James Robison: We are on the eve of the Republican Convention, and there are many important decisions being made. We need wisdom from above. E.W., we know if Trump wants to win necessary support, especially from those who are undecided, he has got to show some meekness and humility, and when he addresses things that must be done, when he doesn’t already have a clear picture of how to correct it (like healthcare), he must understand the importance of sitting down with the wisest people and pounding out on the anvil of reason the best approach to correct the problem.

E.W. Jackson: He needs to say, “Look, we’ve got to come back to principles that we know work. They’ll work in any endeavor in life where we try to use some common sense, some godly wisdom, and give people the maximum ability to make their own choices because they know better than anyone else knows what is good for their health. So we will honor the principles of freedom on which America was built, and we’ll get the best results that way.” If he comes back to that kind of fundamental principles answer, he’ll do very well.

Robison: Mr. Trump has emphatically said one of his first acts will be the overthrow of the Johnson Amendment that limits the free speech on the part of church leaders, pastors, priests and other pro-family 501c3s. This will free them to practice their First Amendment rights of freedom, religion and speech. Of course the liberal churches and other pro-liberal 501 c3s have never obeyed the Johnson Amendment.

Jackson: I think I have said that Trump has moved me from supporting him because Hillary is his opponent, (and I think this is true for others), to supporting him because he is bringing to the table some ideas of his own that are worthy of support. That is one of them, absolutely. That’s music to our ears.

Robison: I made a statement that got quite a bit of repetition: “God uses imperfect people to accomplish His perfect will, always has, always will. But here’s the key, when the imperfect person hears and heeds wise counsel, that’s when the will of God is accomplished.” Would you say that the key to Mr. Trump’s success is going to be the counsel that he surrounds himself with, the wisdom they offer, and if he hears and heeds? Will that be the key to his success?

Jackson: Absolutely. The scripture says that, “There is wisdom in many counselors,” and he’s got some people around him now like Dr. Ben Carson, Sen. Ted Cruz and others who really bring godly wisdom to the table. This is one of things that has concerned evangelicals. He has some qualities that we like, but we were concerned that there didn’t seem to be a God-centeredness in those principles and qualities. That kind of counsel will help center him exactly where he needs to be centered.

Robison: Trump told the 30 or so members of his evangelical advisory council that he granted me the longest private meeting in his life. In that time frame I can tell you that I voiced as forceful as I am capable of every principle that you would want a candidate to hear. He did not push back. He did not resist. He listened, absorbed, and I expect the truth to not return void. Ben Carson said, “It is not returning void. We are watching the power of truth work.” Now if Trump has not pushed back, does that give you any indication of hope that he might actually listen to wise counsel?

Jackson: Yes, it does! James, all of us who’ve watched you for years have immense respect for you, and the fact that he would sit down and listen to what you have to say and not push back, here again it’s another indication that he is worthy of support not just because Hillary Clinton is his opponent, but because he himself is showing some qualities that we can actually get behind. I didn’t know that and that gives me a tremendous amount of comfort.

Robison: You’ve said there is no way a Christian should be able to vote for a candidate or party platform that does certain things. Can you please explain in your words, and share any other reasons that you think Christians should leave the Democratic Party? You have every right to say what you feel.

Jackson: The reality is that those of us who know God, love Him, and are committed to Him have a responsibility to try to walk in accordance with His will, His word and His promises. One of His great promises is life. “I have come that you may have life and have it more abundantly.” For us to side with, to vote for, to support candidates who are against preserving the lives of innocent unborn children to me is rank rebellion against God. It is siding with people who are in effect shaking their fist at God saying, “We don’t care what you say or what your Bible says, we are going to do what we want to do. That is not a position that any Christian should ever find themselves in, whether black, white, Hispanic or Asian or whatever their ethnic background.

I’ve said to minorities who have been captured by the Democratic Party, “You’ve got to stop thinking party and start thinking principle. Stop thinking race and start thinking righteousness. Start having a biblical worldview, not a racial or political worldview. That goes right down the line to the issue of marriage. It goes to the issue of redefining what marriage is, what gender is, even kicking God off the platform of your party saying we don’t want God mentioned in our party. Then you go out and vote for these people and think God is going to prosper or bless that. It’s not going to happen.”

We need an awakening in our country and I think it begins when the body of Christ comes together around biblical principles rather than allowing ourselves to be divided by race, party or anything else.

Robison: When you allow the assault on all that God has established, Nature’s Law and Nature’s God, and you cast truth aside as Ravi Zacharias said, you have experienced the genocide of reason as well as truth and morality. That is precisely what is taking place.

Now we don’t want anyone to think we’re saying the Republicans have their act together. They have not understood the needs of the overlooked. They have not been willing to listen to those they didn’t necessarily think they had the support of. They have appeared to appeal too much to the upper end and that has to change. I hear Donald Trump saying the establishment and political correctness has got to go, which means Republicans have a whole lot of correction to do themselves. Do you agree?

Jackson: Absolutely, in fact my organization has a program called “Project Awakening” which is a private sector program to rescue America’s inner cities and it is centered and grounded in the church. Republicans need to listen to the concerns of evangelicals and Catholics and should be concerned about losing their support. The failure of twenty-five million evangelicals to vote in the last election and the one before that even more is what has given us the kind of leadership we’ve had over the last seven and a half years. There is no question about it.

As evangelicals we’ve got to step up to the plate and the Republican Party is going to have to hear us. I’m sure you feel the same way. I’m not a Republican because I love the party. I’m a Republican because I love the principles and as long as the party is with my principles, I’m with the party. But if it ever leaves my principles, I will leave that party.

Part Two of James Robison’s discussion with Bishop E.W. Jackson can be found here.