Who Would Jesus Vote For?

“Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned . . . For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ . . . For as by one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.”

-Romans 5:12, 17, and 19

It was the sound I was all too familiar with at this time of the year. As the chalk clamored its way to recording knowledge across the blackboard, I couldn’t help but think, here I am in the academic setting once again. But of course, anytime you’re in the academic setting at a public university you’re going to find yourself in conflict with views, especially if you’re a Christian. For instance, at this particular time I was in my Creative Writing class. The teacher was taking suggestions from the students about what inspires their writing. After a brief silence and the board flooded with inspiring things, I said faith. She shot an inquisitive glare my way and told me to be more specific. I said, “Faith or religion or what I believe about God inspires my writing.” Unfortunately, I was shot down. She responded with, “Well if you do that, then you are just trying to get across a set of beliefs instead of write.” That could be a valid argument, depending on how you look at it.

But the point of this story is this: the assumption with the Christian is that everything is an effort to get across a set of beliefs.

Especially in politics. Within our culture today, to be a Christian is to be a Republican and anti-Obama because that is the party which enables us to get across a set of beliefs, as if it is written somewhere in the Bible that the Christian must vote Republican.

Now don’t mistake my words here. Typically when I speak about politics, people try to dissect my words trying to figure out whether I’m on their side or not. I’m not speaking of sides, I’m speaking of truth. Truth doesn’t take sides. It stands alone. But a set of beliefs can take sides. Which is how faith has entered the political realm. The message of Christ and the cross has been politicized into a mere set of beliefs so they could be split under partisan labels for a political agenda.

What surprises me in this time are the people who vote because they believe the U.S. is taking a step towards being a holy nation through voting a particular party. There are only a few who really hold on to this belief, but there is an interstice where people believe a vote for a particular party is a vote for how Jesus would vote.

With that in mind, I challenge you with the question: who do you think Jesus would vote for?

It is a challenging question because no one can wholeheartedly say who Jesus would vote for. They might try to say Jesus would vote Republican or Democrat, but in their heart, they wouldn’t believe it. In reality, most people might say that Jesus wouldn’t vote at all!

Now I pose that question to humble you, not to discourage you from voting. People need a reminder that the nation being a holy nation isn’t contingent upon Christian beliefs given under a partisan label. It is contingent upon making disciples for Christ who make disciples for Christ. We are to flood the world with the truth of Christ, not with the convictions or beliefs that might follow after a life with Him.

You see, it’s a matter of how people believe they can conquer systemic sin. Some people believe that politics and the work of the government is what is needed to overcome systemic sin. But with politics, as I have mentioned before, the message of Christ has been politicized and scattered upon partisan labels. No party is going to promote Jesus for president.

What is needed though is the work of God and the bringing of the Gospel to impact people on the personal level and eventually impact the system. For sin entered the world on a personal level, then it affected relations, and finally it affected the system. But just as Jesus came into the world and brought us the message of Himself, the Gospel needs to first impact people on a personal level, then relationally, then systemically. We can’t skip ahead to redeem society by changing the system. It must happen on the personal level first. Which is why being a holy nation is dependent upon making disciples for Christ who make disciples for Christ.

So as you vote in this election, I encourage you to make an informed vote. Not so much informed on the issues at hand, but informed on what you really believe. Are you voting to get across a set of beliefs (because that is what the world expects of Christians), or are you voting because you wish to flood the world with the uniform truth of Christ? If it is the latter, humble yourself to believe that the change must first occur on the personal level. This election won’t change people believing in Christ or not. They must first be impacted by it on the personal level in order for it to spread to the systemic level. Don’t vote values to preach Christ, preach Christ to see values.