I am distressed. I have been reading blog entries written by friends and fellow believers who claim that if we don't fully support "President Obama" we are in sin. If we don't believe that God has put Obama in as our leader, then we lack faith. If we don't obey all his commands, then we are in danger of damnation. And on and on. This lack of biblical understanding, knowledge of the Constitution, and common sense is maddening.
First, Obama is not the president. He is not even the president elect, contrary to the way he is labeled in every ignorant media outlet in existence. He will not be the president elect until the Electoral College meets and votes in December, and, I hope, not even then. And he will not be the president until, God forbid, he is installed on Inauguration Day.
Right now, we have no biblical mandate to support him as we would a president. And even if he becomes president, we are commanded to pray for him and to obey any command that is righteous, but not to "support" him in all ways.
What does this ambiguous "support" mean anyway? Does it mean that we cannot, as Samuel did to King Saul, boldly tell our political leader that he is in violation of God's law and that God has rejected him as president (king)? Does it mean that we cannot, as Nathan did to King David, tell the leader of the nation that he is in blatant violation of God's commands?
Were the German people who opposed Hitler in sin? The Russians who opposed Stalin? If we acted like these "supporters" wanted us to act, we would have stayed under English rule and the hand of a despotic king. And later, in the twentieth century, we would have had no reason to expect inside help from the citizens of Germany to help us battle Hitler, because they would be bound by this wayward principle to "support" that monster.
Jesus told the people to obey the laws that the scribes and Pharisees prescribed, but that didn't stop Him from saying (from Matthew 23):
"Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness."
And finally, "You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell?"
I will follow the example of Jesus. I will obey righteous commands, but I will tell the world about the murderous beliefs of this hypocrite named Barack Obama, both now when he is neither the president nor the president elect, and later if he should become the president.
No one is above the law of God such that we should not boldly point out his sinful ways and oppose his forcing those ways upon our nation. This man has already indicated that he will make it easier to murder the most innocent ones in our land, the unborn, so he is clearly an enemy of God. Yes, I will pray for him, that he might repent of his wickedness and come to real faith, but I will not "support" a man who has promised easier access to the murder of the unborn.
I will not be like one of those who cowered under the Nazi regime and refused to speak out against Hitler while millions of Jews were murdered. I will be like Jesus and tell the truth in spite of what the religious leaders of the day believe. And I will pray that my fellow believers will see the light and not blindly follow the masses who support this so-called president elect who has murder in his heart and blood on his hands.
16 comments:
Bravo!
I agree with you 100%, and I am going to pray for Obama and our nation for a very long time.
I am actually posting comments such as this on my blog, and i was going to post the Bible verse where it says that we must follow our leaders because God has put them in control, and if God putthem there, then you are disobeying God.
Until I read this, and other comments you have posted, and i agree with 100%!
-cherub's grip
p.s. it is still not letting me log in, i must not have the right password, i will work on it.
I was wondering why you were so vehemently against Obama.
I didn't realize he was "pro-choice."
I will be praying for him, though ;)
Thanks for the updates
Jessica,
Obama is so rabidly pro-abortion, he voted three times against a baby-alive bill in the Illinois legislature. That bill required doctors to care for an infant who survived a botched abortion.
Obama preferred that a living baby be allowed to suffer and die on a cold table. He was one of the driving forces in stopping that bill.
We are praying for Obama's salvation, as well as mercy from God for our nation.
It will be interesting to see what the electorial college decides. We'll pray for them, too.
I could not have said it better myself. Keep on spreading the word!
Cool...I do think we should submitt to Obama...within the Word of God that is...but not neccessairly support him.
I love your point about him not being prez yet...good stuff
For the One
Nathan
Interesting perspective on Obama's "eletion". I hadn't thought about the electoral college meeting before. I still wonder why no governmental athority has required Obama to prove his birthright yet.
Also, I believe that God will achieve his purposes through whatever means neccessary, which includes the president. Most people at my school (I attend a Christian university) were surprised at my coolness after Obama was "elected." Maybe Obama's campaign theme of "change" was accurate after all. Obama might be the catalyst we Christians need to generate real change in America's political climate. It has certainly given us good reason to be concerned.
Yes, Bravo! indeed. I agree that the spread of Christianity is falling into a pit of lies. Do they not remember how this country was founded? It was rebels rebelling against tyranny and those in authority who were after their own selfish interest. I heard on the radio that Obama's new cabinet has declared that among its first acts it will use its judicial power to undo the bans against stem cell research. No, I will not support such a government. I will pray that it is exchanged for godly leaders. In the mean time I pray America gets the punishment it deserves so that true believers will waken to the threats facing our nation. ...I've said enough.
Amen Brother,Amen
I think with all due respect that you are 100% right about showing Obama that not all of his ideas are pure and pleasing to christ.
But nothing is out of God's control
and now that Obama is on his way to becoming president, I think we need to pray, yes stand up for what we believe in. but all your doing is bashing Obama and though I would have wanted someone else, God let this happen,
(he could have stopped it)
My pastor phrased it as no one needs a bitter church.
God has complete control so now we have nothing to worry about.
But America and Obama do need prayer and we do need to stand up for what we believe but mostly trust in God. even if it means having Obama as pesident.
He knows what he is doing.
I let the previous Anonymous comment come through so I can address a couple of fallacies.
First, I will speak to your comment, "all your (sic) doing is bashing Obama."
Bashing? If you mean that I'm criticizing him, then, yes, I am. What's wrong with that? There is nothing wrong with criticizing a person who holds to and attempts to enforce unjust beliefs.
I already showed how Jesus criticized the scribes and Pharisees, and He did it far more stridently.
Did God allow the Pharisees to have power in Israel? By your understanding, He must have. Yet Jesus "bashed" them. Are you going to argue with Jesus and tell Him it's wrong to do that?
And "bashing" isn't all I'm doing. I'm calling Christians to stand up and tell the truth, to stop trembling behind this false understanding of how a Christian should behave.
We are not to be timid. We are to shout from the rooftops. Yes, it might be called "bashing," but such criticism is in keeping with what our Lord did.
So, your pastor is worried about a bitter church. That's fine. I am not being bitter. I am being bold. It's important to learn the difference.
This "God is in control" statement is also a red herring. If you mean that God is in favor of what these leaders do, and He wouldn't criticize them, then you're wrong. Again, witness what Jesus said, calling the leaders of His day hypocrites over and over again.
Such an understanding could lead to something like the following,
Oh, no! Don't criticize Hitler or Stalin. God wanted them there. God was in control and ordained the butchering of millions. And He wanted His people to stand idly by without criticizing. Don't be bitter. Don't bash. We have nothing to worry about.
Of course, this is nonsense. Yet, isn't that what your understanding leads to?
As millions died in the gas ovens, would you be saying God knows what He's doing, so let's not be critical? Now, as millions die by abortion, and a man is coming to power who would loosen restrictions against that atrocity, you say to stop bashing. We have nothing to worry about.
This is clearly wrong, and such thinking could well be the reason we have this wicked man rising to power.
God allowed this to happen because the people who claim His name have abandoned truth. This isn't what He would want; it is what He has allowed an evil society to raise up. And He calls upon true believers to rise up and speak against it, to stand in the gap and call upon everyone to condemn the evil that is ready to come upon our land like a flood.
But with too many people in the church worrying about being critical, that will never happen. The spirit of fear, intimidation, and timidity will be our downfall.
May God help us.
In response to your latest post I say that you have the right idea. God, of course, is in control but that does not give us the right to say,"God should do it all by himself". This is basically commanding God, "Take care of it". Who are we to command God? God loves to use us to do his work. It helps us to be humble and know that God commands everything. God could simply do it all himself but he doesn't. He uses people like us to show his glory and give us a heart that loves our God. Think of the devil. Is he any different from Obama? God allowed the devil to be prideful and fall so that he could test us. What is the difference with Obama. God allowed him to be a test for the righteous and a whip for the men who voted him in office! We should pray continually that we have the strength to pass this test.
You know, I think one of the saddest things (and I could be slightly wrong on the amount here), that the baby-survival bill that Obama voted against three times, 98 to none members of the national US congress voted for it to pass, and yet Obama still voted against it.
~Elliot
Bryan, you are so dead on! I'm also perplexed by the deflating in defeat in the Christian community. I've gotten myself in trouble one too many times recently b/c of my strong views about Obama and what his election says about our nation and its "values".
I had to plea with Christian family and friends enamored with this celebrity, to vote on the issues of life.
As an adoptive parent, nothing flares my anger more than the murder of innocent babies. Even more so, I'm appalled by some Christians who say abortion is okay in instances of rape.
If the birthmother of my son bought into that, I wouldn't be a parent. My son is the most precious gift God has given my husband and I. He doesn't look any different than any child conceived "on purpose" - in fact, he's proving to have exceptional intelligence and might even be a musical prodigy.
Could this whole turn of global events be a testing time for Christians? Is it the beginning of the sifting process?
D. Gudger,
A sifting process? That seems probable. We live in unsettled times, and I think the next few years will make a huge difference in both the nation and the church, and we might go through some dark days of trials and tribulations.
I'm thankful that we have a great God we can trust, so there is no need for fear.
Very impressive Mr. Davis! You sure do your homework! ;)
-Colton. S
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