Admit it. Many of you are afraid we will get four more years of Barack Obama. You think he will steal the Republic and make himself King. Some of you think he already has. You’ve seen government grow and grow and grow and believe that Obama’s coup is just around the corner, immediately following a collapse that you believe is inevitable due to the great burden of debt this nation is under. Your great fear, like Glenn Beck, is the perfect storm that you see gathering on the horizon.
Scriptures, however give the believer something much greater than fear of men: fear of God and the blessing that attends it.
Psalm 147:11 The LORD takes pleasure in them that fear Him, in those that hope in his mercy.
Psalm 33:18 Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, On those who hope for His lovingkindness.
Because the Lord is on the side of His people (the church), we do not have to fear what men will do to us. This does not mean that God is on the side of the United States. To make such an assertion is to confuse the two.
Luke 12:31f But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you. Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
Isaiah 41:13 For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.
Some of you have also suggested that the gospel is at stake in this election. As most Republicans and Democrats alike have been willing to legislate away free speech, it is not unreasonable that Christians might eventually suffer persecution for the gospel’s sake. Nevertheless, I think that many in the conservative Patriot movement have the relationship between the gospel and freedom backwards.
We are being told that if we somehow “restore liberty” in our country, we will then see some great awakening of religious blessing. But liberty is a result of blessing, not the cause of it. Right now we can freely preach the gospel, but many worry that it may someday become illegal. What shall we do then, we fretfully ask? The answer is simple. We will freely preach the gospel:
Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel: Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound [chained] (II Timothy 2:8f)
The effect of the grace of God, the work of Christ, and the preaching of the gospel are not dependent upon Constitutional protections and the backing of the U.S. Supreme Court. As Pastor John MacArthur notes, “The ideal human government can ultimately do nothing to advance God’s kingdom, and the worst, most despotic worldly government in the end cannot halt the power of the Holy Spirit or the spread of God’s word.”
After the Apostles spent time in jail for preaching, they were released with this warning: And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus (Acts 4:18-24, 29). The disciples responded:
Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto
God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard. So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them, because of the people: for all men glorified God for that which was done. For the man was above forty years old, on whom this miracle of healing was shewed. And being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them. And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said…. And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word.
We do not know what will happen tomorrow, let alone after the November elections; but we must not let a fear of Obama cause us to disobey God in other ways. Later this week, Lord Willing, I am going to examine whether or not a Christian is permitted by God to vote for an unbeliever.
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David J Shedlock has written a book showing how Biblical doctrines should rule our understanding of politics and government called With Christ in the Voting Booth: Casting Down Imaginations Before Casting Your Vote, with a Foreword by Governor Mike Huckabee.