Pastor John Piper Says Christians Are 'Not Bound' to Vote

Pastor John Piper says, 'As citizens of heaven, we are not bound in every situation to participate in the processes of human government.'(Screenshot/YouTube/Desiring God)

Pastor John Piper, founder of Desiring God, believes that Christians are "not bound" to vote because their allegiance belongs to God above all else.

Piper shared this message at Bethel College and Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota on Wednesday, according to The Christian Post.

Many evangelicals have been urging Christians to vote for the "lesser of two evils" between presidential hopefuls Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton this Tuesday, Nov. 8.

However, Piper believes they need not feel compelled to do so.

"[God's] children are free! Free from human institutions. As citizens of heaven, we are not bound in every situation to participate in the processes of human government. We are not bound! This is not our homeland!" he said. "We vote — if we vote — because the Lord of our homeland commissions us to vote, and He does not absolutise this act above all other considerations of Christian witness!"

Evangelicals have been using the Bible verse 1 Peter 2:13, which reads: "Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution," to get people to vote. But Piper explained that it is "blind" for citizens of heaven to display their allegiance to the values of another world and all their human engagements.

At the same time, Piper argued that the usage of the verse in voting is blind to "the radical freedom of the children of God from the inherent authority of human processes and government and institutions."

He clarified that he is not saying Christians are bound not to vote, since they are free to do so if they wish. Piper added that Christians are "free to hear the voice of their Master about the best way to witness to His supremacy."

But personally, he would not be voting for either Trump or Clinton "unless a supernatural intervention of cataclysmic proportions happens in the next seven days with profound transformation."

"Then I might consider it," he asserted.