The Slippery Slope of Suspending Scripture

I will instantly stipulate that there is probably no Christian alive (or dead for that matter) that hasn’t at some moment played fast and loose with the Scriptures with regards to its interpretation and application. We know that we all “see through a glass darkly” and tend to venerate our “private interpretations” as THE interpretation. Most of the time and for most honest students of the Word, this is done unconsciously. We are not willfully twisting the Word. We may be unskilled or immature in rightly dividing the Word, but we are honestly wrestling with its contents. Unless you are a fully deceived cult leader my hope would be that for the vast majority of Christians a humility would exist that could say, “I had never thought of that before”, or, “I have never seen that in Scripture just like that”. I will be the first to confess that in my 38 years of following Jesus and my 32 years of preaching the Gospel, I have stood up on several occasions and changed my views based on the Scripture. What I believed those early years preaching are not exactly in line with what I uphold in these later years. And let me be crystal clear on this point…my “morphing” has happened because of the Scripture, the Holy Spirit’s enlightening, and the discipling of other ministers who helped me connect many dots. I suspect my journey is not unlike many other sincere Christians.

I provide that introduction because what appears to be going on in much election and voting strategy this cycle is different than an honest difference of opinion. In fact, it is absolutely stated by numbers of people that they are willing to ignore, overlook, or suspend the authority of the Scripture with regards to the selection template of a civic candidate. Now this suspension, in their mind, is for the highest of moral reasons…

There are unborn babies to save…
Religious freedoms are being restricted…
Nefarious plans are being implemented…

Hey….I get it.

I hope I don’t have to lay out my resume of cultural engagement to prove I have years of “street cred” when it comes to being on the front lines. I am not a late arrival to these battles. I share these concerns. I want an America that will reflect the glory of God’s favor as much as anyone.

But here’s the problem…

Suspending our obedience to the Scripture because we think we know better as to how God may want to get this nation there is problematic…perhaps convoluted.

I remember years ago attending a conference where the speaker shared a subtle shift that had taken place in many people’s praying. He said that for many Christians (Pastors in particular), they formulate a good plan for life and ministry. They envision, set goals, budget, and execute the plan all the while they are praying, “God bless what we are doing because we are doing all this for You.” Sounds sincere and at some level it probably is very genuine. Where the problem lies is that the prayer is attempting to invoke God’s blessing on what the person is up to and not necessarily what God is up to. We are pulling Him into our agenda rather than participating in His agenda. The prayer should never be, “God bless what I think is best -or God bless what we are doing”; but rather, “God bless my obedience in what YOU are doing. Let me be found in the center of YOUR activity”.

You may ask, “How can we know for certain what God is up to in this election?” Truthfully, we may not yet see it. This is why obedience to the simple precepts of Scripture are critical in the voting booth. I am not “helping God out” by suspending the Scripture and embracing my pragmatic plan. I am “cooperating with God’s Will” as I fearlessly obey His precepts and rest in His sovereignty.

The most difficult part of this election year debate amongst Christians is that we have so disconnected theology from our civic privilege of voting that our national Christian leaders are not on the same page with how to approach this election. Our pragmatism has so ruled our strategic thinking that we suspend the authority of Scripture in the voting booth thinking we are achieving God’s highest expectation. What other area of life would we counsel people and say that they should suspend their obedience to Scripture because the stakes are too high to consider anything else? What other area of life would we counsel people and tell them to suspend their obedience to Scripture and try it 4 years from now when the environment might be conducive for it? Are we listening to what this all sounds like? Why does voting and politics get an exemption from our instant obedience like other areas demand?

America is in a tough spot. Judgment isn’t coming, it has arrived. It should be obvious that neither major party candidate will be the answer. That is why it is even more incumbent upon the Church to fearlessly obey God and empower presidential candidates outside that paradigm because the bottom line is…God is not obligated to bless OUR strategy.