President Donald Trump bows his head in prayer as pastor Paula White leads the room in prayer during a dinner for evangelical leaders in the State Dining Room of the White House, Monday, Aug. 27, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Recently a group of evangelicals pastors and leaders from across the nation enjoyed dinner at the White House with the President, First Lady, and others from the administration. The public remarks by the President focused on campaign promises and defending the First Amendment. He reviewed key points of executive and legislative action to protect religious freedom for all faiths in the United States.
Various news media report that in a closed door meeting he extended his remarks to the leaders.1 He encouraged religious leaders to be active this fall in the political process because he believed evangelicals were “one election away from losing everything.”
It is this quote that Michael Horton addresses to Christians in his “Speaking Out” piece in Christianity Today this week.
For many reasons, I typically stay away from politics on the whole – both on the blog as well as my personal social media accounts. However, I believe that Horton addresses an issue that every Christian must consider. That is, is our hope in Jesus Christ or is our hope in a political process or political party?
I strongly urge you to read his entire article as it clearly articulates the issue. He writes:
“However, many of us sound like we’ve staked everything not only on constitutional freedoms but also on social respect, acceptance, and even power. But that comes at the cost of confusing the gospel with Christian nationalism.”
“…In his Great Commission, Jesus gave authority to the church to make disciples, not citizens; to proclaim the gospel, not political opinions; to baptize people in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, not in the name of America or a political party; and to teach everything that he delivered, not our own personal and political priorities. And he promised that his presence with us is something that the world can never take away.”
Here’s the issue: every Christian should do their part as a citizen; however, our hope in life should never be in a government, a party, or a person. Our hope must be in Christ alone while we trust a sovereign God. We must be responsible as citizens, but, more importantly, must be loyal to Christ and the Gospel alone.
You can read Michael Horton’s piece “What Are Evangelicals Afraid of Losing?” from Christianity Today here.
every Christian should do their part as a citizen; however, our hope in life should never be in a government, a party, or a person. Our hope must be in Christ alone while we trust a sovereign God. Click To Tweet
I agree with your take on the source of our hope. I especially like the clarification of the Great Commission. That will probably find it’s way into my missions teaching. Hyper-nationalism has never been helpful in sharing the Gospel cross-culturally.