During the presidential elections there are many voices “crying out in the wilderness,” as it were, proclaiming all sorts of weird ideas. One of those ideas is the thought that within this seemingly hostile and divided political and cultural climate even within the church, Christians who hold to a particular view are looking to crown a new political messiah and usher in some sort of a new kingdom.

Voting for President, not a Messiah

I cannot speak for all who claim to follow Jesus Christ. Perhaps there is some odd and rare breed of believers who sees the presidency as salvation. I do not! So I will speak for myself as to how I view the privilege and honor of voting not only as an American citizen, but more importantly as a citizen and ambassador of Heaven. As Christ followers, we are ambassadors who have dual-citizenship and should exercise this right, privilege, and power with wisdom.

“As Christ followers, we are ambassadors who have dual-citizenship and should exercise this right, privilege, and power with wisdom.”

As a citizen of God’s Kingdom and an ambassador of Heaven here on earth, when I vote I am NOT electing a “messiah” as some have flippantly asserted. That’s a gross misrepresentation and or misunderstanding of voting for a presidential candidate. It seems to me this is more of a distorted lens and skewed filter weaponized to silence or dissuade those who hold dissenting views. As ambassadors of Heaven who represent King Jesus, we should have the presence of mind to know that any form of deceptive manipulation, intimidation, gaslighting, or shaming to get someone to bow their knee to our way of seeing things is not a biblical practice.

There’s No Replacing Our Savior

I am NOT voting for a replacement of King Jesus here on this world as the Israelites did when they reject God and demanded an earthly king. I am merely exercising my ambassadorial rights as a representative of Heaven to vote secularly for policies and principles  (NOT a person or people) that approximate as near as possible to Heaven’s Constitution which is God’s Word. That’s what ambassadors do! An ambassador is to represent the King’s mind, His will, intent, and motives according to His Word. It’s that simple. For instance, God is the Author of life, therefore I will not in any way vote for a platform that peddles death through abortion. But what if both parties are for abortion? Then I choose the one that is at the very least attempting to mitigate this evil in some way as opposed to a wholesale free for all abortion policy.

The Litmus Test

Moreover, as Tim Stratton has recently noted:

“Abortion is *still* a litmus test issue. Not only has [one candidate] done the most for the Pro-Life movement than any other President in American history, [the other candidate] will overrule states and [re]codify Roe into federal law. [The former] will leave it as it is which allows We The People to be active in local government to continue the fight against the murder of baby humans.”

Again, as a citizen of Heaven, I am not voting to elect a savior, king, or messiah to somehow usurp Jesus Christ as King. I am seeking to rightly fulfill my duty and obligation as an ambassador of Heaven tasked to represent God’s will on this broken earth as it is in Heaven compelled by His Love, Word and Holy Spirit to the best of my ability. How do I best “love my neighbor?” What policies will point people toward the culture of heaven, by promoting life, goodness, purity, love, praiseworthiness, justice, mercy, righteousness, and joy for the flourishing and well-being of my neighbors?

Remember, there is no perfect party. There will never be one on this side of eternity. There is no perfect candidate running for the presidency. As ambassadors that is never to be the focus anyway. To represent Jesus faithfully and to promote policies that love our neighbors (the second greatest command) is the goal. We are to go into the voting booth as ambassadors representing God’s Kingdom and His never-ending government. When I choose to vote, I am not voting for a politician to replace The King of kings, Lord of lords, Creator, Owner, and Sustainer of all things. Ultimately it would be impossible, to replace Jesus, not to mention patently ridiculously.

Recommended Resources:

The Case for Christian Activism (MP3 Set), (DVD Set), and (mp4 Download Set) by Frank Turek 

Legislating Morality (mp4 download),  (DVD Set), (MP3 Set), (PowerPoint download), and (PowerPoint CD) by Frank Turek

Legislating Morality: Is it Wise? Is it Legal? Is it Possible? by Frank Turek (Book)

Is Morality Absolute or Relative? (Mp3), (Mp4), and (DVD) by Frank Turek

 

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Tito Santiago is husband to his beloved wife Christina, and father to his awesome son Josiah David. He serves at Paul and Silas Ministries as a leader via Mentoring Winners and is also the host of Noize Radio Live, a developing online podcast of Kingdom urban music and talk.

Originally posted at: https://bit.ly/3XlDuW9