We are fast approaching the November 5th US election. I have heard and read concerns and opinions about our candidates for weeks, no, for months. I have publicly predicted that come November 5, the evangelical, Jesus-believing Christian church will once again be divided in a way from which it may never recover. This happened eight years ago with the Supreme Court passing the same-sex marriage bill. After eight years, that personal concern has proven to be a fact. Eight years later, the percentage of evangelical believers who are okay with same-sex marriage has increased rapidly, with some surveys having that percentage as high as in the 60% range.
Whether on the local, state, or federal level, the most concerning aspect of born-again believers should not be who our leaders are but the lack of defending and seeking a Christian worldview. Yes, our leadership is essential—I am not saying it’s not—but our culture’s having a Christian worldview trumps (no pun intended) who is leading.
University Students
I also teach at a Christian university, and I can tell you, in a general sense, university students do not have a Christian worldview. I can also tell you it’s not because they disagree with Christian values and biblical standards. However, they have not had this teaching in their churches. Our younger generation has not been taught what a Christian worldview is. They don’t understand why they should be concerned about abortion versus a woman’s right to choose. They do not understand the sanctity of marriage versus living together before marriage. They don’t understand the value and need to be active in a church and be part of a community.
They also don’t understand the joy of studying—really studying—God’s Word so that they know it in the proper context. They have grown up in a church that doesn’t expect people to bring a Bible to church. They have not grown up in a church that doesn’t preach the need to be salt and light to a dying and dark world. They have been exposed to accepting everyone and accepting any lifestyle. They have been taught that the word tolerance means we have to take everyone and everything regardless of what Scripture commands.
A Courtroom Setting
That is my experience as a university professor. As a pastor, I have been teaching weekly Bible studies on the book of Revelation. The apostle John is called to be a witness and commanded to watch and write all that Jesus reveals. Often in the Old Testament, when God was about to bring judgment upon a people or a nation, He would send a prophet to bring warning, and that was commonly presented via a courtroom-like setting. For example, In Deuteronomy 30:9, God said, “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today.”
In the New Testament, we see the courtroom setting as Paul writes, “Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus…is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us” (Romans 8:33-34).
The Lukewarm Church
Revelation chapter one tells of the things that have happened, chapters two and three are present, and chapters four and forward are times that are yet to come. As Jesus stands in the midst of the churches, which is the current Church Age, He rebukes the lukewarm church. In fact, Jesus does not even go into this church, rather He stands on the outside and says, “I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into him and will dine with him, and he with Me” (Revelation 3:20).
How lukewarm is the modern evangelical Bible-believing Christian church?
Christian researcher George Barna recently released his 2024 American Worldview Inventory to answer that very question. He stated, “More than two-thirds of Americans say they are dissatisfied with how things are going in the country today. Yet few of them pause from their busy schedules long enough to consider that the problems they see are the result of increasing numbers of American adults making decisions based on shifting foundational beliefs and values.” He adds, “The 2024 national survey shows that 66% of adults consider themselves Christians, yet just 4% of all adults and only 6% of the self-identified Christians possess a Biblical worldview (i.e. Biblical Theism).”
Gallup Poll
So, I am not accused of being biased and only seeking Christian resources. I also sought out a recent Gallup poll. This is not a Christian organization, and it does not have a biblical agenda. Gallup found that a record-low 20% of Americans now say the Bible is the literal word of God. This means 80% of believers do not see the Bible as being literal!
This same Gallup poll also found a new high of 29% who say the Bible is a collection of “fables, legends, history and moral precepts recorded by man.” The poll goes on to say, “This marks the first time significantly more Americans have viewed the Bible as not divinely inspired than as the literal word of God.”
The Mayflower Compact
Every year, when the calendar turns to November and plans begin to be made to celebrate Thanksgiving, I always find a way to blend in the truth and purpose of the Mayflower Compact. It is common at both the university level and in the church service for many people to be unfamiliar with the contents and purpose of this document. Some know this document exists, but only some understand its meaning and why it was signed. Written and signed on the lid of a chest, the Mayflower Compact was our country’s first governing document.
On November 11, 1620, the Mayflower Compact was signed aboard the ship while it was still at sea before it reached land. It’s important to acknowledge before the pilgrims stepped onto American soil that these are the beliefs, values, and commitments these pioneers put in writing that all they did going forth would be “for the Glory of God, and Advancement of the Christian Faith.”
God’s Literal Word
As the next few days wind down and the tension of the election grows stronger, I hope that somehow, somewhere, the Church wakes up and we once again seek to acknowledge the Bible as God’s literal word. We see the 6% of the self-identified Christians who possess a biblical worldview increase past the double figure mark, and we reinstate the same desire that the pilgrims had in November of 1620 and seek to be a people who focus on “the Glory of God and Advancement of the Christian Faith.”
If these things do not begin to happen, does it really matter who wins on November 5? If these things do not transpire, what will the values and beliefs of the next generation of university students be?
