our response to the January 6 riot at our nation’s capitol

Flags proclaiming the name and work of Jesus were seen among the crowd protesting the Electoral College certification on January 6, 2021. Part of that crowd turned the protest into a violent insurrection. It is not surprising, then, that a watching world wonders what Jesus’ people think of the attack on our nation’s capital. The pastor and deacons of Hillcrest Church offer this statement.

We deplore the violent insurrection that took place in our nation’s capital on January 6. While members of our church family may differ on the integrity of the November 2020 election, we speak with one voice when it comes to the integrity of the gospel.

Therefore, we reject the following things that betray the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Racism. Among the insurrectionists were white supremacists. We reject their claims and their goals. Christians of every race are “in one body through the cross by which he put the hostility to death” (Ephesians 2:16, CSB). Therefore, any claim of racial superiority denies this gospel truth. Christians may differ on the solutions to racial strife in our world, but we are not indifferent to the goal. Since one reason Jesus willingly endured the cross was to eliminate ethnic strife and “put the hostility to death,” we, therefore, commit to our own hard and sacrificial work toward that goal in imitation of him.

Speculations. Among the insurrectionists were those promoting the claims of QAnon* and other radical conspiracy theorists. We will not “pay attention to myths” which “promote empty speculations rather than God’s plan, which operates by faith” (1 Timothy 1:3-6, CSB). We will not contribute to the spread of unfounded speculations but instead, as gospel witnesses, we will always strive to set forth “an open display of the truth” (2 Corinthians 4:2, CSB).

Anarchy. In sharp contrast to the madness of Wednesday’s insurrection, the gospel creates people who “submit to the governing authorities, since there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are instituted by God. So then, the one who resists the authority is opposing God’s command, and those who oppose it will bring judgment on themselves” (Romans 12:1-2, CSB). Only when an earthly government requires Christians to violate the dictates of our unique faith will we invoke the words of Simon Peter: “We must obey God rather than people” (Acts 5:29, CSB). Instead of engaging in insurrection, we will lift up “petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings…for kings and all those who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity” (1 Timothy 2:1-2, CSB).

To be sure that we make clear “the salvation we share,” we sometimes have to “contend for the faith that was delivered to the saints” (Jude 1:3, CSB). We know such times are destined to come when “people will be…unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, without love for what is good, traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to the form of godliness but denying its power” (2 Timothy 3:1-5). We believe this characterizes those who engaged in the insurrection on January 6, 2021. Paul ends the warning in these verses by saying: “Avoid these people.” As followers of Christ and for the sake of the gospel, we must and we will.

* For more information about QAnon and its danger to Christian witness, see Joe Carter, “The FAQs: What Christians Should Know About QAnon.” Find it online at https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/the-faqs-what-christians-should-know-about-qanon/