Second Term, Not the Second Coming: Faith and Politics in the Age of MAGA

Many of us in the church greeted recent U.S. election results with heartfelt excitement. It will be a huge relief to bid farewell to censorship, government overreach, reverse racism, and legalized lawlessness- if only for a season. While many in the church genuinely admire President Trump, others merely prefer his view of limited government over the alternative. All of us hope and pray that whatever the forty-seventh president's secret sins might be, God will use him for eternal purposes as he employed figures like Nebuchadnezzar or Cyrus the Great. It wasn't a pastor we voted for, but an obstacle to politicians running amok.

The Illusion of Political Salvation

That explains some of the new energy and renewed hope we see on the faces of so many followers of Christ this week. We are heartened that a healthy majority of Americans have united to demand a course correction for our nation. The massive voting bloc that crossed all racial lines was also notable for an army of young men reawakened to the dream of liberty. We are grateful that the US election system still works and that our voices can finally be heard.

But in this happy moment, we should remind ourselves that politicians can change laws, but they cannot change hearts. Even good laws must be respected by good people. And as President John Adams insisted during our formative years, "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for the government of any other." Though a share of the population might argue against this, our founders understood that a democratic republic requires the kind of people that God produces in his churches.

The Promise of the Second Coming

Wise leaders like President Ronald Reagan have assured us that America is a beacon of hope to the world, much like a shining city on a hill. The USA is indeed an exceptional nation, created from the biblical ideal of people living in freedom. But that expression, a shining city on a hill, traces back to a Puritan sermon explaining the teachings of Christ. In his Sermon on the Mount. Christ said, "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden." (Matthew 5:13-14)

The shining city on a hill is the church, not the United States. It is the body of Christ, the followers of Christ, who bring salt and light into our dark, destructive culture. If the government is corrupt and wasteful, money is squandered and unnecessary wars are waged. If the church becomes callous and compromised, souls are lost, families are left adrift, and democracy is unable to survive.

That's why winning an election is not nearly the same as winning our nation. Don't think for a moment that Donald Trump's second term will set us all free or crush the tentacles of that dreaded beast, the government trying to be God. We can't relax until Jesus Christ returns to fulfill his mission.

The Lord not only promised to die on the cross for our sins and then be raised to offer grace and salvation to us all. He also promised to literally, physically return for his people. He foretold a moment in the future when "...all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." (Matthew 24:30)

We can finally change gears and take a deep breath on the day Jesus returns for his people. In one glorious moment, our mission will morph from offering the light of Christ to becoming citizens of Heaven. There will be no one left to be saved. The devil will be beaten and banished into spiritual fire and darkness, never to return. God will be with his people and we will be with him forever. That's the direction where the Kingdom of God is headed.

The People of God

So, it's not enough for Christians to vote faithfully or even run for public office, though both are important for a democratic republic. Fulfilling our mission and also ensuring the conditions for healthy self-government means we must embody the life of Jesus, now more than ever. That means reflecting his character and talking about his kingdom. We'll point not only to the cross but the resurrection and his return. And we must pray for fresh wind and fire in gospel churches. Pray for the President but serve the LORD.

If we truly love God with all our hearts, we will also learn how to love our neighbors well, even those with different political convictions. At the end of the bitter Civil War and only a month before his untimely death, President Abraham Lincoln invited North and South to come together and bind up the nation's wounds. He called for a renewed resolve to be reunited "with malice toward none and charity for all." And that was at the end of a bloody war!

After the painful election season that just ended, we may find new opportunities for talking about the grace of God and the return of Christ. Take heart in the recent political turn of events, but don't gloat. Before we became conservatives, we were ordained by Jesus Christ to be the light of the world. In this post-election season, let's let Him shine.

To learn more about the End Times and the return of Christ, read Timothy Floyd's new book, The Epic Life: Revelation, Resistance, and Revival. It's available wherever good books are sold. Find out more or read other blogs at our website, TimothyFloydAuthor.com