Many pastors have been silenced by a church member’s charge to “keep politics out of the church and her pulpit.” Have you ever wondered how such an idea made its way inside the walls of the church? Who benefits most from a pastor’s silence in the face of the great moral questions of our day? Certainly Satan and all of hell rejoice to see a minister of the Gospel cower in fear and silence rather than preaching what might encourage people to pray and vote for candidates who support a biblical worldview.
The very founding of our country owes much to the preaching of our early pastors during the Revolutionary War. These pastors became known as the “Black-Robed Regiment.” They preached rousing sermons to their congregations and encouraged rebellion against the British. The Brits themselves acknowledged the integral part these pastors and their sermons played on the morale of the American people during the war. If not for the role the pastors played during this period of our history, there may never have been a United States of America.
During the course of our country’s story, the pulpits of America were instrumental in the call for religious liberty, the abolition of slavery, and instituting civil rights. We should shudder at the thought of what America might be today had the pastors of past generations been intimidated to speak when these moral issues were debated in their day. The church has time and again served as the moral voice of our nation. We cannot afford to sit in silence while the great questions of our own day are debated. We must speak against abortion, in favor of religious liberty, and be champions for biblical morality. We must loudly support candidates and positions which might move our nation to a fuller realization of what it was meant to be. America is a land founded upon Judeo-Christian principles and is meant to be a place of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all people.
Some will respond, “Jesus didn’t speak out against the Romans!” Yet, Christ did speak against the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and Sadducees. These two groups actually provided local governance for the people of Jesus’ day. Speaking truth to power in the name of God is a precedent set by Jesus himself. We do well to follow His lead and speak the truth found in the Christian scriptures to our present-day struggles. America needs voices in her pulpits who are willing to be the moral voice of the nation again. The question is whether we will see courageous pastors willing to do so. Will we see faith-filled men and women willing to be a “Black-Robed Regiment” again?
This is a commentary republished with the author’s permission. If you wish to submit a commentary to Texas Scorecard, please submit your article to submission@texasscorecard.com.
