Faith And Voting
Christians Being Salt and Light
Matt. 5:13-16; “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
Ezekiel 45:9 "Thus says the Lord God...Put away violence and oppression and do what is right and just."
Our calling as Christians is to “earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). In this text the word “contend” means to strive, fight, or struggle to preserve, defend, and advance the “faith”, i.e., the fixed body of truth and doctrine, that is given to us in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments.
This duty to earnestly strive for the truth of Scripture is the call from God upon all true Christians at all times and in all circumstances. Christians must stand for the truth and openly seek to advance the cause of Christ in private and in public, in the church and in the state, in their family and in their community. Christian political endeavor needs to be understood in the context of contending for the faith. The doctrines and principles of Scripture that directly relate to the social and political sphere must be discerned and applied.
To strive for the triumph of a particular political party or for a specific political philosophy should not be confused with contending for the faith; unless, of course, that party or philosophy is explicitly biblical in its orientation. For example, many Christians have been deceived into thinking that working for a political party and standing for conservatism is to advance the cause of Christ. Yet it is not contending for the faith when no political party openly claims allegiance to Jesus Christ or His Word, but are in fact often hostile to true biblical faith. This is not to say that a Christian cannot be a member of a political party. It is simply to say that their first priority is not to support a party or its platform or candidates, but their prime task is to stand for Christ and the Word of God.
What are the fundamental doctrines that a Christian must fight for in the political realm? I would like to suggest that the basic doctrines that apply to politics are two in number: first, the Lordship of Jesus Christ over the nations Ps. 2:6-12; 47:7-8; 110:1-2; Dan. 7:13-14; Matt. 28:18; Acts 2:32-36; Phil. 2:9-11; Rev. 1:5; 17:14; 19:16); and second, the binding authority of biblical law upon the nations (all the above Scriptures plus, Deut. 4:6-8; Rom. 13:3-4; Prov. 14:34; 28:4). These biblical truths require each nation to openly submit to the Lordship of Christ and to take His law as the basis for all their civil laws.
Therefore, to “earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered to the saints” in the political sphere means that we must earnestly contend for the “crown rights” of Jesus Christ and the absolute authority of the law of God! Any political action that is not based on these doctrines and does not strive to see Christ honored and His law upheld is not Christian politics; it is simply politics as usual, i.e., politics that continues to promote the status quo and human autonomy. It is important to mention here that I am not suggesting that we are or try to work toward a Theocracy. The fact is, we are a Democratic Constitutional Republic and as such we are responsible to carryout our duties as Christian Citizens. If you are interested in some good reading on the subject, go to http://www.teinetwork.com/ which is the web site for Rev. John Rankin’s ministry, The Theological Education Institute. He has posted an article entitled “What is the Nature of the Consent of the Governed?”
How then do many “Christian” politicians and political action groups measure up? Are they contending for the faith as they ought? Are they advocating Christ’s Lordship and law? The point is this: Christians are required by God to earnestly contend for the faith in the political sphere; to do this they must stand for the Lordship of Christ and the binding authority of God’s law; if they do not so stand, then it is not Christian political action. Yes, the Lord wants justice for all, and that is what the purpose of government should be and what our elected officials should pursue.
We soon will be called upon to vote again. There aren’t many sermons preached today regarding the Christian duty to vote. It is illegal for a pastor to tell people who and what to vote for. This creates a problem because in church we are to provide moral guidance for every phase and aspect of our lives. Yet in voting, it has to be “hands off.”
• How can it be hands off, when how we vote determines what type of society we have?
• How can it be hands off when how we vote determines whether the government achieves the purpose that God intends it to achieve, which is the common good, which means protecting human life and dignity?
Even though we won’t be telling people who to vote for, we can give some Biblical instruction that will hopefully inspire, instruct, and Biblically guide our people in doing what God would have them do.
Thomas Jefferson said it so well: "The care of human life, not its destruction, is the first and only legitimate objective of good government."
Faith doesn't take a hands-off approach toward elections. Rather, it compels us to vote, tells us what to vote for, and warns us of the consequences of not voting or voting for the wrong things. First, faith compels us to vote, for it is so important to the well being of so many people.
Consider these two examples: Through one individual's voluntary activity, such as helping with meals for the hungry, a person in his or her lifetime could perhaps provide several thousand meals to feed the hungry.
And, if the person and others elect the right people, then the government will fulfill its responsibility to daily help feed millions of persons in our society who are unable to obtain adequate food for themselves and their families.
In addition, government can provide an atmosphere where people can get jobs, come off the welfare roles and provide for their families. Through one individual's voluntary activity, like working in a pregnancy aide center, a person in his or her lifetime could help save hundreds of unborn babies' lives. And if that same person and others elect the right people, then the government would change the law, thereby saving more than a million lives a year. So voting is enormously important. Failure to vote when the common good is at stake is a serious sin of omission.
Second, faith tells us what to vote for: for a government, for laws, for candidates who will protect the life and dignity of each human being.
Sadly, today certain elected officials and candidates don't agree with this purpose of government; they think that a certain class of human beings should not be protected. (the unborn and the elderly) This is not unique to us or to our age.
You may know that among the ancient Athenians an infant was not considered a person until a special ceremony was performed five or ten days after birth. This allowed time for the parents to put the child to death if the child had any disability or if the parents felt they already had enough girls.
In Nazi Germany Jews were dehumanized and killed by the millions. Why? Because believers sat idly by, saying nothing and doing nothing. At the same time there were interesting political influences going on in the Lutheran denomination. They wanted to be politically correct and not be seen as “radical” so they went along with Hitler.
In our own country, Native Americans were often treated as sub-human. African Americans were enslaved. The industrial revolution brought economic or wage slavery, with children and adults working from daybreak till late in the evening being paid subhuman wages. And today, our unborn children are excluded from the law's protection. In every one of these cases the purpose of government was perverted.
Anyone who would exclude a class of human beings from the protection of the law perverts the law, turning it upside down, from protector to persecutor, and is guilty of a grave injustice.
Finally, faith warns us of the consequences of voting for the wrong things. We have free will. We can vote solely for what we perceive to be our own self-interest - - economic or otherwise - - and not for the common good. We can vote to protect some human beings but not others. But if we knowingly and intentionally do this, we are responsible for the laws that follow.
Historically, those who voted for candidates who supported the Nazis, who supported dehumanizing American Indians, who supported slavery, who supported child labor and treating workers as property - - those who so voted bore responsibility for the evils those officials permitted or perpetrated. And today, if we elect someone, knowing that the person will permit, for instance, partial-birth abortions to continue, then our vote is gravely sinful, for we are morally responsible for the deaths of each of these babies whose brains are sucked out.
Faith does tell us how to vote. It is not having the pastor go to the polling place on election day and hand out sample ballots. We each have the responsibility to inform ourselves, and others, about candidates' positions. Too many of us have voted, looked at the ballot and played something like “Eeny, Meeny, Miney, Moe.” We didn’t know how to vote on an issue, or who to vote for because we didn’t inform our self ahead of time!
The Christian Civic League of Maine has gone to a great deal of expense and effort to gather the information that is important to Christians to help us all become knowledgeable. [Link at the bottom of article]
So, pastors can’t tell their people how to vote or who to vote for but . . .
Faith does tell us....that we must vote:
• ....that we must vote for candidates who support the common good of protecting the human life and dignity of all human beings, and that
• …if we knowingly and intentionally help elect to office candidates who would pervert the law to hurt a group of human beings, or give special rights to a small group of people at the peril of others, then we are morally responsible for every life hurt and lost.
Few people realize that by simply not voting they can help elect to office candidates who would pervert the law.
CHRISTIAN APATHY a true story
I want to share a true story with you about a Christian man running for office. I believe it was for the state legislature. He had all the qualifications that a Christian would want in a candidate and his opponent stood for all the things that Christians know are against God’s will. Things like abortion, euthanasia, partial birth abortion, and special rights for homosexuals, etc.
After vigorous campaigning, he lost the election by just nine votes. Later he discovered that there were 250 in his home church, all of whom believed in his position on these and other important issues, WHO DID NOT BOTHER TO VOTE! ! !
I am painfully aware that this story is probably repeated throughout our land more times than we would care to admit.
Voter Guide
As we draw closer to election day, people can use the League Voter guide to inform themselves about all the candidates before they go into the voting booth. Some candidates did not respond to the 15 point questionnaire but if they are an incumbent running for re-election, their voting record will be compared with the questionnaire and a rating given. Just click on the League’s online voters guide here. Once you are there, click on “Search for candidates” at the bottom of the page. They are listed by town in alphabetical order so the inquirer can easily locate their candidate.
One of the things pastors and church leaders can do is go to the League voter guide and print out the voter guide information for the towns that their congregation represents.
Citizen Action Center
Another important ministry of the league is the Citizen Action Center. The "Action Alert" feature allows you to contact your State Senator and/or State Representative on important issues of concern to you. You can find it [HERE]
Can you help the League?
I have been asking individuals and churches to support the League. The League does the hard work of influencing lawmakers -- work that most people don’t have the stomach for. That work is extremely important. The State of Maine has seen the positive result of that Biblical witness. The League can’t do the job without adequate resources. Individuals can send regular offerings to the League and churches can support the League as a local mission with regular support.
Please feel free to contact me if your church is interested in getting more information about including the League in your missions budget. It would be extremely helpful at this time.
