Redemption - Voting in light of the Cross

God would have been perfectly just in if he had left us in our rebellious state. Because of his perfect justice, he would have to judge, condemn and punish us. Yet, in his perfect mercy, he chose instead to redeem humanity and creation (Genesis 4 – Revelation 20). This culminated in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Fully God and fully man, he was sinless, and lived the kind of sinless life that you should have lived. Yet, he died the sinners’ death on your behalf, bearing the wrath of God for you. He then rose again, demonstrating that he had conquered sin and death, and hence had broken the curse, to re-establish God’s rightful rule. He then ascended to heaven and promised that he would come again.

We now live in this ‘intermediate’ period between Christ ascending to heaven and his coming again, in the tension of the ‘now and the not yet’. God’s rule is partially here, and the power of sin broken. But, God’s rule will only be fully re-established and the presence of sin completely removed when Christ comes again.

Here, in the ‘now and the not yet’, the Christian’s duty and delight is to preach the good news (gospel) of Christ, and to live out the implications of this gospel in all of life.

How does this influence your voting?

Vote for the most conducive environment and policies to preach the gospel – 1 Tim 2:1-3, Paul tells us that we are to pray for those in authority, so that we may lead a ‘peaceful, quiet life, godly and dignified in every way’. But what is this kind of life for? So that people may ‘come to the knowledge of the truth’ (vs 4) about Jesus Christ and what he has done (vs 5-7). Does the party recognize the freedom of speech and the freedom of worship as fundamental inalienable rights of every human being, and not just a social construct that can be manipulated? Or is it at least tolerant, and does not seek to curb the worship and preaching of Christ? Vote in that direction.

Vote in a way that is consistent with the implications of the gospel – The gospel is objective truth about on objective event. However, it is also a ‘power’ (Romans 1:16) for transformation and change, as its implications are worked out in all of life. We aim to live all of life ‘in step with the truth of the gospel’ (Galatians 2:14). What does this look like? Well, Jesus came to give himself for us. Perhaps the least we can do in our voting is to vote, not just for the benefit of ourselves and our families, but for the sake of others. For the sake of our fellow citizens, for the sake of the less fortunate, for the sake of our neighbor. Wasn’t it Jesus that said to ‘Love your neighbor’ (Matthew 22:39)?

Jesus proclamation of who he was in Luke 4:16-21 gives us a picture of what this may look like. This is what Jesus came to do for others:

• He came to proclaim ‘good news to the poor’ (vs. 18a) – Were you not spiritually poor and wretched, and did not Christ come to clothe you with the riches of his righteousness. Would you now not look to the poor with compassion and clothe them with your riches? Vote the party that best takes the poor seriously.
• He came to proclaim ‘liberty to the captives (exiles)’ (vs. 18b) and ‘oppressed’ (vs.18d) – Were you not enslaved to the exile of your own sin and and oppressed by your enemy the devil until Christ came to set you free and bring you home to himself? Would you not now seek to help your fellow humans captive and oppressed by sins and social ills of all kinds? Vote for the party that best seeks to bring liberty to the oppressed.
• He came to proclaim ‘recovery of sight to the blind’ (vs. 18c) – Were you not spiritually blind, ill and unable to comprehend the light of the gospel, until God, in his mercy opened your eyes to see? Would you not now look with compassion on the physically sick and needy and broken? Vote for the party that takes the needy in our midst seriously.

Vote, eager and hopeful, but place final hope in Christ and what he has done for you – Politics, parties, polls and parliamentary democracy have an amazing potential to do so much good, rightly handled and applied. They are means and tools that God has placed in the hands of humans to bring about good outcomes for society. They are good things. Yet, they are not ultimate things. Although they can ‘save’ and ‘satisfy’ you in many ways, your true and ultimate source of salvation and satisfaction is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Vote, pray and eagerly hope for favorable God honoring results in the polls! But, place your final hope in Christ alone, and say with Paul, “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Philippians 3:8), and, just maybe, we’ll be able to say with Peter to our fellow man, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” (Acts 3:6)

So, go ahead, be free to vote without fear and with full conviction, knowing that your destiny and ultimate hope are in the Cross!