BEING GOOD CITIZENS
[10-24-10]
Part II
Review:
Matthew 22:21) [GNB] “The Emperor’s,” they answered. So Jesus said to them, “Well, then, pay to the Emperor what belongs to the Emperor, and pay to God what belongs to God.”
QUESTION: What do we owe God?
ANSWER: Everything! We owe Him our total allegiance!
QUESTION: What do we owe Caesar/our country?
ANSWER: We owe our country to be the best citizens we can be.
QUESTION: What does that involve?
ANSWER: We must be informed voters. We must vote for people that will make decisions that will honor God.
QUESTION: What are important issues in this coming election?
ANSWER: Abortion! Taxes! Size of government! Individual rights of citizens!
NOTE: You can’t give someone more control/power over your life without losing more control/power over your life. The more power we allow government to have, the less power/freedom we have.
On With This Week’s Lesson:
Colossians 3:17) [GNB] Everything you do or say, then, should be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, as you give thanks through him to God the Father.
QUESTION: What does this verse have to do with our being good citizens?
ANSWER: We’re to do everything we do to honor God, and in this case, that means we must be good citizens in honor of the great country He has given us.
Our Responsibility Is to Choose Good People To Goven Us:
Exodus 18:21) [GNB] But in addition, you should choose some capable men and appoint them as leaders of the people: leaders of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. They must be God-fearing men who can be trusted and who cannot be bribed.
QUESTION: What kind of men and women must we vote for?
ANSWER: 1) We need politicians who can be trusted to do what they say they’ll do; 2) we need men and women who will not put personal gain ahead of the country; and 3) we need God-fearing people in office.
NOTE: As Christians we desire God-fearing men and women to represent us in public office, but, in America, unlike Israel, we are not a theocracy. We need honest politicians who will put we, the people, ahead of personal gain. If they’re God-fearing, that’s a huge plus.
ANOTHER NOTE: God-fearing men and women, or in the case of American politics, men and women with a conscience, would not vote for any bill that advocates the murder of the unborn. Abortion is the biggest affront towards God in the history of America.
Those Good People Will Make Life Better For Us:
2 Samuel 23:3-4) [GW] The God of Israel spoke to them. The rock of Israel told me, ‘The one who rules humans with justice rules with the fear of God.
4) [GNB] He is like the morning light as the sun rises, like a morning without clouds, like the brightness after a rainstorm. The rain makes the grass grow from the earth.’
Proverbs 29:2) [GNB] Show me a righteous ruler and I will show you a happy people. Show me a wicked ruler and I will show you a miserable people.
QUESTION: What is the result of having good politicians representing us?
ANSWER: It is as refreshing as the sun coming out after the rain. The lack of principled politicians causes the citizenry to be miserable.
We Must Stay Involved Until Jesus Returns:
Luke 19:12-13) [GNB] So he said, “There was once a man of high rank who was going to a country far away to be made king, after which he planned to come back home.
13) [GNB] Before he left, he called his ten servants and gave them each a gold coin and told them, ‘See what you can earn with this while I am gone.’
QUESTION: What does this verse have to do with our being good citizens?
ANSWER: God expects His children to be faithful stewards of what He has trusted us with. He trusted us with a great country; we need to do all that we can do to make certain that it remains a great country.
Let’s Pray For, and Work Toward, Our Nation Being A Great Nation:
Psalm 33:12) [GNB] Happy is the nation whose God is the LORD; happy are the people he has chosen for his own!
1 Samuel 2:30) [GNB] I, the LORD God of Israel, promised in the past that your family and your clan would serve me as priests for all time. But now I say that I won’t have it any longer! Instead, I will honor those who honor me, and I will treat with contempt those who despise me.
Proverbs 14:34) [GNB] Righteousness makes a nation great; sin is a disgrace to any nation.
QUESTION: Though primarily these Scriptures speak of Israel, do they relate to us?
ANSWER: Absolutely! Righteousness makes any nation great; sin disgraces any nation. God will still honor those who honor Him!
What the Rulers of A Country Want:
Proverbs 14:34-35) [GNB] Righteousness makes a nation great; sin is a disgrace to any nation.
35) [GNB] Kings are pleased with competent officials, but they punish those who fail them. [Who are the kings here? We, the people]
QUESTION: Who are the kings here in America?
ANSWER: We, the people, are the rulers of this country. We need to punish those incompetent officials who fail us; we punish them by voting them out.