By Their Fruit You Will Know Them

“He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters.” Matthew 12:30

As Christians, we are called upon to filter all our political convictions, alliances and advocations first and foremost through the lens of our faith. In the verse above from Matthew’s gospel, Jesus is referring to the Pharisees, who have just accused Him of casting out demons by the power of Satan/Beelzebub. By making the statement about being with Him or against Him, Jesus is pointing out that we demonstrate with whom we are aligned by what we say and do. The Pharisees claimed the religious high ground for themselves, believing it was their God-given right to judge and prosecute others according to God’s Law and their code of religious behavior. If you didn’t pass their test of religious performances and oaths, you were considered reprobate – worthy of condemnation and ultimately of destruction.

Jesus declared that a tree will be known by its fruit and is declared “good” or “bad” by this test alone.

But Jesus looked past the Law, past the prescribed religious observances of the time, to the heart of the person and the fruit of their labor. Earlier in Matthew’s gospel (7:16-20), Jesus declared that a tree will be known by its fruit and is declared “good” or “bad” by this test alone. Applying that to the political landscape of our day, it really doesn’t matter what political affiliation a person claims. What matters is their fruit. As Christians engaged in the political arena, the good fruit we are called to look for is the degree to which a particular individual defends:

1. God-ordained biblical principles and

2. Expressions of those biblical and democratic principles enshrined by the U.S. Constitution

3. Christ-like character that brings glory to God and unity to the body of believers.

As we all know, talk is cheap, but behavior doesn’t lie. In terms of public policy, you will know whether a particular candidate aligns with your convictions by examining their voting record (where available), by looking at what they stand for as a candidate and what they say and repost on social media. Look at the alliances the candidate has both as a public figure and as a private citizen. It is the intention of ChristFirstConservatives.org to aid you in uncovering the truth about who you’re being asked to vote for.

There will likely be some areas of disagreement between you and any particular candidate; accordingly, we suggest you create a document with your own “platform”. Perhaps subdivide it into categories (Family, Faith, Education, Social Programs, Taxation, etc.) and then list the policy initiatives that are important to you. Prioritize a list of “non-negotiables”, items on which you cannot compromise. As believers, it is our conviction that our list of non-negotiables should look a lot like God’s list of non-negotiables, because honoring and serving God needs to be our highest priority. Eliminate those candidates for office who violate your list of non-negotiables, then rank the other candidates according to how they stack up next to your list of priorities. Once you’ve gotten a sense of their policy convictions, examine the person’s demonstrated character. Watch how they conduct themselves, both with their allies and their political opponents. Are they capable of building the coalitions necessary to get legislation passed? Is their speech measured, respectful and truthful? It is out of the overflow of the heart that the mouth speaks. What does the person’s speech say about their heart?

Some of you may be thinking, “Yes, Jesus said ‘he who is not for me is against me’; but He also said ‘he who is not against us is for us’ (Mark 9:38-41). How can we know which rule to apply in this instance? Well, if you were to look at both these passages in context, you would realize that, although they seem to contradict each other, they actually say exactly the same thing. In the first instance, Jesus is talking about the Pharisees, who were the proclaimed religious leaders of the day and yet declared the work that Jesus was doing as being “from the devil”. In the second instance, Jesus is talking about someone who had no formal connection to Him but was going around delivering demon-possessed people in His name. In each instance, what Jesus is saying is, “don’t judge by outward appearance, reputation or even what they say about themselves; discern who is ‘with you’ by their fruit.” Applying this to our context, the question is no longer “what does this candidate claim to value?”, but “is the candidate fighting for a God-honoring, Christ-exalting agenda which places highest value on the things we are called as Christians to value?” We too can know whether candidates are truly “with us” by their fruit, both the fruit of their mouths, and the fruit of their labors.

…we must prioritize informing ourselves about the policies and character of the people running for office…

Our high and holy calling as followers of Christ is to declare the Kingdom of God and salvation through Jesus Christ, and to work to implement kingdom principles where we can in this lifetime. Because God has so generously given us a country where we have the right to choose our leaders, we must prioritize informing ourselves about the policies and character of the people running for office, choosing those candidates we believe will defend kingdom principles and shine the light of the glory of Christ into a world that needs Him more and more desperately. Won’t you join us in seeking and promoting Truth?? We are here to help you…