Is There A Christian Way to Vote?
The answer to the above question, in my view, is yes. There is a Christian way to approach the task of voting, in distinction from less consistently Christian or even non-Christian ways. If you’re hoping that I’m going to name names in this brief article, you will be disappointed. The aim of this post is to provide three fundamental concerns to guide the Christian’s decision-making process, assuming that you are going to vote and haven’t voted already.
1.) Vote For An Unconstrained Church
Christians must “seek first God’s Kingdom and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:33). As Christians enter the voting booth, we are, at the end of the day, voting for administrations that push particular policies in our nation’s current situation. Which administration will protect the church’s freedom to pursue its Kingdom-oriented mission through living by God’s commands and proclaiming the gospel of Christ in our nation?
One might think that Christians should not enter the voting booth with a concern for how public policy will impact the church, but why? The separation of church and state is a position on institutional independence, not a mandate to separate the Christian mind into two. God doesn’t tell us to set aside our love for Him and for His church when we enter into the public square. Remember, the church is part of the public square. For this reason, I think that the church’s ability to operate faithfully and unconstrained by civil authorities is the first consideration for Christians when they vote.
2.) Vote For The Common Good
The love of neighbor is a command of God in both the Old and New Testaments (Leviticus 19:18; Mark 12:31). We should want our neighbors to thrive in their personal and family endeavors. This means that voting for policies that will advance the public good ought to be one of the central concerns of the voting Christian. But how do we decide what is good for the community? My neighbor may conceive of the good very differently than I do, so should I vote in accord with their view of goodness or with my own?
In Romans 13, the apostle Paul asserts that rulers of nations, in their rewarding the good and terrorizing the bad, are designed to be “God’s servant for your good" (Romans 13:4). All laws of nations will assume and act upon a particular conception of goodness. We know that some governments can be dangerously misguided in their conception of the good, and so the laws passed by such governments tend to be wicked and harmful. Thus, to the extent that Christians have an influence on the government’s conception of goodness, we should advocate for this conception to be conformed to true, God-defined, goodness.
Remember, every voter, Christian or not, is advocating for the enforcement of a particular morality. Why wouldn’t Christians advocate for a Christian view? Do we not believe that God’s way is better for our neighbor than the Hindu, secularist, or Islamic way? Therefore, the strength of our neighbor’s desires to legalize particular conduct, for example, should not change the Christian’s conception of what would truly be in favor of the common good.
3.) Vote For A Constrained Government
Lastly, the Christian should consider the role or sphere of the government’s authority. If indeed “all authority in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18) has been given over to the incarnate Son, Jesus Christ, no governmental entity is totally sovereign. Earthly nations rise and fall according to God’s sovereignty, not the other way around. A government that recognizes its own limitations—in light of God’s absolute sovereignty and the authority vested in families and churches—will be more effective in accomplishing its own limited tasks.
As Christians cast their votes, may they prayerfully evaluate each set of policies in light of these three fundamental concerns.