Election 2016: Groping for Answers

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Indecent Exposure

Exposing himself to criticism from all sides, the candidate on the right dismays his supporters hourly as lurid reports about his behavior publish details scantily dressed as news. The candidate on the left, generally perceived as a person more anti-American than Benedict Arnold, struts political stages in pant suits, thus destroying not only America but an entire category of fashion as well. How then can we decide how to vote without feeling morally compelled to commit suicide moments after we pull the lever?

Clear Answers to Philandering Opinions

Fortunately God has given us clear instructions for how to choose officers for civil government. He lists the qualifications to be used to select those officers (judges in this case) in Exodus 18:

“Furthermore, you shall select out of all the people able men who fear God, men of truth, those who hate dishonest gain; and you shall place these over them as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens.”

Lest the readers miss this important idea Moses repeated it in Deuteronomy 1,

‘Choose wise and discerning and experienced men from your tribes, and I will appoint them as your heads.’ “You answered me and said, ‘The thing which you have said to do is good.’

Hundreds of years later King David (another man who couldn’t keep his hands to himself) in his last words showed his reverence for God’s commands about who should be chosen as national leaders proclaiming in 2 Samuel 23,

“The God of Israel said, The Rock of Israel spoke to me, ‘He who rules over men righteously, who rules in the fear of God, is as the light of the morning when the sun rises, a morning without clouds, when the tender grass springs out of the earth, through sunshine after rain.’ Truly is not my house so with God? For He has made an everlasting covenant with me, ordered in all things, and secured; for all my salvation and all my desire, will He not indeed make it grow?”

God’s People Should Act Like God’s People

One of my Facebook friends recently shrieked “You just don’t get it, not a theocracy” in his attempt to refute the basic principle that Old Testament commands to God’s covenant people still apply to New Testament covenant people. My assertion, however, that the covenant people are the covenant people, seems frighteningly obvious. Aside from screaming NO, NO in caps and “Never Hillary” the best of evangelical leaders appear to have no actual rebuttal to the idea that when God talks to His people He talks to His people. Gary DeMar says it best in his God and Government series,

“If Scripture speaks to civil government then civil government must be called upon to acknowledge the Lord of Scripture and be reconstructed according to His demands” (God and Government, Volume 1, page xi).

DeMar confirms the precise concept I am promoting here that when God reveals to His people moral precepts concerning civil government, we ought to apply them. Times have changed but God’s moral demands have not.

This whole idea that the covenant people in the Old Testament continue as the covenant people in the New Testament is an ancient one. Jesus knew about it at the Passover when He proclaimed, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.” The author of Hebrews did as well writing about, “Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant …” inextricably entwining the old covenant and the new covenant people. Men and women living faithfully to the Lord have always been His covenant people. The logic is quite linear. This is why the Bible self-identifies more than once as, the book of the covenant (Exodus 24, 2 Kings 23). 

What if Trump is a Samson or David?

Some of our brethren have been claiming that we ought to vote for Donald Trump because he may be a modern version of Samson or King David. The hope is that the immoral and biblically-unqualified candidate may surprise us all and turn out to be a great leader in spite of his peccadilloed past. It might be useful to ask if this is true, then wouldn’t this same argument apply equally to Hillary? It could be that Hillary would transgender into a man who loves the Lord and serves Him the rest of her days. It might be unchristian to sell her short.

I will point out though that God has never instructed us to choose people, entangled in moral turpitude, for civil office. In fact He demands the exact opposite. We are to choose able men who fear God. There is nothing ambiguous about this command. It was the Lord who chose both Samson and David before they had developed histories for which they needed to be ashamed. In His providence he chose these men according to His own will. He has not given us that same latitude. To us God has given standards by which to choose our officers in civil government and these standards are what we must obey.

But, Trump is a New Christian, Shouldn’t We Give Him Grace?

Others have suggested that Trump has recently accepted Jesus into his formerly lecherous heart, and should be viewed as a redeemed man. While I have no way to know if Trump is newly saved I do know the standards we are to use in choosing our leaders. If we think all God requires is to vote for a person who has agreed to a religious formula we are misreading the Scriptures. We find nothing in Exodus or Deuteronomy, or in any book of the Bible that teaches us to fill civil offices with purported new believers. The idea is a dream that begins with disobedience and will likely end as a nightmare. Remember that Jimmy Carter was ushered into office riding on a wave of naïve evangelical hopes. Loud proclamations were trumpeted that Jimmy was born again. Yet when he arrived in the Oval Office we discovered that our peanut-farming friend was essentially a socialist and a one-world government fan. His born again shtick counted for little positive in terms of biblically-based policy.

We could also note that the born again George Bush signed into law the Patriot Act that stole from every American citizen the right to Habeas Corpus. Apparently if we are patriots we should be willing to hand our ancient right to a trial over to pitiless bureaucrats, trusting them implicitly to do the right thing. This was one of the most massive overthrows of liberty that has occurred in America. Thankfully the (Un)Patriot Act has so far been lightly implemented. Nevertheless we Christians ought to comprehend by now that installing a baby Christian into high office is a large error. The Apostle Paul instructs Timothy that an overseer is not to be a new convert. Must we learn this lesson on a one-at-a-time basis with every freshly born-again president?

Adulterous Hearts

Much hangs in the balance in this election. Our favorite candidate may not be the only one groping in the dark. Evangelicals know the hour is late for our nation. In an act of near desperation we are tempted to cuddle and caress with our new-found lover. We should be cautious lest we discover after the wedding the sorrows in having married an adulterer.

Dr. Don Schanzenbach is the author and co-author of several books including recently The Liberty Book. He may be reached via our contact form, hate mail may be sent to idespiseyoudonschanzenbach@hate.mail.com.