THE NEED FOR GODLY CANDIDATES
October 9, 2008
Title: THE NEED FOR GODLY CANDIDATES
Text: Psalm 12:1
Topic: The deceit involved with the demagoguery of modern politicians.
Date: Monday, September 29, 2008
I. Introduction: John Jay, the original Chief Justice of the U. S. Supreme Court—and one of the three men most responsible for the Constitution—declared:
“Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty—as well as the privilege and interest—of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers.10”
A. Purpose of Speech
1. To illustrate how a decline of godly character in the culture has contributed to a decline in godly candidates in political offices.
B. My speech will be approached from five premises:
1. If we the people of this great democracy fail to educate ourselves concerning our national heritage, we will become a nation saturated by mythology and demagoguery.
2. If we the people of this great democracy abate our Godly heritage, we will become a nation of heathens and pagans.
3. If we the people of this great democracy begin to worship other gods, it will lead to a state of confusion and agricultural austerity.
4. If we the people of this great democracy continue to elect leaders who are led by ambition to lead us, we will become a nation under the demagoguery of tyrants instead of one nation under God.
5. If we the people of this great democracy continue to place in authority ungodly leaders, we are testifying to the world that we are an ungodly people.
II. First Premise
A. The great depression of 1929-39 was not only an era of economic decline, it was also an error of educational decline. People stopped buying books and philosophy had all but diminished. It is sad to say that we, too, have declined in our acumen; not by reason of economic crisis, but by sure indolence and a desire to be spoon feed a goulash of religious experiences; while denying the historicity of Christianity and accepting the heterogeneous mythology of evolution and deconstructionism as the only gospel fit for our society. A quote attributed to President Woodrow Wilson forcefully pronounces:
“A nation which does not remember what it was yesterday, does not know what it is today, nor what it is trying to do.” We are trying to do a futile thing if we do not know where we have come from, or what we have been about.1 2Tim. 4:1-4, Jos. 24:26-27
III. Second Premise
A. The force of religion upon a society is undeniable. John Adams declared that:
“The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were.… the general principles of Christianity.… Now I will avow that I then believed and now believe that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God.2 From the Aztecs and the worship of Q to witches worshipping nature and woodland diva, we are moved to worship something.”
I’m afraid we have become such a needy people that we are ripe for deception. Anyone that can tap dance, has a human interest story, can put three words in good enough order to make a small sentence, read a teleprompter, cry when they’re losing, or brag when they’re winning, sound confident, or simply be self confident could lead our nation to hell in a hand basket. All these syllogisms (A subtle or specious piece of reasoning) have become enough for a pagan culture to nominate candidates for the highest office in the free world.
Nominating candidates upon theses subtle lines of reason is a formula for disaster. We have forgotten where we come from. The principles of faith were incorporated into our governing documents from the very beginning, and the positive results have been obvious.
As French observer, Alexis de Tocqueville reported in his famous work Democracy in America:
“There is no country in the whole world in which the Christian religion retains a greater influence over the souls of men than in America—and there can be no greater proof of its utility, and of its conformity to human nature, than that its influence is most powerfully felt over the most enlightened and free nation of the earth.”
What do they see now? Romans 1
IV. Third Primes
A. The religious nature of any people is directly illustrated in its prosperity. The more we drift away from God, the further away we drift from national security and prosperity. 7,000,000,000 ballots can only bail out the economy, it can’t bailout divinity. There is no paying God to cover our own neglect. I assure you as I stand before you today, God will unleash the hounds of hell and a dooms day will come. Nature will rebel and enemies will invade our shores if we continue to allow vile men to lead.
If you doubt, you have lost before you started. If you believe, you have won before you ended. Our confusion will come when we diminish into the shadows of history as another fallen imperialistic nation. Our austerity will arise in our famine. Our sins will one day curse the ground, dry up rivers and streams, clouds will blow over, the nation will groan from every sector. Because of our sins, a piece of bread will be worth a bag of gold. Joel 1:1-12
V. Fourth Primes
A. The doom of demagoguery (A leader who obtains power by means of impassioned appeals to the emotions and prejudices of the populace.) and tyranny will be our lot. There is no future in the futility of feelings. How masterful is the craft of tyrants? They work on the imaginations of the populace ever telling them, all is lost, when all is found. “Eight years of what,” I ask. From health care to green jobs, these so-called critical issues of life are purported as necessary for well being. Fear mongering is the wave of today’s polity. Romans 13:1-7
VI. Fifth Primes
A. Ungodly people elect ungodly leaders. We have no one to blame but ourselves. Our leaders are a reflection of our values. If we have immoral leaders it tells the world we are an immoral people. If crooks rule over us, it’s because we are crooks. Our candidates didn’t come from outer space. There are not a product of some scientific experiment. They come from us. There is only one way to have a godly candidate and that is to become a godly people. Psalm 12:1-8
Conclusion: The longest traditional form of annual sermon in America was the election sermon. The first documented election sermon was preached in 1634 in Virginia,39 and for each year thereafter until the twentieth century, election sermons were preached in pulpits across America. Christians understood their dual citizenship. They were indeed citizens of heaven, but they were also citizens of earth. God had placed them here in America with a stewardship government that belonged to “We the People,” so what did God expect from them in their stewardship capacity concerning the civil government that He had given them? What did He expect from them in the selection of their leaders? What did the Scriptures teach about the election process? For almost three centuries, this was a topic addressed annually in pulpits across America.[2]
10 William Jay, The Life of John Jay (New York: J. & J. Harper, 1833), Vol. II, p. 376, in a letter to John Murray, Jr. on October 12, 1816.
1 Lyndon B. Johnson, Public Papers of Presidents of the United States containing the Public Messages, Speeches, and Statements of the President (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1965), Book II: July 1 to December 31, 1964, p. 884, “Remarks Upon Arrival at Andrews Air Force Base,” November 22, 1963, quoting President Woodrow Wilson; see also Robert Flood, The Rebirth of America (Philadelphia: The Arthur S. DeMoss Foundation, 1986), p.12.
[1]Barton, David: The Role of Pastors & Christians in Civil Government. Aledo, Tex. : WallBuilder Press, 2003, S. 3
2 John Adams, The Works of John Adams, Charles Francis Adams, editor (Boston: Charles C. Little and James Brown, 1851), Vol. X, pp. 45–46, to Thomas Jefferson on June 28, 1813.
39 George Bancroft, The History of the United States of America, from the Discovery of the Continent (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1858), Vol. I, p. 364.
[2]Barton, David: The Role of Pastors & Christians in Civil Government. Aledo, Tex. : WallBuilder Press, 2003, S. 11
