Hope and Humility in an Election Year

Election Day is just over two weeks away, just in case you were not aware because you have been totally off the grid, not read a newspaper, not been on social media, not listened to radio or television, and not checked your mailbox for the last month! If you have been on social media, you have probably seen pastors telling you that because of the terrible moral character of candidate X, you need to vote for candidate Y, while other tell you that the moral character of Y requires you to vote for X. Some pastors with loud public voices have said that you are morally obligated to vote Republican, while others insist that the proper moral choice is to vote the Democratic ticket. I read a brief post from a pastor warning that if your own pastor’s next message did not tell you that you had to vote, he was not doing his job as a pastor. Well, I am not going to tell you that you have to vote (though I will suggest that you can glorify and serve God by doing so), I am not going to tell you whom to vote for, and I am not going to tell you how I am going to vote. Instead, we will look at what the Word of God says in Titus 2:11–3:2. We will look at how God tells you to live with humility and hope — even in an election season.

Live humbly in the present age. You live in the present age. Israel was unlike the surrounding nations because God was their King. They were a theocracy. Psalm 72, whether written by Solomon or for Solomon, looks beyond the current occupant on the throne in Jerusalem at the time to the coming of the greater Son of David, The true anointed one, the Messiah. The human king was supposed to represent God’s rule. God’s people looked forward to the future messianic age that was coming. Of course, the Messiah has come. The age to come has become a present reality. But, obviously, we are not in heaven! We still live in the present age, Titus 2:12, which Paul speaks of elsewhere as the present evil age. It is parallel to the prayer, “Your kingdom come.” Christ came and is the King, and yet we are praying and working for he kingdom’s fullness. Colossians 3:1–4 puts it as clearly as any place.

Be subject to rulers and authorities. Serving God in the present age involves the things concering which Titus was to instruct the church, mentioned in Titus 2:1–10. Given the proximity to an election, we will focus on how Christians are to relate to governmental authority. Be subject to the authority God has ordained. The call to submit is qualified by the principle that we must obey God rather than man. The emphasis on Christ’s authority can lead to abuses. We may think that we are at liberty to act as we see fit, to ignore human authority. The Reformation had its dark side, particularly with some of the more extreme movements leading to uprisings in the early 1500’s and to the seizing of the city of Münster, 1533-1535. Although some reports grew in re-telling, an antinomian spirit and real abuses were evident on the part of some. Some Christians today, in reaction to real evils in an apostate culture, have ignored Paul’s command to be subject to rulers. The rulers and authorities here refer to human rulers (rather than angelic powers). The authority of God’s Word leads you, not to rebellion, but to a godly submission. God calls you to pray for your rulers. That attitude may be particularly challenging, especially as our culture becomes more and more rebellious against God.

Show true humility. In fact, reflect the humility of your Lord. Reist the temptation to confuse being loud and obnoxious with standing firmly for the truth. People will take offense at the latter — but make sure it it is the offense of the cross, not the offense of one’s own personality. Notice how the Scriptures describe Moses, the man who confronted Pharaoh repeatedly, who led Israel out of Egypt and through the desert, was the humblest of men , Numbers 12:3. The Prophet like Moses (Deuteronomy 18:18) was characterized by humility, Philippians 2. It is as you put on Christ, as you stand before God in his righteousness, that you have the grace to be humble — and with it the authority to speak and live the Word of God.True humility and godly authority as the people of God go hand in hand.

Wait for the blessed hope. Be eager to do good. Be “eager to do what is good” (Titus 2:14), and “be ready to do whatever is good” (Titus 3:1). Where God’s Word specifically defines good, that is what you do. But the church has no authority to go beyond God’s Word in making rules or binding the conscience. The church and her pastors have the responsibility of saying, “Thus says the Lord,” giving biblical principles for God’s people to apply to specific situations. The general office of believer is underemphasized today. God has placed us in a situation where many of us have an opportunity to vote, to have an impact on who is elected and what measures are adopted. You can use that opportunity to glorify God. Christians who share the same biblical principles may apply them differently. Two Christians may be convinced that both major candidates display questionable moral character. One person might vote for the candidate he considers less bad. Another may decide that he or she cannot, in good conscience, vote for either, and writes in the name of someone who they know will not win. That still has an impact on the process. The grace that brought salvation teaches you to live a godly life. Just as a parent or teacher instructs a child, God’s grace informs, motivates, leads, and encourages you to walk in God’s paths. Self control in the midst of a self-centered, hedonistic world characterizes your life. The theme of self-control was set repeatedly earlier in the chapter. You are upright in a time when men compromise. And you lead a just, godly life in the midst of moral decay. Christ’s redeeming work calls you to do what is good. The purpose of redemption is a people that do good. Be characterized by an eagerness to do good. Don’t underestimate the impact of a godly life. The glorious return of your Savior summons you to live as God’s very own people.

“Embracing Christ’s death and resurrection naturally entails a repudiation of sin and all things related to ‘this present age’ (2:12). Paul commands Christians to focus their attention on the second coming of Christ, an event that will take place at the end of history when God will fully judge evil and install resurrected saints in the new heavens an dearth (2:13)…. Titus must remind his congregation that they are to be ‘subject to rulers and authorities’ (3:1). This is no easy task, especially in an environment such as Crete. Instead of falling prey to division, the church must promote unity and be loving toward one another (3:2, 9–11). Unity and love are emblematic of the new age, and believers must embody these twin characteristics.” (

G. K. Beale and Benjamin L. Gladd, The Story Retold: A Biblical-theological Introduction to the New Testament, pages 362–363

Be eager to do good. One specific area, certainly not the only one, is the issue of abortion. One party makes supporting the taking of lives of unborn children a litmus test for office, something, in some circles, to be celebrated. The other party has shifted its platform away from it previous support for protecting the lives of the unborn to making it a states rights issue. And the candidate at the head of the party states that in states where legislation protecting the lives of the unborn is, in his words, “too tough,” in those states “it will be redone.” So what is a Christian to do? We have the biblical teaching that life is precious because it is made in God’s image. That is true for the baby not yet born. It is true for the elderly person who may be considered a drain on society. How do those principles affect your voting? You apply them, best you can, to the specific situations you face. Those situations may differ from area to area. And, while the biblical principle is clear, how it applies to specific legislation and to specific candidates is much less clear. Committed Christians may differ on the application while sharing the same foundation. Also, remember that the issue runs much deeper than a political or legislatve solution. If you could somehow immediately outlaw abortion in all 50 states, while that might be desireable, it would not solve the problem. It would drive it underground. What is needed is a heart change, a realization that God made us in his image and we are precious to him. Remembr that early Christians lived in a culture that exposed unwanted infants. Christians took those babies into their homes. They created orphanages. Their concrete, prractical help ended up having a long-term impact on the thinking and morality of the surrounding cultures. It is important for Christians to say “No” to abortion and physician assisted suicide. But that needs to be accompanied by compassionate help for those in need.

Wait for the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior. Wait for the appearing of Jesus Christ. You do look back at what Christ has accomplished in his coming. At the same time, you look forward to his return, to his appearance (or unveiling) in glory. Remember that Jesus is the King, seated at the right hand of the Father, ruling over his church and the whole world. I don’t know the outcome of the November election, but whoever wins, it is part of God’s plan. It may be that he will give us rulers who are enemies of the church, rebels against God. He did that with Pharoah, Romans 9:17. But Christ will never abandon his church. Your hope is a joyful certainty. Hope is more than a positive mental attitude. Hope is similar to trust. It is a confident resting in the certainty of who God is and what he has promised.

“[Paul’s reference to a divine ordinance] is a consequence of his ‘Israelite’ faith in God nurtured from the whole Old Testament revelation of God, who just because he is the Creator of the world is also its Redeemer, and who in the work of redemption upholds the order of this world even in its fallen state.”

(Herman Ridderbos, Paul, An Outline of His Theology, p. 325

You live in the present age (and struggle against sin). But you know that you belong to the age to come, because the Messiah has come. Hope is the certainty that you belong to your Savior, and that thus what he allows into your life will never separate you from him. This connection with the Savior is what makes your hope blessed. That hope colors your entire life as a child of God. Hope shapes your daily obedience (as we’ll see). Jesus Christ is your great God and Savior. Jesus is God himself. All of the greatness of the Trinity belongs to him. He appears specifically as your Savior who gave himself for you. His coming into the world was not for himself, but to give his life in your place. The purpose of the incarnation was you and your salvation! He redeemed you. He purchased you. Christ has done this to atone for the guilt of your sin and to propitiate God’s holy anger against you. He has freed you from the guilt, the bondage, and the pollution of sin, so that you can be his pure people.

Despite what some politicians and religious leaders are saying, I don’t think this election will be the most important one in decades. Whoever wins, will likely not be a great friend to and protector of God’s people. But you have hope because Jesus is on the throne. His kingdom is one that endures. Fix our hope on the Savior!