The RNC Convention was not one of stiff suits. Instead, the speech docket mixed in youthful GOP leaders, cultural figures and pastors at any given time.
The revised platform – hailed by Log Cabin Republicans, the pro-LGBTQ wing of the party – was confirmed at the convention.
It’s a different platform, skimping on protection of life and the definition of marriage, strongly addressed in previous GOP platforms, but significantly watered down in the revision.
It has no mention of a need for congressional action on the abortion issue, fetal tissue research or mention of God bestowing the right to life.
For Bible-believing Christians it’s a challenge, and a group so influential in two previous campaigns with Donald Trump as the nominee finds itself searching for its space.
“I would respectfully suggest that we have to view ourselves now more like Daniel to King Darius than Aaron to Moses,” radio host Jenna Ellis told her American Family Radio audience last week.
Aaron was Moses’ right-hand man with the confidence of the Israelites.
Daniel prophesied when the Israelites were a persecuted minority in Babylonian captivity.
How can Christians be Daniels and impact not only the GOP but society at large?
Take a breather and think
For starters, they need to “pull back, take a deep breath and realize the Word of God is immovable,” said Jack Hibbs, senior pastor of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills (California) and a nationally syndicated radio and TV host.
“For many good pastors, what we’re trying to do is get Christians back to the Bible, to stop following, as it were, celebrity pastor-type of entities and get back to the Word,” Hibbs told Ellis. “A lot can be remedied if professing Christians literally decided, ‘I’m going back to the Bible.’ It’s not a secret, it’s not a mystery.”
The Internet Age has put solid teaching and sound doctrine at the fingertips of the human race. It’s also amplified the voices – and the ability to confuse – of those who seek to distort the gospel and misrepresent Jesus Christ.
Hibbs demonstrated a light-in-the-darkness faith in January, when he was chosen to deliver the invocation in the U.S. House of Representatives. That honor falls to numerous people who act as a guest chaplain. When he was chosen, Hibbs went all the way back to 1774 and the very first prayer of the Continental Congress.
In his prayer, Hibbs called for "humility and repentance of national sins in a time of great need," Fox News reported.
Hibbs' prayer was criticized by some House Democrats for pushing a "Christian nationalist agenda."
Back on the radio program with Ellis, Hibbs described the current state of the Church.
“We’ve got this sort of pop-style Christianity. Paul warned about that, by the way, to the Corinthians. They were fragmented in factions. They had cliques – I’m of Paul, I’m of Apollos, I’m of Christ. They had their identify theology and you could say identity politics. Christians should be above that,” Hibbs said.
The revised platform and other perhaps more subtle changes make the Republican Party “barely” distinguishable right now from the Democrat Party, Hibbs said.
But that doesn’t mean Christians who align with the Republican Party should stay home on Election Day.
Instead, they should not only vote but be loud in the process, separating darkness from light at every opportunity.
Christians must be tip of the spear
“We should be the ones at the tip of the spear in it all,” Hibbs said. “We need to roll up our sleeves and get into the mess, but we bring into that mess the light of the gospel, the light and wisdom of the Holy Spirit, and we speak and operate from a biblical worldview no matter what any party decides to do. When there’s something wrong, we call it out.”
Many tip-of-the-spear Christians find it difficult to strike a balance between being politically astute and 100% committed to God’s commands. They see some level of compromise as necessary in the short term to win elections and be in better position to bring about long-term goals.
That can’t be the approach of the church, Hibbs says. It has to proclaim truth, the whole truth, even at inconvenient times.
“If the political parties are going to experiment, which never turns out well, the church should be something that is transcendent above the politics. It should be the place where if a politician is awakened to the conviction of the Holy Spirit, and that the word of God is true, that politician or that culture should be able to tie its boat to the anchor or to the lighthouse of the church,” Hibbs said.
If the church embraces cultural compromise, it loses the moral authority to proclaim truth.
“If the church is acquiescing to the cultural possibilities of what we need to do to win the vote, then I'm not quite sure what the church is at that moment, and it is certainly not a New Testament church,” Hibbs said.
If the church’s stance is clear, there’s still a question of balance for the Christian who seeks to be engaged politically.
Where is the balance between standing firm and giving up? If a party platform is watered down, how much of it can a Christian accept for the sake of participating in the process? Can Christians rally the votes that lead to change, and if so, is it worth the compromise?
It depends on the strength of faith of the individual.
“If we are comfortable in our salvation, and being galvanized by the Holy Spirit, then go out and be salt and light,” Hibbs said. “I believe the spirit-filled Christian who understands the Word of God actually runs toward the chaos. They run toward the explosion. They run toward the darkness, bringing the torch and the light of God's truth.”
If Christians are confident in what they believe and Who they believe, the power of persuasion will often follow.
“Go out to persuade all men of righteousness, and some might come to Christ,” Hibbs said.
But do not do so at the expense of principle.
Engage but don’t lower the bar
“We are not to lower the bar to get everybody on, thinking that that's success. Jesus said, ‘Broad is the way that leads to destruction, and a lot of people are on it. Narrow is the path, and few there be that enter in that way,’” Hibbs said.
Christians can be the salt and light whether their calling is politics or any other profession. The mission is given by God for the Christian to influence and impact, Hibbs said.
“You’ve got to get into the dirt. There’s no such thing as a spectator in Christianity. We need to be strong and confident in what we believe. That’s true if we’re talking to neighbors or if we’re on the radio or at a construction site. We need to make disciples.”
