How should we, as Bible-believing Christians, respond when our leaders betray the truth? FRC President Tony Perkins posed that important question in a recent interview with Pastor Gary Hamrick of Cornerstone Chapel.
The interview came in response to a disappointing decision by Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin to sign a bill that protects same-sex marriage and places religious freedom in the crosshairs.
Pastor Hamrick, who hosted Youngkin at his church during his campaign, expressed his disapproval both publically and privately to the Governor.
“What I said to the Governor, and what I told our congregation on Sunday, [was that] as a Believer for him to put his signature to a law—making it law—that is a clear violation of the higher moral standard of God’s law, that’s where I strongly disagree with what he did. For believers, what he’s done… it felt like a betrayal,” Hamrick lamented. “We thought that he was going to govern in a way that was consistent with our Biblical values, and on this one, in my opinion, and in that of a lot of folks, he got this one wrong.”
“On this issue of same-sex marriage… it’s clear in God’s word,” he insisted. “This is not a political issue. This is a Biblical issue. It [was] so disheartening when the Governor signed this and just gave another stamp of approval on same-sex marriage.”
Hamrick noted that one woman who attends his church believes she will have to leave her job as a County Clerk because the law “did not provide a conscience clause” for people in her position. Even with pastors and churches the protections are not “all that solid,” he warned.
“What we’re dealing with across the country, and it’s not just in Virginia, is to maintain religious liberty that our Founding Fathers enshrined in the First Amendment,” Hamrick said. “It’s being threatened right now in multiple ways. This is just one example here in Virginia, but people across the country are facing different challenges on the job related to religious freedom. It’s a battle that has continued to increase, and I don’t think it’s going to be going away.”
So what can Christians do? Hamrick and Perkins urged Believers to pray for their elected leaders, be willing to forgive the repentant, vote, and refuse to compromise Biblical truth.
“When this happened, I asked myself how much have I been praying for my Governor,” he described. “To be honest, sometimes what happens when we vote for a person who’s super close to our Biblical values… it’s easy for us as the church to check out—to sit back and go, ‘We got this now because we have one of ours in office.’ That makes us lazy as Christians.”
“Christians have to stay engaged,” Hamrick implored. “I don’t care who’s in the white house or the Governor’s mansion, we have to stay engaged, and we have to be prayerful. That’s what the Bible tells us, to pray ‘for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness'”
“We have to stay vigilant because the Lord’s on the throne, and we have to put our confidence in Him and not who sits in that political seat,” he reminded listeners. “Our role is to uphold them.”
Perkins added that “as Believers, even though the cultural currents may be headed in one direction, we have to stand firm on the Word of God—that is the final arbiter of right and wrong for us.”
