Standing for a Cause Is Not Enough

To the young people who want to start new TPUSA chapters, there is something essential you must address first.

As I listened to the Charlie Kirk memorial, I didn’t expect it to come from Tucker Carlson. I was thinking it– and I hoped someone would say it. Here is what he said:

Politics, at its core, is a process of critiquing other people and getting them to change. Christianity—the gospel message, the message of Jesus—begins with repentance. Christianity calls upon you to change.

Our core prayer, given to us by Jesus—the Lord’s Prayer—demands that we forgive other people, but preceding that is a request for our forgiveness. In other words, forgive our sins, meditate on what we’ve done wrong, how we’ve fallen short, and then it becomes possible to forgive other people. That is a call to change our hearts from Jesus, and that is the only way forward…

The only change that matters is when we repent of our sins. We. Me. A recognition that the real problem is me and how fallen I am!”

I don’t claim to fully understand everything Tucker Carlson meant, but I do know this: the problem in our country is not political. Politics is merely a symptom—a horrific consequence of unbiblical thinking about ourselves and the world. This kind of thinking leads not only to national destruction but also to eternal destruction.

The unbiblical mindset dominating our culture is the delusion that everyone else is the reason for my problems. It’s at the core of racism and the transgender issue. It demands that everyone see the world through my eyes, affirm my feelings and perceptions, and conform to my wishes. This mindset is just as toxic for conservatives as it is for liberals.

There is an entire generation of young people fed up with the lies that have infested our public square over the last 50 years. But unless they get the core issues right, all that will happen is a substitution of one abusive way of thinking for another.

It starts with repentance.

Before the theologians jump in, let me clarify what I mean. Repentance is not a good work. It’s not about changing the way I live—though life change will inevitably result from true repentance. People can achieve superficial life change without it. Turning over a new leaf without true surrender to the truth of God’s Word accomplishes nothing of lasting value.

The Greek word at the heart of biblical repentance refers to a change in the way we think. Biblical repentance means abandoning the lies we believe about ourselves and the world, and humbly accepting what God says about us and His solution to our sin problem.

Tucker Carlson is right: repentance starts with admitting that the real problem is me. That statement may enrage some readers.

“You don’t know what’s in my heart. You don’t know what people have done to me!” they might say. And they’re right—I don’t. I haven’t experienced it. But God does. He created you, and He says your major problem (and mine) is that you’ve decided you know better than Him and have chosen your own way rather than submitting to Him.

All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way.” —Isaiah 53:6

Young people of America—do not try to change our nation unless you let God change you first!

The foundation of a relationship with God is the admission that I am evil. I am a sinner. I have fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). No one stands personally righteous before God (Romans 3:10). There are no good deeds I can do to resolve that problem (Ephesians 2:8–9).

Abandoning unbiblical teaching and turning in faith to receive the grace offered through Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross is the foundation of a relationship with God. It transforms the way I view everything else in the world.

Be careful.

This relationship with God must be founded on a true, biblically based understanding of Jesus Christ. Turning Point USA is not the answer—Jesus is.

It’s okay to be involved in a political organization of co-belligerents, but that doesn’t mean all views of Christ or salvation are acceptable to God. I’m not nitpicking here. If you don’t believe that Jesus is the Savior, if you don’t see Him as the Christ and all that entails, if you don’t accept that He was raised from the dead, then you are not placing your faith in the same Christ the Bible proclaims.

The new Turning Point USA slate of campus speakers includes a Mormon (Glenn Beck), a Catholic (Michael Knowles), and a Hindu (Vivek Ramaswamy). I understand how this group of speakers communicates an openness and gets them more access.  But we also need to be aware that Mormonism denies the nature of Jesus as God in the flesh. Catholic theology teaches salvation by works through the organized Church. Hinduism doesn’t even recognize the God of the Bible. These speakers may expertly articulate how their faith informs their conservative politics—and there’s nothing wrong with that. We’re glad they’re doing it. TPUSA is a political action group that allows its representatives to speak openly about their faith, it is not a Christian evangelistic endeavor.

Politics is minor compared to biblical faith in Jesus Christ.

Political transformation is one way our faith expresses itself in the mainstream of life, but politics is not the goal. Being in a right relationship with God and submitting to Him is not just the most important thing—it’s the only thing that truly matters.

Start with biblical repentance—God first, His way, based on His truth. Then consider everything else.

If you want to know how to do that, let us show you—not from our own opinions, but based on the truth of God’s Word. Send a reply to this article, and we’ll help you get started.

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Audio version of this article here