Examining part two of an NAR series demanding Christians vote for their perceived lesser evil.

::::::::

When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, "Rabbi, when did you come here?" Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal." - John 6:25-27 (ESV)

Click Here

Last week we examined part one of this article series from Charisma News and author Wayne Grudem. Mr. Grudem is an NAR political operative disguised as aa Christian. He is cut from the same heretical cloth as Franklin Graham or James Dobson. His goal as all dominionists, is to conquer the seven cultural mountains and "revive" the world. Dominionism is why the church loves the world in these end days. It is a focus away from the eternal and onto the carnal. Grudem's article lays out ten points about whether pastors should preach politics. The final three points Wayne says will be his preference for the upcoming election, wink wink. Gee, I wonder what his preference will be! It sure won't be Jesus. Any day the church is fighting for this world instead of the Gospel is another day the devil wins, period full stop. Let us continue in our delve into the mind of this dominionist, who is trying desperately co-opt Christian votes.

"6. Some people may leave your church, but the question is, have you been faithful to God? Just last week a pastor told me that when he gave a message on political issues, one couple became angry and left the church. I replied that does not mean he was wrong. It may just mean that he was faithfully teaching the Word of God and they rejected its teachings. (Later he told me that he had had a good conversation with them, and they decided to return.) People walked out on Jesus when He began to preach unpopular truths (John 6:66), and the people in His hometown of Nazareth were so troubled by His teaching that they even tried to throw Him off a cliff (Luke 4:29). Paul was a remarkably successful evangelist to the Gentiles, but opponents who disliked his message eventually drove him out of Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, Thessalonica and Berea (Acts 13:50;14:5-6, 19; 17:5, 13-14). Yet at the end of his life, he had the joy of knowing that he had been faithful to God: "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, and I have kept the faith" (2 Tim. 4:7). If you believe that God is calling you to speak on some political/moral issues, it is important to settle in your mind beforehand that a sense of God's approval on your speaking will be more valuable to you than avoiding the (possible) loss of some friendships and supporters. That is a decision that only you can make. And who knows if God will bring more people to your church in response to your faithfulness?" - Wayne Grudem

This is where the dominionists go off the rails. The assumption made by Grudem is made by all who worship this country over God. They assume their position is righteous and thus those opposed are not. Politics is the art of two different sinners who believe their way of sinning is superior for the carnal culture to adopt. If the pastor in this example was teaching the word of God then he never would have broached the subject of politics at all, let alone pick sides of which group of sinners is better. To then crudely mix in when the people left Jesus is just a mangling of scripture. They left because they refused to hear the deeper truths of God. They left because they were seeking Jesus for carnal reasons, as the key verses from earlier in the text displays. This conversation happened shortly after the feeding of the five thousand. Likewise the NAR dominionist has his fill at the trough of the world and seeks Jesus only to expand their fill. The deeper truths of the bible? The Gospel? That's for suckers. Especially when you can regale your sheep with tales about how righteous the Republican Party is. Ugh. There is a "tell" here from Grudem. Look, either I am right and the Gospel is preeminent, or the dominionist is right and preachers need to sermonize politics. Yet Grudem leaves it up to this nebulous sense of if you feel God is "calling you" to preach politics. Somewhere, deep down, Grudem seems to know his position is unbiblical.

"7. Pastors today have an unusual opportunity to influence the direction of history. Will it make a difference whether you speak on politics or not? Yes, it will make a difference. I recently spoke at a local church about the issues at stake in this election, and what surprised me was the thoughtful, mature people who came up to me afterward and said, "Thank you for that clear explanation. I was so confused. I didn't know what to think." In my opinion, most pastors would be amazed at how many people in their churches aren't sure how to vote this year, and aren't even sure if they will vote at all. What if you persuaded just 10 people to vote who otherwise would not have voted? Then if only 1,000 pastors like you influenced just 10 people to vote, that would be 10,000 additional votes. (Remember, George W. Bush won the presidency in 2000 by just 537 votes in the state of Florida.) And you might persuade more than 10 people. "In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening do not let your hand rest; because you do not know which activity will find success" (Eccl.11:6a). The nation is at a decision point, and you have a unique opportunity to influence the outcome. Will you succeed? Will your preferred candidate win? No one knows. The question is whether you have done your part. In years to come, will you be able to look back on 2020 and know that you were faithful to God's guidance in doing what you were able to do?" - Wayne Grudem

Once again, Grudem falsely concludes that his analysis is what God wants. The church speaking out can have dramatic effects but that does not mean it is what God commanded. Look at where Grudem's focus is. As all good little dominionists, he is solely focused on this world. In years to come and pastors look back on 2020 they should only ask themselves if they preached the Gospel. God does not ask pastors to preach politics. God does not need pastors to preach politics. It is interesting that Grudem does not hide his motive. He wants preachers to persuade sheep to vote his way. Disgusting.

"8. This election is about more than the next four years. The policies that Democrats and Republicans promise to enact have never in my lifetime been so different, perhaps never in American history (for the differences, see my "Letter to an Anti-Trump Christian Friend," and also the platforms of Democratic and Republican parties--the Republicans kept their 2016 platform for 2020). America is truly at a turning point, and because of the immense power that judges now have, this election could set the direction of our nation not just for the next four years, but for the next 10 or 20 years or even more. Let me explain why. If Joe Biden wins the election, and if Democrats gain a majority in the Senate, the Democratic platform promises to make Washington, D.C., the 51st state (p. 58-59), which would automatically add two more Democratic senators to the U.S. Senate, making it more difficult for Republicans to ever regain a majority. And their platform holds open the possibility of making Puerto Rico the 52nd state (p. 59), giving a potential of yet two more Democratic senators. Present Trump has appointed and the Senate has so far confirmed 212 judges who now serve in the 852 district and circuit judgeships in the United States. But that positive influence on the judicial system could be quickly diluted because the Democratic platform says they are committed to "creating new federal district and circuit judgeships" (p. 38). Trump has also appointed two of the nine Supreme Court justices (Gorsuch and Kavanaugh), and, with the death of Justice Ginsburg, he may yet be able to appoint a third justice giving the court a 6-3 majority of conservative or "originalist" justices who will rule according to the original meaning of the Constitution and laws (but Chief Justice John Roberts is an unreliable originalist vote)." - Wayne Grudem

This is what happens when you only focus on this world. All of your reasoning is focused on this world too. It skews your view. Grudem is worried about Biden winning and the dems controlling the Senate but never addresses why these things may occur. The fact is that all of those righteous Republicans Grudem has been begging the church to vote for have been trying to steal people's healthcare for years now. They have passed tax cuts for billionaires but refuse to pass a second COVID aid response. They notice when your favorite righteous party steals Supreme Court seats and gloats about their hypocrisy. And what about the people who live in Washington DC and Puerto Rico? Notice how they do not even factor in as human beings to Grudem. Instead they are automatically considered negative politically so no reason to consider them as people. By the way, why are they automatically Democratic? This is the pure carnality of politics. Because the Republican Party does not believe they can properly sell their platform in DC and PR, they automatically oppose statehood for these people. Wow. Lastly here notice the slap at Chief Justice John Roberts. I remember when Bush nominated him. The church was positively giddy. A funny thing happened on the way to Roberts being a puppet for the right wing. He realized how history judges him was more important now that his lifetime seat means he is not beholden to the party that nominated him. He is still wildly right wing but because he is not pure, he is now vilified. That is yet another reason why we do not vote as Christians based solely on one issue that requires someone in addition to the one we vote for to come through for us. These carnal politicians love using gullible Christians.

"Whoever wins this presidential election will likely be able to choose one or perhaps two justices (Breyer is 82, Thomas is 72 and Alito is 70). Even if no one retires, several Democrats have raised the possibility of adding six new seats to the Supreme Court, which could give a 9-6 majority of young, "living Constitution" judges who do not consider themselves subject to the original meanings of the Constitution and laws, but think that they have the authority to rewrite these documents according to what they now think the Constitution or law should have said. The result would be one politically far-left policy after another imposed on the country, not by laws passed through Congress and signed by the president, but by judicial rulings that would find a way to claim that these rulings are "constitutional" and therefore impossible to change by any future president or Congress. But if President Trump is reelected, the next four years will look very different from the Democratic vision. Trump will likely appoint one or two more Supreme Court justices and hundreds of additional district and circuit court judges who believe that "no one is above the law," and therefore they will not consider themselves to be above the Constitution and the laws and able to give them new meanings, but rather will consider themselves to be subject to the law, understood according to the meaning of the words at the time the law or the Constitution itself were written. Therefore, new laws will only be created, not by the novel ideas of powerful judges, but as they should be created: through the actions of state legislatures and governors and the actions of the U.S. Congress and the president, all of whom are accountable to the people through the election process." - Wayne Grudem

So much debate about originalists verses living constitutionalists. Who cares! Do you think God cares one whit! If the Democrats expand the court to 15 and then the Republicans expand it to 20, is one more soul saved for the kingdom of Christ? Can God handle one far-left policy after another? Trump will have nominated three Supremes. Is that not enough for your faith? No beloved. It will never be enough. That is why dominionists have it so wrong. Every election year since I have been legal to vote has been branded by the Wayne Grudem's of the world as the most important of our lifetime. This year is not different. The year 2024 will not be different. For this world, it will be dire and apocalyptic but for God it will just be one more year drawing to the day He returns. While Grudem and the NAR would have the church fighting over the scraps of this fallen world, the only thing that will matter to God is the preaching of His Gospel.

"9. Genuine threats to religious freedom. In my view, the most troubling possibility is the threat of a significant loss of religious freedom that would likely follow a Biden-Harris victory. The Democratic platform promises, "We will reject the Trump administration's use of broad religious exemptions to allow businesses, medical providers, social service agencies and others to discriminate." This sentence, if understood in the context of recent Democratic policy advocacy and judicial activism, predicts a whole series of lawsuits attempting to force Christians in businesses to violate their consciences by requiring that their insurance plans pay for abortifacient medicines, abortions and sex-change surgeries. It predicts that doctors, nurses and other medical professionals would be required to participate in abortions or lose their jobs. It predicts that professional counselors would be prohibited from attempting to help homosexual men and women who want to begin to live a heterosexual lifestyle. It predicts that Christian bakeries, photographers and florists would face heavy fines for "discrimination" and be driven into bankruptcy if they refused to bake a cake, take wedding photographs or provide flower arrangements for same-sex weddings. The 2020 Democratic platform says Democrats will "reject" the Trump administration's "broad religious exemptions" that today are still protecting Christians from such government oppression. In addition, this platform statement predicts that Christian adoption agencies and foster care agencies would be put out of business because of "discrimination" unless they were willing to place children with homosexual, lesbian and transgender couples. It predicts that Christian schools and colleges would be forced to close because of "discrimination" unless they allowed transgender students to use restrooms, locker rooms, showers and on-campus housing that corresponds to their chosen "gender identity" rather than their biological sex. And, if Canada and some European countries provide a precedent, this statement predicts that even pastors and other Christian leaders might be prosecuted for hate speech if they dare to speak publicly against any aspect of the LGBT-plus agenda." - Wayne Grudem

What nonsense. There is no threat to religious freedom. There is however a threat to the NAR desire to have a theocracy. Let's take an honest look at this. George W. Bush was revered by the church as one of their own yet when he was leaving office he gave an interview where he said that all religions serve the same god. He ran on pro-life and the church forces demanded the sheep vote for him both times. Yet in office he never brought up abortion, despite having complete control of Congress for two years. Fast forward to 2012 and God gave the church an interesting choice. Barack Obama is a Christian, albeit a liberal one. Mitt Romney however belongs to the Satanic cult of Mormonism. This demonic religion was created in the 1800's by a pedophile bigamist. Mormons believe Jesus and the devil are brothers and that God comes from another planet. Despite this, even the Billy Graham Association dropped Mormonism from their cult list. That is how much dominionism makes you sell out your beliefs. In 2016 the church faced another hard choice. Hillary Clinton is a Christian, again a liberal one. Donald Trump however was never Christian and his behavior is possibly the least Christian in our history. Even as president, who has Trump surrounded himself with? Wildly apostate preachers like Paula White, his personal spiritual advisor. Still, after four years of belligerence and bullying, surrounded by a bevy of false teachers and facing another professing Christian (Catholic) Grudem would have us again vote for Trump. All will be better if we just vote for Trump. Well, until 2024 when Grudem will be back again for your vote swearing that 2024 is the most important election of our lives. Until 2028 that is. What a brilliant scheme of the devil. To have the church chasing the world's tail for things that have not eternal value while the Gospel is relegated to a second-tier status.

Grudem concludes with a list of topics he thinks pastors can preach about instead of the Gospel. These include religious freedom, obeying the law, abortion, sexual orientation and gender identity, marijuana, immigration and border security, global warning/climate change and military power. This may as well be the Republican Party platform! To make matters worse, Grudem tries to leverage the bible to excuse preaching about these. In the majority of these scripture citations Grudem takes things God declared for Israel and pretends they should now apply to the world. This is what the NAR is forced to do because they have no biblical leg to stand on. Let me look at just two of these:

--Immigration and border security: How does God want us to wisely apply the command to "love the sojourner" (Deut.10:19) as well as the commands to be subject to the government and obey its laws (Rom. 13:1-5)? If we dislike current immigration laws, what is the best way to get those laws changed? Is it right for a nation to have a wall to protect its borders? (Ex. 22:21, 23:9; Deut. 10:19; Ps. 122:7, 51:18; 2 Chron. 36:19; Neh. 1:3, 2:17; Prov. 25:28).

--Global warming/climate change: Did God create an earth with such beneficial energy sources as coal, oil and natural gas, but also booby-trap them so that by using them, we would destroy the earth? Or did He create an earth with self-correcting mechanisms and long-term cycles of gradual warming and cooling? (Gen. 1:28, 31; 1 Tim. 4:4-5, 6:17; Gen. 9:11; Ps. 104:9; Jer. 5:22; Isa. 45:18). [Note: I list the alleged threat of catastrophic global warming as an issue here because it is one of the primary rationales behind the push by Democrats for ever-increasing government control of our lives. For more information see the Cornwall Alliance or chapter 41 of my Christian Ethics.]

The NAR position on immigration revolves around Romans 13, which they conveniently abandon when it comes to adhering to COVID restrictions. This Christian hypocrisy is not lost on the world and damages our collective witness for Christ. When we spend all of our credibility capital on matters of this world, why would anyone listen to us when it comes to the Gospel? The fact that Israel built walls does not mean that all wall building is now deemed righteous. How can a pastor preach about border security and not address the separation of mothers from their children? What about people seeking asylum? It saddens me that Christians are so swift to condemn people from poor countries simply because they won the "where were you born" lottery by being born in America. If you honestly believe Jesus would support walls and dividing families into cages then I suggest you re-read the Gospel accounts. As for the matter of climate change, look at the deceitful manner in which Grudem couches the argument. God did not booby trap the environment. Man is destroying it, led by the Republican Party who cares more about money than God's creation. The overarching point of course has nothing to do with climate. It has to do with money. Why in the world would God want to waste a second in preaching about a world the bible already assures us is passing away? He wouldn't. Grudem presented this laundry list of pet GOP issues as things Christians should agree on but that is absurd. This is again the damage the NAR does to the body of Christ. When you preach one side is right and the other wrong your starting position alienates half the church. They are not wrong. They simply disagree. Grudem actually lists other sermon topics that Christians might disagree on such as tax rates, economic growth, poverty, regulation, school choice, Israel, guns, and foreign policy. This is clearly from a carnal perspective. Should there be any disagreement between Christians when it comes to helping the poor? Then there are things here that I cannot believe Grudem thinks belong behind the pulpit rather than the Gospel. School choice? Seriously? Do you think God is pro-vouchers? Are you insane? You think God dislikes regulating businesses who destroy His creation? You think He is pro-gun? This is just horrible. Read the Pauline letters that spell out church organization and the role of a pastor. Is any of this there? Of course not. Grudem now addresses voting outside the two-party system:

"What about a Write-in Vote for President? The ability to vote is a stewardship given to us by God, and essential to that stewardship is a responsibility to affect the outcome of an election. By placing us in a country that has a democratic form of government and not a dictatorship or monarchy, we each have a small role as part of the "governing authority" that God has placed over our nation. "We the people" are in fact the human rulers of our nation. By voting, we play a role in governing. By voting, we are acting as "God's servant" for the "good" of the people as a whole (see Rom. 13:4). But voting for a write-in candidate or third-party candidate will not fulfill that stewardship because it will have no effect whatsoever on the outcome of this election. It has the same impact on the outcome as staying home and not voting. Therefore I consider it to be a misuse of our stewardship. It seems to me like putting an empty envelope in the offering plate when it passes you in church--it is going through the motions but accomplishing nothing. Another illustration that comes to mind is hiding your talent in the ground (Matt. 25:25).

The only choice available to us is a choice between two complete packages:

Package 1: Donald Trump and his policies.

Package 2: Joe Biden and his policies.

Both choices come as whole packages, and they are the only choices we have at the present time. Consider this teaching from Proverbs: "Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it" (Prov. 3:27)." - Wayne Grudem

The ability to vote is not given to us by God. This is the warped thinking of the dominionist mind. They believe that God wants them to assist rule this pagan nation. Now, I am not against voting. We have a civic, secular responsibility to do so. It just has nothing to do with God. Whoever is president next year - God will still be on the throne. He is not cataloguing your voting record to determine if you are saved or not. Yet to hear dominionists speak they actually believe the opposite! Look at this warped logic Grudem is using. According to him, Christians cannot vote for a third-party candidate or write someone in! So if you have a Mormon and a liberal Christian, you cannot vote for Jesus. You cannot vote for a third-party candidate that actually shares our faith. You MUST according to Grudem, discern the lesser of the two evils presented. If it were left there that would be problematic enough. Grudem however defends that lesser evil. He brags about voting for it. He writes long articles demanding you need to embrace his lesser evil. One could make a more cogent biblical article for not voting for anything evil, no matter how "lesser" we have determined it to be. Grudem concludes:

"Conclusion - If you believe that God is calling you to teach about some political issues, you also have an opportunity to model how Christians can respect each other even when we have political differences. You can model a respectful and thoughtful tone. You might even consider giving opportunity for a responsible spokesman to express views different from yours. And it's up to you whether you mention the Democratic and Republican parties by name, or whether you speak in general about "Party A" and "Party B," or whether you just speak purely about issues without mentioning any political party. How many issues should you speak about? I cannot decide that for you. But I don't think the answer is zero." - Wayne Grudem

Yeah, no Wayne. Preach the Gospel. Jesus never preached against the oppression of Rome. Neither did Paul or the Apostles. This long, two-part series, is just another in a long line of NAR dominionist attempts at vote grabbing. Wayne Grudem serves the masters of this world. Do not do the same. Pray, vote, or do not vote. Neither party is going to represent the cause of Christ. Only you can do that.

Reverend Anthony Wade - October 13, 2020

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.