On the day after the election, I found myself thinking about what just happened in this country of ours. I supported Barack Obama, but that should not surprise most of you who read this blog. I admired and still admire John McCain, and, under different circumstances, could have supported his candidacy. But the direction of this posting has little to do with the individuals and more to do with the process and the significance of being elected. In our Reformed tradition there is a lot of investment in our doctrine of election, and on these first days of a new administration on a national level, and the newly elected officials wherever you live, let’s give some thought to what it means to be among the elect.
My Reformed Theology professor at seminary John Leith wrote these words: “The doctrine of election establishes a community that is not constituted by race, nationality, ethnic origin, gender, or even history. Election takes precedence over every other activity.” In our political process, we Americans use our free will to cast a ballot, and the collective wisdom(?) of that free exercise of will brings about a winner. In the doctrinal idea of election our will does not enter into the picture at all. Out of God’s sovereignty, there is an election the results of which come to us by grace - not by vote nor by an electoral college.
The doctrine of election can have a galvanizing appeal to stir people out of their inherent political apathy to a new or renewed sense of awareness of what God is doing, and, in fact, what God has already done. On Tuesday night, Senator McCain closed his concession speech with “… God bless America,” and President-elect Obama closed his address with the words “… and may God bless the United States of America.” It is standard practice for politicians to invoke God’s blessing on the nation. But what if they, and we, had a strong sense that God is involved in the what, when, why, and who of our political process. Suddenly we are jarred by the radical God-centeredness of the Scriptures and the frightening ego-centrality of our own hearts. Suddenly we are put on a quest to build a way of thinking biblically about God and the world that we haven’t attempted before. In this postmodern era within which many of us have come of age, we have allowed our leaders, both locally and nationally, to let the power of God become relegated to the power of ideology, and we have allowed the basic scriptural mandate that we have been blessed that we might be a blessing to all nations to be sacrificed upon the altars of fear mongering and political expediency. As a Christian community who holds onto, however tenuously, a doctrine of election, how tragically ironic it would be if we continue to embrace this postmodern illusion just when the broader culture has figured out it's a dead end.
A theological understanding of election enables us to better embrace our political understanding of election. What are the issues involved in the doctrine of election? If the issues of a political candidate are important to us, then the issues that God lays out for you and me need also to be important. For us, the issues that confront us in the doctrine of election have to do with aligning our agendas with Christ. And what does that mean? Scripturally, there are numerous answers, but I will draw on this one from Colossians 3: 12-14:
As God’s elect, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience. Bear with one another … forgive, just as you have been forgiven …
You are called, justified, and glorified so that all things do work for your good so that you may be conformed to Christ. God is at work within us, writes Paul to the Philippian church, to will and to work his good pleasure.
It is my belief that a grasp of the doctrine of election helps produce a thoughtful, resourceful, and informed Christian electorate who are not swept away by trendy, politically-centered ideas. Rather, it tends to press onto our minds and hearts a God-centered worldview built on the Truth that has been revealed to us, not by the media but by the wind and flames of God’s Spirit.
I believe that God does indeed bless our country, not because politicians ask him to, but because it is in his nature to bless. I further believe that it is in his nature to chastise, to rebuke, and to restore. That is also part of the doctrine of election.
My Reformed Theology professor at seminary John Leith wrote these words: “The doctrine of election establishes a community that is not constituted by race, nationality, ethnic origin, gender, or even history. Election takes precedence over every other activity.” In our political process, we Americans use our free will to cast a ballot, and the collective wisdom(?) of that free exercise of will brings about a winner. In the doctrinal idea of election our will does not enter into the picture at all. Out of God’s sovereignty, there is an election the results of which come to us by grace - not by vote nor by an electoral college.
The doctrine of election can have a galvanizing appeal to stir people out of their inherent political apathy to a new or renewed sense of awareness of what God is doing, and, in fact, what God has already done. On Tuesday night, Senator McCain closed his concession speech with “… God bless America,” and President-elect Obama closed his address with the words “… and may God bless the United States of America.” It is standard practice for politicians to invoke God’s blessing on the nation. But what if they, and we, had a strong sense that God is involved in the what, when, why, and who of our political process. Suddenly we are jarred by the radical God-centeredness of the Scriptures and the frightening ego-centrality of our own hearts. Suddenly we are put on a quest to build a way of thinking biblically about God and the world that we haven’t attempted before. In this postmodern era within which many of us have come of age, we have allowed our leaders, both locally and nationally, to let the power of God become relegated to the power of ideology, and we have allowed the basic scriptural mandate that we have been blessed that we might be a blessing to all nations to be sacrificed upon the altars of fear mongering and political expediency. As a Christian community who holds onto, however tenuously, a doctrine of election, how tragically ironic it would be if we continue to embrace this postmodern illusion just when the broader culture has figured out it's a dead end.
A theological understanding of election enables us to better embrace our political understanding of election. What are the issues involved in the doctrine of election? If the issues of a political candidate are important to us, then the issues that God lays out for you and me need also to be important. For us, the issues that confront us in the doctrine of election have to do with aligning our agendas with Christ. And what does that mean? Scripturally, there are numerous answers, but I will draw on this one from Colossians 3: 12-14:
As God’s elect, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience. Bear with one another … forgive, just as you have been forgiven …
You are called, justified, and glorified so that all things do work for your good so that you may be conformed to Christ. God is at work within us, writes Paul to the Philippian church, to will and to work his good pleasure.
It is my belief that a grasp of the doctrine of election helps produce a thoughtful, resourceful, and informed Christian electorate who are not swept away by trendy, politically-centered ideas. Rather, it tends to press onto our minds and hearts a God-centered worldview built on the Truth that has been revealed to us, not by the media but by the wind and flames of God’s Spirit.
I believe that God does indeed bless our country, not because politicians ask him to, but because it is in his nature to bless. I further believe that it is in his nature to chastise, to rebuke, and to restore. That is also part of the doctrine of election.
Being elected, in a political sense or a theological sense, carries with it a sense of accountability. It is my hope and my prayer that we as Americans – Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, etc. - expect that accountability from our elected leaders. Because, in the final analysis of who and what we stand for as a nation, we have to understand that the phrase “being elected” says more about the sovereign grace of God than it does about the vote totals on Election Day.
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