Dan. 4:35, “And all the inhabitants of the earth
are accounted as nothing, but He does according to His will in the host of
heaven and among the inhabitants of earth; and no one can ward off His hand
Or say to Him, ‘What hast Thou done?’"
Psalm 33:10, “The Lord nullifies the counsel of
the nations; He frustrates the plans of the peoples.
Lam. 3:37-38, "Who is there who speaks and
it comes to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it? Is it not from the
mouth of the Most High that both good and ill go forth?"
Psalm 115:3, "But our God is in the heavens; He
does whatever He pleases."
Psalm 135:6, "Whatever the Lord pleases, He
does, in heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps."
As for who has power to influence executive
decisions. Prov. 21:1, “The king’s heart
is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord. He turns it wherever He
wishes.”
And for who has arranged the outcome of
elections. Prov. 16:33, “The lot is cast
into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.”
Far from God asking us our opinion or needing our
help He is uniquely solitary and supreme in all His acts and decisions. So the key question, the most important
question about voting is this. Since God
is Sovereign why do we or should we even participate in the election process? Here are some biblical reasons why we must be
involved.
We should understand initially that voting has a
higher purpose than simply trying to get our candidate elected. Based on God’s sovereignty winning is a
rather shallow reason for voting. Yes, God
does somehow use us to effect His will.
Just as He uses us to share His Word and the Gospel, He uses us to
achieve His other purposes. That is
remarkable in view of who we are. But we
just read verses that explain how unfailing are His plans. So why do we vote?
1. Voting
is one way we demonstrate love for our neighbors. The second greatest commandment is to love
our neighbor. What a tremendous
opportunity we have to demonstrate that we love those around us. We do that when we vote for candidates who
will protect our God-given rights, defend the God-directed Constitution,
personally help the poor and needy, promote individual liberty. We don’t love our neighbor when we participate
in harming them economically through unjust taxes, when we support the
destruction of God-designed marriage and family, when we encourage the
weakening of educational standards and the infringement of religious liberty
and the right of free speech. We love
our neighbor when we vote for candidates who cherish all the unborn. Contrarily, when we vote for a candidate who
is willing to let our neighbor’s unborn child be murdered in the womb for any
reason we cannot say we love our neighbor.
2. Voting
is a testimony of our biblical convictions.
If we believe that God has established the basis for morality than we
must vote for the candidates who most closely support biblical morality. Here is very brief sample of biblical
morality. The Bible demands that men who
are physically able to work must not eat if they do not work. 2 Thessalonians 3:10 “For even when we were with you, we would
give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.” The
Bible demands justice in the court. Proverbs
17:15 “The one who acquits the guilty
and the one who condemns the innocent both of them are an abomination to the
LORD.” The Bible condemns
homosexuality. Romans 1:26-27. Although
Jesus never condemned war the direction of the New Testament seems clearly
against unjust wars. We must vote for
candidates who are heading in the same direction as we are in our convictions. When we vote we are voicing our support for all
of a candidate’s policies, whether or we want to or not. As far as the candidate is concerned we agree
with anything and everything that he or she wants to pursue. There are no perfect candidates but we must
be very careful to side with those who espouse our biblical convictions in
areas of liberty and morality.
3. Voting
demonstrates our obedience to government and care for the nation in which we
live. Romans 13 declares that God has
ordained all government. In the case of
the United States that government is in the form of a written Constitution ratified
by ‘we the people.’ So when we take
Romans 13 to heart and subject ourselves to the governing authorities, and all
that follows that command, it is not to some elected or appointed official that
we submit ourselves but to laws that are Constitutionally approved. Our God-ordained government is a
constitutional republic. We demonstrate
our fealty to that government and our submission to the God who planned it by
voting for candidates who mean to keep their oath to defend and protect the
Constitution. Next to Bible the
Constitution is the most important political document you need to know.
The candidate who most closely aligns with these
points in my view is Constitution Party candidate Virgil Goode.
Finally let me leave you with a familiar proverb
that may be overlooked when it comes to voting, but should not be. Proverbs
3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own
understanding. In all your ways
acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” Don’t trust in man, no matter how popular his
talk show or ‘conservative’ his network.
Remember that most politicians have one goal- to win the election- and
they speak with that in mind. When you
acknowledge the Lord you are intentionally recognizing His authority and
purposes, not just identifying His presence.
When you are trusting Him you are obediently giving up your demands and
fears to let Him have His way in your life.
I appreciate your questions and comments. Please leave them here on this blog.
