This is a very controversial subject and one that has caused a polarization among Christians. I know Christians who will not only state that it’s our solemn duty to vote, but they also say if one doesn’t vote they are committing a sin. I know other Christians who are just as deeply exercised about NOT VOTING. Scriptures are cited in support of each view but in my opinion the overwhelming weight of evidence favors the second view. Here are my scriptural reasons for NOT VOTING:

1) God alone determines who is in power. Romans 13:1 states, “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For THERE IS NO AUTHORITY EXCEPT FROM GOD, and THE AUTHORITIES THAT EXIST ARE APPOINTED BY GOD.” We learn here that ALL AUTHORITY (i.e. all who are “in power”) is by God’s sovereign choice. Whether it is a Monarchy, a Dictatorship, or a Democracy/Republic, it is God who elevates one to a position of power. So, it is NOT the Christian’s vote that puts them into power, but God! When a wicked person with unscrupulous principles gets voted into power I often ask Christians who vote, “Did God let you down by not putting ‘the person of your choice’ into power, or did He, in His infinite wisdom, put this person into power to fulfill His purposes?”  In Daniel 2:21 and 4:17 we read, “He (God) removes kings and raises up kings…in order that the living may know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, gives it to whomsoever He will, and sets over it the lowest of men.” When Daniel wrote this God had allowed Nebuchadnezzar, a very wicked man, to rule over Babylon.

2) Believers are to be separate from the world, including its politics. I would like to quote 4 scripture passages which bring out how we are, as the Lord Jesus said, “not of this world” (see John 17:14 & 16).

Philippians 3:20, “For our CITIZENSHIP is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” In God’s eyes we are “citizens of heaven” (even though we’re not there yet!).

1st Peter 2:11, “Beloved, I beg you as SOJOURNERS and PILGRIMS, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul.” A “sojourner” is “one living in a foreign country” and a “pilgrim” is “one who is traveling home.” Both convey the idea that THIS IS NOT OUR HOME. We are citizens of heaven, living in a foreign country, and are on our way home to heaven.

2nd Corinthians 5:20, “We are AMBASSADORS for Christ…we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.” Not only are we citizens of heaven, sojourners in a foreign country, and pilgrims traveling home, but we are also here on earth as REPRESENTATIVES OF HEAVEN. Just as an ambassador lives in a foreign country to represent the interests of the country in which he is from, we are living on earth to represent the interests of heaven by proclaiming the gospel of reconciliation to sinners.

2nd Timothy 2:3-4, “You therefore must endure hardship as a GOOD SOLDIER of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare ENTANGLES HIMSELF WITH THE AFFAIRS OF THIS LIFE.” The moment we became a Christian we became SOLDIERS in the Lord’s Army and as such we are not to be occupied with earthly things, which includes the politics of this world. To do so would distract us from the real reason God has left us here, for we are in the “enemy’s land” to proclaim the gospel to sinners so they too can be saved and become “citizens of heaven.” I will never forget musing on this verse at a Bible conference and an older brother said, “We are not here to ‘clean up the fish pond, but to catch fish.’” He went on to emphasize that we are “fishers of men” and that the goal of politics is to “make this world a better place to live in,” but the Lord’s goal for us is to “see people saved out of this world that will soon be judged.”  (374.3)  (DO)