Someone asked me before the general election two years ago (2020) whether I thought it was a crucial election?  I replied that I was convinced we were at an unprecedented crossroad in our nation and that the outcome of the election would play a big role in the direction our country took with respect to our having any semblance of a “Christian nation.”  The midterm elections of 2022 which are just days away will impact whether we continue in our spiral of spiritual and moral decline or whether there will be a reprieve with people “coming to their senses” and realizing the value of following biblical principles regarding the many issues we face today.  

  Our country surely has not been a perfect one for it is composed of sinners just like all other nations, but I believe that God uniquely established this nation to be a lighthouse to the world. (NOTE: This does not mean that God has given up on His Chosen nation Israel but will still fulfill His plans and promises for Israel…Isa. 41:17-20; Jer. 29:11; Ezek. 37:21-28). The early strongholds of Christianity in Europe that resulted from the Reformation soon lost their separation from the world system and the church and state merged, leaving most churches cold and dead.  It was a sad sight for us to witness when we visited Europe in the mid 1980’s to see the majority of the churches with either closed doors or a mere handful of older people attending.  

     When our nation began, there was a strong emphasis on the truths of God’s Word and the freedom of worship.  Our governing structure was set up on the basis of morality and accountability to a Creator God.  When Alexis de Tocqueville, the French aristocrat and politician, visited America in the 1830’s he made the observation that “America’s Christian culture was unique in all the world” (Decision Magazine, Oct. 2022, p. 8).  Oh, politics was full of its conflicts and competition then as well, but the issues contested were quite different from those we face today:  abortion, the definition of marriage, the agenda of the LGBTQ, the Critical Race Theory taught in our schools, the push for transgenderism and confusion over whether you are male or female or maybe something else!  We see more and more oppression of the expression and living out of our Christian values at school, in the military and in the work place increasing the cases being defended by groups like Alliance Defending Freedom, and the American Center for Law and Justice.  

     Democracy presents a culture with a challenge: how to wisely use your freedom.  We face a similar challenge as Christians who, by God’s grace, have been set free from the Law by our faith in Christ and His atoning death and subsequent resurrection (Ro. 3:25,26).  God’s Word exhorts us not to use our freedom in Christ to do as we please, following the desires of our old nature, but to use that freedom to serve God as a bondslave of Christ. “For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another” (Gal. 5:13 cf Ro. 6:15). “Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God” (I Pet. 2:16).   

     Without submission to God and His Word, democracy deteriorates. We become like Israel during the dark days of spiritual decline recorded in the book of Judges where “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25).   When a nation ceases to honor God and suppresses (and even opposes) the truth, we become a people without any moral compass and become “those who call good evil and evil good” (Isa. 5:20).  

     We can discuss all the things wrong with our dysfunctional nation but what our country really needs is a genuine revival with repentance and a return to biblical values governing our lives.  That has to begin with the church of Jesus Christ (and I’m not referring to the LDS!) to truly be His ambassadors and the salt and light we are intended to be to act as the preservative and shine the light of Jesus in the dark world around us (II Cor. 5:20; Mt. 5:14-16).  The only thing that will change America is for people to have changed hearts, transformed by the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God (Jn. 15:3; Eph. 5:26). 

     As believers we are citizens of both heaven and of our own nation (cf Eph. 3:20,21). As citizens of this nation we have the privilege of voting and electing leaders who shape the values of our nation. So,  please, look at the stand candidates take on key issues that affect your biblical worldview and vote accordingly.  But remember, political change is not our ultimate goal.  Our highest calling is to bring people into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. We are not called to “save America”!  We’re called to proclaim the Gospel (Mt. 28:18-20; Acts 1:8). People need the Lord!  

     What would really Make America Great Again is to let Jehovah God be Lord, to humbly repent as the Ninevites did at the preaching of Jonah, turning from their wicked ways and violence and acknowledging the one true God (Jon. 3:5-10). 

      Many politicians conclude their speeches with “and God bless America.”  Well, God can’t bless us if we continue to turn our back on Him and push Him out of public life. But we do know that “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD” (Psa. 33:12) and that “RIghteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people” (Prov. 14:34).  So, where we go from the crossroad that we are at will be determined by what place we give to the “King of Kings and Lord of Lords” (Rev. 19:16). 

Forever His,

Pastor Dave