It’s that time of the year again. The days are getting shorter and cooler (even in Texas) and the stores are decked out in various holiday decorations, sort of HallowThanksMas, if you will.
Yes, it’s time once more for the “You can’t be a Christian if you vote for. . .”
Technically, we are still a few months away from the actual election year, but when the president files reelection papers on the day of his inauguration, and when the pundits are talking about who will win the party’s nomination the day after the last election, then we’re pretty much in full-blown election coverage.
Already, we’ve had five Democratic debates, with some having to be two-day events to allow all the candidates to show up for the debate. The Republicans are cancelling primaries, in part because they’re convinced Donald Trump will be the nominee again and in part to prevent from other candidates (two, so far) to embarrass the president as Eugene McCarthy did Lyndon Johnson in 1968.
And on Facebook, we’re already seeing the early intimations of who a real Christian would vote for.
But does God really care who we vote for? In the grand scheme of things, is who we vote for or our political leanings really all that important to God and our relationship with Him?
The answer is, surprisingly, yes and no. More no than yes, but yes and no nonetheless.
Why It Doesn’t Matter
Years ago when I was in seminary, I took a class on evangelism. One of the books we studied was called “Evangelism Explosion,” and it had two “diagnostic questions” that should be asked before sharing the Gospel with anyone. The questions were designed to help determine where a person was in their relationship with God.
The questions were, “Do you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you will go to heaven when you die?” and “Suppose you died tonight and God asked you, ‘Why should I let you into heaven?’, what would you say?”
I really don’t think, if eternity with God should consist of a q-and-a at the Pearly Gates, one of the questions will be, “So, who did you vote for in presidential elections?” For one thing, God knows everything—He already knows who we voted for over the years, and I doubt that He’d ask us about it. Nor will He comment on it—“Well, I see you were set to come in here, but then you went and voted for . . . “ It’s absurd and, more importantly, it’s unbiblical.
God went out of His way to establish a relationship with us by sending Jesus into our world. He came to show us how to live, and, more importantly, to die for our sins and redeem us from our sinfulness. That’s what John 3:16 is all about. The Gospels all record Jesus having to go to the cross in order to gain pardon for our sins.
How we come into this relationship with God is through confession and faith—confessing our sins and placing our faith in Christ: “The work of God is this: to believe in the One He has sent” (John 6:29). “When people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’ Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins’” (Acts 2:37-38). “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 9:9).
It is possible that people will read these verses and assume that there is something we must do to earn God’s salvation. Not so. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). It is impossible for a person to save themselves. That was Jesus’ message when He said it would be easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle (a literal camel and a literal needle, no small gate in a city wall) than for a rich man to enter into heaven. The disciples are astonished and ask who can be saved. Jesus’ response was, “With man, this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26).
When Jesus sent out the disciples to minister in His name and proclaim the Gospel, they returned amazed at the things they were able to do—cast out demons, heal the sick. Jesus’ response was, “Do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:20).
The point is that no one becomes a Christian by what they do. God’s grace brings us into His family and keeps us there. “My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of My hand” (John 10:27-28).
So, does God really care who we vote for? When it comes to becoming a child of God, the answer is no.
Yes, but Aren’t We Supposed to Obey God?
Yes, and that’s the yes part of the answer.
God expects us to walk in obedience to Jesus. “If anyone loves Me, he will obey My teachings” (John 14:23). Jesus says the wise person is the one who hears what Jesus teaches and does it; the foolish person is the one who hears Jesus but doesn’t put it into practice. Dietrich Bonhoeffer makes the point that, “We cannot call Jesus ‘Lord’ and tell Him ‘no.’” (From “The Cost of Discipleship.”)
The New Testament is filled with instructions on how we are to walk in fellowship with Christ, not to earn His love but as an act of love toward Him and the Father. So, yes, we are to obey God. The Bible is very clear about that.
What the Bible isn’t so clear about is specific things like the diets we should eat or who we vote for. Each person who comes to Christ through faith is a child of God that must respond to Him out of our love for Him. How we respond is up to us.
After Jesus’ resurrection, He was walking with the disciples beside the Sea of Galilee (cf. John 21). While walking, Jesus asks Peter three times, “Peter, do you love Me?” Three times Peter answers. After the third answer, Jesus tells Peter that Peter will die a martyr’s death. “Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God” (John 21:19a). The significant part of this verse is what comes next: “Then He said to him, ‘Follow Me.’” (John 21:19b).
Peter has become very uncomfortable with this entire conversation, so he tries to deflect Jesus onto someone else. He spots John, so Peter asks, “Lord, what about him?” (v.21b). Jesus’ response is, “If I want him to live until I return, what is that to you? You must follow Me” (v. 22).
Here’s the point of this. Jesus had a plan for Peter. He also had a plan for John. What Christ’s plan for John is has no bearing on Peter’s calling. Peter was called to follow Jesus as Jesus leads him. Jesus will lead John as He sees fit.
The same applies to us. There are some of us who have come to a biblical understanding that God wants us to vote conservatively in our politics. There are others who have come to a biblical understanding that God wants them to vote for a moderate or even a liberal candidate. If God wants me to vote for Candidate A, what is that to you? You vote for the candidate God has called you to vote for.
Conclusion
If God is leading us to vote for a candidate, then to vote otherwise is to go against God’s will. God wants and expects us to follow His will. For this reason, “Does God really care who we vote for?,” the answer is yes. Does it make a whit of difference in our relationship with Him? Only in so far as we are obedient or not. It does not alter the underlying relationship of God the Father and we His children.
With the coming elections, each of us who profess to know Christ, have a duty to prayerfully consider where God is leading us. And we should follow that leadership. Whether or not anyone else votes for the candidate is immaterial. “You must follow Me.”
© 2019 Glynn Beaty