By Pastor Bill Monroe,
Florence Baptist Temple.
Florence, SC
Mario Diaz in his book, Be Spent: Winning the Fight for Freedom’s Survival, writes, “America stands at the edge of suicide. There is a struggle within our soul that is more dangerous than any external threat we face. We are walking down a path that puts us in direct conflict with the very God we relied on to establish this great nation. Is there a more frightening thought? Liberty is not just the right to do what we want—that is libertarianism. True liberty is the right ordering of society so that we are able to honor God and protect the dignity and inherent worth of God’s ‘image-bearers’—every human being in that society.”
“Corrupt” is the word! The vast majority of Americans believe Washington, both major political parties and the government agencies and bureaucracies are corrupt. We well remember Lois Learner using her IRS power to discriminate against conservative organizations. And more recently—Loretta Lynch, the head of the Department of Justice secretly meeting with Bill Clinton for 29 minutes on her airplane, while his wife was being investigated by the FBI. Regarding the parties, the Democrats have embraced a far-left agenda. I will never forget the Democrat Convention in Charlotte when the delegates booed and hissed at the name “God” being inserted in the platform. As for the Republicans, instead of being the conservative party that represents limited government and economic opportunity, it has abandoned its conservative base and caved in to the lobbyists and special interests. Its leaders have proven to be weak and cowardly and unable to stand against their liberal opponents. The Media, which should be the watchdogs for the people, instead of reporting facts, have become the propaganda wing of the left—agents of political correctness and promoters of immorality.
WE HAVE TWO FLAWED CANDIDATES
Webster defines “moral” as being concerned with right and wrong. The question then becomes, “Who determines right and wrong?” For the Christian, it’s very simple. Our Creator—Almighty God determines what is moral and what is not. How do we know what He thinks? He has written it in His book, the Bible, where He clearly defines right and wrong, moral and immoral. Using the Bible as my standard, both candidates fail the character test. However, we also realize we are all flawed people; and after all, the presidential election should not be confused with a church voting for a new pastor. God has always used imperfect people—that’s the only kind available. Remember, He used a man who was a known womanizer, who never drank wine, was a liar and had unusual hair. No, I’m not talking about Trump—I’m talking about Samson.
FACTS WE KNOW ABOUT THE CANDIDATES
We know that Trump has a filthy mouth, that he is an adulterer many times over and that he has operated gambling casinos—some with ‘strip clubs’ in them. As for Clinton, I cannot think of a greater act of immorality than to promote the taking of innocent children’s lives while in their mother’s wombs. It’s hard for me to call someone a liar, but I can’t think of an alternative word. Over and over, in E-mails, Benghazi and other situations, the facts determine she doesn’t tell the truth. Her family foundation is pretty much a money laundering operation, selling influence to foreign leaders. And now Wiki-leaks has revealed her distain for Catholics, Evangelicals and Conservatives. Generally, we have a choice between two candidates—one more liberal and the other more conservative. This time we have a very far-left progressive who has been a part of the plan to “fundamentally change America.” The other candidate is a pragmatist—sometimes conservative and sometimes not. In this situation, the character of the candidates poses a “moral dilemma.” Sadly, many people (particularly Christians) say, “I’m just not going to vote.” That is not the Christian option, and is really just a pious cop-out.
SIX ISSUES ABOUT WHICH THE BIBLE CLEARLY SPEAKS
I will be voting based on these six issues that I believe are either distinctly moral or that have moral implications:
1. All human life is sacred. There is no “woman’s right to choose” if it requires the killing of a baby. I will never vote for a candidate who supports abortion.
2. Traditional marriage and family. Both candidates fail on this issue. Clinton is one of the foremost proponents of the entire range of LGBT issues. Trump, while saying he personally believes marriage is between only a man and a woman, does not oppose gay marriage.
3. Religious Freedom: In a culture where the truth about the Creator Himself is not told, freedom will not flourish. In the First Amendment of the Constitution, it is the first freedom mentioned: “There shall be no law respecting religion or the free exercise thereof.” NO LAW. It’s off limits. I watched four years ago when the Democrat Party actually became the “anti-Christian party” promoting abortion and the LGBT agenda. Under Obamacare, the administration has forced nuns (The Little Sisters of the Poor) to purchase healthcare that would cover abortions. Just think of the implication of these type rulings in terms of religious freedom.
4. National Defense is spoken of in Scripture in Romans 13. There the teaching of the Bible is that protection of the people is the most basic function of government. What greater immorality is there than to leave a nation defenseless? This week, ten Russian ships sailed up the English Channel as a show of force to the West. China is building islands in the sea and developing tremendous weapons of mass destruction. Meanwhile, the current administration has cut our military to the smallest since World War II.
5. Immigration: You may say, “Pastor, immigration is not mentioned in scripture is it?” I would say emphatically, “Yes.” In the Book of Numbers, chapter 34, God gives a detailed description of Israel’s borders—north, south, east and west. Then in Deuteronomy 23:3-6, God told Israel to bar certain nations from immigrating into their country. The reason was that they were traditional enemies with long records of seeking to do damage to Israel. From these two passages, it is clear that a nation has a right to secure borders and that open immigration of one’s potential enemies is foolish. The candidates’ positions on immigration are well known. Clinton is for open borders and says she will allow 500,000 additional Syrian immigrants into the country, while Trump says he will build a wall and stop illegal immigration.
6. The Economy:The Bible teaches private ownership of property, economic freedom, personal responsibility and voluntary charity. The socialistic trends in America should concern every Christian. Wherever Socialism has been tried, it has failed: Russia, China, Cuba, North Korea & Venezuela. As a Christian, I know that religious freedom is connected to economic freedom as well.
There are a number of other issues about which I am concerned. For example, the 2nd Amendment—the right to keep and bear arms is important to me. Remember Peter carried a sword—and didn’t hesitate to use it when his Master was attacked. Remember he took off an ear of one of Christ’s adversaries (By the way, he was not aiming for the ear, he was just not a good shot). Christ didn’t rebuke him for having the weapon. He merely told him to put it up—He didn’t need his protection. But there is one issue above all others that I think should concern us as Christians.
THE ISSUE ABOVE ALL ISSUES
The issue is the appointment of Justices to the Supreme Court. Due to age, there will be three or possibly even four openings on the Court in the next few years. Clinton has promised to appoint judges who will “protect the woman’s right to choose and the gains in LGBT rights.” That means Justices who will protect abortion and gay marriage. Trump has already publicly listed the names of potential appointees who have been vetted by the Federalist Society and the Heritage Foundation—both think tanks who are committed to the Constitution. They say these judges are pro-life. The upcoming appointments to the Supreme Court will help shape the moral climate in America for the next 30-40 years. I urge every Christian to especially pray about this issue before voting.
ALL CHRISTIANS
MUST VOTE
It is important to remember we are not the first Christians to face such a moral dilemma.
William Wilberforce worked his entire career as a politician in the British Parliament to stop slavery and to free the slaves. At first, he refused to work with some of the politicians because they were personally wicked people. However, he came to realize that without their support, he would never stop slavery. The cause was too great to write off a potential ally because they were people of “vile reputation.”
Later, they helped him defeat slavery. Bonnhoffer, the German pastor and author, faced the worst dilemma of all. He desperately wanted to stay above the fray, to remain morally aloof from the Nazis. However, he ultimately became involved in the plot to kill Adolph Hitler. When the plot failed, he was arrested along with hundreds more and hanged just three weeks before the war ended. He said he made his decision along the following lines: If I do not get involved, millions of people will continue to be killed by Hitler. The only way to stop this madness is to rid the world of the cause. To hold the moral high ground was to let millions die; the option: to reluctantly participate in an assassination plot. Talk about a moral dilemma! Recently, I have heard people saying things like “To vote for the lesser of two evils is to still vote for evil.” While that may be true, to not vote for the lesser of two evils is to vote for the greater evil by default. Again, we have two flawed candidates. With Trump, I don’t know what he will do; with Clinton, I do know what she will do. There’s the dilemma.
AS CHRISTIANS, OUR ULTIMATE HOPE IS NOT IN THE
POLITICAL PROCESS
We have “dual Citizenship.” Philippians 3:20 says, “Our citizenship is in heaven….” Let me make one final point clear. Politics have absolutely nothing to do with the Kingdom of God. Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world or else my servants would fight.” However, our work for the Kingdom of God is much easier and effective where we have religious freedom. As an American, my responsibility is to vote. In doing so, I am following Christ’s command to be the salt and light. To fail to vote is to fail to use my influence. I am seeking to extend freedom for my children and grandchildren. No matter who wins the election, my duty as a Christian is unchanged—to be faithful to Christ and His Word, to uphold His Truth and to continue His mission to take the Gospel to every creature. Do not be co-opted by this culture. Study God’s Word, pray and vote. Vote Biblically. Vote as a Christian.
On Saturday, Nov. 5th, we are having a day of Fasting and Prayer. The auditorium will be open from 9:00 am to 5:00 p.m.
I urge you to come and spend an hour praying for our country.
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William T. (Bill) Monroe is the pastor of the Florence Baptist Temple in Florence, South Carolina. He founded the church in November 1969 in an abandoned theater building with 18 people present in the first service. The church is located on a beautiful 52-acre campus with 190,000 square feet of buildings and a state-of-the-art recreational complex, including football, baseball, softball, tennis and picnic facilities. Each Sunday morning, the “Baptist Temple Hour” is telecast over a large area of the Carolinas on FOX and NBC affiliates. In addition, Pastor Monroe is the President of Florence Christian School, operated by Florence Baptist Temple, with an enrollment of over 700. He served two terms as President of the Baptist Bible Fellowship International from 2002-2006. He also served as one of the founders and the first President of the International Baptist Network in 2005-2006. He is the author of three books, numerous pamphlets and journal articles in nationally-published magazines. He was educated at Appalachian Bible College, Columbia Bible College, and the University of South Carolina, and has been awarded Honorary Degrees from Louisiana Baptist University and Baptist Bible College. On the 40th anniversary of the founding of Florence Baptist Temple, he was presented both the “Order of the Palmetto” and the “Palmetto Patriot” Awards—the two highest awards given by the State of S.C. to its citizens.
Bill and his wife, Norma, have three adult children and 8 grandchildren.
