Posted on 01/28/2018 7:05:57 AM PST by Kaslin
I was scheduled to be on CNN this week to debate another commentator about evangelicals and President Trump, but due to breaking news, the debate was cancelled. Had I been on the air, I planned to make this point: With all respect to our president, and with my appreciation for the good things he has done, he did not die for my sins, and I have not staked my soul’s salvation on his reputation. That distinction belongs to Jesus the Messiah, and to Jesus alone.
Why the need to state something that is so totally self-evident?
It’s because evangelicals are being judged on the character and accomplishments of our president rather than on the character and accomplishments of our Lord, hence the need to remind a watching world that there is only one Savior, and His name is not Trump.
Unfortunately, in large part due to the media’s anti-Trump frenzy, if you dared to vote for Trump, let alone speak a positive word of support on his behalf, you are considered complicit in his every failing, be it an adulterous affair in his past or an inappropriate tweet in the present. Wherever Trump is guilty (or perceived to be guilty), you are guilty. And if you dared endorse him, you have committed the unpardonable sin.
One of my ministry school grads was having a conversation with a stranger while they waited in line at an event. The conversation turned spiritual, and my former student began to share his faith. The stranger asked him, “Did you vote for Trump?” When he said yes, the man refused to talk anymore. Jesus was not the issue; Trump was.
A Christian woman told me that a close family member is no longer open to hear about Jesus because she voted for Trump. The conduct and character of this Christian woman no longer matter. The message of redemption through the cross does not matter. All that matters is that this family member perceives Trump to be a dangerous buffoon, and anyone who voted for him cannot be taken seriously.
May I suggest that, at least in part, this is a demonic attempt to turn people away from the Lord? May I suggest that our message has never been tethered to a politician? May I suggest that we fight against this aggressively, not by defending Trump but rather by asking more basic questions, such as: “If you were starving and I offered you free, healthy food, would you ask if I voted for Trump before you accepted it? If you were drowning and I reached out my hand to save you, would you choose to drown if you knew that I had voted for Trump?”
The point is that the gospel message states that people are perishing without Jesus, but through Him we can freely offer salvation. This is good news regardless of who we voted for. It saves the lost whether we who bring the message are Republicans or Democrats. We must proclaim this without fear and shame.
You might say, “But your analogies are not precise. Because you voted for Trump, we question your moral judgment, because of which we question your message.”
I’m quite aware of that objection, and that’s why I used the examples I did.
The issue here is one of eternal life and death, of salvation or damnation, which means it’s even more pressing than the issue of starving or drowning. If you are guilty in God’s sight and worthy of His judgment, and we have a message of eternal forgiveness and pardon, does it really matter who we voted for?
I agree that some evangelicals have so visibly hitched themselves to Trump and/or the Republican Party that we have compromised our integrity, as if political power was of greater importance to us than serving a lost and hurting world. We alone are to blame for this, and we alone can fix this. I do not minimize this for a moment.
At the same time, the very liberals who thrash us daily for our political affiliation as followers of Jesus had no problem with Christian support of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, despite their support of the slaughter of the unborn and despite their largely ignoring the Christians genocide in the Middle East. Why no shrill cries of hypocrisy? Why no protest marches in the streets? Why no one saying, “If you voted for Obama (or Hillary), I won’t listen to your gospel message?”
For me, the solution is simple. When asked how I voted, I’m happy to say, “I voted for Donald Trump, but I did so with hope mixed with reservation. That’s why, on some days I’m tremendously proud of him while on other days, I cringe. But given the choice of Hillary or Trump, I’m glad I voted for him. At the same time, I find no need to defend him when he falls short, nor am I presenting him as a model Christian. That’s also why I pray for him.”
If I’m dealing with an honest, thinking human being, I don’t see how it can be viewed as a hindrance to the gospel. That’s why I’m not going to accept my vote for Trump as a conversation ender. I’ll do my best to turn it into a conversation starter, one that quickly turns from our president to our Savior. He’s the only one I want to proclaim.
The author must surely understand that we are all flawed.
And to hold our flaws against us is good for finishing school and teaching manners to a child - but if we were held to the standards that the President is held to we would go live in a cave.
Trump is a good man. He’s not perfect. He’s gone to confession and has been baptized. He’s abrasive, he’s quick to comment and he’s not a nice man. But Jesus loves him as much as He loves any of us.
I have a client who is an absolute nightmare to be with. He’s like being stuck in an elevator with a running woodchipper with all of the safeties removed. Brash doesn’t begin to describe him. He’s a millionaire that simply sh!ts all over anyone else while he vapes. And he vapes in my office after repeated requests not to.
But he pays his bills and takes my advice so I respect him as one of my best clients.
This sounds like a solution in need of a problem.
The problem is not that someone voted for Donald Trump. It is that Satan has so corrupted some people that speaking of Christ and God, separate from politics, is now disallowed, because Satan insists these political issues supersede God.
WTF? Sorry but this is plain nutty and why average folks think that Christians are insane.
Sorry, this is way out there and it is difficult to follow. Maybe the author chose to take a circuitous route to his point. Whatever.
A lot of American blood and treasure has been wasted pursuing globalist, socialist and crony capitalist goals. If Trump can get the behemouth Federal juggernaut under control and turn it back to serving the American people, that is enough for one man's honor and reputation enough to put him in the class with our founding fathers.
Thanks for posting.
Perhaps it would do to say that “I worship Jesus as my Lord and Savior; and I voted for Trump for 2 reasons: to reduce the size of the Federal government which has become overbearing and abusive, and because he is not Hillary Clinton.
Interesting. A vote for Trump shows you are a bad person, but a vote for Hillery shows you are a good person.
I suspect the author is a little squeamish about Trump and obsessed with the fact that MAGA definitely does not make American moral again. I voted for Trump because he’s a good man and won’t let the Democrats turn America into a shithole. Mostly though he respects the Constitution and the rule of law. Not just respect, but reverence. And Trump recognizes and often states that the rights in the Bill of Rights and God-given.
“He’s abrasive, he’s quick to comment and he’s not a nice man.”
God does not call us to be ‘nice’, but to be good.
Plus I would argue that for anyone to rise to any reasonable high level in NYC has to be brash and willing to go to the mat with anyone who calls him there (although he intelligently picks and chooses with whom he locks horns with) - no one’s going to change The Donald. Not at this stage of the game.
Frankly, this country is fortunate that DJT is not keen on being ‘nice’.
Setting all that aside, Trump provided salvation from the real here and now hell of hillary clinton
“...he’s not a nice man...”
“Nice” doesn’t beat the democrat “Make America A Mess” agenda.
Dubya was “nice”, and the uniparty apparatchiks destroyed him. “Nice” is not what we need right now.
We elected a street fighter to help us take our country back.
You want nice, elect a Preacher.
I don't recall EVER having heard ANYONE say that he did or that you should, surely not from Trump.
OTOH, I've heard more than enough of the "Black Jesus" and 0 being "sort of a god" to last a lifetime.
Why is this an issue now?
Many of the Great leaders of the Bible were flawed men. But God often used flawed men for his purpose.
Most had rebellious periods during which they lost their way, but the best learned their lesson and returned to Him seeking his forgiveness and love.
““He’s abrasive, he’s quick to comment and he’s not a nice man.”
God does not call us to be ‘nice’, but to be good.”
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++=
Who knows for sure, actually...???
What if? What If tyranny? is a bad rap???
What If...????....it were tried,...... w/a real American vice AINO?
Nobody knows?????
;)
Semper TRUMP! IF We Can Keep him....
***************************************8
Nobody is claiming Trump is perfect - many tried to compare Obama to Jesus even though he is evil to the core. We understand Trump is no more or less pure than the average child of God.
Simplistic and self-evident moralization fit for a sunday School class at best.
Bump
Read later
Michael Brown was an anti-Trumper from day one. This jackass has been over his head all his life and wont stop braying.
Heck of a job Brownie...
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