Romans 13:1-7 and 1 Peter 2:13-17 teach us that earthly governments are sanctioned by God and have authority to protect citizens, punish evildoers, and provide an environment where people can flourish. In our form of government we vote representatives into legislative offices. Laws are enacted and changed through the legislative process. If Christians desire to have a voice in the shaping of our laws and ordinances, we must vote for the candidates that most closely reflect a biblical worldview. In this form of government, our voice is our vote.

As a pastor, I feel a responsibility to teach people about what the Word of God says about the various issues to insure they are thinking from a biblical worldview and not a secular one (Ti 2:1). Without calling attention to specific candidates or parties, I teach what Scripture says about the core issues of our faith and encourage them to compare these truths with the candidates and their parties.

Some of the positions that I believe are critical for believers to embrace are the sanctity of life, marriage between a man and woman, religious freedom, and sound financial stewardship. If we can get the basic dogmas of our faith in place, other issues will come into alignment. As the election season approaches I encourage people to prayerfully consider candidates in the following ways:

• Candidates that support life and biblical marriage are critical in upholding biblical values and a Christian worldview. Even if a candidate is not a believer, they can be God-fearing and honoring of biblical values.
• Determine which platforms are the most biblically aligned. When we vote for a candidate, we are also standing in agreement with their party. We must be sure we are not unequally yoked as believers.
• Look beyond the personality to their message. Some leaders have magnetic personalities and some do not. Good fruit always follows good leaders, regardless of their style or persona.

Most importantly, I urge the people to pray. We are instructed to pray for all who serve in office and, as believers, we must be bipartisan in our prayers. My call is to preach the Word of God and remind the people of our ongoing opportunity to impact our civil government through our voice AND our vote.

PRAYER POINTS:

• Pray for pastors to have the courage and boldness to teach biblical values with clarity and purpose.
• Pray for church leaders to have a firm conviction of Kingdom principles that uphold the sanctity of live, biblical marriage, and other core doctrines of the Christian faith.
• Pray for leaders to have the wisdom and discernment to equip their congregations to be effective change agents in our culture for the sake of the Kingdom.

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