“Honor everyone.  Love the brotherhood.  Fear God.  Honor the emperor.”  I Peter 2:17 (ESV)

That includes Presidents and Presidents-elect, I’m comfortably certain.

Dr. Al Mohler, President of Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville, KY, gives this helpful exhortation:

There must be absolutely no denial of the legitimacy of President-Elect Obama’s election and no failure to accord this new President the respect and honor due to anyone elected to that high office.  Failure in this responsibility is disobedience to a clear biblical command.

Beyond this, we must commit ourselves to pray for this new President, for his wife and family, for his administration, and for the nation.  We are commanded to pray for rulers, and this new President faces challenges that are not only daunting but potentially disastrous.  May God grant him wisdom.  He and his family will face new challenges and the pressures of this office.  May God protect them, give them joy in their family life, and hold them close together.

We must pray that God will protect this nation even as the new President settles into his role as Commander in Chief, and that God will grant peace as he leads the nation through times of trial and international conflict and tension.

We must pray that God would change President-Elect Obama’s mind and heart on issues of our crucial concern.  May God change his heart and open his eyes to see abortion as the murder of the innocent unborn, to see marriage as an institution to be defended, and to see a host of issues in a new light.  We must pray this from this day until the day he leaves office.  God is sovereign, after all.

You can read the entire post on his blog.

R.C. Sproul provides some very helpful insights on our responsibility to vote.  I strongly encourage you to read the entire essay posted at the Ligonier Ministries blog that you can access HERE.  Here are some excerpts:

But here is what I’m going to tell you to do when you vote. As a Christian you have obligations imposed upon your conscious that in some sense other people don’t have, although they should have. And the first thing is this: You have to understand what a vote is. The word vote comes from the Latin votum, which means ‘will’ or choice. And when you go to the ballot box and you vote, you are not there to vote for what’s going to benefit you necessarily. Your vote is not a license to impose your selfish desires upon the rest of the country. You only have the right to vote for what is right. And not only do you have the right to vote for what is right, but when you vote you have the duty to vote for what is right.

Sproul also has this to say that I want to endorse:

I know that abortion is not the number one issue in this campaign because it has become acceptable. Just like slavery became acceptable. But it cannot be acceptable to ethical people. The people of God have to rise up and say ‘NO’! We are not asking the state to be the church but we must say to the state, “Please be the state. God ordained you to protect, maintain, and preserve the sanctity of life, and you are not doing it.” So that has to be on your mind when you walk into that voting booth.

Dr. John Frame is a professor at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando where I am currently enrolled as a D.Min. student.  He has this to say about Christians and political choices that I find very helpful:

“…in some cultures (like the ancient Roman, in which the New Testament was written) there is not much that Christians can do, other than pray, to influence political structures and policies. But when they can influence them, they should. In modern democracies, all citizens are ‘lesser magistrates’ by virtue of the ballot box. Christians have an obligation to vote according to God’s standards. And, as they are gifted and called, they should influence others to vote in the same way.

This is not to say that political choices are always obvious. Often we must choose the lesser of two evils. Candidate Mershon may have a better view of one issue than Candidate Beates, while Beates has a better view on a different issue. It is an art to weigh the importance of different issues and to come to a godly conclusion. Each of us should have a large amount of tolerance for other Christians who come to conclusions that are different from ours. Rarely will one issue trump all others, though I must say that I will never vote for a candidate who advocates or facilitates the killing of unborn children.”-John Frame, The Doctrine of the Christian Life (P&R 2008). p. 617.

(HT:  Josh Harris)

Rick Warren hosted the two presidential candidates this past weekend at a forum held at the church he pastors in California, Saddleback Church.  I have not read Warren’s books, nor have I participated in any of his “Days of Purpose” programs.  I don’t have a personal problem with him and I don’t know enough about the “40 Days” to criticize though I’m always a bit leery of something that seems to be viewed as the silver bullet by so many churches.

That being said, I do have a point to make.  I think his hosting of this forum has unfortunate consequences and was ill advised.  Not because he didn’t ask good questions.  Not because he seemed to favor one candidate over another, as did John Hagee.  The problem with this forum, in my opinion, was that it served to highlight the candidates’ desire to capture the “evangelical vote”.  This type of event only reinforced the idea that the Church is nothing more than a special interest group.

First- what Rick Warren did right.  He worked to keep this as non-partisan as possible.  He asked the same questions of both men.  I applaud his effort to remain as neutral as possible and I honestly appreciate his efforts at dialogue with both men.   That being said, what was the problem?

Warren has established himself as a leader in evangelicalism.  Senators Obama and McCain each made a pilgrimage to Saddleback to curry favor with him and those who think like him.  I’ve not watched the debate (we don’t have CNN) but it sure sounds like both men were there to make their best pitch for votes.

What should Warren have done instead?  Preach the gospel faithfully.  I’m not saying that he doesn’t do that now, but that should remain his focus.  Make the main thing the main thing.  Hold up the Scriptures as our only rule of faith and practice.  Speak prophetically to issues- not to parties or candidates.  I’m cringing as I read analysis after analysis speaking of the evangelical vote that was being pursued.  Again- the Church is being relegated to a sub-culture.  Of course, Christians do very little to fight that appearance as it is.

In light of the above, you may think the title should read “Warren and the White HOUSE”- not “Horse”.  That’s not a typo.  Those who know me and who may read this blog know I’m a fan of The White Horse Inn- the radio program of Dr. Michael Scott Horton.  This past week’s broadcast featured an interview with Steven Nichols who authored the book Jesus: Made in America. Nichols looks at the history of Christianity in America and makes some pointed comments about how American culture has shaped our view of Christ, the gospel, and politics.  It’s a thought provoking interview.  Check it out HERE.