We continue our thoughts on the Christian voting in political elections, and today we want to consider another idea that frequently comes up in conversations on this topic. To many people, voting, and other political activities beyond obedience to the laws, constitutes worldliness. This argument is met with the claim that we “ought not become hermits and monks hidden away from the population of the earth!” Some scholars believe that this was the sort of thing under consideration in Romans 14 when Paul addressed some in the churches there who were almost ascetic in there strictness and abstinence from certain practices.[1] It certainly is our prayer that when considering this topic both sides would maintain the spirit of love and forbearance that Paul enjoins upon Christians in that great chapter. This is an interesting idea to apply to the voting discussion. Is abstinence from voting an absurd withdrawal of oneself from the world about them, or is it a necessary separation for a sanctified life?
Love Not the World
One of the most pervasive and prevalent themes in the New Testament is a strong warning against the perils of worldliness. From the day when the devil’s lies beguiled mankind to sin against the Father in heaven and the whole of creation was cursed with death and decay a line of separation has been drawn down the middle of the human race dividing the worlding from the child of God. This line of distinction can never be blurred, it can never be smudged, it can only be crossed. Jesus said in Matthew 6:24, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” James the Apostle would say, “Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.” (James 4:4) If you stand for God you are against the World! If you stand with the World you are against God! In Genesis 6:2 the Bible tells us that in the days most ancient, “that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose.” This marriage of God’s Children to the Children of the World did not purify the world, but rather it tainted the children of God and the world that followed was a world of tyrants and bullies, men and women of such evil behavior and sinful imagination that it grieved God and caused him to repent of having made the human race! This will always be the result of letting the world into the church! For this reason John gave a complete prohibition to the Church, “Love not the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.” (1 John 2:15-16) The Apostle Paul, writing to the church at Corinth of carnal and devilish things said, “And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “ I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people.” Therefore “Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the LORD Almighty.” (2 Corinthians 6:16-18) Now if this was all that we had written on the subject, this and other admonitions like it, we might be driven to leave the “world” behind and live in a walled commune like some religious groups do, but there is further instruction of God to consider.
In the World, But Not of the World
After receiving the instruction in 1 Corinthians 5 regarding the immoral man and the need for withdrawal, and the discourse about how immorality defiles the church, many Christians began to think that they had to withdraw from everybody who was in sin, in or out of the church! “I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person. For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? But those who are outside God judges. Therefore “put away from yourselves the evil person.” (1 Corinthians 5:9-13) Paul’s words are clearly understood today. We have all around us an immoral and untoward generation, but we are to shine as lights in this world. Not to flee from the darkness but to cause the darkness to flee from the lives of those around us! Some time ago there was much talk of how the super store Wal-Mart was pro-homosexual and some suggested that it should be boycotted. That is a personal decision, but Paul’s statement is that we ought not judge them that are without as we do them that are within. We do our best to avoid shopping at places who sell a lot of liquor and pornography, but we know that when the money leaves our hands there is no telling what others do with it! Paul says that we should not let concerns like that keep us holed up away from the world. “Be in the world, not of the world.”
But what about voting, and other politics? Is that just being in the world? Or is it being of the world? Let us consider some aspects of the civil government that are unquestionably carnal.
Warfare
The past several years have proven to us, in case we were on the verge of forgetting, that war is a very real thing. The new president tells us that change is coming, but even he cannot change human nature! War will be. “War and rumors of wars” Jesus said. They will always rage in this land and will never end until the day that Christ returns to gather his children home and set the world on fire. But for know we as Christians must consider the place of war in our lives. The Bible tells us time and time again that the Christian religion is a pacifistic one in which men lay down their swords and shields to study war no more. As the Prophet Isaiah spoke of the Messiah’s kingdom he said, “He shall judge between the nations, And rebuke many people; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore.” (Isaiah 2:4) That Jesus would judge between nations indicates that he would bring peace to men of all nations. This referred specifically to the fact that in the Kingdom of Christ the Jews and Gentiles, national arch-enemies, would be brethren in fellowship, harmony and love. Isaiah would speak of this many times in prophecies of the Messianic kingdom once even drawing the picture of a lion lying down next to a lamb as a symbol of this wonderful peace that would exist in the Church. Now certainly this does not mean world peace, for that was never promised on this earth, but it refers to the fact that those who live in Christ’s kingdom will have peace and that war will no longer be a part of there lives, but rather when in need of protection they would be ministered to by “other kings” (the kingdoms of this world). (Isaiah 60:18; Romans 13:1-6) The Apostle Paul would write of this saying, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.” (2 Corinthians 10:3-6) Here Paul informs us that some warfare is spiritual, that being the “good warfare” against the Devil and his legions for the cause of Christ and the furtherance of the gospel, and other warfare is carnal, or worldly, that being the warfare of men and nations that results in: murder, rape, poverty, disease, famine, sorrow and sadness. Now to get involved in earthly politics is to get involved in carnal warfare in one way or another, and to entangle yourself in un-godly and un-Christian things.
Partisanship
Here is one that perhaps many do not consider, but this year especially it was painfully obvious that the political arena is one of mud-slinging, slander, libel and division. Most definitely there is no greater myth than a politician who “brings people together.” While most division that we read about in the Bible is speaking of religious division as the result of false doctrines being preached, it is clear that in and of itself, division is carnal and worldly! Paul the Apostle said, “And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal?” (1 Corinthians 3:1-4) Now certainly I am not suggesting that Paul here is directly addressing divisions between republican and democrat, but I must say that those divisions do exist in the Church and cause much strife, contention and heartache. Even marriages suffer as the result of political partisan-ism. Certainly if Christians involving themselves so deeply in politics should result in division for the Body of Christ it is above all else worldly and we ought to be separate from it!
Immorality
Finally, we note that to be involved in politics, even in the realm of voting, is to entangle yourself in a sticky web of immorality and sin! Men who will compromise on matters of an infant’s life or on the definition of marriage, or men who would reinstate the draft and force our boys and girls into armed combat are not the kind of people we should be involving ourselves with! Even those with “good policies” show themselves to be depraved, base and improper. Most of the time Christians I know who vote will defend to their dieing breath every deed, good or bad, in the conduct of their candidate! Should we be found to advocate and uplift men and women who set such a poor example for the behavior of the nation? This, I do believe, goes far beyond shopping at a supermarket whose executives do shady dealings.
Let the Dead Bury the Dead
In my first article on this subject I made the statement that when it comes to political election we should “let the dead bury the dead.” I received some e-mails criticizing this statement as “out of context and senseless.” I must apologize for being more ambiguous than I intended. What I meant by the statement was what I believe Jesus meant when he said it. In Matthew 8, one of the Lord’s disciples said he would follow Him if first he might go and attend to the funeral services of his father, in the near hyperbolic incident Jesus said, “Let the dead bury the dead” meaning, let carnal men tend to carnal things, we have a higher calling! I believe that this has great application in our topic at hand. While God uses the Civil Governments in some way and Christians obey them and call upon them for defense, as far as their inner workings are concerned, we ought to leave them to carnal men and get about the Father’s business. – CED
[1] Charles Ellicott; Commentary on Romans