Ronald Reagan was elected president when I was in sixth grade, then reelected when I was a sophomore in high school—serving until my sophomore year in college.

In my naiveté, I guess I thought he’d be there forever—either him or, at least, someone much like him. How dreadfully wrong I was.

Reagan’s story has now come back to life on the big screen and reminded us once again of this larger-than-life portrait of Americana.

Now, Reagan is my favorite president, so I readily admit that I am biased, and I am certainly also no movie critic—although I know when a film leaves me bored or inspired. And I thought the Reagan movie was brilliant. Rather than drilling down into one specific incident in Reagan’s presidency, then filling in the story with lots of historical fiction, it spans his entire life, and almost everything it portrays about Reagan (played by Dennis Quaid) is factual. The story is told through the eyes of a former KGB agent (played by Jon Voight) who had been assigned to monitor Reagan since the 1940s and was horrified to watch him ascend to become governor of California, then president of the United States.

The movie is filled with majestic views and does an excellent job of capturing the big, momentous scenes in Reagan’s life while staying very close to the historical reality. And people across the country are flocking to see it.

Everyone, it seems, is thrilled with the movie—save for one group. The critics hate it. They despise it.

And I cannot judge their motives or their hearts, but my guess is that many of them hate the movie because they really hated, and still hate, the man. I doubt that any movie could have been made with a sympathetic portrayal of Reagan’s life or presidency that our depraved culture would appreciate because so many people simply hate almost everything the man stood for.

First and foremost, many people hate his clear moral vision. The movie focuses on Reagan’s obsession with defeating the Soviet Union, winning the Cold War, and keeping America free from the destructive forces of communism. A major influence fueling those passions was Reagan’s childhood faith—instilled in him by his mother. Though he strayed from it many times, it was never far away. The movie does not preach a sermon or even include a clear gospel message, but it also does not shy away from depicting Reagan’s view that God always had a plan for his life—and his mother’s belief that God would use him in a very special way.

Reagan modeled a style of leadership that is no longer palatable in our sensitive society. He was joyous, witty, eloquent, and always sharply dressed—yet he could be ruthless for the sake of goodness and truth. In his passion to excel and achieve his ideals, he might appear strident and harsh. He was a leader you would be drawn to—and one for whom you would also maintain a healthy sense of fear.

I have studied Reagan much in the last few years. Lynnette and I visited the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum in Simi Valley, Calif., in 2019. I spent one day touring the museum and a second just relaxing and enjoying the surroundings. I’m fascinated by many of the videos that continue to be produced by both the Reagan Library and the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute. There are endless hours of discussion and commentary about Reagan that I’m interested in listening to when I need to hear something relaxing but motivational.

Watching this film reminded me again of the traits I see in Reagan that are also noticeable in several of the Christian leaders who have highly influenced my own life. I do not know that they particularly studied Reagan, or sought to imitate him, or would even agree with me if I shared these reflections with them. Perhaps these are simply attributes that are intrinsic to strong leaders who are committed to the cause of righteousness. They relate to the pursuit of honor, integrity and principle—exhibited in conduct that is befitting of one’s office and purpose.

These are traits that I aspire to exhibit. The culture has deteriorated rapidly since they were in vogue—in a day when serious men spoke and acted and presented themselves in a manner that displayed the depth of their commitments and of their moral gravity. The changing trends we’ve witnessed since have largely been to our societal detriment.

Ronald Reagan was neither a perfect man nor a perfect president. That much he certainly knew, and he trusted in the grace of God alone through the gospel for his eternal hope. I look forward to meeting him one day—not just on the big screen but in heaven—and telling “the Great Communicator” of the impact he made upon my life, even though from a great distance.

Reagan promotes a message that our culture detests. That is exactly what makes it so magnificent.

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Paul J. Scharf (M.A., M.Div., Faith Baptist Theological Seminary) is a church ministries representative for The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry, based in Columbus, WI, and serving in the Midwest. For more information on his ministry, visit sermonaudio.com/pscharf or foi.org/scharf, or email pscharf@foi.org.

Hebrews 2:7-9; “You made Him for a little while lower than the angels; You have crowned Him with glory and honor, putting everything in subjection under His feet. Now, in putting everything in subjection to Him, He left nothing outside His control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to Him. But we see Him, who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God, He might taste death for everyone” (ESV – all emphasis is mine).

Romans 14:11-12; “For it is written, as I live says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.”

Philippians 2:5-11; “Have this in mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore, God has highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

First and foremost, we must have the faith to believe that the Bible is the Holy Spirit-inspired word of our Heavenly Father and that all the writers were inspired and guided by the Holy Spirit.

Looking at how the true word of the Father has reached us, let us first look at 2 Peter 1:21; “For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

John 14:26; “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”

Next, 2 Timothy 3:16-17; “All scripture is breathed out by God, and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction and training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

Paul states that there will come a time when people will not accept the Father’s true word. In 2 Timothy 4:3-4, “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having “itching ears” they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.”

More people today are attached to this world and what it supposedly has to offer than those who are seeking Jesus as their Savior. Looking at 1 John 2:15-17, we’re told, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world – the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life – is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but the will of God abides forever.”

Our Heavenly Father is not bound by time as we humans are. About 2,000 years ago, John, Paul, James, Peter, and others gave us prophecy about how the end of this age would be. Everything we were told to watch for is here except for the entry of the ultimate antichrist. Before he can come forth, all who have received and accepted Jesus as their Savior and have the Holy Spirit within them must be removed. 2 Thessalonians 2:7; “For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only He who now restrains it will do so until He is out of the way.” The Restrainer is clearly the Holy Spirit, and if He is removed, all whom He indwells will have to be taken up as well.

Today, more than ever, the sacrifice given by our most precious Jesus becomes absolutely significant with each passing hour. Our Jesus went to the cross “willingly,” as stated in John 10:18. Had He decided that the human race was not worth His efforts, we all would have been lost forever.

For all who truly love and honor our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ, we thank Him every day and several times a day for loving us so much.

A song published around 1677 by an unknown author should be in our hearts and on our minds continuously. The title of this song is “Fairest Lord Jesus.”

1.) Fairest Lord Jesus, ruler of all nature; oh Thou of God, and man the Son. Thee will I cherish, Thee will I honor, Thou my soul’s glory, joy and crown.

2.) Fair are the meadows, fairer still the woodlands, robed in the blooming garb of spring; Jesus is fairer, Jesus is purer, who makes the woeful heart to sing.

3.) Fair is the sunshine, fairer still the moonlight, and all the twinkling starry host. Jesus shines brighter, Jesus shines purer than all the angels Heaven can boast.

4.) Beautiful Savior! Lord of all nations! Son of God, and Son of man. Glory and honor, praise, adoration, now and forevermore be Thine.

In John 14:6, Jesus explains to the disciples, and especially Thomas, just who He really is; “Jesus said to him, I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.”

If you were the Creator of the heavens and the earth, and you sent a precious part of Yourself to this earth to be sacrificed on a cruel Roman cross so that all who would receive and accept that Son could have life forever in Heaven, would you have negative feelings toward anyone who would reject this?

Our Father, through the apostle Paul, gave us three simple steps for us to follow to be assured a Home with Him forever. Romans 10:9-13 gives the steps that are referred to as the “A-B-Cs” of Salvation.

A – admit we’re sinners because every one of us is. That is explained further in Romans 3:10 and Romans 3:23.

B – believe that Jesus is the Son of God who came to this earth to be the perfect sin-free blood sacrifice on behalf of all who would receive and accept Him. We must believe He died as a human on that cross and was raised three days later to conquer sin and death for us all.

C – all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved.

One statement, plain and to the point, is that all who refuse to accept our Lord and Savior before they take their last breath on this earth will have committed the unforgivable sin. They will face judgment at the Great White Throne to find out their eternal punishment. There is no chance of pardon or mercy here.

Our Father will force no one to call out to Jesus but will honor all who truly do. Every living, breathing soul on this earth has the opportunity to become a part of our Savior’s precious flock. This was given by our Lord and Savior Jesus in John 10:16; “And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to My voice. So there will be one flock, one Shepherd.” Some say that Jesus came only for the Jewish nation, but in this statement, Jesus includes all “Gentiles,” which is everyone other than the Jews. We all have the right to call on Him.

Please understand that there are some so-called religions today that say the Jews have been replaced by Christianity. The Jews are given the opportunity to receive and accept the Messiah just as every other living soul on this earth. The thing is, they don’t get a free pass but must receive and accept the Savior as stated in the “A-B-Cs” of Salvation.

Our Heavenly Father has made provisions for all true believers to avoid going through the coming 7-year tribulation, also known as the wrath of God. Looking at 1 Thessalonians 4: 13-17 and 1 Corinthians 15: 51-53, we are told how the Rapture will occur, who will be involved, and what happens to all who are taken up to meet Jesus in the air.

Our Heavenly Father does not lie (Titus 1:2), and any covenant He makes is solid. There are those who are mocking the word of the Lord, saying there is really no Jesus and all religions worship the same “god.” Their day of reckoning is approaching. So is our day that we will hear the Trumpet of God and a shout from an archangel signaling the Rapture is taking place. For anyone who thinks they can wait until this call, Paul says it will be in the “twinkling of an eye,” which is calculated at faster than one second.

Now would be the best time for all who have put off calling on Jesus to forgive them and be their Savior, to not delay any longer. We do not know the day or hour, but it is coming just as the Father said it would. Jesus is available right now to accept all who call on Him. Once the Rapture takes place, this earth will go through the worst 7-year period of time ever. We pray for all our loved ones, friends, acquaintances, and everyone else to call out now.

Our Fairest Lord Jesus did all the hard part for our Salvation. Call out to Him; call today.

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