Politics cannot change who is saved

“Close don’t count in baseball. Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.”

That was said by baseball manager Frank Robinson in 1973. Not long after that, while I was in college and throwing water balloons through open windows into girls’ dorms was fun (more fun if there was a screen), we modified the last sentence to, “Close only counts in horseshoes, hand grenades and water balloons.”

We’ve heard almost all summer the presidential election would be close and that the loser might have the greater popular vote but lose due to the outcome of the electoral vote, for which many Americans have been thankful in the past.

Election Day was yesterday, and we may still not know the outcome.

Robinson was right that close doesn’t matter in baseball: Either you were safe or not, regardless of how close the call was, and a one-run lead at the end of the game still makes the other team the loser.

One thing we can be certain of regarding the election is God is the one who determines the outcomes and raises up the leaders he wants us to have, even guiding the hearts of the voters to select his choice (Acts 1:15-26; Romans 13:1; Daniel 2:20-22, 36-45; 4:34-37). The outcome of the election might be a reward for righteousness or a wakeup call against America’s unrighteousness (2 Kings 21:10-15).

When it comes to close calls, we should all consider our salvation a close call because we’ll all likely have a smoky smell at the judgment (1 Corinthians 3:10-15; Isaiah 64:6; Jude 1:20-23). That said, 1 John gives us a lot of hope about the assurance about our salvation and God’s grace that gets us there (Titus 2:11-14; 1 John 5:14).

First, Christians are promised if we try to please God throughout our lives, Jesus’ blood will continue to cleanse us as long as we recognize we still are sinners (Acts 2:38-39; 1 John 1:5-9; 3:1-10; Revelation 2:10; Isaiah 59:1-2).

Because of this, no matter what we face, we have the assurance our hope for eternal life will come about (Galatians 3:26-29: 4:6-7; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9-17; 5:1-5; 1 John 5:1-13).

Pray for whoever got elected that he or she will rely on the wisdom from God to make decisions so we can lead peaceful and quiet lives as Americans and as Christians (1 Timothy 2:1-4; 1 John 5:14; James 1:5-8; 3:13-18).

Then live a peaceful and quiet life anyway so others can see our example and be drawn to God, which will make America’s citizens more peaceful toward each other (1 Peter 2:11-12; 3:13-16). In this way, we’ll make our calling and election certain with no concern about our salvation (2 Peter 1:3-11; 3:17-18).

Remember, when it comes to heaven, no matter how much like smoke we smell, we’re either saved or not, and politics cannot change that unless we let them (Romans 11:1-5; Ezra 9:5-8)!

Leonard Lauriault is a member of the Church of Christ in Logan who writes about faith for the Quay County Sun. Contact him at [email protected].