An Important Election Day Lesson
Despite everyone’s fixation with the recent presidential election, there were countless other candidates and issues voted on in every state of which this nation is comprised. One proposal on the ballot in the state of Colorado was Proposition 115. This measure, if approved by voters, would have banned the practice of late-term abortion. It would have made it illegal in the state to abort unborn babies after twenty-two weeks of gestation. The proposal suffered resounding defeat with nearly 60% of Colorado voters voting against it.
This was the fourth time in twelve years that Colorado voters have rejected attempts to protect the lives of unborn children.
As a Baptist Christian I believe strongly in individual soul liberty. I believe that each person is accountable personally to God. Romans 2:6 tells us God “will render to each man according to his deeds.” However, this truth does not preclude the idea of any corporate responsibility. In the Bible, repeatedly we read of God judging nations for their collective sin. Ezra, Nehemiah, and Daniel all confessed in prayer, not their individual failings, but the wickedness of their nation. These men had not committed these offenses personally. Yet there seems to be something in Scripture that identifies individuals with the sins of the society to which they belong. Wise King Solomon warned that “sin is a reproach to any people.” (Pro. 14:34) A society’s sins bring shame and disgrace to every constituent.
As an American citizen I hope the United States enjoys peace and prosperity. I want our country to be strong and safe. I pray regularly for God’s blessing on the nation. But while God has blessed this land in an unusual way, we do not deserve what we have historically enjoyed from the hand of the Lord. There is great guilt and there is much reproach. There is a stain of shame that covers every American citizen. This country, founded on the proposition that all men are endowed by their Creator with the right to life, tolerates, legalizes, and even pays with tax money for the killing of tens of millions of innocent children through abortion. Ponder this. Sometimes justified as being necessary for the life of the mother, but this is simply not true. It is done for convenience. It is done for financial considerations. It is done so educational and career objectives might not be interrupted. It is done for a host of reasons, none of which will prove enough in that coming day when the Almighty asks the guilty why this little child, made in God’s own image, was torn from the womb, and thrown into a garbage can!
I confess. I confess that I have not been as concerned about this national sin as I should be. I confess that I try not to think about it. I like to think of the land of the free and the home of the brave as a nation characterized by virtue and nobility. While there is a great deal of good in our history and heritage, I must confess that I am a citizen of a nation that bears great blame before God; a nation whom God would be righteous in judging just as He has other nations in Scripture and history.
The Bible tells us that God is neither indifferent nor indolent. He judges and will judge. But it also tells us that He is patient. He is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” (II Pet. 3:9) God’s judgment on this nation is delayed while He mercifully waits for sinners to repent. The individuals who make up this nation need to turn from their wicked ways and seek God’s forgiveness in Christ while they can.
The major lesson we should learn from this past Election Day is not that our vote counting system lacks integrity, or that more people should vote. The lesson is that even when voting, many if not most Americans declare their own depravity. They vote for sin and against God, and in so doing vote for their own judgment. I pray that God will elect to be gracious and longsuffering. I pray that we would repent.
David A. Oliver is the pastor of Ashley Baptist Church in Belding, MI.
Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash