Presidential Privilege

To hear of this news. Now normally, these things are not subjects for sermons. And I don't preach off of, you know, the inquire. But I have noticed something very alarming taking place. I have noticed a series of reactions from people that mirror a growing attitude in this nation about this kind of thing.

And that's what provoked me to write this particular lesson. So tonight, I want to speak about these attitudes and what the Bible says about this kind of conduct, just in case we missed it. First of all, let's look at the excuses and let's look at the reactions that the White House spokespeople, and there are a variety of those, are giving to the media about what has just taken place. And I've categorized these. You have to, you know, I've only got a half hour here.

I've categorized these into general themes. Okay. First theme of response is this, important men have strong sex drives. I've heard that one. You know, many defenders of the president who aren't sure, remember, these are allegations now in all due respect who are not sure if the allegations are true or not, these people have taken the position that, well, even if it is true, it's normal for powerful men to have powerful sex drives.

I mean, you know, hey, where have you been the last couple of centuries? They point to John F. Kennedy or even further back to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who had mistresses, and other leaders who had cheated on their wives, as a way of normalizing this kind of behavior. Well, you know, he's a big man. Other big men have done the same thing.

To me, it's the old law quote, the old law of important people. You know, there's an important people law in this there's the law and then there's the important people law. And the important people law says that important, powerful, talented people are not subject to the same kind of laws and restraints than the rest of us are because they're different. They're not like the rest of it, they're important. Important men simply have needs that need fulfilling, whatever the manner, because they're important people.

Now that's one line of defense that I've heard over and over again. Another line of defense is this, the president is a busy man. He's got the country to run. This is what Mr. Clinton repeated several times during his first interview after the story originally broke.

The idea is that these allegations, this business is so minor that it's a nuisance for him to deal with this. I've got a country to run here. I don't expect me to deal with this business. Many callers to the radio talk shows voiced this very same opinion. Yeah, the president's a busy man.

Why are the media wasting his time with this business? In other words, adultery and a possible cover up are not worthy enough problems to deal with. And those who are concerned with these things are prudish, narrow minded, focusing on the minor issues of life. That's another argument or defense that I've heard. A third one, It's nobody's business.

You heard that one? Nobody's business. Again, some who support the president but they're not sure of the facts dismiss the entire issue by claiming that well, you know, if the president wants to have an affair, that's his business. Nobody else's business. These same people argue that a man's sex life, his private conduct have no bearing on his public life, and certainly no bearing on his competency to lead this nation.

So, if President Clinton did have an extramarital affair with Ms. Lewinsky, that is strictly a private matter and it should have absolutely no bearing on his competency to lead the United States of America. I've heard that argument several times. And then one more I've heard, you know, we can go on and on but there are 4 main ones that I keep hearing over and over again. The 4th one is, it's a conspiracy.

A right wing conspiracy. Actually, Mrs. Clinton was the first one to make that charge that these allegations were created by the president's enemies. She argues that great men are always subject to attacks in order to discredit them. And we should believe her husband.

We should believe her husband out of hand because he's the president. That's why you should believe him, he's the president. In other words, great men don't lie. They don't have to lie. They've got nothing to prove.

That's what that argument is all about. Now, there may be more arguments like I said but these are the main ones which call on the same premise to establish their case. And the premise they call on is this: Presidential privilege. Presidential privilege. In other words, Mr.

Clinton has certain privileges which should absolve him in this situation because after all, why he's the president. So, if it's true that he did do this, we should excuse it or accept it because, well, he's the president. Big men do things like that. So what? And if you're not sure if he did it or not, then we should just ignore it or blame somebody else because he's the president.

You don't blame him for doing stuff like this. Now the one thing that this story cries out for, you know what it is? The truth! Oh, to have the truth. Oh, to get to the bottom of it, just to know the truth.

Oh, I can deal with the truth. My mother used to say, I can deal with the truth. It's the rest of the stuff I can't handle. We may never get to the truth. I don't want to burst your bubble here, but we may never get to the bottom of this one.

This smells like the OJ deal, You know? But I'll tell you something. You can be sure that God sees and God hears and God will judge all parties involved in this situation. Paul says in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 10, For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body. Listen to that.

So that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, either good or bad. Pretty clear, isn't it? Pretty direct, Pretty hard to miss that one. You can't twist that one out of shape. As I said, we don't know if these allegations are true or not.

And what we have to do is just let the lawyers and let the government work out these things. Not our job. However, this situation does allow us to examine 3 issues that have been brought out by these recent events involving the president and this young woman and the allegations surrounding their relationship. These are not governmental issues or impeachment issues, these are biblical issues. Biblical issues that have been surfaced by these, various allegations.

The first biblical issue that we can look at because of this is the sin of adultery. I mean, this is what it's all about folks. It's about adultery. Although movie stars and commentators are easily dismissing the sexual activity, and I've clocked it, I've looked at different programs and every single movie star that they have interviewed, every one of them, to the last man and woman have dismissed it. Well, it's his sex life, nobody's business, he does what he wants to do.

That's what they say. Or they say, It's not important. Or they say, you know, powerful people do this sort of thing all the time. That's what they say. Listen to what Jesus says about the same situation, about the sexual sin of adultery.

Now, you know what sexual sin of adultery is? It is sex with anyone other than your spouse. Any kind of sex. Any kind of sexual activity with anyone other than your spouse. In Matthew 5:27, Jesus says, You've heard that it was said, you shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you. For it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you. For it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to go into hell. Now, in this passage, Jesus says several things about adultery.

First of all, He says that adultery is absolutely forbidden. And he refers back to God's original command against it and he reminds them that God forbids adultery. There is no room for even a little bit of cheating. Not even a little bit. There's no room for casual sex.

There's no room for one time encounters. God absolutely prohibits any sexual contact outside of marriage. You know, this morning I talked about gambling and I said, you know, it would be easy if we could open the bible and just find thou shalt not gamble. We have to kind of look at other ways to demonstrate what the bible says about that. That's not so for adultery.

Adultery is very clear. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Never, no time, one time, anytime, never commit adultery. Jesus repeats that here in Matthew. He also says this about adultery.

He says, Adultery begins in the heart. You see, if you don't look, you won't touch. And if you don't touch, you won't fall. That's as simple as that. The most common stimulator, especially for men, is the eyes.

And from the eyes comes the passion of the heart. And Jesus says that what your eyes see stirs up your heart to desire it for your own gratification. You see and you say, I want the pleasure that comes from that. Jesus says, if your eyes lead you to desire selfish or sinful pleasure, don't even look. Make up your mind ahead of time that you're not even going to look.

You see, sexual sin begins with the eyes. It's conceived in the heart and it leads to disobedience. So, guide your eyes first and foremost. Don't even look. Cultivate the habit of turning away.

Don't linger. You know, you go into the video store, you're looking for a movie to see and it says adult films over here. Don't go there. Don't say, well I'm not going to rent anything, I just want to look. Don't do that.

Don't do that. You're flipping through the channels at night and you see a scene where the girl says, come back to my room. And she starts taking off her clothes and you say to yourself, Well, I believe I'll just linger here another 3 or 4 minutes and see if this is really gonna happen. Don't do that. Don't look.

If you don't look, you won't touch. And if you don't touch, you won't fall. And if you don't fall, you'll remain standing. And if you remain standing, you'll remain right with God. If you remain right with God, you'll be at peace.

And if you're at peace, you'll be happy. And if you're happy, you'll serve. And if you serve, you'll be filled with joy. Don't even look, Jesus says. And then he also says, adultery leads to hell.

You know, people may think it's nothing, but God considers it a very serious thing. Now, you know, he says the right hand and the right eye. The significance of that is most people are right handed. Most people, you know, you you get a one eye telescope. You ever stick it up to your left eye?

Nah. Most people stick it up to their right eye. So that's the point, you know. He says, the right hand, the right eye, the most often used thing. It's the thing we lead with.

We shake hands. We go forward with our right hand. We want to reach out and grab something. What do we do? We do it with our right hand.

Jesus says it's better to pull back to deny the right hand, to deny the right eye, to deny it completely, even to the point of cutting it off and tearing it out, If it means that it'll lead you into hell, better you show up in hell with a few body parts excuse me, better you show up in heaven with a few body parts less than end up in hell with a complete body. If we know that what we look at will end up in causing us to fall, then we should shut our eyes, draw our hand back, and not even take the first step. So this whole issue that we've been reading about surfaces the idea of the sexual sin of adultery. And the Bible says, just in case we've forgotten, that adultery is completely and absolutely wrong and those guilty of it will suffer eternally in hell. That's a very serious thing and you won't hear anybody saying that on the evening news.

The second issue that it brings up is the impartiality of God. The impartiality of God. You know, being in high office and being famous and being popular does not count with God. Doesn't count. He is not a respecter of persons great or small.

Paul says or Peter rather in 1 Peter 1, verse 17 says, 1 speaking of God, he says, He is 1 who impartially judges according to each one's work. And Paul says in Galatians 2:6 that God shows no partiality. In other words, when it comes to God and when it comes to judgment, it doesn't matter who you are. What matters is what you do. Do you ever think that the queen of England is going to be judged by Jesus Christ?

And the 2 movie stars in that famous movie, the Titanic, that everybody is they're going to be judged by Jesus Christ. You're going to be judged by Jesus Christ. President Clinton is going to be judged by Jesus Christ. And Fidel Castro is gonna be judged by Jesus Christ. He is no respecter of persons.

And all of us will be judged based on whether or not we have obeyed God's word. We're not gonna be judged based on what position we achieved or what other people said about us. That's not the basis of our judgment. Jesus said, The word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day. John chapter 12 verse 48.

In this world, if you have money and influence, you can buy justice. That's unfortunate, but it's true, isn't it? You can buy your way out of stuff if you're big enough, if you're rich enough. With God, however, everyone is judged exactly in the same way. And everyone will receive exactly the same treatment according to God's eternal word.

God is not partial to your position. And then the third issue that this business brings up is a leader's responsibility. The responsibility of leaders. You know, one of the battles that emerges at these times is the debate over what we should expect from our leaders. Some say that so long as the president does his job politically, his private life and actions do not concern us.

Have you heard that? And then, on the other end, there are some people that expect the leaders of our nation to be perfect almost, never make any mistakes. At this point, of course, it doesn't matter what I personally want in a leader, that's just one more opinion added to the others already expressed. Now, what's important is what does God want in this nation's leaders? Because the president may be elected by the people but he is appointed and judged by God for his conduct.

That's how that works. Romans 13, verse 1, Paul says, For there is no authority except from God And these which exist are established by God. Whether they're good or bad, leaders are permitted to lead because God permits it. Now, Solomon, who knew something about leadership, who knew something about being the leader of a nation, wrote about the main duties of the king or the leader or the president in the book of Proverbs. And he wrote a lot of different things, but I pulled out a couple of things to share with you.

He said, first of all, that leaders should exercise wisdom. Proverbs 25:2 says, It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter. God wants leaders to have vision, to have wisdom, to have the patience, to seek out understanding in order to lead prudently. God wants leaders to be wise so that they can lead the nation in wisdom. Solomon also says that God wants leaders to keep themselves free from evil.

Chapter 25, verse 5, he says, Take away the wicked before the king and his throne will be established in righteousness. I ask you a question. If a man would lie and cheat on his wife, could he not lie and cheat on the people? I ask you, if a man cannot control his sinful sexual urges, should that man be responsible for deciding if we go to war or not? I ask you, don't you think that leaders should surround themselves with those who seek the truth and not to cover the truth?

Should a leader not surround himself with people who tell the truth and who do right in order to protect his own conduct? Solomon also said that God expects leaders to uphold the law. In chapter 29, verse 4, he says, the king gives stability to the land by justice, but a man who takes bribes overthrows it. You see, presidents are to uphold and protect the constitution. We know that.

And they are also to uphold all the other laws of the land that stem from it. I ask you, if a man is unfaithful in small matters of the law, you know, dishonesty and civil things, can that man be trusted in the more important matters of the law? Solomon also said that the leaders are responsible to help the poor. He says in verse 14, If a king judges the poor with truth, his throne will be established forever. We know that the role of government is to guarantee justice and protection for its citizens.

The best indicator of a government's quality is its treatment of its weakest citizens. God blesses leaders who treat the weak and poor with respect, with dignity, with mercy. Is it right that one so powerful should take advantage of one so weak? If that is the case. Leading a nation in a godly way is a great challenge and a great burden at the same time.

You know, a person with influence and political skills can become the president of the United States. We've seen that happen over and over again, haven't we? But only a person of faith, only a person of integrity and wisdom and courage and sincerity can become a great president, can become a godly president. You know, one talk show host I don't usually quote talk show hosts. But one talk show host said, don't the American people deserve better than this?

And when he said that as a joke, to his surprise, the audience applauded enthusiastically. They almost gave him a standing ovation. Of course, their response was saying, Yes, we want better than this. You see, what the audience doesn't understand is that a nation will ultimately get the leader that it deserves. Mr.

Clinton is the embodiment of the nation that he leads. He reflects the values and the conduct that is prevalent in the majority of the people that he represents. I'll tell you this, if Americans want a godly leader, then they have to become a godly people again themselves. That's what needs to happen in this nation. Whether Mr.

Clinton is found guilty of any improper conduct or not is no longer the issue here. The very fact that these things have even been suggested has given the people a yearning for something better, something truer, something purer in their leaders. Let us hope that because of these feelings, let us hope that the message and the names of those men and women who serve as political leaders and who do so without being afraid of confessing Jesus Christ and living in such a way that honors him. Let's hope that these kind of people will be selected to lead in every area of government. If we want godly leaders, we've got to vote for godly leaders.

We've got to put godly leaders in office. We've got to encourage, we've got to support, and we've got to finance godly leaders. Wishful thinking and whining and complaining is not going to do it. Let us also hope that as we pray, and as we cry out to the Lord for help, that He will raise up something better. That He will raise up someone we can look up to with respect.

Someone who will honor the Lord and provide not just leadership for this country, but godly leadership for this country. If we want God to truly bless America, and it's so easy for these politicians to end their speeches by saying, God bless America. I wish one time they would say, God bless America with godly leaders. What a refreshing statement that would be. If we want God to truly bless America, let's pray that as we enter into the next millennium, he will bless America with a greater number of believers who follow a leader dedicated to serving the people in the name of the Lord.

For now, at this time, let's begin that process by rededicating ourselves as citizens to godly living, to obedience to the gospel. Ask yourself, maybe the child sitting beside you will be called upon by the Lord to lead this great nation one day. And because of your life and because of your teaching, you will have put that child on the road to being the one that God has chosen to lead America in a godly way. If you need to begin that process tonight, either by being baptized, confessing the wonderful name of Jesus, or being restored to his faithful service, we encourage you to come forward now as we stand and as we sing our song of invitation.