Dr. Robert Jeffress, the pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas, told the Todd Starnes Show the Left’s radical transgender agenda is pushing Christians in droves to the ballot box.
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Jeffress said that he believes Jesus would vote, based on what Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount, to be salt and light on the earth.
“Jesus said, When it comes to the culture, Christians are to be salt. You’re the salt of the earth. Salt was a preservative in Jesus’ day. It couldn’t prevent the decay of meat, but it could delay the decay. It gave the meat longer before it finally rotted. One reason I think Jesus would have voted and He encourages us to vote, is to slow down the decay of our culture before its collapse so that we have more time to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Jeffress continued to encourage Christians to get out to vote and even goes as far as to say that it’s a sin not to vote.
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“This coming Tuesday, every Christian has an opportunity to either cast a vote for righteousness or for an unrighteous policy. And when Christians stay at home and don’t vote, they’re basically saying, I couldn’t give a vote for them, what about the moral or spiritual direction of the country? And I think that’s a sin.”
LISTEN TO THE FULL INTERVIEW BELOW:
The following is a rush transcript from the Todd Starnes Show which airs daily from noon – 3:00 p.m. EST.
TODD STARNES: [00:00:13] All right, folks, seven more days until the midterm elections. And we are going to have a very special edition of The Todd Starnes Show on election night. We’re going to be doing wall-to-wall election coverage. It’s going to be pretty spectacular. And we’ll have the whole gang together for 6 hours of coverage on election night. So be looking forward to that. Coming up a little bit later on this hour, we have Matt Towery, one of the top pollsters in America. Senator Rick Santorum is going to drop by as also our good friend David Bossie from Citizens United. But right now, I want to go to the Patriot Mobile Newsmaker Line. Our good friend, Pastor Robert Jeffress, has an op-ed out that’s been causing all sorts of controversy. Would Jesus vote? Here’s what Christians should consider this election season. Pastor Jeffress, good to have you back with us. [00:01:08][54.3]
ROBERT JEFFRESS: [00:01:08] Great to be back with you, Todd. [00:01:09][1.2]
TODD STARNES: [00:01:10] All right. So obvious first question here is, would Jesus vote? [00:01:14][3.7]
ROBERT JEFFRESS: [00:01:15] I think absolutely he would vote. And the reason I say that is what he said in the Sermon on the Mount. You know, I’ve got a new book out called 18 Minutes with Jesus. It’s about the Sermon on the Mount. And Jesus said, When it comes to the culture, Christians are to be salt. You’re the salt of the earth. Salt was a preservative in Jesus’ day. It couldn’t prevent the decay of meat, but it could delay the decay. It gave the meat longer before it finally rotted. And now to be thrown out and thought. One reason I think Jesus would have voted and He encourages us to vote, is to slow down the decay of our culture before its collapse so that we have more time to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And of course, any time you mention Christians trying to influence the culture, the left goes crazy. And they’ve gone crazy over some of my comments in the last few days. [00:02:03][47.9]
TODD STARNES: [00:02:03] Well, so have a lot of the woke evangelicals, as I call them, are they would profess to be conservative Bible-believing Christians. But they’re among the leading voices telling Christians not to engage in the culture anymore. [00:02:16][13.4]
ROBERT JEFFRESS: [00:02:17] Well, that’s right. And look, they have countered up this boogie man called Christian nationalism, which is nothing more than an attempt to shame Christians into not voting for their political beliefs. And look, yeah, there are a few nuts out on the right who professional love for their nation above the love for God. But that’s not most Christian nationalists. I’m not one of those. But if you’re talking about Christians voting their biblical values, if that’s what a Christian national Christian nationalist is. Count me in. I’m one because I think Jesus commanded us to influence the culture. And Todd, they say, oh, we shouldn’t impose our values. Christians should impose their values on our country. Look, every country is built on one set of values, somebodies values. The question is whose values are going to determine this country’s direction? And the left, they don’t mind imposing its values. They’re pro-abortion, pro-transgender, pro-open borders agenda. Why shouldn’t Christians impose their values, the values that were this country’s foundation for 150 years? [00:03:25][67.6]
TODD STARNES: [00:03:26] Yeah, that’s what I don’t understand, Pastor Jeffress. My readings of our founding fathers, some of the letters they wrote, and some of the papers they wrote, it was pretty clear to me that this was meant to be a Christian nation. And as John Adams and I quote this at least once a month on this program, as John Adams said, our Constitution is wholly inadequate for anyone other than a moral and religious people. [00:03:48][22.1]
ROBERT JEFFRESS: [00:03:49] That’s right. And you have at least three different times Supreme Courts over the years saying America is a Christian nation. John Jay, the first chief justice of the Supreme Court, said, in this Christian nation, God has given us the privilege of selecting our leaders. You know people say, well, how do you know Jesus would have voted? There’s nothing about voting in the Bible. All Paul said to do was pray for governing authorities. Well, that’s all you could do in biblical times. You didn’t get to vote for kings or emperors. They were imposed on you. But as Jay said, we’ve been given the unique privilege of choosing our leaders. And Todd, this coming Tuesday, every Christian has an opportunity to either cast a vote for righteousness or for an unrighteous policy. And when Christians stay at home and don’t vote, they’re basically saying, I couldn’t give you know, what about the moral or spiritual direction of the country? And I think that’s a sin. [00:04:45][56.1]
TODD STARNES: [00:04:46] You know, that it’s just puzzling to me that Christians and especially Christian leaders ould have this idea that we have you know, the moral high ground is to stay at home and not vote on Election Day. It’s almost as if they’re reaping the benefits of living in America. And then when America goes to hell in a handbasket, they just shrug their shoulders and say, Oh, what do you want us to do? [00:05:07][21.2]
ROBERT JEFFRESS: [00:05:09] Well, and again, I blame our condition of ours. Country, not on non-Christians. I mean, what do you expect non-Christians to do except back like non-Christians? I blame the condition of our country right now on wimpy Christians who refuse to stand for the truth. And look again, we’re not going to bring in the kingdom of God through the ballot box. We all know that. But what we’re trying to do, as Jesus said, is to be salt, to push back against evil so that we have the time to present the gospel of Jesus Christ. The only hope for changing America’s direction ultimately is changing the hearts of Americans. And that’s the faith in Jesus Christ. [00:05:49][40.4]
TODD STARNES: [00:05:50] Pastor Robert Jeffress from the First Baptist Church in Dallas on the Patriot Mobile Newsmaker Line today. Pastor, when you look at the culture at large, what would you say is the most pressing issue facing people of faith? [00:06:04][14.7]
ROBERT JEFFRESS: [00:06:06] Well, I think the issue right now is beyond religious freedom, and I do believe religious freedom is under assault. And we’ve talked about it often. But I think what is energizing Christians who are going to the ballot box between now and November 8th is this transgender agenda that the left is trying to cram down the throats of Americans and especially American children. I think that is the issue right now that is going to motivate Christians to come out and vote for Republicans. And look, it’s not that we’re in love with the Republican Party. I’m certainly not in love with the Republican Party. I don’t identify as a Republican. But what I’m opposed to is the godless agenda of the left. And I think you have Biden having this transgender activist in the White House recently. I think the left has pushed it too far left, even for, you know, non-religious people in America who realize, you know, transgender surgery and abusing our children and confusing them anymore, that it’s a bridge too far. [00:07:10][64.6]
TODD STARNES: [00:07:11] It just seems to me and I’m not a theologian here, Dr. Jeffress, but, you know, when you show up at the pearly gates, which when you’re going up to heaven, it seems to me they’re going to know where the original parts were. That’s all I’m concerned about. [00:07:24][12.8]
ROBERT JEFFRESS: [00:07:24] Well, Jesus addressed transgenderism in Matthew 19 when he said, had you not read he who made them made them male and female, God did not create male or female in a question mark. God is the one who assigns our gender to us. And to try to change that is a basic rebellion against our creator. [00:07:45][20.6]
TODD STARNES: [00:07:46] Well said. And congratulations on yet another bestselling book, 18 Minutes with Jesus. Folks, we have a link to that on our live show blog and you can get it wherever you buy your books. Pastor Jeffress, always good to have you on the program. [00:08:00][14.3]
ROBERT JEFFRESS: [00:08:01] Thanks for having me, Todd. God bless you. [00:08:03][1.9]
TODD STARNES: [00:08:03] All right. The good man right there. A good godly man. And he’s not afraid to speak the truth. He doesn’t do it in a mean-spirited way. That’s what we do. No, no, it’s. I’m just kidding. Pastor Jeffers is just rock solid. And he knows he speaks the truth, and that’s why he’s able to stand firm. All right. Look, we got to take a quick break here. 844747 8868. Toll-free telephone number. That’s 844747, 88, 68. This is the Todd Starnes show. [00:08:03][0.0]
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