Is Donald trump going to heaven?

If your answer to that question was an immediate and amplified, “No!,” you have a problem. Unless you move in very high-end social circles and have met him personally, and he told you what was in his heart, you cannot possibly know the eternal destiny of Donald Trump. You are at best projecting what you believe and have heard in the media and online.

If your answer to that question was an immediate and amplified, “Yes!,” you have a problem. Unless you move in very high-end social circles and have met him personally, and he told you what was in his heart, you cannot possibly know the eternal destiny of Donald Trump. You are at best projecting what you believe and have heard in the media and online.

See how this works? We love to condemn the people we hate and glorify the people we like. In a society swimming in a 500-year flood of public images and celebrity worship and instant information, we assume we actually know Taylor Swift personally. We can just tell what kind of person Elon Musk really is.

And if we like them, we judge them worthy of the Father’s House, because after all, we’ll be there and maybe we can get an autograph! If we hate them, we damn them to eternal separation from Christ and Christians LIKE ME who wouldn’t be caught dead (literally) anywhere near those people.

Here’s what we do know: Donald Trump professes faith in Jesus Christ. So does Joe Biden. Could they be lying? Of course. If you’re a Democrat, chances are pretty good that you’re sure Trump is lying. And if you’re a Republican, odd are you think the same thing about Biden. But you and I have no way of knowing that. But they have both said this publicly. That makes Donald Trump and Joe Biden our brothers in Christ.

I’ll give you a moment to recover.

This is where so many Christians are crossing the streams. My politics do not make me a Christian nor get me to heaven, and your politics do not make you the Antichrist destined for hell. The same applies to our preference in our music, our pets (dogs vs. cats), and even our sports teams!

Yes, I’ll say it: there are probably a couple of Bear fans in heaven, and there may be one or two Packer fans in hell.

​If only this were all a joke. We are growing further apart and more deeply polarized than at any point since 1865. Families divided, communities divided, nations divided because we insist on placing judgment where we cannot possibly have the wisdom nor vision to cast it. That mind’s eye belongs exclusively to Christ. We all need a come-to-Jesus moment.

If you read Matthew 16:15, there’s only one question in Christ’s Final Exam. And it’s not, “Who did you vote for?” Or, “What have you done?” Your answer cannot be the party’s answer or Luther’s answer or even Kline’s answer.

Jesus asks, “Who do you say I am?” That’s it. That’s the whole test. Those like Peter who get it right will be right for all eternity. And those like Peter who also, just a few verses later, screw up again, will find out the tragic beauty of having Jesus the Christ, the Son of the living God, as your Lord and Savior. You’re not going to be right every time, all the time.

He forgives you. For trying to tell Him how to do His job, He forgives you. For hating on one brother and hero-worshiping another, He forgives you. For hiding your light and His Gospel, He forgives you. Over and over and over again.

He dies for you before He’ll let sin kill you. He rises to life again before He’ll let death take you. He must like you a lot.

So, my fellow saved sinners, leave the eternal judging to the only One who gets it right every time.

Just in case any of you are asking, Is Steve Kline going to heaven? I can tell you positively and whole-heartedly YES! Could I be lying? Of course. But those of you who know me personally have a pretty good knowledge of my heart.

Truthfully, I’m with Job: I know that my Redeemer lives, and in the end I will see Him in the flesh. I’m also with Paul: I am crucified with Christ, so I no longer live but Christ lives in me. And John: by believing I have life in His name.

In a way, I guess I’m also with Peter: who let this clown in here? I don’t think I’ve got a verse to go with that one.

Ultimately, I’m with Jesus: Today you will be with Me in paradise. I have a prepared a place for you, and I’m coming back to take you to be with Me. Because I am the Way and the Truth and the Life, and no one comes to the Father except through Me.

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-35

Focus on the loving. Jesus will handle the judging.