The Gift of Liberty

Regardless the candidate for president, no man or woman can save America. No man or woman can make America great again. No man or woman alone is trustworthy enough to not have to be under constitutional checks and balances. No man or woman has all the answers to the needs of our nation. That is the description of a king or queen. We threw off the tyranny of king during the American Revolution.

What many voters, regardless the candidate, are seeking from whom they support is some form of kingship or soft tyranny. Our government was designed to not allow one person to have that type of power. Somehow we believe if it is our guy or gal then they will not be corrupted by the power and stay on the straight and narrow. As James Madison once said, “If men were angels, no government would be necessary.”

Men are not angels; they are fallen and temporal. Our trust should only go so far when we choose those who represent us in government. We should use biblical principles to choose our candidates. I’ve heard many a Christian and pastor say, “We are not electing a pastor; we’re electing a president.” If that is true, then you cannot agree with John Adams’ quote:

“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

What that means is we must hold our candidates up to the biblical standards God has given us when we vote. It doesn’t mean the candidate has to be a Christian, but as my pastor once shared, he should be at least like Cornelius the Centurion:

“A devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always.” (Acts 10:2)

As I have been guilty of falsely trusting government to do what only God can do, I want to caution you from doing the same. This is why we do not take oaths of service to men or women. We take oaths to our Constitution, a document that was divinely-inspired based on biblical principles. This blessed document was written with posterity in mind and not some issue(s) at hand. All things are temporal in this life and we must be careful of where we put our trust:

“Do not put your trust in princes, nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help. His spirit departs, he returns to his earth; in that very day his plans perish.” (Psalm 146:3-4)

Go back and examine President Adams’ quote. The reason our Constitution is only acceptable “for a moral and religious people” is because our form of government is based on self-governance. That means as individuals and communities, we hold ourselves to a moral and religious standard. That standard is found in the Ten Commandments, the very document that adorns many a government wall and is under constant attack. These attacks are by design and we who are the moral and religious are giving up right ground daily by our silence to and support of the godless.

We put false hope in material things. This is why most voters polled say the number one issue to them is economic. The problem with that is our nation’s woes are not economic; that is just the byproduct of the underlying sickness. Our nation is spiritually bankrupt and we can no longer call ourselves a righteous people. This is why we are foundering so as a country:

“He who trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like foliage.” (Proverbs 11:28)

When we say we are not voting for a pastor for president, we are trying excuse ourselves for accepting the godless and immoral as an option. That is no option at all. We can no longer afford to vote for immoral and unrighteous people. The Bible says so:

“Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.” (Proverbs 14:34)

Our liberty is a gift from God. Our liberty from death cost our Lord Jesus Christ everything. Or liberty as Americans has been paid for by the blood and sacrifice of millions of Americans. We need to look at our liberty as a generous gift from God.

I fear too many of us take that for granted.

Sadly, many Christians are leading the way…

In Christ
Dave
Ps. 37:4

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    Copyright © 2016 David Jeffers

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