I do not support Donald Trump for President of the United
States of America. I will not vote for
him. His authoritarian ideals would be a
disaster for our country. He recently
said that when he is president we will hear "Merry Christmas!" in the
department stores. He also will attempt
to force Apple to build their computers in this country. Apparently he doesn't understand that
accomplishing such feats is impossible without shredding the United States
Constitution. Beyond those concerns, the
despicable things he has said about Megyn Kelly and other women make me
sick. His support for Planned Parenthood
should not be tolerated by those who claim the name of Christ. I could go on and on. A Donald Trump presidency would be a disaster
for our country.
With all of that being said, these are not the things that
concern me most about the Donald Trump phenomenon. He claims to be one of "the
evangelicals" and has been baptized in the praises of Dr. Robert Jeffress,
Pastor of First Baptist Dallas, and Dr. Jerry Falwell Jr., Chancellor of
Liberty University. The thing that
concerns me most is my perception that many evangelical leaders have exchanged
the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ for a Trumpcated gospel.
What do I mean by a Trumpcated gospel?
To truncate the gospel would be to alter the gospel by
cutting it short. We might truncate the
gospel by talking about grace and forgiveness without talking about sin and
holiness. We might truncate the gospel
by calling people to receive Jesus as their Savior without calling them to bow
their knee to Him as Lord. But that
isn't exactly what is happening with Donald Trump. Rather than truncating the gospel, many
evangelicals are Trumpcating the gospel.
They are not cutting the gospel short.
They are preaching a gospel that is altogether different from the one
that has been once for all delivered to the saints.
Let's consider the most egregious example. Trump doesn't believe he needs to ask God for
forgiveness. Republican pollster Frank
Luntz asked Trump if he'd ever asked God for forgiveness. Trump responded, "I am not sure I
have." He continued, "I just
go on and try to do a better job from there.
I don't think so. I think if I do
something wrong, I think, I just try and make it right. I don't bring God into that picture. I don't."
Now perhaps you think Trump made a mistake. He is a politician, not a theologian. Surely he is entitled to a mistake here and
there. Well, when asked if he regretted
saying those things Trump said, "No."
He went on to refer to his great relationship with God and "the
evangelicals." He said, "I
like to be good. I don't like to have to
ask for forgiveness. And I am good. I don't do a lot of things that are bad. I try to do nothing that is bad." How could he regret something he said? In his eyes, he has no need for forgiveness.
Trump's comments are antithetical to the true gospel as
revealed in Scripture. The gospel says
that we are all sinners. The gospel says
that we are all enemies of God because of our sin. Our only hope of being made right with God is
by experiencing the grace and forgiveness that is only available in Jesus
Christ. We all need forgiveness. That is the Christian message. There is none righteous, no not one.
In his introduction of Trump at Liberty University
Convocation, Jerry Falwell Jr. spoke of Trump's "fruit." He listed a string of generous gifts given to
people by Donald Trump. He then quoted
from Matthew 7 about knowing a tree by its fruit, and implied that Donald Trump
is a Christian. Falwell claims some
special knowledge of Donald Trump as a man that the rest of us are not privy
to. If we just knew Trump as he does, we
would know that he is a good Christian man.
I could not disagree more. The
bad fruit that we see on the outside serves as evidence of who Trump is on the
inside. If Trump has never repented of
his sin and placed his faith in Jesus for salvation, he is not a Christian.
Let me be clear. I
really do not expect Trump to sound like a Christian when he talks. I certainly do not expect sound theology from
the owner of strip clubs and casinos. I
expect Trump to talk and live like a lost man.
He has given no reason for anyone to expect anything different. The fact that Trump would preach a Trumpcated
gospel doesn't surprise me or even concern me necessarily. I expect as much. And while Trump's vision for America does not
match mine, I respect the decision of those who feel Trump is the candidate
that best aligns with their views. My
concerns in this piece have very little to do with the presidency of the United
States.
I am infinitely more concerned that leaders like Robert
Jeffress and Jerry Falwell Jr. are preaching this Trumpcated gospel. They can vote for whoever they want. They can even endorse whichever candidate
they prefer. Though I disagree with
their "beat Hillary at all costs" perspective, I can understand
it. But please do not pretend as if
Donald Trump is a brother in Christ.
Please do not suggest that the good things Donald Trump has done somehow
outweigh the bad. Don't recite Matthew
7:1 as if Jesus said those words to prohibit us from making clear moral
judgments on the authority of His Word.
Brothers and sisters, may we reject this Trumpcated
gospel. We do not somehow earn favor
with God by "drinking our little wine and eating our little
cracker." Favor with God is only
gained by repentance of sin and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. May we cling tightly to the true gospel as
revealed in the Scriptures. May we
reject all attempts to pervert the gospel for political ends. May we cling to biblical fidelity and reject
political expediency. Doing so may not
be popular. It may prove to be
difficult. It may even result in a
Democrat being elected president. But
more than we fear another Democrat in the White House, we should fear gaining
the whole world, while losing our soul.
Note: I have been
biting my tongue for months regarding Donald Trump's candidacy. It is not my place as a pastor to endorse
candidates for public office. To prevent
from erring on the other side of that coin, I typically refrain from openly
criticizing political candidates as well.
However, I feel compelled to speak now because I believe that it is not
just the presidency that is at stake, but also the clear proclamation of the
gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Because
leading evangelicals like Robert Jeffress and Jerry Falwell Jr. have spoken in
a way that clouds the gospel, I feel the need to combat their false teaching
with truth.
