Evangelicals & Identity

And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. Joshua 24:15

For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. Colossian 3:3

Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. John 4:34

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. Psalm 139:13

And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. Job 1:21

Therefore, a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. Genesis 2:24

Just as I was flummoxed in 2008, I am experiencing the same emotional and spiritual angst in 2024. Kamala Harris is just a stone’s throw away from being elected the first Afro-American female president in these United States of America. She will do so without any support or celebration from me. I could not and would not join the celebration, as much as I might have wanted to from a purely ethnic sense, of Barack Obama’s candidacy in 2008, and nothing has changed with the impending Harris candidacy.

You see, my chief identity marker, with no close second, is my identity with Jesus Christ of Nazareth. My unwavering and solemn declaration is much more than what can be rightly suited for a bumper sticker. Instead, it is my meat and drink, just as it was Jesus’ meat and drink to do the will of His Father and complete His work.

Yet, sadly, such dogged devotion is not demonstrated by many on the various social media platforms. They are amuck with I Stand with Her declarations as well as legions of members of the Divine Nine, a compilation of the nine historic Greek organizations, especially the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. members pledging their time, money, and energy to get Kamala Harris elected as the forty-seventh President of the United States.

Literally overnight, thousands, if not tens of thousands, men and women jumped on Zoom calls to pledge their undying support to get Vice-President Harris elected. They were a part of the record eighty-seven million dollars raised by the Harris campaign.

The men's coalition, led by Roland Martin, an ordained minister and member of my fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha, enthusiastically and unabashedly pledged their support, all apparently without the ability to blush, considering Harris would be, without dispute, the most progressive abortion president in United States history.

Many professing Christ-followers heartily boasted about their attendance and participation in the Zoom call on their Facebook accounts. Several men I know to be pastors proudly registered their support for the Harris candidacy. A candidacy that actively rebels against God’s Word in several significant ways in no uncertain terms.

Facebook is awash with calls to execute your Black Job and ensure you vote on November 5th. Calls for all young people who will be old enough to vote to make sure they get registered, and since we know most AAs vote Democratic, this is nothing more than a call to get out the Harris vote call to arms.

Editor’s note: Harris’ subsequent choice for Vice-President, Tim Walz, has an equally, if not more, progressive stance toward abortion. As Governor of Minnesota, Tim Walz signed into law the right to abort a fetus in the third trimester. 

I faced a similar moral quandary when Raphael Warnock, a member of my dear fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., ran for the vacant Senate seat in Georgia. Although there was never the possibility of me being able to cast a ballot for Brother Warnock as I am not a Georgia resident, I nonetheless made it crystal clear to those in my sphere of influence that I found the policies of Brother Warnock morally repugnant and not consistent with those who held to a commitment of biblical orthodoxy.

I took fallout that still resonates to this day from people I had considered my friend, but so be the cost of authentic discipleship, which Jesus Christ told prospective followers upfront would be the case if they choose to follow after Him.

My bewilderment today is identical to my bewilderment back in 2008. How could it be that people who claim to cherish and yield to the Word of God can consciously and so brazenly align politically with the very people who snub their noses at the explicit teachings of God’s Word?

How can so many of the same people who love to post on their social media accounts about their church attendance and wax oh so eloquently about their Pastor’s powerful sermon not connect the dots, which are so easy to connect?

Does not the Bible make abundantly clear that all life comes from God and God alone (Job 1:21)?

Does not the Bible make abundantly clear that God regards life in the womb as life created expressly in His image, even when the subsequently formed parts are not yet even known scientifically or to the naked eye (Psalm 139:13)?

Does not the Bible make abundantly clear in both the Old & New Testaments that marriage is

apolitico and can only be the union of one man and one woman, and that anything contrary is against God’s Word AND nature Genesis 2:24 & Matthew 19:5-6?

What is meant by the term apolitico is simply that the institution of marriage does not derive its authority from man or government. Just as the American government does not convey life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness to its citizens, it can only recognize the presence of God-given rights.

There is a clear divide between the Democratic and Republican parties, so we must dispense with the simplistic notion that no party is the Party of Jesus Christ; in one sense, that is true as all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God.

Yet, 

It still remains that one and only one party affirms the right to abortion.

It still remains that one and only one party affirms the right to same-sex marriage

It still remains that one and only one party affirms the right to gender fluidity

I would caution against anyone equating my position with the naive supposition that there are no vexing problems with the Republican Party in 2024. I have made crystal clear that I will not be casting a ballot for Donald J. Trump during this election. I did not vote for him in 2016. I reluctantly voted for him in 2020.

None of these three times can I be dogmatically sure I was correct in whatever route I took. Heaven and eternity will be my only judge, but one thing I do know is that even a casual, surface-level reading and understanding of the Bible makes it impossible to cast a ballot for a Democratic candidate based solely on their godless policies, ideology, and worldview.

I adjure you, the professing Evangelical, to vehemently reject the notion that our votes do not matter in the final analysis. Of course, our vote matters, and God will hold all of us accountable for the political alliances we make.

Accordingly, I do not predicate my vote on ethnic or fraternal considerations. I predicate my vote on biblical and moral considerations. Thankfully, in most elections, I can find an acceptable Republican candidate.

Because my fellow Conservatives have chosen to cast their lot with DJT, I will, with fear and trembling, sit this one out. I rest in the knowledge that the very person that God has already ordained will win the election. God is the only vote that matters when it is all said and done.

One thing I know for certain is the Democratic Party does not have the mind of God and does not do so in spectacular fashion. I am still waiting for someone to make it make sense to me. Allegations that Donald J. Trump is a racist, even if true, and both you and I have no legitimate way to substantiate such an accusation would only mean both candidates are not worthy of our support.

I plead with all of my fellow professing Evangelicals, especially those I know personally and love dearly, to come out from the pagan, God-hating Democratic Party before it is too late, and one day very soon; it will indeed be said too late.

As always, let me know what you think. Until then, keep your hands to the plow and seek to serve for an Audience of One.

With fear and trembling,

Ricky V. Kyles Sr. DEd.Min