In a recent post, I suggested that the current presidential campaign reflects the state of American culture. God does not have to send judgement to America: He can simply sit back and allow us to face the consequences of our rebellion, including the candidates we choose and the officials we elect to hold government office:

Perhaps the fact that our Presidential election has been narrowed down to Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump serves as a mirror in which America should see its flaws. This is something that the church seriously needs to consider. Many of us continue to hope that God will somehow bring revival to America. However, many Christians expect Him to do it only through a Republican President who can appoint the right Supreme Court justices.

How can Christians in America respond to our current situation? I still refuse to openly endorse either candidate because, as I wrote in that post, “God will remain on the throne, no matter who sits in the Oval Office.” This truth has an impact that will continue far beyond November 8.

First, I believe that even those Christians who have claimed that one of the two candidates is “God’s choice” must continue to pray beyond November 8. I know of several Christian groups who have been praying and fasting for Donald Trump to win. Even if he is “God’s man for the job,” a successful election does not mean the spiritual battle for the soul of our nation is over. Politicians see Election Day as the finish line at the end of a race, because winning the election is their goal. A Christian’s goal should be to see God’s glory radiating in our world (this may include revival within the nation). America will be no more of a Christian nation on November 9 than it was one day earlier. For us, an election triumph is not the same as crossing the finish line first in a race. It is more like scoring a single two-point field goal in a basketball game. It may count as part of the actual victory, but it is only a small part of it.

I ask those of you who are praying for the election: Will you continue to pray beyond November 8? Will you pray for more people to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ? Will you pray for a culture where all life is cherished, from conception to natural death, where the very thought of abortion or euthanasia would be as repulsive as cannibalism? Will you pray for a society that cherishes family and upholds a truly biblical perspective thereof? The game is not over when the final vote is tallied this week. It is over when Revelation 11:15 is fulfilled: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”

Evangelism will likewise be an important part of our task. We have tried for too long to persuade our “opponents” without seeking a change of heart. We are trying to convince those who do not know Jesus that abortion is murder, that homosexuality is a sin, etc., without first seeking to bring them to faith in Jesus. We forget that “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14).

Explaining scriptural morality and spiritual truth to someone who does not have the Spirit of God within them is like trying to explain quantum physics to a three-year-old. If you do not recognize the Triune God as the source of all truth and Creator of all, you can avoid spiritual truth. If there is no God, any form of sexual expression is equally valid. If there is no God, we can decide who is “alive enough” to have a right to life.

We need to bring people to a personal relationship with Christ so that spiritual truth will make sense to them. That is when we will see transformation, and that is something only the people of God can do. A Christian’s primary responsibility has always been evangelism. Our job is to bring people to Jesus Christ, not to convert a nation to a political ideology.

This post copyright © 2016 Michael E. Lynch. All rights reserved.