For Whom Should A Christian Vote, Pt. 2

The following is my sermon notes from the last installment in my series, "Politically Incorrect".

For Whom Should A Christian Vote, Pt. 2

Matthew 10:16 (ESV) — 16  “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.

Review

1A.  Your vote is a stewardship from God.   1 Corinthians 4:2 (ESV) — 2  Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.

1B.  We are charged with using our resources and abilities to further the agenda of the Kingdom of God. Note: the parable of the talents.

2B.  We are to use wisdom in dealing with the imperfections of living in a fallen world. Matthew 10:16 (ESV) — 16  “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.

3B.   If we fail to vote, we have shirked our responsibility and have sinned.   James 4:17 (NKJV) — 17 Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

4B.  We must choose from the existing candidates and vote for that person.

1C.  When I vote for any man or woman, I am voting for someone who is not entirely good.  Romans 3:10 (NKJV) — 10 As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one;

Romans 3:23 (NKJV) — 23  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

2C.  Voting for a Christian or the person who is “more” Christian is not always an option in a society in which Biblical Christians are the minority.

3C.  Historically, one of the nominees of the two major parties will be elected.

NOTE:  The nature of our system of government is that more choice exists earlier in the process.  The time for influencing the choices or changing the system is early in an election cycle.

4C.  Voting for a minor party candidate, writing in a candidate, or abstaining from voting has the effect of electing the candidate whose views are most different from yours.

5C.  The likelihood that both candidates for an office will be identical in the good and evil they do is infinitesimal.  One will very probably do more good amid the bad, even if only a little.

Intro

• There are many issues that have moral aspects to them and that offer a contrast between the two major parties.  Time does not permit an examination of them all.  Nor do each rise to the level of importance of the four issues I will mention today.

Body

1A.  Sanctity of Life, or abortion.

        1B.  The Bible on abortion.

1C.Babies are a gift from God.  Psalm 127:3 (NKJV) — 3 Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward.

2C.  Human life is made is made in the image of God. Genesis 1:27 (NKJV) — 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

3C.  God shapes a child from the moment of conception. Psalm 139:13–14 (ESV) — 13 For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.

4C.  God endows each human life with purpose.  Jeremiah 1:5 (ESV) — 5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

NOTE:  Our care for life should extend to individuals at every stage of life.  Proverbs 31:9 (NKJV) — 9 Open your mouth, judge righteously, And plead the cause of the poor and needy.

        2B.  The candidates on abortion.

1C.  Barack Obama. The Democratic Party strongly and unequivocally supports Roe v. Wade and a woman's right to make decisions regarding her pregnancy, including a safe and legal abortion, regardless of ability to pay. We oppose any and all efforts to weaken or undermine that right. Abortion is an intensely personal decision between a woman, her family, her doctor, and her clergy; there is no place for politicians or government to get in the way. We also recognize that health care and education help reduce the number of unintended pregnancies and thereby also reduce the need for abortions. We strongly and unequivocally support a woman's decision to have a child by providing affordable health care and ensuring the availability of and access to programs that help women during pregnancy and after the birth of a child, including caring adoption programs.

Source: 2012 Democratic Party Platform Sep 4, 2012

                                 1997: opposed bill preventing partial-birth abortion. 

Trust women to make own decisions on partial-birth abortion. 

Supports funding abortions with federal funds through international agencies.

2C.  Mitt Romney on abortion.  Faithful to the "self-evident" truths enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, we assert the sanctity of human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed. We support a human life amendment to the Constitution and endorse legislation to make clear that the Fourteenth Amendment's protections apply to unborn children. We oppose using public revenues to promote or perform abortion or fund organizations which perform or advocate it and will not fund or subsidize health care which includes abortion coverage. We support the appointment of judges who respect traditional family values and the sanctity of innocent human life. We oppose the non-consensual withholding or withdrawal of care or treatment, including food and water, from people with disabilities, including newborns, as well as the elderly and infirm, just as we oppose active and passive euthanasia and assisted suicide.

Source: 2012 Republican Party Platform Aug 27, 2012

                As church leader, urged at-risk mom against abortion.

Following in Reagan’s footsteps in converting to pro-life. 

Now firmly pro-life, despite 2002 tolerance for abortion. (Dec 2006)

On March 12, 2012, the Obama administration issued a final rule under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) that requires many health insurers to charge all enrollees for elective abortions, as well as for providing contraceptives of all kinds, including those which cause abortions.

It’s interesting to me that former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop said that in his 35 years in medicine he has “never seen one case where abortion was necessary to save a woman’s life.”

2A.  Sanctity of Marriage

        1B.  The Bible on marriage.

1C.  God has specifically sanctioned and celebrated sexuality between a man and a woman who are married to each other. 

Matthew 19:4–5 (NKJV) — 4 And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?

Hebrews 13:4 (NKJV) — 4 Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.

NOTE:  Only God gets to define what marriage is.  Man cannot simple decide to change or amend the definition.  A union between two gay men or two gay women can never be a marriage. Any multiple of people entering into a contract can never be a marriage.

2C.  God has prohibited sex outside the bounds of marriage between a man and a woman.  1 Thessalonians 4:3 (NKJV) — 3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality.

1 Corinthians 6:18–20 (NKJV) — 18 Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. 19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.

3C.  God specifically prohibits homosexual activity.  Leviticus 18:22 (NKJV) — 22 You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination.

4C.  God designed marriage between a man and a woman to be permanent.

Matthew 19:4–6 (NKJV) — 4 And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’ ? 6 So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”

1 Corinthians 7:10–12 (NKJV) — 10 Now to the married I command, yet not I but the Lord: A wife is not to depart from her husband. 11 But even if she does depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband. And a husband is not to divorce his wife. 12 But to the rest I, not the Lord, say: If any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her.

NOTE:  Many Christians feel that because homosexual marriage does not personally harm them, it should be tolerated and accepted legally.  But the issue isn’t perceived personal harm.  God is always concerned about obedience to Him regardless of the sin’s perceived harm to others.  Government should not endorse or call something good that God has said is an abomination.

        2B.  The politicians on marriage.

1C.  Mitt Romney on marriage.  Congressional Republicans took the lead in enacting the Defense of Marriage Act, affirming the right of States and the federal government not to recognize same-sex relationships licensed in other jurisdictions. The current Administration's open defiance of this constitutional principle--in its handling of immigration cases, in federal personnel benefits, in allowing a same-sex marriage at a military base, and in refusing to defend DOMA in the courts--makes a mockery of the President's inaugural oath. We commend the United States House of Representatives and State Attorneys General who have defended these laws when they have been attacked in the courts. We reaffirm our support for a Constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. We applaud the citizens of the majority of States which have enshrined in their constitutions the traditional concept of marriage, and we support the campaigns underway in several other States to do so.

Source: 2012 Republican Party Platform Aug 27, 2012

2003: Battled legislatively against legalizing gay marriage. 

Marriage pre-dates our Constitution & shouldn’t de redefined.

Marriage is a sacred institution between a man and a woman.

Marriage is more than a personally rewarding social custom. It is also critical for the well-being of a civilization. That is why it is so important to preserve traditional marriage – the joining together of one man and one woman. As president, Mitt will not only appoint an Attorney General who will defend the Defense of Marriage Act – a bipartisan law passed by Congress and signed by President Clinton – but he will also champion a Federal Marriage Amendment to the Constitution defining marriage as between one man and one woman.  Mittromney.com

2C.  Barack Obama on marriage.  We support the right of all families to have equal respect, responsibilities, and protections under the law. We support marriage equality and support the movement to secure equal treatment under law for same-sex couples. We also support the freedom of churches and religious entities to decide how to administer marriage as a religious sacrament without government interference.

We oppose discriminatory federal and state constitutional amendments and other attempts to deny equal protection of the laws to committed same-sex couples who seek the same respect and responsibilities as other married couples. We support the full repeal of the so-called Defense of Marriage Act and the passage of the Respect for Marriage Act.

Source: 2012 Democratic Party Platform Sep 4, 2012

President Obama’s public approval of homosexual marriage in May of 2012

Homosexuality no more immoral than heterosexuality. (Oct 2007)

3A.  Debt

        1B.  The Bible on debt.

1C.  Debt enslaves the one in debt.  Proverbs 22:7 (NKJV) — 7 The rich rules over the poor, And the borrower is servant to the lender.

2C.  God’s ideal is for nations that follow Him to not become indebted.  Deuteronomy 15:5–6 (NKJV) — 5 only if you carefully obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe with care all these commandments which I command you today. 6 For the Lord your God will bless you just as He promised you; you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow; you shall reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over you.

        2B.  The candidates on debt.

1C.  Barack Obama.  President Obama and Democrats in Congress cut taxes for every working family, putting more money in the pockets of Americans who need it most. A typical family has saved $3,600 during his first term. Now he's fighting to stop middle class families and those aspiring to join the middle class from seeing their taxes go up and to extend key tax relief for working families and those paying for college, while asking the wealthiest and corporations to pay their fair share. That is why we will always vigorously oppose the type of tax reform supported by Mitt Romney, which independent experts have found would require raising taxes on typical families with children by at least $2,000 if it were paid for. At the same time, Mitt Romney's plan would cut taxes for those making over $3 million by an average of $250,000 and would create incentives that will lead to hundreds of thousands of jobs going overseas at the expense of American workers.

Source: 2012 Democratic Party Platform Sep 4, 2012

NOTE:  The DPP did not directly address the debt or balancing the budget.

Freeze annual domestic spending for next five years. (Jan 2011)

We don't need a Constitutional amendment to balance budget. (Jan 2012)

2C.  Mitt Romney.  Republicans have repeatedly tried to reform the budget process, in particular by voting for a Balanced Budget Amendment, following the lead of 33 States which have put that restraint into their own constitutions. We call for a Constitutional amendment requiring a super-majority for any tax increase, with exceptions for national emergencies, and imposing a cap limiting spending to the historical average percentage of GDP so that future Congresses cannot balance the budget by raising taxes.

Source: 2012 Republican Party Platform Aug 27, 2012

Can't balance budget by cutting waste; must cut spending too. (Sep 2011)

4A.  Religious liberty.  

        1B.  The Bible on religious liberty.

1C.  Faith is a matter between an individual and God. Revelation 22:17 (NKJV) — 17 And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.

Galatians 5:1 (NKJV) — 1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.

Galatians 5:13 (NKJV) — 13 For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

2C.  The government has a different sphere of authority than the church.  Matthew 22:21 (NKJV) — 21 They said to Him, “Caesar’s.” And He said to them, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

        2B.  The candidates on religious liberty.

1C.  Mitt Romney.  Because of the vital role of religious organizations, charities, and fraternal benevolent societies in fostering benevolence and patriotism, they should not be subject to taxation, and donations to them should continue to be tax deductible.

Source: 2012 Republican Party Platform Aug 27, 2012

We support the public display of the Ten Commandments as a reflection of our history and of our country's Judeo-Christian heritage, and we affirm the right of students to engage in prayer in public schools and to have equal access to public schools and other public facilities to accommodate religious freedom in the public square. We assert every citizen's right to apply religious values to public policy and the right of faith-based organizations to participate fully in public programs.

Source: 2012 Republican Party Platform Aug 27, 2012

2C.  Barack Obama.  Faith has always been a central part of the American story. We know that our nation, our communities, and our lives are made vastly stronger and richer by faith and the countless acts of justice and mercy it inspires. Faith-based organizations will always be critical allies in meeting the challenges that face our nation and our world--from domestic and global poverty, to climate change and human trafficking. People of faith and religious organizations do amazing work in communities across this country & the world, and we believe in lifting up and valuing that good work, and finding ways to support it where possible. We believe in constitutionally sound, evidence-based partnerships with faith-based and other non-profit organizations to serve those in need and advance our shared interests. There is no conflict between supporting faith-based institutions and respecting our Constitution, and a full commitment to both principles is essential for the continued flourishing of both faith & country.

Source: 2012 Democratic Party Platform Sep 4, 2012

In October of 2011, the Obama Justice Department argued before the Supreme Court in the case of Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. EEOC that the ministerial exemption to federal hiring standards should be rescinded.

The U.S. Supreme Court amicus brief filed on February 13, 2012 by lead counsel Bioethics Defense Fund exposes how the individual mandate not only forces individuals into private purchases, it also effectively mandates millions of Americans to violate their consciences by being put into policies that require direct personal payment into a special insurance fund for other people’s elective abortions.

Concl

It is true that over the last four presidencies that the trajectory of government has not changed in terms of debt, budgets, war, foreign policy, education, and any number of other issues.  It is also true that the government as increasingly invaded our privacies and encroached our rights via the Patriot Act under Presidents Bush and Obama.

Psalm 146:3 (NKJV) — 3 Do not put your trust in princes, Nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help.

Jeremiah 17:5 (NKJV) — 5 Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man And makes flesh his strength, Whose heart departs from the Lord.

Philippians 3:20 (NKJV) — 20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,

Governor Romney is not the ideal candidate. The only question is whether he is a better alternative than the only other man who can possibly win. 

My vote is not proclaiming my ideals.  My vote is a tool to do the most good I can where I am and with that which I have to work.

In an America that is post-Christian and increasingly antagonistic to godly values, I must be wise as a serpent and harmless as a dove.

Always look beyond our circumstances and trust that God is sovereign, and that He is working all things together for the good of his children.  Romans 8.28-29.  If this election turns out different than we hope, so be it. God will still be on the throne. 

If this country is like a car driving 70 MPH toward a cliff that is 100 miles away, of course you want to stop it and preferably turn around. But what if, on the day you have to vote, your two options are to keep driving 70 MPH or slow it down to 30 MPH? At least if you slow it down, you buy some time to make an adjustment.

Though the election is about more issues than the ones I’ve listed, all of these are gateway issues for a Christian.  They determine whether I can consider voting for a candidate based on other issues.

Based upon this comparison, it is my judgment that a Christian cannot in good conscience vote for Barack Obama.

Sources:  Published writings by Randy Alcorn, Wayne Grudem, and Tony Evans were used as sources and references for this message.  Additionally, the published platforms of the Democratic and Republican parties, the candidates' websites, and media websites were referenced for quotations.