A Pastor’s Guidance for Voting

Guest post by retired US Army officer Paul S. Gardiner

(Author’s Note: After the recent presidential debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, the voting guidance offered herein should help to decide which candidate to choose.)

On September 8, 2024, Pastor Gary Hamrick of Cornerstone Chapel, Leesburg, Virginia, delivered an Election Day Sermon 2024 which is highly recommended to view in full here.

In his message, Pastor Hamrick stressed that Americans need to vote for political candidates who most closely align with biblical values in the policies they espouse and will promote if elected to public office. Policies aligning with biblical values promote righteousness, are good for the nation, and honor God.

Before beginning his main election message, Pastor Hamrick gave a brief history lesson about how until relatively recently, Christians and the Christian church have been intricately involved in the nation’s political process and governance prior to and after the establishment of America’s constitutional republic.

There is no mention of “separation of church and state” in the US Constitution or any other founding documents. Regarding religious liberty, the purpose of the First Amendment is to keep the government out of the business of the church, not the church out of the business of the government. **

Pastor Hamrick stated that Americans, especially Christians, must vote to help protect the freedoms entrusted to the nation by God lest they be lost. If many Christians decide not to vote, then evil will rush into this vacuum.

Pastor Hamrick presented three important factors for voting that Americans need to consider regarding the upcoming election:

1) God uses flawed, sinful people to be public servants to carry out God’s plans for humanity. Quoting the Pastor, “A nation will not thrive because of the righteousness of a leader but will thrive because of the righteousness of the policies promoted by the leader”.

2 People need to vote for policies, not personalities; the likeability of a particular candidate must not overshadow his/her policies that will live long after the candidate’s political service.

3) Voting is not just a right; it is a duty. Of the estimated 90 million Christians living in America, roughly 55 million either do not vote or are not registered to vote! It is urgent that this situation change for the November 2024 election.

Regarding voting for policies over personalities, Pastor Hamrick stated that there is no perfect political candidate. A candidate’s likeability should not be the determining factor in voting for him or her—what matters is that the candidate promotes righteous policies for the good of the nation.

Pastor Hamrick listed seven important policy areas where voters need to determine if a particular candidate best aligns with biblical values in these areas:

1) Judges. Because righteous judges are biblical (Isaiah 1:26), voters should ask which candidate will appoint the best judges who will make rulings based on biblical values such as sanctity of life, parental rights, etc., and also honor freedoms guaranteed in the US Constitution?

2) National borders. Because national borders are biblical (Acts 17:26), voters should ask which candidate will best protect America’s national borders and national security?

3) Support for Israel. Because support of Israel is biblical (Genesis 12:3), voters should ask which candidate will best support the nation of Israel?

4) Biological sex. Because biological sex is designed by God in the womb, voters should ask which candidate will best protect God’s design of biological sex verses a candidate who supports and promotes transgenderism and other alternative lifestyles?

5) Religious liberty. Because religious liberty and freedom of conscience is enshrined in the First Amendment, voters should ask which candidate will best preserve religious liberty and America’s conscience?

6) Family. Because parental rights are being severely challenged in many states and children are being targeted by a progressive evil agenda, voters should ask which candidate best supports the rights of parents to teach, train, and raise their children without interference from government officials?

7) Life. The question to ask is which candidate will best protect the life of the unborn? Current policy of the Democrat Party is to support abortion up until the moment of birth, whereas the emerging policy of the Republican Party is to support abortion up to 15 weeks of a pregnancy under limited conditions such as rape and incest.

Pastor Hamrick challenged Americans “—to stem the tide of evil in our land until the Lord Jesus returns.”  He urged Americans to vote for candidates who most closely represent biblical values in the policies they will support and have supported in the past. Policies and actions are what truly matter, not a candidate’s likeability. In closing, Pastor Hamrick quoted Frederick Douglas: “I would unite with anyone to do right and nobody to do wrong.”

** See article here for additional background on early Christian involvement in America and here for a short 15-minute video by Kirk Cameron and historian Dr. Marshall Foster about the important historical message of America’s National Monument to the Forefathers dedicated in 1889 at Plymouth, Massachusetts.

Paul S. Gardiner is a retired US Army officer, Vietnam veteran, and avid lover of America. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolia, University of Alabama, and the US Army War College.

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