Biden has claimed the presidential seat. I pray for his success in leading the country towards what is good, honorable, and true.
Leading up to this point, I noticed something disturbing—that the most vocal Christians were oftentimes capable of being passionate about anything but the gospel. The wild political climate of 2020 couldn’t have made it more obvious.
Christian bashing has become a popular sport… amongst Christians. 🤦🏻♂️
Relatively few people praised churches and Christian organizations for their gospel-preaching work last year on social media. In fact, the majority of posts focused on the opposite: vilifying Christians for belonging to a political party, or mocking churches for their lack of care during the COVID crisis.
While there is a time to lovingly criticize, the tone of these posts were usually bigoted and lacked any form of edification. I’d gamble that the content was shared in order to proclaim, “I’m not one of those Christians.” That’s lovely. Do you want kudo points for that? Here’s a kudo Bible verse for you.
“God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” James 4:6 NIV
If you must “bash,” do so in kindness and truth. Some of y’all just toxic all day.
Do not let kindness and truth leave you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and a good reputation In the sight of God and man. — Proverbs 3:3-4 NASB
Christianity is much more than Christ on the cross, but it is never less.
We must fight against slavery. We must take care of the poor. We must empathize with the mentally ill. We must fight for the lives of those who cannot. We must fight for freedom. We must pray for one another. We must forgive one another. We must love one another.
And we must preach Christ on the cross. Because without this cornerstone, we do not have Christianity. We have BeNiceianity. We have a religion with the ultimate goal set on relieving temporal discomfort.
It is sad to know that we live in a society where we think we can be a good Christian without sharing about Christ on the cross. We think that it is enough to fight for the right causes, to speak out against malicious people and mean policies.
Christian, preach the gospel. The actual gospel. The Christ-died-for-your-sins gospel. The truth that we have all sinned against our eternal God. The truth that the wages of sin is eternal death, Hell. Preach that He loves us—so much that He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on a cross for us, taking the punishment we deserve. Proclaim how He conquered death three days later, displaying divine power not only over His own life, but yours. Tell it to the world, that every person must place their faith in Jesus Christ and His sacrifice.
Trust in God and accept the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. He paid for your sins so you could go out and share about His loving sacrifice, not so you could be a gospel coward.
💡 If you’re not a Christian and you’ve stumbled upon this post, I encourage you to go read the book of John in the Bible. It’s a historical documentation of Jesus. It could be the most important thing you read in your life—no joke. Download the Bible app or just read it online.
Repent, Christian.
“Because I voted for Trump?” No.
“Because I voted for Biden?” No.
Because we’ve forsaken the core of our faith. Because we have taken good causes and turned them into the end goal. Because we have taken the ultimate sacrifice and shoved it below our passion in politics.
Sometimes we need heart-piercing questions to help realign ourselves in life. Here are three.
1. Did the cross heavily influence my vote?
The sacrifice of Christ is preeminent. The reality of human eternity must ultimately eclipse our temporal worries.
Yes, there is a myriad of issues to which we must attend. We must proclaim what is good, protest what is bad, and fight for God-given human rights. We do not back down on defending God’s moral truth.
But as followers of Christ, our vote must go infinitely beyond these issues. It must go to the cross, to the preaching of the gospel. Did the marks on our ballot consider the great commission, to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:18-20)? How did our marks aim to make the person of Christ known?
The connection between our calling and our vote isn’t always clear, and that’s the point. It requires deep contemplation, and a Godless analysis of any issue is insufficient for the believer.
If we neglected the gospel with our vote, then we have cheapened everything for which Christ hung.
2. Did I spend more energy on God or politics in 2020?
The divisive election has shifted upwards in our list of priorities, and I’m afraid it may have unseated God in the throne of our desires.
We must reflect on 2020 and be realistic about our spiritual health. Our priests and pastors tell us to meditate on God’s Word, but many of us have spent more energy meditating on the words of politicians. The former should heavily outweigh the later, as our thoughts must never omit the reality of God. We must submit to the Holy Spirit as we navigate political waters.
Is our faith ultimately in legislation or the Lord? How has our time and energy reflected this?
3. Am I known for sharing my politics, but not the gospel?
Let’s be honest—this is a damning question for most of us. In fear of the truth, we’re tempted to justify our reputation. Pride muddles the mirror to our hearts.
When someone sees you and me, they should see more than a nice person with certain political affiliations. They should see a follower who loves and reflects Christ, someone who is unashamed of the gospel in its entirety.
“I haven’t shared the gospel, but I’m living it out!”
This excuse is commonly proclaimed by those who fail to share the gospel. If our lives were truly changed by such a great sacrifice, would we not proclaim it? Is our silence evidence of cowardice?
We must tell the world of Him who loves us.
Repent, then fight hard, Christian.
Yes, we should fight for the right politics and policies. But more than that, we must fight for God and the gospel. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places (Eph 6:12). Our battle is ultimately a spiritual one.
While the preaching of the gospel must not eclipse our fight for justice, the fight for justice must definitely not eclipse the preaching of the gospel.
This is a call for my fellow believers to humbly re-evaluate their priorities and standing before God. We must ask Him to search our souls and reveal to us where we stand in our spiritual walk. We must ask Him to place the gospel at the epicenter of our hearts so that we go out into the world with eternal purpose.
The Great Commission
-Matthew 28:16-20 NIV
Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
