6 Simple Rules for Christians in an Election Season

          "Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and
          morality are indispensable supports."



That was said, I'm told, by George Washington. It seems as though in America, we're always either preparing for a future election, or complaining about a past election. But the plain truth of it is that we have been blessed by God with the ability to make decisions regarding our government because of the actions of those who have gone before us.

I've noticed recently, however, that there is a good deal of discussion among conservative Christians as to how we ought to vote or what issues should command our attention. As a lay bible teacher, I thought I'd give my thoughts from a biblical and realistic viewpoint. Without any further delay, I'd like to present

6 Simple Rules for Christians in an Election Season.

          1. Your vote is your choice, and ultimately, you must vote your conscience.


I want to get this out of the way right off the bat. I can't tell you what to do. I could spend hours explaining to you why my view is the best view, but at the end of the day, who you vote or do not for for is between you and God, and you will have to live with that decision. You can't blame someone else that misled you. The Bible is clear: Everyone is responsible for their own decisions when all is said and done. Having said that, let me lay out over the next couple of points my take on what the Bible suggests.

Basically, you have 3 options in the election.

          1. Don't Vote

          2. Vote Non-mainstream Candidate

          3. Vote Romney or Obama


Let me take those one at a time.


          2. You should vote.


Let me just say first that I understand being disillusioned with the candidates that the mainline political organizations have given us. I don't like Obama. I'm not crazy about Romney. And of the other 4 names on my ballot, I have little knowledge or interest in voting for any of them.

So why would I argue that you ought to vote? First, sins of omission are just as wrong as sins of commisions. By that, I mean that God will hold you just as responsible for those things you ought to have done and didn't, as for the things you did do that you should not have. There is no such thing as fence-sitting in order to emerge pure and spotless. While, in theory, that decision could be the best one, it is not simply a opt-out to avoid condemnation. It is simply one of the three choices.

While Christians are, most importantly, citizens of Heaven (Philippians 3:20* - which citizenship trumps any earthly allegiances we might have), yet we are also, in an earthly sense, citizens of the United States of America (I assume I have no international readers). Because of our heavenly citizenship, one could argue that we ought to stay out of political affairs. This attitude, to me, seems equivalent to that of the third servant in the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30.


          "14 “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and
          entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he gave five talents, to another two,
          to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away...

          18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid
          his master's money. 19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came
          and settled accounts with them...

          24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I
          knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where
          you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the
          ground. Here you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master answered him, ‘You
          wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and 
          gather where I scattered no seed? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money
          with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own
          with interest. 28 So take the talent from him...

          30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will
          be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’" (Matthew 25:14-15,18-19,24-28,30, ESV).


God has given us the ability in this country to make a difference in the direction our country goes. Not voting says in essence, neither of the candidates who can win meet my minimum voting standard, so I will not vote for them. No other candidate will win, therefore I will withhold my vote until someone comes who can win and meets my standard of excellence.

Any vote is a vote for the best bad option. In a sinful world, there is no good option. You vote to prevent the worst candidate from taking office, if possible. Failing to make an effort to prevent the greatest evil is no virtue.

I've heard several times the question, what if Hitler was running against Obama, or some version of that. When that happens, I'll tell you then. It isn't happening this year.

When we vote, what criteria are the most important? Glad you asked.


          3. Vote for the issues that matter to God.


I'm interjecting this in the middle of our three options for a particular reason. Whether or not to vote, in my mind, is the first issue to settle. Once we've settled that, we need to decide who to vote for. But that issue cannot be resolved until we know what issues matter.


          i. How the candidate views abortion

          ii. How the candidate views marriage


There are certainly other things that do matter biblically, but in order to curb this post from reaching book length, we're going to limit it to the two most important points.


          i. Abortion v. Life


While I suspect any Christians would agree on the first, let me briefly share two passages.


          "13 For you formed my inward parts;
          you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
          14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
          Wonderful are your works;
          my soul knows it very well." (Psalm 139:13-14, ESV).

And,

          "22 “When men strive together and hit a pregnant woman, so that her children
          come out, but there is no harm, the one who hit her shall surely be fined, as the
          woman's husband shall impose on him, and he shall pay as the judges determine.
          23 But if there is harm,then you shall pay life for life, 24 eye for eye, tooth for
          tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for 
          stripe." (Exodus 21:22-25, ESV).


Life begins at conception, and God ruled in the Old Testament that there was to be an equal penalty for the hurt caused to either the mother or her child in the womb imposed on the one who had caused the hurt. For any wondering, the respected Old Testament commentators Keil and Delitzsch, agree that the hurt done refers both to the mother and the child.


          ii. What is Marriage?


This is more an issue of concern, because far too many believers are beginning to side with the homosexual movement on this issue. This, we must steadfastly refuse to do. Not because we hate homosexuals, on the contrary, because we do not want to condone their sin and become complicit to it by our acceptance of it.

We sometimes are told that Jesus was tolerant of sinners and would have no problem with homosexuals. Apparently these people missed Mark 10, in their sweeping generalization of Jesus' teaching.

          "6 But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’
          7 ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife,
          8 and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh.
         9 What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” (Mark
         10:6-9, ESV).


Let's be clear: This is not the 'standard' type of marriage, something that allows for the possibility of homosexual relationships that are honored by God. This is a definition of what marriage is. Simply because he does not mention homosexual relationships does not mean he accepted them. But to close the door on it once and for all,


          "22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is
          the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is
          himself its Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should
          submit in everything to their husbands.

          25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up
          for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of
          water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in
          splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and
          without blemish. 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their
          own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his
          own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30
          because we are members of his body. 31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father
          and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32
          This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.
          33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that
          she respects her husband." (Ephesians 5:22-33, ESV).


Pay special attention to verses 31 and 32. Paul quotes the same statement Jesus used from Genesis 2:24 and states that marriage is an earthly picture of the spiritual relationship between Jesus Christ and the universal church. This is why there is no marriage in heaven (Matthew 22:30). A male-female relationship pictures that truth. Same -sex relationships are a perversion of that truth, just as idolotry is a perversion of the right worship we give to God.

These two issues are the most central biblical truths at stake in this election. God abandons countries that turn from him and embrace immorality.


          4. *Don't* vote for a non-mainstream candidate


Let me be brief on this. When you are making a decision on who to vote for, you have to decide what issues rank highest on your voting criteria. High on mine is the ability to get elected. A candidate can make all the promises that they want of how much good they will accomplish, but the sad reality is that candidates who do not get elected do not fulfill any of those promises.

But to those who suggest that voting for an idealistic non-mainstream candidate is preferrable to voting a heavily flawed mainstream candidate, let me just say this: All third party candidates are either fools or liars. I'll elaborate on that:


          a. If they believe they can be elected, they are fools


In the primaries, most Republicans hadn't even heard of half the people running for the Republican nomination. The simple fact is that most people do not follow politics closely. Unless a candidate gets a lot of national attention, they simply will not be elected. It is one thing to try to get the name of an unknown out there early on in the process. By the time election day rolls around, however, if nobody is talking about your candidate, no one will be voting for them. Idealism is great to talk about, but it doesn't actually accomplish anything.


          b. If they know they are unelectable and yet still tell their supporters that they
          can win, they are lying


While lying is nothing new in politics, foolishness is hardly an attractive trait. Being unelectable seals the deal. They will not accomplish anything because they will not be elected.

If you really want to make a difference in the issues that God values, (1) You will vote, and (2) You will not vote third-party.


          5. Vote for the best bad option.


So we're left with Barack Obama, the incumbent, and Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts.


          Barack Obama

                    - Supports abortion

                    - Supports partial birth abortion

                    - Opposed the 'born alive infant protection act'


On that last one: The 'Born alive infant protection act': "defined legal personhood to include born alive infants any time the words “person,” “human being,” “child,” or “individual” was stated in IL law."

You can read up on this, if you'd like, but as I understand it: When abortions fail, and the child is born alive, the bill defines how the child is to be treated upon birth. By defining it as a person at birth, it required that the child be treated a particular way. He opposed it because he feared it would turn the whole abortion issue on it's head. But if this bill was not passed, it would essentially handcuff hospital staff from doing anything to care for the child. This is abominable.

http://www.ilga.gov/senate/transcripts/strans92/ST033001.pdf

You can find a transcript at that link regarding the discussion of the bill. It is about 85% of the way down.

The president also,

                    - Recently expressed support for so-called gay marriage

                    - Has appointed two Supreme Court justices that hold his basic views on the
                    two issues.


In another term, if given the opportunity, he would almost certainly appoint other justices (depending on whether the occasion of an opening in the Supreme Court takes place) that share his views on these issues. Control of the Supreme Court is extremely important regarding both issues.

I know there is much more that could be said, but I don't want to belabor the point.


          Mitt Romney

                    - Believes life begins at conception opposes abortion, except in a few
                    exceptions


I disagree with having any exceptions. If it is a life, ending it is murder. I oppose murder. However, his position is preferable to Obama's, even if Governor Romney's views on the subject have wobbled a bit over the years. At the end of the day, he is better, by some degree - how much is debatable.


                    - Opposes marriage for homosexuals, but allows civil unions


Earlier in his career, Mitt Romney was far more open to so-called gay rights. However, I've yet to see a quote from him at any time supporting marriage legislation for homosexuals. In any case, he has spoken in favor of traditional marriage when running for President.


                    - He has pledged to appoint justices to the Supreme Court that are
                    pro-life and pro-traditional marriage


While I'm not a fanatic for Romney, he has at least voiced support to the important issues. At worst, he will be an improvement over Obama. And he has a strong chance of being elected.


          6. Remember that God is Sovereign


Finally, God is in control of everything.


          "2 The kings of the earth set themselves,
          and the rulers take counsel together,
          against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying,
          3 “Let us burst their bonds apart
          and cast away their cords from us.”
          4 He who sits in the heavens laughs;
          the Lord holds them in derision."" (Psalm 2:2-4, ESV).

And,

          "The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord;
          he turns it wherever he will." (Proverbs 21:1, ESV).

The country is ultimately in God's hands. The direction of the country moves with the hearts of its people. Our culture is steadily becoming more and more tolerant, and even approving, of sin. While voting for better candidates may slow the process, change in morality doesn't happen in an election. Only God can change hearts. We must serve him as best we can, and leave the results up to him.

In one sense, American culture turning away from God has occurred because of a gradual failure of the church to fulfill the Great Commission and make disciples and teach them Christ's commands (Matthew 28:19-20).

I won't apologize for the failures of christians in the past - It is popular to do such things these days because it purports to show depth of maturity in taking responsibility, but fails to make any difference. It is a meaningless ceremony. What I will do is exhort you to consider carefully what I've written. But at the end of the day, the choice is yours. We are both responsible to God for our choices.

"22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who

looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and

goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into

the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets

but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing."

(James 1:22-25, ESV).

*Charles Spurgeon delivered a wonderful sermon on Philippians 3:20 which all believers would benefit from taking the time to read. It can be read online here: http://www.spurgeongems.org/vols7-9/chs476.pdf