Christian, Fear Not

There is no room for Flight 93 or "the most important election of our lifetime" talk among Christians when "to live is Christ, to die is gain."

First Newsletter

To start, this is my first newsletter so we’ll see how this goes and how obvious it is I don’t know what I'm doing. I plan to write my thoughts on everything from politics, culture, and sometimes sports so buckle up because there is no telling where this will lead us. My goal is to encourage others to think about important issues and consider what is True and how to live for the glory of God in the complex world He has put us. As for the sports part, joy can come in the pursuit of deep, powerful Truth and in lighthearted moments of seemingly foolish games that God gives us to point us to the even greater joy to come. If nothing else, this will be good for me to organize my own thoughts and pursue that goal in my own life. So, please subscribe if that sounds at all interesting. With that said, here we go.

3 Enabling Lies

Following the invasion of the Capitol on January 6, 2021, David French wrote in his Sunday French Press (which everyone should subscribe to) that there are three enabling lies that make “you fertile ground for the activating lie that actually motivates a person to” do things such as what we saw on January 6. The three lies are “America will end if Trump [insert generic Republican] loses,” “the fate of the Church is at stake if Biden wins,” and “the left hates you.” I agree completely that these are lies, or at the very least, exaggerations of reality, but I’ll let you read David for yourself. What I want to do is show that even if those statements are true, Christians have no reason to fear.

The crux of all these statements is the idea that the Church and America are intrinsically tied together and the left (read “all Democrats”) is pursuing the destruction of both. Since this is the case, Christians must fight the left’s attack on the Church by any means necessary because the loss of our sacred right of religious freedom will mean we can no longer practice our faith without suffering consequences. It is this fear that drove a lot of evangelical Christians to overlook Donald Trump’s serious character failings and vote for him in 2016 and 2020.

Now, this isn’t meant to be a “shame on you” post for voting for Donald Trump. I voted for him in 2016 so I understand the real fear that comes with believing that religious freedom will be taken away in this country. I understand the fear of what a Democratic-controlled America looks like being the driving force to vote in favor of anyone that offers the slightest possibility of relief from that dark picture. A dark picture that may very well include the expansion and ease of the legal killing of unborn children. Trust me, I understand.

However, you will notice that I said I voted for Donald Trump in 2016 and not 2020. That’s because my mind changed over the course of four years that voting for a man with such serious character flaws simply to prevent a liberal America was untenable with my witness as a Christian. What precipitated this change? Through the grace of God, I recognized and repented of my fear.

Worst Case Scenario

Very often (too often if I’m being honest) my mind races to imagine the worst case scenario that could occur. While this can very easily lead into despair and nihilism, I have found that in some circumstances it can be a helpful exercise. In fact, this is one way of viewing the book of Job. It is one detailed account of the worst possible scenario in an individual’s earthly life. At the beginning of the Book of Job, we are told that Job lost all of his earthly possessions including all his wealth and children. Furthermore, Job’s situation declined further when Satan struck Job with “loathsome sores” all over his body and his wife told him to “curse God and die.” Needless to say, it is hard to imagine a worst case scenario than that in a person’s earthly life.

With that said, walk with me through the worst case scenario of a “liberal America.” Joe Biden (or another generic Democrat) becomes President and immediately moves to take away tax-exempt status from all religious institutions in America. Private Christian schools are shut down and homeschooling becomes illegal. Soon, getting rid of tax-exempt status isn’t enough and the government shuts down religious institutions declaring all religious practices illegal. Not only that but the government increases the ease and access of abortion using tax dollars to fund it and requires all public schools to teach that gender identity is fluid and being transgender is perfectly fine. On top of it all, the government takes its enforcement of no religious practices serious and actively looks for religious gatherings to shut down and arrest those involved. And, don’t forget the higher taxes.

Whatever I forgot, feel free to mentally add it into the picture I have just painted. That is a world that I do not want to live in. That is a world that I believe we should use every legal means to fight against. We need lawyers who passionately fight cases that infringe upon the First Amendment right of religious freedom, well-funded organizations that lobby against the expansion of abortion, peaceful demonstrations to advocate for what we believe in. Do not hear me saying otherwise. BUT, we do not need to be so afraid of that world that we sacrifice our Christian witness right now by supporting just anyone, regardless of moral character, that offers to protect us from it. We also don’t need to be so afraid that we take up literal arms against the government and forget our call of submission to governing authorities in Romans 13.

You may be thinking how can we not be fearful of that world? We pray and beg God to remind us through His word that He sovereignly reigns and empowers His people to endure whatever trial we face.

Fear Not

To start, it needs to be stated that the Bible never promises us religious freedom. In fact, Christians experienced religious persecution throughout the Bible with no assumption it would end. Look no further than Acts 4 and you will see that the apostles were arrested by the Jewish leaders for “teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.” One chapter later in Acts 5 the apostles were arrested again merely because the Jewish leaders were “filled with jealousy.” In Acts 7, we see the first martyr of the church with the stoning of Stephen overseen by Saul who would soon after be the foremost persecutor of the early Christians.

Outside the book of Acts, Paul wrote his letter to the church at Philippi in prison. In his letter he declared, “I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel.” In his second letter to Timothy, Paul mentioned his “persecutions and sufferings… at Antioch, Iconium, and at Lystra.” This isn’t even to mention the martyrdom stories that have passed down throughout church history such as Peter being crucified upside down. On top of it all, we see in the four gospels our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ being arrested, put on a trial that mocked justice, beaten, ridiculed, humiliated, and ultimately killed for living a life faithful to the Father.

And yet, each and every time the bible depicts the persecution of a righteous Christian it is never followed with fighting back or compromising. Jesus remained silent when he was accused, mocked, and humiliated. Jesus had the power to kill them all and end it but instead he suffered on the cross and said “forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Paul didn’t revolt when he was in jail, kill the prison guards, or even lie to get out of it. He recognized it was God’s sovereign plan and he prioritized preaching the gospel even in chains.

Why brings all of this up? Because, if that worst case scenario, Democrat led America were to become a reality then so be it. That doesn’t deter our mission of glorifying God through the proclamation of the Gospel. That doesn’t deter our mission of caring for the poor and lost mothers that want to abort their children. That doesn’t deter our mission of breaking bread with brothers and sisters and encouraging one another in the faith. Our God is sovereign and He promises to empower us to be faithful regardless of our circumstance.

When we believe every election is a Flight 93 election or “the most important election of our life,” it’s because we are forgetting that wonderful Truth. We end up showing the world that this material world is all that there is worth living for. We feel like we have to compromise on a leader’s moral character just to protect us from the possibility of that worst case scenario. You see, there is no such thing as a Flight 93 election to a Christian because we aren’t deciding between survival or destruction. We, like Paul, are faced with the decision “to live is Christ, to die is gain.” So, brothers and sisters in Christ, fear not but instead let our “manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ” because we know we “can do all things through him who strengthens” us.

God Bless,

Hunter Burnett