Megachurch Pastor Josh Howerton Says Christians Who Don’t Vote Are Sinning & Rebelling Against God
Lakepointe Church pastor Josh Howerton is under fire by critics for telling congregants that they are rebelling against God if they choose not to vote in the upcoming election.
Howerton made the comments during his October 6 sermon “How to Vote Like Jesus,” where he lamented the lack of political engagement and silence from church leaders on political leaders, saying the choice to be silent is “completely and utterly unbiblical.”
“You cannot read the Bible about Moses, Daniel, Esther, Nathan, Nehemiah, John the Baptist, and think that the church and pastors should avoid addressing government and governmental leaders. You just can’t do it. It’s all throughout the Bible.”
He continues:
“What’s happening right now is, the church is not getting more political, politics are getting more theological, and politics are getting more spiritual. When the government moved past things like building roads, issuing driver’s licenses, and teaching math, to things like redefining marriage, erasing gender, reframing abortion as reproductive rights and then using the government school system to indoctrinate everybody’s kids into believing those things … the church didn’t move, politics did.”
Then concludes:
“I’m going to say something that has a bit of an edge to it, but I need you to understand this biblically. When Christians do not vote, what they’re doing is they are abdicating their leadership position in the constitutional republic that God has placed you in, and it’s a form of passive rebellion against God.
In the exact same way that it would be wrong for a husband to refuse to lead his family, and it would be wrong for a pastor to refuse to lead his church, it would be wrong for you to refuse to lead/take part in the leadership of the nation that God has put you in. Does this make sense?
If we go back to ask the original question, ‘Would Jesus vote?’ Yes. Yes, He would, because He wouldn’t abdicate the responsibility that God has given Him.”
While some have criticized this statement, this is Protestia’s position, and we believe he’s spot on. Howerton later clarified his position on X/ Twitter.
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It’s abdicating personal responsibility to abstain in this election because “both candidates are flawed.” If you choose Dems, you’re signing the death warrant of free speech and religious accommodations such as refusing to participate in a 40 week abortion. Look at their stated goals and platforms. How is the comparison to Jezebel wrong? Like the trans push- Do you want CPS to take your daughter because you refuse to cut off healthy breasts and call her Mike like Walz signed unto law as governor?
Is Trump better? I’m not dating him or looking at him as a potential SIL. If he allows our economy to prosper, deports illegals/stops their subsidies, and frees up production of fossil fuels, as a whole , American lives will improve. Do I think there are issues with him like choosing JD Vance, closely tied to tech AI mogul Peter Thiel, oh yes.
Are there all kinds of deals being made on both sides-? Of course, but in my small sphere of influence, the basics matter. Want to be able to disagree w the school board over kiddie porn in libraries without being arrested or help Helene victims without FEMA harassment. That leaves one choice.
I noticed you took down the article publicly declaring Eric Metaxis was sinning, while ascribing absurd/nonsensical motives to him. If you deleted it because you realized your error or sin, that is a credit to you. However, I believe you should make a public statement regarding this as you did this publicly.
” redefining marriage, erasing gender, reframing abortion as reproductive rights and then using the government school system to indoctrinate everybody’s kids into believing those things”
Find me a candidate and party that stands against all those things, and I’ll vote for that party and candidate …
If there are no such candidates, then what?
Redefining marriage, sexual immorality, transvestism, and going soft on the slaughter of the unborn are all now part of the republican platform. Not just rhetoric of any given candidate. A part of the platform. They even made a big to-do about accepting and celebrating the log cabin crowd. They platform those who are in such “marriages”. Many of the big money donors are in such “marriages”, and promote the immorality.
What difference does it make if the only difference is whether or not it should be taught to children in schools, when it is being taught to them by society at large, and more importantly by the compromise of their own parents? What’s worse, a teacher sending that message, or a child’s own parents? If the only difference is what’s taught and allowed before the age of 18, how much time does that buy?
Who are we supposed to vote for?
I guess we’ll all have to go cast a vote for dog catcher or something, unaffiliated with any party, and leave the rest of the ballot blank, just to appease the weak, politically-obsessed, servants of political party, who baselessly claim it’s sinful not to vote …
As I was saying …
I already voted against this republican platform back when it was the democrat platform.
And every last one of you knows it’s true …
He might as well say, “it is rebellion against God to not endorse rebellion against God”, with the only rationale being that one party is slightly less rebellious than the other. It is Pharisaical, and sinful to even suggest such a thing. It is sinful to pressure fellow believers to go against their conscience, and their obedience to the Lord.
How are you going to do that, and also stand against infringements against, and disrespect for, conscience, in the public square, at the same time?
The President is not a Pastor/Elder. The position does not require one to be a Christian . . . similar to your Dentist or Mechanic. Vote for the most qualified person.
It’s also worth noting that it is a massive error to say that the 100 million who’ve opted not to vote are doing so because the candidates are flawed, as if it’s some sort of purity test. To try to put us all in the same category of Russell Moore, David French, and the evangelicals for Harris. The compulsion is to do so, but if you think all 100 million are secret democrat operatives, you’re not thinking at all …
We don’t need perfect candidates. But if their “imperfections” are a matter of standing for the things we’re supposed to be standing against, that’s a problem. Right? You can’t very well vote against something and for it at the same time.
Because those issues have become part of the party platform, and the party agenda itself is to endorse and promote that wickedness, arguments about specific candidates and how sinful they may or may not be, how pure they may or may not be, go out the window …
It is a big, big mistake to assume those who are opting not to vote are doing so because of Trump, or any other specific candidate. Remember, as the math shows, you’re talking about people who voted for him twice before, myself included, with full knowledge that he wasn’t perfect, but did so as matter of supporting the platform rather than his rhetoric. At that time, he had supported transvestism, friends with Jenner, and he supported homosexuality, platforming and employing many of them, including those in perversions of marriage. But at that time, he was in opposition to the party platform.
All that changed in the last 4 years. The moment the RNC celebrated “pride month”, and they officially embraced and welcomed the log cabin crowd, the moment that platform began to change, is the moment I said that they would no longer get my vote, and there are comments from me on this very website, at that time, stating that fact. Now the party has also weakened on the slaughter of the unborn.
It’s a very sad situation. Sad for this country. But it’s not the fault of those who are choosing not to vote. If the republican party loses those votes, it’s the fault of the republican party, and nobody else. Don’t try to blame brothers and sisters in Christ, who are honoring the Lord, and heeding their conscience. Don’t try to tell them they’re rebelling against the Lord, when you know good and well that’s not the case.
The future is God’s to worry about. Our job is to obey Him.
I’m not about to tell anybody they’re sinning by voting. Nor I’m not about to tolerate any false claims that it is sinful not to vote. We will all answer to the Lord. Let each do according to his conscience, respect the conscience of his brother, and not speak another word of it. God will deal with the results. That’s His domain.
His comparison to leadership in the church and the household is not necessarily bad, but he fails to remember that the first and foremost way a husband or leader would abdicate leadership would be to fail to submit to and obey the Lord. That’s the first and foremost requirement. He need not expect his wife, children, or congregation to follow, if he himself isn’t wholly submitted to the Lord. That’s how it works. That’s God’s design. Until a man fears the Lord more than he fears the world and more than he fears the concerns of the world, such as the outcome of an election, for example, he is not ready to lead.
In other words, the act of endorsing or justifying wickedness, or even turning a blind eye to it, is itself automatic abdication of that duty to lead. It is impossible to endorse wickedness as a function of that Biblical duty. To try to do so is about the worst example a leader can set, especially for his own children …