A Christian Response to the 2026 Midterms
Last week, as the results came in from the 2026 midterms, we saw conservatives take a serious beating. States in which Republicans expected to win with ease were lost decisively. Democrats will now have a significant majority in both houses of Congress and after years of warning that Texas could “turn blue,” it seemingly did. It didn’t take long for reactions online to roll in with some folks shouting, “The sky is falling!” and others talking like none of this matters anyway because… you know… Jesus. So, how should Christians feel about all of this?
Fear vs. Concern
I want to suggest that Christians seek to respond to what has just happened with very real concern, appreciating the gravity of the situation, without giving in to fear. For a full treatment of fear, I highly recommend Matthew Everhardt’s book Bold as a Lion. For now, I will simply say that fear almost never produces the godly action that God expects from us. There are all kinds of reasons why fear is not the appropriate response God’s people, and one of them is that we have seen this cycle before.
In this election, the dust seems to be settling in such a way that Democrats will have gained 5 Governor Seats, 7 Senate Seats, and 30 House Seats. That is a very large swing, but Christians should remember this isn’t the first time such a radical swing has occurred. Here is a chart of the major party swings that have occurred in the last 32 years.
ELECTION | PARTY WINNING | HOUSE SEATS | SENATE SEATS |
1994 | Republicans | +54 | +8 |
2006 | Democrats | +31 | +6 |
2010 | Republicans | +64 | +6 |
2018 | Democrats | +41 | -2 |
2022 | Republicans | +10 | 0 |
2026 | Democrats | ~30 | ~7 |
Please understand, I’m not showing you this chart because our hope should be in trends, votes, or political history. Our hope is in the Lord and King of History. He is our hope. My aim in offering this chart is to show that, even on a human level, things are rarely as bleak as they seem. More importantly, God is working out a plan to “reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.” This plan has not been thwarted by an election. Still, this chart does demonstrate a pattern of volatility. How do Christians respond to such volatility and the current rise of a party that is hostile to the Church and its biblical values?
The two words, fear and concern, are not the same. The “Good Samaritan” did not operate out of fear when he saw the beaten man, but concern. David did not allow fear to drive his actions in the presence of Goliath. He responded out of concern for God’s honor and the well-being of his nation. After Pharoah’s dream about fat and thin cows, Joseph did not operate out of fear, but concern. In the garden, when Jesus was shedding drops of blood, he was not afraid of the Father's plan being thwarted by the Demo… I mean Jews. He was concerned about the pain that was coming during this temporal life. That pain certainly included himself and all he would endure on the cross. It also included concern for his disciples and their fragile hearts while he was in the grave.
Fear could have kept David from the battlefield. Fear nearly kept Moses from obeying God’s call at the burning bush. Gideon, same story. Fear actually did stop Abraham from being honest about Sarah being his wife. It stopped the Israelites from entering the Promised Land when they first arrived. Fear should never drive our actions, however, concern must! All over the Bible, we see people exercising godly concern that drives faithful action.
My social media feed is blowing up right now with Christians reminding each other that Jesus is on his throne. Praise God for this. We must never forget this. It is the ground on which we can stand, that does not move like shifting sand. Unfortunately, what many also seem to be communicating, amidst this biblical message, is the notion that because Jesus is on his throne, we shouldn’t be concerned about political matters. We absolutely should, because in this temporal life few things do more harm to us and our neighbors than bad politics. Bad politics delay justice and invite crime. Bad politics brainwash our children into satanic queer theory. Bad politics teach our college students to view people based on their skin color. Bad politics lead to dangers to the mind, body, and soul!
Repentance
Remember this, God is on His throne; Amen! But that does not mean that the King on that throne is not angry! He is angry with Democrats. He is angry with Republicans. He is angry with Christians who saw themselves as too “pious” to get out and vote in a biblical way. How do I know this? Because scripture commands rulers and nations to submit to Him and to acknowledge Him. Jesus said, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” (Matt. 22:21) In case you missed it, that means everything. As Abraham Kuyper said, “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!” Additionally, all over the Psalms we see God asserting his dominion over the nations with words like,
· “Serve the Lord with fear” (Ps. 2:11)
· “The wicked return to Sheol, all the nations that forget God” (Ps. 9:17)
· “Dominion belongs to the Lord and he rules over the nations” (Ps. 22:28)
· “God reigns over the nations; God is seated on his holy throne” (Ps. 47:8)
· “May he rule from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth. May the desert tribes bow before him and his enemies lick the dust. May the kings of Tarshish and of distant shores bring tribute to him. May the kings of Sheba and Seba present him gifts. May all kings bow down to him and all nations serve him” (Ps. 72:8-11).
Now, none of these say that Christians must vote. Yet, voting is the means by which we bring him tribute, and in a nation where we get a say in our government (to the extent that we do) that say or vote is commanded to be offered as a tribute to Christ. The Preamble to our Constitution reads, “We the People…” In a democratically elected Republic, WE govern our own nation to a significant extent through our votes or lack thereof. WE the People have a duty before God to acknowledge Him and to contribute toward righteous governance.
If you have participated in the apathy that leads to neglect of your duty to seek your neighbor’s well-being, confess this to Jesus Christ and seek his forgiveness. I’m not saying you had to vote Republican all the way down your ballot. There are times when it is appropriate to vote for a third party. If you voted for a Democrat, you sinned and need to repent of supporting a Satanic agenda that does violence to the cause of Christ. If you chose to sit out the voting process entirely because you saw one of the races as being a lose-lose situation, then you missed the opportunity and obligation to vote on moral issues such as abortion expansion and election integrity issues (both were on the ballots in many states this year). Confess this to Christ and seek the forgiveness He stands ready to offer!
God is angry with the way sin is thriving in our nation and how little Christians are doing about this. He commands an evangelistic response AND He commands a political response. I, for one, intend to keep sharing the gospel in the pulpit, the gym and the coffee shop. I also intend to apply to fill the vacancy in my local school board. Both the private and public aspects are part of exercising biblical concern and love for our neighbors (Matt. 22:39). Both aspects are part of obeying Christ, which He said was what we would do if we love Him (John 14:15). This will look different for every person, but God does call all of us to action. Do not give in to fear. Do not give in to apathy. Be confident that he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. In this confidence, apply yourself to loving your neighbor and disrupting the kingdom of darkness. In this confidence, go forth and terrify the devil!
Ken Hansen (MDiv, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is a pastor at Silver Hills Church in Carson City, NV. He is husband to Angela and father of four.
Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of other contributors on this site.
Comments