Mondo Gonzales, Pastor
CrossRoads Community Church in New Lenox
www.ccc-nl.org
“And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name
of the Lord Jesus.” Colossians 3:17
We are commanded in this passage that whatever we say or any action we take we should do it in the name of the Lord Jesus. Now what does that mean: To do something in the name of someone else? What it means is that we would speak, act, or live in such a way that it reflects or brings honor to the name we are trying to live for. In an even more basic principle, we should live and imitate Jesus (1 John 2:6). The logical question then becomes, how did Jesus live His life? What were His principles and how did He speak and act? I don’t believe we need to wonder about it, because Jesus said quite clearly that He came not to do His own will but to obey the will (desires) of the Father (John 5:30). Jesus revealed to us how He lived His life. When tempted by Satan, Jesus responded by saying that He didn’t live by bread alone but by every word that proceeded from God (Matthew 4:4). Thus it is obvious that Jesus lived His life and promoted only those things that honored God and which were consistent with His Word. Jesus lived His life according to the principles found in the Bible. As Christians we are called to do the same thing. Our standard is not something we feel at the moment, or human wisdom, or any other idea that would be in opposition to the Scripture. The Bible is God’s Word to us and He tells us quite clearly what He thinks about certain ideas and also how we are to live our life and imitate Jesus.
I have shared all of this to lay a foundation for discussing the upcoming election and whom we as Christians should vote for. I am not going to tell you who to vote for, but I believe we should vote for the person that Jesus would vote for. How do we know whom Jesus would cast His vote for? We can be absolutely certain that Jesus would only cast His vote for someone who loves God, not in word or tongue, but in action and in truth (1 John 3:18). When elections come around it seems that many of the candidates conveniently become spiritual and begin to speak in religious language seeking to appeal to believers. It’s not necessarily important what any of these people say, but instead what they do. The Bible says many “profess to know God, but in their works they deny Him” (Titus 1:16). It also teaches that many people honor God with their lips, but their hearts are far from Him (Matthew 15:8). The real question about the candidates is not what they are saying now, but how have they lived their life and voted prior to going on the campaign trail. I can assure you that Jesus would not vote for someone who would ever support a pro-abortion policy, or a candidate who promoted the homosexual lifestyle. He wouldn’t vote for a person who did not affirm that marriage is between one man and one woman… just to name a few topics. How can we know this? The main reason is because the Bible condemns these things as sinful acts before God and Jesus wouldn’t cast his vote for anyone in power who would use their influence to encourage things that violated God’s Word. Now I know that this sounds narrow in a society where toleration seems to be the highest virtue, but we need to get back to the authority and clarity of what Scripture teaches. We should weigh each candidate carefully and ask ourselves whether these people will legislate and govern in a way that honors God, His Word, and His name. There is a story about a good king in the Old Testament who unwisely supported an evil king and was rebuked for it. A prophet warned the king saying, “Is it right to support the wicked and be an ally of those who oppose the Lord? Because you have done this the Lord is angry with you!” (1 Chronicles 19:2). If we vote for those who oppose the commandments and clear teaching of Scripture then we are putting ourselves at odds with the Lord who will be angry with us. Let us examine carefully and vote for those whom Jesus would vote for… those who will honor the Scripture by their actions, not merely their words. Have a blessed week!