Mr. Editor:
It has been on my heart for some time, to put the coming election into proper perspective. To that end, I request the opportunity to address the community by means of your publication. (Thank you.)
The Scriptures teach that a Christian should pray for the authorities in order to “lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty” (1 Timothy 2:1-2). Consequently, if it is a duty to pray for the liberty to live rightly, it is certainly a duty to vote for liberty. Three matters in particular come to mind.
First, liberty is jeopardized by debt: “The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender” (Proverbs 22:7). We have long been a nation in debt, both as a people and in our government; but now we are driving off a cliff. What we once borrowed under President Bush in a year, we are now borrowing per month. Much of this debt is held, not by Americans, but by foreign powers, including communist China. We are selling our national sovereignty for short-term gains. Is this wise? We must vote for true liberty.
Second, liberty is jeopardized by sin: “The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23). Every sin leads to an addiction, and if unchecked through repentance, eventually leads to death. Sin kills not only our souls, but also our health, our relationships, and even our society. Just think how no-fault divorce laws have hurt countless spouses and children, and how legalized abortion has now killed over fifty million pre-born American children. As a society, we now often forego marriage for cohabitation, and define marriage to include the sin of homosexuality! It may look like freedom to have no rules, but if a rule keeps a person from killing oneself or another, it enhances the long-range freedom to truly live.
Please, please take this thought seriously. Enforcing the letter of God’s law is no restriction on true personal liberty, for the truly free man is the man who is internally free from sinful addiction and externally free to express love to his neighbor. “Love works no ill to his neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law” (Romans 13:10). As cited earlier, a Christian should pray for the liberty to live rightly. Therefore, we must vote for true liberty by opposing unrighteousness. Justice for the vulnerable is the main reason for government (Psalm 82).
Third, liberty is jeopardized by irreligion: “Be wise, O kings; be instructed, judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son [Jesus], lest He be angry, and you perish from the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him” (Psalm 2:10-12). Religion has long been important to Americans. The founding fathers knew that true liberty required virtue (my last point) and that virtue is best served by religion. My point here goes farther. Each government is accountable both to God, who set it up to enforce His law, and also to Jesus Christ, who is “ruler of the kings of the earth” (Revelation 1:5). To oppose God and Christ through public policy is to jeopardize not just the liberty of a nation, but its very existence! Why risk such folly! We need Christ-honoring or, at least, God-fearing men in power. We must vote for liberty.
Each of us are accountable to God and to Christ in this matter. As Americans, we have been given the rich blessing of self-government. “To whom much has been given, much shall be required” (Luke 12:48). It is our responsibility to vote with knowledge, for a vote is an endorsement, and an endorsement can make us responsible for the sins of another. It is a weighty matter, but a blessed responsibility. God bless you as you vote this fall for true liberty!
Sincerely,
Bob Snyder
Pastor, Open Door Bible Church
Spring Branch Academy - Jonesville, Michigan 