The government decides who can vote and who can’t. But the Bible maintains that the government does not act on its own authority, unless that authority comes from God.
When Jesus confronts Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor over the Jews, Pilate says to him in John 19: 10, “…Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?” Jesus responds in John 19: 11, saying “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above.” Indeed, Daniel 2:21 says that God decides who rules and who doesn’t; if a ruler is not to God’s liking, He replaces the ruler with another ruler. Often, God does so through the people who live by Him.
Even before Jesus confronted Pilate, and before he outwitted the Pharisees’ people when he told them to hold up a coin with the emperor’s likeness, thereby exposing their hypocrisy, and telling them to therefore render unto Caesar that which is Caesars and render unto God that which is God’s, Daniel 2:21 makes it plain that there is no separation of church and state, rather, they are interrelated. The line is drawn only when the government tries to enter a House of Worship, for at that point God rules directly over the people inside, instead of via the government the people have set up.
So how is the government expected to rule under God? It is expected to do so with the commandments in mind. One of these commandments, the second great commandment of Jesus, says to live your neighbor as you would love yourself. Who is your neighbor? Based on the Parable of the Good Samaritan, your neighbor is someone who is in your proximity who can help you. If a person living in the next neighborhood pays the same taxes you do, taxes which go to help you both, is the person not your neighbor? And having established that the person is indeed your neighbor, would you compromise them in some way while not compromising yourself in the same way? Would you deprive them of the right to vote, if you don’t deprive yourself of the right to vote?
And what of Jesus’ golden rule, Matthew 7:12, which says “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets?” This is a logical consequence of loving your neighbor as you would love yourself. So, would you deny your neighbor the right to vote if they misspell a word, if you wouldn’t deny yourself the right to vote for the same reason? Would you deny a person who pays the same taxes you do, the right to register when you wouldn’t deny yourself the right to register if you’re paying those taxes too?
I tell you, a government that does not extend the love of God to the people, is a government whose authority does not come from God, and therefore risks being replaced.
When Jesus effectively told the Pharisees to render unto the government that which is the government’s, and to render unto God that which is God’s, he understood, as he confronted Pilate, that the only true authority comes from God; and until God effectively replaces the government, we would pay tribute to it while paying tribute to God, knowing that the spirit of God would replace it if it is not acting on behalf of God.
As we pay tribute to the government, may the votes of our neighbor count as well as our own votes.
When Jesus confronts Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor over the Jews, Pilate says to him in John 19: 10, “…Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?” Jesus responds in John 19: 11, saying “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above.” Indeed, Daniel 2:21 says that God decides who rules and who doesn’t; if a ruler is not to God’s liking, He replaces the ruler with another ruler. Often, God does so through the people who live by Him.
Even before Jesus confronted Pilate, and before he outwitted the Pharisees’ people when he told them to hold up a coin with the emperor’s likeness, thereby exposing their hypocrisy, and telling them to therefore render unto Caesar that which is Caesars and render unto God that which is God’s, Daniel 2:21 makes it plain that there is no separation of church and state, rather, they are interrelated. The line is drawn only when the government tries to enter a House of Worship, for at that point God rules directly over the people inside, instead of via the government the people have set up.
So how is the government expected to rule under God? It is expected to do so with the commandments in mind. One of these commandments, the second great commandment of Jesus, says to live your neighbor as you would love yourself. Who is your neighbor? Based on the Parable of the Good Samaritan, your neighbor is someone who is in your proximity who can help you. If a person living in the next neighborhood pays the same taxes you do, taxes which go to help you both, is the person not your neighbor? And having established that the person is indeed your neighbor, would you compromise them in some way while not compromising yourself in the same way? Would you deprive them of the right to vote, if you don’t deprive yourself of the right to vote?
And what of Jesus’ golden rule, Matthew 7:12, which says “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets?” This is a logical consequence of loving your neighbor as you would love yourself. So, would you deny your neighbor the right to vote if they misspell a word, if you wouldn’t deny yourself the right to vote for the same reason? Would you deny a person who pays the same taxes you do, the right to register when you wouldn’t deny yourself the right to register if you’re paying those taxes too?
I tell you, a government that does not extend the love of God to the people, is a government whose authority does not come from God, and therefore risks being replaced.
When Jesus effectively told the Pharisees to render unto the government that which is the government’s, and to render unto God that which is God’s, he understood, as he confronted Pilate, that the only true authority comes from God; and until God effectively replaces the government, we would pay tribute to it while paying tribute to God, knowing that the spirit of God would replace it if it is not acting on behalf of God.
As we pay tribute to the government, may the votes of our neighbor count as well as our own votes.
