It is a shame that because a jury verdict does not go the way you wanted, that you then disparage the entire country. That is not American, Christian, or vaguely decent. Let us also not allow Shane to muddy the waters here. The "past" he is referring to was just eight years ago, when Trump first ran for president. Yes, the scheme was a decade earlier but the burying of the story to defraud the voters was recent and without it, Trump is probably never elected the first time. Perhaps what is more disturbing is the dismissal of these things as somehow inconsequential to God. That cheating on your third wife with a porn star and then paying her off to cover it up so you can cheat the American electorate is somehow unimportant. Or what he did to cause the January 6th insurrection. Or what he did to try and overthrow the Georgia election. Or what he did to steal state secrets, show them to people inappropriately and then try to hide them instead of returning them. None of that matters, right Shane? I will use the same tactic he used - how would you feel Shane, if Joe Biden had done any of this? What if Biden had tried to cover up an affair with a porn star to cheat the American people in 2020. Would it matter to God then Shane, you hypocrite. You are supposed to be a pastor for pity's sake. "America" is not going to be judged. The individual people inside of it will, based solely upon their faith in Christ's work on the cross. Not their voting record.
2. Clear lines are being drawn. Through events like this, God is revealing who and what people and churches stand for. Trump is hated, not because of his character, but because of what he stands for. He is a disruptive force. To those who oppose Trump: If the abortion industry, George Soros, most of the media and Hollywood are on your side, are you sure you're on the right side?
Tragically, many churches have become weak and woke. We've created a generation that seeks teachers who tickle ears rather than challenge hearts (see 2 Tim. 4:3). These teachers know nothing of the calling of Jeremiah, in which God's Word was like a fire that devours and a hammer that shatters (Jer. 23:29). Instead, they prophesy smooth things and encourage sin, and the people love to have it so (Isa. 30:10).
Anyone can play this game Shane. Do you see who is on your side? Race baiters, neo nazis, white supremacists, the ultra-rich who wish to continuing impoverishing people, industry deregulators who have destroyed God's creation, and hucksters like Paula White? I agree the church only prophesy's smooth nonsense Shane but that is who you support. It was all of your false prophets who declared God said Trump would win in 2020 and then he lost by seven million votes. It is your side that just released a worship song declaring Trump the "chosen one." You think Donald "grab them by the genitals" Trump does not encourage sin? He is the walking embodiment of it! That is not a tacit endorsement of the other side but no one there is pretending they are God's choice like you are doing here.
To see real change, we need our pulpits aflame with righteousness again and tongues of fire calling us to repent: "A holy minister is an awful weapon in the hand of God Robert McCheyne. The liberal churches and pastors in America are leading people straight to hell"not because they do not support Trump, but because they do not support the gospel and its call to repentance from sexual sin and pride. These liberal churches are failing to lead people back to God. Lines are being drawn, and true character is being revealed. When a vessel is struck, what's inside spills out, and what is spilling out is a stench in the nostrils of God.
As the key verse reminds us, few are those that find the narrow gate. Of course, liberal Christianity is leading people astray but so is the apostate church of which Shane Idleman is a part. Preaching the petty politics of man will save no one. Do you think Paula White is not leading people straight to hell Shane? Or for that matter, any of the false teacher brigade Trump surrounds himself with? How about you Shane? When you trade in the gospel for this garbage, do you think you are leading anyone anywhere except straight to hell? The people saying "Lord Lord" in Matthew 7 are not from the liberal church in America. They are from the Charismatic apostate church. They are from your church Shane. You see that is the problem. When you spend your time espousing carnal goals as Christian endeavors, what gets sacrificed is the gospel.
3. What many trust in is being tested to the core. I cringe when I see posts comparing Trump to Jesus, and I fear for the millions who view him as their savior. I understand their frustrations with America, but we must set our gaze upon God and fan the flames of personal revival: "It is only when the whole heart is gripped with the passion of prayer that the life-giving fire descends, for none but the earnest man gets access to the ear of God" "E.M. Bounds. We need to return to the old paths: "Where are yesterday's altars of prayer? Where are the saints that love to linger in His presence? The weeping, the crying, the interceding for lost souls? The church needs to wake up!" "Gene Easley. Our prayer should be, "Oh Lord, we need fire again, and begin in me!" Be crystal-clear here: This is a plea for full surrender to Christ. He is the only cure for our chaos, the only anchor for our storm and the only hope for the hurting. Church, we must humble ourselves before God humbles us.
Nice try Shane. You cannot spend two thirds of your pitch mired in the stench of partisan politics and then suddenly change course and pretend it is all for Jesus. Your hypocrisy is showing again. You are right to bemoan the church calling Trump our savior but realize you support the very people doing that! Sure, you may not come out and say it yourself, but reading the first two thirds of this very article makes it plainly clear that your pitch is for Christians to vote for the most un-Christian man to ever run for president. Dressing it up here at the end with a call for the church to THEN focus on God is so transparently silly. Let us not lose sight over what this entire exercise was intended for. Shane Idleman thinks all Christians should vote for Republicans only, including Donald Trump. He couches this in the opinion that his conviction last week was somehow wrong, banana republicish, and only "allowed by God" - inferring that it was again, somehow incorrect or illegitimate. Except it wasn't. Trump has avoided justice his entire life but it is finally catching up with him. His business was found guilty of fraud. He was found guilty of sexual assault and then defamation. Now, he has 34 felony convictions for covering up an affair with a porn star to defraud the American people. Or as Shane Idleman would say, unimportant details.
