I debated for several days if I should write this article. After the November 8th election results became more evident, I felt myself being pushed to say something, but I was not sure what to say or how to say it. Yesterday, I came across a podcast by a pastor that I listen to frequently and before the podcast finished, God confirmed in my heart that I should write a response to the midterm results.
The “Red Wave” everyone predicted did not happen. It was nothing more than a few red drips. How could everyone be wrong? The prognosticators made it sound like a Republican sweep was in the bag. Now, to be clear, I do not find my hope in Republicans or any politician. My hope in life is in Jesus alone. However, with all the predictions, it pleased me to think that we may put people in office that have a biblical worldview and that truth and equal justice would prevail again. What happened?
For one thing, Generation Z or “Zoomers” (those born between the mid-1990’s to the mid-2010’s) overwhelmingly voted exactly as their educationally indoctrinated and pilfered minds told them to vote. Here is a list issues the Zoomers supported1:
- Abortion on demand without restraints
- Mutilation of children’s bodies
- The LGTBQ+ agenda
- Student loan forgiveness
- Society crushing lockdowns
- Open borders
- Designation of casinos and strip clubs as essential while designating churches as non-essential
Kentucky results exposed another troubling problem. In the past, Kentucky was a reliable conservative-voting state. However, on November 8, Kentucky voters rejected a ballot measure intended to deny any state constitution protection for abortion by more than 70,000 votes2.
Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, called the Kentucky vote an “unmitigated disaster.” He voiced less surprise with abortion-rights amendments passing in more liberal Vermont and California and centrist Michigan, but asserted the Kentucky vote to be the “hardest loss.” Mohler lamented the unwillingness of abortion opponents to follow through and convert their views into policy by exclaiming, “Voters who voted for pro-life candidates turned around and voted against a pro-life constitutional amendment.”3
Probably not a surprise, Proposition 1 passed overwhelmingly (67% yes, 33% no) in California4. Those pushing the initiative stated it was to give Californians a constitutional right to “reproductive health” or an unprohibited right to an abortion at any stage of pregnancy including the date of the child’s birth. This makes me wonder what happened to the constitutional rights for the unborn child. I guess the voters in California only care about the inalienable rights for some people and not all people. To get a grasp on the sinfulness of abortion, God never condones murder and there is there is nothing in God’s natural law that supports abortion. There is no species in all of creation, other than man, that removes their young from the womb and kills it before birth.
Jack Hibbs, Senior Pastor of Calvary Chapel in Chino Hills, CA. and failed abortion survivor, had this to say about Proposition 1:
“Perhaps more than anything, the loss of Proposition 1 is a revelation of just how irrelevant the church at large is in California. This reality is due to the lack of pastors understanding what the call to the pulpit means. We must not only preach the Gospel to the lost, but sadly, there is a profound disconnect at making disciples. Jesus said, ‘Let your light so shine before the world,’ and we did not. The California Christian community failed to show up to defend the unborn child, but for the few who did- their consciences are clear before the Lord.”5
I could go on and on with the frustrating results but I think it is more important to talk about the reason behind the results. When 78% of Americans polled said that our country is going in the wrong direction, the highest inflation rate in 40 years, the highest crime rate in 30 years, a border crisis, a drug crisis, and drag queen shows sanctioned for our little children, I ask why Americans voted for more of the same. After all, is that not the definition of insanity?
I believe the cause of evil’s dominance in America is the inaction and apathy of the church. Concerning our responsibility to influence government (1 Tim. 2: 1-4), the church is asleep and has been asleep for years. Statistics indicate there are 15 million unregistered Christians eligible to vote and approximately 40 million Christians registered or unregistered who routinely do not vote. Why is that? What is wrong? Most likely, they are afraid of receiving the Christian Nationalist label (a topic for another article) or just afraid in general to take a stand for truth and what is right in the eyes of God. Should not those transformed by Christ also work to transform the world around them? Just think of the impact for positive in our country, our families, and our lives if every believer took a stand for biblical truth. We do not face a political issue. Every piece of this problem is a biblical issue. Exodus 18:22 says:
“But you choose from the people capable men, God-fearing men, men of truth, those who hate bribes, and put them over the people as rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.” (NET)
I highlighted the word “choose” above because it is key to this teaching. Choose means select, elect, or vote, and Exodus 18:21 goes beyond merely the instruction to vote. It articulates what kind of candidate should receive our vote, specifically those who are:
- Capable of doing the job
- God-fearing
- Truthful
- Honest
How can the church abdicate this responsibility? Many of the candidates who won and many of the issues that passed on November 8th are contrary to God’s word6. Do we not see the hypocrisy of saying we believe in Jesus and yet will not take a stand for what He teaches us in His Word?
Years ago, there was a Christian singing artist named Keith Green. Some of you may remember him. In 1982, Keith and two of his young children, along with eight others, left us and went to heaven after a tragic plane crash. I loved Keith’s music and one song that particularly touched me entitled “Asleep in the Light” contains a powerful message to the church. It is too long to put all the lyrics in this post, but I suggest you look it up and read the entire song. It speaks to the inaction of the church and the church’s unconcerned attitude about those who need it the most. I highlighted two lines in the second chorus (copied below) that speak very loudly to the condition of the church today:
[Chorus 2]
Oh, can’t you see it’s such sin?
The world is sleeping in the dark
That the church just can’t fight ’cause it’s asleep in the light
How can you be so dead when you’ve been so well fed?
Jesus rose from the grave
And you, you can’t even getta out of bed
Oh, Jesus rose from the dead
Come on, get out of your bed7
I fear the church is asleep in the light. Have we become so comfortable in our lives that we cannot see that we are living in a time when our comforts or fears hold us back from sharing the truth? Are we so asleep that we cannot see that the world calls what is evil good and what is good evil? Are we accepting the lie about “separation of church and state” through pastors who are silent about the annihilation of our culture in the name of political correctness? Are we afraid to champion a biblical worldview because it might cause us to be uncomfortable and therefore cast aside our responsibility to bring godly influence on our government and our culture? We have the liberty and freedom we enjoy because God gave it to use as a gift. Read true accounts of what our Forefathers wrote and you will understand that they knew they could not accomplish anything outside of the providence and grace of God. If you read true accounts of the Revolutionary War, you will witness example after example of the miraculous intervention of God lifting a rag-tag army to victory over the only super power of the world in the late 1700’s. Forsaking our stewardship responsibilities to hold government accountable to God’s truth and relinquishing His gift is a slap in God’s face. The Bible says God will not be mocked. Do we not realize that it is appropriate to love Jesus and to love country at the same time? Do we not realize that it is imperative that we have a biblical worldview to make our constitutional republic stand strong? Are we not the slothful servant found in Matthew 25? I believe we are.
What is it going to take in order to wake up the church? Do we have to lose our right to freedom of religion, for which millions have died to safeguard for us? Jesus said in Matthew 5:13 we are to be salt and light, and based on His words, our Forefathers, going as far back as the Mayflower Compact, intended for America to be an evangelistic nation that would be salt and light to the world. I fear that the church traded its saltiness for complacency and comfort failing to carry out its responsibility to America. As a result, I believe we are reaping a whirlwind of evil. Life teaches us that salt can be painful when applied to an open wound, but beyond the pain, it purifies. I may be pouring salt into open wounds with this post, and if it hurts I am concerned about the pain, but I do not apologize. My intention is to foster renewal and for that purpose, I must speak truth.
America needs another Great Awakening and it must start in the hearts of believers. We have a choice. We can continue as we are and shun involvement in government or we can wake up, take up our cross, and regain our saltiness. One choice results in being trampled underfoot like tasteless, worthless salt and the second choice brings revival and blessing from living in obedience to the Savior. I pray we wake up and choose the way of obedience.
2 https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/kentucky-2022-midterm-election-results/story?id=92009960
7 Asleep in the Light by Keith Green; Produced by Keith Green and Bill Maxwell; Released November 9, 1978; https://genius.com/Keith-green-asleep-in-the-light-lyrics
Beautifully written Craig. Amen. Thank you. It needed to be talked about. Sherry Turnbow
Speaking truth is actually loving. May we speak more of it!
Thank you Craig for sharing your compassionate heart and concern for the Body of Christ, we need to wake up and heed the call. Perfectly said 👏 Thank you
One major reason the church of today is becoming weak is that we are not obedient to God’s word, and His commands, especially when He tells us to go and make disciples who would then be charged with evangelizing the lost. God is zealous for his glory and His people should likewise be consumed with a desire to exalt Him. Where are the disciples in our churches. Have you made any new ones lately?