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friend of mine
recently
quipped,
If Ciod had intended for us to
vote, He would have
given
us
candidates " It's
sad
that this kind of
remark
is
funny. Each election in
recent
years
has
been a time of mourning. The closer you
look at the candi
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The election
sennon has
been a
powerful instrument for
Cjod's glOly
in this
country. It is high time
to
revive it again. 50
(this
being
the season for elections), I offer to
you a
modem election sermon
on Cjod's
qualifications for
leaders. What
kind
of
men
should
be
chosen
for
positions of leadership
in a nationl What are the characteristics
necessal)' to qualify a man for public officel
The
Bible
tells us a great deal but we
are
given
a succinct description of what such
men
should be in Exodus 18:19-22 (a most
popular
text in
the 17th
and
18th centuries).
Moses had a problem. He needed help in
administering the
affairs
of
Israel. 50
he
sought
counsel
from
his
wise and godly
father-in-law, Jethro.
In response,
Jethro
described
to Moses the
sort of
men who are
qualified
to be leaders in
Israel
(Ex. 18:21
Moreover thou shalt provide out of aU
thepeople able men, such
as
fear Clod, men
of truth, hating covetousness; and place
such over
them,
to be rulers
of
thousands,
and
rulers
of
hundreds,
rulers of
fifties,
and
rulers
of
tens
. . . )
Three things must be true of
men if
they are to be considered able
men
and
thus,
fit
to hold local, state, or national
offices:
They must 1) fear Cjod , 2) be men
of truth , and 3) be men who
hate
covetousness. These 3 qualities
summarize
aU
the many
traits
of
godly character
outlined
elsewhere in the Scripture.
Let's
consider
each
briefly:
A MAN QUALIFIED
FOR PUBLIC
OFFICE MUST
BE
ONE WHO FEARS
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(iod's laws
for
the good of the
people.
He is
to rule
as
one who
is
conscious that he too is
under authority. He is (iod's
representative
and
as
such, will render account to His
Master
for
how
he
discharged his
responsibilities.
MEN WHO
ARE
QUALIFIED FOR
PUBLIC OFFICE MUST BE MEN
OF
TRUTH.
The one
qualified for leadership
has a love and
reverehce
for
the Troth.
It
should
go
without
saying (but does
anything go "without
saying" anytnorel)' he
must be one who
speaks the troth. He
must be a man of
integrity. A man who
can be trusted. More
is
intended
here,
however. He must be one who not only
speaks the truth
but
is
loyal to The Truth.
That
is:
1. He is to be one who personally
adheres to Ood's law (Deut. 17:18-19). He
should not only be well acquainted with
the
Scriptures
but understand them intimately
and
seek
tofollow them
conscientiously.
He
must be one who reverences (iod's Word as
his rule of
life.
Further,
2. He is to be willing to uphold
Ood slaw publicly. He is to be willing to
maintain justice in the land. He must refuse
to
justify
the
wicked
or to
condemn
the just,
for he knows that
justice
can only
exist
when
(iod's laws are
followed.
He must allow
nothing but the law of
God
to determine the
issues before
him. He
must
remember the
truth
of Proverbs 29:4: The
king by
justice
establisheth
the
land: but
he who
receives
gifts overthrows
it.
3,
He
will not be pressured into
ungodly compromise. His policies and
positions must not be
determined
by
public
opinion
polls, the
media, or
by his
desire
to
promote his own
best interests.
They
are
to be
motivated by
(iod's Word
alone.
Everything contrary to
that Word
is
opposed.
The man qualified
to
lead
must be a
man
of
truth.
He
must
be
one who is married to the truth and
determined
not
so
much
as to consider even a
trial separation, far less a divorce,
from
it.
MEN
QVALlFlED
FOR PUBLIC OFFICE
MUST
BE
MEN WHO
HATE
COVETOUSNESS.
"
Covetousness
is
used
here
to
denote
all
sin and rebellion which
is
rooted in
self
-
love.
All who
fear
the
Lord
hate evil
(Prov. 8:13). The
man
fit for rule is
self-disciplined, able to govern himself by
God's grace (Deut. 17:17).
26 THE
COUNSEL of Chakedon October November, 1994
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He is
to be one
who refuses to live
by
impulse and feeling. He
must
not allow
personal
ambition,
pride,
or
selfishness
to
determine his way. He is to
be
a
man
whose
principles
have
been
hewn
out
of the granite
rock of Scripture and
he
refuses to budge from
them.
What
qo
loves,
he
is
to love,
and
what qod
hates,
he
is
to hate.
Only the man who has these
qualifications is fit to
Of course, some candidates
are
better
than others but
too
often we find ourselves
facedwith
the hoi e between men who have
none of the biblical qualifications for public
office . There have been exceptions here and
there, but the vast majority
of us
have never
had
the opportunity
to
vote
for
a candidate
who meets the requirements
of
Exodus 18. It
is clear we
no
longer have biblically qualified
men who are willin to lead. Our leaders
are
nothing but
children.
e entrusted with
public
office.
But
where
are
the
men
like
thisl
We
have men who profess
to be Christians, but
name the national
leaders
(and sadly,
there
are
precious
few
local
leaders)
who
Our
leaders
are
nothing but
children This is
a
sure mark of
God s judgment.
This is a
sure
mark
of qod's judgment.
listen
to
these
sobering words from
Is. 3:1-5: For, behold,
the Lord, the LORD
of hosts, doth take
away
from
Jerusalem
truly
manifest
a fear of the Lord.
They
may
profess to
be
Christians
but
they
are
embarrassed to be identified with
distinctively biblical positions. They may call
themselves Christians but they place their
confidence in man (in military might new
social programs, or
other statist
solutions).
They profess to believe the Bible but quickly
forsake it if it means winning the support
of
a
particular interest group. They profess to
honor qod's law
yet
do
not obey
it.
They
have no
concern
for
biblical worship or true
godliness. They are satisfied with keeping
up
a
religious front --
paying lip servi e
to qo
when their hearts
are
far
from
m They
will quote
from
the Scriptures one moment
and justify adultery the next.
and from Judah the
stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread,
and the whole stay
of water.
The mighty
man, and the
man
of
war,
the judge, and the
prophet, and the prudent and the ancient,
The captain of fifty, and the honourable man,
and the counsellor, and the cunning
artificer,
and the eloquent orator. And I will give
children to be their princes, and babes
shall rule over them. And the people
shall
be oppressed,
every
one by
another,
and
every
one by
his neighbour: the child shall
behave himself
proudly
against the ancient
and the base against the honourable."
qo
says he will take away the
honorable
men
and replace them with
children. Not
children literally,
but children
spiritually. qrown men who are unwise,
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easily intimidated, undisciplined,
irresponsible,
ignorantof the ways of
Ciod,
and easily deceived. Calvin
comments,
By
children are meant not only those who
are
so
by
age, but also
by
mind and conduct,
such as
delicate
imdeffeminafe persons, who
are
destitute
o
courage
and cannot wield
the
sword intrusted
to
them. He does not here
cany oot the
contrast,
clause by
clause, for he
thought it enough
to point
out
one
way in which a >
comrrionwealthis >
speedily ruined
i
that
is, when its rt.Jlers
are
weak and
foolish
men,
like >
children,.who have
no gravity or
wisdom:
(Commentary on
lsaia.h) . .
.
.
. A rebellious nation win
be
filled with
childish, immature leaders. Why does this
happen 1
It is
not an
accident.
Ciod says, I
am
going to do this
and He does it in
response to the rebeUion of the
people.
A
covenant-breaking people are not going to
be
given covenant-keeping leaders.
Even
if Ciod
were to
raise
up
godly
men,
such
a people
. would
scorn
them.
Men
desire leaders like
themselves. We have immoral, childish
leaders because we have
become
a nation of
immoral, .
childish people
. It
is for
this reason
that neatly
every
election
in
recerit
memory
has been a
day of
sorrow for those who love
the
Savior
and
care
for this nation.
WHAT MUST WE
DO?
It would be wrong
for
us to
give
up
in
despair. Just as surely as
Ciod judges
and
destroys nations, so He
revives
and
blesses
them. The
same
Ciod who judged Israel also
restored
them -- and He restored them in
response
to
the
prayers
and labors of a very
small minority who
set their hearts to
honor Him. To say
all that I have said
does not mean that
we should
lose
heart.
But what
must
we
dol
1.
We must repent
for our own sin
and the sins of our
nation. Read
Daniel's
prayer of
repentance
in
Dan.
.
9.
We dare flOt
think that the
victory
is
wein
if
the
man we
vote
for
wins. We
must neit
be satisfied until
our nation isfiUed
with men who fear
Ciod,
love the truth, and hate evil.
2.
We must devote ourselves to the
duty of Christian education. We must
train a generation wise in
the
things
of
Ciod.
3. We must give ourselves to the
preaching of the gospel-- teaching all
things
that Christ
has
commanded. The
peoplewill never desire godly leaders until
they desire Ciod.
4.
Some of
you
must
give
serious
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October November,
994
THE COUNSEL
of Chalcedon 29
8/12/2019 1994 Issue 8 - For Whom Shall We Vote? Election Sermons Revived - Counsel of Chalcedon
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consideration to running for public office.
We must have godly men who
are
willing to
seek election to
local,
state, and national
offices. We cannot be content to vote for the
"lessor of two evils." It is wrong for us to
vote for evil, even if the alternative
is
worse
Pray that
qod
grant
us
men
who will stand
for righteousness and
ask yourself, "Am
I that
manl"
5. We must
pray.
Our
qod delights
in bringing victory
out
of what appears
to be
certain defeat. Now is the time to
seek
Him.
Fast and
pray.
Beg qod to tum to us again.
Listen
to
Samuel Langdon
who
preached the follOwing in an
election
sermon
in 1775:
"If qod
be
for
us, who
can be
against usl The enemy has
reproached us
for
calling on his name, and professing our trust
in him. they have made a mock of our
solemn fasts, and every appearance of serious
Christianity in the
land.
On this account, by
way of contempt, they
call
us
saints:
and that
they themselves
may
keep
at the
greatest
distance from this
character,
their mouths are
full
of horrid blasphemies, cursing, and
bitterness, and vent all the rage of malice and
barbarity. And may we not be confident that
the Most High, who regards these
things,
will vindicate his own honor and
plead our
righteous cause against such enemies to
his
government, as well as our
liberties.
0 may
our
camp be
free from
every accursed thing
May
our land
be purged form
all its
sins
May
we
be
truly a
holy
people and
all our
town cities of
righteousness."
Only when qod's people are devoted
to
righteousness
in public
and private
can
we
have any
confidence
that qod will
fight
for
us. Let us
therefore
humble ourselves and
tum
from
our
wicked ways. Then
qod
may
hear our cries from heaven and tum to us and
heal our land.
Q
yron Snapp
ook Review
A
Treatise
on
Earthly Mindedness
by Jeremiah
Burroughs. Soli Deo Gloria Publications.
1991
hb. 219
pp. $18.95.
R C Sproul begins his introduction
to
the reprint of
the 1649 Puritan work with these words: "My guess is
that few people will ever pick up this book and read it.
Its theme and content are too alien
to
modem
Christianity
to evoke
much interest." (p.
i).
I believe he
is right.
Yet
this is the very reason you and I need
to
read this volume.
Being sinners saved by
grace we
can easily
get
caught
up
witli'iile'enjoyment of GOQspliysicaIElessings n -
forget God. In so doing, our spiritual lives are weakened
and our Christian witness can
easily
become a shambles.
This book consists of several sermons based on PhiL
3:19,20
and
Gen.
5:24. In them this faithful pastor
explores what earthly-mindedness
is
and how
to
Scripturally deal with it. He
follows
this with an
examination of how
we
can walk with God
in
our daily
life.
The chapters are short and provide much opportunity
for self-examination. As we have come to expect from
Puritan works there are an abundance of Scriptural
citations. With the citation the verse itself is usually
written out. Thus the reader does not have
to
put down
the book and search Scripture nor can he read the
reference without being faced with the contents of the
verse.
Applying the message of this book
to
our lives we will
grow in the Lord and certainly stand more faithfully
in
our culture. We willbe reminded time and again not
to
let our witness be encumbered by our love for physical
possessions.
I hope Dr. Sproul and I are wrong. I hope this book
gets wide, soul-searching reading by officers and
laymen. If so,
we
are certain
to
see a church that
is
more
God-honoring and awake than
is currently the case. n
30 THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon October November,
1994