When one looks at the church pastored by Southern Baptist pastor, Ray Ortlund of Immanuel Church in Nashville, one can only respond with pity and compassion for the people sitting under his leadership. Ortlund, who is also a leader of Matt Chandler’s Acts 29 Network and a council member of The Gospel Coalition, has repeatedly denounced the current president and encourages his followers refrain from voting for either party.
Seemingly oblivious to how the two-party system works in the United States — or maybe he’s not — Ortlund’s insistence that Trump “doesn’t deserve to win” is at odds with not only a conservative worldview, but a Christian worldview and encouraging Christians to refrain from voting would serve only to enable the far left radical agenda.
Ortlund has consistently taken a “never-Trump” approach since 2016. His animosity toward Trump is never clearly defined, but gathering from the leftists media that he continually aligns himself with, he doesn’t like that Trump has had some “moral failings” in his life.
What these foolish Evangelicals don’t understand is simple: Donald Trump isn’t trying to legislate his personal “moral failings” into national policy — the left is trying to do that.
Sure, Donald Trump is far from perfect, but conservatism, in and of itself, is a product of a biblical worldview. It’s as simple as that. Christians hold to a biblical worldview, therefore, Christians are conservative and vote for conservative candidates. Encouraging Christians to not vote does not simply cancel a Democrat per Republican vote as though there is some kind of even political split between true believers. It cancels out far more Republican votes.
Is we’ve argued before, and will continue to argue, one cannot be a Christian and vote for a Democrat. Leftists like Ortlund’s hatred for Donald Trump is not grounded in a true desire to advance a biblical worldview. It is rooted in a desire to appease man, period. While he knows he can’t embrace such radical leftists as Joe Biden and remain credible in the Evangelical Church — at least not yet — he can play both sides of the aisle by denouncing both and pretending that by doing so, you’re taking a moral high ground.
False.
Failing to vote for Donald Trump will do nothing except,
- further enable the abortion lobby,
- further enable the LGBTQ agenda,
- further restrict freedom of religion, speech, and assembly,
- increase crime, theft, and anti-government activism,
- increase animosity toward the traditional, nuclear family,
- increase leftist worldview indoctrination in schools, both public and private,
- place undue hardships on individuals and families who try to abide by their conscience, and
- make the country a much more hostile place for Christians to live.
It is baffling why Christian leaders have such a difficult time with this concept. It is just as unbiblical to refrain from politics as it is to make an idol of it. Politics have no bearing on God’s ability to save his elect as he pleases, however, that does not give us the right to be indifferent.
Arguably, one of the worst things a pastor can do right now is attempt to alienate themselves and their flocks from the Republican candidate for president in this climate.
