Biblical Basis for Voting
Podcast Transcript (Listen to episode here)
Proverbs 29:2 NKJV
2 When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan.
The founding fathers quoted this principle more often than any other. And they also understood that no matter how good our documents or laws are, they are useless under wicked rule. In America, we decide whether the righteous or the wicked rule. We have that choice. But due to wrong theology or a passivity or maybe a general lack of desire for any of the candidates running, we’ve not taken voting as seriously as we should. And let me be clear—the most important elections are local and state because the order of authority according to our founding documents is we the people then state then the federal government. If your local and state governments are not righteous or corrupt, there is no defence against an overreaching government on all levels.
I heard one man say that while many conservatives have been voting Republican in federal elections, we’ve lost a nation. We’ve been distracted with just the federal elections thinking the president is the most important. Again, it’s local leaders, county leaders, school boards, state leaders, etc. that will determine the direction of this nation. It’s kind of like the idea of evangelizing a city but it remains unchanged. We must learn how to take mountains.
In recent presidential elections, 41 percent of born again Christians did not vote. If only 10 million of these had voted along with other Christians, it would determine the outcome not only of the presidential race but also the control of the US House and Senate. So why are Christians not voting?
Why Are Christians Not Voting?
I believe the dominant reason is not understanding its importance and the power we hold by voting. Some might say that our vote doesn’t count, that we are no longer (or never were) a Christian nation, that neither candidate is qualified or likable, or that we are not supposed to be infected with the leaven of Herod a.k.a. politics.
Let me address each:
I will concede that there have been numerous corrupt elections (probably from the start during our found fathers’ days), but proof that our vote does count was seen in Donald Trump’s election. No one—not the media or other politicians—believed Trump has a snowball’s chance in hell to win the election. It was a joke. He was a joke. But he won because many, many more went to the polls and voted for him than they expected; therefore, any nefarious activity fell short. A more recent example is in Virginia where a Republican beat out the democrat. In presidential elections, you might have 30% plus show up as poll watchers to make sure there’s no shady activity. Ninety-five percent at this election showed up prohibiting such activities. The same thing should have been done in New Jersey. Volume and poll watching are going to be crucial in every election this point forward.
There’s way too much evidence that we were a Christian nation than I can get into now. But let me give you some background.
READ SOME OUT OF “THE ROLE OF THE PASTORS & CHRISTIANS” & THE AMERICAN STORY.
Entire colonies were formed to preserve Christianity or expand it such as Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
And, don’t forget, the clergy that played a role in founding this nation and the war starting on a church’s lawn by a pastor with his congregation, which I detailed in Black Robe Regiment.
And listen to this quote from the U.S. Congress after a year long investigation into whether America was founded on Christian principles in 1854. READ PG 21-22.
Unfortunately, there’s a lot of teaching out there that erroneously teaches that our founding fathers were Masons and designed this nation based on that demonic group but that’s not true.
Go into some of that from the book.
I’m going to dive into the idea of the likability of candidates later in this teaching, but nowhere in our documents or laws or the Bible is a leader to be picked because they are likable or SEEM qualified. We are to use discernment and righteousness, which I’ll define in a moment.
And, finally, Jesus defined what the leaven of Herod was—political hypocrisy. God does not like hypocrisy or being fake and play acting that you’re one thing while actually being someone else. This was never to be a statement not to be in politics. Moses, Joseph, Daniel, David were all in politics. In fact, the founding fathers took Romans 13:4 that refers to governing authorities as ministers literal and many ministers were also in government. What better place for us as governmental people than in government?
“To have been given the power to determine the quality of our government and its leaders, and then not to use that power, is reminiscent of the servant who received a trust from the Master and decided not to do anything with it—not to get involved.” (David Barton).
What Makes One Righteous?
Righteousness in the Greek is “dikaiosune” and means justice. It is the essence of “to dikaion,” that which is just. It’s the “act of doing what God requires.” Listen to this:
The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament 1343. δικαιοσύνη dikaiosúnē
and in the case of the nonbeliever, the claims of that higher authority which a person adopts as his own standard. Dikaiosúnē, righteousness, is thus conformity to the claims of higher authority and stands in opposition to anomía (458), lawlessness.
For the person who does not know God, righteousness is the idea that there is a higher authority and as such adopts that as his own standard in government. You see this with the least of religious leaders like Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. But listen to what these had to say and what they also did.
READ PG 23-24 (THE CHRISTIANS ROLE IN GOVERNMENT)
I’m sure you can see why the enemy has worked overtime through vain philosophies and feckless leaders both in the church and government to remove all traces of God from the government, schools, court system, etc. If man doesn’t at least acknowledge God and have some type of respect for Him and His people then that person will be lawless.
It’s not necessarily whether a nation is Christian or not but how that nation treats the people of God that determines whether it’s a sheep nation or a goat nation.
Matthew 25:31–46 NKJV
31 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ 37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ 41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ 44 “Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ 45 Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
For America we were founded as a Christian nation; therefore, we must reverse the curse and within our Constitutional Republic that is by education and elections.
Proverbs 29:2 ESV
2 When the righteous increase, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people groan.
And here is the one thing that we as believers should hold as a standard when voting for leaders—abortion. I’m amazed how Christians will dismiss this as if it’s a pesky fly or will justify voting for someone who believes in abortion because they don’t like the other candidate or their demeanor. I’ve even had people tell me that the person they voted for couldn’t believe in abortion because they’re Catholic. That’s no longer the case because across all denominations there is a breakdown of righteous thought.
Don’t Trade for the Beautiful
For some reason, Christians have gotten it inside their heads that we must vote for a Christian leader. The reality is we must vote for the one He has anointed. This requires discernment because often we look at the outside not the inside of a person or even where God is operating.
1 Samuel 16:1 ESV
1 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.”
1 Samuel 16:6–13 ESV
6 When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him.” 7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” 8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 9 Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 10 And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” 11 Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here.” 12 And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he.” 13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.
This is one of THE best examples of what I’m talking about. And choosing a leader based on externals or mean tweets can be disastrous. Let me give you some context for the next example we’re going to look at—Absalom.
Absalom was one of David’s sons. He had a sister named Tamar and a half brother named Amnon. Amnon lusted after his sister and finally one day tricked her into caring for him while he pretended to be sick. He raped her and the supposed “love” he had for her turned into hatred. And David did nothing. Tamar was sent off as a ruined woman never to marry and Amnon got away with it. Absalom was very angry and bitter.
One day he invited his brother to a banquet and killed him. Instead of David executing justice, Absalom executed justice. David then executed judgment against Absalom and exiled him, which is absolutely fascinating. Neither is right. David should have punished his son and Absalom shouldn’t have taken matters into his own hands. Eventually, Joab convinced David to send for Absalom.
2 Samuel 14:22–24 ESV
22 And Joab fell on his face to the ground and paid homage and blessed the king. And Joab said, “Today your servant knows that I have found favor in your sight, my lord the king, in that the king has granted the request of his servant.” 23 So Joab arose and went to Geshur and brought Absalom to Jerusalem. 24 And the king said, “Let him dwell apart in his own house; he is not to come into my presence.” So Absalom lived apart in his own house and did not come into the king’s presence.
Even though he said he could come back, he refused to see him! Absolutely baffling and unfair!
2 Samuel 14:25–28 ESV
25 Now in all Israel there was no one so much to be praised for his handsome appearance as Absalom. From the sole of his foot to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him. 26 And when he cut the hair of his head (for at the end of every year he used to cut it; when it was heavy on him, he cut it), he weighed the hair of his head, two hundred shekels by the king’s weight. 27 There were born to Absalom three sons, and one daughter whose name was Tamar. She was a beautiful woman. 28 So Absalom lived two full years in Jerusalem, without coming into the king’s presence.
English Standard Version Chapter 14
31 Then Joab arose and went to Absalom at his house and said to him, “Why have your servants set my field on fire?” 32 Absalom answered Joab, “Behold, I sent word to you, ‘Come here, that I may send you to the king, to ask, “Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me to be there still.” Now therefore let me go into the presence of the king, and if there is guilt in me, let him put me to death.’ ” 33 Then Joab went to the king and told him, and he summoned Absalom. So he came to the king and bowed himself on his face to the ground before the king, and the king kissed Absalom.
First, we see that Absalom was very handsome. Beautiful, in fact. For two full years Absalom lived in Jerusalem without ever seeing his father. Then when he tried to call for Joab to discuss it, Joab refused until Absalom set his field on fire to get his attention. Basically, Absalom is like why am I even here. I could have stayed in exile.
2 Samuel 15:1–6 ESV
1 After this Absalom got himself a chariot and horses, and fifty men to run before him. 2 And Absalom used to rise early and stand beside the way of the gate. And when any man had a dispute to come before the king for judgment, Absalom would call to him and say, “From what city are you?” And when he said, “Your servant is of such and such a tribe in Israel,” 3 Absalom would say to him, “See, your claims are good and right, but there is no man designated by the king to hear you.” 4 Then Absalom would say, “Oh that I were judge in the land! Then every man with a dispute or cause might come to me, and I would give him justice.” 5 And whenever a man came near to pay homage to him, he would put out his hand and take hold of him and kiss him. 6 Thus Absalom did to all of Israel who came to the king for judgment. So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.
Absalom is operating in the leaven of Herod using political intrigue to take over the kingdom. The problem with that is that God didn’t select him to be king. He selected David and then Solomon after him. The kissing of his hand is what you do to kings back then and even today in some parts. Absalom tricks his father requesting permission to go to Hebron to pay a vow and while there is crowned as king. The ploy didn’t work. You can read all about it in 2 Samuel.
The main thing is that David had made many mistakes and had a man murdered. He was horrible at dealing with family issues. And his ineptitude put the country in turmoil. Absalom appeared so attractive to the citizens. He listened to them. He lamented their lack of representation. He gained their support. And ended up dead because God had NOT chosen him. He might have been a “better” king but he wasn’t chosen.
Cyrus
Isaiah 45:1–6 ESV
1 Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and to loose the belts of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed: 2 “I will go before you and level the exalted places, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron, 3 I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hoards in secret places, that you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God of Israel, who call you by your name. 4 For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen, I call you by your name, I name you, though you do not know me. 5 I am the Lord, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me, 6 that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the Lord, and there is no other.
Cyrus was the pagan king of Persia that defeated Babylon. He was also the king that allowed the exiles to go back to Jerusalem and rebuild. He didn’t know God. It says plainly that God named him and would equip him even though he didn’t know Him for the sake of His people. Cyrus is called His anointed. God grasped his right hand and put him in as king.
Here’s another example of God using a pagan ruler.
2 Chronicles 35:20–23 ESV
20 After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Neco king of Egypt went up to fight at Carchemish on the Euphrates, and Josiah went out to meet him. 21 But he sent envoys to him, saying, “What have we to do with each other, king of Judah? I am not coming against you this day, but against the house with which I am at war. And God has commanded me to hurry. Cease opposing God, who is with me, lest he destroy you.” 22 Nevertheless, Josiah did not turn away from him, but disguised himself in order to fight with him. He did not listen to the words of Neco from the mouth of God, but came to fight in the plain of Megiddo. 23 And the archers shot King Josiah. And the king said to his servants, “Take me away, for I am badly wounded.”
Here we see that Pharaoh Neco is on a divine mission from God to war against the Assyrians but Josiah didn’t hear God in Neco’s words. God had anointed Neco to fight the Assyrians and Josiah got in the way and it cost him his life.
In 2020, this country chose the one who sounded peaceful and unifying and seemed more pleasant than Trump only to find a wicked and lawless leader who has done everything he can to destroy this country.
The most important gift we need right now is discernment. We traded the “orange man” in for the beautiful man and instead got corruption.
“Now more than ever before, the people are responsible for the character of their Congress. If that body be ignorant, reckless, and corrupt, it is because the people tolerate ignorance, recklessness, and corruption. If it be intelligent, brave, and pure, it is because the people demand those high qualities to represent them in the national legislature…[I]f the next centennial does not find us a great nation…it will be because those who represent the enterprise, the culture, and the morality of the nation do not aid in controlling the political forces.” James Garfield.
We have failed in controlling the political forces. Sixty-nine percent of the nation says that keeping religion out of schools and government has gone to far, 61% support prayer in schools, 74% want the 10 commandments back in the classroom, and 64% oppose late-term abortion. So why are the majority not being represented? Because we have abdicated our influence by not being involved at the polls and in the mountain of government. Listen to what Charles Finney, a leader in America’s Second and Third Great Awakenings said:
“The church must take the right ground in regard to politics…[T]he time has come that Christians must vote for honest men and take consistent ground in politics…Christians have been exceedingly guilty in this matter. But the time has come when they must act differently…God cannot sustain this free and blessed country which we love and pray for unless the church will take right ground…It seems sometimes as if the foundations of the nation are becoming rotten, and Christians seem to act as if they think God does not see what they do in politics. But I tell you He does see it, and He will bless or curse this nation according to the course [Christians] take [in politics].”
It’s on us. Our culture has moved the wrong way because of our lack of involvement. We are the most powerful force. Just as we were in the Revolutionary War and in the abolishing of slavery, we are now at that time in history, an epoch, where we will either save this country or lose it. We are the restraining force that is sustaining America. If America falls, so does all of the world. It is up to us to leave a legacy for our grandchildren and great grandchildren. We must not be as Hezekiah who didn’t care what happened to his family once he was gone. We must rouse ourselves from our complacency and take action to save America.
“There is no dissonance in these declarations. There is a universal language pervading them all, having one meaning; they affirm and reaffirm that this is a religious nation…this is a Christian nation.” U.S. Supreme Court 1892.