Which candidate is best for the church?

Millions of Americans are presently trying to decide which presidential candidate would be best for our country. Who would do the most good for America? There is, however, a more important question that Christians need to ask.

As Christians in America, we know that we are first citizens of God’s kingdom before we are citizens of America. We are Christians before we are Americans. This means that our primary allegiance is to God’s kingdom, manifested on this earth in the church. So I would argue that our first order question is not how this election will impact the country, but how it will impact the church. Asking how our vote will affect the country is not bad, it is just not a first order question.

The answer to this first order question of which presidential candidate would be best for the church is not as easy it as might seem. Many evangelicals would immediately claim that Trump would be better for the church. Trump himself is certainly trying to make that argument. Some might see this as one candidate, Clinton, who is overtly opposed to many fundamental, biblical principles. Then they would argue that Trump is at least less opposed to historic, biblical Christianity. Further, Trump would claim that he stands for the church. Therefore, they might say, Trump would be a better for the church.

But I don’t think the choice is between a candidate for the evangelical church and a candidate against the evangelical church. I do believe that if Clinton is elected, she will stand directly against a number of principles clearly taught in Scripture. Consequently I will not vote for her. But the choice is not between a candidate for the church and a candidate against the church. I think the choice is between opposition to evangelical Christianity and the promotion of cultural or carnal Christianity, neither of which is genuinely Christian. Consequently, unless I am convinced that I am wrong in that assessment, I will not vote for either candidate.

As I listen to Trump, it is clear to me that he is more interested in restoring a facade of Christianity than returning to a genuine, biblical Christianity. When trying to court the vote of pastors and church leaders, he has talked about how the government has taken away the power of these pastors, and he has promised to restore their power to them (by among other things repealing the Johnson amendment). He has clearly demonstrated that he does not understand the power or nature of the church and its leadership. He does not have a firm grasp on biblical teaching, and has shown in many ways that he stands against biblical teaching (think prohibitions of the love of money for example). When I listen to him talk to church leaders, I do not get the impression that his concern is for biblical Christianity. His concern clearly seems to be for an Americanized, politicized form of Christianity that has little to do with the Bible, and more to do with the American dream, individual rights, security, and power.

Am I saying that Trump is not a Christian. No, that’s not the point. I am not in a position to know the answer to that question. I also am not calling into question the Christianity of those who might vote for Trump. I am simply asking whether a Trump presidency would really be better for the church than a Clinton presidency. Is the promotion of carnal or cultural Christianity really better than outright opposition to Christianity?  Or to put the question another way, which is better, outright opposition to biblical truth or paying lip service to biblical truth?

Here’s what I do know. I know for a fact, because the Bible tells me so, that the church can withstand outright opposition. We also have plenty of historical data to support this claim. I also know that many Americans are enticed by a facade of Christianity that is not Christianity at all. I know the damage that cultural or carnal Christianity has caused by luring in many in our country. Cultural Christianity has been widespread in America for decades now, and we are in many ways reaping the fruits of a cultural or carnal Christianity that ought not be given the name Christian.

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t want either of the candidates from the two major parties to be President. But I do fully believe that the church can withstand and flourish during times of direct opposition, and even outright persecution. But is the church likely to thrive and prosper in the midst of a cultural Christianity that does little to reflect the truth of God’s Word, but instead is more concerned with security, prosperity, power, and influence? Perhaps the important point to remember here is that for the church to flourish, she must stand against government leaders both who oppose the church and who promote a cultural, carnal, so-called Christianity. So if either major party candidate is elected, it seems to me that the church will be forced to stand against him or her on a number of key issues, whether standing firm against outright opposition or hypocritical flattery.

So what does all this mean? It means that the two major party candidates both stand in many ways in opposition to biblical Christianity. So perhaps we need to be reminded that, whether in standing against outright opposition or in standing against cultural Christianity and empty religious ritual, we must place our faith and trust in King Jesus rather than in a political candidate. If we endure persecution, we must be reminded that God is faithful and we can trust in Him. And if we find ourselves surrounded by false teachers and false churches who are using the name of Christ for their own material gain, we must be reminded that God is faithful and we can trust in Him. You can find many, many people claiming that the fate of or country hangs in the balance, pending the outcome of this election. We can rejoice and be glad that the fate of the church is not dependent on the election of a worldly leader. And we can celebrate that the fate of the church is not dependent on the fate of our country, since the church is lead by an eternal King and she will outlast all the kingdoms of this world.