2008 Election Results: Where do we go from here?

Well, it has now been one full week since the 2008 general election. While I did not like the results of the election, they are results that I must live with. As an American, I can say that I was proud of how many people voted, as well as the peaceful way in which elections occur here in the U.S.A. However, I do think that many were completely misinformed about the candidates, so I think voter education could use an improvement.

In the weeks leading up to the election, Pastor Wayne Burggraff (the pastor of my church, Faith Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA), preached a series of messages on elections and how Christians should vote. Unlike many churches, he did not tell us who to vote for, but rather what Biblical principles we should rely on when we vote. There were no endorsements. You can find those messages here (as well as many other messages). I found these messages to be very helpful, and they were free of the political messages you get in many churches today.

To that end, even though we may not have cared for the outcome of the election, there are still Biblical principles that we need to follow now that Sen. Obama is the President-elect. These are not original with me. Rather, they were an insert to our church bulletin on Sunday morning.


As we have seen over the past couple of weeks, we have a duty as Christian citizens to follow God's Word in our relationship to our government and its leaders. We need to remember what God says....

1. All government authorities and leaders are ultimately allowed in their places of authority by our Sovereign god. At times, He appoints the unassuming (I Samuel 2:8), the righteous ((I Samuel 13:14), and other times He allows the wicked to rule (Romans 9:17). The point is - God is ultimately in charge (Psalms 11:4); thus, God has plans for Mr. Obama's presidency.
2. We are commanded as believers to: 1) Submit to the laws our leaders enact (I Peter 2:13), 2) Pay the taxes that they require (Romans 13:6), 3) Honor them and their authority (I Peter 2:17), 4) Pray for those in authority (I Timothy 2:1-3), and 5) Fear them if we do evil (Romans 13:4).
3. We should expect out leaders to be doing the following: 1) Be a terror to evil works (Romans 13:3), 2) Exercise the 'Sword' against evildoers (Romans 13:4, 3) Promote a 'quiet and peaceable life' (I Timothy 2:2), and 4) Punish evil and praise good (I Peter 2:14).

We are to place our trust in God, not in our government.