The Centurion Papers

This article is written by Pastor Shane Kastler, a friend of our ministry and we are grateful that he is permitting us to share it with you.

(NOTE: This is my "Seeking Higher Ground" article for this week's newspaper).

“For the land is full of blood; and the city is full of injustice.” (Ezekiel 9:9)

When you look over the course of world history, you will discover that Americans have a very rare privilege by being allowed to elect our leaders. It is an honor that we should not take for granted, realizing that many lives have been lost to gain us the freedoms we enjoy. The wise American will study issues and candidates, as time permits, then go to the ballot box and cast votes that honor the Lord.

The idea of voting was fairly foreign to Biblical times, so you won’t find the Bible commanding you to embrace one political party over another. With that said, Christians should make all decisions in life (including voting) with a Biblical mindset and worldview. Some issues might be nothing more than personal preference, with no moral imperative at stake. Economic and tax issues might simply boil down to whether or not you think the extra taxes you’ll pay are justified for what the money will be spent on. Other issues are blatantly moral and Christians should take these issues into account when voting.

For example, no Christian has any business giving unfettered support to a political candidate that embraces the murder of innocent children. Though this murder might be legal in our depraved nation; and though supporters like to use words like “choice” or “abortion” the truth is too plain to miss. Abortion is state sanctioned murder of our most innocent and helpless people.

So feel free to debate issues all day long; as long as the issues are truly debatable. Abortion is not. Abortion is vile. Too many politicians in our nation have exploited this issue to gain votes from those too ignorant to see they’re being exploited. Scare tactics that would encourage a woman to avoid any candidate that would dare take away her right to “choose” are all too common. And the result is too many political leaders who have strolled into office by walking over the top of the corpses of millions of dead babies. When politicians loudly espouse this “right” to kill the young as a virtue, then the citizenry needs to seriously give pause before granting political support to such a candidate. If the President of the United States doesn’t have the backbone to defend the most helpless people in his nation, what makes you think he’ll defend you when the chips are down? If the President of the United States is more concerned with appeasing radical feminists than he is pleasing Almighty God, there is a problem in the land. And while you might not be able to fully embrace or endorse any candidate, you can clearly disqualify some based on common morality and decency.

To the American voter, I simply say this: prayerfully vote for whomever you wish. But know that when your life ends, you will not stand before a Democrat or Republican to give an account. You will stand before the Lord Jesus Christ. Be prepared to stand with the assurance that you followed Christ and made all decisions in life based upon His Word and what He would have you do.

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