With the 2026 midterm elections upon us, millions of Americans will cast ballots in an election that will have significant implications for the nation’s future. With control of Congress hanging in the balance, voters will help determine the legislative agenda and political trajectory of the next two years.
The stakes extend beyond legislation. Because the Senate plays a crucial role in confirming federal judges, the election could also shape the composition of the federal judiciary for decades to come. Meanwhile, voters in several states will weigh consequential ballot initiatives and proposed constitutional amendments addressing some of the most contentious moral and cultural questions of our day, including abortion, gender intervention procedures for minors, and the protection of women’s sports.
For Christians, the election raises questions that go beyond political parties, candidates, and policy preferences. Is voting merely a civic privilege, or does Scripture provide a theological framework for understanding it as an act of stewardship and love of neighbor? And what role should pastors and churches play in equipping believers to exercise this responsibility faithfully? As Americans prepare to head to the polls next Tuesday, these questions invite us to consider a more fundamental issue: whether Christians have a biblical responsibility to participate in the political process.
To answer this question, we must consider both the biblical purpose of government and the unique responsibilities entrusted to citizens in America’s constitutional republic. In the United States, the locus of political power is the citizenry; the government derives its authority from the people. As Alexander Hamilton explained in Federalist Paper 22, the consent of the people is the “pure original fountain of all legitimate authority.”
In the United States, this principle is foundational to our government and provides citizens with incredible opportunity and responsibility. Unlike billions of people around the world, Americans, through the ballot box, control their political future. Indeed, we are stewards of it, as we are stewards of everything else God has given us.
For Christian citizens, the implications of America’s form of government are even more significant when considered alongside Paul’s teaching on the purpose of government in Romans. According to Paul, government is ordained by God to promote good and restrain evil. God authorizes the government to wield the sword for the administration of justice. As one theologian recently explained, “The sword is God’s authorized gift to humanity for protecting life.”
From these considerations, a truth with far-reaching implications for Christian political engagement emerges: Voting is an exercise in delegating God-ordained authority. Because power resides with the people in our republic, when Christians vote, they are delegating their ruling authority to others. In other words, by voting, Christians are entrusting their “sword-bearing” responsibility to officials who will govern on their behalf. Seen from this perspective, voting is a matter of stewardship; failure to vote is a failure to exercise God-given authority.
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