How would Jesus vote?
If Jesus Christ had to walk
into an American voting booth
in the 21st century,
what would he choose?
Would his heart be heavy
with causes of compassion?
With social justice?
Would he
open his vote and his arms wide
to the immigrant,
the orphan,
the poor
through social programs?
Or would Jesus care about
the time-tested
traditional values of family?
Would he care more about gender?
About sexuality?
About marriage?
How do you think Jesus would vote?
We love the either-or
We love the either-or kind of questions in America,
don't we?
You're this or you're that.
You loved Obama
or you love Trump.
It's MSNBC
or it's Fox News.
You're Republican
or you're Democrat.
But as I open the pages of scripture,
I find out that Jesus
wasn't so quick to jump into
the either-or debates.
Do you remember that story
where they try to pin Jesus down
with a political position?
In his day, people
either loved the Roman government
or despised them.
They would pay their taxes gladly
or they would pay them
with clenched teeth.
"So what do you think, Jesus?" they asked.
"Should we pay taxes or should we not?"
Are you with this political party
or that one?
Do you remember Jesus' reply?
He said in Matthew, chapter 22,
They were amazed that there was a
a different answer.
And this week,
as we talk about being
politically correct,
from a scriptural perspective,
that's what I want to do with you.
I want to make you think a little bit deeper.
Not just either-or,
but what if it's a both-and?
What if there are causes of
compassion and justice
that should be heavy
on every Christian heart?
What if we should care about,
about sex and family
and the freedom of religion?
We're going to study this week
the passages that talk about
the government
and God's role in it.
And that's the only way,
in a world that loves
partisan politics,
it's the only way that
a Christian can end up
politically correct.
What does God want the government to do?
I had to think about that question
the last time I was in a cop car.
Don't worry.
I didn't get arrested.
There's a member of our church
who's a police officer
in our city.
And he let me do a ride-along with him.
So we,
we stop right next to a stop sign
that is often totally ignored
by the citizens of
the place where we live.
And we waited and we watched.
And I saw a guy
just kind of do a little rolling stop
through the sign.
And I said, "Officer, we've got to get him!"
I thought if we start with a ticket,
and then I come up to the window
and I preach and talk about Jesus,
we could do law
and gospel.
We could do sin and grace.
We could do punishment and freedom.
But apparently the officer didn't jump
at my offer.
Because it turns out there is a difference
between what God wants the government to do
and what he wants the church to do.
What he expects of a police officer
and what he wants for a pastor.
Actually, as we sat in the car that day,
the officer himself said that.
He said, "Pastor, you and I both
try to help people.
We both use our words
but we have to do it in different ways."
And I love that perspective
because that's exactly what
the bible says.
There's a distinction
between the roles and the goals
of the church and the state.
Mix those two up,
as so many people have done
in the history of Christianity,
and things become a mess.
But, but keep them distinct
and correct,
and you're going to end up
in a great place spiritually.
Now let me share what I'm talking about.
In 1 Peter, chapter 2,
Peter talks about the church.
And he says,
What's the job of the church?
Of God's chosen people?
To declare his praises.
Not to come up with new laws.
Not to get our people in office.
Our job as a church,
what the world should know
the church for doing,
is not picking
a political side.
It's for declaring the praises
of Jesus.
Yet in that same chapter,
the Apostle Peter continues,
and he says,
So what's the goal of the state?
Not to declare God's praises.
Not to figure out
prayer and worship.
Instead, just to punish those who do wrong
and to commend those who do right.
To protect citizens.
To uphold the laws
to allow the church to do its job.
If you can keep that distinction
between the church and the state,
according to Jesus,
you will be politically correct.
America is not a democracy.
It's a demo-
crazy.
You know, it's just one letter difference
but isn't that so true?
Things have gotten so
crazy.
I know some of you
are so disgusted
with what's happening in politics,
you don't even want to read the paper,
you don't want to go on social media.
It's just story after story.
It's fake news, maybe.
Can you even believe it?
It's one side
trying to make the other side
look terrible.
It's
explosive discussions
over a Mother's Day brunch or a
Christmas dinner about immigration
or
gender or politics.
It's just crazy.
And that's why I love the bible.
The New Testament was written
at a time when
politics were crazy.
When the Roman empire
was not necessarily known for
being good to its citizens.
And that's why in chapter 13
of the book of Romans,
the Apostle Paul wrote really
distinct
and specific instructions
for Christians,
about submitting to authorities,
about respecting
those who govern us.
Even if they're far from perfect.
But you know what Paul said
right after that section was done?
Romans 13:8,
he said,
Isn't that perfect timing?
In the midst of all the craziness,
when, you know when you can't stand
your ultra-Democratic
brother-in-law,
remember the debt you have to
love one another.
When you're so confused by
Republican politics
and it makes you just want to scream,
remember the continuing debt
to love one another.
We can be absolutely right
about our politics,
but if we're not righteous,
if we're not loving,
it means so little to God.
Now, 250 years ago,
Pastor John Wesley lived
in the midst of a crazy political time, too.
And as he spoke with people
who were going to vote,
he gave them this advice.
Wesley said,
Well said,
John Wesley.
Because Christian love
loves to reach across the aisle.
America needs a third party
in politics.
I'm not talking about
Republicans and Democrats.
I'm talking about people who are
very political
and people who want
nothing to do with politics.
I'm not sure which side of that aisle
you end up on.
You might be very, very political.
And if so,
I want you to take a deep breath
and think deeply
and biblically with me today.
You might be so passionate
about our national debt.
You might be so passionate
about the person who's in office.
You might be so passionate
about health care
or
immigration
or whatever.
You might be so passionate
that you throw out
a thousand pages
in this beautiful book
that we believe in.
1 Corinthians 13
said that you could know everything.
You can have the perfect faith,
a faith that moves mountains.
But if you don't have love,
to God,
it's nothing.
In fact, the passages says
YOU
are nothing.
Love is patient,
and love is kind,
and love is gentle,
and it's not easily angered.
Be careful about being too political.
And be careful about
being not political enough.
The bible says being in leadership,
especially over
many people in government,
is so difficult,
it requires the prayers of God's people.
Maybe you've fallen into the same sin
that I have.
You're so fed up with everything,
you step away.
You don't think.
You don't look.
You don't even pray.
But the bible commands us
to pray for all of those
in authority, that we can live peaceful
and Godly lives.
The bible commands us
to pray for the kind of strength
it takes to lead when you're being
criticized
from a thousand different directions.
We would be naive
to think if we just didn't
have a government,
we would be better.
We wouldn't.
It would be chaos.
We're required,
as grateful people,
to pray
for those who are in authority.
So beware of
of being too political
or not political enough.
Instead,
there's a place of grace and truth.
That's the place where Jesus stood.
When the Apostle John
introduced his gospel,
where he would tell
of the incredible words
and works of Jesus,
he said these words.
Jesus came full of truth.
He never compromised.
He never let go of what was right.
But he came full of grace.
Grace,
undeserved love,
for people who
forgot about their leaders.
And grace
for people
who got so passionate about politics
they forgot about love.
Now we worship a savior
who's full of grace
and truth.
Let's fix our eyes on Jesus
and be people full of grace and truth, too.
Do you have hope
for the American government?
Maybe you remember that,
that classic picture
that the artist Shepard Fairey
drew of President Barack Obama.
That classic image
that just had one word on the bottom:
Hope.
And that's what people wanted, right?
Hope.
They wanted hope that
things were going to be different.
They wanted hope
that America could be better.
They were hoping that
things would change.
And as the years went by,
many people had the same
hope for President Trump.
They hoped that someone who didn't
grow up in the political system
would change things,
would would fix our flaws.
But whether you're a Republican
or a Democrat,
whether you voted for Obama
or Trump,
you probably wouldn't be surprised
to know that many people mocked
that image.
And they changed the word "Hope"
to
"Nope."
And we thought things
were going to be better.
We thought things would change.
We put our hope in that.
But it so often
fails us.
And that's why I love what
the Apostle Paul wrote to
his friends in Ephesus.
In Ephesians, chapter 1,
the Apostle Paul was praying
for these people,
who lived in
a culture where the government
worshipped pagan goddesses
and didn't believe in Jesus.
So he told them not to put their hope
in earthly rulers.
Instead,
he wrote this,
Paul wanted his friends to have hope.
And so he prayed that
their eyes would be open
to know God's
incomparably great power.
Now in the Greek language
that Paul wrote in,
he uses the words
"mega
hyper
and dynamite."
He says, "You want hope.
I hope that you know that
God has mega hyper dynamite power.
That God can use everything.
Every broken system.
Every flawed ruler
for the good of his church."
That's what Paul goes on to say.
Everything is underneath
the feet of Jesus.
And so I want to tell you today,
whatever happens in our country,
don't be afraid.
Don't panic.
Jesus is on his throne.
This bill,
this person,
this policy,
this position,
it might be right, it might be wrong,
but Jesus is still in control.
And he is ruling and reigning
everything for the good of his church.
And guess who is church is?
You.