No political leader can take the place of Christ; believers are called to repentance, humility, and discernment.
With a Subtitle: Why repentance, humility, and discernment matter more than political idolatry.
A brief Excerpt: Christians must never confuse any political leader with Christ. This article calls believers back to repentance, humility, discernment, and faithful allegiance to Jesus alone.
The Author is: Zack Duncan
Donald Trump is not Jesus.
I’m no math major but I think this checks out (AI)
I’m not saying that Donald Trump can’t be used by God (God is sovereign and can use anyone!).
I’m not saying that God doesn’t love Donald Trump (God loves all His children!).
I’m certainly not saying we shouldn’t pray for Donald Trump (we should!).
I’m saying Donald Trump is not Jesus.
This shouldn’t need to be said, but there appears to be confusion on this most basic of issues.
Because Donald Trump, it seems, suspects he might actually be Jesus.
Or, at least he feels like the comparison is close enough for him to feel comfortable posting the following to Truth Social on Sunday, 4/12.
Partially cropped image from TruthSocial.com/@realDonaldTrump, full post visible at bbc.com
Let’s take a look at some of the Jesus themes.
We see Donald Trump in the iconic Jesus robes, branded in a very patriotic Jesus sort of way.
There are the adoring faces turned upwards towards his direction, one of them with her hands together in prayer.
Not shown in the cropped picture above is an angelic cloud of soldiers in the clouds above his head.
And of course, we have the supernatural light that is emerging from his hands as he seems to heal the sick man before him.
Predictably, the president received a lot of pushback over his post. And even though he took it down, he made sure to “clarify” what he had really meant.
It was him as a doctor, and it had to do with the Red Cross (now, I get the red robes 😉).
He said he was confused over the messianic interpretation of the post, saying, “Only the fake news could come up with that one.”¹
He went on to add, “I had just heard about it, and I said, ‘how did they come up with that?’ It’s supposed to be me as a doctor, making people better — and I do make people better.”²
At least one Christian leader has publicly agreed with the president, saying there were “no spiritual references.”³ [Really!] Most Christians recognized it for what it obviously was.
But no one, Christian or otherwise, should be surprised.
Nothing New
This is a classic move from the DJT playbook.
Step one is to post something that pushes the envelope and causes outrage.
Step two is to quietly remove the offending post when the pushback becomes so hot as to threaten the base. It requires avoiding any acknowledgement of wrongdoing and a steadfast refusal to apologize.
One must never apologize.
Apologizing looks weak and also makes it more difficult to post the same kind of of thematic messages in the future.
In the future the behavior will seem a bit more normalized, and the public outcry won’t be as overwhelming. That’s step three!
It’s a cynical and savvy strategy. And it is based on one of the most clearly anti-Christian positions one can take.
I say this not to heap judgment and condemnation on Donald Trump. But to remind me that Christians are called to discern rightly while leaving any judgment and condemnation up to God. ⁴
[And also, to clarify in case there are people who suspect that maybe Donald Trump might be Jesus 😜].
Christians are also called to cultivate lives that are separate from this particular political strategy.
Apologies and Repentance
An apology expresses regret and a desire to reform.
It’s often driven by feelings of remorse over painful consequences. In other words, we tend to apologize when we get caught.
The work of repentance is when the words of an apology begin to create a 180-degree turn in the heart. Repentance restores relationships and is part of inner transformation.
Apologies are humbling and hard. True repentance is harder. It is death to our ego-centric natural way of thinking.
This is what Jesus offers. For us to recognize that we are broken sinners who desperately need salvation from outside. To submit to God’s standards, repent of our sins, and turn to new life in Him.
Repentance
Here is what some Christian leaders have had to say on the subject over the years.
This is Martin Luther in the very first of his Ninety-Five Theses:
“All of life is repentance.” [Martin Luther, in the first of his Ninety-Five Theses]
Here’s Thomas Boston, Scottish Presbyterian minister and theologian:
“Repentance is a continuous act. The issue of godly sorrow must not be quite stopped till death”. [Thomas Boston]
“No man can attain to the knowledge of God but by humility. The way to mount high is to descend”. [St. Augustine]
How about John Calvin? What did he have to say on the subject?
“Repentance is the true turning of our life to God, a turning that arises from a pure and earnest fear of Him; and it consists in the mortification of the flesh and the renewing of the Spirit”. [John Calvin]
And Charles Spurgeon, Baptist preacher extraordinaire?
“Repentance is as much a mark of a Christian, as Faith is. A very little sin, as the world calls it, is a very great sin to a true Christian.” [Charles Spurgeon]
What about Jonathan Edwards, the fiery Puritan preacher of “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” fame?
Part of repentance is agreeing with God on sin, and siding with God against ourself [Jonathan Edwards]
What About Jesus?
How about Jesus? What did He say about this whole repentance thing?
To start, He launched His mission with a clarion call to repentance.
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” [Mark 1:15 and Mathew 4:17]
And He was still talking about repentance even after He rose from the grave.
46 He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. [Luke 24: 47]
Repentance is the way in to the Kingdom of Christ. There is no escape.
Is Donald Trump a Christian?
What would you think if I claimed to be a vegetarian but every time we went out for breakfast I ordered a huge plate of bacon?
And whenever I was served vegetables, I furtively stuffed them into my pockets before depositing them in the trash?
Would I be a vegetarian?
I could be a former vegetarian. Or a confused vegetarian. We might get into a productive discussion about this. But we couldn’t agree that I am living as a vegetarian while I am simultaneously eating a plate of bacon and running from vegetable encounters.
My kind of veggies! (AI)
This evaluation on your behalf would not require you to feel morally superior to me, or to look down on me in any way. You might think that bacon is vastly superior to veggies and be happy for me. You could have great fondness for me while still using your brain to evaluate the accuracy of my claim.
Knowing Jesus is far more consequential than eating bacon or not eating bacon.
That’s why I believe praying for Donald Trump means praying that he will come to see spiritual reality. Praying that he will recognize that not only is he not Jesus, but also that surrender to God’s perfect standards and honest repentance are non-negotiable parts of knowing Jesus.⁵
4: Christians don’t condemn and leave ultimate judgement to God
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
5 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. [Mathew 7: 1–5]
Christians do evaluate based on spiritual fruit
15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. [Mathew 7: 15–20]
6: Repentance is a non-negotiable for Jesus
Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2 Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. 4 Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them — do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.” [Luke 13: 1–5]
