The Bible and Politics--What Should We Look for When Voting for Representatives?

This is a question we ask and get asked almost every election season here in the United States.  Many of the candidates from both sides of the aisle would like you to believe that it is God's will for you to vote for them and that somehow their platform is most closely aligned with what they perceive to be the worldview of the religious group they are trying to curry favor with.  For Christians that means seeing politicians visiting churches and other religious gatherings, coming on Christian talk shows, and sprinkling their speeches with Bible verses to try and make it sounds as if the Bible supports their position.  The purpose of this article is not so much to go there and definitely not to support or endorse any candidate, but to talk more generally about the institution of "Government" that the LORD established in the book of Genesis and how we are responsible to establish government and how those in government actually have delegated authority that ultimately belongs to the LORD.  We should therefore, when possible, look for servants of God to be our government officials and leaders who have the qualifications that God gave to His people.  Let's look at those verses now.


Deuteronomy 16:18-20
English Standard Version
​
Justice
18 “You shall appoint judges and officers in all your towns that the Lord your God is giving you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment. 19 You shall not pervert justice. You shall not show partiality, and you shall not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and subverts the cause of the righteous. 20 Justice, and only justice, you shall follow, that you may live and inherit the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

One branch of government that we have is the Judiciary, which will overlap a bit with my discussion on Law when I get there--Law and Politics intersect because the Legislature passes the Laws and we want those Legislators to be godly men (and women) who make laws consistent with the Law of God.  Then there are is an Executive branch in the United States that executes and enforces the law and policy that is passed by the Legislature.  In many countries the power of the Executive rests in a king or a queen, but the people give this power to the President and his Cabinet here so that they can prosecute crimes.  Then the Judiciary hears the case and listens to the facts of the case and determines not only innocence or guilt, but also what punishment is fair in the situation.  We get the idea of all of these duties of government from the Bible.

While Israel was what was called a Theocracy in the Old Testament from the book of Exodus through the book of Judges, but became a Theocratic Monarchy after this, we do not necessarily need to look to that system to say that is the system of politics that we as a country must adopt--however that ultimately will be the political system of the New Heaven and the New Earth.   Jesus, who is God the Son, will reign from the throne of David and of His kingdom there shall be no end (both in terms of time and space).  He will reign in all places for all times.  It will once again be a theocratic system where God is our king.  We see this in the book of Revelation when Jesus is called "King of Kings and Lord of Lords."  Some of us in world don't like the idea of sovereign like a king or an emperor, but there is nothing wrong with having all the power vested in a chief executive if the person is good and righteous.  The problem is that we know from the book of Romans that there is none righteous, no not even one.  Only God is the Righteous One who is able to be both the Just and the Justifier.  He is the one who not only is Righteous, but can make others to be righteous, and He will always do what is right and just.  The Law of the LORD is also perfect--not just good, but perfect.  Just read Psalm 119 (that will probably be an article all unto itself--how Christians should view the Law of the LORD according to Psalm 119.

So now let's return to our question for today.  Since in a Constitutional Republic with democratic features like the United States we vote to choose our own representatives, how then should we vote?  What principles are important to God that should be important to us.  Let's look at things first that God says that He hates and try to avoid those characteristics in people.


Proverbs 6:16-19
English Standard Version16 There are six things that the Lord hates,
    seven that are an abomination to him:
17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
    and hands that shed innocent blood,
18 a heart that devises wicked plans,
    feet that make haste to run to evil,
19 a false witness who breathes out lies,
    and one who sows discord among brothers.
This is by no means an all-inclusive list, but it's a good thing to say that any man that Proverbs would describe as a "fool" or that openly displays these characteristics in their life should be disqualified from public service.  On the flip-side, I think we should be looking for representatives that meet the qualifications of Deuteronomy 16:18-20.  Notice that I'm not using the qualifications for a deacon or elder in the New Testament because, although they are great passages that tell us what God looks for in a leader, the Church is not the government and the government is not the Church.  Too many people, in my opinion try to vote for someone that they would like to have serve as pastor of their church who cannot fulfil the basic duties of a "king" in the Bible to enforce the Law and got war to defend the people (it is this second one that is hard for many pastors as they seek to make peace, not war).  That is not to say that the leader of a country is supposed to be quick to shed blood and be what we might call a warmonger.  Proverbs just told us that those who are quick to shed innocent blood are an abomination to the LORD.  But, we cannot be afraid to fight for what is right in the halls of the Legislature and in the Courts and if necessary on the battlefield.

There are great resources out there like ​https://ivoterguide.com/ that can help Christians choose someone based on their public position statements, voting record and monetary contributions.  It's an imperfect system as many people can try to pretend they are something they are not to get elected, but ultimately they are known by what they do and not just what they say they will do.  I personally look at a few issues like if a candidate is pro-life from conception to natural death in his or her statements and policies.  I also look for someone who calls evil what it is--I don't want a leader who calls evil good and good evil.  I look for a leader who support and defends religious liberty (even for people that believe different things from me that I personally disagree with--I don't, at this time, want a state-sponsored Church.  However, I know ultimately that is what Jesus will bring about in the end).  I look for leaders that refuse to show partiality and won't take a bribe and for those who desire for good to be done to the poor and the oppressed--ultimately it is the job of the Church to take care of the widows and orphans, so I'm not talking about social welfare programs, but I want to see someone who has a heart of compassion for those who are hurting in the world and who encourages others to get involved in being part of the solution--especially when we encourage churches to send relief workers and missionaries around the world to help as we cannot separate the physical healing people need from the spiritual healing that they need.  I look at how they view money and if they understand the concept of biblical stewardship (that's probably another article coming soon), and even how they steward the natural resources given to us by God.  I look for someone who will enforce the laws equally but also who will nominate justices who will be just, fair and equitable in their rulings and decisions.  I don't specifically look for the executive or legislature to do the job of the judiciary or for any branch to do the job of another branch for that matter, but I do want to see righteousness rewarded and wickedness punished (even to the point of capital punishment if necessary)--that is one of the primary jobs of the executive branch according to the Bible.

I don't specifically look for any branch of government to have the role of the Old Testament priest to teach the Law and make sure that the people stay holy (it would be great if our government officials wanted to do this, but that is the job of our pastors and elders and my other brothers and sisters in Christ as they are salt and light in their communities).  Therefore there should be a cooperative effort between the government that is working from the top-down and the Church that is working from the bottom-up to accomplish many of the same goals--to protect the life and liberty of the citizens and to encourage good citizenship which we know happens best when the citizens are transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit to be made into the image of Christ.  You will have more righteousness and less wickedness when the society as a whole is made of people who are Spirit-filled and Christ-like, loving God and desiring to do what is pleasing to Him.  For that reason, our faith and our politics are inseparable and what we do as a gospel-centered ministry will be seen as political in nature because changing the hearts of the people will change what kind of government they desire and the hearts of those who will be elected into those offices.  If you don't like your choices for who to vote for, invest time, talent and treasure into evangelism and discipleship and encourage godly men and women to serve in politics.  You just might get better options in the future.