With a very intense and divisive election just around the corner, there is a lot of talk in Christian circles about how we should vote this year. Unfortunately, much of the discussion displays a lack of understanding when it comes to Scripture’s teaching on government and how it applies today. While I have no desire in this article to tell you who to vote for, I believe biblically thinking through this issue will bring clarity. What does it mean to vote for someone in the American form of government? And how does the Bible guide us in choosing who to vote for?
Any discussion of the Christian’s relationship to government will include reference to Romans 13:1-7. In this passage, Paul instructs Christians to “be subject to the governing authorities” because these authorities get their derived power from God (13:1-2). The fact all governing authority comes from God highlights two equally essential truths. First, we are to respect just authority because it comes from God. Second, no earthly authority is absolute. The government gets its authority from God, and, therefore, it is not ultimate. The government is God’s servant, accountable to him (13:4). God hems in the government’s authority. In other words, there are some things the government has no right to do for it is not God. Therefore, Christians are to give to Caesar what is his and to God what is his (Mark 12:17). There are some things that belong to God alone, and not Caesar. Where the government stays within its delegated authority, we are to submit joyfully. Where it doesn’t, Christians are free to disobey, and sometimes, we are required to disobey (Acts 4:19).
But how should Christians apply the principle of submission to authority in modern America? We must start by acknowledging that the American system is not one-for-one with the Roman Empire. For example, who is the equivalent of Caesar today? Many would point to the President, but such an answer is short-sighted. Every President swears to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. The powers the President possesses are given to him by the Constitution. He is, at least theoretically, under its authority. But the U.S. governing system is more complicated than that, as the people can amend the Constitution through their representatives.
Another important point to consider is that our leaders are representatives who gain their authority through the “consent of the governed.” America is ultimately about self-government. This is a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. We elect individuals, and in the process, we delegate them authority. In other words, our senators, governors, representatives, and presidents use the authority we the people give to them. They are us, and we are them. The people govern themselves by electing representatives to stand in our place in the process of governing.
To summarize, the highest authority in the American government system, its Caesar, is the Constitution. Additionally, we govern ourselves by electing representatives. We are all little governors; the only question is whether we are faithful or not in this governing?
What does all of this mean for how we vote? First, part of obeying Romans 13 in the American context is for us to submit to the Constitution in how we vote. Politicians who have no regard for the Constitution violate Romans 13, and if we elect such politicians, we violate it as well. To overturn our government’s system and distort or disobey the Constitution is to rebel not just against it, but to rebel against the God who established this form of government as his servant (Rom 13.1-4). Supporting disregard for the rule of law in our candidates is to sin against God by not submitting to a just authority established by God.
Second, there is a moral connection between who we vote for and their governing actions. We delegate authority to our representatives, and they use that power to govern us. For example, if you vote for candidate John Slaughterhouse who openly supports the slaughter of unborn children, and he then uses that delegated authority to continue the murder of said children, then you are to some degree morally responsible for that. He stands in your place with your authority, and you stand with him as he furthers the genocide. Of course, it is a different situation when politicians say they will do one thing, and then do the exact opposite, but voting is not an amoral action. Christian ethics must form how you vote, when they don’t, we are morally liable before God.
Third, since America is a grand experiment in self-governing, there is a sense in which all of us are little Caesars (not the pizza). Each of us is a governing official who will be judged for the job we do. You possess governing authority, so use it to further righteousness. Christian, if you desire to love your neighbor (which you must), then voting for righteous policies is one way to show that love. Even if your neighbor hates the policy. Just as if you were the governor of your state, you will be held accountable for how you exercise your due authority in the American system of governance. The only difference between you and the governor is a matter of degree, not whether you are a part of the governing process. Self-government is not for the faint of heart.
Finally, Christians need to be involved politically, and they need to be involved as Christians. We need more of a Christian witness in the darkness that is our current political life, not less. We need more truth, not less. And we need more submission to Christ, not less. Therefore, when you vote (not if), do so with the kingdom's ethics and morality. Know there are morally righteous laws and morally wicked ones. The Christian's job in politics is not to convert the nation but to advocate for righteous policies and render unto the Constitution what is its due. God has appointed all authority, including our Constitution. Christians, keep this in mind as you vote this year and aim to honor God and love neighbor in who you vote for.
Levi J. Secord