By Roy S. Askins
As I write this, the final votes for president of the United States of America are still being tallied. By all appearances, it seems that Donald J. Trump will be the 47th president of our country. It appears the Republicans have won the Senate and the House. Many of you will welcome this as a victory; some of you are dismayed and afraid.
“Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation” (Psalm 146:3), the psalmist sang. It remains true. Whether or not “your guy” will soon be sitting in the White House or walking through the halls of Congress, do not trust in men to save you. For the Lord’s “delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor His pleasure in the legs of a man, but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him, in those who hope in His steadfast love” (Psalm 147:10–11).
As citizens of this great nation, we use our God-given reason to elect men and women who we believe will most closely rule according to God’s will and Word. But we also know that the U.S. has maintained a perfect record of electing sinners to be presidents and senators and representatives: every single one of them.
Our Lord doesn’t delight in the great buildings we have built or the great acts of legislation we have crafted. What He does delight in are those who fear Him, who hope in His steadfast love. The final and ultimate victory for God’s people will not come because we elected the right guy to public office. It will not come because we have finally enacted that one piece of legislation that will close all the abortion loopholes.
The ultimate victory comes only as the Word of God goes forth, preached into every ear, washed onto every forehead, and placed into every mouth. That is to say, the ultimate victory happens as, one by one, the Holy Spirit creates faith in God’s elect and gathers them into the ark of the holy church through His Means of Grace.
This truth has profound implications for the church in the U.S. as we eye up the next four years.
First, it means the church still has enemies. The fact that one party or another occupies the halls of power doesn’t mean that the church is safe. This beautiful bride of Christ still faces off against the devil and the world, which have set up a cultural siege against her. And that means: Gird up for war. Not against people, not against those in political office, but against principalities and powers. You know the armor. If you need a reminder, go read Ephesians 6. Note that almost everything in that list is a defensive weapon, except the sword. Prepare for the assault from Satan.
And then pray for your enemies. Pray for your persecutors. Pray for those who slander you and say all kinds of evil things against you falsely (cf. Matt. 5:11, 43–48). The people attacking you do not know what they do. They have been deceived by the father of lies. Pray for them. Whether it’s your party in power or not, pray for those who hate you.
Second, the transformation of hearts and minds will not — cannot — be carried out in the halls of power in Washington, D.C., or through any political office. The government exists for the curbing of wickedness and for the common good. It does not exist for the sake of convicting hearts of the moral sins that plague this country. No constitutional amendment will convict sinners of the moral abomination of murdering unborn children. It is God who convicts us through His Law given us in His Word: “You shall not murder” (Ex. 20:13). No legislation will change hearts that believe the mutilation of children in the name of “gender expression” is moral good. It is God who guides our hearts through His Word: “in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Gen. 1:27). And while reason may lead to these convictions, convicted souls will find no comfort except that which comes from God’s Word: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 3:23–24).
This means that you and I, dear brothers and sisters, need to turn not to princedoms and powers, not to presidents and senators and representatives and congressional bills, but to neighbors and family and friends. We must speak the Word of God’s truth with them. Pray for them. Invite them to worship with you. When they visit you, read God’s Word with them in family devotions. Make your home a place of God’s Word and truth, a place bathed in the light of God’s peace. Invite any and all who are interested to come and hear. And when they ask about the hope you have, about the love you share, pray for the Holy Spirit’s guidance and speak God’s Word of truth.
Finally, get involved at your local level. Certainly, at church. To have something to share, you must be filled with what God gives in the Divine Service. But also consider getting involved in politics at your local level. We too often focus on the big movers and shakers in the political scene. But your local government — your city, county and maybe even state — have much more influence over your life than you might realize. Advocate for policies that accord with Christian beliefs at your local school board; speak with your mayor; encourage your city council members with God’s Word. These changes have a way of “trickling up” and directing the larger politics of the country.
God may or may not bless these political endeavors. He will certainly grant success to His church. It may not, at first glance, appear to be success. Your individual congregations may not grow in the number of people gathered in the pews on Sunday; you may not see a burgeoning of the budget in the years ahead. But God’s Word will succeed, although we may not personally see that success. For wherever it is preached, He promises that it will accomplish the purpose for which He sent it.
Perhaps, as Christians who are largely the descendants of immigrants ourselves, we can pray for the more recently arrived immigrants among us:
• That those who have entered the country legally would acclimate well, be welcomed heartily by God’s people here, and build a prosperous new life spared of having to endure unfounded hostility and suspicion.
• That those who have entered the country illegally would be met with wisely measured degrees of justice and mercy, especially for the sake of their children.
A few Bible verses that seem applicable:
• Jesus said, “The second [greatest commandment] is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself'” (Mark 12:31 ESV).
• “I was a stranger and you welcomed me” (Matthew 25:35).
• “You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God” (Lev 19:34).
• “The sojourners who reside among you and have had children among you … shall be to you as native-born children of Israel. With you they shall be allotted an inheritance among the tribes of Israel. In whatever tribe the sojourner resides, there you shall assign him his inheritance, declares the Lord God” (Ezekiel 47:22-23).
I cannot agree with you more. The political and cultural upheavals of the past few years have been unnerving. In many respects, social media has driven the polarization and divisions into a frenzy of partisan bickering that had created an anxiety among Americans longing for peace of mind, calmness, and solutions. Christians have been caught up in the chaos. Yet, the results of the election, in my view, was a victory in the sense of Americans reacting to the negativity, propagandizing, deleterious woke ideology, and it was in every sense a reactionary movement. It might have saved the country from sliding further into the abyss, at least for now. But as I see it, the cultural skirmishes and political uncertainties will continue, because our species cannot live apart from conflict. It is our fallen nature. Though it is proper for Christians to participate as citizens, affirming righteousness where evil exists, we need to remember that our faith in Christ and our profession is to serve God where He has placed us. We may hear slogans like “America First” but we are called to “Jesus First” and this is something we should not forget, lest we perish having abandoned our first priority, and our first loyalty, for the ways of the world. Soli Deo Gloria