The Dismembered Body of Christ

Over the past few months, I've noticed an increase in social media posts telling Christians that there is only one moral way to vote in the 2024 election. This morning, I came across a video clip featuring one of Bethel's senior leaders stating that "Any vote that supports the transgender issue, the cutting off parts of children," is the same as "burning children alive to the God of Moloch." Let me explain why this stance is manipulative, bullying, and hypocrisy.

Several years ago, I woke up in the middle of the night to an open vision in my bedroom that spread across my ceiling like a wallpaper border. In what appeared to be sepia-tone ink, there were hand-drawn illustrations of dismembered body parts. In the Spirit, I heard, "The same thing the Lord has against Moloch, He has against this generation." However, the Lord was not instructing me how to vote. He was speaking to me about a spiritual reality within the church, currently playing out in the political realm.

When God speaks to me in this manner, He often uses imagery from current events and social issues to reveal and describe realities not discerned by the eye. Eventually, I understood the vision to be a metaphor for the political dismemberment of the American church. In the vision, the Lord was showing me how part of the church has committed a great hypocrisy. While it speaks out against moral issues in culture, it simultaneously engages in the very same behaviors, blind to its own contradictions while passing judgment on others. As a result, the church, or body of Christ, has been publicly torn apart on social media, divided amongst the lines of church movements and their preferred politics.

This election season, we’re not simply voting for a morally Christian government because neither party fully represents God's justice, which transcends political divides. God's justice was exemplified by the cross where Jesus died—not just for those who would choose Him, but also for those who would reject Him, never undermining their or our free will. His heart remains unchanged today; His justice is still for everyone and He will not diminish Himself to fit our views or politics. Therefore, building a political campaign within the church focused on one or two issues while neglecting broader teachings about justice, compassion, mercy, equality, and caring for the poor presents a distorted image of Him on earth. Instead, it presents a church insistent on its own interpretations of morality and their methods for achieving it.

I speak with conviction on this issue because I once was part of a church that prioritized cultural transformation and influence above seeking the righteousness and justice of Jesus. Through repentance, I came to realize how poor, naked, and blind I was (Revelation 3:17). Since leaving that movement, God has guided me to reconsider many political and cultural issues. Though my personal morals may not have changed, my understanding of how God accomplishes his ways and purposes in our lives certainly has. This has impacted how I relate to culture and those who do not profess to know Jesus or follow Him, leading me back to grace.

Consequently, I will be voting differently in this election than I have in the past because God's Spirit has prompted me to consider others—not just how this election will affect me or those who look, behave, or believe the same as I do. I am challenged to stand with those who have been marginalized, rather than with those who use their power to protect themselves and advance their own agendas, prosperity, and Christian nationalism. I’ll be voting my convictions with faith that God sovereignly works through the entirety of his church to fulfill His purposes, and this happens by His Spirit rather than church leaders telling others how to vote. Personal faith and guidance should inform our voting decisions, not external pressures or expectations which come across as bullying and reek of moral superiority, which ultimately are hypocritical—the blind leading the blind.

Some church movements are encouraging Christians to "sacrifice" their freedom in Christ to vote for their preferred political party. However, the only acceptable sacrifice to God is a broken and contrite heart. This is nearly impossible, however, when we believe we are superior to others. Further, it’s hypocrisy when church leaders bully people into voting a certain way by telling them they’re agreeing with “cutting off parts of children," while their own agendas and methods cause division and cut up the Body of Christ over a political issue. In doing so, they themselves dismember and sacrifice Christ's body to the God of Moloch, thinking they're honoring God. In reality, however, they oppose the work of his Spirit and anger him with their pride, assuming they alone fully understand his mind while undermining the discernment and sensitivity he gives to his entire church.

To the underground church in America living freely by faith in Jesus, having cut ties with the party lines of church movements, I urge you to be led by the Spirit this election season. Don’t let the coercive tactics of those who seek to subdue you with their perceived righteousness and agendas sway you from your faith. There’s no rule for voting in 2024 nor a perfect political party on the ballot, although God will lead our hearts as we seek and humble ourselves before him. In this and every season, we're not tested on how well we conform to a church but whether we'll fear the Lord in our hearts and obey him. Through prayer and petition, He makes His ways known to us intimately. In Christ, we don’t report to leaders who descend from Mount Sinai to impose voting laws on the church. Instead, we all ascend to Mount Zion, where we receive direct guidance from the Lord. Again, let's be led by the Spirit.

With love and truth,