It won't be long before you will be called on the exercise of your God-given right and duty to vote in our upcoming elections.
We agree as Christians that the Bible gives us the truth regarding every facet of life, and yet some Christians hold to the belief that they don't need to vote.
2 Peter 1:2-3 2Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, 3According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
Today, Christians agree that the Bible relates to every area of life, but in the Founding Era this relevance was demonstrated in a manner unfamiliar to most Americans today.
As we study history, we can take note of the sermons that have survived. There were many different topics that preachers handled throughout the ages. In addition, there were annual sermons that were preached every year.
One such sermon was the "election sermon", the longest traditional form of annual sermon in America. The first documented election sermon was preached in 1634 in Virginia, and for each year thereafter until the twentieth century, election sermons were preached in pulpits across America.
American Christians understood their dual citizenship. They were indeed citizens of heaven, but they were also citizens of a nation on earth.
God had placed them here in America with stewardship government that belonged to "We the People," so what did God expect from them in their stewardship capacity concerning the civil government that He had given them?
What did He expect from them in the selection of their leaders?
What did the Scriptures teach about the election process?
For almost three centuries, this was a topic addressed annually in pulpits across America.
We as Christians have a God-ordained obligation to vote. Praying for our leaders and not participating in the electing of them is vain and dead.
NLT James 2:17 So you see, faith by itself isn't enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.
So you see, it isn't enough just to have faith. Faith that doesn't show itself by If you enjoy the privilege of living here in America, you have no godly reason not to vote. The only one who profits from your decision not to vote is the devil. As you continue to fellowship in the church but pay no attention to what is going on in the political arena, the devil will continue to remove your rights in the country. The devil wants believers to operate only in the church arena so he is free to move about in the world and continue to corrupt the land in which the believers live. We will suffer as a result of this.
Leviticus 18:22-23 22Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. 23Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion. 24Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you: 25And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants. 26Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations; neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you: 27(For all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before you, and the land is defiled;) 28That the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that were before you.
Vote!
Psalms 33:12 Blessed is the When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.ÿ
Note: All scripture is from the King James Version unless otherwise noted. NIV indicates The New International Version, NKJV indicates the New King James Version, ASV means the American Standard Version, BBE means the Bible in Basic English, DBY means the Darby translation, NLT means the New Living Translation, and NAB means the New American Bible translation. For more information, go to the Works Cited page.