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THOUGHTS ON THE UPCOMING
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
Dear Reader,
Another presidential campaign winds down. On November 4, the citizens of the United Statesof America will choose our 44th president.
And about the time you receive another mailer from us, God willing, that president will have been inaugurated.
The purpose of this mailer is not to tell you which presidential candidate we endorse, or which you should vote for. Fact is, Randolph PRC does not officially endorse any particular candidate. I dare say that any church which does, has forgotten the real meaning of separation of church and state.
But the upcoming presidential election does give us an opportunity to see what the Bible says about politics.
God sovereignly controls elections.
God is sovereign. That is, He is independent, and He directs everything so that it happens according to His will.
His sovereignty includes His control of the rise and fall of nations, and of kings. To King Nebuchadnezzar, the prophet Daniel said: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever: for wisdom and might are his: And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings . . .” (Daniel 2:20-21).
Whether one likes President Bush or not, one must see that the sovereign God is saying his purpose as president is soon to be over. And whether or not one likes Mr. Obama or Mr. McCain or one of the other presidential contenders, we must see that God is about to give us one of them as president.
Presidents and rulers must answer to God.
The one true God, Jehovah, requires all men to serve Him. Even those who deny there is a God, or who claim to serve some other god, will one day stand before God. In Jesus Christ, Jehovah shows Himself to be the King of kings, and the Lord of lords (Revelation 17:14, 19:16).
Because we must all serve Him as our creator, we must all answer to Him as Judge. Even Pontius Pilate, an earthly judge who condemned the innocent Jesus to death, was told that he would see “the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven” (Matthew 26:64).
We think of the position of president as being one of great power and influence - and it is, on earth. But it is also one of great responsibility. Not only must the president serve the people of the United States, but he must serve God. This led David to say in Psalm 2, “Be wise now therefore, O ye kings; be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little.” (Psalm 2:10-12).
Whoever our next president is, let us pray that he might serve God consciously!
The Christian must decide for whom to vote on the basis of principle reasons.
Because our president does serve God, whether willingly or unwillingly; and because our country is best served when Christianity is promoted, the Christian must decide for whom to vote on the basis of his faith.
For the Christian to vote for a candidate because he promises the best tax relief package, or the best subsidy for farmers, is to vote for the wrong reason. It is to vote with an eye to oneself, and not with an eye to the true well-being of the country.
The Christian must ask: which candidate will best promote the moral virtues which are in accord with the Christian faith? Which candidate will best defend the rights of Christians to believe our faith, and to live it? And which candidate best understands this to be his obligation before God?
We’re not suggesting that when one votes according to principle, the choice becomes easy. Sometimes two or more seem to fit the bill; sometimes none do. The point is that the Christian must vote according to his faith, not his personal desires.
The Christian must honor the next president.
Regardless of who is elected, because God puts him in authority, it becomes the calling of the Christian to honor him.
Christians are required to “be subject unto the higher powers” (Romans 13:1), meaning that we submit ourselves to the civil government. We are to “Fear God. Honor the king” (I Peter 3:17).
If the man elected was the one we wanted, we are not to flaunt it; if he is not the one we wanted, we are not to complain.
But honor. And pray for. And serve.
To manifest God’s grace in our hearts.
And to show that we serve the Lord of lords, and King of kings!
Pastor Douglas Kuiper
I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.
I Timothy 2:1-2
Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.
Romans 13:1-2
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