I remember 4 years ago preaching a sermon on voting: should we or shouldn’t we? As liberated people in Jesus Christ, we are free to vote as citizens of our nation or not vote. There is no biblical mandate to do so. (There may be other important reasons for Christians to do so that I might address later, but not today). There’s a lot that could be said about the current political situation that I will refrain from addressing here. I’d likely be “speaking to the choir.” (Do people nowadays even know what that means? HA!) I may address some of those things later. But for now, there is one phenomenon I feel compelled to comment on. The reason comes from a principle found in 2 Chronicles 18-19 and the story of good King Jehoshaphat. I distinguish Jehoshaphat as a good king, because not all of Judah’s kings “did right in the eyes of the LORD.” (The northern kingdom of Israel had NO good kings, only those who did what was evil in the sight of the LORD.) But at the end of his life, the divine commentary on Jehoshaphat was “He walked in the way of Asa his father [another “good” king] and did not turn aside from it, doing what was right in the sight of the LORD” (2 Chron 20:32). Even during his life, Jehu, a seer’s son, told Jehoshaphat that “some good is found in you, for you destroyed the Asheroth [idols] out of the land, and have set your heart to seek God.” So, Jehoshaphat was a good king, and that’s what puzzles me about him. You see, he allied himself by marriage with wicked King Ahab of the north, who induced him to join armies to go to battle against Ramoth-gilead & the king of Syria. Jehoshaphat rashly agreed saying, “I am as you are, my people as your people. We will be with you in the war” (2 Chron 18:3). Long story short, the two kings eventually joined forces and attacked Ramoth-gilead. The battle didn’t end well for Ahab, but God protected Jehoshaphat and he escaped back to Jerusalem. Upon returning home, Jehu met him and gave him a rebuking message from God in the form of a very thought-provoking question: “Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the LORD?”
This is the question I want to ask my “evangelical” friends who have decided to vote for the Democrat presidential candidate, Joe Biden. With their vote, they choose to align themselves with a party that I believe qualifies as truly wicked and hates God. I’m not saying that every Democrat is wicked and hates God, but I believe the official party platform does qualify for that designation. It’s no secret that the Democrat Party Platform promotes “reproductive rights,” that is, the right of a woman to terminate her pregnancy (i.e. kill her baby) with no limits on and public funding for all abortions. This party also promotes the right to choose whom to love and marry (i.e., homosexual marriages). There are other matters I could refer to as equally threatening to Christians or other faith communities. Furthermore, many other unsavory groups have aligned themselves with the Democrat party line, too, and we have seen what their destructive actions have done.
So, I just want to ask the same question Jehu the seer’s son asked, “Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the LORD?” Should you vote for a man who is the spokesperson for a political party that stands for what God has clearly forbidden? By saying all this, I am NOT promoting our current president or the political party he represents. What I am promoting is asking who & what you will align yourself with by your vote. Should you align yourself in the battle for the White House by choosing a man who opposes two key Christian tenets: the sanctity of life and the sanctity of marriage? Is your heart wholly devoted to Jesus Christ, or are your loyalties divided? As Jehoshaphat learned, we must not turn from the path of righteousness, because only that is what exalts a nation (Proverbs 14:34).
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