Some people
wonder, if they vote for a candidate who holds some immoral view, are they
having fellowship with evil (Ephesians 5:11; Romans 1:32). Or some may think
that a candidate with a history of personal immorality cannot rule wisely
(Proverbs 29:2; Luke 16:10).
These principles
should be considered. But usually there is more than this to be considered.
Considerations
>>>>>>>>>
1) Choices must
be based on general Bible principles.
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All spiritual
decisions must be based on God’s word.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2 Timothy 3:16,17
– The Scriptures provide us completely to every good work. They are God’s
perfect and complete guide in the decisions of life. We are responsible to
study God’s word so we know His will. This would include knowing His will
regarding civil government.
God is in charge,
and His will should prevail in all things, specifically in regard to those who
serve in public office – Daniel 4:25.
Far too often
people base their votes on tradition, family history, or promises of material
prosperity. Those who respect the Bible should instead vote for those who would
achieve the purposes that God intends for government to accomplish.
Proverbs 29:2 –
When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man
rules, the people groan.
See also Acts
17:11; Joshua 1:8; Deuteronomy 6:6-9; Psalms 119:47,48,97-99; 19:7-11.
God’s word
reveals the purpose of government by means of general principles.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
God ordained
government to punish the evildoer and to reward and protect those who do good.
Government exists to restrict evil people from harming upright citizens – 1
Peter 2:11-15; Romans 13:1-7; Acts 22:24-29; 23:12-33; 25:10-12; Esther 4:8-16.
Christians should
pray for civil rulers that we might live quiet and peaceable lives in all
godliness – 1 Timothy 2:1,2.
So. God has
revealed his overall purpose for government, but He has not revealed which
specific individuals might serve His purpose best in office. This means we
should pray and work to bring about the overall purposes of government that God
has revealed, then we trust Him to provide what He knows to be best.
This may be
compared to providing for a family. God’s word teaches the general principle
that I am responsible to provide for my family (1 Timothy 5:8), but it does not
tell me what specific job I should hold or where I should live. So I should
pray and work to obtain a job that meets my family’s needs. Then I trust God to
provide what He knows to be best.
Likewise, godly
citizens should pray and vote for officials who will achieve the purposes for
which God ordained government: restraining those who do evil and protecting
those who do good so that good people may peaceably live godly lives. Then we
must trust God to overrule in the affairs of men to do what He knows is best.
2) Many issues
should be considered, not just a few.
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It follows that
Bible believers should focus on issues of moral, religious, and family values
as revealed in Scripture. These should take priority over issues of physical or
material advantages.
Some are
concerned about issues such as abortion and homosexuality. These are essential,
but what about other moral issues, such as gambling, divorce, pornography, drug
abuse, transgenderism, religious freedom, feminism, roles of men and women in
the home, authority of parents, spanking, and problems in public education such
as evolution, sex education, etc.?
Likewise, some
people evaluate the personal morality of candidates in areas such as adultery
or lying. But what about other issues such as divorce, alcohol use,
pornography, business ethics, profanity, racial views, gambling, and even
tobacco use? And what about the candidate’s personal religious views? Must we
require him to be of a particular religious background?
And many
candidates have changed from their past views or conduct. Many people dig into
a candidate’s past to find immoral conduct or objectionable political views.
But what if a candidate has matured and overcome past problems or changed
views?
Obviously, the
point is that evaluating candidates can become very complex.
3) Rarely is a
candidate ideal in every way.
***********************************
The problem is
complicated by the fact that the conduct and views of most candidates is nearly
always in some ways objectionable. We almost never find candidates who uphold
and practice Biblical standards in every aspect of their public and private
life. I doubt that any of us have ever voted for anyone with whom we agreed
100% regarding every issue of politics and personal conduct. And if we knew
more about the person, we would probably find more things with which we
disagree.
And regardless of
their personal views, government officials enforce and implement bad laws that
already exist regarding abortion, gambling, homosexual marriage, divorce, etc.
Legislators finance schools and colleges that defend evolution, abortion,
homosexuality, feminism, etc.
These and many
other responsibilities involve the candidates that we elect in numerous
difficult moral and religious issues. Must we agree with all their decisions in
every case? If they do something with which we disagree, have we had fellowship
with error?
4) Typically we
must choose between candidates neither of whom is ideal.
*****************************************************
We are given a
slate of candidates from whom we must choose. Usually we consider few, if any,
of them to be perfect or ideal. So we must choose which ones we hope will do
the best job.
When we make such
a choice, no one thinks that our vote means we agree with the candidate about
everything. It is generally understood that we are simply voting for the one we
think is the better choice (or in some cases the one who is the least bad
choice).
Voting for
political candidates is not like choosing church leaders. God has set specific
standards church leaders must meet (1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9). But we have
no such list of qualifications for government officials. Rather we have general
principles regarding the purpose of rulers, so we must choose who we believe
will be the best from among less-than-ideal choices.
Voting for rulers
is more like choosing a job. When we choose a job, the company for which we
work and the people with whom we work are usually less than ideal.
Nevertheless, we choose them because they meet a need in our lives. So long as
we personally practice and stand for truth, we are not responsible for the
errors of the company even though we chose to work for them.
In the same way,
when we vote for rulers we will often find that the government and the
officials are less than ideal. Nevertheless, we choose them because they meet a
need in our lives. If we personally practice and stand for truth, we are not
responsible for the errors of the government and its officials, even though we
chose to vote for them.
5) God teaches us
to pay taxes even when the government is immoral.
*****************************************************
In many ways my
vote is similar to paying taxes. The Bible requires us to pay taxes, even if
those taxes support things we believe to be wrong (such as issues already
listed). The first-century Roman government was just as corrupt, if not more
so, than ours; but Jesus and Paul still said to pay taxes. See Romans 13:1-7;
Matthew 22:17-21.
So I must pay
taxes even when I know government officials sometimes use the funds wrongly.
God does not hold me accountable for the improper use of my tax money. Does it
not follow in the same way that, if I vote for the ruler who I believe will do
the best job, then I am not responsible for any wrongs he does in policy or
personal conduct?
So, I should use
my vote and my influence as a citizen to encourage righteousness rather than
wickedness. But it is understood that my taxes and my vote will virtually never
support complete righteousness.
6) God Himself
appointed to office people that were in some ways flawed.
*****************************************************
In carrying out
His purposes, God has often used people who were in some ways sinful. In
particular, He has placed in office political rulers whom He knew were in some
ways wrong.
God chose king
Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 4), Cyrus (Isaiah 44:28; 45:1), and various kings of
Israel such as Jehu (2 Kings 9 & 10), etc. These men were all idol
worshipers. God did not make them practice sin, but He placed them in office
even knowing they were sinners, so they could do a job that needed to be
accomplished.
God repeatedly
upheld King David as the standard for rulers, yet even David was guilty of
adultery and murder for which he repented (2 Samuel 11 & 12). Few Old
Testament kings lived up to the standard of David, yet God still put those
kings in office. He urged them to do the right and rebuked their errors, but He
was not accountable for their sins even though He put them in office. (See 1
Kings 15:3-5; 11:3,33; 14:8; 2 Kings 22:2; 2 Chronicles 34:2; etc.)
Why would not the
same thing be true regarding our vote? Just as God placed flawed men in office
so He could use them to achieve His purposes for government, so we likewise at
times vote for the best people available, even though they are flawed in their
views and personal conduct.
Is God having
fellowship with sin if someone He puts in office does wrong? Surely not. Does
God understand the concept that the person who is unfaithful in little will be
unfaithful in much (Luke 16:10)? Of course, He does. Yet He still puts such
people in office in order to achieve His purposes. So why would the same thing
not be true for us in our voting?
We must always
remember that God is in charge, and His will must prevail. But the principle we
consider here is the fact that, when we use our influence to vote for the one
we believe is the best option, we often know they are flawed. That does not
mean we did wrong to vote for them, but only that we viewed them as the best
choice that we had at the time.
Conclusions
>>>>>>>
My conclusion is
that, in choosing a candidate, a Christian’s first consideration should be
choosing people who will accomplish God’s purpose for government. We should not
make our choice primarily for material prosperity, personal favoritism, or past
tradition.
We should use our
vote to help choose those who we believe will best use the law to protect our
families and God’s people from being harmed by evil people. We should vote for
those who we believe will best accomplish God’s purposes on earth. That does
not mean we must approve of everything they believe or practice.
So we pray and
vote for the ones we hope will do the most good and the least harm. Then we
must trust God to overrule in the affairs of men to do what He knows to be
best.
(C)
Copyright 2018, David E. Pratte
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