Let me begin this Wilderness Voice with some careful clarifications. First, it is my sincere hope and prayer that everyone in our world, as well as in our country, from the White House to your house, comes to faith in Christ, so that they might graciously receive from His nail-scarred hand the gift of God, which is eternal life. Second, I am, as John Wesley said he was, "a Bible bigot." The Bible is not only the standard by which I judge all beliefs and behavior, but also what "I follow in all things, both great and small.” Third, I'm unwilling to give anyone's unscriptural and spurious profession of faith the benefit of the doubt, least by doing so I cast doubt on the Scripture itself.
President Trump recently said that he hoped that ending the war in Ukraine would help him get to Heaven when he dies. According to Trump, he wants “to try and get to Heaven if possible,” and ending the war in Ukraine will be “one of the reasons” he’ll make it. Now, obviously our President’s comments are a complete contradiction of Ephesians 2:8-9: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Are we therefore to believe that Trump is a Christian, despite his publicly stated belief that he hopes to work his way to Heaven and earn his own salvation? If we do, will we not, by giving our president the benefit of the doubt, be casting doubt on the Scripture?
Unfortunately, this is not the first time our president has denied the truth of Scripture with his personal testimony. In 2016, Trump publicly stated that he has never done what the Bible teaches one must do to become a Christian; namely, confess his sins to God and ask for God's forgiveness (1 John 1:9). When asked in an interview if he had ever asked God for forgiveness, Trump answered: "I am not sure I have. I just go on and try to do a better job from there." He later added that when he does do something wrong, which he claimed he seldom does, he just tries to make it right, feeling no need to "bring God into [the] picture."
When questions began to arise over the validity of Trump’s Christian confession over his admission that he had never acknowledged his sin to God, Trump backpedaled by suggesting that his observance of church communion could be seen as him asking God for forgiveness of his sins. Speaking of the wine, which represents the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary for the sins of the world, and the bread, which represents the torn body of Christ on the cross of Calvary for our salvation, Trump said, “When I drink my little wine – which is about the only wine I drink – and have my little cracker, I guess that’s a form of asking for forgiveness.”
In another and later interview, Trump was asked by conservative author Cal Thomas why he had never felt the need for personal forgiveness and repentance, especially in light of the fact that Scripture teaches that confession of sin and repentance from sin are preconditions to salvation from sin. Trump answered, “I will be asking for forgiveness, but hopefully I won’t have to be asking for much forgiveness.” Are these the words of a man under the heartbreaking conviction of the Holy Spirit for his sins, or the words of a man proudly wrapped in the “filthy rags of his own righteousness” (Isaiah 64:6)?
When Thomas pressed Trump further about his suspect Christian confession, Trump suggested that his evangelical support at the polls was evidence of the genuineness of his Christian faith. Then, cutting to the chase, Thomas said, “I ask you the question Jesus asked of Peter: Who do you say He is?” In response, Trump answered: “Jesus to me is somebody I can think about for security and confidence. Somebody I can revere in terms of bravery and in terms of courage and, because I consider the Christian religion so important, somebody I can totally rely on in my own mind.” Is this the clear confession of Jesus Christ as Lord that the Bible teaches brings about one’s salvation (Romans 10:9-10)?
Not only has Trump never, to my knowledge, clearly acknowledged Jesus Christ as His Lord and Savior, but his belief that God raised Jesus from the dead, which is another Scriptural precondition to salvation, has been made suspect by his comments about Easter. Whereas the Apostle Paul taught that the whole of our Christian faith hinges on Christ’s resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:14-19), Donald Trump has said that Easter is “a very special time,” which “represents family and get-together and—and something.”
Now, I’ve not written this Wilderness Voice to disparage our president, whose salvation I sincerely pray for, but to defend the Scripture and the faith once and for all delivered to the saints. If we give the benefit of the doubt to such dubious confessions of faith, we are not only casting doubt upon the Scripture, but also compromising the Christian Faith and corrupting Christ’s Gospel, which I’m not willing to do for anyone or anything. How about you?