put our roots too deeply into the soil of this world and this country. So instead of putting our hope in this election, let's learn how God's people should think about themselves and their country, and for that matter, this election.

We've all been taught along the way what our country requires of us as citizens, but what does God require of us? Let's look at that together. Turn to 1 Peter chapter one, 1 Peter chapter one, and we read this in verse one.

Just a greeting, just a greeting to a number of churches, but listen to how we're described. Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Oh my goodness, I knew that didn't sound right. That's 2 Peter. Where is what I'm looking for? Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who are elect exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father in the sanctification of the spirit for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood.

Note how we are described, we are called the elect exiles. What does God tell you to do? Embrace your identity as strangers in America. Embrace your identity, if you will, as exiles in America. In order to understand your relationship to your country, you have to understand your relationship to your God.

You cannot understand anything correctly in this world apart from biblical categories. If you try to understand anything in this world apart from biblical categories, your interpretation of reality will inevitably be skewed and distorted.

So in order to properly interpret life and your responsibilities, you must interpret them in terms of God. And here's what we are told. We are exiles, we are strangers in this land. God says that you're exiles here.

The word used here means a person residing temporarily in a place. It carries with it the idea of a sojourner, one who may be living temporarily in a place but is not staying permanently. I grew up in Wisconsin, and then I went to Ohio for college.

And I talked funny to people around me. I thought I talked normal, but the first time I asked where a bubbler was, there was absolutely no recognition in anyone's face. And the fact that, and I've lost that accent, but the way I talked back then, everybody thought I talked funny.

It's because I wasn't from here. I didn't belong here. This wasn't home. And all the time I was here, most of every year, it was never home because I knew I wouldn't be there permanently. I did all the stuff I did at home, but it didn't seem the same because I was just there for nine months out of the year and four months total, and then I'd be gone.

Now, what makes you a stranger here? You're not strangers here because of birth. You're not strangers because of race or circumstances. You are strangers, aliens, exiles, sojourners in America because of God's work in choosing you.

God's election of his people is not merely a theological fact. It is a sociological fact. It will have an impact on you in the daily living of your life. If you understand you're an exile, a stranger, a sojourner, a temporary resident, because we're the elect of God, we are temporary or we are strangers, we are exiles in this world.

And so that's not merely a theological fact. It has sociological, it has political implications. It has implications on how we live in this world. Now, what is the basic character of our citizenship? We are alien citizens.

We are alien citizens. Isn't it interesting that in an election year where we're talking so much about immigrant and illegal immigrants and how there are people here who really don't belong, you've got to understand that you too are an exile.

You too are one who doesn't belong to this age. You belong to the next age. You don't belong to this age. We're not the same kind of citizens that our unbelieving neighbors are. We're not the same kind.

We are alien citizens. Now, there's some real important implications to that understanding. You can never give total allegiance or affection to the nation in which you live. Now, you know, frankly, that's hard for us as Americans because we do think we live in the greatest nation that ever existed.

We take pride in the fact that when our Olympic athletes are marching on that entrance, that this country never dips its flag to anyone. That's part of the history of our nation. It's the custom of dipping your country's flag to a monarch.

I don't know if you've ever noticed that. When the Olympic team marches in, Americans never dip their flag. Why? Because this is our country. And we, especially those of us of a particular political bent, have been told over and over and over again, this is our country.

It's the best country in the world. This deserves your total allegiance. But it doesn't deserve your total allegiance. It does not have our primary affection. Now, I don't wanna stir up any controversy, but it's been true for 40 years.

And some of you have grown up here, you don't notice, but if you go to other churches, you will notice something. There is something missing from our platform. Have any of you ever noticed that? What is missing is the American flag.

Does that mean we hate our country? No, it doesn't mean we hate our country, but we do not ever want to communicate that our country has our total allegiance. We are here in this place as subjects of King Jesus, and that is what must have our attention every Lord's Day as we gather.

You can never equate our nation's purposes with God's purposes. You know what's interesting is to meet Christians in another nation who don't share the same views that I share about what we ought to be doing in the world.

And for Christians, a lot of us certain Christians, that's like, what do you mean you don't agree with American policy? As if that was also to be equated with God's purposes. Here's another implication, you must not confuse the success of this country with the political agenda, or you must, don't confuse a political agenda of this country with the success of Christ's kingdom.

Too often we've done that. You know, as a kid, 1962 was a benchmark year for the Supreme Court in which the Supreme Court said that prayers composed by the regents of a school, by the administration of a school, prayers composed by the administration of a school could not be prayed in school.

And Christians clutched their pearls and said, oh my goodness, this is the end. Oh, Jesus must be coming soon. This is a 1962 mind you, all right? Because we had a habit of equating the purposes and the direction of our country with that of God's kingdoms, of God's kingdom.

The kingdom of God does not depend on the favor of our government or the success of America. You say, well then, Pastor, you're saying we shouldn't be passionate about the issues of the day? Listen, sure we ought to, sure.

You may have a particular view about the question of immigration and what you think is best for our country, but do not confuse what you think is best for America with God's purposes. Don't confuse the two.

Be able to say, I think this is best for our country, but the kingdom of God does not hang on it and it doesn't deserve the same passion as the passion I must give to Christ. We are not primarily citizens of the United States of America.

We are primarily citizens of the kingdom of heaven and our primary allegiance is to Christ our king. So embrace your identity as aliens. Embrace your identity as ambassadors in America. Because we're aliens, we are ambassadors and ambassadors are called to draw people to their country.

Turn to chapter two of 1 Peter, verses 11 and 12. Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

Embrace your identity as ambassadors because you're sojourners. Ambassadors must draw people. This involves renouncing our natural desires. Now, when you read desires of the flesh, typically you think be careful, abstain from the passions of sexual immorality and drunkenness and all those other things.

But as you continue to read in this book, he doesn't really address those things. What does he address? He addresses such things as, he addresses that gratifying of self or finding contentment through anything I naturally want.

Such things as this, fair treatment, the impulse for fair treatment. I wanna be treated fairly by my government. I wanna be treated fairly by people in authority. That's legitimate. But be careful that that doesn't become the driving force.

That can be a passion of the flesh. I naturally want those things. I naturally want safety and ease. I naturally want my own wellbeing. I naturally want a comfortable life in America where I can do what I want to do and nothing impinges on my freedom.

Those can be passions of the flesh. They are what I naturally want and I'm gonna be driven by that. He says, abstain from those things. And I say that because after saying that, he goes on to talk about how does your government treat you?

How does your master treat you? How does your husband treat you? Are there people who are doing evil against you? And so when he talks about passions of the flesh, he's not just talking about the things that automatically jump into our mind.

He's talking about all those things that we naturally want for a good life. Positively, what does he say? Abstain from that and do what? Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, among unbelievers honorable so that when they speak against you as evildoers, does that sound familiar?

Who are the evildoers in our country today? You bigoted Christians. So that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of his visitation. Now, how can we do that?

By remembering that we are aliens and strangers. If you remember your status, you'll be able to keep yourself free from the entanglement of those typical responses and you'll be able to then live a different kind of life in this country.

Now, this has some real important implications, I believe. Christians have a reputation today as being enemies of so many things. And okay, I get that. For example, we're enemies of homosexuals, all right?

Homosexuality is a grievous, horrible sin. The Bible makes that clear. But you know what? We're against that, not because the Bible says we ought to be against that. We're against that because it runs up against our nostalgic view of an America where we, people my age, had primers teaching us to read where Dick and Jane were at home and mom was always at home wearing a dress and dad always came home every night.

You look at those primers we had in first and second grade and that's the picture that was drawn for us. And we're not opposed to homosexuality because God hates it. We're opposed to it because it bumps up against this nostalgic view of the good old days when America was what it should have been, a wonderful, moral nation.

The Bible says it's wrong, but how many of you have homosexual friends? How many do you know? We ought to do good to people like that. Do good things for them and to them. That's what God calls us to do.

Look at Matthew chapter nine for a moment. Some of your hearts are beating really fast right now. Look at Matthew nine, verse nine. And as Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth and he said to him, follow me.

And he rose and followed him. Tax collectors are in the same level in that culture as pedophiles are in our culture. That's how low they were. They were hated. They are ostracized, all right? And when Jesus says, follow me, everyone back then knew, come and be my disciple and learn from me.

So Matthew did. And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?

But when he heard it, he said, those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick, go and learn what this means. I desire mercy and not sacrifice, for I came not to call the righteous, but the unrighteous.

What do we find here? We find Jesus associating with sinners. We find his mercy. We find him calling sinners. Some of you are saying, so what are you suggesting then? That we just be these meek little people who just kind of do nice things for others?

No, no. Ambassadors must also, ambassadors don't just do good things for people who don't deserve it. Ambassadors also are called to rebuke, to proclaim truth. Look at Ephesians chapter five for a moment.

Ephesians chapter five, beginning in verse eight, verse seven. Therefore, do not become partners with them, for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light, for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true, and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.

Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. We have been called to expose the sinful nature of what's going on around us. In public affairs, as well as private, the people of God must proclaim the righteousness of God, what God demands.

We also must proclaim that. It's interesting to see John the Baptist. John the Baptist go into the court of a king, a petty king, but a king nonetheless, and saying to him, you are an immoral man. He goes into the court of a king and says that.

Frankly, we need more of us to do that. We need more unapologetic declaration of what God expects. And John the Baptist went into, you talk about, you know how the phrase is today, speaking to power, what that essentially means.

If you're leftist, you need to speak to conservative politicians, but it does mean something. John spoke to power, and he said to that power, you are wrong, and so we have that responsibility as well.

In many forms, God has granted this nation great freedom with the result that the voice of God's people can be heard publicly, and so we need to say it. Yes, God has addressed certain issues. Abortion, God has said something about that.

Homosexuality, God has said things about that. Transgenderism, God has said something about that. Helping the poor, God has also said something about that. It's not like certain things are owned by the right, and certain things are owned by the left.

Rather, God has commands for all of these. We are commanded to defend the defenseless and to care for widows and orphans, but we're also commanded to stand up and speak truth about some of the immorality and darkness and wickedness that's part of our nation, and so we're ambassadors with the particular responsibility of doing good and also the responsibility of proclaiming righteousness.

Both of those go together. Both of those go together. Look at 1 Timothy chapter two for a moment. 1 Timothy chapter two. By the way, this text has caused us some discussion among the elders about our responsibility, what we ought to be doing in our worship service, because this is what's aimed at what we do in our worship services, and here's what we find.

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, for there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and man, the man, Christ Jesus.

What does it tell us to do? It tells us to pray for our leaders. Ambassadors must also intercede for our leaders. There's the importance of praying for leaders for the purpose of the advancement of the gospel, the importance of praying for their salvation.

How many of us, and we rarely do it, I don't know if we've done it here publicly, prayed for our president. Some of you wanna spit when you say pray for President Biden and you wanna spit after saying it, but this is what Paul was saying to people who lived under tyrannical Roman emperors and tyrannical governors and representatives of an oppressive government.

Pray for them, pray for them. Ambassadors also have a particular message. We have a particular message, 2 Corinthians chapter five, 2 Corinthians chapter five, beginning in verse 17. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.

The old has passed away, behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. That is, in Christ, God has reconciled the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us, we implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake, he made him to be sin, who knew no sins that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

This is the authoritative message God has given us, be reconciled to God. It is the main message we must proclaim as citizens. It's not an economic policy, it's not a foreign policy, it's not an educational policy, it's not a domestic policy.

Those we can talk about, but we have been told we have the purpose of proclaiming a message of reconciliation. You must be reconciled to God, that is our main message. You know what? God has not given us the biblical view of foreign policy.

Christians can disagree, this may come as a surprise to you because we live in such a polarized society where you agree with me, or this is the Christian view of the economic policy we must pursue. Christians can disagree about such things as economic policy.

They can disagree about whether we ought to help Ukraine or not. Christians can disagree about whether there's global warming or not. How often do you spend time talking to someone with great passion about global warming, or the lack of it, without ever saying a word about the message that Christ has given you to proclaim?

Sadly, we pour our passion into these political arguments more than we do the very message that God has given us to proclaim to all men. And can I add something here? Be careful, be careful. Certainly, there are things that in our political agenda, the political atmosphere, the political landscape, that we must speak clearly about, but be very careful that you don't talk in such a way that your Christianity is equated with a particular political party.

My father once gave me some great advice early on in ministry here. He said, Tim, don't ever put a political, they're rare now, sticker, don't put a political sticker on your bumper. The second you do that, you're gonna lose half of the community in which you minister.

That really stuck with me, that really stuck with me. And the last thing I want to point out is embrace your identity not only as aliens, not only as ambassadors, but embrace your identity as citizens of America.

You say, what, after all that you said? Absolutely, after all that I've said. First Peter chapter three, I'm sorry, it's first Peter chapter two, beginning in verse 13. Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good.

For this is the will of God that by doing good, you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. By the way, what is doing good identified with here? What is he saying? Submission is doing good, submission is doing good.

And you do that, that by doing good, you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover up for evil, but living as servants of God.

Honor everyone, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the emperor. You must submit to all levels of government. God has called us to submit to the government that does not care for him or his will. Nevertheless, submission is our duty.

It does not matter whether we disagree or agree with the government's policies. You ought to submit for the sake of the Lord Jesus, not because of fear of retribution or punishment, but for the sake of his name.

You are to do good so that you can silence the slander of God's people. Now he says, live as free men. Isn't that interesting? He's talking to people living under the yoke of the Roman Empire, and he says, live as free people.

That is, don't be encumbered, though, by that oppression, by those policies. Live as free men. In other words, live freely. But then there's the qualification. What? Live as servants of God. Don't use your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but live as servants of God.

Yes, my government requires this, but this is what Jesus requires, and I'm going to follow him. No matter what, I'm gonna follow him. I am his disciple. I am the servant of God. You know what? Alien citizens make the best citizens, because we know what's good, we know what's righteous, and we want to be those who submit to our government.

Rebels make poor witnesses, and we're going to do that for the sake of Christ and to silence those who slander us. Alien citizens ought to be the best citizens. One of the early church fathers went on trial, said, you blame us Christians for the Tiber flooding.

Right, the gods are angry because of these Christians, for the Tiber flooding, for our military defeats, but you also have to recognize that Christians are the best subjects that you've ever had, and no one could argue with that.

And so, God has called us, or God has identified us as aliens. He's called us to be ambassadors, and he's called us to be good citizens. So, Pastor Tim, are you saying that we shouldn't care about what happens on Tuesday, that it's just not that big of a deal?

Is that what you're saying? Actually, no, that's not what I'm saying. In fact, I believe there is a real possibility that the election might prove to be a turning point, and not for good, but for evil.

It might lead to a loss of liberty for us as Christians. I can see that on the horizon. It might lead to a loss of liberty for us as Christians, and for further difficulties for us in the public realm.

It might lead to an onslaught of wickedness in terms of abortion, in terms of transgender policy, and any number of things. I do think we have reason to fear. I do think that. But we must not begin to think that if one party wins, it means the death of righteousness, and the end of gospel ministry in this country.

That is where we cannot go. What if the loss, what if the loss of what we hold dear means that Christ's kingdom will expand in a way that we never imagined? What would you think then? Are you willing to say, if the loss of the freedoms that I have enjoyed means an explosion of Christ's kingdom, are you willing to say, I'm willing to give up my rights?

That might be what happens. We don't know. But we do know this. Loss of liberty or not, we will not be muzzled with the good news of the gospel. What if the loss of political freedom means that more people than ever will find freedom in Christ?

What if it means that? You see, we don't know what God's going to do. Should we fear? Should we be concerned? Absolutely. There are things now in our nation that are on, that are presented to us that are incredibly important.

And we are invested in it. And we as Christians should make our voice heard through our vote. Don't hear what I'm not saying. But I am saying, do not think that this means the end of what God is doing in the world.

What he is going to do is not dependent on the favor of the government. It is not dependent on whether or not the election goes our way. It is dependent entirely on the sovereign free will of God who will accomplish great things through his people as they remain faithful to him.

So no matter what the outcome, we always remember, we are aliens, we are ambassadors, we are citizens. All of those are our calling. All of those are what we must concentrate on. Thank you, Father, for your word.

Help us to live in light of it. Lord, I pray for our nation today. And my prayer is that Lord, in some fashion, by your sovereign will, you would establish the kind of leaders that we need that would at least restrain the evil that seems to be sweeping over our nation.

And Lord, we have a part of that. We can be a part of that. But yet, Father, with all that on the line, remind us that our citizenship and our total allegiance is in heaven and belongs to Christ. And that no matter what happens, we will continue to fulfill our calling.

God help us. If Lord, in your sovereign goodwill, our country continues its descent into wickedness, help us to be lights that will shine ever brighter. Give us courage to say the things that must be said.

Give us the compassion to reach people and do good to those who don't deserve it so that the name of Christ will be exalted. Help us to be what you've called us to be. Do great things through your people, we pray.

In Jesus' name, amen.