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To view this on the COS website, click here [[https://conventionofstates.com/news/the-11th-commandment-thou-shalt-vote|the-11th-commandment-thou-shalt-vote]]


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====== The 11th Commandment: Thou Shalt Vote ======


It seems that God has also given the citizens of the U.S., We the People, some of His authority, passed down to us through our Founders in the form of the U.S. Constitution and its 27 Amendments.


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|"Whaaaaat?! **God commands me to vote?!** That's not the 11th Commandment, is it? And what does that have to do with an Article V Convention of States?"\\ \\ Was that you I just heard questioning the premise of this article? How dare you!\\ \\ If you did, you're partially correct, it's NOT the 11th Commandment. However, and nonetheless, it’s still one of God’s commandments. As for COS, I’ll get there.\\ \\ You say you need chapter and verse? Okay, I can do that too.\\ \\ Hold on a minute, though, before we run off half-cocked A side issue comes to mind. This one involves the very important and sticky issue of interpreting the Bible. Don’t ya love it?\\ \\ I'm what some might call a "strict Bible interpreter." What does that mean?\\ \\ It means that I read the verse or passage, I then read it again, but this time in context, i.e., the verses that are a part of the entire conversation or thought. I read all of ‘em, sometimes two or three times.\\ \\ Then with prayerful consideration, I apply the first rule of Biblical interpretation to the verse or passage. Don’t worry you can do it too, it’s really very easy.\\ \\ Here’s the rule. The correct interpretation of the verse or passage is literally what the author says it means in context- period, stop.\\ \\ Stupid example. John 11:35 says, “Jesus wept.” What does that mean? I’ll bet it means what it says, Jesus cried. If you want to know exactly when Jesus cried, or for whom Jesus was crying, or what it means that Jesus cried, you’ll have to read the verse in context to find out. Got it? Good, let’s move on.\\ \\ **The Stewardship of Authority**\\ \\ Now that we’ve established that the Bible means literally what it says, let’s expand our understanding of God. Yes, I know, some Bible passages are not meant to be taken literally, but that’s a subject for a different day.\\ \\ Warning here comes an emphatic that all Christians MUST acknowledge, but some won’t.\\ \\ God is the source of ALL authority and authorities on Earth, and everywhere else for that matter.\\ \\ That was a fun lesson, but now things are gonna get a bit dark.\\ \\ For illustration purposes I’d like you to imagine that you’re living in Nazi Germany under Hitler’s rule, or in Stalin’s Russia, or in Red China under Chairman Mao.\\ \\ Repulsive thought? Yes, but please bear with me. Here’s the point. How do you suppose these men obtained their power in the first place? I said it above and you may not like it, but it’s Scripture. Let’s take a look.\\ \\ Romans 13:1 (NIV), “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.”\\ \\ Did you catch it? Who gave those evil men their authority to rule, who put them in office?\\ \\ God did. God put them in charge!\\ \\ You know something? That includes President Joseph R. Biden also. I’m depressed.\\ \\ Yeah, I get it, without a doubt that’s one of the Bible’s most difficult passages. Don’t worry, if it upsets you, it does me too.\\ \\ Allow me to clarify one point. I know that God has given Christian’s the authority to and commanded us to resist evil. However, in the case of the three above examples, God did not give Christians any authority, granted by the authorities (government) He established, to vote them out.\\ \\ Do you see where I’m headed yet?\\ \\ Enough of that. We’re not here to discuss why God does what He does. And that’s a very good thing, because I have no idea why God would give His authority to those servants of Satan. For more on this see the Biblical book of Daniel and that crazy grass munching authority, King Nebuchadnezzar.\\ \\ But I digress, let’s change gears.\\ \\ Now I’d like you to imagine that you live under a democratic government, and then ask yourself this question.\\ \\ In the case of let’s say the United States, a Representative Republic, to whom does God give His authority to rule over us?\\ \\ If you said to our elected representatives; the President, Senators, Mayors, etc., you’d be correct, but only partially.\\ \\ What do I mean? Well, it seems that God has also given the citizens of the U.S., We the People, some of His authority, passed down to us through our Founders in the form of the U.S. Constitution and its 27 Amendments.\\ \\ In the U.S. we experience God’s delegation of His authority to us by exercising our right to vote for our elected leaders.\\ \\ Let’s look at it this way.\\ \\ If you don’t like the fact that many of our government schools are teaching Critical Race Theory, sex-ed beginning in kindergarten, and the choose your own gender nonsense. What do you do?\\ \\ You vote out the Board of Education! See San Francisco’s successful BoE recall. God’s authority in action.\\ \\ If you’re concerned that progressives like AOC or Beto are coming after your gun rights, or that the White House is urging/telling Big Tech to censor your free speech rights. What do you do?\\ \\ You vote in somebody who will protect your God-given inalienable rights. See 26 States approving no permit concealed carry. God’s authority in action.\\ \\ Does it give you pause that the IRS has the power to control what your pastor preaches from the pulpit? See the 1954 Johnson Amendment to the IRS Code section 501(c)(3). What do you do?\\ \\ You know the answer, I need not repeat it.\\ \\ **Here’s the big conclusion.**\\ \\ Our Founders, under God’s guidance, gave We the People some of God’s authority.\\ \\ Here’s the big question.\\ \\ If you don’t vote, if you neglect to show up on the first Tuesday of November, are you dissing God and His authority passed on to you by our Founders?\\ \\ Yeah, you are.\\ \\ You see Christian friends, God expects you to be good steward with everything He has given you, including His authority. Insert 100+ Bible references here regarding God’s expectations of good stewards. I don’t think I’ll do that; you can find them yourself with your concordance, look under “steward” or “stewardship”.\\ \\ Do you get it? God has given you His authority, and He expects you to use it.\\ \\ So yes, God commands you to vote.\\ \\ Okay, now that we know God commands us to vote, let’s circle back to the beginning and COS.\\ \\ It’s like this. Our Founders also gave us, We the People, God’s authority to change things certain things. We see the authority God’s given us in the never tried Article V Convention of States in the U.S. Constitution, and in the thrice tried and failed Article VI Nullification in the U.S. Constitution.\\ \\ So, what’s God saying here? Use the authority He gave you by voting, and if He calls you to get more involved, do so, but only out of your desire to be obedient to His Commandments and calling.\\ \\ Convention of States Action is a good beginning, but only if you genuinely desire to strive with other true patriots.\\ \\ If you don’t agree with the conclusions I drew here, take it up with God. I didn’t write Romans 13, He did.\\ \\ For more discussion or debate on this issue, my email address is <gary.everest@cosaction.com>.\\ \\ Please visit [[http://conventionofstates.com/?ref=66971|www.conventionofstates.com]] to sign the petition and learn how to volunteer your skill sets to save our US Constitution for ourselves and our posterity.|


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|  __Page Metadata__  ||
|Login Required to view?  |No                  |
|Created:                 |2022-03-16 22:28 GMT|
|Updated:                 |2022-03-17 17:53 GMT|
|Published:               |2022-03-17 07:00 GMT|
|Converted:               |2025-11-11 11:59 GMT|
|Change Author:           |Barbara Thomas      |
|Credit Author:           |Pastor Gary Everest |