election

discernment, election, judgment, primaries, super tuesday

The political process is incidental to our Christian lives

Posted on March 2, 2016May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

On “Super Tuesday” preceding the long build-up to the November Presidential elections, James R. White of Alpha and Omega Ministries wrote a long political opinion piece on his Facebook page. I was struck by the first paragraphs, which I excerpt here. To read the full opinion essay, go to his Facebook page.

As my friend Patee Jennings said: “As you contemplate your day trust God is in control and still reigning on earth no matter what…..“

The political process may be a part of our lives, but it is incidental to our Christian lives. This is evidenced by the fact that even those with minimal discernment can see that America is fading into history. Yet Jesus and His word shall never fade away. (Matthew 24:35)

James R. White, Waddell, AZ, United States

James R. White bio

The Disenfranchisement of Sanity

I have a somewhat unique perspective on the political process in the United States. As a professional speaker and debater with extensive experience around the globe engaging in polemics and debate (and as an Independent, unaligned with either political party), I watch the drama playing out in the US with a mixture of horror, disgust, revulsion, shock, and what would pass for humor if our freedoms, liberty, and future were not at stake. It is not that political debate has been particularly in-depth or appropriate in years past. Real “debates” have always been a rarity, but the 2016 Presidential election has reached new heights in absurdity. And this time, “evangelicals” are smack-dab in the middle, playing a pivotal role in what I am convinced will be their own downfall.

I write from the perspective of one who believes the great experiment with liberty that was the United States Constitution is breathing its last. That grand document has reached the end of its time of usefulness. It is not that the form of government it created does not remain a perfectly valid and liberty-granting institution. It is that the people it was written for no longer exists. It was not written to govern a self-centered, ignorant, arrogant, sinful, secularist people. It was written for a “moral and religious people,” as John Adams rightly said, “It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” It is hardly surprising that we would see confusion when the words of the Constitution have lost their meaning and their ability to provide guidance.

But there is much more going on in this election year. I see clear and compelling evidence of supernatural activity in our land. Yes, I see the judgment of God upon a people who can see the videos of Planned Parenthood, aka Molech International, and not only refuse to immediately shut them down—out of simple, common humanity—but instead they prosecute those who documented the evil, and rally to the defense of the caretakers of the ovens of Dachau! This is the same nation that has festooned its government buildings with rainbow-colored lights in celebration of the overthrow of the ordinance of marriage by five robed oligarchs.

Yes, judgment is in the air. …

death, election, encouragement, grace, infant

What happens to babies who die?

Posted on May 9, 2015May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Sinclair Ferguson on a difficult doctrine: Total Depravity in Children

Elisha Raises the Shunammite woman’s Son: Frederic Leighton

Little Innocents?

The total depravity of our children is a faith-doctrine, a biblical insight. Our natural instinct is to think of new-born children as moral and spiritual tabulae rasae, clean sheets on which to write a successful life. Admittedly the page may soon be a little blotted (the occasional temper tantrum!), but the background is still basically white, surely? Not so, according to the Scriptures: the wicked go astray from the womb and speak lies from birth, insists the psalmist.

Here is a chart comparing Arminianism and Calvinism. I’ll excerpt the part about our sin-nature.

Arminianism Free Will or Human Ability says:

Although human nature was seriously affected by the fall, man has not been left in a state of total spiritual helplessness. God graciously enables every sinner to repent and believe, but He does not interfere with man’s freedom. Each sinner possesses a free will, and his eternal destiny depends on how he uses it. Man’s freedom consists of his ability to choose good over evil in spiritual matters; his will is not enslaved to his sinful nature. The sinner has the power to either cooperate with God’s Spirit and be regenerated or resist God’s grace and perish. The lost sinner needs the Spirit’s assistance, but he does not have to be regenerated by the Spirit before he can believe, for faith is man’s act and precedes the new birth. Faith is the sinner’s gift to God; it is man’s contribution to salvation.

Calvinism: Total Inability or Total Depravity says:

Because of the fall, man is unable of himself to savingly believe the gospel. The sinner is dead, blind, and deaf to the things of God; his heart is deceitful and desperately corrupt. His will is not free, it is in bondage to his evil nature, therefore, he will not — indeed he cannot — choose good over evil in the spiritual realm. Consequently, it takes much more than the Spirit’s assistance to bring a sinner to Christ — it takes regeneration by which the Spirit makes the sinner alive and gives him a new nature. Faith is not something man contributes to salvation but is itself a part of God’s gift of salvation— it is God’s gift to the sinner, not the sinner’s gift to God.

Jan Sluijters (1881-1957), Elisha and the son of the
Shunammite woman, 1904

Total depravity does not mean that all humans are all as bad as they could be. Not everyone is a Hitler, is he? There are people who are nice and compassionate and do kind things. Then there’s the Hitlers and Stalins and Pol Pots of the world. No, total depravity means that sin has touched every part of our being, totally, and we are totally unable to do anything good for God. We are all criminals in God’s eyes and in His capacity as Judge He would be righteous if He sent all humans to hell upon their death. Even children.

So what happens to children who die, if they are completely depraved but are unable to consciously and maturely respond to the Gospel?

One of the complaints I receive about the Doctrines of Grace is that God would be horribly mean to send babies to hell when they do not have the mind to even be able to contemplate the Gospel and formulate a response to it, the basis of faith and the key to entry into the Kingdom. I agree, that would be hard to swallow. But God does not send babies or children to hell. He is just, and He is sovereign, and He has a plan.

After the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, John MacArthur was invited to the Larry King talk/interview show to try and help people make sense of the spiritual questions the event raised. In a subsequent sermon titled What Happens to Babies Who Die?, Dr MacArthur said this:

Some of you who tuned in to the Larry King Show a week ago Saturday will remember that Larry fired a question to me on the air that came out of nowhere. The question that reveals a nagging, troubling issue in the human heart. He asked me, “What about a two-year-old baby crushed at the bottom of the World Trade Center?”
I answered, “Instant heaven.”
He replied with another question. “Wasn’t a sinner?”
I again answered, “Instant heaven.”
That’s a compelling question, what about a baby crushed at the bottom of the Trade Center? What about any baby that dies? It’s an agonizing question. It’s a question that plagues Christians and non-Christians alike…what happens to babies that die?

In the essay, MacArthur shows from scripture that they go to heaven. Though they are sinners from the womb and though they have not hard or responded to the Gospel, God made a provision.

The Doctrines of Grace make me love Jesus all the more. He made a provision for the children and adults otherwise unable to cognitively understand their sin or the Gospel. God is love and His provision is demonstrates no better than the very moment an apple cheeked youngster’s laugh is stilled by death, when He receives them instantly to His arms.

Of Children:
The seed of every known sin is planted in their hearts. Robert Murray McCheyne

Of Jesus:
Never forget that there is more grace in Christ than there is sin in your heart and your child’s heart combined. Sinclair Ferguson

————————

More follow-ups to the election results

Posted on November 7, 2012 by elizabethprata

Joel Rosenberg has a measured and sober reaction essay. He asks,

“Is the implosion of America more or less likely now?“
“Many evangelical Christians and conservative Catholics are stunned and grieving by the fact that the President’s support for abortion on demand, same-sex marriage, massive deficits and national debt, nationalized health care, and large defense cuts have been ratified by the majority of the American people, as has his policies of appeasing the mullahs in Iran, misreading and mishandling the Arab Spring, and creating distance and daylight between the U.S. and Israel.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ChantryNotes has a good piece, examining

How I Absorbed Three Punches and Stood Up Anyway

In it he explores three themes:

1. The reelection of President Obama demonstrates the wickedness of America. Make no mistake about it: a vote for the President was a wicked act.
2. The reelection of President Obama demonstrates the stupidity of America. The Scriptures teach that sin makes us stupid.
3. The reelection of President Obama demonstrates God’s judgment on America. It’s pretty hard to overstate how bad this election is.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I posted this earlier, from Pastor Phil Andrukaitis, pastor of First Baptist Church at South Portland Maine, a state which is reeling from its first-ever successful initiative legalizing homosexual marriage.

“Now What?”
So, how’s that cup of coffee tasting this morning as you listen to the election and referendum results?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Al Mohler looks at “Aftermath: Lessons learned from the 2012 election”

We are rightly and deeply concerned. We must pray that God will change President Obama’s heart on a host of issues, ranging from the sanctity of unborn life to the integrity of marriage.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So enjoy and keep reading scripture. Remember, Jesus is building His church anddn the gates of hell will not prevail against it!

abortion, election, gay, homosexuality, vote

Mitt Romney isn’t as solid on the social issues as you think he is

Posted on October 12, 2012 by elizabethprata

I think that most people assume that 2012 Presidential candidate Mitt Romney, being a ‘faithful’ man and a conservative, is solid on the social issues. Further many people believe that compared to the travesty that is Obama, Romney is a conservative answer to prayer, who operates within the framework of his Mormon faith and is against the behaviors that are the main social ills of today.

They would be wrong.

He is not.

I took a look at his record on three main issues, though there are many issues to look at, including foreign policy and economics. I examined Romney’s stance on two social issues and a foreign policy issue of interest to Christians: Abortion, Homosexual agenda, and Israel. I included links so you can check them out yourself. I noted the date, some articles are from 1994 and others are from today.

Homosexual agenda

Boy Scouts:
Romney believes that openly gay people should be allowed to participate in Boy Scouts as members or leaders. Currently the Boy Scouts of America does not allow. Romney is in agreement with Obama on this issue. “Romney says Boy Scouts should admit homosexuals“

Homosexual marriage:
Romney’s views on this have changed since 1994 when he first ran for office. Initially he believed in “equality for all citizens”. He declared he would be more liberal and effective than his opponent, Sen Ted Kennedy.

Said the same in 2002 when running for governor. (source)

When the Mass. Supreme court said that denying gays a legally sanctioned marriage, Romney sought to establish same sex civil unions, but stated that his personal views were that marriage should be just for one man and one woman. (source)

Has stated he would seek a constitutional amendment banning same sex marriages. (additional source)

Romney has consistently opposed expanding marriage to gays and lesbians, while paradoxically insisting that he supports equal rights for everyone. And he has tailored that message to please his shifting audiences. (source)

Other homosexual issues

He supported the Federal Employee Nondiscrimination Act and President Clinton’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy allowing gay men and women in the military in 1994.

Says he is for Gay Rights, (Aug 2011)

Romney’s stance on homosexual agenda issues is contradictory. When asked if it turned out that one of his grandkids was gay Romney said “I love my children, and I love my grandchildren, and of course I’d want them to be happy. My view is this: individuals should be able to pursue a relationship of love and respect and raise a family as they would choose. I would like to have the term ‘marriage’ continue to be associated with a relationship between one man and one woman, and that certainly doesn’t prevent two people of the same gender living in a loving relationship together having a domestic partnership, if you will.” (source) (source)

Abortion

–Said in 1994 that abortion should be safe and legal for all women (source)
–Said the same in 2002, affirming his stance that a woman has a right to choose
–Said in 2005 said he is staunchly pro-life
(source)

Oct 11, 2012- Believes abortion is wrong but will not seek to institute any laws about it. Abortion issues are not part of his agenda, he told reporters today. (source)

Oct 11, 2012 Later the same day he backpedalled on the statement (source)

Said he would de-fund Planned Parenthood. (source)

Here is a link showing Romney’s “evolution” on abortion issues. (source)

This is a straightforward factual listing of the issues written by AP, just out today. The title is Obama and Romney: where they stand on the issues. Side by side comparison of all issues, not just social. The piece includes compasiton of stances on debt, economy, Social Security, abortion, homosexual agenda, etc, the whole gamut is on this page. (source)

Tracy Bloom at TruthDig reports the following:
“GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney “reaffirmed” his staunch pro-life abortion position on Wednesday, saying his stance on the hot-button issue hasn’t changed. At least not since he became pro-life midway through his political career. Like on many issues—taxes, health care, stem-cell research, minimum wage, immigration reform, etc.—Romney has flipped-flopped positions in a seemingly concerted effort to appeal to a certain ideological group of voters.”

I posted Bloom’s piece because I have found the same flip-flopping as I travel the course of Romney’s life. I agree that whatever his personal feelings on an issue, when it comes to public policy, Romney changes to match the situation, constituency or to attain a political goal. This also includes a less than candid reporting of the reasons his grandfather fled the US to Mexico in the 1880s. And I’m not just talking about flip-flops on issues that are decades apart, but for example, the abortion flip flop that occurred the same day.

Israel

At a private fundraiser, a donor asked Romney how the “Palestinian problem” can be solved. Romney immediately launched into a detailed reply, asserting that the Palestinians have “no interest whatsoever in establishing peace, and that the pathway to peace is almost unthinkable to accomplish.” (source). The Main Stream Media treated this “discovered video” as a smoking gun, but in fact, Romney is absolutely right on the issue. The Palestinians do not want peace and it is futile to pursue it with them.

I agree with Romney on this and I’m also pleased he had a reply that included details. A two state solution only presages the judgment from God in Joel 3:2 where God said He will judge the nations because they have divided up His land. The much vaunted “Two State Solution” is no solution.

I post this tonight because I want us to be aware of the fact that Romney is not the answer to conservative prayer that he is being made out to be. The issue is not black and white and in fact is more complicated. Christians are in a quandary for good reason.

Add to that, Christians are weary. We are dejected in seeing the country crumble. We are concerned about the effect Obama has had in a mere four years and are heartily concerned with what will happen if he gets another four. We long to see faith played out on the national arena. We desire to see standards of morals and behavior applied consistently in at least one leader. The vacuum of goodness surely is dark on our hearts. Romney is the Republican candidate, conservative and intelligent, and many people are despondent enough with the way things are to say “good enough… close enough… what else we gonna do, anyway?”

Be mindful that Mitt Romney, while likely being a very nice man, generous and charitable, intelligent and having a grasp of economic issues, is unsaved. His ethics and morals have only been solid as far as they have served his political ambitions. I say this not to denigrate the man, but because I have spent the last two days reading numerous articles and seeing interviews and his positions change, sometimes over years, but more troubling, sometimes depending on who he is speaking to on the same day. I was saddened to read his responses to the hypothetical query about his grandchildren if they turned out to be gay. He wants them to be happy and in a relationship? As a man who claims God and says he adheres to His standards why did he not say that homosexuality is a sin and he would pray daily for the Spirit to transform the person through the saving grace of Jesus, because the homosexual lifestyle is one of despair, illness, and eventual condemnation by Holy God?

It is a paradox for Romney to say he wants his grandkids, if they turned out to be homosexuals, to be happy and in a peaceful relationship then say he would push for a constitutional amendment banning a legal relationship for them…wouldn’t that make them UNhappy?

People say all the time, choose the lesser of two evils. I don’t agree. Choosing the lesser of two evils means you are still choosing evil. Charles Spurgeon said, “When a Christian is faced with the choice between the lesser of two evils he should do neither.”

In the bible, should a person choose Jannes over Jambres? No. Both were condemned. Choose Ananias over Sapphira? No. Both were condemned. Why? They were both evil. God didn’t say, ‘I condemn the lesser of two evils’, He judged the evil. Period.

We vote for someone who we believe to the best of our diligent ability who will uphold Biblical principles and protect Constitutional government, regardless of that candidate’s perceived likelihood of prevailing. I sympathize with each and every mature Christian out there because I am agonizing over this as well. I know full well that there is no candidate out there who fully represents and lives out biblical principles. There are few enough who even appear moral.

Randy Alcorn wrote in part 1 of a series he began regarding this election, “Honestly, I am deeply concerned about this election, but not excited about it. I have very little faith in politics. Republican and Democratic administrations have combined together in the last forty years to establish a staggering track record of economic, personal and moral irresponsibility. They’ve proven themselves poor stewards of our country. And in many ways we have proven ourselves poor citizens and stewards.”

Here is a response by the pastors over at Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry to the question “Politics, Mormonism, and Christians.” The last few paragraphs get to the meat of the matter.

Here is another essay answering the question, “Should a Christian vote for a Mormon?“

Hopefully, some of the resources I’ve posted on this issue here and at the other blog entry may help you clarify your thinking. My thinking on the matter is clarified. And it was completely clarified last night before I changed my mind today. I am not settled on this by a long shot.

Lord, I not only pray for wisdom to make a God-honoring decision, I admit I also pray for the rapture so that we can be settled at your feet, enjoying a perfect theocracy once and for all. No voting necessary.

election, end time

John MacArthur: "I don’t know how long America has left, I really don’t."

Posted on October 7, 2012 by elizabethprata

We are nearing the end of the days of the Church Age. We are very close to the end.

Some of you know this because you see your pastors grapple with issues and problems that they have never dealt with before in like frequency or content.

Some of you know this because you have eyes to see, and notice that wherever you are living has gotten so sinful, immoral, and crime ridden you wonder and marvel at the patience of our Holy God to tolerate it.

Some of you know that we are nearing the end because you listen to or read watchmen pastors like Hal Lindsey or JD Farag, or others who illuminate us as to the signs Jesus said to watch for.

Still others, like John MacArthur, use Romans 1 as the cultural and spiritual barometer.

Romans 1 is the chapter where Paul tells the church about the wrath of God revealed to immoral nations. It outlines the process of what, how, and when God judges a nation via His wrath of abandonment.

God has many different kinds of wrath, and none of them are the human wrath of uncontrolled anger or petulance. MacArthur lists the elements of God’s wrath.

“There is eschatological wrath. That is the wrath that will fall on the earth at the end of human history in a time called the time of Tribulation. There is sowing and reaping wrath. That is the wrath of God that comes consequent on sin–whatever a man sows, he reaps. There is cataclysmic wrath. That is the wrath of God that He sets on man from miraculous use of the natural order, such as the Flood, or any other massive disaster that catapults souls into eternity. So there is that wrath of God which is eschatological and which is consequential and which is cataclysmic. And then there is that wrath of God which is eternal wrath, and that would be the wrath of God unleashed on the ungodly forever in the punishments of eternal hell.”

“But the wrath that is being referred to in Romans 1 isn’t any of those. It is the wrath of abandonment.”

And that is the wrath of Romans 1.

I have been listening to Dr MacArthur for a long time. I’ve listened to his sermons going back to 1969. I’ve listened to many in each decade of his ministry. I’ve listened to all of them regarding the end times. In all of them I notice two things. One is that he uses Romans 1 as his barometer of where the culture is in regards to the nearness of judgment. And the second is that he outright never says how close we are. He just preaches Romans 1 in his sermons and as a response to any Q&A sessions, plenary panels, or interviews and leaves it to the Christian to make that determination for themselves. It’s always just teaching Romans 1 but never has he said how close we are.

Until now.

One can intuit by comparing the society to the Romans chapter how close we are. Romans goes from verse 1 to 32. During this month Dr MacArthur attended both sessions of the political conventions, Democratic and Republican. He returned home to southern California at the beginning of September and through the month of September he has been preaching three messages related to the culture. This is a departure for him anyway, he rarely preaches a message that is unrelated to a book of the bible and is culturally oriented.

But these messages are at root biblically oriented. He returned home shook up and amazed at how close we are to judgment. He is also heartbroken, you can hear it in his voice. For a pastor, I can’t imagine the agonies of watching a society and all the people in it fall away from the offer of salvation and reject it at such a massive and global scale. If you are a good pastor, this breaks your heart, and Dr MacArthur is a good pastor.

We are at verse 32. The last verse in the outline of God’s progressive wrath is now at the last word, the last period of that chapter. And in one of these three tremendously convicting and horrifying sermons, he said,

“I don’t know how much time America has left, I really don’t. But we’re on a course described here as God casting us out. The land has become defiled. “I’ve brought its punishment upon it,” verse 25, “so the land has spewed out its inhabitants.””

I plead with you to listen to all three of the messages. You will receive a biblical overview of not only the coming election, which is helpful, but the times overall. You’ll understand the depth of passion with which we must live for Jesus in these last days. You will see clearly and breathtakingly how far we have traveled down the road of wrath and how close we are to the end. I am sure of it. Dr MacArthur lays out the chapter so clearly and biblically, if you have one molecule of regenerated sanctification in you, you will see it too.

Here are the three messages, in order. They are each about 45 minutes long.

Thank you and God bless.

Abortion and the Campaign for Immorality

Homosexuality and the Campaign for Immorality

A Warning to Every Proud Ruler

candidate, election, jesus, Obama, voting

Who should I vote for? An election overview from a biblical perspective

Posted on October 2, 2012May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

I’ve been wrestling, and wrestling hard about the upcoming American Presidential vote. I abhor the current political system, the two parties, and the corruption that is Congress.

I loathe the two candidates, based on spiritual qualifications. Obama is an abomination and Romney is lost and deluded, an enemy of God, being a Mormon. Charles Spurgeon said, “Of the lesser of two evils, choose neither.”

However, standing on the sidelines as a Christian doesn’t seem right, either. The first century Christians lived under a horrible dictator who burned them alive, yet the Word says we are to submit to all governing authorities. (Romans 13:1). This is because God is the ultimate governing authority who sets up kings and takes them down. Rebelling against government is rebelling against God. (Romans 13:2b)

It also didn’t seem right to remain on the sidelines as an American. God, in His providence and wisdom, created me at this time and in this nation, where we do have freedom to speak, worship, and vote. I would not want to squander the gifts and opportunities He gave me, and since I am a free American, I have a right and a duty and a privilege to participate in the government He set me up in.

To play devil’s advocate on myself, though, there is a limit to submission to governing authorities. My friend Pastor Phil Andrukaitis wrote in his sermon series, A Biblical Perspective on Politics, quoting John Piper here. “Scripture supports and prohibits civil disobedience. There are limits when it comes to submitting to horizontal authorities. Therefore, [John Piper said] “subjection to governing authorities is subjective, not absolute; it depends on whether the demands of the governing authorities require the Christian to disobey Jesus Christ”. Have we passed that limit? Are still within the boundaries of that limit? It is up to each Christian to make that determination for him or herself.

How do I balance my heavenly citizenship with my national citizenship?

I am not a fan of the current revival movements that focus on America as a political entity. I mean those movements that call for returning America back to a Christian nation, the ‘America for Jesus’ rallies, praying for America so that we would be reset to ‘original factory conditions.’ Blogger Erin Benzinger calls this ‘patriotic idolatry‘, and I agree. People who call for America’s return to Jesus have no idea how far the Founding Fathers were from the true God and Holy Jesus. John Adams was the most thoughtful, the most curious and the most studied about the things of God. He denied the Trinity, writing to Thomas Jefferson in 1813, “Had you and I been forty days with Moses on Mount Sinai, and been admitted to behold the divine Shekinah, and there told that one was three and three one, we might not have had courage to deny it, but we could not have believed it.”

Pastor Andrukaitis explained that we are citizens of heaven, but until we’re raptured or resurrected, we are also citizens of a nation here on earth. He said, “Paul and Silas beautifully illustrated their understanding of their dual citizenship when they were unjustly beaten, mistreated, and thrown into a Philippian jail. What were Paul and Silas’ reactions? They prayed and sang songs to God (Acts 16:25).”

So I am presented with a quandary…I have a national right and a God-given duty to participate in a corrupt process and thus choose between two men that at their soul-level are ungodly. This is a hard thing.

Then I listened to a 4 minute clip from an essay that’s based on two sermons John MacArthur preached last week called The Campaign for Immorality. The link is to the summary of two sermons, the first sermon is:

Abortion and the Campaign for Immorality
Homosexuality and the Campaign for Immorality

Dr MacArthur doesn’t talk about politics as much as he lays out the case that America is actively campaigning for judgment according to the process in Romans 1. He has spoken of this before. He has been essentially saying the same thing all along, that Divine Judgment comes when a nation rejects the basic platforms and institutions God set forth. Government, family and the Church are the three institutions God set up by Divine decree. MacArthur has been warning for years now that America is under that judgment due to our having rejected those institutions and have descended into immorality as a permeating and institutionalized level.

But this year, this time, it is really bad. In his two sermons, MacArthur shows through the bible how the two political parties, particularly one party, is engaging in a process that will drive us straight off the cliff of Judgment. He attended both Conventions and he returned to his home town stunned and aghast at how closely Romans 1 is being lived out by the decision makers in America today.

For example, taking God out of the Democratic platform, legalizing abortion, homosexual marriages, feminism, and other related government sanctioned behaviors that infringe on God’s territory show us how close we are to that judgment.

It is this that he preaches on.

In the excerpt of the essay, The Campaign for Immorality, Dr MacArthur said the following, which helped me decide what to do about voting. I put in bold the parts that especially helped me come to a decision about my vote. I hope it helps you. Here is the excerpt:

————-begin MacArthur————-

“I’m not one to talk about politics as such, but I was essentially amazed that one of the historic parties here in the United States adopted the sins of Romans 1 as their platform. This is a new day in our country. Parties which used to differ on economics now differ dramatically on issues that invade the realm of God’s law and morality.”

“In an ideal situation, their platform would mean that the government passes out condoms so people can fornicate at will. For those who happen to get pregnant in the process, platform advocates that you kill the baby at the will of the mother, up and including the ninth month.”

“At the same time, it advocates a homosexual marriage, which is an oxymoron, an utter impossibility, and a gross violation of the law of God. And then to add to that, the murder of abortion, and then a platform originally leaving God out. All of that’s Romans 1. Romans 1 says God will judge, God has judged throughout human history, nations that experience sexual freedom. Romans chapter 1 lays that out clearly: the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against those who advocate sexual freedom, sexual conduct outside of marriage. And that’s an indication of the demise of a nation.”

“And then Romans 1 also says that God will judge those nations that advocate homosexual behavior, men with men, women with women, doing what is unnatural. They are also haters of God, haters of God–leaving God out, advocating abortion, advocating homosexuality, advocating free sexual conduct and government-provided condoms so that everybody can do what they want. That is literally creating a platform out of what God hates.”

“This is not about politics, although there are things we could talk about. You’re not voting for a pastor, you’re not voting for a spiritual leader, you’re voting for someone who has some sense of morality. Since the Bible says that the role of government is to punish evil doers and protect the good, you better have somebody in power who understands what is good and what is evil. And if you think homosexuality, abortion, sexual freedom, hating God are not evil, then you better go back and check your Bible again. How can people with that kind of agenda protect those who do good and punish those who do evil? That’s Romans 13’s definition of the role of government. We could talk about foreign policies, should we protect as many defenseless people from evil aggressors as possible? We could talk about economics, Is it right to get into irreparable debt? Is that responsibility? We could talk about that.”

‘We could talk about the economics of if you don’t work, you don’t eat, which is what the Bible says. But those things are not what concern me. And I’ve seen something happen in these conventions that is just stunning. The adaptation of a Romans 1 platform, sexual freedom, homosexuality on an equal level with marriage, the murder of infants, and the elimination of God.”

“And by the way, I didn’t like it any better when they put God back in because that’s blasphemy. To connect God with that agenda is a horror, it’s a horror. It’s taking His name in vain. In fact, I don’t think God should be in either agenda (applause). But when you have an advocacy of support for the slaughter of infants and homosexuality, complete sexual freedom, you have a formula for divine judgment. If we have any sense of justice, if we have any sense of righteousness, if we want to make a little bit of a voice heard about what is right and about the role of government being to punish evil doers and protect the people who do right, then we better step up. I’m not sure what God has in the future, but I do know we can take His side and give Him honor.”

—————end MacArthur—————

Pastor Andrukaitis ended his message about this upcoming election this way, “Therefore, when we enter the voting booth on Tuesday, November 6, 2012 or submit an absentee ballot prior to Election Day, remember that there is a day when each of us will give an account to God for our decisions. Please, choose wisely.”

For me, the quandary about whether to even enter the voting booth and vote has been resolved. The quandary on who to vote for has also been answered.

I hope that this information, or the wealth of Christian information out there helps you resolve any dilemmas you may have on this upcoming election.