"You are like salt for the whole human race. But if salt loses its saltiness, there is no way to make it salty again. It has become worthless, so it is thrown out and people trample on it. "You are like light for the whole world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. ¹⁵ No one lights a lamp and puts it under a bowl; instead it is put on the lampstand, where it gives light for everyone in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way your light must shine before people, so that they will see the good things you do and praise your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:13-16 (TEV)

Any pastor worth his salt, no pun intended, will contrast the difference between the two candidates who are running for the office of President of the United States. The differences between the two candidates this year will result in one of two America’s in the future and the differences between the two are so wide that one result will be catastrophic for our nation.

It will be your choice to decide...morally... the right choice that will be the best for the good of the country. Anything less is neither loving God with all your heart nor loving your neighbor as yourself.

I don’t have room to note all of the differences between the two candidates but I will note one that should not be ignored.

First, the impact of the next President of the United States on our judicial system cannot be overlooked. The next President could nominate as many as three or four justices to the Supreme Court as well as add dozens of judges to federal district courts and courts of appeals, where most of federal lawsuits are adjudicated.

With one presidential candidate there would be a replacement for the recent loss of Justice Scalia with a liberal, which would give the Court a 5-4 majority even without Justice Kennedy, and a 6-3 edge whenever he votes with that block.

That would really make a difference in the churches of our nation. For just one example, some churches in the state of Iowa have been instructed to make their bathrooms open to people on the basis of their “gender identity” if the churches are going to remain open to the public. If those rulings end up before a liberal Supreme Court, well, I think you know what would happen.

With the other candidate there has been the releasing of a list of judges that are to demonstrate what type of nominee would be put forth to serve on the Supreme Court. The list includes judges who would uphold the original meaning of the Constitution and would not create new laws from the bench.

The point is...we have already experienced judicial tyranny regarding abortion rights and same-sex marriage. It is important for the Christian to become informed and then vote for the best, flawed candidate, for all candidates are flawed, and the corresponding platform they have presented.

That’s exactly what the believer should do with every issue and then take the contrasts before the Word of God and prayerfully examine the Word to determine which candidate would be better for the country.

Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper." Jeremiah 29:7 (NIV)

Abortion will be impacted. Religious liberty hangs in the balance. Freedom of speech could be further restricted. Political dissent could be targeted by the government. We could see the IRS targeting particular political groups, as well as the prosecution of those who dare to disagree with man-made global warming theory.

A Christian should do everything they can to minister good to and for the nation. The vote that we are privileged to cast is a practical application of what it means to love God and love people.

Other issues such as taxes, jobs, the military, our borders, terrorism, the ISIS threat, Russia, China, Israel, energy, Executive orders, health care, unborn babies, racial tensions, the list goes on and on. The positions of the two candidates are almost diametrically opposed and the nation that results will be completely different.

We can only base our decisions on the most likely result. No one can ever know what the future conduct of any human being will be...only the Lord knows. Historically, most elected candidates will attempt to do what they said they would. It’s reasonable to think that both candidates will attempt to do what they have promised.

When you examine the running mates of the candidates it gives you an additional read on what kind of leadership they will attempt to provide.

We pray and ask the Lord to bless our nation and heal our land. Does the Lord work through us as the salt and the light of the world? Should we do good works and give praise to the Father, for His glory. Then perhaps we should vote, it’s a gift the Lord has provided to us to do good, then we will leave the result in His almighty hand.

The influence of Christianity has always made a difference in Korea; the North is very much different than the South. The “influence” or “lack of” Christianity will make a difference in America as well.

"Make yourselves at home there and work for the country's welfare.”Pray for Babylon's well-being. If things go well for Babylon, things will go well for you." Jeremiah 29:7 (MSG)

You’ve probably heard some Christian, somewhere; utter the words, “It’s just impossible for me to vote forfill in the blank . If I have to make a choice between the lesser of two evils then I’m just going to have to do the right thing morally and choose neither one. I think I’ll just vote for a third-party candidate or a write in candidate or not even vote at all.

While I respect the decisions that others may arrive at during what has become one of the most unusual election cycles I’ve ever witnessed in my lifetime I do believe that some who say I can’t vote for fill in the blank have yet to consider what America would look like under the presidency of those who are running for the office.

I really don’t have the space to run both the Democratic National Platform and the Republican National Platform, but you can check those out for yourself, and you should. And when you lay those platforms and their candidates beside one another and make comparison you see that the huge difference between the two platforms reflects the huge difference that would result in America if a liberal is elected once again to be the leader of our nation.

Catch this is you don’t read anything else. The Bible is clear in its teaching that you and I have a moral responsibility to vote and influence elections. You and I both know that in I Peter we are described, as believers, as “exiles” on this earth. Since this is the case, we apply what the prophet Jeremiah said in Jeremiah 29:7 when speaking to the Jews that were living in exile in Babylon.

He noted that the Jewish exiles should work for the welfare of the country. They had a moral responsibility before the Lord to be involved. When you decide to do nothing, you have decided to do something. Is it morally right, to do nothing? Is it morally right to help elect a candidate who will be worse for the country? As Phil Robertson would say...Naw!! (that means...No)

I know that there is a temptation to just throw your hands up in the air and declare that you’re not having anything to do with this whole election “thing” this year. But we can’t do that....morally...we take to heart what was said by the prophet Obadiah who came down on the people of Edom and gave them a clear rebuke by declaring that when they stood by and did “nothing” when the Babylonians conquered Jerusalem, they indeed had done “something”...that something...which was nothing...was morally wrong.

On that day you stood there and didn't do anything. Strangers took your brother's army into exile. Godless foreigners invaded and pillaged Jerusalem. You stood there and watched. You were as bad as they were. Obadiah 1:11 (MSG)

If Christians just stand by and watch and do nothing, by not researching and understanding what our nation will become like under the leadership of the next president then we will be just as bad as those who push a godless, liberal agenda to the “max” upon our children and grandchildren.

So the question becomes: Which candidate and their representative platform is most likely to bring the best results to the nation we live in?

There is nothing morally wrong with voting for a “flawed” candidate. In fact, every time you’ve ever voted in an election you’ve voted for a “flawed” candidate. You can in good conscience vote for candidatefill in the blank and the platform that you believe will do more good for the nation. When you do that you are making a good moral decision that follows the admonition to “work for the welfare of the country. Not to do so will make it more likely that the opponent who you believe will be worse for the country will be elected, because they will need one less vote to win.

You say, well God may be punishing or judging America or want to bring us into a time of persecution. I do not find it recorded in the Bible the admonition for believers to...work for or seek or hope for the persecution of the nation. Just the opposite is indicated in the Word of God.

'And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil... ' Matthew 6:13 (NASB77)

Pray in this way for kings and all others who are in authority over us, or are in places of high responsibility,so that we can live in peace and quietness, spending our time in godly living and thinking much about the Lord. 1 Timothy 2:2 (TLB)

We do what the Lord wants us to do...and then the Lord will do what He will do.

The better question might be: Can Christians in good conscience act in a way that will help a godless and liberal agenda be thrust upon the nation. You know...the pro-abortion, pro-gender confusion, anti-religious liberty, tax and spend, big government, anti-Semitic...you get the idea, the list really does go on and on. But perhaps the most crucial impact will be the impact of the appointments that will occur on the Supreme Court of the land. Activist judges are already dictating whatever they want from the bench without any consideration of the people. And we can’t do anything about their dictates. They’re not elected...they’re appointed...by Presidents.

Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do, and does not do it, to him it is sin. James 4:17 (NASB77)

The right thing to do for every believer is to make a careful and thorough evaluation of what it would mean for either candidate to be elected and then vote for and work for the candidate to do the most good for the United States of America.

Morally, it’s the right thing to do.

Next week, I’ll make a few comparisons between the two choices and the platforms they represent and the results that are likely to come about.