Rom 13:1 Obey the rulers who have authority over you. Only God can give authority to anyone, and he puts these rulers in their places of power.
Rom 13:2 People who oppose the authorities are opposing what God has done, and they will be punished.
Rom 13:3 Rulers are a threat to evil people, not to good people. There is no need to be afraid of the authorities. Just do right, and they will praise you for it.
Rom 13:4 After all, they are God's servants, and it is their duty to help you. If you do something wrong, you ought to be afraid, because these rulers have the right to punish you. They are God's servants who punish criminals to show how angry God is.
Rom 13:5 But you should obey the rulers because you know it is the right thing to do, and not just because of God's anger.
Rom 13:6 You must also pay your taxes. The authorities are God's servants, and it is their duty to take care of these matters.
Rom 13:7 Pay all that you owe, whether it is taxes and fees or respect and honor.
Rom 13:8 Let love be your only debt! If you love others, you have done all that the Law demands. (CEV)
The Primary's are done, two candidates for the office of President for the two major parties have been chosen. Many, myself included, cannot believe that the Democrat's have chosen a blatant criminal for their candidate, but then I guess that should be no surprise considering who they had elected to the White House and Congress in recent times
The Republicans have chosen a man whose personality grates on many people, especially women.
So once again we are hearing many people, especially Christians, say they will withhold their vote. Is this the right attitude for a Christian to take?
I think not!
In the days that Paul wrote, more often than not, who Governed was determined not by vote but by sword and guile.
God has given to America a truly unique form of government, we get to chose who rules over us, more or less anyway. The Electoral College has the actual say as far as President and Vice President, but they usually follow the popular vote and of course our Congressional and local Representatives are elected through the popular vote as are many issues of law.
The first experiment in self rule (that I am aware of) was after Joshua and during the period of the Judges. The Judges where just that, Judges, When the people had an issue that could not be solved at the local level the complainants came to a Judge who was Gods direct representative. He made a ruling based on the Law and Prayer and that was that. The judges also provided for the defense of the people against invaders. That self rule was based on the belief that most people are law abiding, however, it seems that that first experiment failed:
Jdg 21:25 In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
Samuel, the last Judge, was asked by the people to provide a King as Samuel's son's where unfit for the Judge-ship, they were blatant crooks. (Samuel 8:1)
The Kings led the people into many destructive practices that eventually led them into capture and Imprisonment by the Babylonians. King David and his son Solomon were the most notable exceptions.
Fast forward to America and today.
Our form of Government -- Representative Republic -- can only work at its best if all the citizens participate in the process of selecting those who best represent their individual values. To abstain from participation in this God ordained responsibility because you don't like someones personality and the opposing candidate is a crook, is in my every humble opinion, a sin and a slap in the face to our Savior who gave us this responsibility.
As a final note Paul wrote that we are to obey these rulers; "Rom 13:3 Rulers are a threat to evil people, not to good people. There is no need to be afraid of the authorities. Just do right, and they will praise you for it." Christians today must understand that we must do right but our rulers may not praise us for the simple reason that they do not respect "... they are God's servants, and it is their duty to help you."
I cannot in good conscience tell you who to vote for, I can tell you that I feel that Trump best represents both the Christian values and My values which are mostly one and the same, (I am still under construction) but I will tell you that to abstain from voting, in my opinion, show's a lack of concern for both yourself and your neighbor.
In conclusion, pay attention these last few months before the election, make an intelligent choice based on your values, not on your emotions.
Please consider purchasing one of my books, you may find them at; Les's Books.
Thank-you
Rom 13:2 People who oppose the authorities are opposing what God has done, and they will be punished.
Rom 13:3 Rulers are a threat to evil people, not to good people. There is no need to be afraid of the authorities. Just do right, and they will praise you for it.
Rom 13:4 After all, they are God's servants, and it is their duty to help you. If you do something wrong, you ought to be afraid, because these rulers have the right to punish you. They are God's servants who punish criminals to show how angry God is.
Rom 13:5 But you should obey the rulers because you know it is the right thing to do, and not just because of God's anger.
Rom 13:6 You must also pay your taxes. The authorities are God's servants, and it is their duty to take care of these matters.
Rom 13:7 Pay all that you owe, whether it is taxes and fees or respect and honor.
Rom 13:8 Let love be your only debt! If you love others, you have done all that the Law demands. (CEV)
The Primary's are done, two candidates for the office of President for the two major parties have been chosen. Many, myself included, cannot believe that the Democrat's have chosen a blatant criminal for their candidate, but then I guess that should be no surprise considering who they had elected to the White House and Congress in recent times
The Republicans have chosen a man whose personality grates on many people, especially women.
So once again we are hearing many people, especially Christians, say they will withhold their vote. Is this the right attitude for a Christian to take?
I think not!
In the days that Paul wrote, more often than not, who Governed was determined not by vote but by sword and guile.
God has given to America a truly unique form of government, we get to chose who rules over us, more or less anyway. The Electoral College has the actual say as far as President and Vice President, but they usually follow the popular vote and of course our Congressional and local Representatives are elected through the popular vote as are many issues of law.
The first experiment in self rule (that I am aware of) was after Joshua and during the period of the Judges. The Judges where just that, Judges, When the people had an issue that could not be solved at the local level the complainants came to a Judge who was Gods direct representative. He made a ruling based on the Law and Prayer and that was that. The judges also provided for the defense of the people against invaders. That self rule was based on the belief that most people are law abiding, however, it seems that that first experiment failed:
Jdg 21:25 In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
Samuel, the last Judge, was asked by the people to provide a King as Samuel's son's where unfit for the Judge-ship, they were blatant crooks. (Samuel 8:1)
The Kings led the people into many destructive practices that eventually led them into capture and Imprisonment by the Babylonians. King David and his son Solomon were the most notable exceptions.
Fast forward to America and today.
Our form of Government -- Representative Republic -- can only work at its best if all the citizens participate in the process of selecting those who best represent their individual values. To abstain from participation in this God ordained responsibility because you don't like someones personality and the opposing candidate is a crook, is in my every humble opinion, a sin and a slap in the face to our Savior who gave us this responsibility.
As a final note Paul wrote that we are to obey these rulers; "Rom 13:3 Rulers are a threat to evil people, not to good people. There is no need to be afraid of the authorities. Just do right, and they will praise you for it." Christians today must understand that we must do right but our rulers may not praise us for the simple reason that they do not respect "... they are God's servants, and it is their duty to help you."
I cannot in good conscience tell you who to vote for, I can tell you that I feel that Trump best represents both the Christian values and My values which are mostly one and the same, (I am still under construction) but I will tell you that to abstain from voting, in my opinion, show's a lack of concern for both yourself and your neighbor.
In conclusion, pay attention these last few months before the election, make an intelligent choice based on your values, not on your emotions.
Please consider purchasing one of my books, you may find them at; Les's Books.
Thank-you
RSS Feed
