While looking at my Facebook news feed, I was
confronted with a post from a godly man and beloved brother in the Lord that
asked the question “What will you be Tomorrow, a Christian, a coward or
complicit?” In light of this level of
panic in the Church, I offer the following suggestions of how to be a Christian
on Election Day no matter how or if you vote.
1. Remember
you’re citizenship is in heaven.
As a Christian, the fact that you are a citizen of the United States is
entirely incidental to your true citizenship.
Your true allegiance is to the Kingdom of God, and although we would
wish for a return of prosperity and security to the United States (and to the
world for that matter) in the grand scheme of things it matters very little. Our lives are but a vapor and men spring up
and pass away like wildflowers in the desert. No matter what happens in the election tomorrow
keep your focus on matters of eternal consequence, and rest in the knowledge
that God is sovereign and has declared the end from the beginning.
2. Remember
that no matter how the election goes, as a Christian, you are
to submit to the government because it has been established and chosen by God and those who resist the authorities will incur judgment. And it is worth remembering that when Paul
wrote that, Nero was the Roman Emperor.
If resisting Nero’s government was cause for judgment don’t kid yourself
about it being alright to rebel, even in small ways against our current
government. (And contrary to popular belief in some circles, no taxation without representation is not a biblical principle.)
3. What’s
more as a Christian you are to give respect and honor to whom it is due. It is not all right, as a Christian,
to walk around constantly complaining about and ridiculing those in
authority. While we are right to discuss
the policies of the government, and it is good to be vocal in our opposition to
bad policies, it is never permissible to launch vitriolic personal attacks
against those in authority. If you use
the phrase “obamanation” you are not being clever you are sinning.
If you want to learn how to properly
honor even a corrupt government official look to Paul’s interactions with the
Roman governor Felix recorded in Acts 24 as an example.
4. Your
chief civic responsibility as a Christian American is to pray for your leaders. We are to pray for rulers so
that we can lead quiet peaceful godly lives without undue interference from the
government. (And before you begin to protest that the government interferes with
your ability to live a peaceable and godly life remember that Paul wrote this
in between Roman imprisonments.)
Pray also for the salvation of our
current and next president, whoever that may be. Neither man running for president is a
Christian. Mitt Romney is an avowed
Mormon and regardless of what Billy Graham might think now, mormons are not
Christians. And despite Barack Obama’s
protestations an examination of his life leaves little doubt that he is an
unbeliever as well. He spent many years
in a “church” where racial hatred was substituted for the Gospel and is quick
to embrace immorality, whether the murder of unborn children, sexual licentiousness
of every conceivable variety, or a
radical redefinition of marriage, as a political issue. The only hope for either of these men
ultimately is for them to repent of their sins, place their faith in Christ for
salvation, and submit to the Lordship of Christ. (And that is frankly the best
hope for the country too. Probably the
only way we will ever have an actual Christian president is if God saves one
already in office.)
5. Remember
you are not voting for a pastor in chief.
Click here for a blogroll of perspectives on voting for a non-Christian
for president. And whle I think you
should vote, you are within your Christian liberty not to, if that is how your
conscience convicts you. And if you areconvicted not to vote, remember violating your conscience in gray areas is always a sin as is convincing your brothers and sisters in Christ to violate their consciences.
6. That
doesn’t mean that a biblical world view shouldn’t inform your vote. Click here and here for the only two sermons
that touch on politics that I have ever recommended.
7. Pray
for the healing of the nation. No matter
what the outcome of Tuesday’s election Wednesday will dawn on a deeply divided
country with out of control debt and dangerously high unemployment. The only hope for the country is the
sovereign action and mercy of God. Ask
Him for it.
8. Understand
that things on earth are going to get a lot worse before they get any
better. There will be wars, rumors ofwars, famines and earthquakes before we even get to the tribulation
period and the antichrist comes.
All of these things must take place before Christ returns in triumph to right all wrongs and to rule from the throne of David. No matter how the election goes things are
going to deteriorate on earth, but when Jesus comes again all of the hardships
and sufferings will be forgotten in an instant.
Look forward to that, not regime change or continuity.
No matter what happens tomorrow,
on Wednesday, we will still be surrounded by billions of people who desperately
need the Gospel, and we must never forget that, and no matter who wins this
election, we have to keep our nose to the grindstone and our gaze fixed on the
cross as we focus on building the kingdom of God through the spread of the
Gospel. And no matter what happens when
the votes are tallied, rejoice, because our King doesn’t need anyone’s vote,
and He will be here soon.
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