resist the devil, [and] he will flee from you; (James 4:7)
"Satan is to be looked upon as an enemy, and to be opposed as such, and to be watched and guarded against; the whole armour of God should be taken and made use of, particularly the weapon of prayer, the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, and the shield of faith; and also the grace of humility, than which nothing is more opposite to him: he is a proud spirit, and he endeavours to swell men with pride of themselves; and when he has worked them up to such a pitch, he is then master of them, and can manage them as he pleases; but a poor humble believer, with whom God dwells, to whom he gives more grace, and who comes forth not in his own strength, but in the strength of the Lord God, as David against Goliath, and who owns his vileness and sinfulness, and flies to the grace of God, and blood of Christ, Satan knows not what to do with him, he is puzzled, baffled, and confounded; such he leaves, from such he flees; he does not like the power of prayer, nor the strength of faith, nor the sharpness of the two-edged sword, the word of God, nor the humble believer's staff, bag, scrip, and sling."The above is the commentary on James 4:7 by eighteenth century English theologian John Gill....who Spurgeon admired. "And when he has worked them up to such a pitch, (a proud spirit) he is master of them." That description is exactly what Trump has done to evangelicalism....not to mention what was formerly conservatism and as it appears the entire Republican Party....a name that really has no meaning anymore. He now is master over us....in his Masters College so to speak....we having acceded to him our intellect and our freedom and our honor and our integrity.
So how do we....resist Trump? What might this resistance entail...and how might we come to be this....resistance? Well we resist his schemes. He has done things like this his entire life....he will give something....but require much more in exchange for it. For instance....he will give through an executive order something that conservatives always wanted....but we must then overlook all of the horror that he does elsewhere. In times past he might give the people an ice skating rink....and expect them to ignore everything else that he does.
We have to keep our eyes on Christ! God's Word is the grid we put everything on....so we must reject the grid that Trump wants us to use. As for becoming this....resistance....we reject all that he has to offer us....even that which is good. Christ will give us that which we truly need. So Trump wants to give us an election of even more of his blind folllowers....we will want no part of it. Our election in Christ is the only election that matters.
We will have one Master.....and it will not be Trump....for we have one life to live....and then shall come judgment. We will not gild over our transgressions....but display them....as belonging to those of whom Jesus came to redeem....as in many cases....certainly in mine....the lowest of the low....offered mercy....and this to display His glory and power and blessings...."in order to make known the riches of His glory for vessels of mercy...."
Romans 9:23
