Tag: President

Church, Faith, Politics

The Mormon Moment: Can Christians Biblically Vote for a Mormon?

Michelle Lesley

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SPECIAL NOTE: The scope of this article is limited. While all are welcome to read and consider it, the particular audience for this article is ONLY: Christians who are considering voting for Romney but are hesitant and wondering if it is biblically acceptable for a Christian to vote for a Mormon.

  • I am not attempting to convince Obama supporters to vote for Romney. This is a free country and you may vote for the candidate of your choice.
  • I am not addressing political issues such as taxes, the national debt, the military, etc. This article is of a theological, not political, nature.
  • I will not entertain any arguments as to whether or not President Obama is a Christian. Matthew 7:16, 20 say, “You will know them by their fruits.” The president has clearly demonstrated by his words and actions that he is not a regenerate Christian. Neither is his verbal claim to being a Christian sufficient to prove that he has been born again. Matthew 7:22-23 says, “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord… And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you…” Claiming to be a Christian doesn’t make a person a Christian any more than claiming to be a doctor makes a person a doctor. You are more than welcome to believe whatever you like about the state of the President’s soul, but it will not be argued in this venue.

 

It’s an issue American Christians have never had to deal with before: voting for a Mormon for President. Maybe you’re a Christian who has been considering voting for Mitt Romney, but you’re “theologically hesitant.” If you vote for him, are you, as a Christian, supporting an idolatrous and false religion? Will Romney’s winning the Presidency give legitimacy to Mormonism? Will it further deceive the lost into thinking Mormons are Christians? Will more lost people consider becoming Mormons? These are weighty issues and should be fully considered.

However, I’d like to offer you the opportunity to consider the biblical argument for the freedom to vote for Romney if you so choose. What are some reasons you can consider yourself free in Christ to vote for Romney?

1. Romney is running for president, not preacher.

In Matthew 22:15-22, the Pharisees came to Jesus asking if it were “lawful” –in other words, “in keeping with Scripture”—to participate in a secular government by paying taxes. Jesus’ response? “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s.” (Matthew 22:21)

As in Jesus’ time, our civil government in the United States is secular. It is not run by the church. It is not ruled by the Bible. And, usually (Matthew 7:14), it is not headed up by a genuinely born again Christian.

This isn’t a theocracy. And God’s ok with that. After all, He is the One who, in His sovereignty, has allowed and maintained this republic for the last 200+ years, and has established the authority of every President we’ve ever had (Romans 13:1).

So God gets -established, in fact- that there’s going to be one set of standards and requirements for civil governing authorities, and another set for those who are leaders in the church. For one thing, a leader in the church must be a genuinely regenerate Believer. There’s no such requirement –in the Bible or anywhere else—for Presidents. There’s a whole list of requirements for pastors, deacons, and elders in I Timothy and Titus, but they necessarily, apply only to Christians who desire to be church leaders. They do not apply to non-Christians (or even Christians) who desire the presidency.

2. We have two choices for president, both unsaved. Does it matter which label they wear?

Romney is a Mormon. If he holds to Mormon doctrine, he is, by definition, not a Christian. Obama claims to be a Christian, but his own words and the fruit of his life belie this claim.

Jesus said that the way to life is narrow and there are few who find it (Matthew 7:14). Statistically speaking, if you have voted in any election, you have probably voted for a lost person, even if that candidate claimed to be saved. Simply saying you’re a Christian doesn’t make you one (Matt. 7:21-23), and being a Mormon doesn’t make a person any “loster” than being a lost person who calls himself a Christian.

While it would be wonderful to have the option of voting for a born again Believer in this election, we simply don’t have that choice this time around.

3. Since we only have two choices in this election, and they’re on essentially equal spiritual footing, we have to look at externals.

We have two choices for president:

A.) Obama: A person who claims to be a Christian, yet encourages and promotes sin in the form of promoting the false doctrine of universalism, furthering the homosexual agenda, and promoting the pro-abortion agenda.

B.) Romney: A non-Christian who has pledged his support of the biblical definition of marriage and the pro-life side of reproductive issues.

The great Reformer Martin Luther may have summed it up best when he said, “I’d rather be ruled by a competent Turk (Muslim) than an incompetent Christian.”

4. Refusing to vote at all, or voting for a non-viable third party candidate has the same effect as voting FOR Obama.

We cannot afford to treat the question of whom we shall vote for in this election as merely a philosophical exercise or hypothetical question. There are real life consequences to our actions (or inaction) on November 6. For millions, this election is, quite literally, a matter of life and death. Sometimes we have to think of an election not as voting FOR a certain candidate, but as voting AGAINST a certain candidate by selecting his opponent.

As Edmund Burke said, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”

5. All governmental authority is established by God. And they’re not always Christians.

Romans 13:1 says, “Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.”

Think back over the kings, presidents, emperors, dictators, and czars throughout history. You’ll come across…

Hitler. Attila the Hun. Idi Amin. Pol Pot. Ivan the Terrible. Caligula.

God put those guys in authority? Yep.

Now take a little journey through the Old Testament and look at some of the evil kings God allowed to rule his own chosen people.

Someone is going to win the election in November, and that someone is not going to be a Christian. Our only option is to vote for the person who, though not a Christian, is closer to lining up with what the Bible teaches.

6. A Mormon president will not cause hordes of people to become Mormons.

How many people do you know who became Catholics because JFK was elected? How many became Quakers when Nixon was elected? How many became “Christians” (or, depending on your way of thinking, Muslims) when Obama was elected?

If anything, the nomination of Romney to the ticket has shone a glaring, and very public, spotlight on the many anti-biblical beliefs of Mormonism. Instead of viewing his election to the presidency as an endorsement of Mormonism, why can’t Christians look at it as an opportunity to help others understand false Mormon doctrine and the truth of biblical doctrine? This is a wide open door for evangelism and the public exposure of deceptive teaching!

 

I believe biblical principles demonstrate that we, as Christians, have the freedom to vote for Romney. God has seen fit to orchestrate events so that we only have two viable choices in this election. Both are far from perfect, but Romney has demonstrated a willingness to uphold standards that are more closely in line with the Bible than those Obama upholds. If you’re still on the fence, give it some thought, give it some prayer, and consider for whom God would have you vote.

Church

6 Thoughts on the Luter-an Presidency

Michelle Lesley

Last week, I had the privilege of attending the Southern Baptist Convention as a messenger representing my church. It was an historic meeting, as we elected the first African American president of the SBC. As I sat in the meeting and listened to what everyone had to say about the election of Pastor Fred Luter of Franklin Ave. Baptist Church in New Orleans, several thoughts came to mind…
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1. I don’t know Pastor Luter personally, but from what I’ve read about him and heard about him from those who do know him personally, he is a Godly man with a genuine love for our denomination and a concern to see it flourish in a biblical way for the furthering of God’s kingdom. I was glad to have the opportunity to vote for him.

2. I wish this could have happened about 30 years or so ago. I’m afraid that the perception from outsiders, and even from some Southern Baptists, is that, up until last Tuesday, there has been a concerted effort by the majority of  Southern Baptists to keep African American pastors out of the SBC presidency. I concede that there may have been a small amount of that going on behind the scenes in the last few decades, and that even today, there is probably a tiny minority of unrepentant racists who call themselves Southern Baptist who were not happy with Pastor Luter’s election to the presidency. In a word to those folks: repent.

However, it’s important to keep in mind that African American pastors (SBC presidents are nearly always pastors) are a very small minority in the SBC to start with. Sometimes, this is because of the African American pastor’s own choosing, not because the SBC is trying to exclude African American pastors. I have heard African American pastors say that they were strongly discouraged by other African American pastors, friends, and loved ones from joining the SBC denomination because of the perception (and admittedly, decades ago, the actuality) that it is a racist denomination.

My guess is that we haven’t had an African American president before now (in the last 30 years or so), not because those behind the scenes have been actively trying to keep African American pastors out, but because: a) a suitable African American candidate could not be found, or b) the African American pastors who were approached about the presidency would not accept the nomination.

3. A lot of the speeches and talk surrounding Pastor Luter’s nomination/election were saturated with phrases like, “diversity,” “this is long overdue,” etc. Of course, this type of talk is true, and it was proper for things like this to have been said, however, as Christians, skin color and diversity should not take center stage when it comes to electing ANY president of the SBC. God should. The Bible should. Theology should. I honestly think more people were focused on the diversity issue than finding out about Pastor Luter’s theology, and as Christians, that should not be.

4. Because of all the talk of this finally happening and everyone –rightfully so—being glad about it, there was a slight aroma that all of these white guys were patting themselves on the back for electing a black man. I want to stress here that I absolutely do not think that was the intention of any of my brothers’ or sisters’ hearts, but sometimes unintended perceptions arise. It made me feel bad for Pastor Luter that he might have felt any hint whatsoever that he is just a “token black.” I do not believe that is the case. Quite the opposite, in fact.

5. I think there will be a lot of pressure on Pastor Luter to focus on diversity when he has clearly stated that the main focus of his presidency will be on strengthening evangelism and discipleship in the SBC (which I was extremely happy to hear). This pressure, unintended or not, is not fair to Pastor Luter. We need to be sure to give Pastor Luter the space and freedom to follow the Holy Spirit’s leading in whichever direction He might take him. Though diversity is indeed an important issue, the SBC is facing a lot of important issues besides diversity, and Pastor Luter will need to be able to focus on all of them.

6. I’m excited to see how God will lead us as a denomination through Pastor Luter, and I’m expecting great things from him.