Jesus’ words are timeless and apply to all people in all generations, including His declaration that:
“You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit...So then, you will know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:15-20 NASB).
We should therefore always look at the fruit a person is producing right now to determine whether what they are doing is good or bad. However, the editor-in-chief of Christianity Today dismissed this standard, instead penning these words:
“Trump’s evangelical supporters have pointed to his Supreme Court nominees, his defense of religious liberty, and his stewardship of the economy, among other things, as achievements that justify their support of the president....Can we say with a straight face that abortion is a great evil that cannot be tolerated and, with the same straight face say that the bent and broken character of our nation’s leader doesn’t really matter in the end?”[1]
Every single one of the president’s current actions that Christianity Today identified and then rejected is an action God unequivocally says He will bless. In fact, Isaiah 1:26 affirms that the righteousness of a land is based on its judges; and on major issues of righteousness such as abortion, religious liberty, and Biblical sexuality, Trump-appointed judges have made more decisions in line with Biblical standards than any other group of judges over the past several decades. Yet Christianity Today dismisses this important fact because they don’t like the fruit the president personally produced years ago. Yet they properly don’t hold to this standard when it comes to Kanye West, who is being judged by his current fruit rather than his past fruit.
When Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi was recently asked whether her relentless attacks on the president indicated a hatred of him, she threatened the reporter, “Don’t mess with me.” She continued:
“As a Catholic, I resent your using the word hate in a sentence that addresses me. I don't hate anyone. I was raised in a way that is a heart full of love and always prayed for the President. And I still pray for the President...So don't mess with me when it comes to words like that.”[2]
It seems that she forgot that Catholics also oppose abortion and support marriage as the lifelong union of a man and a woman—Biblical views she discarded years ago in favor of her personal religious beliefs. So should we judge her by her Catholic label from years ago, or by her current actions today? The answer is obvious.
Across the generations, it was recognized that we must conform our personal opinions to God’s written word. As Founding Father John Jay correctly advised:
“The Bible is the best of all books, for it is the word of God and teaches us the way to be happy in this world and in the next. Continue therefore to read it and to regulate your life by its precepts.”[3]
We should, therefore, heed Jesus’ words to judge a tree by the fruit it is producing right now, which is the very standard Christianity Today refuses to use.
Foundations of Truth hereby waives all claim of copyright (economic and moral) in this work and immediately places it in the public domain; it may be used, published, edited, and distributed in any manner whatsoever without any attribution or notice to Foundations of Truth.
[1] Galli, M. (2019, December 19). Trump should be removed from office: It’s time to say what we said 20 years ago when a president’s character was revealed for what it was. Retrieved from
https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2019/december-web-only/trump-should-be-removed-from-office.html
[2] Povich, E. S. (2019, December 5). What's really behind Pelosi's 'don't mess with me'. Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/05/opinions/whats-really-behind-pelosis-dont-mess-with-me-povich/index.html
[3] Jay, J. (1784, April 8). Letter to Peter Augustus Jay. Retrieved from https://wallbuilders.com/founding-fathers-jesus-christianity-bible/#FN60
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