VIEWPOINT with Chuck Crismier
POLITICAL HOPE?
(upbeat music) This is Viewpoint with attorney and author Chuck Chris Meyer. Viewpoint is a one hour talk show confronting the issues of America's heart and hope. And now with today's edition of Viewpoint, here is Chuck Chris Meyer. - Today, Dennis Prager writes a piece titled, "Why the Left Right Divide is Not Bridgeable." He says, "Millions of Americans depressed by the ideological divide in America, harbor a wish that something or someone can bridge this divide. This wish is understandable," he says, "but it's a fantasy. The divide is unbridgeable." And why does he say that? Well, listen carefully. He asks, "How are we to bridge the gap between those who believe men can become women and women can become men, and those who don't believe this? Between those who believe men menstruate and those who believe only women menstruate. How are we to bridge the divide between those who believe colorblind is a racist notion? And those who believe colorblind is the antidote to racism. How are we to bridge the divide between those who believe Israel is the villain and Hamas is the victim? And those who believe Israel is the victim and Hamas, which openly states its dedication to annihilating Israel and its Jewish inhabitants is the villain? How are we to bridge the divide between those who believe young children should be brought to drag queen shows and those who believe this sexualization and sexual confusion of children is morally detestable? How are we to bridge the divide between those who believe in suppressing free speech if they deem any given speech hateful or misinformation and those who believe in free speech? You see, the problem is unbridgeable. And I agree with him. I agree with that aspect, Prager, that the divide is unbridgeable. So, as I was thinking about this, I thought of that song years ago, what was it in the 1970s by Sergeant Agarfa, Punkle, like a bridge over troubled water, I will lay me down? Like a bridge over troubled water, I will lay me down. Well, the waters in America are very troubled friends. They are profoundly troubled and they've never been more troubled unless perhaps we went to the Civil War. But we're in effect in a civil war and it's not very civil. It's a war of principles. It's a war over actually truth. Whether there is truth, what is truth and whether it's just a means to power. So, the question that I have is not whether we can bridge the divide. I don't believe we can bridge the divide except for one thing. It would take a massive spiritual revival in this country involving both right and left politically, involving both unbelievers and believers. It would take a massive, massive spiritual revival, perhaps of unprecedented proportions to give any hope for bridging the divide. So, here's the question that I have for you. If that be true or even close to true, how can we trust politics to provide our hope? How can we trust politics to provide our hope? And then the next question is, do you trust politics to provide your hope? In what way have you hitched your wagon to a political leader or to a political belief system or a political party? Should Christians itch their wagon to a political leader or a political party and so on? And if so, in what way? Can we really trust human beings to be our savior, to be our redeemer, to be our hope? It is said that hope springs eternal in the human breast. And that's a good thing. But hope against impossibility, against everything that mitigates against it, unless God himself intervenes. If that really be the case, then where is our hope in political saviors? Now, all of that before us here today on Viewpoint and normally we don't talk about politics too much here on this program because we're dedicated to something more profound. We do mention politics, we relate to politics, we relate to what political people say or don't say what they do or don't do. But in reality, almost everything that is labeled as political is actually spiritual. And that's why we tend to put the focus there. So today on Viewpoint, we're first going to take a look at how in the world should we look at this situation of politics? How did we get where we are today? And was there a fulcrum moment, a fulcrum period where American Christians began to put more emphasis on politics? And if so, where was that and why and how did it happen? Then as we move forward, we're going to take a look at what's happening. Yes, indeed, with our political situation today. For instance, Nikki Haley says she's no longer bound by her pledge to endorse Trump if he won. She already made the pledge but she says he's no longer bound by the pledge. Why would that be? Another says Nikki Haley has finally revealed her true motive for staying in the race, which she now has decided to come out of because she's lost all the two primary races and those only involve the ability for Democrats to come in and vote as a pretense for Republicans in Vermont and in Washington, DC. So at the other end of the spectrum is this report from Wayne Allen Root. He says the Trump miracle is happening. So believe it. He said I believe a miracle sent directly by God is happening right in front of us right now. You just have to open your eyes. President Trump is that miracle. Is he? And what does Mr. Root think about this miracle? What do you think about it? Is something pretty dramatic taking place? It would certainly appear that way. But how should we look at it? Should we look at it the way Wayne Allen Root does, which I'm going to share with you from his own words? Or is there a broader perspective? Then in addition to that, Dr. Michael Brown, who comes on some stations immediately before this program with his own radio program, says pastors don't hitch your wagon to a political leader. So if pastors are not to hitch their wagon to a political leader, are the rest of us? And to what extent should is it appropriate to hitch your wagon to a political leader? Or maybe the terminology isn't correct. Maybe the term hitching your wagon is actually putting your ultimate hope for deliverance in a political leader. Maybe that's where the problem lies. So we're going to talk about all of that here on Viewpoint today, and I hope you'll stay tuned. This conversation is always with ever-increasing conviction, talk that transforms. I believe that will be the case here today on Viewpoint. Stay tuned. (upbeat music) (upbeat music) Once upon a time, children could pray and read their Bibles in school. Divourses were practically unknown as was child abuse. In our once great America, virginity and chastity were popular virtues and homosexuality was an abomination. So what happened in just one generation? Hi, I'm Chuck Chris. My and I urge you to join me daily on Viewpoint where we discuss the most challenging issues, touching our hearts and homes. Could America's moral slide relate to the fourth commandment? Listen to Viewpoint on this radio station or anytime at saveus.org. (upbeat music) Ever since I was a child, I've been a very patriotic person. I love my country. Growing up in public school, I learned all of the patriotic songs and hymns of our country. Like, this is my country. Land of my birth, this is my country, grandest on earth. I pledge thee my allegiance, America, the bold, for this is my country to have and to hold. Or America, a beautiful. Or America, God shed his grace on thee and so on. All of these patriotic songs, I love them. I sang them from the heart and I love the flag. In fact, in 1976, at the time of our nation's bicentennial, in fact, it began just before that, I sensed the Lord calling me to run for public office, which I did. I had never sensed a call to run for public office and had never desired to do so, even though I was a very patriotic young man. But in 1976, 75, I registered to run for the state assembly in California, never having been involved in politics in my life. What was going on there at that time? Well, it was the nation's bicentennial, the natural resurgence of interest in our roots as Americans, both spiritual and secular, by the way. And a lot of it was focused on our forefather's struggle for freedom, but others focused on the search for a place in which to practice the purity of our faith. Educators had begun rebuilding the foundations of America's spiritual heritage in the early 1960s, like Verna Hall with her Christian history of the Constitution. And then came Marshall Foster with his resurrection of the vision of the American Covenant. Then after that came a fellow by the name of Stephen McDowell and Mark Biles in 1989. And around that same time, 1988, came David Barton. You may have actually heard him speak. A former high school teacher made a connection between our lost Christian heritage and the dramatic downturn of our nation's social structure in writing his first book, "America to Pray or Not to Pray" in 1988. Then in 1988 we know that Pat Robertson decided to run for president of the United States. He lost to H.W. Bush, Herbert Walker Bush. But the handwriting was on the wall. By the time of our bicentennial American society was unraveling, even our national news magazines proved it as I cite in my book, "Renewing the Soul of America," one person at a time beginning with you. That book was endorsed by 38 national Christian leaders because they realized we were not really focusing on the right things. We were putting our hope in, shall we say, parenthetical things, politics and power and so on. But when I wrote this book, "Renewing the Soul of America," it brought all of the focus back to our lives, the lives of Americans, what it meant to truly be a God-fearing American, what it truly meant to be we the people, a government of we the people and 38 national Christian leaders embraced that and they said, "Wow, we have not had that kind of focus before." But I remember back in 1976, John Conlon, who was a, I believe just a, well, he had just become a congressman from Arizona. He ran across the country, urging evangelical Christians to enter the political fray. There was a lot of focus there, Russ Walton, wedded our Christian herages to the call to political action in his book called "One Nation Under God," quoting the biblical text there in Proverbs with the righteousness of an authority, the people rejoiced with the wicked bear rule that people mourn, all of that. And then in the spirit of 76, the front cover was a quote from Billy Graham, "If America is to survive, we must elect more God-centered men and women to public office, individuals who will seek divine guidance in the affairs of state." So it seemed as if Bible-believing Americans had abandoned the world of politics as dirty business and now we're being awakened with a new vision, a new tool in evangelistic arsenal, the sword of the spirit, so to speak, became used interchangeably with the sword of secular engineering and electric, electioneering power. And so out of that came the so-called religious right. Ronald Reagan then became the poster boy for the religious right. Then by the time George W. Bush came along, he also became the poster boy for the religious right. Even though his wife said on national television that she never heard him profess to be a born-again Christian. So Americans, particularly Christian Americans, had a yearning for some kind of a standard bearer. Somebody like Israel, you see, in the Old Testament, decided they wanted a king. They weren't just satisfied with God. They wanted a king just like everybody else. Well, America wanted a king. America wanted a champion, wanted a goliath to go out and fight our battles, to go out and somehow represent the long-lost, born-again, evangelical Christians who were not represented in the government was turning secular and the world was going to hell in a hand basket. Everything was wrong, as confirmed, by the way, by the secular media, saying how our nation unraveled and so on. So the question is, how far can we do, go, to elevate our godly heritage? Or have we gone to the place where elevating our godly heritage actually became ungodly idolatry, causing us to shift from non-involvement in the political sway to putting our hope and our trust in politics? That's kind of laying the foundation for the balance of our conversation here today on viewpoint. And ultimately, the heritage is a matter of the harm. For instance, when Ralph Reed, who was the original founder, together with Pat Robertson of the Christian Coalition, when he left to form his own little group down in Texas, Don Haudel and Randy Tate were appointed by Pat Robertson to head the Road to Victory Conference in 1998. They said it was to be a time of spiritual renewal, a time of revival. And then they made this statement that shook the Christian Coalition. Here it is, even if every leader in this country from the White House to the School House shared our political goals, this nation still would not change. America cannot change until the hearts of the people change. And for that statement, they were summarily dismissed by Pat Robertson from heading the Christian Coalition because that statement began to shift the focus back to our spiritual lives rather than secular political power. And that would not raise money. So, it seems to me that our big problem is that we're having a hard time for once to connecting, living out our heritage as a legacy of hope in our country. So with that in mind, we're going to go to a number of different articles and see if we can figure out where our problem lies and where our hope should lie. Does politics provide hope? Well, I guess it depends on where you find hope. How do you define hope? Is it a permanent hope? Is it a temporary hope? What kind of a hope is it? Is it a hope for national salvation? Is it a hope to restore America to glory? Or is it a hope that somehow as a people will restore God to his glory instead of power, perks, and position and the lust for other things that American freedom had become? So before we go into that, I want to make available to you in my book, Renewing the Soul of America because it's going to be so helpful to so many, many people. Just as it was to 38 national Christian leaders when they endorsed this book. They didn't endorse it casually. In fact, Pat Robertson went so far as to say, "Look, in this book, Chuck Chris Myers laid it out. "What we need to do, how we need to respond, "but then he put this caveat in there "if we have the courage to do it, "if we have the courage to do it, "and we haven't had the courage to do it. "Our leaders, our political leaders, "our spiritual leaders, none have had the courage to do it." Now, one writer says in fact, Donald Trump is the one who has the courage to do it. Well, he's calling it the Trump miracle. A miracle in what sense? And for what purpose? Today on this program, we're not here to trump any particular person as a great white hope for the salvation of America. On the other hand, it should not prohibit us from identifying facts, circumstances, attitudes, behavior, responses that enable us as followers of Jesus Christ to select the best persons that we can to carry on the leadership, because that is the form of government that we have. It's a government of we the people. Question, were you in a state yesterday that had a primary election and did you vote? Why didn't you vote? It's a shame, it's a traverse, travesty. It's just mind-boggling why a genuine Christian believer would not exercise the right to vote, to express your opinion as a representative of God in this planet, in this country. Why would you not do that? Is it laziness? Is it cynicism? What is it? You see, there isn't a single person on this planet that is totally holy, including you, including your favorite preacher or teacher. There isn't a single person on this planet that is totally holy. And if I were to take the next hour and go through by memory, the history of dozens of respected spiritual leaders in this country, many that you might revere. And if you knew what I know, you wouldn't put your hope in them at all. If you knew what I know, and I'm not gonna tell you what I know, because I don't wanna be a Christian muckraker. There are only certain things that I will reveal about certain people that are prominent in leadership. When they begin to promote heresy boldly, we'll talk about it. But I'm very careful about not mentioning names, because not one of us is, we all have sinned to come short of the glory of God. And you're not gonna find one single political representative who has not. And if you were to run for dog catcher, you wouldn't even qualify if qualification required that you were pure and holy before God in all of your ways. You wouldn't qualify. No, I don't even know you. So I can say that with boldness because there is no human being that would qualify. We're all sinners, and that's why we need to be saved by grace through God's mercy. We need His mercy because we're guilty as sin. So let's be careful as we analyze the various people, the candidates and so on, that are running for office. And let us not use cynicism as a means to kind of self-righteously declare ourselves holy, and therefore we're not gonna vote. (gentle music) That's utter foolishness. In fact, it's an abandonment of our responsibility as Christians to demonstrate our light in an ever-darkening world. So, (gentle music) what does it mean to hitch our wagon to a political leader? (gentle music) What does it really mean? We'll be back. There is so much more about Chuck Chris Meyer and Save America Ministries. On our website, saveus.org. For example, under the marriage section, God has marriage on his mind. Chuck has some great resources to strengthen your marriage. First off, a fact sheet on the state of the marital union, a fact sheet on the state of ministry, marriage and morals. SaveUS.org. Marriage, divorce and remarriage. What does the Bible really teach about this? Find all of this at saveUS.org. Also, a letter to pastors, the Hosea Project. SaveUS.org. And many more resources to strengthen your marriage. It's all on Chuck's website, saveUS.org. Again, you can listen to Chuck's viewpoint broadcast, live and archive, Save America Ministries website at saveus.org. (upbeat music) - What do you make, my friend, of people who will excoriate the father of our country, George Washington, because he happened to have some slaves. In a time and a season when slavery was common. What would, how about the complete debunking of Thomas Jefferson, or any of the political founding fathers of the country who happened to have slaves, which was a common thing in those days? And what do you think about the people who are rapidly after them to take down their statues all over the country? Because they're thinking in their own minds that they are so righteous and so holy because I don't own a slave. No, but do you own fentanyl? Do you own pornography? You are equally as sinful and wicked before God as anyone who was ever a slaveholder. Are you listening? For some reason we just have incapacitated ourselves from thinking through God's eyes. There ain't no perfect person. There is no perfect politician. So what do we have to do? We have to discern friends. You and I, as professing Christians, have to discern the holy and the profane. We have to discern the difference, evaluate every human being who dains in this day and age to run for public office, to evaluate their entire life, their character, and not just their character historically, but their character currently. And what do they do? Not just what do they say, but what do they do? You see, Jesus Himself said not everyone who says that to me, Lord, Lord is going to win here at the kingdom. Only those who do the will of my father. So are you prepared to elect people who have made it a significant part of their platform to kill America's unborn babies? Really, how do you justify that as a Christian? How do you justify that? Is it because the person that you're voting for has a D behind their name? You see, you and I, as followers of Christ, have got to reassess how we're thinking. We're on the near edge as a second coming of Christ, my friends. We really are, and we need to take seriously the way we think and the way we act in response to our thinking. So let's take a look at the comments of Wayne Allen Root. He wrote an article called The Trump Miracle Is Happening. Believe it. He says he's sometimes crude and rude. He offends so many. He angers so many. The powers that be want him stopped at any cost, even if they have to frame him by making up crimes that never happened. He faces so many indictments and trials. He faces over 700 years in prison. He's being fined hundreds of millions of dollars and banned from conducting business as they try to bankrupt him. He's painted as Hitler and KKK and a white supremacist. We're told he's a threat to democracy. If elected, his critics say he will destroy America. Virtually everyone in power is against him. From the D.C. swamp, to the deep state, to the military industrial complex, to his own government agency, CIA, FBI, DOJ, NSA, who framed him and spy on him. All the groups will hold the most health, wealth and power in America are out to stop him. Wall Street, mainstream media, Silicon Valley, the bar associations, the teachers union, Hollywood, Madison Avenue, they all hate him. Global organizations like the World Economic Forum, the World Health Organization, United Nations, despise him. Almost every globalist billionaire in the world is arrayed against him. George Soros, Juan, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and all the rest. Women call him sexist. Black Americans call him racist. Gates call him homophobic. Muslims call him Islamophobic. But American Jews vote for him anyway. A vote against him, by the way. Yet after all that, Trump holds the lead over Joe Biden virtually every national poll and leads in every battleground state. How's that possible? Rights, Mr. Root. It's supernatural. It's biblical. It can't be explained. It's a real life miracle. The signs are there. Trump is the chosen one, he says. Trump is sent by God and blessed by God. We're all witnessing. It's the Trump miracle. All right. As a discerning Christian, what bothers you, if anything, about this article? He's recited many, many facts. And they're facts. Everything that he says about those who are opposing Donald J. Trump is true. Virtually in the entire world, the entire country, it seems, is against him. So how can he be winning these elections? How is it that every effort that's being made is not able to stop him? That is an interesting question. Is it a miracle, though? Well, we call a lot of things miracles these days that aren't necessarily miracles. It certainly is fascinating. It's unusual. It probably should grab our attention. Is it a miracle? And what concerns me about this article is the ultimate statement is supernatural. It's biblical. I don't know that it's biblical, and I don't know that it's supernatural. I can agree with the question, how is this possible? It can't be explained. But to say that it's supernatural is saying something further. It's saying it's putting a spiritual, shall we say, imprimatur upon a political candidate which may be going too far, especially when he says Trump is the chosen one. That really bothered me. I would never say that about a human being. Now Israel is looking for the chosen one, a man. It would be their Messiah. They're not looking for a divine Messiah. They're looking for a man, a Messiah, the chosen or anointed one. But is that what Christians are looking for? Are we really looking for a human being to be our chosen one or Messiah? Yes, if we vote, we should vote. And if you vote for Donald Trump, then he's chosen by you because you believe, as a follower of Jesus Christ, that he has the most consistent actions in accordance with biblical perceptions, requirements. And that's why you're choosing him. You're voting for him. If you don't vote for him, then you're going to have to make the decision that somebody else is more consistent with biblical standards, not just feelings, but truth, biblical standards of righteousness, and is most likely to provide the necessary strength that this nation needs in a time of great, great trouble in testing. Can't forget that either. You see, when we vote, you notice I didn't say if we vote, you must vote, my friends. God has given us the responsibility and privilege of voting in this country. You would not have that privilege in some other countries. But we do have it here, at least at this point. And if you refuse to exercise that, based upon the Lord's leading in your life, that's a travesty to put it mildly. It's the most ungrateful thing that you could possibly do, since God gave you the privilege of being in a country with this kind of freedom. I'm not telling you who to vote for. You may discern, from time to time, in this broadcast of someone or ones that I would be more prone to go alongside with than others. And certainly those that I would be extremely prone to reject. Why? Well, because they don't line up with the word well and ways of the Lord in any way. So then, that leads us to the other issue that my friend and brother, Dr. Michael Brown, brings up with his piece. Pastors don't hit your wagon to a political leader. I agree with that. Does that mean that pastors should not deal with the issues of our time? Could not even deal with what different politicians-- politicians believe or teach or stand for? No, it doesn't say that at all. But a pastor has to be very careful. I try to be careful on this program. That's why I don't spend all my time talking about politics. Because ultimately, politics is not going to save us. It may give us a few years of relief, but it won't save us. The Bible tells us that there's only one who will save us against Jesus Christ. Amen? Be right back, friends. And get a copy if you're doing this all of America's on our website. Save us.org and we'll encourage your life such a time as this. Have you ever considered what the early church was like? Many people are developing a heart longing for a greater fulfillment in our practices as Christians. A recent study showed 53,000 people a week are leaving the back door of America's churches in frustration. What is going on? Why has there not been even a 1% gain among followers of Christ in the last 25 years? Could it be that God is seeking to restore first-century Christianity for the 21st century? Jesus said, I'll build my church. Is Christ by His Spirit stirring to prepare the church for the 21st century? The early church prayed together and broke bread from house to house. They were family, and it was said by all who observed, behold, how they loved one another. Incredible. But the same can be found right now. Go to save us.org and click sell church. We can revive first-century Christianity for the 21st century. It's about people, not programs. It's about a body, not a building. That's save us.org. Click sell church. It's very interesting. The former president of Zambia, there in Africa, said, what a nation needs more than anything else is not a Christian ruler in the palace, but a Christian prophet within earshot. In other words, we need a strong voice to woo and to warn the people so that they will be able to make righteous decisions. Because righteousness alone exalt a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people. An article just came out today declaring that the Biden family and Joseph Biden is the most corrupt president in the history of our country. I'm not prepared to evaluate that. That's just the statement. On the other hand, we have a presidential candidate, Donald J. Trump, who is under indictment or charges all over the country for in various lawsuits. Most of them are either falling apart or disappearing because they're unfounded. They were conjured up falsely. But beyond that, I can't make any other comment about it. So where's the greater wickedness? I'm remembering back at the days of Richard Nixon, a Republican president that was revered within evangelical circles. He came from the friend's background there in Southern California, Yorba Linda. And he was embraced by Billy Graham. Billy Graham thought a great deal of Richard Nixon and spent a lot of time with him, and touted him as a wonderful Christian man. But then when he heard the words and attitude of Richard Nixon on tape during the Watergate trials, Billy Graham became very troubled that he had hit his star to Richard Nixon. Friends, we have to be very careful. Our hope is based, is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. First His righteousness and then the righteousness that you and I are to live out because we have attached or hitched our wagon to him. So just because somebody claims to have hitched their wagon to him, if they're not living that out in righteousness, like Richard Nixon did not, then we have to be very wary. Don't we? So you've got Joe Biden, who hitches his wagon, constantly to Catholicism, claims himself to be this wonderful Catholic, at least by heritage. But you would never know that by his life. You'd never know that by the decisions that he makes, which are totally contrary to the Bible and even to basic Catholic belief. So what are you going to do with that? What's going to superimpose itself on top of that that is so unrighteous to cause you to vote there? The same is true with Donald J. Trump. You were back in his earlier life. He was a philanderer, no question about it. I didn't like that at all. In fact, it didn't make me happy at all. And so in 2015, during the initial primary, I didn't support Donald J. Trump. I supported Ted Cruz. And then there was someone else that Mike Huckabee that, at least I believed he was a true and legitimate Christian fellow. But they didn't make it. So then I had to make a choice. Would I make a choice over Hillary Roddam Clinton or Donald J. Trump? Hillary Roddam Clinton was wicked as the day as long, like a Jezebel, a modern day Jezebel, met all the qualifications. So I had to make a decision. Will I embrace her? Or will I embrace Donald Trump? I personally chose Donald Trump because Hillary Roddam Clinton was, by definition, currently massively wicked and liar, including the whole Benghazi situation. Her husband had declared, in California, in 1997, that we are referring to his wife and the entire Democratic Party, he said, we are, in practical ways, changing the immutable or unchangeable ideals that have guided us in America from the beginning. That's what he said. In other words, he was repudiating our entire godly heritage and saying, we're going to change it all. What was he specifically referring to? The practice of homosexuality. Because he was addressing the first president ever in American history to knowingly and intentionally address a known homosexual group. So what does that tell you as a Christian? It should scream at you. So there are reasons why we can make a choice and should make a choice. In my book, Renewing the Soul of America, there's a series of chapters. One is called Heritage and Hope. And the one following that is a hope and a purpose. And then the one following that is called Decision and Destiny. And then the one following that is called The Lighthouse. Those series of chapters open up a whole new refreshing understanding and vision for what this nation was called to be. And thereby, what you and I are called to do and to be. And what we should expect are leaders to aspire to. And if they don't, we should take caution. The book Renewing the Soul of America, it's an $18 book. Here's for $15. It's on our website, save us.org, save us.org. You can call us at 1-800-Save USA, 1-800-Save USA, or write to us at Save America Ministries. PO Box 70879, Richmond, Virginia, 2-3255, writing a check at $5 per postage and handling. You'll be encouraged. Over 500 quotations in this book. Again, 38 national Christian leaders endorsed it. I remember D. James Kennedy. He said, "With an insightful grasp by the history of our nation's founding, added to a deep understanding of the judgment God has imposed upon nations outside of His holy will. Chuck Chris Meyer clearly and Chris Lee enunciates the choices facing not only America, but Americans in this dangerous period of our godless but god-worn country." Now, we go to Dr. Michael Brown and his article pastors don't hit your wagon to a political leader. As leaders in the body of Christ, nothing's more important than your personal testimony, your hard-earned reputation for soundness and life, faith, and practice, your representative of Jesus, with believers looking to you, for guidance and unbelievers looking at you, scrutinizing you for godliness. And that's why it's so important that we don't hitch our wagons to political leaders lest their misbehavior tarnishes our reputations, like what happened, by the way, with Richard Nixon. And even if they don't misbehave, if they don't lie or sell out or act in some duplicitous way, if we become more associated with them than we are with the gospel, we dilute, if not destroy, our witness. So he says, "I will not endorse any candidate. "I did once and I won't do it again, "because it's a price to pay for that kind of endorsement. "It compromised my ability to be an uncompromised, "unbiased voice," he said. "But I did-- listen to this, this is the other side-- "I did make clear that I would be voting for Donald Trump, "explaining why I preferred his policies "to those of Hillary Clinton. "I also challenged Christian voters on the issues themselves, "asking how they could cast a vote for someone "who advocated for the legal slaughter of the unborn. "But like a broken record, "and to the perpetual consternation of Trump supporters, "I added caveats regarding his behavior, "making clear that I regretted some of his statements and actions. "I did the same thing right here on this program. "We have an endless stream of political leaders, "all of whom are deeply flawed human beings, "like the rest of us, "and none of whom is worthy of our adoration. "They're just people. "We cannot hitch our wagons to them. "Now he's writing to pastors, "but I'm saying this to our listeners. "We cannot put our hopes in them. "We cannot look to them to save our nation. "We dare not tie our personal testimonies to them. "To do so is to risk defaming the Lord "and degrading our high calling as representative Jesus. "It's one thing for pastors and Christian leaders "to educate their constituencies about candidates and issues. "That's a very important thing to do," he said. "Especially since our elections have massive implications "for our day-to-day lives, "not to mention for the fate of the world. "The elections can affect what's taught in our children's schools, "can affect whether a baby in the womb is protected, "can affect our national security, "excuse me, can affect our religious liberties. "Here in America, it is our sacred privilege to vote, "sacred privilege to vote, "and to participate in the electoral process. "And pastors and Christian leaders do well, "do well to equip their flocks to vote "in the most informed and righteous ways possible. "On the issues, "but to repeat as Christian leaders and Christians, "we dare not hitch our reputations in our ministries "or churches or denominations or organizations "to a political candidate. "We speak about the issues, "what they stand for and what they don't stand for, "but we don't raise them up on a pedestal "to put all our hope and our trust in them "as if our salvation is drawing near." That's because every time that candidate speaks or acts, people will associate us with him or her. If she says something stupid, we now have to answer for it. If he is vulgar or nasty or caught in a lie, that now reflects on us. And that means that the name of Jesus gets tarnished and our witness to the world becomes compromised. "Noting a nothing in this world," writes Dr. Michael Brown, "and I mean nothing from political power "to boatloads of money to social media influence "is worth that, absolutely nothing." So he says, "Let no one steal your crown." And I agree with him, "Let no one steal your crown." So, is it possible then to go back to the original question, is it possible for the left-right divide to be bridgeable? The answer is, "No, my friend." There is no bridge over those troubled waters. You can compromise, you can lay down yourself in the hope of somebody that's going to bridge that gap, but they're not going to be able to do it, because they will have to compromise on truth. So you and I have to make a decision. We have to discern what is true, what is not true, from God's viewpoint and act accordingly, decide accordingly. Then we let the chips fall where they may, trusting that God and God alone is fit to take the universe's throne. Let everything that breathes, reserve its truest praise for God and God alone. I hope this has been a little bit helpful here today on Viewpoint. Again, get a copy of the book "Redoing the Soul of America" because I think it's going to be very encouraging and helpful to you for such a time as this. $13 on our website, saveus.org, you can call us 1-800-SAVE-USA, become a partner, do it today, friends. Thank you for those of you who have been supporting and so faithful. Maybe some others who are listening can join in, join in us, and be God's hand extended for such a time as this. You've been listening to Viewpoint with Chuck Chris Meyer. Viewpoint is supported by the faithful gifts of our listeners. Let me urge you to become a partner with Chuck as a voice to the Church, declaring vision for the nation. Join us again next time on Viewpoint as we confront the issues of America's heart and hope. [Music] [Applause] You