Peter Witkowski Apologetics

What Do We Tell Our Kids After The Election?

flag-1Are you ready for tomorrow?  The hours of yucky campaign commercials, snarky Facebook posts, and embarrassing debates will be at an end! Hallelujah! On November 9, 2016, the United States of America will have a new president elect. But once all the dust settles, we will have to face a new question, “What do we do now?” How do we help our kids (who must certainly have heard us discuss politics over the last few days) process the electoral votes and the state of the nation?

America Is Not Our Hope

Many evangelical Christian including yours truly have been rightly dismayed and discouraged by this election. Not only have we lost the power or the moral majority, we have lost the power to significant influence the primary process. Today’s politicians do not even have to pretend to be devoutly religious. They can get away with their lack of zeal because America is no longer a Christian nation. According to a new study by George Barna, only 36% of Americans attended a church service this week and just 2% read their Bibles. And the projections do not have those numbers going up anytime soon. We cannot expect our neighbors to support our Christian worldview or to vote according to our values. Most Americans do not even know what we Christians believe. The Americang government will not be our main agent of change. But then again it was never meant to be. We are called to be ambassadors on earth. We belong to the heavenly kingdom and appeal to the king who changes hearts.

At the end of the day, we are not supposed to boast about America. We are to boast in the goodness of our God who redeems and sanctifies the lost. As Psalm 20:7 says, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.” Its good and proper to thank God for our nation. But it is even better to thank God for being God. Tomorrow morning, remind your kids that God is your hope. Remind them that life is ok because our boast, our hope, our comfort is the Lord of heaven. America is not our hope.

 

We Will Stand For Truth

Regardless of who you voted for and who wins the presidency, Christians will need to have a prophetic voice. We must continue to speak for the unborn, to champion justice for all, and to protect the innocent and weak. We must show our kids that more money in our bank account does mean when can ignore discrimination and innocent children being murdered. Where the gospel speaks to social and political issues, we must speak to them even if that will put us sideways from our candidate of choice. We cannot condone sin because our politic parties calls evil good (Isa. 5:20).  If we want our kids to value our Biblical values, we must remain consistent. We must avoid the temptation to be a hypocrite for political gain. We speak boldly for the gospel at all times.

 And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God, but the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God. – Luke 12:8

We must stand for the truth of the Bible regardless of the earthly cost.

 

We Trust God

Regardless who gets the most votes tomorrow, God picked them. God in his sovereign plan, appointed our next president. We may not like him or her. We may have grave reservations about their platform. But we know God reigns. And we know that only the presidents, kings, and dictators God picks come to power. And even more importantly, we know, “that all things work together for good to them that love God” (Rom. 8:28).

Regardless what are next president does, it will be good for God’s people. I am not saying that bad economic policies that lead to poverty or rash decisions that lead to world war are a good thing. They most certainly are not. But whatever happens over the next four years, God will be working to grow our faith and his church.
And if we are trusting God, we have no votereason to attack our opponents. Those who voted for Hillary, Trump, or that wonderful third party candidate are not the devil. We do not need to tear down, lambast, or cascate our brothers and sisters in Christ for contributing to an outcome that we disapprove of. If we trust God, we can handle both defeat and victory knowing that God rules and directs heart. Our anger over the vote totals do not reflect a concern, they reflect pride. We thought we knew what outcome is best and we are mad that God did not give it to us. So instead of trusting God, we lash out at our oppoents. Avoid this pitfall. Speak well of your brothers and sisters in Christ.

If we trust God, we will come to 2020 with an even closer relationship with Jesus. Brothers and Sisters, let’s not cry in front of our kids or predict doom because of this year’s election results. Let’s point our hearts and the hearts of our kids to the God who is worthy of our trust. Let’s boast in the fact that God reigns and will one-day return and rule the world.  As Jesus said in Matthew 10:28, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” Do not fret over President Trump or President Hillary. They cannot do lasting harm to our souls. Rather pray for them, asking God to use them in such a way that his church grows (I Timothy 2:2). Trust God!

 

Ok, now its your turn. What will you tell your kids tomorrow?

Peter Witkowski Apologetics, Discipleship

Love Politics? Love Humility More!

Nothing that follows comes easy to me. I struggle with pride every day I talk politics.  Just ask my wife. But if there was ever a time for humility in the church it is today. And so I venture forth with you as one who daily needs to be reminded to address political issues with humility.white-house-754766_1280

 I know the political stakes are high. Everyone thinks our country is at a tipping point. We fear that electing the wrong president will tip our country over into the abyss. Understandably, denominational leaders, pastors, Sunday school teachers, and the average church goer are all in a tizzy over this election cycle. Most of us are proclaiming this candidate or that candidate to be our country’s savior. And if people disagree with our divine conclusions, we join with Robert Jefress (Pastor of First Dallas) and denounce our opponents as “fools.” I think things in Christendom are starting to get a little nuts! We need to once again inject some humility into our political discussions.

The Need For Grace

The biblical doctrine of humility demands that we should treat our opponents with grace. Yes, we may all disagree over which candidate to support. We may disagree with each other concerning what role government should play in our society. And these things are important. But at the end of the day, governments do not save us. As Augustine pointed out many years ago, men were never called to subdue and rule each other. Human governments exist to provide order until the King of King returns. They are not eternal.

The gospel is.  When we all affirm the same gospel, we have the freedom to lovingly disagree over politics. And as far as I know, being a Cruz, Trump, Rubio, or Kasich supporter does not imply that one serves a different gospel. As weird as this cycle has gotten, there has yet to be a gospel of Trump, Rubio, or Sanders released in LifeWay. Lord willing, there never will be! We can support all these candidates and more and believe that God reigns, that man is fallen, that Christ died to pay for our sins, and that men and women need to respond to Jesus with faith and repentance.  capital blog

We should not be calling our brothers and sisters in Christ fools, bigots, or any other derogatory term simply because they disagree with us politically. Such attacks are not motivated by Christians charity or by a desire to see God’s glory defended. Such attacks are motived pride. We assume we know God’s plan for the world and are mad that other people fail to recognize our genius. And, we lash out to punish them for their ignorance. There is no way around it. Such verbal assaults are sin.

Need For Humility

In reality, we do not know God’s unrevealed will. And his revealed will? The Bible declares that we are to count others more important than ourselves. Instead of calling our political opponents fools, we need to cook them dinners, send them encouraging notes, and offer to take the kids to the next game. As Thom Rainer says,

This cantankerous and ornery church member is one of those you have pledged to serve

We may have good opinions; we may have good an understanding of what is happening in our nation; and, we may have good ideas how to move the nation forward. But we are not God. We do not know what is best. We do not know what political outcome will bring God the most glory. So as we advocate for our candidate, let’s do so with humility and kindness of heart. We need to advocate for what is best, realizing our opinions are just that, finite opinions!  At the end of the day, we are all sinners saved by grace. We all owe everything to Christ even our intellect. God rules! Are we ready to act like it?

Peter Witkowski Apologetics

Trump, Chicken Little, & A Quick Reality Check

During their recent walk through the Republican primary forest, the happy little chicks of evangelicalism were wChick littleacked on the head by the Trump nut. And now they are scurrying in every direction, calling for all to flee the coming Trumpmania doom. The sky is falling! The Sky is falling!

And though I have am not eager to see Trump become the next president, I think evangelicals need to back away from all the predictions of doom. The sky is not falling. God still reigns. Yes, America could take a turn for the worse under President Trump. We may see Religious, social, and personal freedoms all venture into the fox’s den never to be seen again. But God still rules (Is. 46:8-11). God appoints and tears down nations for his purpose. The even better news is that the worst, most despicable rulers can and are used by God to advance His purposes. No matter how successful Trump becomes, he can never dethrone God.  We need to place our trust in Christ.

What does this look like?

1.       Express Opinions With Grace.

As American’s, we have the freedom to speak into our political system. We should exercise such freedom, advocating for Christian liberties, fighting for justice, and voting for the candidates that best represent us. But such political engagement must be tempered by Christian speech.  Paul’s command to “Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place,” extends to our political discourse (Eph. 5:4).  At the end of the day, we need to only offend people with the good news of the gospel and not our political philosophy. When this election cycle is over, we are going to have to work with Trump supporters and a whole host of people with a host of political backgrounds. Let’s not limit our future ability to reach the nations by planting seeds of discord on Facebook and Twitter. One day soon, we will need to work together with the duck, the hen, and maybe even a fox or two to advance the gospel. Will we be able to?

2.       Hope In God.

If we get worked up into a sinful frenzy over any political candidate, party, or issue, we have a worship donald trumpproblem. When we are expecting this candidate, that party, or those issues to save us through restoring the economy, expanding freedom, or defending decency, we are seeking after an earthly rescuer. And though I am for all these things, we shouldn’t believe any of these things will really save us. No amounts of cash, free press, or marital laws will fulfill us. Longing for these things above all will not lead us to peace. Rather, they land us in turmoil deep within the fox’s den.

Hence, Christ tells us to layup treasures in heaven instead of earth (Matt. 6:19-20. Our ultimate hope is not a better economy; our hope is the perfect savior and the new heavens. As long as Jesus reigns and is working all things together for our good, we can be joyful people. Let’s stop looking hopefully at little politicians who promise what they cannot deliver. And let’s turn our eyes heavenward toward the God who has already delivered what he promised.  What are you hoping in?   

3.       Don’t Fear Evil.

I fully understand that a Trump Presidency is a scary prospect. In large part, we don’t know what we are getting. But regardless of what “Make America Great Again” actually translates into, we don’t have to be afraid. Even if Trump is Hitler (I don’t think he is; see point 1.) God’s church will be fine. Think about Abraham, Joseph, Daniel, Paul, Jo4-republican-elephant-mascot-usa-flag-aloysius-patrimoniohn Huss, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the Chinese underground church and the many others who have thrived under unjust empires. They all were and are being used by God in the midst of pagan kingdoms to advance His glory. If anything, the destruction of America may actual grow God’s church exponentially.

I hope our future is not dark. I do not long for our country’s collapse. I don’t want the duck and hen to waddle down into the fox’s den. I want my kids, grand kids, and neighbors to enjoy the wealthiest, freest, and most just society ever. But if God has other plans, we will be ok. After all, even the worst dictator can only kill the body. He can never separate us from the love of God (Rom 8:38-39). At some point in the not too distant future, God will descend from the sky and set the world aright. What should we really be afraid of?

The political landscape may not look very cheery today. But, the sky is not falling. Christ is still reigning brightly above! Do evangelical really need to keep scurrying around.