Recently several pastors have said very emphatically that you cannot be a Christian and vote Democrat. I guess that depends on how you define being a Christian. Quite frankly, that’s above my pay grade to judge. I think the better question is, would Jesus vote Democrat? Far too many Christians would question if Jesus would even bother to vote.
If Jesus lived in America today, He would render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s.
Jesus understood he had dual citizenship, one to the governmental system here on earth
and one to the Kingdom of God. He paid taxes; I am sure if he had the right to vote, he
would faithfully steward that privilege and responsibility. He would speak truth to power,
but he would exercise his responsibility of American citizenship and vote.
Today, most Christians' reasons for not voting like Jesus would likely fall into one or more
of these three categories.
1. They are misinformed about the secular and the sacred dichotomy. There is a
disconnect between their faith in Jesus Christ, “their religion,” and how that impacts their
daily decisions on work, relationships, and how they vote.
2. The lack of a Biblical worldview: What does the Bible say about the cultural issues of
our day?
3. Don’t bother even to vote. Slightly more than half of all professing Christians are not
registered to vote or concern themselves with their voting privileges and duties. The Lord
wants His people to be salt and light. We are to be agents of influence, declaring His truth
and, in so doing, bringing genuine liberty and life to a dying culture.
So, can you be a Christian and vote Democrat? Of course. Can you be a Christian and
commit adultery? Regrettably, yes.
What those pastors meant, can you be an active Christ follower and disciple, and hold to a
Biblical Worldview, then vote for Democratic candidates who advocate today’s Democratic platform policies and beliefs? The answer to that question is a resounding NO! (I am sure some of us know Democrat office holders or candidates at the state and local levels who don’t ascribe to today’s antilife, antifamily, antireligious liberty Democratic
platform. We could certainly be open to voting for these individuals.)
As Christians, we have a duty and a responsibility to be good citizens. That means
exercising our right to vote in every election. We are not always afforded the choice of a
strong Christian candidate or even a candidate as prolife as we are. But in almost every
race, there is a candidate who will support policies more closely aligned with your values.
Our refusal to VOTE, in effect, casts a VOTE for the candidates who will do the more
significant harm to our nation, state, and community.
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