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October 9, 2016

An audio and video recording was released by the Washington Post on October 7^th which featured Donald Trump when he visited the set of the soap opera, Days of Our Lives. The recording was made in 2005 by Access Hollywood, a tabloid which specializes in entertainment and celebrity news. The video also featured Billy Bush, a correspondent of the show, and began with their arrival to the NBC studio and the ensuing “locker room” banter about females.

Billy Bush was wearing a lapel microphone that recorded the conversation of the two men during their ride on the bus provided by Access Hollywood. You can surmise that Donald Trump did not know the microphone was recording his vulgar words and description of how he seduced women. The bus was met by actress Arienne Zucker and more inappropriate things were said before they stepped out. The initial audio recording and the video footage was archived by NBC and cataloged. All television corporations save their video footage, with archives that date back for as long as they have been in business.

No one at the network remembered this recording existed eleven years later except Billy Bush. It is interesting that he happens to be member of the famed Bush family; George W. Bush and Jeb Bush are his cousins. The Bush family hates Trump because his success in the primaries denied Jeb Bush a run for the presidency. The hate is so deep that George H. W. Bush stated at a press conference that he was voting for Hillary Clinton. The Bush family is part of the "Stop Trump Campaign."

It is obvious that Billy Bush must have spoken with Bush family members about this particular recording. According to the official NBC story, the knowledge of the recording surfaced earlier in the week, but NBC chose not use it on their newscasts. Instead, a copy was handed over to the Washington Post and they are the ones who made it public.

The Clinton campaign, mainstream media and Stop Trump movement went into a frenzy and the next day some 40 prominent Republicans denounced Trump and called for him to step down. The press immediately treated Trump like he was a murderer and predicted that Trump’s presidential chances were finished. As far as they were concerned, the race was over and Hillary Clinton would be the next president.

The release of the recording was timed to coincide with the second debate and every mainstream media outlet in the U.S. joined the bandwagon to deliver the death blow to Trump. Many Christians joined the cause as well as they lamented Trump’s vulgar language.

WHAT DOES THE WORD OF GOD SAY?

I do not think that most people know that Donald Trump was born again early in 2016. This event took place with a well-known pastor, who met privately with Trump and was able to lead him to Christ. Trump did not publicly announce his conversion since he didn’t want people thinking he was just pandering to the evangelicals. Two reliable sources have confirmed that Donald Trump came to Christ and this story was published in the Pentecostal magazine, Charisma.

I felt sick when I saw the video clip and heard the lewd conversation conducted by Billy Bush and Donald Trump. I felt that the presidential race was over for a few hours. Then the Holy Spirit reminded me that I had been like that before I came to Christ. I had engaged in the same type of trash talking. Then God further spoke, “I have forgiven Trump; it is all under the blood. He is a new creation in Christ and the past is gone.”

THE MESSAGE

When a person comes to Christ and asks God to save him from his sins, there is complete forgiveness and every sin ever committed is blotted out.

“Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” (Acts 2:37-39)

“Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord…” (Acts 3:19)

The Bible says we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God. No one is sinless. The only exception was Jesus.

“Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.

Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.” (Romans 3:19-28)

God is merciful and slow to anger. He does not deal with us according to our sins. Once we are saved, God will never remind us of our sinful past.

“The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.” (Psalms 103:8-12)

When Donald Trump gave his life to Christ earlier this year, he was forgiven by God and made new in the Lord’s sight.

“Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:16-17)

Trump held a press conference after the recording surfaced on the news outlets and said he was a new man and held different values than he did eleven years ago. This leads to an important point. If God has forgiven Donald Trump and he has asked the American people to forgive him, this sin should not be repeatedly brought up. The problem is that 99% of the people in the media are not born again and clueless as to what the Bible teaches. However, Christians should be able to forgive and release Trump for the words he spoke in the past. Every believer in Christ has a sinful past. All of us have been forgiven. All of us are different now. If Trump’s faith in Christ is genuine, he should be extended the same courtesy. We should be rallying around him as a brother in Christ and not throwing him under the bus.

SAUL OF TARSUS

Saul was a Jew from the city of Tarsus. He had become a Pharisee and resided in Jerusalem. He was the chief persecutor of the Christians, whom he viewed as a cult, and was by his own admission guilty of murder. He was an enemy of God and greatly feared by the Christians. But one day Jesus stopped him on the road to Damascus and blinded him. When Saul asked who He was, the Lord replied that He was Jesus, whom Saul was persecuting. He was led into Damascus and voluntarily spent three days in anguish without food and water as he cried out to the Lord and came to the realization that he had been wrong about so many things.

Saul repented of his sins and accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior. Then God activated Ananias, a Christian in Damascus, to go and pray for Saul. Ananias initially did not want to go and told the Lord how much evil Saul had done but God told him that Saul was praying and that he was a chosen vessel. When Ananias went and prayed for Saul, he received his sight back and was subsequently baptized in water and started to preach the Gospel.

“And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord. And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth, And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight.

Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem: And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name.

But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake.

And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.

And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized. And when he had received meat, he was strengthened.

Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus. And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.” (Acts 9:10-20)

Saul later changed his name to Paul and he became the greatest of all the apostles. God used him to write the majority of the New Testament. It was Paul's letter to the Romans that convicted Martin Luther and led him to salvation in Jesus. Luther began the reformation that changed the world and founded the Lutheran church, which in turn opened doors for the Gospel to be preached again.

If the pundits, media people, Democrats and Republicans would had lived at the time of Paul, they would have declared him unfit to be an apostle and Luther’s reformation would never had taken place. Ignorance and raw emotions are being whipped up against Donald Trump. It’s time to take a deep breath and think before you judge Donald Trump to be unfit to be the next president. He was caught saying things he shouldn’t have but there isn’t a sin so great that Christ can’t forgive him. If so, doesn’t he also deserve a measure of grace like everyone else?

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From the Desk of John S. Torell