Why don't you listen carefully to this question?
Think it through.
Don't answer out loud.
But do you think that all people should be held to the same
biblical standards of right and wrong, good and evil,
morality and immorality?
Think about it.
Should all people throughout the world,
regardless of what they believe or even if they believe,
should they be held to the same biblical standards of right and wrong?
And why would you say whatever it is that you would say?
Well, the overwhelming majority of people who are unbelievers
would answer that absolutely not,
and they'd give a list of reasons why they would say absolutely not.
Many would say there's no one standard of right and wrong
for everyone in life.
They would say things like,
what may be right for you is not right for me.
What you say is wrong may not be wrong for me.
It's the common way of explaining all points,
all views are equally valid today.
People who would be more gracious may say,
well, if it works for you, then fine.
That's good.
But I believe everyone, deep down,
should just follow their heart.
You've heard that.
I hope you've not said that.
You hadn't thought it through if you said that.
Now, the overwhelming majority of Christians should say,
yes, it is absolutely right,
that all people will be held accountable
to the same biblical standards.
And can you explain why?
Can you give a reason for saying yes?
Well, that's what I want us to do first.
I want us to answer the question,
why are all people held accountable
to the same biblical standards of right and wrong,
good and evil?
I want to sort of summarize it.
First, God created this world.
You know that.
We have looked at that.
You just know that because most of you in this room,
you are faithful Christians,
you've studied God's word, but look at it.
The very first sentence of the Bible,
in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
And the rest of the first chapter of Genesis,
Genesis,
sort of gives us a step-by-step process
of when God made what.
As you move on into Genesis 1,
you come to the real climax of creation,
the creation of human beings.
And we've looked at that
in several different messages over the last month,
thinking about socialism and so forth.
But look at it, just one verse,
Genesis 127.
So God created man in His own image,
and the image of God, He created him.
Male and female, He created them.
God is the creator of everything that exists.
Therefore, the entire creation,
all people, all things belong to God.
Look next.
God reigns, rules, supremely over His creation.
God is actively involved in what He's created,
this world, our lives.
He is actively guiding all things
according to His purpose,
His plan, His will,
and He's doing it for His glory.
The Bible is filled with references,
both Old and New Testament,
on how God is involved in this world
and in our lives.
Directing things,
governing His creation.
Here's one of the most comprehensive statements
about how God is working out His purpose
in this world and in our lives.
Look at it.
In Him we have obtained an inheritance,
having been predestined
according to the purpose of Him
who works all things
according to the counsel of His will.
God is working in all things in this world,
all things in creation
according to, as it says here,
the counsel of His will,
His plan, His purpose.
Now, this next statement
shows us how God has made each of us
specifically as we are.
Look at this.
It's from Psalm 119.
For you formed my inward parts.
You knitted me together
in my mother's womb.
You are not an accident.
You are you by God's design.
The height you are.
With the abilities that you have.
With the ability to develop some things
that maybe you didn't have
or weren't naturally gifted with.
God created you to be you.
Now, the reason why all people
are held to the same standards
is because everyone has been created uniquely
by God,
in the image of God,
to live in a world governed by God
according to God's will.
Look at that on the screen
and think about that.
As a result of how God has created us like this,
everyone possesses at least some basic knowledge
of who God is,
that there is a God,
and everyone possesses
at least some basic understanding
of His moral standards,
right and wrong generally.
What's revealed in the Bible
about right and wrong.
Let me give you some examples.
Paul describes how all people
have some understanding of God
in Romans chapter 1.
In Romans chapter 1,
beginning in verse 18,
through chapter 3,
verse 19,
Paul describes how all people
have sinned
and come short of God's glory,
God's expectations,
how all people are sinners
in need of a Savior.
And as he begins that
in Romans 1,
verses 19 and 20,
he talks about how everybody
has some concept of God.
Look at it.
For what can be known about God
is plain to them
because God has shown it to them
for His invisible attributes,
namely,
His eternal power
and divine nature
have been clearly perceived
ever since the creation of the world
and the things that have been made,
so they're without excuse.
Paul is saying that
as you live in this world
and you look around at creation,
the complexity,
the orderliness,
there has to be some grand plan.
There has to be an ultimate designer.
There has to be some kind of divine power,
at least.
There has to be some concept of God.
Not as we know God revealed
throughout Scripture,
but there is just,
by living in this world,
enough awareness of the existence of God,
Paul says,
that everybody is accountable to God.
People who reject
what they know about God,
they're without excuse.
They're sinners
under the condemnation of death
because they've rejected
what they did know about God.
Look on in chapter 2.
Paul describes how all people
have some basic understanding
of right and wrong
as revealed in Scripture,
even if they have never heard
of Scripture.
They've never read it.
They've never had it read to them.
Look at this.
He says,
For when Gentiles,
who do not have the law,
by nature do what the law requires,
they are a law to themselves,
even though they do not have the law.
They show that the work of the law
is written on their hearts,
while their conscience
also bears witness.
What Paul is saying is,
human beings created in the image of God,
we have this innate sense
of basic morality,
basic right and wrong.
We have a conscience.
That's what he's talking about.
Now, here's an example
of how all people possess
a basic understanding
of God's standards of right and wrong.
If someone breaks
into an unbeliever's house,
if someone breaks
into an atheist's house
and steals his money
or his computer
or his TV,
he or she is going to call
the police
with the expectation
that the police are going to try
to find this person,
and if they find this person,
this thief,
they're going to arrest him.
They're going to put him in jail,
and hopefully,
they'll get their property back.
Every atheist knows
what every Christian knows.
There's a universal standard
of right and wrong.
What is mine
is mine
and not yours.
Theft.
There's just something within us
that tells us
it is unjust
for you to take,
steal,
that which is mine.
Everyone understands that.
Now,
stealing is a violation
of God's revealed law
in Scripture.
It is a violation
of the basic concept
of justice
that is written
in the heart
of every human being.
That's why
every normal person
in this country,
black or white,
rich or poor,
knows that rioting
and looting
is morally wrong.
It can never be excused
as anything
other than
unlawful
and sinful.
I say every normal person
because there are people
who are trying
to deny
that
what's happening
is
rioting,
looting,
anarchy,
lawlessness.
Some of them
want to just
let it go
until it gets
close to home.
the liberal
mayor of Chicago
at first
closed her eyes
to the anarchy
that was taking place
in her city
until they got
close to her house
and then she
calls out
the police,
the bad guys
according to her,
to come
and defend
her property
and her life
against those
who are
rioting,
looting
and sometimes
murdering
innocent people.
Put it another way,
if our non-Christian
neighbor steals
from us,
we're not going
to excuse
their behavior
because
they didn't know
the eighth commandment,
do not steal.
I'm going to say
there's not a person
in this room
who does not expect,
if you've got
an unsaved neighbor,
you expect
that unsaved
neighbor
to not steal
your stuff.
You expect
that neighbor
to follow
the commandment,
do not steal,
whether they've
heard it or not
because you know
it's just something
that we know
in our conscience.
It's wrong
to steal.
And if that neighbor
does steal
from us,
we're going
to consider
him or her
a lawbreaker
and we're going
to consider
it right
for him or her
to be punished
for breaking
this law
even if they've
never heard
of that eighth
commandment,
do not steal.
The Bible
makes it clear
that the moral
standards of God,
the standards
revealed in the Bible
are the moral
standards of all
people.
They're the moral
standards that all
people are going
to be judged by
on the day of
judgment.
Peter makes this
clear in his
first letter
in our New Testament.
First Peter
was written
to encourage
Christians who
were being
persecuted.
Peter was writing
to Christians
living in a
hostile environment.
At one point
he told them
that the non-Christians
around them,
look at this,
are surprised
when you do not
join them
in the same
flood of debauchery
and they malign
you,
but they will
give an account
to him who is
ready to judge
the living
and the dead.
Peter's saying
the people
around you,
they don't
understand why
you don't join
them in living
an ungodly
life.
While you're
not drunk,
being sexually
impure,
taking advantage
of people,
things like that.
They don't
understand it.
But Paul says
they will give
an account to him
who is ready
to judge the
living and the
dead for the
way that they
are living.
This shows us
that even
unbelievers
will stand
before God
and be judged
based on God's
moral standards
that we see
revealed in
scripture,
but on the
basic level
are written
in our hearts.
God has only
one standard.
He has revealed
it in his word.
He has put it
on our conscience,
written it on
our heart,
and we are
responsible.
All people
are responsible.
The book of Acts
tells us that Paul
believed the same
thing, taught the
same thing.
The book of Acts
tells us in chapter
17 about Paul's
encounter with
unbelieving Greek
philosophers in
Athens.
Look at it.
He told them
that the God
who made the
world and
everything in
it, verse 24,
also commands
all people
everywhere to
repent because
he has fixed
a day on which
he will judge
the world in
righteousness by
a man whom
he has appointed
and of this
he has given
assurance to
all by raising
him from the
dead.
Now Paul was
speaking to
people.
Who didn't
believe in the
authority of the
Bible if they
even knew what
the Bible taught?
They didn't care.
They didn't know
about Jesus or
what they did
know.
They certainly
did not believe
that he was the
son of God.
They didn't
believe in the
idea of his
dying on the
cross for their
sins and they
certainly didn't
believe in a
resurrection.
But Paul made
it clear that God
will judge all
people according
to his righteous
standards which
are revealed in
scripture and
God will judge
all people by
Jesus Christ.
Wayne Grudem
has described
things like this,
all of this kind
of stuff in
great detail in
his book,
Politics According
to the Bible.
And then he
makes this
application.
Look at this.
This truth has
significant implications
for how Christians
understand political
questions that
involve right and
wrong.
For example, if God
says that murder is
wrong, Exodus 20,
13, and if it is
determined that the
command to not
murder applies to
pre-born children and
to those who are
elderly or very ill,
it clearly affects how
one views laws
regarding abortion and
euthanasia.
Seven weeks from
today, or seven weeks
from Tuesday, rather,
Americans will go to
the polls to elect a
president, United States
senators, and House of
Representatives members
who will determine laws and
policies of right and
wrong.
The Bible addresses many
of those questions of
right and wrong as it
addresses issues related
to abortion, racism,
homosexuality, religious
liberty, as we've seen in
the past few weeks,
socialism.
Now, Democrats and
Republicans, according to
their own platforms, have
very different answers to
the questions of those
issues.
We as Christians have a
responsibility to evaluate
how each candidate answers
those questions in light of
what the Bible teaches.
And then it's our
responsibility to vote for
the candidates whose answers
are more closely aligned with
the teaching of Scripture.
Now, I know that some
Christians think that
political matters should not
ever be brought up in
church.
Such Christians are wrong to
think that.
And I want to show you why.
Number two, question number
two this morning.
Why should Christians be
involved in the political
process in our country?
Well, throughout the Bible, we
see God's people involved in
what we would call politics
or governmental affairs.
I want to give you one
example that's well known from
the prophet Daniel's life.
Daniel's one of the most, one
of the, a lot of Christians'
favorite Old Testament
persons.
I want you to look at how
Daniel spoke to King
Nebuchadnezzar.
Look at this.
He said, therefore, O king,
let my counsel be acceptable
to you.
Break off your sins by
practicing righteousness and
your iniquities by showing
mercy to the oppressed that
there may perhaps be a
lengthening of your prosperity.
Now, you can imagine Daniel
took a risk to say that to
an unbelieving king.
But Daniel was committed to
faithfully upholding God's
moral standards even to an
unbelieving secular leader who
had power over him, over his
life and death.
Daniel knew, he understood that
God holds all people accountable
for living by his moral
standards even though
Nebuchadnezzar had not been
brought up, had not been
taught these things other than
what Daniel and maybe some
other Jews had taught him.
The prophet Jeremiah told the
Jewish people who were in exile
in Babylon, seek the welfare of
that city.
Now, let me back up a moment.
Daniel was taken as a boy from
his home as a captive prisoner of
war to Babylonia.
And he did not compromise what he
believed.
You can read about that in Daniel.
The first few chapters, he stood
firmly in who he was, what he
believed, being a man of God.
And God blessed his faithfulness.
He became an officer in the
government of a pagan power.
And he spoke the word of God.
He held that king accountable to
live according to the truth of
God's word.
Well, Jeremiah told the Jewish
people who had also been taken
captive, taken as prisoners of war
far from their homeland.
He told them, look at this, seek the
welfare of the city where I have sent
you into exile.
Think about this.
The Babylonians defeated the nation
of Judah.
God's chosen people took those
people, many of them into
captivity.
The scripture says, I have sent you
into exile.
God said that.
God is sovereign.
God's in control.
God used the Babylonians to punish
his unfaithful people.
That's what happened.
But look at it.
Seek the welfare of the city where
I have sent you into exile and pray
to the Lord on its behalf for in
its welfare you will find your
welfare.
If the Jewish people were going to
seek the welfare of the city, they
needed to be involved in everything
they could possibly be involved in,
didn't they?
They needed to influence the leaders of
the city to the best of their ability
even though they had no opportunity
to vote.
They couldn't say a whole lot or at
least they wouldn't be heard a whole
lot.
But Jeremiah, God spoke through him
and told them, you seek the welfare of
this city.
Note two specific things about this.
They were to pray for the welfare of
everyone, even those unbelievers who had
taken them captive, their enemies.
But what it says here, they would find
that as the city prospered, they would
prosper.
No matter what we think about what's
going on in our country today, we must
never give up.
We, as Christians, we need to pray.
We need to do all that we can, work for
the welfare of our country, our state, our
county.
And as the country prospers, we will
prosper.
Just like God told the people, His chosen
people, living in exile.
Wayne Grudem says that this includes our
political involvement.
But look at this.
The true welfare of such a city will be
advanced through governmental laws and
policies that are consistent with God's
teachings in the Bible, not by those that
are contrary to the Bible's teaching.
Being actively involved in influencing this
world is our Christian responsibility.
Jesus clearly stated that He expects us
His followers to be living in the world, making
a difference, having influence, having an
impact.
Look at how He said this.
We're to be like salt, having a preserving
effect, preserving what we can that is good and
right.
Having a flavoring on our community.
Look at what Jesus said.
You're the salt of the earth.
But if the salt has lost its taste, how shall its
saltiness be restored?
It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown
out and trampled under people's feet.
When Jesus said, you're the salt of the earth, what does
He focus on?
He talked about, He's focusing on here, if we don't do
that, we're useless.
He's trying from a backhanded sort of way to say, get
involved.
Be involved in your community.
Be involved in this world.
Preserve flavor, influence.
Then He also said we're to be like light, shining light, the
light of the gospel, the light of the truth of God on our
community.
Look at this.
You're the light of the world.
A city set on a hill cannot be hidden, nor do people light a
lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand.
And it gives light to all in the house.
In the same way, let your light shine before others so that
they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who
is in heaven.
We are supposed to be in this county, wherever we go.
We're supposed to be agents of God's grace and truth.
We're supposed to have this kind of influence in our schools, in
our businesses, and in government.
And one of the ways we accomplish this in government is by voting
according to the truth of Scripture on the issues that are
addressed in Scripture.
All issues are not addressed in Scripture.
And next week, we're going to come back and look at some of the
issues addressed in Scripture and see how the platforms of the
Republican and Democratic parties line up with the principles of
God's Word.
But before we do that, we must be convinced that the teaching of
Scripture has universal application.
Do you understand that the moral standards of God, the moral standards
that God has revealed in His Word, are the moral standards that all
people will be judged by?
That we will be judged by?
You know, if we are truly Christians, born again by the Spirit of God, have true
saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the penalty for our sins has been paid.
That's been determined.
Heaven is our home, as I'll point out in just a moment.
But we will be judged by the way that we've lived in this world, our works, and that will
have something to do with our reward in heaven.
It matters how we live now and on judgment day.
And by the way, our works, according to the New Testament,
according to James in a big way, our works show the reality of our faith.
James will tell us, if there is no evidence that we are Christians by the way that we live,
in relationship to God, in relationship to one another, we shouldn't have assurance of salvation.
But going back to this, are you seeking right now as a Christian,
trusting in Jesus Christ and Him alone for your salvation,
or are you seeking to live by the moral standards that God has revealed in His Word?
Let me ask you this.
When you have to make moral or ethical decisions,
do you first think about, if you already know, or look, study,
and try to figure out what does the Bible say about this?
When you have to make a moral or ethical decision
that involves you or your family or some matter of business,
do you seek God's guidance based on what He has revealed already in His Word?
Sometimes that's hard to do.
I'm talking about sometimes it's hard to put it into practice.
Sometimes it might cost us more financially or time-wise.
But let me ask you this.
Are you so convinced that God's Word is true, His standards are right,
that when it comes to making a decision, you're going to be faithful to God,
you're going to do His will, even if it costs you a lot of money,
even if it costs you a lot of time, even if it conveniences you?
Are you convinced that God's Word reveals the moral standards
by which all people are going to be judged, including yourself?
Are you seeking to understand what they are personally?
Are you seeking to obey them,
no matter what anybody else may say or think?
One final thought.
Our absolute loyalty and unwavering commitment
must never be to our country
or to a political party
or to any leader.
Our absolute loyalty, unwavering commitment
must be to Jesus Christ first and foremost.
Let's never forget that our ultimate and eternal citizenship
is not in this county, this state, or this country,
or even this world.
It's in heaven.
Look at what Paul writes to the Philippians.
But our citizenship is in heaven.
Paul talked a lot about
and was involved in this world,
the affairs of this world,
influencing even government.
But he says,
our citizenship is in heaven
and from it we await a Savior,
the Lord Jesus Christ,
who will transform our lowly body
to be like His glorious body
by the power that enables Him
even to subject all things to Himself.
Don't misunderstand.
We need to be involved in
the political process.
We need to be concerned about
what is happening around about us.
But nothing is going to last forever.
It is all going away one day.
It's all going to be going away
or gone when we die.
Tomorrow or whenever that may be.
As Christians,
we can look forward to living in a new heaven
and a new earth
where Jesus Christ is Lord
and the things of this world,
we won't even think of them anymore.
I encourage you.
Think biblically
about your political involvement.
It matters how we live here.
It matters that we exert
Christian influence.
It matters that we vote.
But this is not an ultimate matter.
Ultimately,
we are the children of God
who are one day going to leave
everything in this world behind
and live with Him
and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Think about that
as the ultimate goal of our lives.
Let's pray together.
Father,
Lord,
help us to see now
in light of all that we have seen
about
how you are in control.
You've created everything.
Everything is yours.
You've given us ultimate standards
in your word
that apply to everybody,
that everybody will be judged by.
Help us to see, Father,
how important it is
that we exert
our influence
as Christians
who believe your word
on our community,
state, and country.
Help us to see
that it matters
how we vote,
the issues
that we back.
Help us
to seek your wisdom
in making the right decisions
in being involved
and then voting
seven weeks from Tuesday.
Let's just pray now
and listen to the Lord
about how we should
respond to Him,
about how we think,
how we speak,
and how we act
concerning these matters.
Make your word