Christians were deeply disheartened recently when a critical culture war battle left religious liberty bleeding out while sexual perversion celebrated, waving its rainbow flag. As if losing this vote were not bad enough, a frightening omen of dark days ahead, the perception has been that the battle was lost precisely because 12 Republican senators defected to the other side. Had these 12 had a sprinkling of understanding of what the Constitution says, had they bothered to read the Bill of Rights and specifically the 10th Amendment, had they the least desire to be in submission to the Word of God, had they any wish to honor the wishes of those who voted them into office, they would have voted differently. So why did they vote as they did?
Because they haven’t a sprinkling of understanding of what the Constitution says, haven’t read the Bill of Rights and specifically the 10th Amendment, have zero desire to be in submission to the Word of God and do not wish to honor the wishes of those who voted them into office. Or, it could be because they are politicians. It could be that they are, just like the rest of those who voted for this bill, self-interested liars who never saw a parade they couldn’t get in front of.
The passing of this bill, while disappointing, is certainly not a surprise to me. The votes of the 12 Republicans, on the other hand isn’t disappointing, because it is just what I would expect of Republican politicians. There are, in my judgment, a precious few statesmen inside the beltway that are fighting the good fight. I’m willing to concede that every one of those is a Republican. What we need to learn is that every Republican is not one of those.
Politically aware Christian conservatives are, of course, aware of the existence of “rinos,” Republicans in name only. These are well-connected, establishment politicians like Liz Cheney. They have no ideological grounding and will embrace whatever position they believe will keep them in power. They question is, which is more rare, Republican statesmen or rinos? Those shocked by this vote likely think the rinos are more rare. Those not shocked are not shocked precisely because we already knew that the Republican party, while less putrescent than the other party, is stinking up the fridge.
That it is abundantly clear that the Republicans will not save us, this doesn’t, of course, open the door for supporting the death party. Instead it means we need to stop waving their flag. The Republicans are not the team of conservative Christians. They are part and parcel of the problem. They are the establishment that will soon be treating we who believe in marriage like those who believe only whites should rule. They are not our friends. We need to watch our backs. They didn’t betray us, nor what they stand for. They were never for us and they stand for nothing.
Jesus changes everything. Political engagement is sound, biblical, necessary. Lesson one, however is this- you can’t win a battle aligned with the enemy. The enemy is not the Democratic party, but politicians who won’t stand for the unborn, who won’t commit to marriage.
Your timing on this article is spot on. The “falling away” of the church in America is quickly catching up with Europe and Canada. Soon, there will be more here that identify as “Non Religious”, though there are many more that call themselves, “Christians” that are little more than “Christian in name only.” Kind of like the “RINOS”. It seems the drop off accelerated with COVID and has gone down hill from there. A friend of mine tells me that pre-COVID, his church had 800 members. Today, that number is around 300. I’m assuming that once the persecution starts, those numbers will fall dramatically. God is winnowing the chaff from the wheat and He is still on throne. Revival seems to come with pain and I suspect that is where we are today. Great commentary, as always!