In an exclusive interview with The Brody File down in South Carolina, GOP presidential candidate Ted Cruz says his Christian faith guides his path but has a message for those who think his “Jesus talk” is too much.
"I'm not running to be 'pastor-in-chief.' It is not the calling of a political leader to deliver the salvation message. That is the calling of us as believers, it's the calling of a pastor but it's a different role to be a political leader."
However, Cruz is quick to point out that he is NOT ashamed of the Gospel.
"I am a Christian and the Word says if you are ashamed of Jesus He will be ashamed of you. I don't intend to have that conversation with my maker."
Our interview took place Thursday afternoon in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Cruz was in town to meet privately with pastors at an event sponsored by the American Renewal Project. Our CBN cameras were on hand for that meeting and you can check out The Brody File for clips from the meeting.
Look folks, evangelicals have an important decision to make. Ted Cruz is speaking their language and has a record that matches his rhetoric. You would think that would be a perfect match for evangelicals and so far, at least in Iowa, they have shown strong support.
Can evangelicals in South Carolina duplicate that effort? We’re going to find out. Cruz's team will need to work overtime because with Donald Trump being such a factor in this presidential race, he'll need EVEN MORE evangelicals to show up.
It becomes a numbers game. You can easily make the argument that without significant turnout by evangelicals in Iowa, Cruz would have lost the Hawkeye state. Looking forward to the South Carolina exit polls a week from Saturday.
MANDATORY COURTESY: CBN NEWS/THE BRODY FILE
Ted Cruz: I am a Christian and the Word says if you are ashamed of Jesus He will be ashamed of you. I don’t intend to have that conversation with my maker. It is an integral part of who I am my faith. Now, at the same time, I’m not running to be ‘Pastor-In-Chief.’ It is not the calling of a political leader to deliver the salvation message. That is the calling of us as believers, it’s the calling of a pastor but it’s a different role to be a political leader.
My responsibility as president is to defend the constitutional rights of every American, to keep every American safe.
At town halls I get people who periodically ask, 'I'm an atheist why should I support you?' Now, as a believer I hope that atheist will encounter the forgiving love of Jesus Christ but as a president, I intend to be a president of everybody, president of every faith…