Applied Belief: Saving the presidency

As a teenager I remember the Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky affair. Wait. Was it an affair? They never had sex so apparently it wasn’t an affair, but just an inappropriate set of events. The famous words uttered by the President were “I did not have sex with that woman.”

As a teenager I thought to myself, what is the big deal? I argued like many still do that his behaviors played no part in how effective he was as a president. I excused the behaviors in return for a great orator and leader. I did not care about Bill Clinton’s salvation even though I was a Christian.

So many years later it seems nothing has really changed. Today Donald Trump is running for the presidency and many “Christians” are excusing his behaviors, his language, and his past because “he will be a great President.” Others have said, “We are not looking for pastor but a president!”

Many people agree with that last statement even if they don’t support Donald Trump. The same goes for Hillary Clinton. People excuse all the lying and past indiscretions because she could be the first female president in American history.

African Americans overwhelming voted for Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012 despite the fact the large numbers of African Americans are not in favor of some morally liberal policies held by Obama. When asked of African American Christians “why they voted for Obama despite the fact that their beliefs differ from his policies” the response has been, “we could not pass up the historic opportunity to vote and elect the first Black President.” Even worse, Obama doesn’t hold to historic orthodox biblical Christianity, and yet large swaths of Christians of all backgrounds still support him because of the historic nature of his presidency.

If Christians continue to think this way about the presidency, then they will ultimately be saying that they do not care if the president is not a Christian and therefore goes to Hell as long as he or she is a great president. This is shameful and, honestly, extremely disappointing, as well as neither Christian nor biblical.

2 Peter 3:8-10 says: “But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.”

The Lord is patient, not wishing any should perish and go to Hell, but that all should reach repentance. All means everyone, including the president of the United States. We as Christians use our freedom so often to criticize or to excuse a president but how often do we use it to pray for the president’s salvation? The Bible makes it clear that the Lord is coming and no one knows the day or the hour. Therefore, it is imperative that all come to repentance and salvation, now.

It should be our desire as Americans to have the best president possible, ideally one that is a constitutional originalist. Yet even more important is that we pray for the salvation of the president. The presidency, and even the state of the country, is temporal. What matters most is the eternity of the one that leads this country both currently and in the near future. After all, “what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?” (Matthew 16:26)

As we look forward to the end of one presidency and look towards a new one, consider this: “I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all” (1 Timothy 2:1-6).

* The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the ownership or management of Chadds Ford Live. We welcome opposing viewpoints. Readers may comment in the comments section or they may submit a Letter to the Editor to: editor@chaddsfordlive.com

About Rev. Marcos O. Almonte

Rev. Marcos O. Almonte is senior pastor at Brandywine Baptist Church, the oldest Baptist Church west of Philadelphia. Pastor Marcos is a graduate of Palmer Theological Seminary with more than 10 years working with families with an expertise in theology, trauma and addictions. Pastor Marcos and his wife Mary have three children, Carmen, Joseph, and Lincoln.

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