Ask The Pastor: Can A Democrat Be A Christian?
Thank you church! Let’s just skip right to the loaded, controversial questions! Here is my response…
To begin with, we need to establish how a person is saved: Salvation comes from believing in Jesus Christ as Lord. We are not saved through any actions or beliefs other than by believing in Jesus. So to answer your question at the broadest level… Yes! A Democrat can be a Christian. A Republican can also be a Christian. Even those in the Reform, Libertarian, Socialist, Natural Law, Constitution, and Green Party parties can be Christians.
Now since I received this question directly from a person, I have the benefit of knowing a little more about your question. What you are really wondering is if someone who is pro-choice (who believes that abortion is alright) can be a Christian.
Having just established that ANY person with any set of actions or beliefs can potentially be a Christian if they have put their faith in Jesus Christ, this question has to do more with sanctification than justification. Sanctification is the process of becoming MORE like Jesus. Justification is the act of being declared right before God. A person, no matter what they believe about abortion or anything else, can put their faith in Jesus Christ and be saved (justified). However, once that act takes place, the rest of his/her life is spent becoming more like Christ (sanctification).
If the person is truly saved, their actions and beliefs will change. A person who has put their faith in Jesus Christ WILL, over time, become more like Christ. He/she will still sin. He/she will still make mistakes. He/She will still have wrong beliefs. But over time, these sins, mistakes, and wrong beliefs will all decrease as the person becomes more like Jesus Christ.
That is why James can proclaim that faith without deeds is dead (James 2:26). Deeds do not save a person, but they do show that the person is saved. James here is indirectly referring to sanctification.
Coming back to the issue of abortion. I believe that abortion is murder. It is the killing of the unborn child. As much as pro-choice folks want to make it about the rights of the women, Jesus calls us to look past our own desires and to instead serve one another in love. Terminating the life of our unborn child is not serving one another in love!
With that in mind, abortion is not in line with the life that God calls us to live. It is a sin. So while a Christian can still commit an abortion or even believe that abortion is alright, this would come out of their fleshly desires and not living in the spirit (see Galatians 5). The more that the person becomes like Jesus, the more he/she will walk in the spirit, and over time, the more that his/her beliefs and actions regarding abortion will move away from being in favor of it to being against it.
So to answer your question: Yes, a person can be a Democrat and be saved. Yes, a person can be pro-choice and be saved. However, this pro-choice stance shows that they have not submitted their thoughts and beliefs to God in this area and they still have some growing to do.