“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.” — Matthew 7:15 (NIV)

Everyone in the world of politics is focused on the race for the United States Senate in Texas. Republicans rejected their incumbent senator, John Cornyn, who has served in the Senate for nearly twenty-four years. Republican voters nominated Attorney General Ken Paxton. Some people are concerned he may have enough baggage that, in spite of his state’s conservative leaning, this Texas Senate seat could flip to the Democrats, with consequences for national policy on a host of issues.

Christians in Texas—and across America—should be deeply concerned about the outcome of the race. In its own way, it is bigger than just politics. The Democrats nominated State Representative James Talarico, who is presenting himself as the “real Christian” and as a model for how Christians should apply the Bible to moral issues that are being debated in the political arena.

No issue is more clearly a moral one than abortion. It is the taking of an innocent human life and has tremendous moral implications. Here is how Talarico explained his position on abortion during a recent interview:

I don’t believe it’s [abortion] a place for the state [government]. And that’s a belief I hold not despite my faith, but because of my faith. Jesus never talks about abortion. The Bible is silent on abortion. And when that happens with a social issue as important as abortion, we Christians have to take scripture as a whole.¹

The only accurate statement in that entire paragraph is the last sentence: Yes, we need to take scripture as a whole. And that is exactly what Reverend Franklin Graham did. He understands the threat posed by these kinds of word games. Talarico’s statement is an effort to hijack the gospel of Jesus Christ to advance radical positions in a way that neutralizes the Church, confuses Christians, and undermines the Gospel.

This is an attack on Christians everywhere, an attack on the inspired Word of God, an attack on the Christian Church in the United States. It is a theological hijacking.

Franklin Graham accepts Talarico’s challenge that we must take the gospel as a whole and then he points to the truths the Bible teaches. Responding to Talarico’s claim that the Bible is silent on abortion, Graham wrote on social media:

The Bible is not silent on abortion as he claims—that’s an absolute lie. God commands us, “You shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13). Abortion is taking a life—it is murder. The Word of God tells us we are created in the image of God and consistently underscores the value of human life. Jeremiah 1:5 says, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart.” Don’t be deceived by wicked politicians spouting lies like this.²

Talarico’s argument is that abortion should be legal and unrestricted because Christ didn’t say anything about abortion. That’s the same argument the Left—and Talarico himself—makes about homosexual marriage. But Jesus and the Bible are clear about marriage as the union of one man and woman. In Matthew 19, when challenged by the Pharisees on the issue of divorce, Jesus quotes Genesis:

“Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” — Matthew 19:4–6 (NIV)

Talarico is adamant that he is a Christian—he is a Presbyterian seminarian. But he is not alone in his attempt to hijack the Gospel of Jesus Christ for a Marxist, anti-life, anti-family agenda.

Democrat Governor Andy Beshear of Kentucky has managed to confuse voters and get elected governor by using the same approach. He cited the Golden Rule and the parable of the Good Samaritan to justify vetoing legislation protecting children from mutilating transgender surgeries. He told The View, “My faith teaches me that all children are children of God, and I didn’t want people picking on those kids.”³

When some churches started flying LGBTQ flags outside the sanctuary, they said, “Our God is a God of love.” That’s true. But we cannot ignore what God says about marriage and sexual immorality.

For decades now, going all the way back to the Moral Majority and Reagan administration, the media and some scholars said it is totally inappropriate for conservative Christians to take what they believe is in the Bible and try to force it on the rest of society. They would say, “This is a clear violation of the separation of church and state,” and they accused conservative Christians of being “un-American.”

Many fellow Christians have come up to me over the years and said, “Gary, I’m with you on all the issues, but I don’t see how we have a right to force our views on anybody else. We can’t legislate morality.” Maybe you have had friends make the same argument.

We’re not “forcing” anything. All law is based on someone’s idea of what is morally right and wrong. No society is “values neutral.” It will embrace one set of values. The question is: Who decides? By defending the sanctity of life and the family as God ordained it, we are simply being Christian citizens and exercising our right to vote for our values.

If the Left could turn the gospel of Jesus Christ into a pro-abortion, pro-LGBTQ, pro-Marxist redistribution-of-wealth agenda, they would do it in a heartbeat. And when they argued with you, they would quote the Bible—and nobody on their side would suggest it was inappropriate to do so. But the Bible does not support any of those views. So, they are trying to hijack God’s Word by claiming it either says something it does not or that it says nothing at all.

Here is another point that must be addressed in this discussion. Some Christians have said they don’t want to be involved in politics. They want to stay in church, worship their Savior, and teach their children to be good Christian boys and girls. But leftist politics and government are increasingly gathering to conquer our churches and our Scripture.

Candidates such as Beshear and Talarico are getting elected by redefining what the Bible says. Once in power, they are demanding that you and your church support their left-wing Marxist agenda. Left-wing bureaucrats and politicians in some states are banning Christians from serving as foster parents unless they agree to “affirm” transgender ideology. They are forcing our wives and daughters to share bathrooms with sick men. They are trying to force Christian bakers and photographers to participate in same-sex weddings.

So, to the lukewarm Christians: Are you ready to fight now? Are you ready to go into the public square?

You may not be interested in politics and government, but leftist politics and government are very interested in you.

1. Rachel del Guidice, “Texas Democratic Senate Candidate Says Bible Is Silent on Abortion,” Fox News, May 26, 2026.
2. Franklin Graham, Facebook post, May 27, 2026, Franklin Graham Facebook Page.
3. Kristine Parks, “Kentucky Governor Takes Heat for Citing Bible to Defend Transgender Treatments for Children,” Fox News, February 11, 2026.