Should Christians Vote?

[Posted October 17, 2024]

Hi Mike,

With election season now in full swing, the Christian coalition is once again demanding that all followers of Christ should ‘do the right thing’ and cast their votes.

One of the proof texts from Scripture they use to support their position is found in Proverbs 29:2.

Is this a legitimate Biblical text to persuade believers into not only voting but also encouraging them to become involved in the political process, even running for political office?

Thank you always for your wise counsel, and I’ll look forward to your response.

your brother,

C___

Hi C___,

Yes indeed, the pressure is on to get involved in the affairs of this world, meaning politics, and the so called ‘Christian coalition’ as you point out, is one of the sources of that pressure:

“With election season now in full swing, the Christian coalition is once again demanding that all followers of Christ should ‘do the right thing’ and cast their votes.

One of the proof texts from Scripture they use to support their position is found in Proverbs 29:2

Is this a legitimate Biblical text to persuade believers into not only voting but also encouraging them to become involved in the political process, even running for political office?” (End Quote)

The short answer is… Absolutely not! Here is that verse:

Pro 29:2 When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.

Where in that verse does it say that we should insist that the righteous be in authority? That verse is just a simple statement of fact. Righteous rule does indeed produce good fruit and “the people rejoice”. That simple statement of fact is no more a call for Christians to get involved in the affairs of this world than this verse is a call to “neigh after your neighbors wife”:

Jer 5:8 They were as fed horses in the morning: every one neighed after his neighbour’s wife.

Jeremiah is not exhorting Israel to ‘neigh after [your] neighbor’s wife’. He is simply stating a matter of fact and the same is true of Proverbs 29:2.

There is a Biblical principle which is one of the many “keys to the kingdom of heaven” that will keep us all from being locked out of that kingdom. Here is a link to a 12 part series on The Keys To The Kingdom:

The Keys to the Kingdom

Read that whole series and you will be better equipped to rightly divide the Word than the most highly educated orthodox Christian scholar.

One of those ‘keys’ will go a long way towards answering your question about whether Proverbs 29:2 is an encouragement for Christians to become involved in the affairs of this age. Here is but one of the many keys to the kingdom of heaven:

Psa 119:160 The sum of thy word is truth; And every one of thy righteous ordinances endureth for ever.

Notice the spelling of the second word of that verse. It is spelled “sum”. It is not ‘some’. One of the main reasons there are so many conflicting Christian denominations is that someone uses one verse to establish a new doctrine. So we end up with Seventh Day Adventists because the Bible does indeed say that God rested the 7th day. Then someone notices that the New Testament churches “came together to break bread… on the first day of the week” and neither group even want to consider:

Gal 4:10 Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years.
Gal 4:11 I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.

That is but one of over 40,000 reasons why we have more than 40,000 differing and conflicting Christian denominations.

So here are a few more verses to consider when deciding whether Christians should become involved in the affairs of this world, whether it concerns voting, joining the military, or observing days, months times and years:

2Ti 2:3 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
2Ti 2:4 No man that warreth [“as a good soldier of Jesus Christ”] entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.

That is a pretty straight forward statement. If we are Christ’s soldiers we cannot be a soldier of any earthly nation because we are also “ambassadors for Christ”, and our “citizenship is in heaven” and not on this earth:

2Co 5:20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.(KJV)

Php 3:20 For our citizenship is in heaven; whence also we wait for a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: (ASV)

We are to “obey the powers that be” (Rom 13:1-4) but only when they are not demanding that we disobey the Lord, in which case we must stand on these words:

Act 5:28 Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.
Act 5:29 Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.(KJV)

As heavenly citizens and as ambassadors for Christ we cannot become involved in either the politics nor the militaries of this world. If our U.S. ambassador to Iran were to begin to demonstrate against the Iranian government in any way, he would immediately be recalled. It is not the function of the U.S. ambassador to Iran to demonstrate for women’s rights or the right of an Iranian woman to get an abortion. Neither can the U.S. ambassador to Iran join the Iranian military to fight against Israel. If any ambassador of any country on earth were to do such a thing that person would immediately be recalled and might even lose his American citizenship. Such actions would not be tolerated for even a minute. So it is with our heavenly kingdom and our heavenly King. He will not tolerate such a double minded way of thinking.

I hope this has helped you to see a little more of “the sum” of [the Lord’s] will on this question of whether a Christian should become involved in the affairs of this world. Christ never once demonstrated against the oppressive Roman government of His day, and He is our example that we should walk in His steps:

1Pe 2:21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:

Your brother whose citizenship is in heaven,

Mike