But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember then from what you have fallen; repent and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. Revelation 2:4-5 NRSV
I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot I am about to spit you out of my mouth. For you say, "I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing. You do not recognize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind and naked." Revelation 3:15-17, NRSV
To those Christian leaders, churches, denominations and leaders who have sold out to Trumpism, I'll put this warning in terms you can understand. Your lampstand is obviously being removed, and unless there is genuine repentance, you will continue to fall from grace. You have permitted, as the Apostle Jude warned in his epistle, "intruders who have stolen in among you, ungodly people who have perverted the grace of God into licentiousness,"[1] and whose demands for loyalty have caused you to abandon the love and loyalty you once had for Jesus Christ. You are depending on politics for your salvation and you are causing confusion by watering down the prophetic voice of scripture with political rhetoric in your sermons and teaching.
The evidence that your lampstand may be falling, and in fact, may already be removed is clear. Conservative, Evangelical churches, denominations, megachurches and recognized leaders are increasingly involved in scandals involving the vast amounts of money they are collecting from Christians, many of whom give sacrificially, or in some kind of sexual abuse, including adulterous affairs of pastors and church leaders and attempts to cover up this licentious, abusive, sinful behavior. Multitudes of sincere Christians, seeking the abiding presence of God, in "perfect love which casts out fear" [2] are leaving your churches and abandoning your leadership. More will follow.
Claiming that "God Sometimes Uses Evil Men to Accomplish His Purposes" is Bad Theology and Doesn't Absolve the Guilt of Those Who Make This False Claim
The fact that your loyalty has shifted, from Christ to an ungodly man is reflected in these scandals, as well as in your lack of ability to handle them and resolve them. They are a mirror image of the politician to whom you have given your loyalty and support, an adulterer who cheated on all three of his wives, two of whom were "the other woman," along with his own admission, or bragging, that there had literally been hundreds of others. A pathological liar whose rhetoric has led to death and destruction, incitement of violence and insurrection against the governing authorities, which is contrary to the words of two apostles in scripture, Paul in Romans 13:1-7 and Peter in I Peter 2:13-17.
There is no doubt that God is sovereign over the course of history. And while that sometimes means that the acts of rulers and politicians who are evil follow the course of history wind up achieving ends which are aligned with God's divine will and purpose, it does not mean that God endorses their behavior nor does he ever encourage his people to pledge their loyalty and support to them. When Paul and Peter wrote those passages pointing out that the governing authorities were under God's sovereign direction, they advocated obedience to them as a testimony to the faith of God's people, not loyalty to them, because they were pagan. During the most severe times of persecution, Christians remained obedient, in many cases to the point of a cruel death, not rebelling against their authority, but also not giving their loyalty to anyone but Christ.
Loyalty to Christ cannot be divided with someone else, especially a politician who has openly demonstrated and expressed his own unwillingness to submit to the will of God, give loyalty to Christ or to permit his supporters to share loyalty with Christ.
Believing a Lie is Lying
Merely believing that an assertion is true doesn't make it true. God has given his human creation gifts of wisdom, discernment and knowledge, enabling them to gain an understanding of the world around them. There is absolutely no evidence at all to suggest that the election of 2020 was fraudulent, that there was massive voter fraud and that someone other than the declared and certified winner actually won. It doesn't take divine discernment to come to that conclusion, common sense and acknowledgement of the facts should be plenty.
Continuing to support anyone who continues to assert this lie is not a demonstration of repentance. It is lying, whether it is to yourself, or implying to others that you believe it to be true. How is there an expectation that members of a congregation can trust the word being preached to them by a pastor who is a liar, and who is not even willing to consider the truth? There cannot be a spiritual presence of God abiding in the word of someone who cannot discern a lie from the truth and is willing to perpetuate a lie without discernment.
Blinded to the Need for Repentance
The Apostle John relayed this message from the vision he received of Christ to the church at Laodicea, "For you say, "I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing. You do not recognize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind and naked." [3] Insulated by accumulated wealth, gathered from Christians, many of whom give sacrificially, it has become impossible for many leaders and many Christians to see their need for repentance. They have bought into the lie that has infiltrated the American church for centuries that financial prosperity is the equivalent of God's blessings. Nowhere do the scriptures teach that. The fact that most of the world's richest people did not acquire their abundance by honest means, and that few of them give any credit to God at all for what they have acquired, including our most recent past-president, who is a billion dollars in debt and who acquired most of his possessions and wealth by fraud, defaulting on debt and cheating "suckers," as he calls them, out of their money.
Seeing pseudo-Christian leaders live "lifestyles of the rich and famous," rather than the simple, austere, sacrificial life modeled by Christ and his ministry as recorded in scripture gives us insights into the choices that have been made. Private jets, yachts, elaborate vacations to exotic destinations under the guise of "mission trips," all on the dime of contributors, claimed as tax-free blessings from God are hard to give up. Most of those who realize their phony faith has been outed simply fade into the background, but so far, I haven't seen anyone part with all of this wealth, or leave the lifestyle, as an act of repentance. They keep the spoils, even while shedding a few crocodile tears as a demonstration of their repentance.
Let Me Be Clear...
I grew up in a Christian home, and became a Christian myself as a result of the influence of my parents. They lived out the virtues of the gospel of Christ, not out of some kind of obligation or ritual, but in a genuine way that was part of their character and who they were. Those who aren't Christian might not understand this, but that's what makes the difference for me. That's how it's supposed to work.
So this is an observation from a Christian, not some angry criticism from a detractor. I can break down and explain the whole conversion experience for you, including my own, I reading, studying and teaching the scripture, prayer, and personal and corporate worship are regular spiritual disciplines for me. So what you are reading here comes from observation, spiritual discernment and years of experience as a member of several churches. I have watched this infiltration of conservative Christianity for decades. The preaching and worship in a church are there to bring Christians into a spiritual encounter with the presence of God. Bringing in anything that distracts from that, changes it, causes confusion and isn't an act of worship is apostasy.
And that's exactly what I'm pointing out here.
[1] the Epistle of Jude, Verse 4
[2] I John 4:13-18
[3] Revelation 3:16-17
All references are New Revised Standard Version
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