A Call to Christians: Put Scripture Above Party or Labels

A Call to Christians: Put Scripture Above Party or Labels

Up Front: A Challenge to Both Sides

I want to challenge both right- and left-leaning individuals to keep reading, even if something offends your party alignment. I want to break through blind party allegiance and examine—logically and prayerfully—what Scripture and history teach us about how Christians should approach political allegiance. I’m simply asking you to stay with me to the end (about six minutes if you use the audio feature at the top of the page) and consider what I’m saying.

Avoiding third-wayism

Additionally, I am not advocating for “third-wayism” or any form of centrist, consensus-driven politics that simply tries to split the difference between left and right. That approach still ends up as another label—vague, generic, and ultimately listless.

What I am calling for is far clearer and far more demanding: that Christians make the Bible their sole, unwavering standard. In the current cultural climate, large portions of the Democratic platform are openly hostile to core biblical teachings. We reject those positions not because we hate the Democratic Party or its voters, but rather because of specific policies or cultural values that contradict Scripture.

In the same way, the Christian who is truly following Christ will not elevate MAGA, the Republican Party, or any political movement above the Word of God. We support policies and platforms only to the degree that they align with biblical truth—and we oppose or withhold support whenever they do not, regardless of which “team” is advancing them.

The loyalty is never to the party label; it is always to immutable Scriptural truth.

My Own Journey with Political Labels

I’ve voted conservative throughout my life—in the U.S. that would have meant Republican. A respected co-worker once told me, “You’re Republican” after I shared my view on an issue. I immediately pushed back. I told him I agreed with many of their policies but refused to wear the party label because I’m not a party loyalist; I vote for whichever candidate or party most closely aligns with Christian ideals.

Why I Reject the Labels

Why am I against labeling myself “conservative” or “Republican”?

Because I don’t agree with everything they do or stand for. Many Republican and conservative policies do align with Christian beliefs, but they are still a political party with a big tent—just like the Democratic Party used to be. Both parties are driven by a mix of greed, polling, anger, and the occasional genuine passion for good.

How Quickly Things Have Changed

Just two decades ago, both parties opposed marriage between anyone but a man and a woman. Both still carried some form of Christian memory or influence in many of their policies.

Liberals/Democrats generally favored bigger government and more social programs for minorities while conservatives/Republicans favored smaller government, free markets, capitalism, and individual freedoms.

Today, however, growing segments inside both parties have become increasingly problematic for Christian engagement. Most of the troubling trends right now appear on the left, but there are disturbing new currents on the right as well.

The Danger of Labels

As I write this, I realize I’ve probably already offended people on both sides—and I haven’t even said anything particularly controversial yet. That’s exactly my point: modern culture (not unlike many past cultures) tends to label people and then dehumanize or dismiss them based on the political identity rather than the substance of what they say or do. I’ve been in conversations where the moment someone labeled me “conservative” or “Republican,” nothing I said afterward was considered valid because of the label. I’ve also caught myself turning off a video the moment I saw the speaker’s political label instead of listening to the substance. Why Do We Do This? It feels tribal, primitive. The label appears, and suddenly we stop seeing a person’s good ideas.

A Clear Example: Free Speech and Hypocrisy

A recent example: the Jimmy Kimmel show was canceled. People on the left immediately called it censorship; people on the right called it justice. Just a few years ago the reactions were reversed—shows were pulled, the right cried censorship, the left called it justice. This is textbook cognitive bias: party allegiance blinding us to clear principles. If free speech only protects the right, it isn’t free speech. If it only protects the left, it still isn’t free speech. If we truly believe free speech is a standard worth keeping, it has to apply to both sides.

When Justice Depends on the Team

The deeper problem is that, in our current climate, most of us cannot detach our political label from our sense of justice and truth. If Trump says something and you hate Trump (or his party label), everything he says is automatically unjust—even when it isn’t. Conversely, if Barack Obama says something and you hate Obama (or his party label), everything he says is automatically unjust—even when it isn’t.

How Do We Know If We’re Compromised?

The Diagnostic Test

Simple diagnostic: when a core value (truth, justice, free speech, life, etc.) appears to shift depending on which party or influencer is affected—especially when we rejoice at the negative outcome—then party allegiance, not that value, is actually our core value. Cognitive bias hides the inconsistency from us.

We do the same thing in sports (though usually in good fun). We’re far louder when the referee makes a bad call against the other team. Tribalism distorts our sense of fairness, and self-deception keeps us from noticing.

The Same Problem Inside the Church

I’ve seen the same dynamic in Christian circles. People dismiss entire groups of brothers and sisters in Christ because of denomination or church affiliation. Growing up in a conservative Mennonite church, we were deeply suspicious of Catholics—yet our own leadership structure (an unquestioned bishop) and many extra-biblical traditions mirrored what we criticized. Online I regularly encounter Christian groups that spend all their energy attacking other Christians, never pausing to remove the log from their own eye.

History’s Repeated Warning

History is littered with the wreckage of blind loyalty—to political parties, ideologies, and even religious institutions. Whether the bias leans right or left, when party allegiance overrides a scripturally grounded value system, we drift wherever the cultural wind blows.

Jesus’ Deliberately Mismatched Disciples

Jesus deliberately gathered a ragged, mismatched group of disciples: a tax collector (hated by Jews), a zealot (a Jewish revolutionary who wanted Rome destroyed), rough fishermen, a doctor. Imagine the tension between Matthew the tax collector and Simon the zealot. Yet Jesus chose them all.

In several Gospels we read accounts of them arguing about who was the greatest. Mark 9 records this:

“They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.””

Israel’s Cycle of Cultural Blindness

We shake our heads at their blindness, yet we do the same thing constantly. Much of the Old Testament is the repeated story of Israel abandoning Scripture for the idolatrous practices of surrounding nations—with tragic results. Jeremiah 7 confronts a people sacrificing their own children on high places and installing idols in God’s temple, blind because they followed culture instead of the written Word.

Polycarp standing alone

Fast-forward to around 155 AD: Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, is martyred. We have eyewitness accounts. The Roman proconsul urges him repeatedly to recant. Polycarp finally replies, “Eighty and six years have I served Him, and He never did me any injury: how then can I blaspheme my King and my Saviour?” The proconsul waves his hand and shouts, “Away with the atheists!” The crowd picks up the chant as Polycarp is burned alive.

The Christian Conclusion

•  Never surrender the biblical standard.

•  Hold yourself to it first.

•  Don’t blindly follow a church, denomination, or political movement; press into fellowship with Christ and His Word.

•  Hold your favorite party or politician to the same standard you apply to the one you dislike.

•  Judge words and actions by how they align with Scripture, not by the political label attached to the person.

Obama and Trump both masterfully exploit people’s cognitive biases. They are fallen men who will stand before God like the rest of us. Your favorite political leader will fail you—guaranteed. By all means vote and stay engaged, but remain sober. Don’t be seduced by your party’s gaslighting and manipulation.

As a Christian, we should vote for the platform or leader that most closely aligns with biblical Christian values, not the one that triggers your cultural or algorithmic bias.

A Personal Confession: Charlie Kirk and My Own Blindness

One thing I personally wrestled with regarding Charlie Kirk was how closely he appeared tied to the MAGA movement. While I could align with a number of Republican and MAGA policies, I found Trumps antagonistic style opposed the Christian ideal. Only after Charlie’s death did I research his life more deeply. I discovered he was remarkably kind, respectful toward opposing views, and eager to build bridges. He was killed for his words. He was less “MAGA” than he was devoted to biblical principles. I regret not paying closer attention sooner; my own distaste for certain MAGA excesses had clouded my view. The past days and weeks have been sobering as I’ve examined my heart for self-deception in political alignment.

Final Warnings and a Call

Christians must guard against blind political allegiance. In recent days I’ve heard disturbing talk—talk of public executions celebrated by both atheists and professed Christians. That spirit is diametrically opposed to Scripture. I’ve also seen left-leaning Christians attack Charlie Kirk and attempt to minimize the impact of his death purely along political lines - even saying he deserved what happened. On the far right, figures like Candace Owens and Nick Fuentes have tried to use the hunger for truth after Charlie’s death for their own anti-semitic and anti-Christian views that align far more with Islam than with Christianity. The toxicity coming from these divisive influencers is deeply concerning and we should rightly speak out against it.

To every Christian reading this:

Press into Jesus and His Word.

Stop calling yourselves progressive, liberal, conservative, Democrat, Republican, woke, or MAGA.

We are in the world but not of it. Engage in politics? Absolutely yes! Every Christian should certainly vote in alignment with their faith—but we should always hold Scripture as the ultimate standard above every party platform. If you belong to Christ, you will fight for His standards wherever you stand, and you will consistently lay your crowns—and perhaps your labels—at His feet.

We are not here to drive a political revolution (though sometimes that may happen as a byproduct of bringing people into the kingdom). Changed lives change more lives.

“Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” James 1:27 ESV

““I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away. They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me. … I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.””

John 16:1-3, 33 ESV