BlazeTV host and Lakepointe Church pastor Josh Howerton says last week’s Democratic victories were painful to watch. Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress, flipped several governorships, and saw abortion access expand in Virginia. Progressive, Democratic Socialists of America and Muslim candidates also made gains.
“I’ll be honest: it was sad, and deeply troubling,” Howerton said. He sees the results as a sign of what the Bible describes in Romans 1, when people reject God and embrace what they once considered wrong.
Howerton described God’s “passive wrath” as allowing people to pursue the things they want, even when those choices ultimately harm them and their society. He believes the country is watching that warning unfold. He also cautioned that a society cannot follow the path outlined in Romans 1 without eventually facing the more active judgment described in Romans 2.
Still, Howerton said, politics cannot solve a spiritual problem. “Politics can’t fix what politics didn’t break,” he said, arguing that human brokenness existed long before any political system. That’s why the election results, he added, do not make him lose hope.
“The church that preaches the gospel of Jesus Christ is the hope of the world,” he said.
Pastor Carlos Erazo shared that message of hope, pointing to Luke 21. In the passage, Jesus tells his followers that when destruction, persecution, war and other turmoil begin, they should stand tall, because their redemption is near.
Christians may feel despair, Erazo said, but they know how the story ends. They should speak out, get involved, vote and work to elect righteous leaders, he said, while trusting that Jesus remains sovereign.
Howerton added that Christianity has endured difficult periods throughout history. The faith has grown from a time when Christian nations were unknown to a global community of billions, he said, asking why Christians should panic over one political moment.
He also recalled a line commonly attributed to Christian writer G.K. Chesterton: several times in history, Christianity seemed finished, but each time it was the “dog” that died.
The United States, Howerton said, was shaped by a religious revival and an outpouring of faith. He believes that kind of renewal could happen again.
