With the presidential election just over two weeks away, noted pastor and author Tony Evans is reminding Christians to put biblical values -- not party allegiance -- first when they vote.
Dr. Tony Evans, senior pastor of the 8,000-member Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, says, "God is not a Republican, and He's not a Democrat."
Evans, who is also president of The Urban Alternative and author of How Should Christians Vote?, contends God is not against government. Human government, he says, was established by God's will and operates by God's permission.
"The Bible is full of politics, and we should not leave politics out of the divine equation," he insists. "God's perspective must be brought to bear, because the closer God is to government, the more orderly a society will be; the further God is from government, the more chaotic a society will become."
Evans, the first African-American to earn a doctoral degree at Dallas Theological Seminary, submits that the role of civil government is to maintain a safe, just, and righteous environment in which freedom can flourish.
"Whenever civil government tries to replace or infringe upon the other government, it swells beyond what it was created to be, and it creates a dependency on the other forms of government God has in place. God never meant civil government to be all-encompassing," the pastor asserts.
"Christians should use a biblical worldview for their voting, and the issue is what candidate or party will most advance the values of the Kingdom of God," Evans concludes.
Other notable pastors -- Dr. Billy Graham and Dr. David Jeremiah among them -- are hoping to impress this same message on voters as Election Day draws nearer.