Personal Testimony of Faith
"Is a personal testimony of faith really necessary from the candidates?"
All Christians - presidential candidates or otherwise - have a Biblical duty to
share their personal testimony of faith
"always":
"Always be ready to give a
defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with
meekness and fear." (1 Peter 3:15)
A 'Christian testimony' actually isn't about what the person has done; it about
what Christ has done for that person. To a true Christian, testifying about what
the Lord has done for him or her isn't just a duty; it is also a tremendous
privilege to which to look forward.
All
Christian testimonies are written by sinners and read by other sinners.
All Christians are work-in-progress and we recognize
that the candidates are running for political office, not the pastorate. All
that we expect
is the honesty and courage, as well as loyalty, to testify about the One who gave His life to save
us and warned:
"For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this
adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed
when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels."
(Mark 8:38)
Any concern over the candidates' testimonies potentially alienating non-Christian
voters during the general election should recognize that the one to be concerned about alienating is God, who controls election
results:
"Let every soul be subject to the
governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the
authorities that exist are appointed by God." (Romans 13:1)
In the past, too many politicians have claimed to be Christian to court our
support and votes during the primaries, only to veer away from us and the
Lord in the
general election, and then all but ignore or even turn against us and the Lord after moving
into the White House.
True and exaggerated claims of relationship with Christ should
be discerned before we extend our support and certainly before we go to the
polls, and a Biblical way to achieve this is to invite the candidates who profess
faith in Christ to share their Christian testimony in response to
pointed
but fair questions.