How to Vote

Deuteronomy 30:19

It is against the law for your church/pastor to tell you how to vote.  If I do, the church can lose its tax exempt status.  If I do, I can be personally fined, and even jailed.  I have been audited.  On top of the legal risks, if I do tell you how to vote, I can make personal enemies and possibly offend some in the church.

And so, considering all the above, our title today is:  How to Vote!  I do this because the Bible tells us what choice to make. 

Deuteronomy 30:19

I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:

God is more important than this election.  His Word is what we preach, not politics.  And here’s something better than my guy being elected:  Someone electing to be saved!

Because of the Bible’s clear direction, a born again, Bible-believing Christian today can be a ‘one issue’ voter and get past all the other issues, and know that their Lord is pleased with them.  I didn’t just tell you how to vote.  I just preached the Bible.  God tells us how to vote.

And good thing that He helps us, because neither candidate is what we deserve.  The morality and behavior of both is beneath the dignity of the office.  Righteousness is what exalts a nation, and we don’t have it.

Yet we aren’t voting for a pastor, but for a President.  We are voting for someone to minimize evil and maximize the ways of righteousness.  We can’t wash our hands of our responsibility to vote.  Pilate washed his hands and that allowed the vote of others to crucify Christ.

It’s not about personality either.  It’s a vote, not a valentine.  We aren’t professing our absolute love for the person.

But if you can vote for a pro-life candidate for President, for Senate, or any office, you should, for most of the other issues pale by comparison and don’t have direct Scriptural commands which apply.  An exception would be that we are to support Israel. 

This election there is one candidate who stands for life.  Perhaps not exactly the way I think he should, but it was an answer to prayer when he put people on the Supreme Court who helped overturn Roe v. Wade.  The other candidate says her top priority is making abortion legal everywhere for all 9 months of pregnancy.  The choice could not be more clear.

“Just be direct.  Give me a name.  Who should I vote for?”

Let me be clear:  “I was born in a middle class family…”

I don’t have to answer.  Our text is clear, and the answer is obvious.  I would like to say that I want someone who doesn’t trash talk me, or have disdain for me or other people who see the world through the lens of the Bible. I want to say I reject a candidate who has personally weaponized the legal system against people like me because of what we believe and cheered when others did the same.  But I don’t have to say that, because the command in our text makes my choice clear enough.

I would like to say that I want someone who likes America and believes America’s leaders should prioritize the interests of Americans, who sees wokeness for the morally bankrupt, societally destructive force that it is, who recognizes that evil exists and believes the priority should be to stop evil rather than explain it, who employs common sense and doesn’t require a focus group or a committee to recognize when something is stupid.  But I don’t have to say any of that, for today’s verse says enough.

I would like to say that I don’t want anyone I care about ever appearing before a liberally appointed judge.  Decades from now, long after we’ve all moved on, there will be judges making decisions that greatly impact civil liberties, families, and the rule of law.  If my kids or grandkids ever end up in one of those courts, I passionately do not want someone appointed by a God-hater making important decisions that affect them.  And then there’s the Supreme Court.  We don’t need any more justices who don’t know what a woman is.  These things are important, but pale by comparison to the main issue of innocent blood.

I would like to say that I want someone who isn’t an actual threat to democracy. Trump is vulgar, off the charts proud and emotionally handicapped, and we have seen that liability too often. I don’t condone his behavior but our system of checks and balances is built to contain people like Trump and it did.  He wasn’t going to end democracy or elections because he couldn’t. There is no mechanism for him to do that. But Harris and her friends intend to change the system/rules so people like us can have no more influence in America. If given the opportunity, she would give illegals the ability to vote, add states to the union, change the rules of the Senate, and expand the Supreme Court to pack it with people who think like her. The intent and result would be one-party rule forever - a Congress and a Supreme Court that rubber-stamped whatever that Congress did. I think that would be disastrous, but it doesn’t hold a candle to the travesty of killing an unborn child. 

I would like to say that I want someone who believes in the right to free speech, so I can preach the Word legally. The left’s platform involves stopping “misinformation”, which is any speech they don’t like. If they had the chance, I am confident they would severely restrict free speech.  A message like this is protected, I believe, and I’m glad, mostly for the sake of little souls in the womb who might be robbed of a greater right…their right to life.  And even after they are born, they have the right to grow up normally, not pressured to reconsider their gender.  Now, if someday I lose the right to preach, make no mistake about it, I will still preach!

I would like to say that I want someone who likes school choice. The catastrophic harm that has resulted from a government monopoly on education can be significantly remedied by giving parents the ability to direct their children’s education. 

I would like to say that I want someone tough on the border, and has proven it…not just someone who talks like a border hawk today simply because polling tells her she must.  I think a candidate’s past behavior is a better indicator of their future behavior.  But some think closing the door on illegals is cruel.  No.  Cruel is terminating a defenseless life.

I would like to say that I want a world that will be safe.  Most of the world doesn’t share America’s obsession with woke feelings, especially not the bad guys. One of the reasons two wars have broken out in the last two years is that bad people don’t respect or fear these weak progressives. During his first term, I was pleased to see Trump’s judgment when it came to his most lethal powers. The benefits of someone who understands evil and leverage make him a great option to deal with the world’s worst people. I also don’t want a military where people are concerned about preferred pronouns.  Yes, I would like to say I want a safe world.  But square one should be making the womb a safe place to reside.

I would like to say that I want someone who is hated by the elites.  This is a bit of “the enemy of your enemy is your friend” analysis. The swamp in America is real and swampier than most of us realize. There is a group of elites who believe they have the right to manage our lives and pay themselves well to do so. They are awful people who lie with impunity to protect themselves. They hate Trump because he doesn’t bow to them and doesn’t agree that they deserve to rule the rest of us. They should be smoked out and sent to get real jobs where they can make someone’s life better. The idea that Elon Musk would end up leading an efficiency initiative where he just randomly fires 50% of all federal employees is a dream I’d never want to wake from.  But these are just preferences with no biblical mandate.  Today’s text is mandate enough.

So there you have it. I am concerned enough about the left’s vision for the womb / world that I feel an obligation to do what I can to stop it from materializing, even if the best medicine has some side effects or bad aftertaste.  So, I’ll vote the way the Bible commands and I will pray that God will give America mercy we certainly don’t deserve.

Quote: “The penalty that good men pay for not being interested in politics is to be governed by men worse than themselves.” ~Plato
 

Here’s an amazing fact:  You won the lottery by being born here!

1.     You have the Right to vote

Psalm 33:12

    Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord: and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.

Again, this is a democracy! You have a voice...You have a vote!  Use It!

-You’re an American! -Born in the land of the free & home of the brave! -Millions before us have bled & died for the rights & freedoms we enjoy! And it’s not just our military we praise today, for the thin blue line, the police, are under attack, and for a low salary they continue to stand for us and for law and order…for what is right!

My friend, you are blessed by God to live in this nation...You’re not: -Struggling under a dictator! ....Nor... -Starving in Sudan for lack of food! You are not living in a refugee camp. -Searching for hope & meaning in some remote quadrant, or afraid to board a bus in the west bank or Gaza Strip.

You have the right to vote...take it & make it count for good!
Quote: “When it comes to a showdown, Washington must never forget who rules…the people.” ~Will Rogers

Far bigger than this election is whether we elect to go with God!

You have the right…

2.     You have the Responsibility to vote

Render unto Caesar!

James 4:17

    Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

We should vote as if we are the deciding vote, for in truth, God will see it and decide whether to bless us personally.

The Year is:
1800  1 vote put Thomas Jefferson on the ticket over Aaron Burr in the primary
1839  1 vote wins the Massachusetts governorship for Marcus Morton

In 1868, one vote saved President Andrew Johnson from impeachment.

In 1960, one vote change in each precinct in Illinois would have denied John F. Kennedy the Presidency…[debated!]

1993  1 vote by Al Gore approved the largest tax increase in history
2000  NM, where I grew up, chose President of US by 306 votes, out of 5 million!

2000  Much larger state of Florida decided Presidential Race by 537 votes…less than 1% of Christians who registered to vote but didn’t vote!

2021  One vote by Kamala Harris clinched the $2T stimulus that plunged us into this inflation.

2024  1 vote, your vote, can make the difference in our swing state, for the White House, and for the Senate!

As a citizen of this great nation...&...as a child of God you have the responsibility and mandate to get involved!
There’re plenty of examples in Scripture where God’s people got involved in politics!
For example:
-Genesis 41:39-41 Pharaoh gave Joseph political control of all Egypt, and he was used of God to save his people.
-Exodus 5:2-4 Moses went before Pharaoh as God’s ambassador asking for the freedom of God’s people.
-I Samuel 3 - Samuel the prophet & judge choose Saul as Israel’s king.
-Esther 1 Esther the queen saved the whole Jewish nation from execution.
-Daniel 1 Daniel served in the king’s court, while obeying God.
-And of course there was Jesus who was one of the most divisive figure in history religiously....socially...& politically!

As Americans & as Christians we have a responsibility to vote!

We also have the responsibility to pray for & support our leaders.
Jeremiah 29:7

    …seek the peace of the city…and pray unto the Lord for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.

God is in control, whether our guy wins or not.  Whether there’s cheating or not.  Our trust is in Him! 

We have the right, responsibility…

 
3.     You have a Reason to vote

Proverbs 29:2 [when the righteous are in authority]

We are Christians first....Americans second!

Christians live under a Theocracy ~ in other words we are subject to divine authority!  *We answer to God first & foremost!  It’s about His agenda!

 -It’s not about party...personality....or promises! -It’s about life and liberty!

The reason we vote is to bring about an atmosphere & environment in this nation that honors God & draws us closer to Him!  
 

Remember, not all issues are of equal importance.  For example:  Free school lunches may be nice, but they will only help children who were allowed to be born! 

We cannot roll over on this issue.  The majority is now buying the lie that we don’t want women to have rights.  Women do have rights.  They have the right to do things God’s way.  They have the right to make decisions, like deciding not to hop in bed / keeping sex within marriage / considering adoption to help others who cannot have children.  Women have rights, and that includes unborn women.  They have screamed ‘my body, my choice’ so loudly for so long that even Christians are starting to believe that nonsense. 

But if you’re not the one having your limbs ripped off, your skull crushed, your head injected with poison, your oxygen cut off, and your body torn apart by suction, then no, it’s not your body and not your choice!

It’s offensive to me that Planned Parenthood offices are predominantly located in black neighborhoods.  But it fits, since PP was originally founded with the goal of exterminating the black race! [Margaret Sanger]

We have the right and responsibility, and good reason to vote.  If it goes badly, we will continue to do what is right, regardless!  Obey God rather than men!

If we truly want America to be great again we should seek to make her Godly again!
 

The winds of politics will change, but Jesus is the same, yesterday, today and forever!  And only Jesus can change hearts.

God is more important than this election.  His Word is what we preach, not politics.  And here’s something better than my guy being elected:  Someone electing to be saved!

Choose sides!  Which side are you on?  Who is on the Lord’s side?

[w/ thoughts from Jason Backholm]