President Donald Trump is worried about the afterlife. He’s not sure he’s going to make the cut. And he is very confused about how to do it. On August 19th he was on Fox & Friends talking about some of his motivations for attempting to broker a peace between Russia & Ukraine. He made quite the revealing statement. “If I can save 7,000 people a week from being killed, I think that’s pretty– I want to try to get to heaven if possible. I’m hearing that I’m not doing well. I am really at the bottom of the totem pole,” he added, to laughter from the Fox News hosts. “But if I can get to heaven, this will be one of the reasons.”[i] I was almost shocked when I read this. There is no rejection of the Gospel here. Just complete ignorance. Why has no one explained to him the good news?
He seems to be working under the impression that one earns his way to heaven. That you get ‘salvation points’ for good deeds done. It is a common misconception. But one that is in total contradiction to what the Bible teaches. Here is Ephesians 2:8-9 in the New Living Translation. “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.” In his letter to the Romans, Paul explains to the Jews who believed that they could reach God by keeping the Law, “But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law.” (Romans 3:21 NLT) This is true because not one of us can keep the law perfectly – and that is what is required if we tried to earn salvation through our own efforts. God is perfect and cannot be in the presence of sin. “We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood.”
(Romans 3:22-25 NLT)
Neither Donald Trump, nor any one of us, can earn our way to heaven. This goes for Mother Theresa, Billy Graham, the Pope or Mary the mother of Jesus. [Mary herself said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” (Luke 1:46-47 NIV) The whole transaction is beautifully summed up in 2Corinthians 5:21. “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (NKJV)
[i] Trump Says He Wants to ‘Try and Get to Heaven if Possible’, People, August 19, 2025
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