Shane Idleman is at it again. Creating excuses for why God "allowed" Trump's 34 felony convictions...

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For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. - Matthe 7:14 (ESV)

'Trump Guilty': What Could God Be Teaching the Church? - Charisma News

We have written before about Shane Idleman. He used to be a very gospel centric pastor but during COVID drank the NAR Kool Aid just a little too much and now he is a full blown dominionist spreading Republican Party lies disguised as Christian concerns. Make no mistake, whenever you hear him or read him, his goal is simple. He wants you to vote Republican. It is not about salvation, sin, or repentance. It is about electing Republicans into office. We will see this in the above linked article which posits the question - what could God be teaching the church with the Trump conviction. Let us reason once more together beloved and separate out what God actually says, from what Shane Idleman is actually saying.

We don't always understand why some things happen, but we know God is sovereign. Putting the blatant inconsistencies of the Left aside"such as if former President Donald Trump were a Democrat, none of this would be happening, to ignoring the Epstein list and the Biden family criminal allegations (all of which are worse than Trump's charges)"God allowed this guilty verdict to happen, but why? Here are three possible reasons:

This opening may have well been written by Senator Ted Cruz. Let us sort through the absurdities while keeping in mind that this is supposed to be a pastor. The first absurdity is the notion that if Trump was a Democrat none of this would be happening. This is laughable when you consider that just this week alone, a trial has started in the corruption case of Democratic Senator Bob Melendez and Democratic House member Cuellar is also facing corruption charges. Oh, and Joe Biden's Justice Department started the trial against the presidents only surviving son, Hunter, this week as well. The problem is Shane spends too much time watching Fox and OEN instead of reading his bible. The second absurdity is the notion that the left alone ignores the Epstein list. Everyone knows the number one person afraid of revelation from this list is Donald Trump himself. It is Trump who publicly praised Epstein as a good friend and joked that he liked his women on the younger side. The same Trump who admitted to barging into Beauty Pageant dressing rooms to catch the girls undressing, even teen pageants. As for the third absurdity, the notion that there are Biden family crimes is a concoction of the Republican Party. The only apparent crime is that Hunter Biden believed he had gotten past his addiction issues when he purchased a gun and so essentially lied on the application form. The only reason this is being tried is because the Republicans demanded it. That is fine politically but stop dragging God into it Shane. Just stop it. The final absurdity, just from this short opening paragraph is that Shane is wondering why God allowed the conviction? How about because he was guilty as sin Shane! How about he was convicted by a jury of his peers? Jurors that his lawyers selected. Nonetheless, let us see what options Shane offers instead of the truth.

1. We reap what we sow. Actions have consequences. As with all of us, Trump's choices made earlier in his life have consequences that have exposed dealings in his past. But the Banana Republic of America is acting just like the Pharisees Jesus criticized when he said, "Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!" (Matt. 23:24, NASB). He was criticizing them because they focused on unimportant details while ignoring the truly important things.

As Christians, we forgive and allow people to move on. As to the charges of Trump's "character," many of us realize that we are not electing a pastor-in-chief but a commander-in-chief. I can unapologetically say that his personal character does not matter to me nearly as much as the Left's approval of killing the unborn, allowing men to enter women's locker rooms and turning a blind eye to trafficking children. How deceived are we when things such as murdering and exploiting the innocent are no big deal, but Trump's character is? At least be consistent. While on the topic of sowing and reaping, many are sowing to the wind and will reap the whirlwind of God's judgment. Make no mistake, America will answer for its corrupt legislators and ungodly legislation in both sides of the political aisle.

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 6^th 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.

We all know full well, that is the shoe were on the other foot, Idleman and his cabal would be organizing pitchfork and torch gatherings outside the White House to protest. I expect that little from carnal politicians, not people claiming to be a pastor doing the Lord's work.

Reverend Anthony Wade - June 9, 2024

Authors Bio:
Credentialed Minister of the Gospel for the Assemblies of God. Owner and founder of 828 ministries. Vice President for Goodwill Industries. Always remember that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.