SOLD MY SOUL TO THE DEVIL?

Rev. Robert Jeffress is the pastor of the huge, historic First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas. And he is one of Donald Trump’s enthusiastic evangelical supporters.

 Rev. Jeffress says he knows that some evangelicals are actually in  league with Satan!  Reverend Jeffress recently said that “the only evangelicals who are going to vote for Joe Biden are those who have sold their soul to the devil “ ( quoted in the Christian Post, August 3, 2020).

Nor is he the only prominent evangelical making that kind of statement. Last November, evangelical author and vigorous pro-Trump supporter, Eric Metaxas, interviewed Franklin Graham. When Metaxas asked Graham what he thought about the way some people were undermining President Trump, Graham said: “Well, I believe it’s almost a demonic power that is trying --“  Then Metaxas cut in: “I would disagree. it’s not almost demonic. You know and I know, at the heart, it’s a spiritual battle.“ Graham agreed. (See the Washington Examiner, November 21, 2019.

Very recently the famous evangelical author and Pastor John MacArthur reported on a conversation he had had with President Trump. MacArthur told Trump that “Christians could not vote Democratic.“  And he assured the president: “Any real true believer is going to be on your side.“ (See the video in John Fea, the wayofimprovement.com, August 22, 2020.)  So if I vote for Joe Biden, I am not a Christian, not a true believer.

All this makes me sad. For two reasons.

First, God has not sent me any emails about how God wants Christians to vote this year.  And I   doubt God has sent any such emails  to anybody else. We are all finite, painfully limited, persons as we do our best to apply biblical principles to our complex political situation. Aware of our finitude and imperfection, we ought to exercise some humility..

More important, I choose to believe that Jeffress, MacArthur, Metaxas and Graham love my Lord Jesus and truly want to let him be Lord of every area of their lives. I want that to be true in my life and I choose to be believe that they seek the same for themselves.

So why do they say I have sold my soul to the devil if I vote for Biden this November?

Political decisions are always complex -- almost infinitely complex. Good people, good Christians, can and do come to different political conclusions. That is certainly true in 2020.

So what do we do?

First, we should say and live by the important biblical truth that our membership in Christ’s one body is far more important than political differences. Trump’s fervent evangelical supporters are my Christian brothers and sisters. I want to think and act in a way that makes our oneness in Christ more important than political disagreements.

But we do disagree politically – – deeply, profoundly. I believe ( as I have argued in earlier blogs) that  on balance Donald Trump’s personal behavior and political actions have been profoundly destructive and unbiblical.

What should Christians do about this kind of huge political disagreement?  For starters, we should pray for each other. And then we should seek to talk to each other and listen carefully to each other.

I choose to believe that if pro-Trump and not-Trump evangelicals would sit down together and truly listen to each other, some things would change. And at the very least, there would be no more charges that those who disagree with us politically have sold their souls to the devil. We would probably all modify our political views, at least a little. I can see places  (at least a couple!) where  Trump’s decisions move in what I consider a positive direction. If we would truly listen to each other, I might find more. And I am pretty sure that pro-Trump evangelicals would also modify what they think and say.

Jesus prayed that the loving unity of his followers would be so obvious that it would convince the world that he came from the Father (John 17:11, 20-23). Calling  each other terrible names does the opposite.

So I say to the many evangelicals who, like myself,  believe strongly that Donald Trump has been a disaster for the country and for the good name of evangelicalism, let’s pray for Trump’s evangelical supporters, not call them names. Regularly in my personal devotional time, I pray by name for Rev.  Jeffress, Franklin Graham and others. I ask God  to help them do what I seek for myself: to look into the face of Christ and say, “Lord, please help me think about the 2020 election the way you want me to.“

That does not change the fact that I continue to believe strongly in the things said in the book I edited, The Spiritual Danger of Donald Trump: 30 Evangelical Christians on Justice, Truth and Moral Integrity.  (You can buy copies at a 70% discount if you go to orders@wipfandstock.com or call 541-344-1528 and use the code DANGER70.) I will continue to do all I can to urge all Americans, especially evangelical Christians, to ponder the many reasons developed in that book that show that Donald Trump’s character and policies largely contradict biblical norms on truth and justice.

But before and after the November 3 election (and no matter what happens that day) I will continue to beg the Lord to help all those who confess Christ to demonstrate the kind of visible  love for each other that will draw the world to Christ our Lord. And I will  weep when our actions do the opposite.

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