“But what does the Scripture say?” Romans 4:3
Did it ever occur to us that God’s judgment is quickening, gathering on the dark, ominous horizon, not because of all the sins of the woke left, but because His church is apostate? Isn’t it clear from biblical history that it’s the faithfulness of His people that drives events rather than events driving His people?
In the wake of the opening ceremony in Paris last week we thought it a sound plan to delay comment. For a bit. But here we are. As usual, the church at large has shown herself bereft of sound doctrine and the sweet glory of the gospel of Christ. Oh, she’s full of people who love Jesus…but not according to truth. That’s a subject for another day. We’re empty-headed vessels who do great damage because we worship and follow a Jesus we don’t truly know because systematic theology and the clear thinking it produces are anathema to large swaths of modern American Christianity. To wit: after the brazenly sexual opening ceremony at the Olympics, yours truly was treated to a non-stop barrage of social media posts from well-meaning Christians decrying the whole thing and proclaiming that, yes indeed, Christ was coming back soon.
There was a blue dude in what looked like the Last Supper!! Oh, well, I never! But, as always, what does the Scripture say?
“But I wasn’t talking about unbelievers who indulge in sexual sin, or are greedy, or cheat people, or worship idols. You would have to leave this world to avoid people like that. I meant that you are not to associate with anyone who claims to be a believer yet indulges in sexual sin, or is greedy, or worships idols, or is abusive, or is a drunkard, or cheats people. Don’t even eat with such people.”
1 Corinthians 5:10-11 NLT
The intensity of our shock at seeing sinners celebrating sin is directly proportional to our bad theology. Do we truly understand that mankind is totally depraved? The whole dispute about the doctrines of grace and God’s power of salvation exists because we don’t like to think of ourselves as quite literally dead in our trespasses and sin despite what the Scripture says (Ephesians 2 and Romans 3, for example). As it goes, American Christians have grown too worldly and are political rather than Scriptural. Sure, the woke left is an abomination and hearty buffet of trespasses. No argument there. But those shocked by the Olympic display and claiming that it must mean that Christ is coming soon have confused the work of the church and that of the state in a rather awful manner. Paul, in writing to the tempestuous church in Corinth, itself a city awash with appalling sins that would make even the average wokester blush, teaches us that our focus should be on the purity of His bride – that is, the church. It’s always easy to compare our righteousness to that of the world. In that we’re experts, aren’t we? But to compare ourselves to Christ is the stuff of Christianity…and such leads to a life of humble faith as it should. That’s the key.
A man not excited about Christ is like a man lost in the desert who finds a well and thinks it’s no big deal. The problem with the world isn’t the left but the joyless and Christ-less “Christian” who sees himself as nominally messed up but not literally dead in sin. All heresies and apostasies stem from us believing that we’re better than we truly are. In fact, we’re far, far worse…and this is the glory of salvation through Christ alone! The man or woman, broken and repentant, can’t help but love their Savior with a life-changing love and this only comes from truly understanding how depraved they are down at bottom.
The question then emerges: are we more agitated by the woke movement’s excesses or the clear violations of sin in the church? The answer is seen in how ardently Christians “worship” a political movement/figure rather than the next Bible study and the faithful teaching/preaching word of God.
I’ve personally heard a good many Christian friends say that if Trump doesn’t win in November then America is toast. Funny, that. But I haven’t heard that if Christians live in true faith, loving one another in Christ, showing the world the gospel through action that God will be pleased. I’ve heard much about how we need to win back Washington but little about winning back the hearts of those causing dissension from within the church. In this, tragically, we have the whole thing backwards. Show me in Scripture where the sovereign God is more concerned with what happens in Rome or Babylon than in the heart! Oh, how pathetically shallow we’ve become. To think that God is moved by our elections is to show that we’re syncretistic just like the Old Testament Jews…and it was for exactly that that they were carried away into captivity. Faithful living is literally kingdom building.
Secondly, what’s this nonsense about Christ coming back all because the Olympics and the French are perverted? You’d think that Christians had never heard of Noah’s daughters, Sarah suggesting that her husband have another woman, Judah and Tamar, and, for crying out loud, Samson. It’s not as though Romans 1:-18-32 doesn’t detail this whole process for us. We need to grow up and eat solid food (sound doctrine) and stop being petty little theology babies that have to be constantly cradled and sung a sweet song. To ignore how bad is modern theology in America, how unfaithful is His church via quarreling and jealousy and sexual sin, while caterwauling about the left is to reverse the order of importance. It’s also to miss the joy of our salvation – in part, which is our fellowship and worship together! Self-rightouess people tear one another apart, but those who rest in the unmerited grace of God look upon others as they know looks upon them.
“It isn’t my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning. God will judge those on the outside; but as the Scriptures say, “You must remove the evil person from among you.””
1 Corinthians 5:12-13 NLT
When was the last time you heard of a truly unrepentant sinner being banished from church? When was the last time you heard of the church struggling with a serious discipline issue? Have you gossiped lately? Have you heard someone else gossip and stood idly by in clear violation of the Lord’s command that we love each other and not even hear a charge without a witness? It’s easy to decry the sexual sins of the world and hard to mentor and pray with a brother (or sister) who’s struggling with pornography. Voting for Trump is a moral necessity given the alternative of Biden-Harris and their support of all things woke. That’s true. But that’s also easy. Picking up our cross and growing in godliness through faith and worship so that the world sees our wisdom and love requires more than a one-off action on Election Day. It requires discipleship. And that requires the repentance of sin and the commitment to faithful living.
To be hoping that the Lord comes right now because we’re offended at the world’s sin also means that we don’t care that they’d be lost! Read what Paul said about those that were persecuting him:
“For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh.”
Romans 9:3 ESV
This is the heart of Christ in the Christian! We should ache so deeply for those who are perishing that we can pray for them – literally for them to be saved – even in the midst of dying because of them!
“Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.”
Acts 7:54-60 ESV
It ought to occur to us that hating the left isn’t exactly the same as hating the ideology and idolatry that’s captured them. Tearing down the strongholds of their false beliefs should coincide with our hearts breaking over what those errors and lies are doing to them. Look at them! Look at what sin is doing to them! Yes, we recoil…but not in moral superiority – because we who’ve been saved by grace, not by works. We’re stirred by a great hatred of the lies, not the people! Do you want to take back Washington in order to stop America’s descent into madness? Good. Then let’s act wisely, in Christ. The principles of action are clear. Let’s overcome evil with good. We must repent of our sins daily and trust only in God. We must have faithful homes and attend faithful churches that could care less about attendance and cash and only about the gospel of Christ. Christians without a church are like a football player without a team. It’s a contradiction in terms. Also, we must work faithfully in the Lord, developing excellence in our craft – whatever it is – to the glory of God. And we absolutely must stop sending our children to secular schools.
Yes, pull your children from all public schools. And public universities. And any private school or so-called Christian school that’s gone apostate. That’s the gist of Paul’s teaching about not being unequally yoked. It doesn’t mean, don’t go to a movie with a cuss word, or smoke or get a tattoo. It means, don’t send your kids to hell’s schools and expect them to be Christians. Your ten year-old isn’t going to evangelize the putrid system of secular humanism; the system will evangelize your child. And that’s exactly why we have an entire generation that doesn’t know sound doctrine in the first place. The schools have taught us to think according the the great lie – epistemic neutrality – and we’ve carried that ghastly idolatry into our Bible studies. The very fact that most aren’t aware of how horrible so-called neutrality is and how it contradicts all that the Bible teaches is clear evidence as to why we must come out of the secular school monopoly. If Christians did this right now, and the churches used their considerable resources to help fund homeschooling families and true private education, the woke left would almost immediately collapse because it’s built upon the lie of public schools.
Plus, we need to take seriously our battle against sin. That blue dude in Paris wasn’t, repeat wasn’t, more offensive than a Christian falsely accusing another of sin. We have it backwards. We’ve “lost the culture” because our faith is “private” and sound doctrine influences virtually nothing we do. And we have no stomach for the true and beautiful philosophy of Jesus Christ applied to literally every area of life. Christians aren’t known for their wisdom, grace and love and that’s why the world turns to the false gospel of wokeism. We won’t defeat the Enemy and his schemes with the weapons of the world but through faith in Christ. So, let’s get busy. Let’s pray and live for God through faith, one heart at a time, one home, one church, one city at a time…and then let’s see what He does. That’s how revivals are done. Anger at sin is understandable but despair? How do we who have Christ ever truly despair? We are His ambassadors by grace, not merit, and if we live in that great and simple truth His light will shine in us and through into a dark world that so desperately needs Him. In Paris we saw sinners living and acting according to the principles of their faith: humanism. Let us counter by living in accord with our own.
That’s how we win. We win because the tomb is empty and He died for us. Let’s go tell that to even that blue dude and his friends. Let’s get excited about the gospel of Christ because, indeed, the harvest is enormous and the workers are few. Let’s go!
Recent Comments