1.

mE HISTORY OF ELECTION DAY SERMONS

Election Day Sermons have been
preached in America from our very
beginning. "As early as 1633 in
Massachusetts and 1674 in Connecticut
thepracticeofpreacltingelectionsermons
arose. These were delivered before the
governor and assembly, (and in
meetinghouses in local towns), year by
year. Frequently these sermons were
printed at government expense and
distributed among the town, and the
themes discussed were rediscussed in
the pUlpits throughout New England:-
William W. Sweet,
The Story o/Religion
in America, pg. 177.
2. THE PURPOSE OF
ELECTIONDAYSERMONS
push this motto; I push it on three
grounds: for America's sake, for the
world's sake, for Christ's sake.
1. We demand America for Christ
for America's sake. - Divorce your
nation from Chtist and you ring its
death-knell.... Marry your nation to
Christ and you open for it a door into a
new future and secure for it a place
among the nations of the world.... Tell
me how the American Republic will
treat Chtist and I will tell you the future
of the American Republic. - America
needs Christ-the rule of Christ, the
truth of Christ, the spitit of Christ, the
it has generally abandoned the Word of
God. Now more that ever, we need
ministers of the gospel who will preach
only the Word of God and all of the
Word of God with boldness, humility,
wisdom, forcefulness and in the power
of the Holy Spirit of God. We must
earnestly pray that our present famine of
faithful preaclting would come to an
end; that God would raise up an army of
fearless preachers of "the whole counsel
of God"; and that God would use that
preaching, on Election Days, and every
Sunday, to tum the hearts of Americans
away from their apostasy and to the
Living God re-
vealed in Jesus
Christ.
4. IRE CONTEXT OF
EZEK1El.ll: 1-25
The purpose of
these Election Day
Sermons can be stated
in terms of Deuter-
onomy 26:19-
" ... thatHe (God) shall
set you high above all
nations which He has
made, for praise, fame
and honor; and that
you shall be a conse-
crated people to the
ELECTION DAY SERMON
Our Election
Day Sermon this
year (1992) is an
exposition and
application of
Ezekiel 11: 1-25.
Little is known
about the man,
Ezekiel. The two
most important
facts we know
Lord your God ... ." It was the earnest
prayeroftheSeventeenthandEighteenth
Century preachers of the gospel that
through the preaclting and teaclting of
the Holy BibleGod wouldcreate, pteserve
and perfect a genUinely Christian and
thoroughly Biblical social, moral and
political orderinAmetica forthe glory of
God and as a model- "a dty set on a
bill" -for the rest of the world.
Nowhere is the purpose of election
sermonsmoreclearlyandmoreintensely
illustrated thanina book by David Gregg
entitledMakerso/theAmericanRepublic
written in 1896.
"As patriotic Christians there is only
one cry in our souls, and that is, 'America
for Christ! Chtist for America!' I mean to
gospel of Christ, and the men of Christ.
2. We demand America for Christ for
the world's sake. - ... Ametica taken for
Christ means the nations of the world far
and near taken for Christ; America a
Chtistiannationmeans amightywituess
for God among all lands of the earth ....
- In the Chtistianizing of ournation the
Republic has its life at stake, society its
order, labor its reward, home its
happiness, and the world its future."
3. IRE NEED FOR ELECTION DAY SERMONS
The pulpit has always been the most
influential political,socialandmoralforce
in Ametica. In the early days it was a
powerful force for good, because it was
generally faithful to the Word of God.
Todayitisamightyforce for evil, because
8 THECOUNSELofChalcedon December, 1992
about him are that: (1). Hewas a ptophet
of God who prophesied with divine
authority; and (2). He lived during the
Babylonian Captivity of Israel.
He wrote his book to impress upon
the israelite exiles that their captivity, and
the destruction of Jerusalem, was
Jehovah's righteous judgment on their
hardened apostasy. He also impresses
his readers with the faithfulness, patience
and mercy of Jehovah, who freely and
sincerelyoffelSforgivenessandrestoration
to all who retum to Him in faith and
repentance. One day God's people will
be fully restored to their Lord. They will
return to the true worship of God. And
the name of their redeemed and restored
covenant community will be "Jehovah
Shammah: i.e., "The Lord is there."
The Book of Ezekiel can be divided
into three pans:
a.(1:1-24:27)Prophedesgivenbefore
the overthrow of jerusalem by the
Babylonians.
b. (25:1-32:32) Prophecies of
judgment given against foreign nations.
c. (33:1-48:35) Prophecies of the
restoration of Israel given after the
BabylOnians had captured Jerusalem
(586, B.C.).
Ourtext, 11:1-25, is the conclusion
ofaprophecyconcerningthepunishment
ofjerusalem, 8:1-11:25. The
GlOly of the Lord appeared
to Ezekiel and "transported
himinspirit"tothecounyard
of the Temple injerusalern,
(8:1-4), where God caused
him toseethe blatant idolatry
of Israel, (8:5-18); and His
judgment on the people, His
burning of the city, and His
abandonment of the Temple,
(9:1-10:22). Then, after
exposinganddenoundngthe
apostasy of the political
leaders ofjerusalem, (11:1-
13), Ezekiel prophesies of a
future salvation and restoration of God's
covenant people in Christ, 01: 14- 25).
Now to the text before us ....
EXPosmON
1. (11: 1-13) TheFutureoJPolidcians
WIw Give Bad Advice
The purpose of 11:1-13 is to teaCh
the people that PERVERSE
POLITICIANS CAUSE NATIONAL
DESTRUCTION. AstheN.T.says,ifthe
blind lead the blind, both will fall into the
ditCh, Mat. 15:14; Lk. 6:39. When
political leaders defect from Godand His
Law, spiritual and moral defection will
spread among the citizens. Therefore, a
nation cannot escape God's judgment, if
it is corrupted by its politicians. In fact,
this corruption of the leaders is the cause
ofits destruction, since the peopleare too
easily led astray by perverse examples.
A. The Identity oj the Twenty:ftve
PolitJdans at the Temple Entrance
THE POINT OF 11:1-13. Ezekiel,
enlightened and made bold by the Holy
Spirit of God, confronts the political
leaders ofhis day.with their sin and with
their accountability before God for their
actions and policies. Headdressestwenty-
five of these "leaders of the people," and
calls two by name,Jaazaniah ben-Azzur
and Pelatiah ben-Benaiah. These
"princes" represented the civil
government of Israel in the capital,
jerusalem. Their number is probably
comprised of twelve princes fromeaChof
the tribes and the twelve military
commanders and the king, I Chron. 27.
Here we see the prophetic
responsibility the churCh and the pulpit
have toward the state-to call it to
repentance boldly, forcefully, and
spedfically, warningitofGod'sjudgment
if it refuses, and naming names if
necessary. The ministry is being
unfuithful to God if it is silent regarding
political, sodal and moral issues. This is
so: (1). because God has called the
Churchand pulpit to address apostasyin
any form; and (2). because the Bible is
authoritative on everything about whiCh
it speaks, and it speaks about everything.
politicians through his prophet was that
tbey are "men who devise iniquity and
give evil advice in this city,"vs. 2. Intheir
speeches, policies, counsel, consent, and
adjudications, as well as by their own
attitude and behavior, they were
encouraging the people and the nation to
rebel against God and His Law, and to
live according to man's sinful impulses,
man's own subjective standards, man's
goals, man's priorities, and man's will.
These leaders were no longer governing
the nation or their own lives in terms of
tbe revealed will and pleasure of God.
Therefore, as a result all their
policies would only
accomplish "iniquity"andaIl
their counsel would
encourage "evil" in the lives
of the citizens.
When politicians tum
from God as the source of
salvation, life and
sovereignty, and legislate,
adjudicate and execute their
laws and policies, they will
always: (1). call evil good
andgoodevil; (2). encourage
evil and lawlessness in
society; (3). bring down the
judgment of God on their nation, whiCh
will dry up prosperity, blessing, health
and security. Therefore, the policies
suCh people impose are evil, and the
answers they offer to the political,
economic, sodal, agricultural, industrial,
commercial, educational, and
international crises of a nation are non-
answers. There are no solutions for a
nation in critical decline outside of Christ
and the Word of God. Without fuith,
repentance, and a return to God in
submission to His Laws in politicians
and people, neither appealing
"charismatic"politiciansnorreferendums
by the people have any substance.
C. The ContemptJor the WordoJ GadoJ
the Twenty:ftve Politicians
B. The Speeches and Po/leies oj the
Twenty:ftve Politlctans
The evil counsel of these perverse
ThechargeGodbroughtagainstthese politicians in Ezekiel's day was: "Is not
December,1992 t THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon t 9
the time near to build houses? This city
isthepotandwearetheflesh:vs.3. The
worst tbingabout thesepoliticiansis that
they held the Word of God incontempt,
and were always seeking ways to avoid
its claims and to negate its warnings by
mind-gaIlles, ridicule and mockery.
Here Ezekiel, to use Calvin's words,
"strips off their masks" and "cuts away
their pretenses." He condemns these
politicians because, by their evil policies
and example, "they have hardened the
people in obstinate wickedness and
encouraged apathy and lethaigy, so that
the prophet's threats were unheeded."
They not only "stupefied the people by
theirenticementsandtookawayallsense
of repentance, they also set aside all fear
of God's anger which had been
denounced against them." -Calvin
What was the significance of the
statement ofthepoliticians regarding the
prophet'swarning-"lsnotthe tituenear
to build houses? This city is the pot and
we are the flesh"? To understand their
point we must understand that theywere
trying to elude the force of the prophecy
ojeremiah, who threatened them with
God's anger, when he wrote: "And the
word of the Lord came to me a second
time saying, 'What do you see?' And I
said, 'I see a boilingpot, facingawayfrom
the north.' Then the Lord said to me,
'Out of the north the evil will break forth
on all the inhabitants of the land."'-
Jeremiah 1:13-14.
Jeremiah warned thatJerusalem was
like a potand the fire which would cause
her to boil in judgment would come
from the north, i.e., the Babylonians
would come like a fire to devour
Jerusalem, which would be likeastewpot,
filled with water and meat, placed on a
ragingfire, whichsoon dries up thewater
and scorches the meat. The politicians,
who had readJeremiah'sprophecy, now
mock the prophecy and by mind- and
word-games, tty to drcumvent its true
meaning and "outwit" its author, (who
bythewayisnotJeremiah, buttheliving
God, who put the words in Jeremiah's
mouth,]er. 1:91).
They interpret it in a way that is
direcdy opposed to its true meaning.
Jeremiah told them they would be
scorched with raging fire if they did not
repent; but tbey said, "We may boil to
death in this pot, but it hasn't happened
yet and it won't happen for a while to
come. Moreover, the temperature will
rise gradually degree by degree, so it
won'thappensoon,andwhenithappens
it won't be that bad. After all, a watched
potnever boils. Therefore, let's build our
houses,enjoylifeandstayonourpresent
course, because we are safe for many
years, and by then we will be too old to
enjoy life anyway."
Or to put their blasphemy another
way. They were trying to evade the
meaningofGod'swordsbysayingthatas
the pot protects the meat in it from
burning, so the city of]erusalem would
protect them from destruction. This
attitude not only manifests their false
confidence in the power of political
institutions and social structures, it
manifests scorn and contempt for the
prophetic word of the living God.
How evil was their audacity! They
tried tomake Godlookridiculousas they
tried to elude the force of His prophetic
word. "Por a laughing-stock they said
that they could restsafelywitbin the city,
because they were not yet cooked but
raw, so that if that prophecy is true, said
they, we shall notso quickly depart from
the city. For God foretold thatweshould
be the flesh which was about to be
cooked: ifthiscityisacaldron, we ought
to remainheretill weare cooked: butthis
hasnothappened. HencewhatJeremiah
pronounces is vain."-John Calvin
Their audacity and deceit were so
blatant and so blasphemous that God
raises up another prophet to preach
against them, vs. 4, because nothing is
more intolerable than that men should
audaciously ridicule and challenge the
anger of Almighty God. "For if the
10 THE COUNSEL of Otalcedon December, 1992
mountains melt before Him, lsa. 64:3, if
angels themselves tremble,]ob4: 18, how
comes it that the vessel of clay dares to
conflict (challenge)itsMaker, lsa. 45:9?"-
John Calvin
D. TheHorrifyingFuture<iftheTwenty-
five Politicians
God's Word is inescapable! God's
judgment is escapable ouly through
genuine repentance and faith. All
attempts to manipulate or distort God's
Word so as to evade its threats and
warnings are doomed to mortal failure.
The Lord told Ezekiel that the
arguments of the apostate politicians did
not impress or intimidate Him at all,
becauseHe knowswhattheyarethinking,
vs. 5. God does not read their lips, He
readstheirminds! "FortheWordofGod
is living and active and sharper than any
two-edged sword, and piercing as far as
the division of soul and spirit, of both
joints and marrow, and able to judge the
thoughts and intentions of the heart.
And thereisno creature hidden from His
sight,butallthingsareopenandlaidbare
totheeyes of Him with whom wehaveto
do," Heb. 4:12-13.
TheHebrewin verse fivesaysliterally,
"I know the things that come into your
mind, everyone of them." Thepoliticians
were actors trying to impress and
persuade men that theywere sincere and
honest-thinking men, but before the
coun of Heaven, God is their only Judge.
And when our thoughts and intentions
are known to God, it is sheer stupidity to
think we can get away with hypocrisy
and pJay- acting, "because God will not
admit our subterfuges, nor will He allow
Himself to be deluded by our smartness
and cunning." -Calvin In fact, God will
make the corrupt politicians laughing-
stocks.
The prophet does not waste the time
or the trouble to reason with the
blabberings of the evil politidans trying
to evade God. He goes straight for the
jugular.
God wmsthewordsofthepolitidans
against themselves, and makes them
shoot their arrows into their own chests,
because, as Godsaid, "Hewho sins against
Me i1!iures himself; all those who hate Me
lovedeaJh,"Prov.8:36. Godalwaysmakes
foolish the wisdom of the world, I Cor.
1:20. Ezekiel in proclaiming the Lord's
Word is obeying that Word which says,
Answerafoolashis follydeserves,lesthebe
wise in his own eyes," Provo 26:5.
1. The indictment of the Politicians
for "Multiplying your slain in the dty,
lilling its streets with them." vs. 6-7.
God ' accuses the
politicians of filling the
streets of Jerusalem with
the bodies of the people
they had slain. These
words not only imply that
for the politidans human
life was cheap, they also
signifyallformsofinjustice;
"for we know that God
esteems those homiddes
who oppress people in
misery, overturn their
fortunes, and suck
innocent blood. Since,
then, God esteems all
violence as slaughter, he properly says,
'that the dry was filled with the slain."'-
Calvin. These politidans of Ezekiel's day
sound like American politidans of our
day, for whom life is cheap, as is evident
by the legali2ation of abortion, and who
overturn working people's fottunes and
suck their blood by deficit spending,
bureaucratic controls, an inflationary
monetary system, massive taxation,
unjnst judges, federal regulations, tens of
thousands of unjust laws and a welfare
systemwhichpenalizesthehard-working
Citizens, rewards the shiftless, and
encourages immorality, violence and
lawlessness as Walter Williams' book,
The State Against Blacks, shows.
2. The Pronouncement of More
Severe Judgment on the Politidans, VS.
7-11.
Now God wms to sarcasm and to
dark humor to refute the audadous
interpretation of His word by the
politidans and to pronounce imminent
condemnation upontheminnouncertain
terms.
TIle politidansargued that, although
God would bring judgment upon the
dry, it would be a long time in coming,
since they were the raw stew-meat in the
boiling pot, and it would not be so bad
when it came, since it would come
gradually. The pot and the water would
protect them from the flames, or so they
thought. That meant that they could
continue their life "as is", since they
would be old men when the judgment
would finally come.
God "treats them wittily, and playsoff
jests in answer to them; meanwhile he
strikes a deadly wound, when He shows
that they joked so pewlantly to their own
destruction .... " -Calvin. Godargues: "You
politidans by your polides and actions
have filled the pot with meat, i.e., those
whom you have slain, so that there is no
longer any room in the pot for you!
Therefore, I will throw out the rouen
meat,i.e. thepolitidans. lwillthrowyou
directly and immediately into the fire
whereyouwillbeburnedtoacrisp! lwill
boil tlle people, but I will roast the
politidans in the fire of the Babylonians
accordingtoJeremiahl:13. Becauseyou
jokedandlaughedatMyprophetic Word,
greater vengeance from Me awaits you.
You never stop provoking My anger."
God's exact words are these:
"Your slain whom you have laid in the
midst of the cily are the flesh, and this dry is
the pot; butIshall bringyououtofic"(lI:7)
"You have feared the sword; so I win
bring a sword upon you," the Lord God
declares." (11:8)
~ n d l shall bringyouout of ulemidstof
the diy, and! shalldeliveryou into the hands
of strangers and execute judgments against
you." (11:9)
"You will fall by the sword.
I shall judge you to the border
of Israel; soyou shall know that
I am the Lord." (11:10)
.. , ... "This dry will not be a pot
, " foryou, norwill you be flesh in
the midst of ~ but I shall judge
you tD the border of Israel."
(11:11)
The dry with its insti-
tutions and traditions, and
the polides and regulations
of the politidans will be of
no protection to them when
God begins Hiscertain judg-
ment of them for giving evil advice to and
for imposing unjust laws on the people.
"This dty will not be a pot for you .... "
God is informing the politicians that
they will be forced from their refuge in
the dry and brought to the frontier of
Israel where they will be brutally cut
down and wiped out. This threat was
literally fulfilled in the bloody scenes at
Riblah described in Jeremiall 52:24-2 7.
Becausetheypervened the Word of God,
mocking it and refusing to obey and
enforce it, they would find no protection
inJerusalem orin the land of Israel. Their
punishment would be soon, intense,
humiliating and horrifying. The king of
Israel would see his own sonsmurdered,
then he hinlself would be painfully
blinded and dragged into slavery in
Babylon, and all hisprinceswill be killed,
II Kings 25; Jeremiah 39.
December, 1992 ~ THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon 4 11
Thesuddendeathofoneoftheprinces
of the people, Pelatiah, while Ezekiel was
preaching, was intended to assure the
people and the politidans of the cenain,
inescapable fulfillment of the word of
God. ThedeathofPelatiahwasa"prelude"
of the slaughter that was at hand, 11:13.
E. The Reason Jor the Horrible Future
Jor the Twenty-jive Politicians
1. The VIndication oj the Glory oj God,
vs.12a.
God brtngs this terrible judgment
upontheevilpoliticians"SOYOUSHAlL
KNOW TIiAT I AM THE
WRD. - TIiUS YOU
WIll KNOW THAT I AM
lHElDRD ... ," 11:10,12. In
pain,sufferingandgruesome
death these apostate
politicians will know that
the Lord whomtheymocked
is really the God He has
revealed Himself to be in the
Bible. Apostate politicians
"aresaidtoknowGodwhen,
being struck by His hand,
they unwillingly acknow-
ledge His power: because
whethertheywill ornotthey
feel Him to be their judge.
But thisknowledgedoesnotprofitthem;
nay it even increases their destructiOn. '-
Calvin
To say that these leaders will "know
that I am the Lord," when He begins
judging them, is not to say that the
ignorance of Him by which they sinned
against Him is justifiable or excusable.
Calvin explains:
"Doubtless Ezekiel reproves the sloth
which was the cause of such great
defiance; for they had never dared to
contend so perseveringly with God,
unless their nrinds had been &Ilpefied;
forwerewe to reflect that we are striving
with God, horror w6uld immediately
seizeupon us; forwho Iaborsundersuch
madness as to dare to contend with God
his Maker? This dullness, therefore,
Ezekiel now obliquely reproves, when
he says thattheJewswouldknowtoolate
that they were dealing with God.
Although therefore they sinned through
ignorance, it does not follow that they
were without excuse, for whence arose
their ignorance except from being
inattentive to God? It sprang first from
carelessness: then that carelessness and
securtty produced contempt, and
contempt sprang from their depraved
lust of sinning. Since therefore they
determined to give themselves up to all
manner of sinning, they put away as far
aspossibleall teaching: naytheywillingly
endeavored to stupefy their own
consciences, and thus we see that
depraved desire impelled them to
contempt, and contempt begat in them
security, in which at length thisignorance
plunged them."
2.The Failure oj the Politicians to Obey
and EnJorce Biblteal Law, vs. 12b.
Godwasnotbeingtooharsh,norwas
He demanding too much, nor was His
judgment on them too heavy. His
judgment was severe, because it was
perfectly just. He was giving the
politicians what they deserved, nothing
more. He had given them His Law in the
Bible by which they were to govern; and
yet they rejected it, choosing instead to
imitate the pagan nations around them
and govemaccording to the standards of
man, rather than by the Standards of
12 f TIlE COUNSEL of Chalcedon December, 1992
God. As Calvin wrote, this was to prefer
Satan to God Himself with full
deliberation. Itwasto followthelie of the
tempteragain, thatman hasthertghtand
ability to determine what is good and evil
forhirnselfwithoutany reference to God
and His Word, Genesis 3.
'Thus you wiU know that I am the Lord;
Jor you have not WALKED in My statutes
nor have you EXECUTED My ordinances,
buthave acted according to theordinances oj
the nations around you." (11: 12)
The politicians were punished
severely byGod because they did not live
by the Law of God for the
sake of Quist in their own
personailives,nordidthey
obey and enforce Biblical
Law in submission to
Christ the King, in their
political positions.
Politi.ciansandnationsthat
seek to be religiously and
ethica1lyneutral, whopride
themselves on their
pretended religious
pluralism, are in direct,
audaciousandinexcusable
rebellion against God.
Their speeches, laws and
policies are repugnant to
God because they reveal: (1). deep
ingratitude to Him for His goodness to
them; (2). audacious contempt for His
Word so dearly revealed; (3). irrational
beliefthatmanhasthertghtandabilityto
deterrnine good and evil for himself; (4).
reckless disregard for the divine
command that God alone is God and He
alone is to be worshiped and served; (4).
trust in politics and human ingenuity;
(5). and because those evil politicians
will corrupt the people, who will try to
imitate them.
Therefore, in the light of this verse,
what is the responsibility of a person ina
position of political authority? He
personaJlyis to "walk" according to God's
revealed will in the Bible, and he is
"execute" that revealed will in his use of
political authority. In this sense, the civil
magistrate is to be "a minister of God,"
Romans 13:4, who influences the people
to do good and who does good for the
people by administering justice by
enforcing Biblical Law for the sake of
Christ. Without the absolute standard of
God's revealed Law in the Bible, the dvil
magistrate has no way of distinguishing
"good behavior" from "evil behavior;"
hence, he will use the sword to be an
avenger who brings wrath on the one
who practices good, and he will reward
and protect the one who practices evil.
The politician who obeys and enforces
Biblical Law is the protector of good
people; but the politidan, whether he is
a political liberal or conservative,
Democrat or Republican, who seeks to
impose and enforce a law-order other
than God's Law found in the Bible is a
"Beast," Rev. 13, a deadly threat to the
good people, families, communities,
businesses and churches in the land.
Such politidans are a curse, and must be
exposed, resisted and opposed. Use the
qualifications for a politician found in
Deuteronomy 16: 18-22 and 17: 14-20
to be your standard in evaluating
candidates. And if a candidate will not
"walk" by and "execute" Biblical law as
the basis ofliberty and justice for all, he
isyourenemy, the enemy of your linnily,
and the enemy of God, whom God will
certainly, swiftly and severely destroy.
II. (11:14-25) The Future of Voters
Who Take Good Advice
The future does not belong to evil
politidans. It belongs to the faithful
people of God in Christ. Evenin Ezekiel's
day, with its perverse politicians
corrupting most of the people, God
preserved His faithful church and kept
her from corruption. To the generations
of the faithful people of God, God has
promised a glorious future, regardless of
what the evil politidans might try to do
to . them, or regardless of how heavy
God's judgment may fall upon those
politidans and the people who believe
them and are influenced by them.
Someofthemostwonderful promises
of God in the Bible are to be found in
Ezekiel 11:14-25. It is in those promises
we are to trust, and it is to the One who
gave those promises that we are to look
for security, growth, victory, national
healing,andthe future of our generations.
A. The Promise of a Sanctuary, vs. 16
"Therefore say, 'Thus says the Lord God,
"Though I had removed them far away
among the nations, andthoughlhadscattered
them among the countries, yet I WAS A
SANCTUARYFOR THEM a litUe while in
the countries where they had gone."
Even in times of severe national
judgment, God knows how to protect,
encourage and support His faithful
people. However far they may be
scattered by persecution or judgment,
God Himself is their sanctuary, their
secure home, their hiding place, their
shelterina time ofstonn. Even in this life
God is present with His people. Even
here he wipes tears from our eyes,
comforts us in ourmouming, crying and
pain;sheltersusfromthescorchingwinds
of judgment on the apostate and
reprobate; shields us from the fiery
missiles Satan hurls at us.
"He who dwells in the shelterof the Most
HighwillabideintheshadowoftheAlmighfy.
I will say Iv the Lord, 'My Refuge and my
Fortress, my God in whom I trust.' For it is
He who delivers you from the snare of the
trapper, and from the deadly pestilence. He
will coveryou with His wings, and under His
wings you may seek nifuge; His faithfulness
is a shield and bulwark.
"You will not be afraid of the terror by
night, or of the arrow that flies by day; of dIe
pestilence that stalks in darkness, or of the
destruction that lays waste at noon, a
thousand may fall at your side, and ten
thousand at your right hand; but it shall not
approach you. You will only look on with
your eyes, and see dIe recompense of the
wicked. For you have made the Lord, my
Rifuge, even the Most High, your dwelling
place." (Psalm 91)
B. The Promise of a Land, vs. 17
"Therefore say, 'Thus says the Lord
God, 1 shallgatheryou Jrom the peoples and
assemble you out oj the countries among
which you have been scattered, and I shall
give you the land oj Israel."
The church of God will notalways be
in a "scattered" and humbled pOsition,
suffering under the oppression of evil
men. God uses such times to test her, to
puril)r her, to bring her to repentance,
renewed faith, obedience, and restored
health and prosperity, Deuteronomy 8
and 28. Notice in ourtext that God will
be a "sanctuary" for His people in exile in
Babylon for "a little while," vs. 16. His
purpose is to bring them out of judgment
andoppressionintoaneweraofgreamess,
freedom, faithfulness, peace and
prosperity. He promises to bring them
into their own Land of Promise with a
rebuilt Sanctuary in Jerusalem, where
they can worship and serve the Lord with
exuberance.
As we have learned on many other
occasions from the Bible, the Land of
Promise is not limited geographically to
the land of Palestine. The Bible
universalizes it to include the entire earth
as the inheritance of the covenant people
of God. "Blessed are the meekJor they shall
inherit the earth." In Romans 4 Abraham
is called "the heir of the world." The
promise, then, is this: in the future,
under the blessing of God, the covenant
people of God in Christ will inherit the
eanh, enjoying its pleasures and using its
resources to construct just and free
sodetiesandgodlydvilizationsaccording
to the word of God, in submission to
Christ the King, in the power of the
Spirit, to the glory of the triune God.
Oppressors will be destroyed or
convened. "Theywill hammer their swords
inlv plowsharesandtheirspearsinlv pruning
hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against
nation, and never again will they learn war,"
lsa.2:4. "And dley shall build houses and
inhabit them; they shall also plantvineyards
and eat theirfruit They shall not build, and
December, 1992 t THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon t 13
another they shall not and
another eat.... My chosen ones shall wear
out the work of their hands. They shall not
laborin vain, or bear children for calarnilJ;
for they are the offspring of those blessed by
the Lord, and their descendantswtth them,"
Isa.66:22.
TheO.T. prorrriseofarebuiltTemple,
("Sanctuary"), in Jerusalem, was
historically and partially fulfilled, after
thereleaseoftheJewsfromtheBabyloman
Captivily, when they were allowed to
return to Jerusalem and rebuild the aty
and the temple. But the promise was not
exhaustively fulfilled at that point in
time. Its ultimate fulfillment is in Chrtst
and in the brtnging of the Gentile world
into the Chrtstian Church, which is the
Temple of God, Eph. 2:21, and the Holy
CityofGod,Heb.12:22. InActs 15 the
presbytery in Jerusalem is concerned
with the conversion of so many non-
Jews to Chrtst. James announces that it
is to be expected, since the conversion of
the non-:!ewish world to Christ, (along
with the conversionoftheJewsto Christ),
is the fulfillment of the prophecy of Amos
9: 11. James quotes the O.T. promise:
"After these things I will return, and I will
rebuild the Tabernacle ofDcwid which has
fallen, and I will rebuild its ruins, and I will
restore it, in order that the rest of mankind
m4)I seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who
are called by My name, s'!)'s the Lord who
makes these things known fromof old, Acts
15:16-18.
C. ThePromiseq{ aMorally SoundSociety
Purged of Evil Politicians, vs. 18 and 21
"Whenthey come there, theywill remove
all its detestable things and all its
abominations from it."
"But as for those whose hearts go after
their detestable things and abominations, I
shall bring their conduct down on their
heads, declares the Lord."
God's people do not always have to
expect to bevexedinsocietiesdominated
by perversion and apostasy, ravaged by
judgment. In future history, when God
brtngs His church to full restoration
globally, thosesoaetiesthatare Chrtstian
will enjoy extensive freedom from the
tyranny of the detestable and the
abominable. Ctimeswillgreatlydectease,
evil will be greatly pushed into the back
allies, detestable and abominable
politicians who do not obey and enforce
Biblical Law will be put out of office,
along with their ilk in the media, pulpit,
counroom, classroom, executive office,
etc. To the "city" who returns to God,
God says, "I will tumMy handagainstyou,
and will smelt awlo/ your dross as with lye,
and will remove all your a1loy. Then I will
restore your judges as at the first, and your
counselors as at the beginning; afterthatyou
will be called the dlJ of righteousness, a
faithful dlJ. Zion will be redeemed with
justice, and her repentant ones with
righteousness. Buttransgressorsandsinners
will be crushed together, and those who
forsake the Inrd shall come to an end, "
Isaiah 1:25f. There is coming a time in
Chrtstian societies when any politician
or voter who allows his hean to go after
detestable, abominable things, God will
cause his sins to be found out, and will
brtng the consequences ofhis pervened
and rebellious thinking and behavior
crashing down on his head.
D. The Promise of aNew Heart, vs.19-20
"And I shall give them one and
shall put a new spirit within them. And I
shall take the heart q{ stone out of their flesh
andgive themaheartofflesh, that they may
walkinMy statutesandheep My ordinances,
and do them. Then they will be My people
and I shall be their God. "
Here we have the hean-promise of
the New Covenant in Christ, Ezekiel
36:26f; Jerenrtah 31:3lf; Hebrews 8:6-
13. God promises His covenant people
in ChIistthatHewill renovatetheentirety
of their inner lives that they might live in
daily obedience to God's revealed will
and enjoy daily, and eternal, union and
communion with Him in Chrtst. This
regeneration of the hean and spirit is
made manifest in the believer's obedient
behavior and is blessed with intimate
14 f TIlE COUNSEL of ChaIcedon f December, 1992
and eternal fellowship with the Living
Goddaybyday,andperfectlyineternity.
1. The One Heart
To be given "one hean" is to be given
a hean that is not divided, that is not
distracted by evil and error. It is a hean
that ''whole-heartedly'' lives on God's
Word, subjecting itself to that Word,
content with the God of that Word, and
addicted to true holiness of life. The
heans of evil men are divided, distracted
and dominated by evil.
2. The New Spirit
Godworksacompletetransfonnation
of the inner life of His chosen ones, of
their affections, their imagination, their
intellect, theirwill, their disposition, their
entire "spint." No one can forsake his
sins and tum to God until his spirit has
been renewed, unless it has been born
again by the Spirit of God ,John 3:3. His
spirit must be washed clean of sin's
depravity, set free from sin's
don1inion, and reformed by the Word of
God. In giving us a ''new spint" "God
takes away that depravity by which
we are bound down."-Calvin.
3. The Removal of the Heart of Stone
Ahean of stone is ahean which isnot
inclined toward God, but which is
inclined against Him toward evil. Ahean
ofstoneisa heanthatwill not and cannot
make any proper responses to the
ovenuresandcommandsofGod, because
it is dead in sin, Eph. 2: 1. "The hean of
stone has no susceptibility to the
impressions of the word of God and the
drawing of divine grace."- Keil. "The
word of God, the external leadings of
God, pass by and leave no trace behind.
The lattermay crush it, and yetnot break
it. Even the fragments continue hard;
yea, the hardness goes on increasing."-
Hengstenberg. This is the hean of all
fallen human beings untouched by the
saving grace of God. But, God has
prorrrised us that in Chrtst, He would
remove that depraved, hardened hean,
so that we will no longer be helplessly
and hopelessly willing slaves to our
inclination to evil. In Christ we are
liberated from the death and tyranny of
sin. InHimwe die to the powerofsinand
arise to newness oflife, Rom. 6.
4. The Implanting of a Hean of Flesh
After removing the hean of stone,
God implants within us a hean of flesh,
i.e., a tender hean, a hean susceptible to
the drawing of divine grace, a hean
responsive and yielded to the Word and
Spirit of God, a hean full of love for the
triune God, His people, His world, His
Word, and for mankind, a
heart that longs to live for } >
the pleasure and glory of i :
God, a hean full of faith in .: .
Jesus Christ, a hean held .
captive by the Word of :.'.
Christ.
5. The New Walk
The fruitandeffect of the
renewal of the heart is
behavior from the hean and
in the daily life that is
obedient to the revealed will
of God in the Bible.
Obedience is proof of faith.
Faith without obedience to
Godisdead "Hewhobelleves
in the Son has eternal life; but he who does
not obey the Son shall not see life, but the
wrath oj God abides on him," John 3:36.
"For by grace you have been saved through
Jaith; and thatnot oj yourselves, itis the gift
oj God; not as a result oj worhs, that no one
should boast Forwe are His workmanship,
createdin Christjesus Jorgoodworhs, whtch
God prepared beJorehand, that we should
walk in them: Eph. 2:8-10. In other
words, God promises His people that in
Christ, He not only will save them from
the punishment of sin, He will save them
from the tyranny of sin, so that they will
die more and more to sin and live more
andmoreunto righteousness, I Pet. 2:24.
God told Joseph and Mary to name
Mary's child "Jesus, Jar He will save His
peopleJrom their SINS: Mat. 1:21.
6. The New Fellowship
Once the image of God is renewed
and restored in God's covenant people in
Christ in the power of the Spirit with the
Word, God win bting that believer into
the deepest, most profound, most
intimate, mystical, vital and eternal union
and communion with Himself possible
for human beings to experience. To
these chosen, redeemed, regeneratedand
sanctified people God will be their God
and they will be His people. "Happy is the
nation whose God is the Lord, the people
whom He has chosen Jar His own
inheritance," Psa. 33: 12. 'Thou wilt mahe
known to me the path oJlife; in Thy presence
is fulness oJjoy; in Thy right hand there are
pleasures Jorever: Psa. 16: 11. Jesus
prayed: "IdonotaskinbehalJoJthesealone,
but Jor those also who believe in Me through
their word; that they may all be one; even as
Thou, Father, art in Me and I in Thee, thot
they also may be in Us; that the world may
believe that Thou didst send Me. And the
glory which Thou hastgiven Me I have given
to them; that they may be one,justas Weare
one; I in them, and Thou in Me, that they
may be peifectedin unity .... Father) desire
that they also whom Thou hast given Me be
with Me where r am, in order that they may
beholdMyglory ... ,"Jolm 17:20f.
Therefore, would you rather have the
rich promises of the faithful God or the
emply promises of bad politicians?
CONCLUSION
1. What is the future of all politicians
who refuse toohey andenforce the Word
of God in submission to Jesus Christ?
Answer: God will severely punish them.
2. What is the future of all those
voters who vote for, believe, and are
willingly influenced by these evil
politicians so that their desires and
behavior are not governed by the Word
of God but by the word of man? Answer:
God will pUnish them.
3. Whatis the future of the USAifwe
continue to elect men and
womentopublicofficewho
will not obey and enforce
Biblical Law for Jesus' sake?
Answer: God will destroy
4. Multiple choice:
Which of the following
candidates for presidency
will obey and enforce
Biblical Law for Jesus' sake
if elected to office:
Democrat Bill Clinton,
Independent Ross Perot,
Republican George Bush,
PopUlist Bo Gritz, U.5.
Taxpayer's Party Howard
Phillips, UbenarianAndre Marrou, none
of the above? Which of the following
candidates for U.5. Senator for Georgia
will obey and enforce Biblical law for
Jesus' sake if elected to office: Democrat
Wyche Fowler or Republican Paul
Coverdell? ETC.
5. As GaryNorthhas written: "When
Civil justice departs, PreSidential
campaigns don't make much difference."
6. What do Christians want in a
political candidate? In 1694 Samuel
Wtllard answered that question in his
sermon, "The Characterofa GoodRnler":
"He that 'rules in the fear of God' is one
who acknowledges God to be his
Sovereign, and carries in his hean an
awful fear of Him; who owns his
commission to be from Him, and expects
December, 1992 t THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon t 15
._-------- ---
ere long to be called to give in an accoum
ofhis managing of it; which makes him
to be diligent in all things to please God,
and to be afraid of doing anything that
will provoke Him.
"And accordingly he is a student in
the Law of God, and 'meditates in it day
and night;' making it the rule into which
he ultimately resolves all that he does in
hisplace. We find thatin the old law, the
kingwastowrite a copy ofitwithhis own
hand, and to make use of it at all times;
Dt. 17:18,19.
"Ifhe hasanythingtodointhemaking
" ofiaws, hewillconsultagoodconscience,
and what may be pleasing to God, and
will be far from 'framing mischief by a
law.' And ifhe be to execute any laws of
men, he will not dare to give ajudgmem
for such an one as direcdy crosses the
command of God, but counts it ipso
facto void, and his conscience acquitted
ofhis oath. -
"In a word, he is one that will take
care to promote piety, aswellas honesty,
among men; and do his utmost that the
nue religion (of Christianity) may be
countenanced and established and that
all ungodliness, as well as
unrighteousness, may have a due
testimony borne against it at all times."
7. What is the hope of America? The
sovereign God of the Bible, who has
mercy on whom He will have mercy,
who has compassion on whom He will
have compassion, and who hardens
whomHewill. Ottronlyhopeasanation
is that He would regenerate and restore
His people; that He would give the
American people one heart and a new
spirit; thatHe would take away ourhean
ofstoneandreplaceitwithaheartofflesh
that we may walk in His statutes and
keep His ordinances. Then we will be
Hispeople, and Godwill retumtousand
be our God. OtttsideofAmerica'swhole-
heartedretumtoChrist byherpoliticians
and people, neither patty offers any
solutions to the deadly criseS we liice.
Until that day both parties will be
comprised generally of evil politicians
who will lead us down the road farther
from God and who deserve to be roasted
like rotten meat over a raging fire.
Therefore, eamesdy and constantly
pray for God to revive the churches of
our land by His Spirit and reform them
by His Word, that they might rise up
with one voice crying out to our land:
''Behold your God!" Perseveringly and
compassionately work to win the heaus
and minds of Americans with the gospel
of Christ. Don't stop until you see the
worJd'snationsbecomeChrist'sdisdples.
8. Whether America has a future as a
nation is yet to be seen. Will she go the
way of the extinct cultures of the past?
Will she be restored to gteatuess and
national glory? Only God knows. But,
onethingweknowforcettain,thefaithful
ChurchofChristinAmericahasaglorious
future in her coming generations. God
bless and defend that church.
9. Nowtoendonasadnote, because
that is the way our text in Ezekiel ends.
Notice verses 22-23-"Then the
cherubim lifted up their wings with the
wheels beside them, and the glory of the
God of Israel hovered over them. And
the glory of the God of the Lord wem up
from themidst of the dty, andstood over
the mountain which is east of the dty."
Howtragic! TheGloryofGoddepatts
from Jerusalem! Israel will not listen.
The church will not repem! So, God
abandons them to their evil politidans.
Election Day 1992 will reveal again
whether God hasabandonedAmerica to
evil politiciansandtojudgment. Repent,
America! Repera and tum to Christ!
God bless America ...... with
repentance!
'(This sermon was preached on
Sunday, November 1,1992. Ott Tuesday,
November 3, 1992, Electi()n Day, pro-
abortionist, known-adulterer, radical
socialistDemocratBiIlClintonwaseletted
president of the United States by a
landslide.) n
16 mE COUNSEL of Chalcedon December, 1992