In this blog series, I am responding point by point to a column written by Greg Stier, the President and Founder of Dare 2 Share Ministries entitled, “Ten Reasons Why Pastors Should Focus More on the Gospel than on Politics.” Here’s Greg’s final point and my response.

10. Politics are a reflection of the moral compass of a society. The gospel gives society a new moral compass that is accurate (Titus 3:1-5).

Stier’s point is “dead on” right, yet it’s actually an indictment against the Church for failing to get involved in politics. If our current political climate merely reflects the state of our society, which I believe it does, then the Church must assume the responsibility. I love this famous quote from evangelist Charles Finney on the role of the Church in shaping popular culture:

“If there is decay of conscience, the pulpit is responsible for it. If the public press lacks moral discernment, the pulpit is responsible for it. If the church is degenerate and worldly, the pulpit is responsible for it. If the world loses its interest in Christianity, the pulpit is responsible for it. If Satan rules in our halls of legislation, the pulpit is responsible for it. If our politics become so corrupt that the very foundations of our government are ready to fall away, the pulpit is responsible for it.”

When we have full churches and yet we are represented by ungodly political leaders, it is a sure sign that we have failed as pastors to preach the Lordship of Christ over all creation, including civil government. How can our people go to church on Sunday, before going to the voting booth on Tuesday, to cast a vote for a candidate who supports that which God hates? The blame for this cultural disconnect must rest squarely on the shoulders of the one standing behind the pulpit.

Yes, the gospel gives the only true compass for life, including civil government. Pastors must be a moral conscience to civil leaders, holding them accountable to the plumb line of God’s Word. When pastors teach their people to view all of life from a biblical worldview, then individual believers will be equipped to make sure the politicians who represent them are following the same moral compass.

Martin Luther King described the challenge before us as Christians seeking to transform culture for the glory of God. He wrote, “Most people…are thermometers that record or register the temperature of majority of opinion, not thermostats that transform or regulate the temperature of society.”

A pastoral thermometer will never produce a congregation of thermostats.