Matt Chandler: You Will Not GASLIGHT Me!

It makes my blood boil when people messiah-like attributes to this immoral man. He is not Jesus. He will not save. He cannot pull us out of that. And I got some things coming on the left, so everybody calm down.

How dare he say that?

Some of you are not ready to have this conversation, and I understand that. The turmoil and the political strife is real, and it's tangible. I get it. We should not be beholden to any one man, no matter what he says or promises.

And if we hold this principle tightly, we won't turn any man or woman into a false messiah. Matt Chandler explodes on stage about the upcoming election in a recent sermon, and he's letting his opinions be known about how he feels about both the Republican and the Democratic Party.

But that raises some questions for us, doesn't it? What can Chandler say as a pastor in today's climate? And also, does the Bible help us to think through who to vote for? We're going to jump into all of this in just a moment, but first, if you're brand new here, welcome to Wise Disciple.

My name is Nate Sala, and I'm helping you become the effective Christian that you are meant to be. I'm not calling myself wise, okay? The name of this ministry is a reference to Jesus' command for all of his disciples to be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.

And that also means understanding who to vote for in the next election. Amen? Make sure to like and subscribe and share this video around, but only if it blesses you, all right?

Why Christians Should Not Be Partisan

Let's get right into it. This is why you cannot be partisan. Because if you're partisan, you cannot critique, with the word of God, any individual person or party. So you can have your leanings, you can have, but if you are unwilling to critique your person, you're worshiping in the wrong house.

I'm just saying, if you've got to make this, because it makes my blood boil when people Messiah-like attributes to this immoral man. Oh, all right.

Chandler's upset. Something's triggered him. You know, he's a half an hour into this sermon about thrones and thorns. This is week one of a series. And now he's just a firecracker and he's going off. And it's about Trump.

He just said something about Trump. Did you catch that?

Let's actually hear it one more time. Because it makes my blood boil when people Messiah-like attributes to this immoral man. So it makes my blood boil. He is not Jesus. He will not save. He cannot pull us out of that.

And I got some things coming on the left. So everybody calm down.

Chandler's mad. Now, there is a contingent of you out there that will hear this and immediately condemn Chandler. How dare he say that? He's going to get people to vote for the other person. You know, he's going to get people to vote for not my guy.

But wait a second, hold on. In the spirit of James chapter one, right? Everyone must be quick to listen, slow to speak and what? Slow to get angry, right? Biblical righteous anger is appropriate at times, but human anger is not good.

So let's hear Chandler out. Maybe he's got a greater point to make besides just bashing Trump. Maybe what he has to say is actually biblical. Let's hear him out first and then we can respond. I love this quote.

I love this quote. The church is not to be found at the center of left, right political world. The church is to be a species of its own kind, confounding both the left and right and finding its identity from the center of life.

I want to be confounding to them. I want to be confounding to them. I ain't nobody's boy, but his. Like I will not let me, I will not let you loop me into your insanity. I refuse.

Okay. So, okay, let's, you know, get the court reporter out, right? What did he say for the record? What did he say? We should not be beholden to any one man, no matter what he says or promises. We should only be beholden to God, God almighty.

And if we hold this principle tightly, we won't turn any man or woman into a false Messiah. So, you know, strike from the record, the fact that he was talking about Donald Trump for a moment. The question is, is that basic principle true and Christian?

Yes or no. Some of you are not ready to have this conversation and I understand that, you know, the turmoil and the political strife is real and it's tangible. I get it. But if we don't hold on to biblical principles, we will lose our way.

That is the biblical record in the book of Judges. That is the consistent testimony of God's people time and time again. I mean, you know, even if you were to ask the basic Bible study question, why didn't the religious leaders of Israel recognize their own Messiah when he was literally standing in front of them?

The answer has to be on some level. It's because they lost their way. That's why Jesus continued to appeal to the Old Testament when he engaged them. That's why he kept saying over and over, have you not read?

If you had known what it means, right? He's bringing them back to the biblical principles that they abandoned. Now stick with me because I will share with you some principles to consider from the scripture.

When you're thinking of whom to vote for, I had to get that right grammatically, English teacher. But for now, unless, you know, this totally falls apart, I'm with Chandler so far. Are you? Are you tracking his point or has he lost you already?

Let me know in the comments.

The Republican Party, the Moral Majority, and Political Co-optation

I feel deeply torn right now. Let me tell you why. I feel so much frustration at the Republican party. Do you hear how quiet it just got? Y 'all be cheering here in a second, but right now, let me tell you why.

In 1972, go read their charter. Not a single word about God or abortion in there. They were losing elections. They developed a strategy in the seventies to co-opt us and make us their people. They know we're easily manipulated.

We are easily worked into a frenzy. We can be controlled by them. They can, and that's what they did. And they are not for us. They do not all believe what we believe. This is a strategy. So I feel used by when they talk about us and to us, I feel in my guts, I get my name out of your mouth.

You do not represent me.

So, I mean, he's getting worked up. Okay. Now, this is an incredibly cynical take on what happened in history. All right. Chandler's probably, he's sniping at the moral majority, which was something that came to the fore in the late seventies.

Jerry Falwell and a couple other guys, right? This is a, you know, a much deeper issue here. So I encourage you to look this up on your own. But if you remember history, many Christians were attached to the democratic party as recently as the 1970s.

You remember this, Jimmy Carter was running for president and was a self-professed evangelical Christian. So in that context, there was a movement that, by the way, did not originate in the government.

It originated with a few church leaders at the time that sought to galvanize Christian support around the Republican party. And that's where Ronald Reagan comes into office and also gets reelected. That's how Republicans and Christians started down this path towards the relationship that we see today.

Now, there's a lot more that could be said about all this, but there it is in a nutshell. And I mean, are there weird consequences of Christians galvanizing support around a political party? I think so.

Just like there would be weird consequences of Christians galvanizing support around the democratic party, which by the way, has happened before in the past, right? But that doesn't mean the whole thing was wicked and governmentally manipulated.

So Chandler, I mean, unless he clarifies, he's talking about something else, is providing a very cynical take on what happened.

And then when I look at the legislative policy and worldview of the left, I find it morally reprehensible and demonic. I'm not talking about conspiracy theories. I'm talking about legislative action of a worldview that goes back to the gods of the Old Testament.

Feeding children to Moloch. Do you know there's a whole pattern? I might be getting into another sermon later, but repetition's good. There's a whole pattern of worship with the Baal and all these other gods where there was all this sexual promiscuity that ended up in all sorts of terrible things.

But then that's okay because you could just feed the God. You could feed your kid to Moloch. You just go sacrifice your kid on his altar. So be as perverse and dirty and gross as you want. And then whatever comes of that, you don't have to bear that responsibility.

Just throw it into the fires of Moloch. Is that not what's happening right now? And I find the left to be legislating along those lines. They believe that there's a difference between a human being and personhood.

Abortion, Personhood, and the Unborn

So Chandler's trying to balance his comments now. Okay, doesn't seem like he likes the Republican Party. Doesn't like the fact that they've been co-opted. But he also sees the Democratic Party as doing things that are absolutely wicked and demonic.

Now, he's a pastor with a 501c3, unless I'm mistaken. I mean, all churches are 501c3s. So it's gonna be interesting how he navigates this conversation for his congregants because I'm sure a number of them are thinking, who do I vote for, right?

Maybe not a lot. I think I've been trying to sort of anecdotally ask this question to you, the audience, but then also others in my own areas of influence here locally in Nashville. But have you already made up your mind?

You know, like who you're gonna vote for, the candidate that you're behind? And the answer is largely yes, okay? And so I'm sure a lot of people across the country have already made up their minds. And I'm sure a lot of you have done that not because you're impulsive, but because you're actually paying attention, especially you in the audience, because you're incredibly intelligent.

So, and I do appreciate that about you, you know? We're trying to get it right here. That's why you keep coming back to this channel, you know? And so you're trying to keep track of the, specifically the policy promises, right?

The track record of particular candidates, which is what really matters. Not believing that political candidates are holy and righteous or even saved for that matter, but that they will do things that we can get behind as Christians and whether or not we can trust the promises that they make while they're stumping, right?

That's what matters. So my question is, how is Chandler going to handle this conversation, right? He likely is not going to tell his congregants who specifically to vote for, or else the church will lose their 501c3.

So let's see what happens. Do you know what I mean when I say that? Let me tease it out just a little bit. They would acknowledge this is a human. This is a human being, but not necessarily a person. And personhood's what matters.

They do this for the unborn. They do this more and more towards the elderly and the sick and the, right? This is a worldview that's incompatible with what we believe as Christians. I don't feel like I'm being political here today.

I think they got theological and started this, right? Like you want to start talking about the definition of marriage? Well, that's theology. That's not, we're not talking freeways here. I'm not bringing up freeways.

Like you're trying to tell me gender doesn't matter. You're pushing sexually explicit perversion on elementary school kids. You have provoked us. I'm not, and some of you right now are like, well, you're a Christian nationalist.

Well, I am a Christian and I love our nation. If that makes me that, then you can, that you will not gas like me with that friend. And maybe you're one of those people like you shouldn't legislate morality.

And I'll tell you all legislation is moral. Why do we have to withdraw from this conversation? Why are we the only ones being shamed for what we believe? Like, why is that? No, I can't. Let him preach.

Let the man go on and finish his thought.

He's so right though. He's so right. All laws are moral. Every time you vote for a law, whether it says it or not, you're saying it is morally right and acceptable that dot, dot, dot. Whether it's Obergefell versus Hodges, whether it's Roe v. Wade, whether it's Jack Lawson baking a cake, whether it's legislating tea operations for children.

You know what I mean by tea, right? All of that belongs in the realm of the moral category. Why can we not as Christians participate and have a voice in what our nation decides is morally acceptable? We know better than anyone else what is and is not moral.

We stand on God's word and let him tell us what is and is not moral. Amen. We are the only ones, by the way, who can ground an objective morality that applies to everyone because the actions in and of themselves that people commit are right or wrong.

Not because some secular society decides to agree to some kind of social contract. I'm digressing. The point is everyone votes from their own moral convictions and Chandler knows that and he's right. And Christians should not be exempt from such a thing just because we are Christians, just because we go to church.

And I cannot, that I can't get myself there as much as I just like orange man bad. I cannot like this right here. So here's, here's where I'm going. And I know I'm frustrating some of you and it's okay.

Like I said, Bible's over here. You can just be like, I don't like it. Great. I might not like you. We'll just, so here's my plan. Here's my plan. I'm hoping to look at policy. Now what makes that difficult?

And I don't know if you're paying attention. No one's talking about policy. What are they doing? They're trying to appeal to our emotions and whip us into a fear, anger frenzy. This is a manipulative game that has been used by tyrannical governments across history.

Make them angry, make them afraid. They'll do what we want.

I mean, again, what, so what does he mean? Does he mean when he says no one's talking about policy? Does he mean that the Trump campaign has not released their policy promises? Because if so, then what's this, right?

Here's a list of all the policies, the promises that the Trump campaign says they will accomplish once elected, right? Kamala Harris has a similar page on her website. Does the mainstream media talk about policy all that much?

Focus on policy? You know, I think the answer is no. So if that's what Chandler means, well, then I would say that he's spot on, right? But if you go to their respective websites, both campaigns have their plans out there.

And I encourage you all to take a close look at their policy promises. The things that they say that they will do on day one when they enter the office. Because this is what we used to do a long time ago, but almost no one is doing today.

We used to get into a conversation about the feasibility of each of these kinds of plans. Like the candidates would list their particular policies, their promises, and then we would take a look at that and we would say, oh, we can actually accomplish this.

This is fiscally responsible or this is plausible. This will actually accomplish their goals or not. Like in the lead up to an election, we used to ask these kinds of questions. I'm old enough to remember this.

And we're not. We're just, for some reason, we're not having those kinds of discussions in the media.

So don't buy it. Don't buy it. So what I can do is, listen, the Democrats have been 12 of the last 16. I think I've got a bead on their policy. And then I kind of know what Trump's thinking, but I don't believe him.

I don't trust him. I don't think he's a man of his word. He's already pulled back on things he wants said to get us on his side. So now I'm like, okay, you've got all this demonic nonsense over here. You've got this liar guy who's in it for himself who I kind of think I like his policy, but I don't know where he's going to renege, where he's going to pull back, where he's going to do what's best for him.

Boy, cynical, right? Is that technically true? Can you find something that Trump has said that he would do that he actually did not do? Probably. But when you weigh this in comparison to the things that he did accomplish, isn't this just a way more cynical take by Chandler?

I mean, even for folks who were never Trumpers, right? So I'm not sure where Chandler is on this, but a lot of people who were against Trump in 2016, including J .D. Vance, by the way, have realized that he is an effective leader that benefits the nation.

Can you critique his moral character? Absolutely. But was he an effective leader that benefited the United States of America? It's like you would have to be blind to say no, right? And so where does this leave you?

Particularly as a pastor who recognizes that, yes, the Democratic Party is obviously against traditional Christian values, obviously has adopted the demonic lie of bowing down to Molech in the name of convenience.

Amen? What can you tell your congregation? Some of whom are still trying to think through these issues and make up their minds. If you were a pastor at a church, what would you say? Actually, I just want to toss that to you.

Like, I'm curious to get your thoughts. Actually, some of you in my audience actually are pastors. What are you telling your congregation, those of you that are pastors, so that they can make a decision that is informed and shaped by their biblical convictions?

Let's see what Chandler says. But here's where I'm just going to sleep like a baby come what may. I am trying to be a good citizen of where God has placed me. I love this guy. My daddy was a Navy man.

I grew up on military bases watching Red Dawn and Rocky IV. I'm in. I'm in. I used to wish somebody would invade this place. I knew what I was doing. Head to the mountains. I lived on the coast. There's no mountains.

I don't know. Get on the mountains. One shot. You know, we'll rate wage a guerrilla war against our invaders. That's the baby Matt, man. He was ready. He wanted it. He's like, I'm looking up for parachutes to come down.

Never happened. And I'm trying to be obedient to the Lord and be a good citizen. And I'm not putting any of my hope in what's coming. And I'm refusing to let them pull me into anxiety and anger. Where I feel provoked is for you.

I'm not angry at them. I'm hopeful for you. I'm not going to let them do that to me. If they get me angry and anxious, they win. And I don't want them to win. So even when I feel it in me, I run to the Lord with it.

I don't want to carry this. I want to be provoked for your people. I want to be provoked for what's true. I want to lead us into righteousness. But I do not want to give either one of these people any of my emotion.

All of my prayers, none of my emotions. And so how I thought we would end today is we would just stand together and read this passage together about the reign and rule of King Jesus. So will you stand with me?

The Pastor's Role, Voting, and Biblical Convictions

Okay. So, I mean, it looks like that's it. He's closing the message, no parting salvo in terms of helping the congregation think through who to vote for. And again, I think this raises an interesting question that I want you to help me think through.

And vice versa. Here it is. What is the role of a pastor of a church when it comes to voting for the next president? In other words, should a pastor straight up tell you who to vote for or not? Now, you should know that churches are tax exempt.

This was talking about earlier, right? One of the requirements to maintain their 501c3 is that they refrain from supporting political parties. That's why you won't find pastors stumping on campaign trails for people.

But should they, at the very least, help you decide without going the full way and telling you which party to support? Where is the dividing line in your mind? I'm curious to get your thoughts. Let me know in the comments.

I personally think Chandler could say more. I think he could say more things and bring up biblical examples that could help his congregation think through today's election. And maybe he will. You know, maybe that's where he's going.

This is the beginning of a sermon. This is a very recent sermon. So maybe that's where he's going next week. Right? Who knows? But what I'm going to do right now is I'm going to leave you with a couple of passages and some quick comments here in closing that can help you and guide you as you think through this process for yourself, okay?

Now, what I'm about to tell you is going to upset some of you. And that's okay. You don't have to like everything I have to say. But there are some of you out there that are still up in the air about who to vote for.

Let's see if the Bible can help us at all. All right. So real quick, I use the Logos Bible app to read God's word. And while I do have physical Bibles in my house, Logos is the app that I use not only to read the Bible with you here, but also in my own studies of the scripture every morning.

I just cannot recommend Logos enough, including the search and the fact book features. These are game changers for you, friends. So go check it out along with my special discount. It's logos .com forward slash wise disciple.

All right. Take a look at verse 17 of Isaiah chapter one. Learn to do good. Seek justice. Correct oppression. Bring justice to the fatherless. Plead the widow's cause. All right. We should be thinking about the candidate and the policies and the party that will help the marginalized.

That's what this verse is focused on. That's where God's concern is. The poor, the fatherless, those who cannot take care of themselves. In other words, we should not only help them, but we should put people in a position of authority that can help the marginalized, that can help them thrive and flourish in that sense.

Now, people are going to look at Isaiah one, and they're going to apply it differently, right? Because it comes down to the way that they define who is marginalized, right? Okay. Acknowledged. But if you're a Christian, you cannot deny that the number one marginalized group in this country right now is the unborn.

The numbers are off the scale, ladies and gentlemen. This is a wholesale generational slaughter, and it needs to be ended in this country once and for all. Amen. Now, the question is, which candidate and party is going to shift the needle, right?

Closer towards helping the marginalized in this way. Now, let me get ahead of some of you, because some of you are already thinking, well, you know what, Nate? Both parties are corrupt. Both parties are wicked in some sense.

I mean, this is kind of like what Chandler was saying a moment ago, right? That's obviously true. Both parties contain people who are wicked to their very core, okay? These are not parties made up of holy and righteous believers in God.

In other words, there are some people in both parties who have lied, cheated, and stolen for self-gain in the past. I don't think that's in dispute at all. That's not even controversial to say. But I would argue that it does not therefore follow that flawed, corrupted people cannot be temporarily used by God to do good things.

As a matter of fact, the teaching of the Bible is that all kings and people who are in positions of authority have been put there by God, the God who has the ultimate authority overall. And so if you recognize that, and then you start flipping through the Rolodex of history, you start thinking about some of these authorities that have been in positions, you know, kings and such, they were wicked people that committed atrocities in the past, but God put them there.

Why? Because they were useful to him. And I would encourage us as Christians to think along these lines, you know, let go of who is morally perfect. That's just not the reality of our situation in 2024.

Instead, think of who is more useful to the biblical and Christian worldview. Who is more useful to the values that reflect the God of heaven? Who will, whether they realize it or not, further those kinds of principles that we hold dear based on God's word.

Are you following me? Here's another passage to consider. This is Exodus chapter 18, verse 21. It says, moreover, look for able men from all the people. Men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens.

Okay. Again, this is a principle that God initiated with his people at Sinai. Okay. But the principle holds today as well. We should be looking for a candidate and a party who hates corruption. Now, here we go again, right?

Hold on, Nate. Both parties are corrupt. Yes, that's correct. But which party? So let me try to be precise here with my words, which party as corrupt as they can be, has a track record of combating corrupt practices in the halls of government.

See, now some of you are already lost because this is too nuanced. It's too complex. It's just simpler to say, Oh, they're all corrupt and throw your hands up in the air and then give up. But I don't think that's the right way to think about this issue.

Ladies and gentlemen, as a Christian and an American, throwing up your hands in the air is not refraining from voting. That is your vote. I mean, that's the brilliance of the American system. To not vote is to influence the vote in this country.

To remain silent is to speak loudly in this country. Why? Because the system is set up in such a manner that not participating is still a form of participation. It's just participation of another kind.

Why? Because we live in a democratic republic. So I think the question becomes, which flawed party will do more to combat corruption than the other one? For this question, we don't just look at the promises, right?

We have to pay very close attention to the track record. You guys still with me or did I lose you? And finally, look at this. Zechariah 8 verse 16 says, These are the things that you shall do. Speak the truth to one another.

Render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace. Truth is something highly valued in the biblical worldview. In God's opinion. Christians must be absolutely committed to the truth. We're not talking about postmodern subjective truth.

We're talking about objective capital T truth. Truth that's true for everyone, no matter who you are or what you think or how you feel about it. Amen. Which candidate and party is more committed to what is true about reality?

Capital T. Capital T true. Notice what I'm not asking. I'm not asking which party contains no liars. Again, if that's your standard, then you're already off on the wrong foot. That's just not where we are in today's society.

What I am suggesting that you question is, Which candidate and party is more committed to what is true about reality than the other? Which candidate and party will shift the tone and tenor of our society back towards truth?

Capital T. And which will push it further away from the truth? I mean, to me, this is obvious. The answer is fairly clear. But this is where I think you need to, those of you that are still, you kind of, you're weighing your options, right?

You're thinking it through. I think this is where you need to go away and think and pray. Because whatever decision that we do make, it's not going to be something that we do lightly. I don't think as Christians that we should do anything lightly, right?

We should recognize the flaws and be ready to critique the shortcomings of the party that we ultimately stand with. We can do that very easily for those that we don't, or that we are opposed to. But can we do the same thing for those that we stand with?

If we cannot, we will be guilty of what Chandler talked about a moment ago, right? Turning people into false messiahs. That is idolatry, ladies and gentlemen. Jesus said, there is only one who is good.

And that's God alone. Amen. All right. Well, now it's your turn. What did you think of Chandler's comments here? How are you thinking through this upcoming election? From a biblical perspective, I'd love to get your thoughts.

Let's keep the conversation going in the comments below. As always, if you made it this far, get yourself on over to my Patreon community. Like right now, it's continuing to grow. There's lots of great discussions, cool features, live streams, Zoom hangouts.

You can meet up with me one-on-one. We're studying the Bible together. Go check it out. The link for the Patreon is below. I will return soon with more videos, but in the meantime, I'll say bye for now.