In case you were wondering, we are not going to tell you who to vote for. New Day pastors are not going to do that, because we feel it would be a misuse of our position. We are called to teach the Word of God and guide this congregation in the direction God has called us to go. We will teach what the Bible says about the topics at hand in our country and culture. We will talk about how to be Christ-like in our engagement with politics. (In fact, we have a sermon series in October to do just that.) But ultimately, you must prayerfully decide how you will vote given your personal conviction through the Holy Spirit.
You must also prayerfully decide to what degree you will engage with politics. Some of us are called to be very involved and make an impact for the kingdom on that platform. Others are called to make kingdom impact in different ways, which may mean they have very little engagement with politics. We should be careful not to judge another’s political involvement in comparison to our own.
Just because we are not going to dictate how you ought to vote, that does not mean we don’t care about the current state of our country. It is important; however, it is not more important than our citizenship in the kingdom of heaven or our allegiance to Christ. Our security does not lie in the outcome of this election; it’s much more secure than that.
“But 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…” (Philippians 3:20).
Christians can live without fear, even though things often don’t go well here on earth—because regardless of what happens, believers will spend eternity in the heavenly kingdom with our perfect Father. Therefore, we stand secure, firmly rooted in Christ, our solid rock.
“The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold” (Psalm 18:2).
Our glorious eternal destiny should not cause us to be indifferent to the world’s problems—instead we should be bold, peaceable, gentle, and open to reason when discussing culturally hot topics. Remember people come to each topic from different contexts, meaning their perspectives will naturally vary.
“But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peace-loving, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without pretense” (James 3:17).
Responding according to this verse during this campaign season will be a sign of God’s wisdom in us. Remember that believing you are right is not an excuse to be harsh, impatient, or judgmental. The best thing to do is faithfully pray and then wisely engage as God directs, in case you were wondering.