Must the Church Stay Out of Politics?

“If your church doesn’t know what time it is, find one that does.” Rosaria Butterfield*

https://cornerstonechapel.net/teaching/20201018/

Recently, a friend made me aware of the above linked sermon by Pastor Gary Hamrick of Cornerstone Chapel in Leesburg, VA. I listen to him regularly, finding that the church’s online teaching library is a good resource as I prepare to teach students at my church.

This message was preached on October 18, 2020 and Pastor Hamrick was focused on the upcoming presidential election. The purpose of this message was to guide Christians in evaluating political parties’ adherence to a biblical worldview. (Recent polls have indicated that a shockingly low number of evangelical Christians have a biblical worldview.) If you’ve read Letter to the American Church (or watched the film based on the book) and felt convicted by its call to take a stand against evil, you will be encouraged by this message. Author Eric Metaxas compares the American church’s silence to that of the German church during the Nazi era and exhorts us to stop “singing more loudly” to drown out the cries of those being led to the slaughter in our day.

The sermon is described on the church website in this way:

Pastor Gary delivers a sermon to challenge the church in America to “wake up!” Our nation is at a crossroads and our only hope is for Christians to stand for righteousness and vote our values! To be disengaged and apathetic will result in the advancement of a liberal, progressive, demonic-inspired agenda that is bent on the destruction of America. Christians need to wake up and realize that we are in a spiritual battle for the heart and soul of our nation and the heart and soul of the next generation. Stand up for righteousness! Stand up for truth! And let your voices be heard for the glory of God!

Have we seen “the advancement of a liberal, progressive, demonic-inspired agenda that is bent on the destruction of America” since Biden was put into office??? Indeed, the change since 2021 has been breathtaking. But does the church have any business getting involved in cultural issues? Shouldn’t the church just stick to the gospel? What about Christian nationalism, the current disparaging term applied to evangelical, or conservative, Christians? The false accusation is that Christians want to put into place a theocracy and force everyone to abide by their beliefs. Politico staff writer Heidi Przybyla, received a lot of pushback recently when she stated that, in her opinion, Christians are wrong to believe their rights come from God, not from earthly authorities. Perhaps she needs to reacquaint herself with our Declaration of Independence, which states,

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Perhaps you have never heard a pastor preach a sermon like Pastor Hamrick’s. Not many pastors have the boldness to say controversial things which might be considered “political”. Please take into consideration this disclaimer about the sermon. I have never been a rabid Trump supporter and neither is Pastor Hamrick, as far as I can tell. To prove that I am not, I managed to find a couple of Facebook posts which expressed my feelings during the 2016 election season.

February 20, 2016: I'm glad we are leaving South Carolina on Monday. It is projected that Trump is the winner of the Republican primary here. What in the world is wrong with this country????

April 27, 2016: I see that Donald Trump has won more primaries. It's looking more and more like our choice will be either him or Hillary Clinton. If that is, indeed, the case in November, I just won't vote for president. There's no "lesser of two evils" choice for me; I can't stand the thought of either of them being in the White House. God have mercy on our country. We don't deserve it; but we are told to humble ourselves and pray and He will heal our land. Will you pray for our country?

Actually, I did vote for Trump in 2016, but I did not make the decision until I had the ballot before me. I felt strongly that it was my responsibility to vote, so I did. After marking the box by Trump’s name, I prayed and asked God to forgive me if I had done wrong. In 2020, it was the lesser of the evils choice again. This year I have no idea what is going to happen. Will we even be allowed to vote? Will martial law be imposed on us? Will World War III start in the next few months? Will I be put in a gulag because I am writing unacceptable words? Will Jesus come back before the election?

I want to emphasize again that Pastor Hamrick’s sermon is focused primarily on policies, not on personalities. No candidate is perfect and the future of our country does not ultimately rest on who is in the White House. Just as no one human could cause the entire world to go mad in 2020, likewise no one human will be able to make the changes we need. It is important, however, that we evaluate candidates on how well their party’s platform aligns with the values we feel are important. Followers of Christ must evaluate according to scriptural principles. The stated policies of the Democrat and Republican parties provide us a very clear choice. If our country is to survive, I believe we must humble ourselves and plead for God’s mercy. I will pray, I will vote, I will actively campaign for local candidates whom I know and trust, and I will take a stand against the forces coming against our children. I hope you will do the same.

* Rosaria Butterfield, a former professor of English and women’s studies at Syracuse University, converted to Christ in 1999 and afterward renounced her gay lifestyle. Her memoir The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert chronicles that difficult journey. Rosaria is now married to Kent Butterfield, a Reformed Presbyterian pastor in North Carolina, and is a homeschool mother, author, and speaker.