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The Kingdom Notes
APRIL 27, 2012
Ask RC: Is a failure to vote for Romney a vote for Obama?
This little nugget of wisdom tends to get trotted out every four years, with different names of course, but the same principle, along with assurances that this one election is the very hinge of history. Those of us more conservative than both the Democrat and the Republican are told that if we don’t vote for the Republican then we will be responsible for what the Democrat does, if he is elected. Oddly, however, those who vote for the Republican never seem to take responsibility for what he does when he is elected. Nor do they take responsibility for picking a loser when he loses. Is it true that a failure to vote for Romney is a vote for Obama? Of course not.
Consider this. Imagine Candidate X from the We Haven’t Yet Had Anyone Elected Party. Both the Candidate and the Party are committed to using every power at their disposal to protect every unborn child. He, and they, are committed to honoring their pledge to protect and defend the Constitution of these United States. He and they are committed to balanced budgets, sound money. He and they are committed to honoring the Bible in terms of just war, and he and they affirm the Lordship of Christ over all things. Clear enough? This is not the perfect Candidate, but he at least depends on the Perfect Candidate for the forgiveness of his sins.
Now would it be fair of me to say to everyone who votes for Romney, “By not voting for Candidate X you are giving the election to Obama”? Why not? After all, both Romney and the President believe the federal government ought to protect some mothers’ “right” to murder their unborn babies. They both agree that the governments can and should force citizens to buy insurance. They both agree that the federal government should fight wars against countries that have not attacked ours. In short, whatever differences they have, they are differences of degree, not principle. When, however, I vote for Candidate X, I am voting against the principles of bloated, immoral government. And if everyone who votes for Romney would instead vote for Candidate X, he could defeat the President. Therefore, to not vote for Candidate X is to vote for President Obama.
Neither the Republican Party, nor Mr. Romney are due my vote. I don’t owe it to them, or the country. Therefore to not give them my vote is not giving my vote to the President. I am against everything the President stands for politically. Which is why I can’t vote for someone like him, only less so. My policy is clear- no candidate will receive my vote unless he is committed to using every power of his office to protect every unborn child. Those who won’t make the same commitment, one could argue, are the ones responsible for nearly forty years of Roe v. Wade.
I understand the incrementalist approach. I believe godly men can and do embrace that perspective. I don’t begrudge them doing so. What I don’t appreciate is the notion that I must follow suit. My conscience is captive to the Word of God, not the Republican Party. Here I stand.
The Kingdom Notes are regular devotionals from
Dr. R.C. Sproul Jr. and Highlands
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