[This was written in the middle of the COVID crisis of 2020, while Trump was still president. I believe it’s even more relevant today.]
There are still many Christian Trump-disparaging voices ringing loud and clear these days. I honestly thought this would subside as Trump proved himself one of the most pro-life, pro-Israel, pro-church, pro-America, pro-Constitution presidents we’ve had. But no, the same old arguments still surface, and it’s getting very old and tiring.
Specifically, many Christians, including the once-venerable Christianity Today magazine, still hold on to an argument that exposes their severe lack of biblical knowledge and the ways of God, specifically, the argument against Trump’s character.
“How can Christians support a man who is morally degenerate?” goes the argument. “It’s causing damage to the evangelical witness around the world.” There are two huge misunderstandings woven into the fabric of this position, the first being that Trump has shown considerable change in character during the past several years. If we are all to be judged by every past sin, then the gospel of Christ becomes totally meaningless.
The other common misunderstanding, and the one we will focus on here, is that God somehow requires that only holy vessels be used for positions of leadership. This very argument actually belies a severe misunderstanding of God’s ways that are clearly described in Scripture. The only conclusion I can draw is that those who use this argument to support their virulent hatred of Trump’s presidency do not know the Bible, which is a very common cancer in the evangelical world these days.
David was an adulterer and murderer. Yet God chose him to lead His own chosen people.
Saul/Paul was a Christian-killer, yet God chose him as a chief apostle and author of a significant portion of the Bible, before he had done anything righteous!
Gideon was hiding in the winepress, and declared himself the most unfit of anyone to save the nation of Israel, yet he obeyed and rescued a nation.
Solomon had hundreds of wives and concubines and ended up going off the deep end into idolatry, yet he was blessed by God to be the richest and wisest man of all time.
Peter denied Jesus, not once but three times, yet Jesus built the Gentile church upon his shoulders.
Abraham gave away his wife to other men, lying that she was his sister. Twice! Yet he was called the friend of God.
Jacob was a pathological deceiver, cheating his own brother out of his birthright and lying to his father about it.
Moses had some serious temper problems. And killed a guy.
If God is only allowed to choose perfect vessels (and what are the criteria?) then the entire Christian faith would be non-existent, because there are no perfect vessels for God to use.
But even further, it’s very important that we remember all the above examples concern people God used to build His kingdom, therefore the criteria for moral aptitude should have been much higher than the criteria used for those in political leadership. In other words, if God’s chosen religious leaders had such egregious character flaws, then the criteria for secular leadership is by definition much lower. Yet Christian Trump-haters use pastoral, first-Timothy-style criteria for the office of president. This is just weird and so very wrong!
Let’s use the exact same argument for some of these Bible heroes that is being used against Trump today and see how it works. Imagine God saying:
“The Apostle Paul killed Christians! There’s no way I can possibly use him to write parts of the New Testament.”
“Abraham is a liar and moral degenerate. I can’t use Him to fulfill my promise of a chosen people! I’ll have to keep looking…”
“OK, David, you screwed up. Adultery and murder disqualify you to lead my people. I’m rescinding all the Psalms you wrote.”
“Peter, you were always causing trouble, and then you denied me three times in my darkest hour. I can’t possibly trust you to preach the gospel!”
“But Trump is a moral degenerate!” many are saying.
So are you. And so am I. Not one human being on this planet is qualified to be used by God in any role. Ever. Anywhere. Trump is no better or no worse than anyone reading this post. Yet God uses those who have been marred and scarred by sin. He has no other choice. But often, those with scars are the most battle-wise.
Therefore, since God has resigned Himself (of necessity) to using broken vessels, why are we surprised that he is using President Trump to fight abortion, which is arguably the most heinous, horrific crime of modern times that most Christians don’t even want to discuss?
Why is God using Trump to expose deep corruption in many areas of government, entertainment and business?
Why is God using Trump to provide historic support of Israel, at a time when anti-semitism is dangerously on the rise in many parts of the world, including America?
Why is God using Trump to establish conservative federal judges who will properly interpret the constitution and fight to provide true liberty for all?
Here is why: because Trump is not a politician. He actually does not care what people think of him. He will do what he believes is the best thing for the American people, and most of the time he gets it right. He makes mistakes, and it’s very easy for us armchair quarterbacks to smugly criticize him when we have the advantage of seeing the results weeks or months after he’s made a decision. I would like to see any other human being on the planet try to make some of the decisions Trump has had to make every day, on the fly, with only the information available to him in the moment, and see how they fare.
Trump is a cracked pot like the rest of us. Those who continuously and unceasingly berate and criticize and condemn him are actually doing the work of the enemy. They are the ones causing division, not the Trump supporters. We’re cheering him on, helping him any way we can to stop the industrialized murder of innocent babies, and the destruction of various and sundry biblical ideals on which the U.S. Constitution was built. They are pointing out every little flaw with self-righteous glee.
If God has chosen Trump for just such a time as this, which He has, then those fighting Trump are directly confronting the wisdom and plan of God. Trump haters talk all the time about how divisive Trump has been. Of course he’s caused division. And the division is coming from those who constantly, non-stop, with vim and vigor and gusto, continue to erroneously point out to the world how evil, unqualified or corrupt he is and refuse to support the man God has chosen for this hour.
In the end I’m not worried. God laughs at His enemies. His plans will still be established, and all the bickering will not really matter. So why, then, do I feel so strongly about the hatred and animosity toward Trump?
Two reasons. First of all, the arguments about moral ineptitude that Christians are using against him are pointless and false from a biblical perspective. God simply does not choose morally perfect people for His work, and this is especially true in the secular examples in the Bible (Cyrus benefited the nation of Israel, and Pharaoh honored Joseph and invited his whole family to come to Egypt to live). God has never been constrained to use perfect people, so to insist that He ought to be so constrained with Trump is disingenuous and anti-biblical.
The other reason this issue matters is because we are at war. Those who continue to cry about Trump’s past sins have absolutely no clue about the spiritual warfare that is raging in this nation and in the world. The sides are being drawn. The middle ground is dissolving. There will be a time when all Christians will have to decide to fight for truth or sit in safety pointing their Pharisaical fingers. Warfare requires tough-minded people who will not cave to political ideologies that militate against biblical ideals.
In warfare, tough people and tough leaders are required. God will build His church “and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.” Those who sit quietly in their prayer closets and ask God to do all the work unfortunately have no clue about our true role in the earth. We are the hands and feet of Jesus. We are the ones, like the martyrs who have gone before us, like those who died to bring the printed Bible to the masses, like those who stood up against evil dictators to bring freedom to the huddled masses, who are expected to do the work, to speak the truth, to lay our lives on the line for the Kingdom of God.
“The kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.”
In the end, all of the criticism and loathing will mostly only matter to those doing the hating, because Trump will accomplish what God wants him to accomplish, and that is to change the course of this great nation so the Church can continue to be salt and light in the earth.
Those who fought him all along the way will eventually see that God used Trump, in all his imperfection, to establish a sheep nation that will be a light to the world. But they will be not able to share in the victory.
And this brings us to the real topic of this post: warfare. And the question, are you up for the task?
The whole Trump phenomenon is only one example, and I used it because this particular topic exposes many tactics of our enemy, but mainly his lies and deceit. I could have used any number of illustrations meant to encourage us to start acting like the warriors in Christ that we really are, but this issue is in our faces right now and it is capturing everyone’s attention.
The next issue, however, is far more important than that already discussed, and that is the topic of love.
The reason I get so animated about lies and deception in politics and culture is that it hurts people. The primary goal of those who are against freedom, against fairness, against biblical principles being practiced and embraced in this culture, is to promote an agenda that is categorically opposed to God’s truth as revealed in the Bible. And when that happens, people suffer.
As mentioned in Part One, the enemy only comes to steal, kill and destroy. Everything in his modus operandi is geared toward one of these three end goals. He hates people because people are made in the image of God and because God loves them. He can’t hurt God, so he goes after those whom God loves. Everything he does is to hurt people.
The love of God, however, working through willing vessels, can nullify every single tactic of the enemy. Our enemy cannot stand love, praise, worship, sacrifice, giving, caring for others. He is doing everything he possibly can to prevent all these good things from happening, and his most powerful tactic is by influencing the minds of people. In fact, that’s the only power he has – to lie and deceive.
In our love for our neighbors, our nation, our world, and everyone in it, we disarm the tactics of the enemy and allow others to see the tender lovingkindness of God toward them.
Again, we can use current events to illustrate this. As of this writing, I am quarantined at home during the 2020 COVID-19 crisis. Every day boatloads of fear are being dumped on everyone through every possible outlet. Many are falling prey to it, and they willingly play along. Many subconsciously partner with the worst-case scenarios being put forth by those using the crisis for political gain, and as a result they live in fear and anxiety, fearing what the future may bring, and in many cases far overreacting to something that God can easily handle.
I am in no way suggesting that this virus is inconsequential or that we should not be careful with the way we are living our lives or possibly endangering others. What I am suggesting – no, I’m outright declaring it – is that fear and anxiety have no place whatsoever in the lives of those who trust in God. “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose trust is the Lord” (Jeremiah 17:7). I want to get our eyes off the fear and start to think productively and rationally about this situation.
Love and fear are categorically incompatible. “There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear” (1 John 4:18). My goal is to try to reduce the fear factor in the hearts and minds of those who blindly follow everything they hear in the news, encourage them to think for themselves, and most importantly to believe that God actually does have the power and the willingness to accomplish Psalm 91 in their lives.
A warrior fights because of love. We have untold masses of warriors in this country who served in the various military forces because of their love for their country and their loved ones. Many veterans made significant sacrifices because of their love for their families, neighborhoods and cities back home. Love drove Jesus to the cross, and it should be driving the warrior heart to dismantle the lies of the enemy in every area of our culture and indeed in the entire world.
A true warrior loves. He or she loves the truth, and will fight for it. “The kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.” It takes some resolve to fight against the stream of an evil culture, but love motivates us to get tough when it’s necessary. Sometimes that might not look or sound very loving. Do you suppose Jesus looked like a lover when he drove the money changers out of the temple with a home-made whip? His love for truth and for His Father’s reputation drove him to violence. Sometimes that’s what it takes!
Love can look like a lot of different things. In the end, it’s what is in our hearts that counts. 1 Corinthians 13 talks all about the grand and outwardly sacrificial things we can do in our fervor for God, but if it’s done without love it is utterly worthless. Even if it’s doing some good in the world, without love it’s meaningless.
I want to pursue truth. I believe that’s one thing God has called me to do. Jesus is Himself the way, the TRUTH and the life. Sometimes it’ll get a little harsh, but as I said in Part One, if I’m in the process of beating the devil to a pulp, and someone happens to get in the way, well, I’m sorry. I’ll try to do better. But this is war, and I want to encourage everyone and anyone who is interested in fighting for the winning side to take up your armor according to Ephesians 6:10-18.
God is interested in winning souls, but He is also just as interested in winning nations (Matthew 24:14, and Matthew 28:18-19). America is a great nation, and it was founded on the biblical principles of freedom and equality. When those things are threatened, warriors must be compelled to rise up and fight to maintain a nation environment that will allow the full force of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to be taught, known and released into the peoples so that they too will be able to experience the love of God for themselves, through the testimony of his willing servants.