Peter Cartwright was a courageous preacher.
One Sunday, President Andrew Jackson visited his church.
Somebody alerted Pastor Cartwright and asked him not to say anything out of line.
When he stood to preach, he said,
“I understand Andrew Jackson is here.
Somebody asked me to guard my remarks.
Well, Andrew Jackson will go to hell if he doesn’t repent.”
People were shocked, but later, as the President shook hands with the preacher
he said, “Sir, if I had a regiment of men like you, I could whip the world.”
(Last October Franklin Graham shared the gospel with President Donald Trump. Scroll down to see what Graham told the President. And pray in that direction.)
I'm a pastor.
Also, a theologian.
I self-refer as evangelical-pentecostal.
I preach moral, spiritual, and biblical issues.
I identify with theological Orthodoxy, not progressive Christianity. (See my book Deconstructing Progressive Christianity.)
I don't get my understanding of the Bible, nor my theology, from politicians.
In this post I intend to speak as a pastor, and as a theologian. (PhD in philosophical theology, Northwestern University, 1986 - a long time ago!)
Last weekend, at Redeemer, we began preaching through the biblical book of Hebrews. Hebrews issues strong warnings about apostasy, and beautifully lifts up the supremacy of Jesus.
How great is Jesus? Hebrews 3:3 tells us that Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses. To a first-century Hebrew, that is a huge, outrageous claim! I'll be preaching on this verse this coming Sunday.
Yesterday morning, I spent a few hours immersed in Hebrews, and the supremacy of Jesus. I paused for a break, and looked at today's news. The first thing I saw was a headline that said, "Trump deletes post depicting him as Jesus-like figure after backlash."
What did he post, I wondered? And then I saw this. And felt biblical outrage. And was glad he deleted it, as a growing number of evangelical pastors and theologians expressed their outrage. (See Fox News here, e.g.)
Riley Gaines, a popular conservative activist and staunch Trump ally, said she "cannot understand" why Trump would post the image and that "a little humility" would serve the president well. "Why? Seriously, I cannot understand why he'd post this. Is he looking for a response? Does he actually think this?" "God," wrote Gaines, "shall not be mocked."
Megan Basham, a prominent Christian influencer in the MAGA movement, wrote on X: "I don't know if the President thought he was being funny or if he is under the influence of some substance or what possible explanation he could have for this OUTRAGEOUS blasphemy. But he needs to take this down immediately and ask for forgiveness from the American people and then from God."
David Brody, an evangelical journalist with the Christian Broadcasting Network, called on Mr. Trump to take the picture down. Brody is a vocal supporter of Donald Trump. Yet Brody said, "This goes too far. It crosses the line. A supporter can back the mission and reject this."
I have read, for decades, the leading evangelical magazine Christianity Today. CT posted this by one of their staff editors. "Even if Trump is right on every issue he invokes—crime, COVID-19 closures, Iran, Venezuela, and the stock market—he’s still grotesquely wrong to elevate himself to the level of Christ and claim for himself authority over Christ’s church."
Here is Mike Johnson's response to Trump's post.
What shall we do? Hebrews 12:1-2 says - And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.
I'm glad Donald Trump took the picture off social media. Now, let's turn our gaze elsewhere, and keep it there.
***
This past October President Trump made comments suggesting he might not get to heaven. He also told reporters several times that he hoped his global peacemaking efforts would help him get to heaven. Franklin Graham responded to Trump, telling him that "the only way to heaven was to believe that Jesus came to earth, died, and rose again to save him."
Graham cited Romans 10:9 and wrote that he was praying for Trump.
Graham told WORLD Magazine on Monday:
“This letter was written in October after President Trump had made a comment to the media—maybe in jest—about not knowing if he would make it to heaven. I wanted him to know what the Bible says and that he could be sure. It’s not by works, it is through repenting of your sins and putting your faith in God's Son, Jesus Christ."
Graham said afterwards, "I wanted him to know what the Bible says."
Me, too.