Top Ten Bible Verses Donald Trump (and Other Contenders) May Want to Read

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Editor's Note: While Jim takes a summer break, he has given us his top-10 favorite posts. Here is one reprised from 2016 before Donald Trump became the Republican candidate and was then elected president. Now that we are in the runup to the 2024 presidential election, Jim's advice remains applictble to all candidates, including Donald Trump who has his eyes set on returning to the White House.

“Nobody reads the Bible more than me,” the then-presidential candidate claimed in an interview with TheHill.com. Trump also told the Christian Broadcasting Network:

Actually it’s an incredible book, so many things you can learn from the Bible and you can lead your life. I’m not just talking in terms of religion; I’m talking in terms of leading a life even beyond religion. There are so many brilliant things in the Bible.

The Bible, is special, the Bible the more you see it, the more you read it, the more incredible it is. I don’t like to use this analogy, but like a great movie, a great, incredible movie. You’ll see it once it will be good. You’ll see it again. You can see it 20 times and every time you’ll appreciate it more. The Bible is the most special thing.

However, Trump has come under fire by his opponents who claim he is using the Bible only as a prop to attract evangelicals. He claims it’s his favorite book, but refuses to quote a single verse. During the CBN interview, he did attempt to quote a verse from Proverbs: “Don’t tend toward envy.” But it’s not in Proverbs—nor any other biblical book. And in chapel at conservative Christian Liberty University, he referred to “Two Corinthians,” although virtually all Bible readers know it’s pronounced “Second Corinthians.”

I’m not making any judgments on his love or knowledge of the Bible. But here are ten verses he may want to consider:
[Links go to that passae on BibleGateway.com, where you can view it in differente translations, hear an audio version, explore the context, and find additional resources]

10. Ephesians 5:3-4 Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God’s people. Obscene stories, foolish talk, and coarse jokes—these are not for you.

9. Colossians 4:6 Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone.

8. Titus 3:2 [Leaders] must not slander anyone and must avoid quarreling. Instead, they should be gentle and show true humility to everyone.

7. James 3:13 If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom.

6. Romans 12:18 Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.

5. Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus replied, ‘‘‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

4. Luke 6:31-33 [Jesus said,] “Do to others as you would like them to do to you. If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them! And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get credit? Even sinners do that much!”

3. Romans 12:21 Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.

2. Matthew 6:24 24 “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.”

1. Acts 26:20 [A]ll must repent of their sins and turn to God—and prove they have changed by the good things they do.*

If you are one of many evangelicals supporting Donald Trump, I’m not judging you, either. I am simply urging you to honestly ask, Is Donald Trump supporting biblical teachings?

Please “be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves” (Matthew 10:16) as you select the next president of the United States.

Copyright © 2016 James N. Watkins

Update: April 16, 2016 Trump, told WHAM 1180 AM he liked “many” Bible verses, but one of his favorites is “an eye for an eye.”

“That’s not a particularly nice thing. But you know, if you look at what’s happening to our country, I mean, when you see what’s going on with our country, how people are taking advantage of us, and how they scoff at us and laugh at us.”

Apparently Mr. Trump hasn’t read Matthew 5:38-39. Jesus teaches:

“You have heard the law that says the punishment must match the injury: ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also.”

Related posts
• Don’t judge but do deliberate
• Watkins for President 2016 The Tupperware Party: Putting a Lid on Government
• What does the Bible really say?
• WWJE? Who Would Jesus Elect?

* Trump told CNN’s Anderson Cooper, “”Why do I have to repent or ask for forgiveness, if I am not making mistakes? I work hard, I’m an honorable person.” Cooper followed up by asking, if “asking for forgiveness” is a central tenet in his faith life. Trump replied, “I try not make mistakes where I have to ask forgiveness.” (That seems to go against “The Lord’s Prayer” which instructs Jesus followers to regularly ask for forgiveness.)

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