The senior pastor of Regeneration Nashville church, Kent Christmas is a passionate preacher, many times controversial in his delivery of the Word of God. He believes that Christians should get serious about the gospel of Jesus Christ in these chaotic times when God has been much maligned and Christianity has become a joke to so many misguided individuals.
Many people, including those in the church, misunderstand his passion for Christians to up their game, especially since he is such an ardent supporter of former President Donald Trump. In a recent sermon, Christmas spoke of radicals in the Islamic faith and the extreme lengths to which they will go to carry out that faith. Some were concerned about the words Christmas chose for his sermon:
“You want to know why the Muslim faith has had its advancements?” asks Christmas. “It’s because the Muslims are willing to die for their beliefs. They are willing to strap bombs to their chest and they believe in the afterlife.
“God, give us some men and women … let us get hold of some passion and Spirit and say, ‘I will lay down my life for the gospel,'” he adds.
Secular media such as Newsweek magazine and the ultra-left organization Right-Wing Watch have been touting Christmas’ sermon as a prompt for Christians to follow Muslims and commit suicide for their faith. The Newsweek headline read, “Pro-Trump Pastor Suggests Christians Should Be Suicide Bombers.” Following Trump’s multiple felony charges, msn.com’s headline read, “Conservative Pastor Urges Christians to ‘Get Hold of Some Passion’ and Die for Their Faith.”
The sources of such headlines are clearly non-believers who are biblically illiterate. The apostle Paul’s devotion to Christ was such that he was willing to die at any time for the gospel, not to commit suicide or hurt others in the process. This willingness to suffer and die for the cause of Christ has been the hallmark of the church throughout the ages, including among the majority of the apostles who were martyred for their faith. Christmas’ enthusiasm for the gospel mirrors that of the apostle Paul, and advocating for “suicide bombings” is a willfully false and misleading interpretation of what he is actually saying. {eoa}
Shawn A. Akers is the online editor for Charisma Media.
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