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Posts tagged ‘Robert Jeffress’

Of Course Robert Jeffress Is Right about Bombing North Korea


Posted by Bryan Fischer Host of “Focal Point” | Thursday, August 10, 2017 @ 10:57 AM

Of Course Robert Jeffress Is Right about Bombing North Korea

Robert Jeffress, the pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, has drawn withering fire from the left for defending the president’s moral, biblical, and God-given right to use military force to neutralize the threat from North Korea and its dictator Kim Jong Un if circumstances warrant.

Said Jeffress, God has given “rulers full power to use whatever means necessary – including war – to stop evil.” Jeffress said this after President Trump promised “fire and fury” if North Korea puts American lives in harm’s way.

Robert Jeffress is exactly right and his critics are exactly wrong.

In Romans 13, we are told that civil government derives its authority from God. “There is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God” (Romans 13:1). Civil government is not man’s idea, it is God’s. And the political authority civil government has, every last bit of it, has been delegated to it by God himself.

This, of course, does not mean that everything civil government does is right, not by a long shot. Since political leaders receive their authority from God, they are accountable to God for the way in which they use it. God has given man, including political rulers, free will, and given to those rulers clear instructions how that free will is to be exercised. Woe to that political leader who abuses God’s gift of free will to misuse God’s authority. 

The prophets repeatedly excoriated the kings of ancient Judah and Israel for misusing God’s authority in political affairs, and warned them that God would judge them for it.

To provide a modern example, the authority that Hitler exercised was delegated authority. He misused it to disastrously evil purposes, and God judged him for corrupting His power by using the military might of the allied armies to destroy him, much as God used the ancient power of Babylon to judge the wayward kings of Judah. 

Romans 13 tells us that God has granted authority to civil government to use lethal force to punish evil. Civil authority “is the servant of God for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain” (Romans 13:4). The sword, of course, is an instrument of deadly power, and has been entrusted to government as an instrument of justice, both in capital punishment and in war.

To tack this down in a way that removes all doubt, the Apostle immediately adds, “He (civil government) is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer” (Romans 13:4). This is how God fulfills his promise, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay” (Romans 12:19).

Jeffress told CBN News, “I’m heartened to see that our president — contrary to what we’ve seen with past administrations who have taken, at best, a sheepish stance toward dictators and oppressors — will not tolerate any threat against the American people.” 

North Korea responded to the president’s “fire and fury” comments by threatening to bomb Guam, which is an American territory. He is now apparently making plans to target Guam with intercontinental ballistic missiles, aiming to have them splash down within 20 miles of American soil. A more naked act of aggression would be hard to imagine, and certainly warrants a vigorous response in kind.

Christian theologians generated what is called the “just war” theory, to identify under what circumstances a Christian political leader may justifiably resort to lethal force in the defense of the citizens he has a sworn duty to protect.

The first principle of a just war is that its cause must be just. This means that innocent lives must be in danger, and intervention must be necessary to protect them. If North Korea begins raining down missiles from the heavens, endangering the innocent civilians who live on Guam, that is all the just cause a president would need.

With regard to the innocent North Korean lives that would be lost, their blood would be on the heads of their corrupt leaders who forced America to use lethal force in self defense. 

War is a terrible thing. But there are worse things than war, and one of them is not going to war when it is necessary to protect innocent life. Kudos to Robert Jeffress for spelling out in no uncertain terms the biblical case for war, and kudos to President Trump for his willingness to use American military might to protect our fellow Americans.

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Robert Jeffress Rebukes Glenn Beck for Criticism of Southern Evangelicals


waving flagby Michael Patrick Leahy 23 Mar 2016

AP Photo/Andrew Harnik

AP Photo/Andrew Harnik

Robert Jeffress, pastor of the 12,000 member First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, is rebuking talk radio host Glenn Beck for his recent criticism of evangelical Christians who live in the South and are not supporting Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX)’s campaign to secure the Republican Presidential nomination.

“All throughout the South the Evangelicals are not listening to their God,” Beck said at a rally in Utah on Monday.

“Beck’s wacko comment speaks for itself,” Jeffress tells Breitbart News.

“However, by using the phrase ‘their God’ to refer to the God we evangelical Christians worship, Beck is finally admitting that the true God of the Bible is different than the god of the Book of Mormon. I congratulate Beck for his honesty in differentiating between the two,” Jeffress adds.

“However, I am somewhat puzzled that Beck claims to know how the God Christians worship would vote in the Republican primaries.”

Jeffress has introduced GOP frontrunner Donald Trump at many events, though as a pastor he is not officially endorsing any candidate.

Beck, a Mormon, has endorsed Cruz and has spoken on his behalf at numerous rallies around the country.

One prominent academic who specializes in American religion takes exception to Beck’s comments as well.

“Assuming that Mr. Beck is referring to evangelicals who vote for Trump, I would make a distinction that Beck does not: The Bible certainly offers principles on how to think about government and politics. The Bible does not, however, tell us which individual candidates to vote for,” Dr. Thomas S. Kidd, Distinguished Professor of History and Associate Director of the Institute for Studies of Religion at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, tells Breitbart News.

“If other Christians don’t vote for our preferred candidate, we should not say that they are not listening to God. None of us has special access to God’s opinions about candidates,” Kidd says.

“There are many reasons why devout Christians should hesitate to vote for Donald Trump, but God has not revealed Ted Cruz as the divinely anointed alternative, either,” Kidd concludes.

A number of evangelical Christians who live in the South are also critical of Beck’s fusion of theology and politics.

“Say what you want, but as a Southern Christian, I’m pretty sure my God doesn’t like politicians behaving like diamond pinky ring wearing TV preachers telling lies and trying to guilt people into donating their dollars to false causes,” Stephani Scruggs, a resident of Pensacola, Florida, posted on her Facebook page Tuesday. Scruggs says she is the former national co-chairman of the Glenn Beck inspired 9-12 Project

Criticisms of Beck’s attack on evangelical Christians who live in the South and are not supporting Cruz were echoed by several participants in the February 25 Breitbart focus groups conducted of evangelical Christians in Tennessee who said they intended to vote in the March 1 GOP Presidential primary in the Volunteer State.

“It has been very disconcerting to see Beck traveling with Cruz,” Elizabeth, who voted for Cruz in the Tennessee primary and participated in one of the February 25 focus groups, tells Breitbart News.

“I have had a nagging concern about Cruz’s integrity. His association with Beck confirms this,” she says.

“Beck is not reticent about pushing his Mormon faith, which from an evangelical perspective is heretical. Apparently Cruz has no discomfort being called the fulfillment of a false prophecy,” she adds.

“The fact that evangelicals have not fully embraced Cruz but Mormons have is troubling to someone who voted for Cruz but now questions the decision,” Elizabeth concludes.

“I am disgusted by Beck’s comments and he should be ashamed for casting stones,” Jim, a Trump supporter and small business owner who participated in the focus groups, tells Breitbart News.

“Are we counting sins? Let’s see: Cruz has lied on multiple occasions, smeared Trump horribly, wasn’t tithing while making over $250,000,” he adds.

“I tuned Glenn Beck out a long time ago,” Martha, a Trump alternate delegate and focus group participant, tells Breitbart News. (Note: Two other participants in the focus groups ran as Cruz delegates in Tennessee.)

“I think he has issues and is in no position to determine who is or is not listening to anything or anyone, including God,” she adds.

“His hysterics do nothing but turn me off, whether it’s this or anything else,” she says of Beck.

“I think he has done some good exposing some of those leftist relationships that he has exposed. But, once he starts on opinion, he always seems totally off the wall to me. Have thought this a long time,” Martha concludes.

“I was offended by Glenn Beck’s comments, as I was by Romney’s speech several weeks ago. ‘My God’ doesn’t tell me how to vote,” Aime Molina, another focus group participant, tells Breitbart News.

“I believe God expects me to be involved in the political process for the good of His people and the advancement of His Kingdom,” Molina continues.

“I believe I am called to vote according to the morals and teachings of Jesus. I believe we should vote for the candidate who will enforce the expectations of personal accountability for one’s life and actions, and the protection of our Country and its citizens,” she continues.

“I don’t believe that God endorses a specific candidate, and Beck’s comments seem judgmental and manipulative to me. I am not anti-Trump; he is my second choice, but for the record I voted for Ted Cruz. And I’m still offended by Glenn Beck,” Molina adds.

The February 25 Breitbart focus groups of evangelical Christians in Tennessee confirmed the polling research of the Barna Group, the leading pollster of evangelical Christians, which found that committed evangelicals are more supportive of Cruz and cultural evangelicals are more supportive of Trump.

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Pastors say ‘We Don’t have to Obey the Supreme Court on Gay Marriage’


Posted on June 11, 2015 by Onan Coca

URL of the Original Posting Site: http://lastresistance.com/12128/pastors-say-we-dont-have-to-obey-the-supreme-court-on-gay-marriage/#R8tVrwtGVPqA4Mum.99
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A Supreme Court decision legalizing gay marriage could be announced any day now, and pastors across the country are already saying they intend to break the law. The Supreme Court is expected to announce a ruling on state gay marriage bans this month that could, depending on the ruling’s wording, legalize same sex marriage nationwide. Anticipating the decision, religious leaders fear they’ll lose their tax exempt status and be forced to wed gay couples or face fines and even jail time.

A coalition of those religious leaders purchased an ad in the Washington Post Wednesday in the form of an open letter to the Supreme Court Justices urging them to uphold traditional marriage.

“We are Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox Christian pastors, clergy, lay leaders and Jewish leaders, who collectively represent millions of people in our specific churches, parishes, denominations, synagogues and media ministry outreaches,” the letter reads.

So far, more than 43,000 people have signed a petition supporting traditional marriage, many of them church leaders fearful that if gay marriage becomes constitutional, their refusal to participate will jeopardize their tax exempt status and even land them in legal trouble. Pastor Robert Jeffress, who signed the letter and leads a 12,000 member congregation at First Dallas Baptist Church, compared himself to Martin Luther King for his civil disobedience. “That may mean we experience jail time, loss of tax exempt status, but as the scripture says, we ought to obey God rather than man, and that’s our choice,” Jeffress told The Daily Caller News Foundation. Jeffress said when he announced to his congregation his decision to take a stand on the issue, they gave him a standing ovation.cp 11

Cases of legal punishment for bakers and florists who refused to serve gay weddings have fueled this fear. In Washington state, an elderly florist named Barronelle Stutzman was sued by a gay couple for discrimination after she refused to arrange flowers for their wedding. She lost the legal battle and could lose everything to pay the fines. Religious leaders have warily watched Stutzman and others like her and want to preemptively protect themselves. “We implore this court to not step outside of its legitimate authority and unleash religious persecution and discrimination against people of faith,” the letter reads. “We will be forced to choose between the state and our conscience, which is informed by clear biblical and church doctrine and the natural created order.”

gay supreme courtDuring oral arguments in April, Justice Antonin Scalia raised similar concerns asking if exemptions that protected religious leaders from prosecution for discrimination would still hold if gay marriage became a constitutional right. “But once it’s — it’s made a matter of constitutional law, those exceptions — for example, is it — is it conceivable that a minister who is authorized by the State to conduct marriage can decline to marry two men if indeed this Court holds that they have a constitutional right to marry? Is it conceivable that that would be allowed?” Scalia asked Bonauto. Scalia also questioned whether the state would give clergymen the authority to marry if they would refuse to marry gay couples. “If you let the States do it, you can make an exception,” Scalia said. “The state can say, yes, two men can marry, but — but ministers who do not believe in same-sex marriage will still be authorized to conduct marriages on behalf of the state. You can’t do that once it is a constitutional proscription.”These questions are the ones haunting religious leaders and driving them to have their voice heard before the ruling which is expected to come down this month. “The Supreme Court, regardless of what they may think, is not the highest authority in the land,” Jeffress told The It HasNever Been About MarriageDCNF.

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