The Sufficiency of Scripture in Choosing Leaders

Well, we are only a little under a year and a half away from another presidential election and the rhetoric has already started, as have the pragmatic calls from professing Christians to vote for just about anyone but the current president.  Far too many professing believers do not take their Bibles to the ballot box and if they do I think it is only used to stand on so they can reach the ballot.  But if we do not seek God’s word for who we are to vote for then our only other alternative is to turn to ourselves and that seldom, if ever, turns out well.  It is when we seek to find candidates that are biblically qualified as God’s word lays out that God is glorified and that is to be our goal.  While we desire to see the tyrannical leadership that is in office removed, our first goal as a child of God is to seek to glorify HIm in our voting.  This does not just happen via the results of an election but in the manner those results are reached.

God is not glorified when we seek to find the “most” qualified candidate.  He is not qualified when we simply seek to find the “least” evil candidate.  However, He is glorified when we vote using His word, all of it, as our standard.  How often does one vote for a candidate that would never be qualified to be an elder or deacon in ones church? But is that not the issue, as even in the church the standards for those God has called to lead us have been so minimized that anyone can fill the position as long as they appear to provide us some benefit.  This is all endemic of an even greater issue and that is the issue of not seeing God’s word as all sufficient.  I say “all” sufficient as many claim God’s word as being sufficient but they only mean, at best, as it relates to “spiritual” matters.  This, however, misses the point that all things are spiritual.  I wrote on the issue of the sufficiency of Scripture some months ago, The Sufficiency of Scripture, ALL of Scripture, and it is still relevant today. 2 Tim 3:16-17 does not just speak to the inspiration of Scripture but also speaks to the sufficiency of it as it is God’s word that equips us for every good work and choosing leaders is a good work that God has called us to take part in.

I write all of this to encourage Gods people to seek God for direction in voting and not to wait till November of 2012, start now.  I hesitated here when speaking of God’s direction to use the word guidance as often the word guidance is seen more about seeking God for suggestions, when in truth God’s word is much more directive.  It does more than simply making suggestions for such things as who we seek to be our leaders.  God sets out qualifications for those He desires us to seek as leaders and not just in the church but also in the nation.  One resource that I found very helpful was a talk given given by Doug Phillips called: Biblical Principles of the Ballot Box (you can also go get the MP3 here).  While some may not agree with the  conclusions Mr. Philips arrives at it will drive one to find biblical rebuttals rather than seeking the pragmatic conclusions which we so often find ourselves doing.  The world may not understand any of this but we are not called to make account to the world for our actions but to God.  Let us be able to stand before God and say we chose candidates that His word directed us to chose and not that we chose candidates that met most or some of His qualification but were the best of the bunch.

Elections are just another test of who we trust, God our something else.  Let us stand with Joshua and be able to say that  “as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:15). It is when we stand according to God’s word in light of all that may look pleasing or best that we most glorify God.  Let us choose all of our leaders by God’s standards and not ours.  Let us seek to support the most qualified men of God that God has placed among us, and they do exist.

Start now to scour scripture for God’s qualifications for the men He desires to lead us and be ready to make decisions based on those very same words.  Do not let the world lead you to think that God’s word is not sufficient to make choices for choosing leaders.  At the end of the day no matter who wins an election God is in control and it is God we will have to answer to and until we begin to reveal to God our reliance on HIm and His word we will get the leadership we deserve.

"Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost." -- John Quincy Adams

The Sufficiency of Scripture, ALL of Scripture

I wonder how many preach that they hold to sola scripture then in essence throw out over half the scriptures. They may give lip service to the OT but do not seek to apply those laws proclaimed in its pages. Often one hears that since we are in the New Covenant we are to only do as Christ proclaims in the New Testament. Well, if one is Trinitarian one needs to be careful about that mindset since Christ is God and thus the author of the OT as well as NT. Many by their actions or in some cases inaction are effectively Marcionites as he too discarded the OT. But if one does not seek to live by “all” of scripture and seeks only the NT for guidance for how to live one discounts Jesus teachings as well. In Mat 5:17, a much misused verse to say that the law is no longer applicable, Jesus proclaims He did not come to abolish the law and then in V18-19, seemingly to answer those who would misuse His words, He adds that “until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

I also wonder how many pastors who are paid for their work, certainly a biblical principle, rely on verses such as 1 Tim 5:17-18 for their wages. But this verse is using the OT ( Deut 25:4 ) as a proof that elders can be compensated. Obviously Paul saw that a correct use of the OT law was applicable to the NT believer.

How often do people use 2 Tim 3:16-17 to speak of the inspiration of scripture and then in effect discard the OT law. This passage in context speaks to the OT and while it obviously applies to the NT as well the original audience would have heard that the OT “was breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” If we are to follow the words of God, through Paul, we are then to use the OT law as it was intended.

In saying this there is work to be done to understand the principles of the OT law as we do not blindly and woodenly follow them and go and build a parapet on our roof (Deut 22:8). I am also not saying that the ceremonial law is still in effect as it has been fulfilled by Christ who it pointed to. I would also say that while most tend to see the other laws as either moral or civil, in truth they are both moral as the civil laws are an outworking of the ten commandments, the moral law. So I would say we are still left with the moral law as seen in the 10 commandments and the civil codes. Of course we are to discern the biblical principles so as to apply them to all of life. An example is the parapet law found in Deut 22:8 where the principle is a call to responsibility for ones property and not necessarily for building a railing on ones roof, that is unless one has a roof people meet on. Some laws may be easier to discern then others but in the end that does not negate our call to follow them as worship of God.

I realize that for some to hear that we are to follow all of God’s laws, both OT and NT, is legalism. I would say that if one does not seek to follow God’s plan for all of life as seen in “ALL” of His word then you are left with devising your own laws and that is truly legalism. Keep in mind that Jesus did not need to repeat all the OT commands in the NT as they are assumed as valid unless He explicitly negates them, as with the ceremonial laws. Even in Mat 22:36-40 Jesus affirms the OT law as when He is asked about the greatest commandment He does not pick one but summarizes them into those that deal with our relationship with God (Commandments 1-4) and our relationship with man (Commandments 5-10) and in V40 makes sure we do not miss the connection with the OT by reminding us that these two undergird the OT law.

We as a people of God that proclaim to believe in the inerrancy of scripture and the sufficiency of scripture need to live as such. We need to seek to truly live as if God’s word is sufficient and if one does not use the OT and only seeks out the NT for guidance then scripture will not be sufficient. We need all of His word for it to be sufficient and we need to regain this understanding of scripture as sufficient for all of life.