Selection Tuesday

There are passages of Scripture that teach us how we are to relate to our governmental authorities.
And, I should mention 1st Timothy 2, which tells us to pray for our leaders. In Romans 13, we can read:
1 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.
2 Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.
3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same.

When we consider the selection of leaders, as we will do next Tuesday, we consider the sovereignty of God - ultimately, He is responsible for placing and removing leaders in those positions, and we have the unique privilege to participate in the process.  We also consider aspects of the size and scope of government, according to the Bible, which teaches 2 simple principles: to uphold good and punish evil.  When human desire for power results in overburdening governmental involvement, then one must consider how that can be scaled back.

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While God ordains governmental leaders, he has given us as American citizens the opportunity to participate with Him in the execution of His will.  I love my country; it's where He has appointed my family and me to live, and we are certainly blessed to be part of this nation.  We can consider how
candidates line up with the Biblical viewpoint of government. We read in 1st Peter 2:
13 Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether to the king as supreme,
14 or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good.

We are now less than a week from Election Day, a very important mid-term election.  In the State of Alabama, that includes the selection of officeholders in a number of statewide positions, including the executive and a number of judicial positions.  All the Alabama Legislature is up for re-election.  And on the Federal level, the entirety of the House of Representatives and one-third of the U.S. Senate are being selected.

I commented recently on a study from George Barna's organization, the American Culture and Faith Institute.  The summary says:

The survey indicated that there are three issues that will have a greater impact on voting decisions among conservatives than among other ideological segments. Specifically immigration, religious liberty, and the nation’s moral decline were top concerns to conservatives.

Similarly, there were three issues that will have heightened influence on the voting ruminations of liberals in comparison to other voters. Those issues included environmental policy, racism, and economic inequality.

The survey also suggested that there were three issues that have substantial influence on conservatives and moderates but not to liberals. Those matters were taxes, jobs, and national defense and terrorism.

Finally, there was one issue – healthcare – that appeared to be of significant importance to liberals and moderates, but not to conservatives.

I also wrote, "One group about which the ACFI has done extensive research is the so-called SAGE Cons; SAGE is an acronym for Spiritually Active and Governance Engaged.  You could say that these are Christian conservatives who are active in matters of policy.  The top issue for this group is religious liberty, with 65% indicating that it would have 'a lot of influence' on voting decisions.  Donald Trump was second at 62%, followed by gun rights and immigration, tied at 61.  Among the 'Born Again Christian' group, gun rights and quality of government were tied at 64% each."

Again, in this election cycle, the faith vote is of paramount importance.  The organization, My Faith Votes, encourages believers to pray, think, and act concerning their choices.  A recent Religion News Service article called attention to the efforts of Family Research Council and its "Values Bus."   The article states:

FRC Action Director Brent Keilen said the organization has had the bus at least four years and tours every two years ahead of elections.

This tour will culminate in The Event on Nov. 4 at Charis Bible College in Woodland Park, Co., with conservative Christian voters called on to pledge to “pray, to vote, to stand” during a simulcast on its website.

“There’s just so much at stake, and our hope is to really draw attention to that and to point out the importance of those races,” Keilen said.

The article points to a YouTube video about The Event:

The video points to issues and actions taken by the Trump administration that are important to Family Research Council’s conservative evangelical supporters: tax cuts, religious freedom, abortion, moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem and appointing conservative justices to the Supreme Court.

“Values voters can determine whether this country stays on the path of greatness,” said a written statement from FRC President Tony Perkins, who has been a vocal Trump supporter.

More on The Event now.  The National Religious Broadcasters website states the it will be "simulcast nationally" on Sunday, November 4 at 5pm CT.  NRB, FRC, First Liberty, and Alliance Defending Freedom are among the sponsors; speakers include Mike Huckabee, Mike Farris, and Tony Perkins.  The site says:

“The Bible teaches us we have an obligation to vote,” said Dr. Jerry A. Johnson, president & CEO of NRB. “The United States is a democratic republic in which the fundamental responsibility for governing the country rests with the people. The individual voices of people are expressed through casting ballots, so if we are to truly follow the biblical mandate to honor governing authorities, we must not neglect our duty to vote.”

You can learn more at www.theevent2018.com.

As perhaps a counterweight to the perspective of FRC and like-minded groups, another organization claiming to be evangelical has formed and is also featured by RNS.  It's called Vote Common Good, it's headed by Doug Pagitt, and it has a bus. The article says:

It aims to encourage evangelical Christians — who traditionally have been associated with the Republican Party, and perhaps never more so than now, given white evangelical support for Trump — to “vote their values rather than their longtime party.”

Pagitt argued that Republican candidates support Trump administration policies on taxes, immigration and the environment that are “contrary to the teaching of Jesus.” Flipping Congress for the Democratic Party in November would be more in line with Christian values, he said.

So, how does that work? There are a number of Christians who have difficulty supporting Democratic candidates because of the party platform's commitment to abortion on demand.  That, of course, is a position that not all Democrats embrace.  For some insight, I went to the Vote Common Good web site, which outlines six commitments, one of which is:

2. We will vote with the poor, vulnerable, and forgotten in mind, with religious, racial, and gender minorities, with children and the elderly, with the sick and diversely abled, upholding the God-given dignity of all people, no exceptions.

And, in an ominous declaration, we read:

5. We will vote against policies and politicians who promise special privileges for any religion, including our own.

Translation: since this is a unabashedly Democrat-supporting organization, one must assume that they feel that Republicans do not care about the poor, vulnerable, and forgotten.  And, what is a gender minority?  LGBT?  Oh, yes.  And, how about the Constitutional guarantee of religious liberty?  Oh, well, that must be a special privilege - there are some who believe that Christians, after all, are privileged in America.  And, this is a Christian organization who is supporting this type of rhetoric.

So, in the runup to Election Day, it's important that we are in prayer.  Liberty Counsel and Presidential Prayer Team are two organizations that have organized 10-day prayer initiatives leading up to Election Day.  There is a special prayer time coming up this Friday evening in Opelika.  There is plenty at stake, and we need to be calling out to God.

We also have to make sure that we are critiquing candidates based on the teachings of the Bible.  We can confidently say that the sanctity of life and of marriage are two areas that the Bible speaks clearly to. We also recognize that the family is an institution that has been established by God, and I believe that it is the duty of government to protect it...so we can look for candidates who pursue policies that protect the families.

But, we have to be clear that we are selecting candidates who uphold the Biblical view of government.  Be cautioned about candidates who are touting government-funded programs that are designed to undermine personal responsibility and exceed the parameters set by our governing authorities in the Scriptures - to uphold order and punish evil.  When you hear candidates speak free health care, free college, a "living wage," or even a guaranteed income, one has to think - how does the government intend to fund these programs?  When you hear candidates, under the umbrella of justice, speak of confiscating funds from one socioeconomic group to give to another, that is certainly a red flag.

Another red flag has to do with Christian leaders who are overly anxious to withdraw from partisan politics.  We have a political system and it includes political parties, who adopt platforms that say a lot about how they would govern and the principles they stand for.  While we never place party above theology, over-critiquing the current system could lead to a decline in participation.  We should be prayerful, involved, and intent on casting a vote as an act of worship, that we might be involved in doing the will of God.