Many Christians are declining to vote in the presidential race this year, with a considerable number citing what they find as inappropriate behavior by Donald Trump. But is this attitude biblical? The Apostle Paul, considered one of the greatest men in history and revered in the church for spreading fledgling Christianity throughout the Middle East, murdered Christians under his former name, Saul, before he became a believer.
King David ordered the husband of a woman he lusted over and impregnated to the front lines of battle in order to kill him, which happened. After repenting, God still allowed David to remain king, but four of his sons suffered untimely deaths. David was considered one of the greatest leaders in biblical times. He defeated the Philistines, founded the Judaean dynasty and united all the tribes of Israel under a single monarch.
David’s son King Solomon had 1,000 wives and concubines, which he knew was wrong. He made sacrifices to Molech for them, a god that required “detestable” acts to be performed. God punished Solomon by giving him war with the Edomites and Arameans, and dividing up his kingdom after his death. However, Solomon was still allowed to rule as king.
Moses committed murder yet went on to become as legendary as David. He led the Jews out of captivity in Egypt and received the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai from God.
One of Jesus’ 12 disciples, Peter the fisherman, at first declined to join him, stating, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” But his previous sins didn’t bother Jesus at all. Jesus responded, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” Peter went on to become one of Jesus’ most revered and well-known disciples.
The Canaan prostitute Rahab protected two Israelite spies on her roof in Jericho from the king attempting to locate them. She helped them escape, and in return, they ensured that she and her family survived the Israelites’ attack. Her son was Boaz, who married Ruth, and a later descendant of hers was Joseph, the father of Jesus.
Everyone knows the story of the adulteress who was about to be stoned to death in front of Jesus. The Pharisees and teachers of the law wanted to set a trap for Jesus, so they asked Jesus whether she should be stoned in accordance with the law of Moses. Jesus responded by writing in the sand and saying, “Let the one among you who is without sin cast the first stone!” The accusers slunk away, and Jesus instructed the woman, “Go and sin no more.”
Some evangelicals are quick to point to rumors of Trump allegedly having extramarital affairs as their reason for not supporting him. Never mind that most Democrats and Republicans – including evangelicals – revere JFK, who was notorious for multiple extramarital affairs while president.
In contrast, none of these rumors about Trump occurred when he was president. The most recent alleged affairs, with Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, were in 2006. Trump wasn’t even a Republican at the time; he was a Democrat from 2001 to 2009. Nor was he a born-again Christian.
Revered evangelical leader James Dobson said in 2016 that Trump became a born-again Christian then – well after the reputed affairs. He said televangelist Paula White led Trump to Christ at that time. In 2020, Trump confirmed that he’d become a non-denominational Christian, no longer identifying as Presbyterian, the mainline Protestant denomination he was born into.
The meaning of being born again is that you are saved from your sins and can start a new life avoiding sin. Unlike the left, Christians adhere to the Bible and Christ’s teachings, which offer forgiveness to anyone. The left pretends that Republican leaders who are Christians must be sinless – but that would be blasphemous, since no human is sinless.
Trump is regularly surrounded by the top evangelical leaders in the country, including Franklin Graham and Robert Jeffress. I know since I used to work for one of them, who told us about their regular meetings. They would not risk their names and reputations if he refused to atone for any sinful conduct. Trump is evangelical, not Catholic, so he’s not required to confess his sins to clergy; that is between him and God.
He’s also not a church leader; he’s a secular leader, so he’s not subject to the same accountability standards. For example, Christian leaders cannot be recent converts, so Trump wasn’t even eligible. But the MSM just glosses over this distinction.
The National Faith Advisory Board was created out of these prominent pastors’ support for him. The National Catholic Register said the support for him from prominent evangelicals is “unprecedented” for a president. There are only a handful who don’t embrace him, and that may be because they have their own scandals.
Trump did so much for Christians during his presidency that an argument can be made that God is using him to accomplish good. Even in 2018, just over halfway through his term, the mainstream media acknowledged that he’d likely done more for Christians than any president ever.
Even if you don’t buy that God has chosen to use him, it’s still readily apparent that Trump has done incredible things for Christians and intends to continue to do so, unlike Kamala Harris, whose agenda appears to be about stopping “hate” from Christians and promoting abortion as “women’s health.” And it doesn’t mean that Trump’s evangelical supporters “worship” him, either. as the left constantly lies about. That would also be blasphemous.
Most evangelicals get it. Longtime evangelical leader Ralph Reed said Trump performed the best of all presidents ever with them in 2020, capturing 81% of their vote to Joe Biden’s 14%. Biden’s share shrunk even further from Hillary Clinton’s 16% in 2016. Reed’s Faith and Freedom Coalition is on track to reach 7.2 million voters in battleground states.
Shame on those Christians who sit this election out. If Harris wins, all the guaranteed devastation she causes will be on their consciences forever.
