“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God
will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.” - Dietrich Bonhoeffer
A conservative statistical estimate says that 38
million evangelical Christians did not vote at the 2012 Presidential
election.
In the average Presidential election, 25% of
evangelical Christians in America show up and vote.
In the average non-Presidential election, 12.5% of
evangelical Christians in America show up and vote.
Rev. Rafael Cruz asked a ballroom full of pastors and
church leaders, “Are we going to answer to God for our silence?”
Cruz spoke in Greenville, South Carolina, on December 7th at the South Carolina Renewal Project, an
event hosted by the American Renewal Project.
The ARP recognizes that Christians in America for several decades have
bought the lies that the church should not get involved in politics, pastors
should stay out of the public square, and the church should only focus on “spiritual”
issues. Nothing could be further from the truth.
The current dismal state of the affairs of our
nation is in part the result of the church staying in her buildings, pastors
staying silent out of fear of offending congregants, and the Christians in
America not engaging the culture and being salt and light.
Cruz challenged pastors, “If the righteous are not
running for office, then the wicked will elect the wicked.” Referencing Exodus 18:21, he shared that
Christians should vote for people who have the following qualities:
1. Able to
lead – that means capable of leadership ability. “Stop electing the village idiot!” Cruz
challenged.
2. Men and
women who fear God – they have a Judeo-Christian work ethic and moral code.
3. People of
truth who tell the truth. Many
politicians today run on lies, lies, and lies.
Discernment is needed to see past the rhetoric and look at their record.
Christians, and especially pastors, must care more
in these days about being biblically correct than politically correct. We must speak the Word of God, share the Word
of God, teach our people how to look at political issues through the lens of
the Word of God, and vote our values based on God’s Word.
The Bible speaks clearly on these issues. As the Old Testament prophets spoke the Word of God into their culture - to God's people and to the political leaders - so pastors and Christians must speak on these cultural issues. God's Word is not silent and neither should his people be silent.
For ten years before the Revolutionary War, the pastors in America preached against the unfair treatment from King George. At the time of the outbreak of the Revolution, the pastors rallied the people from the pulpits to take up arms against the British. The pastors so influenced the people that they became known to the British as The Black Robe Regiment. Today, the church has been fed a lie for decades that pastors should not speak into the culture and should stay silent about the grave issues facing America.
Rev. Cruz’ son, Senator Ted Cruz, spoke later at the
gathering, sharing three thoughts:
1. We must
speak the truth. This is not the time to
pander to political correctness. The church
has a responsibility to speak God’s truth into our culture.
3. We must
awaken the church. “The Bible is not
ambiguous on these issues [facing America],” Cruz said. If ten million more evangelical Christians
had showed up and voted at the last Presidential election, they could have
called the vote at 8:30pm.
Cruz challenged, “America is hanging at the precipice. We must get back to the Judeo-Christian
values that built this country or we will lose this country.”
- Pictured above are pastors and leaders laying hands on and praying for Senator Ted Cruz.
The American Renewal Project does not endorse a candidate. They invite every Presidential candidate to come speak about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to take any questions from the floor. Ted Cruz, Ben Carson, and Mike Huckabee have all spoken at ARP events.
The American Renewal Project does not endorse a candidate. They invite every Presidential candidate to come speak about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to take any questions from the floor. Ted Cruz, Ben Carson, and Mike Huckabee have all spoken at ARP events.
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