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Monday, October 14, 2024

Electing A President, Not A Pastor


Charlie Kirk, the founder and president of Turning Point USA,  recently posted on X that “according to new survey data by Georg Barna, only 51% of ‘people of faith’ plan to vote this November.” That means “41 million born-again Christians WILL NOT VOTE,” and “32 million mainline Christians WILL NOT VOTE.” Kirk says, “We cannot expect President Trump to have a more Christian ethos if the Church refuses to vote. We cannot expect President Trump to be more pro-life if our own people don’t back him up at the ballot box.”

I wrote about Barna's newly released survey here and talked about it on our live radio program last week. The survey reveals that 41 million born-again Christians plan not to vote purposely.

There is a national response to this wrong thinking.

Let's take a closer look.

Be informed, not misled.

The last part of Kirk’s statement reflects the political realities that Trump contends with. Obviously, Trump isn’t running for national pastor. He’s running for the highest political office in America and must, because of Christian apathy, make concessions he may not otherwise be forced to make. 

The results of Barna's survey should awaken every Christian who has been rocked to sleep by the Leftists who consistently mock biblical Christianity and the followers of Christ who practice it.

To my Christian friends who have embraced Leftist ideas about the presidency: You are the frog in the kettle. Wake up. You're about to be cooked.

Alex Brandon writes, "The numbers are astounding and speak to the vast malaise that grips evangelical America. If Christians, broadly speaking, were to be 'activated,' they’d dominate every election cycle. Even the great Democrat party steal would be powerless in the face of a voting block of roughly 150 million people."

But, Christians are divided on several issues regarding Trump. Some professing Christians object to Trump based on his personality and, sometimes, garish and offensive language. And many object to Trump’s position on abortion, citing a desire for a complete federal ban. However, many of these same professing Christians plan to vote for Kamala Harris, a third-party candidate, or to abstain from voting altogether. 

Though I agree with a federal ban on infanticide, based on a belief that life begins at conception, for which there are many Biblical proofs (see Genesis 25:23; Job 31:15; Ecclesiastes 11:15; Isaiah 49:5; Jeremiah 1:5, 20:17), I fail to see the logic in wasting a vote by abstaining, or worse, by committing a vote to the cause of a completely amoral, Godless party. 

Jonny Ardavanis serves as the Teaching Pastor at Stonebridge Bible Church. He is currently completing his Masters in Divinity at The Master’s Seminary. Jonny previously served as the Dean of Campus Life at The Master’s University and as a Camp Director at Hume Lake Christian Camps in Central, CA.

He says ( link 3 )“The Democratic [sic] party is a demonic death cult under the power and influence of Satan…to vote for the Democrats is to vote for a platform…that is, building their platform upon everything that God hates. The mutilation of bodies. The annihilation of babies in the womb and the sexualization of your children. That is their calling card. That is what they want to do. They don’t hide that. They have abortion facilities outside of the Democratic Convention. This is who they are… it’s the most radical party in our country’s history. So, I don’t see how you can be a Christian and vote for a party that promotes everything that God hates…You have a responsibility and privilege to vote for the option that best stems the tide of evil…A failure to vote is a failure to express our gratitude for the men and women that have died for our country…It’s also a failure to obey the calling we have to uphold righteousness in our land.” 

Brandon says, "Since a two-party system limits us, we have a binary choice. Refusing to vote or voting for write-in candidates is simply the coward’s way of voting for the Democrat nominee. It’s not taking the moral high ground. It’s knowingly squandering your privilege to choose a viable candidate. In my opinion, that is sinful."

He also said, "Many professing Christians slink behind the skirts of piety and claim that politics are beneath the concerns of heavenly-minded people. I feel confident in assuming that people who refuse to engage with politics and government aren’t impacting their communities with their faith either."

It is a Christian’s civic duty, mandated by Christ himself, to engage with the government. 

Many Christians fail to fully understand Christ’s admonition to “..render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.” (Matthew 22:21) “Rendering to Caesar” means far more than paying taxes, just as rendering your duty to God means far more than just paying a tithe. In our day, and being bequeathed the privilege of participating in a republic, it is our obligation as professing Christians to vote — even if you must choose, in your mind, the lesser of two evils. Though Trump’s platform may not meet the standards of Biblical doctrine at every point, he’s clearly the most closely allied with Biblical interests. Do as Christ commands — render your civic duty and vote. Abstaining or voting for a third-party candidate is simply a vote for Harris — a tacit approval of the evils she represents. As it has been said, all it takes for evil to triumph is for good men and women to do nothing. 

He says, "The simple fact of the matter is that the only real choice for obedient Christians is to cast a vote for Trump.

Popular Christian author Allie Beth Stuckey had this to say on X, “Pastor, it is not godly to tell your congregation, ‘no party will save you’ and leave it at that. That is not nuance; it’s cowardice. While no party is salvific, it is not true that the parties are morally equivalent. The Democrat platform is constructed of the things God hates: child sacrifice, the undermining of the family, gender confusion, and institutionalized sexual degeneracy…They are theological issues. In fact, they are Genesis 1 issues. ‘So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.’”

Without a doubt, she says, "Christians are here to share the gospel — the facts of Christ’s miraculous advent, sinless life, death, and resurrection. The great truth is that faith in the resurrected Lord and faith alone in Him brings reconciliation with God. 'For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved' (Romans 10:8-13). But Christians also owe a duty to their fellow citizens in preserving the civil liberties bought at the price of blood and toil — with all this in mind, Trump is the only real choice." 

Takeaway

President Abraham Lincoln once said, “The ballot is stronger than the bullet.”

Lincoln also said, "Elections belong to the people. It's their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they will just have to sit on their blisters."

And Thomas Jefferson said, "We do not have government by the majority. We have government by the majority who participate."

Be Informed. Be Discerning. Be Vigilant. Be Faithful. Be Prayerful.