Clearing things up

I have had a couple of dear brothers express concern that I might be going too far in my analysis of Sarah Palin’s nomination; so out of respect for them and the wisdom they have provided let me make a few things clear: You need to know that these posts do not constitute the official church position of Covenant of Grace. I am also not trying to tell people how they need to vote—your conscience must be your guide (the principles of liberty and charity must be upheld). However I am trying to faithfully exercise my calling as a preacher and teacher of God's word (you won’t however hear me comment on the presidential election from the pulpit—that time is reserved for the exposition of Scripture). But as a preacher and teacher I believe that I have a duty to speak up and provide biblical answers to the questions of the day; Luther once said that if we do not speak to the issues facing us we are not being faithful. Sometimes I may say things that are unpopular and controversial – I am not trying to stir up dissension; I’m interested in the church being a light in this culture and that is going to require doing some hard work and asking some hard questions. And finally I understand that I may be wrong, you need to know that these posts are presented in humility and godly fear.

All of that brings me back around to the principle question I have been asked by these men; is this a biblical issue? I believe that it is. When I read Scripture I see that God has ordered society a certain way; this order was not coincidental, but a part of God’s design. I also see that our responsibility as Christians is to hold to this design and pass it on to future generations. There are a number of passages that I believe confirm this truth but let me just highlight one. Paul tells Titus:

“Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored.”

This passage certainly seems to teach that God wants woman to be workers at home; loving and submitting to their own husband and loving their children. The consequence tied to this passage is profound; that the word of God will not be dishonored. I know that there are certain circumstances that require women to work outside the home and I do not believe that these women are sinning in doing so. But I don’t think that is the case with Sarah Palin – she is not doing this out of necessity but by choice. We have to admit that that the office of Vice President is both important and time consuming—I believe it is naive to assume that this won’t affect her ability mother her children.

My primary concern however is with the overwhelmingly enthusiastic evangelical response to her nomination. This seems to be an indication that we in the church don't understand or affirm this basic design and are drifting further and further from the biblical standard as articulated in passages such as Titus 2:3-5. Not only that we don’t seem to know that we are drifting. This is why I believe it is a biblical issue that is too important to be ignored. I understand that many are voting for McCain/Palin because of their desire to vote for a pro-life ticket that has a chance to win. But for me this brings up another issue (I’ve always been a bit inquisitive) isn’t there a deep seeded and unbreakable tie that exists between feminism and abortion? Isn't on demand abortion a consequnce of the feminist movement? To be clear I define feminism as a desire to move away from “traditional” standards. I would see these standards as the ones articulated in passages like Titus 2:3-5. Sarah Palin is a member of a feminist group (albeit a pro-life one) and has shown that she does not feel bound by “traditional” standards; that being the case is it possible to embrace (or even begrudgingly accept) feminism in order to affirm ones commitment to the pro-life movement? Is it possible that this position will eventually crumble under the weight of contradiction?

I firmly believe that it is possible for the church to actually change the world and put an end to the culture of death propagated through abortion, while at the same time affirming God’s design for the home. The great news is that it is something that cannot be deterred or influenced by those in political office. We simply must obey and wait. God will put an end to abortion—in fact one day He will make everything right.