Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 10
The speaker repeats Joshua’s encounter—“Are you for us or for our adversaries?”—and the answer “Nay,” applying it to “Who would Jesus vote for?”; how does that “Nay” confront the modern evangelical habit of equating faithfulness with taking a partisan side, and what concrete practices would help a congregation live as “what is to become” instead?
Another way to ask: Joshua asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” and the answer was “No,” and he used that to answer “Who would Jesus vote for?” How does that challenge the idea that faithfulness means picking a party, and what specific things could a church do to live as “what is to become” instead?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
The “Nay” rebukes the assumption that God naturally lines up with “our side,” confronting the habit of measuring faithfulness by partisan alignment. The speaker urges congregations to live as an “embassy of heaven”—showing now what the world will one day be under King Jesus—through repentance from political leaven and renewed kingdom-focused community life.
- He applies Joshua 5:13 directly to modern politics: asking “Who would Jesus vote for?” parallels “Are you for us or for our adversaries?”
- The angel’s answer is “Nay… as captain of the host of the Lord,” which he uses to call God’s people beyond partisan categories.
- He critiques the forced-choice mindset: Claiborne/Snyder say vote Biden; MacArthur says vote Trump; he highlights the “lesser evil” logic and quotes, “Of two evils, choose neither.”
- He defines the church’s positive practice: “be… embassies… represent… what the whole world should look like if it would follow King Jesus.”
- He gives a congregational diagnostic: politics appears in “sermons… people’s houses… Facebook,” and he calls for repentance because it can “make you lose your lampstand.”
- He summarizes the alternative identity: “We should be what is to become,” praying “Thy kingdom come… on earth as it is in heaven.”