Being a member of any political party doesn’t necessarily mean you’re a Christian. Just because you side with a liberal school of thought on a particular issue doesn’t mean you’re opposed to Christ nor does being a Conservative automatically equate to being born again.

Still, in order for one’s political convictions to be truly credible, they need to be in line with the Word of God. A Republican who determines to support a piece of legislation that doesn’t square with Scripture is just as wrong as a Democrat who believes in a law that violates a Biblical principal. Why? Because human preferences are subordinate to Divine precepts (see 1 Cor 1:25).

So it isn’t a particular party, as much as it’s the degree to which a political idea is consistent with the Biblical principles that apply. Only then can you rest assured that your political convictions are accurate. Should you base them on trends, cultural norms or even expedient dynamics that appear necessary and logical, you’re making concessions that will ultimately reveal you as mistaken and your position detrimental to the common good.

That is often the case with those who align themselves with the talking points that typically characterize the Democratic party. For example, the issue of a woman’s right to choose. A woman does have the right to choose whether or not to be intimate with the father of the child they’re potentially preparing to conceive. Choosing to end a child’s life, however,  is not the mother’s, “right” as much as it is her responsibility to protect that child’s life. Murder is specifically addressed in Scripture as being wrong and it says in Psalms that even when a child is still in its mother’s womb, that child is known by God (see Ex 20:13; Psalm 139:13-14). So, to insist that dispensing with a human life is an option that can chosen for the sake of expediency and convenience is to turn a deaf ear to Scripture and / or to position academic sounding notions over the moral Absolutes clearly defined in the Bible. If that is the stance of your party, then to fly their colors is to say that Scripture can be subordinated to the opinions of legislators and that is not Biblical.

The Democrat party is also traditionally agreeable to enhance the role of government in an individual’s life. Government programs, government money and government regulations are promoted as substitutes for individual ingenuity, resources and responsibility.

While liberal intentions and forecasts may fall short of a purely socialist society, when their lines of reasoning are extended to their inevitable conclusion, the result is the same one encountered by those who labored to establish Jamestown the first English colony on American shores. Initially, the approach was to work together and pool all their resources. Their plan sounded good but failed miserably and almost wiped out the entire community. Reason being is that some simply refused to pull their weight leaving others with the responsibility of growing crops not only for themselves, but also for others. Starvation became commonplace and had it not been for Captain John Smith invoking the passage found in 2 Thessalonians 3:10 which mandated that everyone get busy and start taking responsibility for themselves, Jamestown would’ve been recorded as a tragedy rather than the successful colony it proved to be.¹

So, if those are among the political doctrines the Democratic party champions, then you’re either a very casual Democrat or a token Christian. John 14:21 states that if you love God, then you’ll obey His commands. Love for Christ mandates that you prioritize His Word over cultural trends or political preferences. And while it may sound a bit harsh, whenever you subordinate God’s Word to another authority or concept, you’re engaging in idolatry (see 1 Sam 15:23; Psalm 50:16-19).

So, before you vote along party lines, know what that party stands for and ensure that its platform agrees with the Bible. While your eternal security may not be in question as a result of being on the wrong side of an issue when held up to the light of Scripture, a consistent level of participation with a group that proudly opposes Biblical precepts is irresponsible if not rebellious.

See you at the polls!

1. “National Park Service,” “Captain John Smith”, http://www.nps.gov/jame/historyculture/life-of-john-smith.htm, accessed July 30, 2012