"Christian" Presidents
I heard it stated that in the Presidential Election of 2008,
30 million evangelical Christians did not vote. To many, not voting is akin to
blasphemy given the high cost paid in order to achieve the right and freedom to
vote. However, as I get older and, hopefully, more mature in my faith, I can
see why they would not vote. I don’t have to look any further than the current
campaign. The two main candidates for President both claim to be Christians.
One candidate is quoted as saying, “I believe that there are many paths to the
same place…All people of faith – Christians, Jews, Muslims, Animists, everyone
– knows the same God.” Yet, Jesus Christ said, “I am the way
and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (John
14:6).” The other candidate is not much better. He believes in a religion that
claims, amongst other things, that Jesus and Lucifer are spirit brothers and
that salvation is accomplished by works, baptism, and obedience to
commandments! Yet, the Bible clearly states, “For it is by
grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is
the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast
(Ephesians 2:8-9).”
Now, I will be the first to admit that I have voted for
people who I did not see eye to eye on matters of faith. Furthermore, we would
all, as one person puts it, “love to be able to vote for only solid,
evangelical Christians who have sound theology, unquestioned integrity, and
impeccable wisdom.” I get it. But, my point is that I understand why people
would not vote for candidates who claim to be Christians, but deny the basic
truths of scripture by their words and their policies. Politics is the fruit of
what someone believes because what someone believes is what they put into
policy. Ultimately, a Christian’s allegiance is to Jesus Christ, not a
candidate, a political party or even a country. Jesus came to
“seek and to save what was lost (Luke 19:10),” not to make sure the proper
candidate was voted into office. Therefore, I do not hold any ill will towards
any evangelical, born again Christian, for withholding their vote from two
candidates who are clearly not Christians even if by doing so, their lives or
the world they live in worsens. I do not write this to persuade or dissuade
anybody’s vote, but to remind myself and my fellow Christian brothers and
sisters that we are ambassadors of Christ here to proclaim the Gospel. That can
and has been done regardless of who is in the Oval Office, whether or not we
voted for them or whatever the outcome of an election may be.
Hearing Tongues
“When they heard this sound, a crowd came
together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own
language (Acts 2:6).” The following is a true story. “On a hot summer Sunday
afternoon, my wife and I had been invited to a swimming party at the home of
some friends. With our two children in the care of my grandmother, Cherie and I
felt as free as the breeze. As I stood on the diving board, I paused to look up
into the serene sky. But then a frantic voice rose above the party din. At the
far end of the pool, a woman was screaming. “The baby!” I heard her cry. “He’s
at the bottom of the pool!” No one was doing anything to help. People just
stood and stared at her. Confused, I searched the length of the pool and saw
what I thought might be a motionless form beneath the water. I dived in – and a
baby was there. I hurriedly swept him off the bottom and soon laid him on the
deck. He’d turned blue … no breath. I began CPR. Dear God, help me do it right.
At last the little boy coughed. A short breath came, then another. He would
live. An ambulance was called, for safety’s sake. While we waited, I couldn’t
help asking the others, “Why did you ignore the woman when she said the boy was
drowning?” A friend answered, ‘None of us understood her, Scott!’ “What do you
mean? Even at the far end, I could hear her yelling about the baby!” “But she’s
Mexican. None of us understood her Spanish!” “Spanish? I heard her yell in
English!” “We didn’t. All we heard was Spanish!” “It’s true,” said the woman’s
daughter. “Mama can’t speak a word of English!” “And I don’t understand a word
of Spanish,” I said.”
When it comes to speaking in tongues, many teach that it
is the person speaking who utters a language unknown to them as a sign of their
faith in Jesus Christ. However, I am beginning to believe that it is the person
being spoken to that hears what is being said in their own language. For
example, in the story, the Mexican lady spoke Spanish, but the man, Scott,
heard her in English. The focus was not on the lady, but on the man who needed
to hear what she was saying in order to save the baby. It was not much
different on the Day of Pentecost. The focus was not on what language the
disciples were speaking, but rather the language that those in attendance were
hearing. “Tongues, then, are a sign, not
for believers but for unbelievers … (1 Corinthians 14:22)”
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