This week, my church hosted a conversation centered around the Assemblies of God’s new position paper on Christians and citizenship. You can read the whole position paper here.
During that conversation, I already made this comment.
When we allow partisan or when we allow earthly ideologies to co-opt us and to corrupt our witness, we've allowed the gospel to be diminished in our life. So my encouragement, the first one here is this is that you must prioritize the advancement and the propagation of the gospel above anything else. Beyond any policy, beyond any advocacy, beyond any political party or platform. You must prioritize the gospel of Jesus…
And our identity must remain committed to preaching the good news of Jesus. And ultimately that's where when we allow politics, when we allow social things, when we allow earthly structures to be the defining characteristic of our life instead of the gospel, we've abandoned the good news … in the pursuit of power.
At the end of the day, when we elevate politics or an advocacy or a party or a platform or a belief system, at the end of the day, it's pursuing power instead of Jesus.
This week, President Trump released this photo, which was later deleted following criticism.
My reflections today focus solely on this act by President Trump and will not explore any other aspects of his political sphere or influence.
As a Pentecostal pastor, I simply want to say this as plainly and clearly as I can, addressing this specific issue: This action, by President Trump, is explicit idolatry, political manipulation, and a corrupt perversion of the Christian faith and our Holy Lord Jesus Christ.
All I plan to do in the post below is walk through that statement.
By posting this picture, President Trump has explicitly and grossly attempted to co-opt and hijack the divine nature of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
By portraying himself as a divine figure, President Trump has, in essence, created himself as an idol to be revered and praised. There is no way to say this is anything less than idolatry. President Trump has propagated an image that elicits praise from his adherents, capitalizing on imagery at the expense of Christians and their Messiah.
By portraying himself as an equal or replacement for Christ, President Trump has erected himself as an idol seeking the praise and attention that ought only be given and devoted to the Son of God, who alone is truly able to heal and bring lasting peace.
By utilizing Christian themes and imagery, President Trump is attempting to manipulate people with these religious themes and steal the power and influence of God.
No man can bring healing—only the power of the Holy Spirit at work in the life of the believer can do this.
No man, apart from the Lord Jesus, is the center of anything.
The gospel of Jesus demands that all people have access to the good news of Jesus. This cannot be contained, encapsulated, or embodied by any earthly entity. The Church and Body of Jesus Christ is alone the embodiment of the Gospel.
By portraying spiritual power and reverence for himself, President Trump has corrupted and perverted the Christian faith. He has gravely dishonored the One True God.
No political leader is divine. Christ alone is the Son of God.
No political leader is able to claim the reverence of God or the glory due only to his name.
No political leader should gain power and authority over others at the expense of capitalizing on the power and glory of Jesus Christ.
Any attempt to gain personal power while co-opting Christ or his Church is a corruption of the Gospel message.
Christ is not for the betterment of a political ideology or platform but for the proclamation of God’s plan of salvation for all who repent and believe.
We must preach Christ crucified and Christ alone.
President Trump’s idolatry is an egregious sin and must be condemned as a heretical act requiring genuine repentance. As Christians, we must not be blinded to this unrighteousness and not allow our political opinions to supersede our commitment to righteousness.
Pentecostal brothers and sisters, remain committed to the voice of the Holy Spirit, convicting the world of sin and revealing the ONE TRUE GOD to the hearts of the lost.
JESUS CHRIST IS RISEN. JESUS CHRIST WILL COME AGAIN. JESUS CHRIST ALONE IS THE LORD OF LORDS.
