| Like you, I was deeply saddened by the outcome of Ohio’s Issue 1 on November 7. The disregard for human life that has permeated our culture is almost incomprehensible. As we regroup—reminding ourselves that the battle is the Lord’s—I share with you the words of Board member Bob Schneider, inspired by our recent election results.
Lessons From Losing
Robert Schneider
November, 2023
“And there were men of lssachar who understood the times and knew what Israel should do.”
I Chron. 12:32
Today, more than ever, we need people like the men of lssachar who understand the times we face in this culture, and who know what we should do. We need people of deep biblical knowledge and insight who also know how to exegete culture and navigate what it means to be a biblical Christian and a faithful church in times of opposition. The combination of devaluing life through abortion, infanticide and euthanasia, and the sexual revolution’s attack on marriage and promotion of the LGBT agenda has created challenges that the church must address or remain irrelevant. Today I want to walk us through several perspectives that I think can help us make sense of what happened with the abortion disaster we just experienced.
Biblical Perspective
Yes, God is sovereign and still on the throne. But sovereignty is not theological determinism. God didn’t cause this loss any more than He caused the Holocaust or the attack by Hamas. He gave man free will and we now live in a fallen world where people are abused, wars are fought and babies get aborted. God is in control of the final story of history, but Satan has been given much latitude and is called the god of this world. (II Cor. 4:4; Jn. 8:44; 12:31) The Kingdom of God is both now and not yet. We are part of the Kingdom as followers of King Jesus, but His ultimate reign and defeat of evil is still in the future. In the meantime, we are called to be salt and light (Matt. 5:13,14) to do justice
(Micah 6:8) and to rescue those being led to death (Pro. 24:11).
Historical Perspective
Since the beginning of the Church, we have always been a minority. The experience of having a friendly government has been rare. Opposition or persecution has been the norm, not the exception.
Great evil has often brought opportunity for great courage and action. For example:
- Early Christians rescuing abandoned babies and helping with plagues
- Wilberforce spending his whole life fighting slavery
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer mobilizing the Church against Hitler & antisemitism
National Perspective
Our country is far more secular and post-Christian than we feared. We are more of a minority than we thought, especially on abortion. Most institutions (media, newspapers, television, internet, corporations, government) do not share our values and are often opposed. The sexual revolution has won (morality, gay agenda, abortion, etc). Abortion has become a national rallying point for those opposed to a Christian worldview. In the future, abortion battles will have to be fought state by state unless the United States congress would declare the unborn a person under the 14th amendment.
Strategic Perspective: How Should We Respond
Face the facts and admit we lost. Refuse to live in denial. Recognize we have not been very good at convincing our culture. Learn how better to promote biblical values and translate them into public policy. Learn how to reach secular people (Lk. 16:8) Admit that the Church failed badly in this election. We didn’t take it seriously enough and speak out strongly enough. Surveys show 38% (4 million+ people) go to church regularly in Ohio. We lost by about 500,000 votes. Christians could have easily made the difference. The Church needs to speak boldly, clearly and repeatedly on clear moral issues. It needs to educate and mobilize its people to be effective Christian citizens, living out their faith in the public square. We need to be willing to cooperate with other faiths on common goals.
There may be a time for civil disobedience coming. The Scriptures and history are full of examples of times when God’s people had to choose to obey God rather than man.
- Midwives and Moses (Exo. 1:15-17)
- Daniel and his friends {Dan. 3 and 6)
- Apostles (Acts 4:19; 5:29)
As well as Corrie Ten Boom, Bonhoeffer, and many others. We need to pray more frequently, intelligently and strategically about all of the sanctity of life issues. |
