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Christians Not Voting: A Dereliction of Biblical Duty

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Updated: Dec 5, 2024


The late country comedian of the Grand Ole Opry, Jerry Clower, once said, “Nowhere in the Bible does it say that you’ll go to hell if you take a drink of whiskey. I wish it did!” Many Christians use the absence of that “black-n-white” clarity to justify the consumption of alcoholic beverages even though Scripture warns multiple times about the pitfalls of strong drink.

 

Nowhere in the Bible does it say you’ll go to hell if you gamble in a casino. I wish it did! It would sure make life in my state and community more enjoyable since we have been fighting over the building of a casino for over five years and still fighting over a state constitutional amendment to stop it. Scripture does, however, warn of the evils that come with the lust for money, especially when it is pursued through ill-gotten, desperate, and addictive means.

 

Edmund Burke, the Anglo-Irish statesman and philosopher, is often credited with saying, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” Unfortunately, that seems to have characterized the pattern of many American evangelical voters in recent elections. Newsmax reports that 25 million Christians did not vote in the 2020 presidential election. In fact, 15 million professing Christians are reported to not even be registered to vote at all! A recent study conducted by George Barna, Director of the Arizona Christian University Cultural Research Center, on 3,000 professing Christians indicates that as many as 41 million Christians are likely to stay home on November 5, 2024. Folks, that is not just mind-blowing; it is massively disturbing!

 

These are believers who say they honestly care about the state of our union and the future of our country but will sit home on election day and writhe themselves through the network returns. Then they will moan and groan if the candidate and party they would not have voted for gets elected. What they don’t understand is that a non-vote is essentially a “yes” vote for whoever wins. Why? Because they failed to exercise their voting right to affect the results otherwise and have no one to blame for the outcome but themselves.

 

I’ve heard all the excuses people give for not voting. In general, they say, “My vote doesn’t matter; the government is going to do what it wants to regardless.” When you take into account that the gap between Trump and Biden in the 2020 presidential election was only about seven million votes, the picture becomes stunningly clear how important the Christian vote is and what a landslide difference 25 million votes can make in election results. But it’s not just the vote for president that matters. The structure of our legislature involves the Congress made up of elected Representatives and Senators who hammer out the laws of the land. In a democracy where the majority rules all elected positions are integral to the process.

 

In this election cycle, Christians have put themselves in a quandary. They say they can’t vote for one of the candidates, and they absolutely won’t vote for the other, leaving them with the only option of not voting at all. And just to be clear, a write-in candidate or punching the name of an independent candidate whose vote will not count is essentially the same as a non-vote. It might appease the voter, but it has no impact on the results.

 

In a recent social media post, I called the Christian non-vote a “dereliction of Biblical duty.” The nature of several responses essentially conveyed, “Show me in Scripture where it says a Christian must vote.” In the spirit of Jerry Clower, nowhere in the Bible does it say emphatically and explicitly that a Christian must vote in a public election. Again, I wish it did! The Bible does, however, provide related spiritual insights that guide the believer toward the importance of exercising this citizenship and God-given right in a free republic. It is not just commandments (the “Thou shalts.” and the “Thou shalt nots.”) that guide our walk of obedience. There are Biblical principles, standards, and precepts applied in Scripture that also dictate our thoughts and actions. Let’s consider a few.

 

It goes without saying that the work of federal and state governments is complex and overwhelming. Not a single leader can shoulder that kind of burden and stress alone. Moses faced that challenge in his leadership over the ancient Hebrews. Jethro, his father-in-law, took note of this and offered a solution that could serve as the first “election” in the Bible - You shall select out of all the people able men who fear God, men of truth, those who hate dishonest gain; and you shall place these over them as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens. Let them judge the people at all times; and let it be that every major dispute they will bring to you, but every minor dispute they themselves will judge. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you. (Exodus 18:21-22).

 

Notice the principles and standards involved. First and foremost, these were leaders selected based on their spiritual & ethical integrity. They valued truth, had respect & reverence for the things of God, and rallied against illicit actions that took advantage of people and circumstances. Accordingly, they were installed to judge the people, a Hebrew word referring to governing by the rule of law – God’s righteous law. That fundamental structure pretty much defines the purpose and processes of our electorate today. It was no more perfect in ancient times than it is today, but God used it. Why wouldn’t He still use it today, and if so, why wouldn’t God still rely on people to be involved in the selection process? If God decreed it would work for the ancient Jews, why would God not see its effectiveness for democracies today?

 

This judicial & legislative feature apparently followed the Hebrew practice throughout Biblical times. The “Proverbs 31 Woman” was praised for having a husband who was known in the gates when he sits among the elders of the land (Proverbs 31:23), whose counsel was sought after by kings (I Kings 12:6) and prophets (II Kings 6:32). The etiology of the Greek word HEIS (translated “one”) comes from the process in which these men considered and resolved legal & civil issues among the people. They would publicly discuss all perspectives, facts, the various laws, rules, and regulations that applied, and then take a vote in which the majority ruled. But they traditionally took the process one step further. Wanting to present a united front to the people, they would move to make the vote HEIS, or one, rendering the decision as unanimous from both sides.

 

It is interesting that Jesus used this unique Greek word when he quoted Genesis 2:24 – A man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one (HEIS). (Matthew 19:5). Biblical marriage is not a dictatorial relationship. Two people coming into marriage bring that which is uniquely their own and blend that into what becomes uniquely theirs as a couple. Life and decision-making in marriage become a blend of their thoughts, expectations, skills, and abilities so that issues are addressed and decisions made based on that which both agree on and are unified in their resolves. Such deliberations keep individual values & respect intimately intact in their relationship. Don’t miss the point that Jesus subscribed to a similar process in marital negotiations that was utilized in ancient judicial and legislative activity.

 

Ancient nations had kings. Granted, God wanted His people to consider Him as their one and only King, but they wanted to be like the other nations of the ancient world, so God allowed them that provision with certain stipulations - When you enter the land which the Lord your God gives you, and you possess it and live in it, and you say, “I will set a king over me like all the nations who are around me,” you shall surely set a king over you whom the Lord your God chooses, one from among your countrymen you shall set as king over yourselves; you may not put a foreigner over yourselves who is not your countryman. (Deuteronomy 17:14-15). God sanctions the appointment of leaders over nations, and the people of those nations are the ones who select those leaders. In doing so, God makes two important stipulations. The leader who is selected is one whom the Lord your God chooses. God’s program calls for Godly people to select Godly leaders. It still does! How can that happen if Christians don’t vote? Furthermore, that leader is also to be one from among your countrymen and not a foreigner. We still use this important law in our electorate today. Only a qualified American citizen can hold an elected office in the land.

 

This serves to establish what Paul affirms when he states – Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. (Romans 13:1). God extends to people the right of free will and choice, and He honors the choices made irrespective of His preference. If a nation elects an ungodly leader, God will still honor that choice and command its citizens to be subject to that administration, even to pray for all those leaders in authority (I Timothy 2:1-2). Obviously, God would rather those leaders be ones whom He also would choose, for those are best suited to be a minister of God for good (Romans 13:4), as servants of God (13:6). Still, God respects and honors our choices even when He knows bad choices produce bad consequences. The principle obviously inherent is that Christians should lead in the selection of Godly leaders and exercise that responsibility by voting. As a result – When the righteous increase, the people rejoice; but when a wicked man rules, people groan. (Proverbs 29:2).

 

The God-breathed words of Scripture through Solomon affirm that righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people (Proverbs 14:34). How can righteousness exalt America if Christian citizens do not vote for God and right?

 

It has often been said in this election cycle that it is the most important election in our nation's history. If the right choices are not made on November 5th, we are on the precipice of a vulnerable and radically different future. The dilemma that keeps coming to the forefront is the excuse I mentioned earlier: “I can’t vote for one of the candidates, and I absolutely won’t vote for the other one.” How can the Christian voter resolve this dilemma? By shifting the focus away from the names and faces of the candidates and laser-pointing their focus on the partisan ideologies, values, and agendas those candidates represent because that is what you are really voting to advance.

 

Solomon said – A wise man’s heart directs him toward the right, but a foolish man’s heart directs him toward the left. (Proverbs 10:2). The “right” and the “left” are not just semantics that have come to designate political conservatives and liberals; they are words that differentiate between righteousness and wickedness. It is not difficult to peruse the partisan landscape of current American politics and see this glaring difference.

 

One party clearly values an ideology and advances an agenda of so-called human rights that advocates for the merciless murder of millions of unborn children; the chemical alteration and genital mutilation of pre-teen children even without parental permission for adolescent transgenderism; the deviation of Biblical marriage through same-sex unions and the full-compassed agenda of LGBTQ+ ideology and wokeology; an open border policy that allows millions of illegal immigrants annually to enter our country and enjoy full citizenship rights provided & funded through federal (taxpayer) entitlements; more compromised support and a relaxed alliance with Israel; establishing more federal control through the elimination of the electoral college, the Congressional filibuster and expansion & term limits on the United States Supreme Court; redefining the acceptable expressions of public protests with pushbacks on how law enforcement can respond; censoring free speech and religious freedom; controlling the media; and advancing America into the new social construct of the global Great Reset and the World Economic Forum. What is your Biblical worldview on these ideologies and agendas because Scripture addresses all of them? That filter alone should dictate how you are to vote as an evangelical Christian.

 

Obviously, that leaves just one other choice. It is not a perfect partisan choice either, but its values and ideologies are very clearly different from those of its counterpart. It does not wholly embrace the specific agenda items and policies of the other and, in fact, strategizes to reverse and replace many of those provisions.

 

The bottom line is that Christians should approach this election and exercise their right to vote based on their Biblical worldview and not the person of the candidates, both of whom have their share of admirable traits and unattractive character flaws & professional frailties. A Biblical worldview will help you vote not for a person but for a value system, an ethical & moral ideology, and a public policy agenda that serves its carefully crafted system and intent. Of the two choices, which best represents what you have come to understand as the standard presented through God’s Word, will, and ways? Which best aligns with your spiritual convictions and the scope of your moral conscience?

 

I close by repeating Burke’s quote: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” I also stand by my accusation that if evangelical Christians refuse to exercise their God-given right to vote in a free country, they have failed their country, and they failed their God. It is a dereliction of Biblical duty!

 

25-30 million votes! Let the impact of that sink in. Head to the polls on November 5th and do your duty. God & country are depending on you.

 

Blessings,

Rick M. Smith




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