Election Time

UPDATE -- Found these links over at Justin Taylor's blog. Some good thoughts from Piper regarding elections.

For those of us in the USA, it is election time. I cringe a lot during these times as I hear pastors preaching sermons about the elections. For example -- today I was listening to someone who said -- "Jesus died so we could live free lives in pursuit of happiness".

Well, ummmm no; the Declaration of Independence says that, but in reality, Jesus Christ died so that we would not have to spend eternity in Hell, separated from God. To frame the Gospel in a nationalistic mindset is wrong; what is the message to the persecuted Church? "well, Jesus died so WE could live free lives in pursuit of happiness, but y'all, well, good luck!"

These same pastors will speak on IDOP (International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church) about their hearts for the ones in others countries and then make these nationalistic statements regarding the Gospel the next week, or a few weeks prior , in this case.

I am not saying that these are bad people, but I believe that they have a serious misunderstanding of the Gospel if they believe that Christ was crucified so that we could live in the land of fast-food and malls, whereas the rest of the world struggles along...

I am also discouraged when these pastors select a party and deem it "God's Party", i.e. GOP "God's Ordained Party". Neither party (we actually do have more than two, but they are rarely given the time of day) is GOD'S party -- look at their actions, they are simply men, and we know what the Bible says about that.

So, for those inside the USA, I have a voting idea for you. Get familiar with the real issues that are facing our elected officials, you will probably be ahead of them at that point, and then vote for the person that you believe can best fulfill the role required for those issues. Do not be lemmings, voting the way your pastor directs you to vote, nor should you NOT vote, that is equally wrong; you have a responsibility. Get educated, use your noggin, and PRAY for wisdom!