Did Christendom gain a great victory in the Presidential election of 2016? Some think so. Others are not so sure. Many believed the election to be a turning point, even a final chance for the nation to return to its Christian roots. The election is over and the favored candidate won. Now what? What is different for the church in the post-election period?

Not much.

The American church was not and is not persecuted

Notwithstanding a few rare and extreme cases, the government has maintained a hands-off policy toward the church. Some pseudo-church organizations have been discomforted but the church for which Jesus died has been left alone. The mission of the church is not to place manger scenes in the courthouse square nor to place copies of the 10 Commandments in public places. The mission of the church is to save souls (Luke 19:10; Mark 16:15, 16).

Ironically, the greatest church growth occurred during the 1^st century when both the government of Israel (secular and theological) and the government of Rome opposed the church. The original Christians would be surprised at our weak evangelism and thin skin in the present day. We recoil and sniffle at the slightest sarcastic remark while they faced stoning, burning and unspeakable torture for their beliefs. As the writer of Hebrews remarked, “In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood” (Hebrews 12:4).

Christians must not depend on the government to do our work

The single brightest spot in the election is the not yet fulfilled promises concerning the United States Supreme Court. If the president-elect does what he has promised, we may see more protection of the unborn through a rolling back of heinous rulings allowing abortion. But even so, the ultimate battle is in the heart of the woman making such a choice. The Supreme Court has little sway in the heart of a woman struggling with a heartbreaking decision. But Jesus changes hearts and lives (Matthew 15:8, 18, 19; 22:37; John 7:38; Acts 8:22; Romans 2:29; 5:5; Galatians 4:6).

O that we would approach our Christian duties with the same fervor as we approached the election. What if we were as passionate about our Lord as we were of our candidate?

We have great work to do. We must be warriors in the Kingdom of Christ. To borrow from Paul, let us fight the good fight ourselves and not expect help from the other government.

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Bryant Evans may be reached at bryant at preachersstudyblog.com. You can follow Bryant on Twitter @J_Bryant_Evans.