PEOPLE HATE REFORMED DOCTRINE. HERE'S WHY.

Every once in a while someone will want to argue with me about Reformed doctrine, particularly the doctrines of election and predestination.

My first response is to ask them if they have actually read The Institutes of the Christian Religion, by John Calvin. The answer is almost always no. Then I reply, "Read the entire work and then come back and we will discuss it."

Yes, I have read it. It is an absolutely brilliant work. It is not the infallible word of God and there are things Calvin said that I think he's off track on, particularly infant baptism. This work of Calvin could be accurately described as an exposition and commentary on the gospel. As Charles Spurgeon said:

"I have my own private opinion that there is no such thing as preaching Christ and Him crucified, unless we preach what nowadays is called Calvinism. It is a nickname to call it Calvinism; Calvinism is the gospel, and nothing else."

For those who don't like Reformed doctrine it may be of comfort to know that many of the great reformed preachers intially hated the doctrine too. But when faced with what scripture actually says about the sovereignty of God and the depravity of man they couldn't argue with it.

Here are the main objections and some responses:

1. Does God really determine that some are going to hell?

Actually in our dead, fallen state we are ALL going to hell. What God actually proactively does is determine that he is going to save some from going to hell.

Romans 3:23:

"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,"

Almost everyone knows what John 3:16 says. Fewer know what verse 17 says and almost nobody knows what verse 18 says. Verse 18 says:

"Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son."

The world was already condemned and that included us.

2. But we have free will.

Interestingly, the Bible nowhere says that we have free will. We DO have free will in the sense that we are not puppets where someone is pulling our strings. But our will is in bondage to our nature. In Romans 8:7:

"The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so."

Without being regenerated (born again) we simply cannot respond to the gospel call.

1 Corinthians 1:18:

"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."

This first section of Ephesians explains it well;

Ephesians 2:1-10:

"As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

The word for dead in verse 1 is 'necros,' and it literally means 'dead.' Dead people cannot hear the gospel. Dead people cannot respond to the gospel. I remember a sermon by Paul Washer preaching on Ezekiel 37 and he explained that whenever we preach the gospel we are just like Ezekiel and we are preaching to a cemetery. Unless God breathes life into the corpses absolutely nothing is going to happen.

Unless God had breathed his life into us, we would have rejected the gospel as well. But God breathed life into us and then, being made alive, we could hear the gospel and respond to His call.

This is even affirmed in the Old Testament

Ezekiel 36:26-27:

"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws."

'Heart of stone' is literally non-living. 'Heart of flesh' does not mean carnal. It means living. We were once dead and have been made alive. Now that we are alive we can hear God's voice and with his spirit in us we can now follow him.

ANSWERING THE GOSPEL CALL REQUIRES A NEW NATURE

3. The doctrine of election makes it sound like we really don't have a choice. So how can I be responsible if God has already determined who will be saved and who won't? Paul anticipates this argument in Romans 9:19:

"One of you will say to me: “Then why does God still blame us? For who is able to resist his will?”

His answer basicly is that God can do whatever he wants and who are we to tell God what he can and cannot do. Chapters 8 and 9 so firmly establish the doctrine of election that some early theologians around the time following the Reformation, who disagreed with the doctrine, explained it by actually saying that Paul was mistaken. Of course, that opens a whole new can of worms about biblical reliabiliity, which I won't address here.

The underlying reason that many object to Reformed doctrine is pride. We don't want to admit that in our carnal state we are not capable of choosing to follow Christ and that we are dependant on his grace for every aspect of our salvation. As someone once said, "The only thing I contribute to my salvation is the sin that made it necessary."

4. But I made the choice to follow Jesus when I heard the gospel.

The reason you made the choice to follow Jesus is because God removed the old 'heart of stone' and replaced it with a 'heart of flesh' (Ezekiel 36:26). You just weren't aware that God had performed open heart surgery. You may remember the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead (John 11:38-44). The problem is Lazarus was dead. If I were ot walk up to the tomb and say, "Lazarus, come forth!," nothing is going to happen. If the greatest preacher today commands Lazarus to come out it will be the same result. Some have said that Jesus had to say, "Lazarus, come forth!" because if he had simply said, "Come forth!" all the dead would have come out. In reality, Jesus has the same issue. Lazarus is dead. Dead people can't hear. But Jesus did something that nobody saw. Behind the scenes, he breathed life into the dead man and made him alive. Now when Jesus said, 'Lazarus come forth!" he was able to hear the voice of Jesus.

It is the same with us responding to the gospel call. We are spiritually dead and simply cannot respond to the gospel call. But God did something that nobody saw. He gave us spiritual life by the rebirth. Now when we hear the gospel we respond to the voice of our shepherd.

Otherwise we would respond just as those who are perishing -- "The message is foolishness."

Jesus made this point when he was talking to Nicodemus in John 3:3:

"Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again. ”

The word 'see' actually means 'percieve.' Without the rebirth we cannot even comprehend the gospel.

A few points of Arminianism and it's problems.

1. Arminianism affirms the doctrine of total depravity but says that in our fallen nature we can still choose to accept the gospel call. That is a contradiction. If we, in our fallen state, can accept Jesus then we aren't totally depraved.

2. God doesn't determine who he is going to save but he knows who will ultimately accept his offer of grace.

The problem with this is that he creates each and every one of us in our mothers' wombs. We have to assume that he creates some of us who he already knows will accept him and others who he knows will reject Him. It becomes a circular argument. It still comes down to election and the sovereignty of God.

If we take another approach, that God actually doesn't know who ultimately will accept his offer of grace then we have a broken link in the sovereignty of God. If God isn't completely sovereign then he isn't God. As someone once said, "Once you have embarked on the road of Arminianism you have headed down the road to atheism."

Arminianism actually contradicts itself.

Some misunderstandings about Reformed Doctrine:

1. If everything is predetermined why do we preach and share the gospel with the unsaved?

The simple answer is that is how God has chosen to spread the gospel. If you look at the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20, one thing that is missing is getting people saved. It is NOT our job to save people. Our job is to preach, and then baptize and disciple those who are being saved. Jesus does the saving.

In Exodus 32: 9-14, God was going to wipe out the Israelites beccause they had made a golden calf. Moses interceded on their behalf and God relented. A hyperCalvinist view would have been to shrug and say, "Oh well." That was exactly what the priest Eli did when he was told his sons would be punished because they were corrupt.

1 Samuel 3:18b:

"Then Eli said, “He is the Lord; let him do what is good in his eyes.”

We don't know who God is actually saving and who he isn't. Our job is to present the gospel and let God do the saving.

Interestingly, nobody worked harder at evangelizing the unsaved than the reformers.

2. Some people may be turned away who truly desire to follow Christ.

John 6:37:

"All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away."

If a person truly desires to take up their cross and follow Christ, they can rest assured that God regenerated them. Otherwise they would have no desire to follow Him.

Rejection of Reformed theology has resulted in false conversions.

We have a huge problem in the modern church today. We have almost completely lost the understanding of regeneration. Being born again has been reduced to the notion that an individual has accepted Jesus as their Savior. Today we have altar calls and the 'sinner's prayer' which is found nowhere in the New Testament nor is it found anywhere for most of church history.

Because we believe the rebirth simply means making a decision to follow Christ, we have watered down the message to make it easy for people to accept the gospel.

The modern message barely speaks of judgment for the unrepentant sinner and the need to repent. Sin, if it is mentioned at all, is treated like some 'unfortunate mistake' that keeps us from our true destiny. Peter's first sermon hit people hard. His message on Pentecost was basically, "Jesus the Nazarene was the Lord's Christ and you killed him." At the end he didn't issue an altar call and say; "Who would like to invite Jesus into their heart? I see that hand."  Rather it says the people were pricked in their hearts and asked what they needed to do. That is when Peter told the people to repent and be baptized. By their response they demonstrated that God had done his work on their hearts.

The Second Great Awakening brought about an idea that all but lost the understanding of regeneration and reduced conversion to a 'decision' or an 'act of the will.' The modern church has almost universally adopted this doctrine and the result has been a lot of buildings full of unconverted people who responded to an unbiblical gospel call. This is why the modern church is making so little of an impact in the world today.

Conclusion:

You may ask if it really matters what we believe. The real issue is that if you believe we had anything to do with our salvation you have nullified the Gospel. As I mentioned before, the only thing we contribute to our salvation is the sin that made it necessary. In our natural state, we have no ability to respond positively to the gospel call. It requires the resurrection power of God to give us spiritual life so we can hear the voice of the Good Shepherd.

Our doctrinal beliefs dictate how we do everything from body life, preaching, missions, and evangelism.

• If we truly believe that every aspect of our salvation is accomplished by God himself, then we will preach the Gospel without reservation with the understanding that God is the one who saves.

• If we believe that man is capable in his fallen state to receive the gospel, then the tendency is to believe we are responsible to get people saved. The temptation will be to make the gospel more palatable to get people to accept Christ. The problem is obvious. If we try to make the gospel more palatable then we have altered the gospel. An altered Gospel is a false Gospel. If people respond to a false Gospel then they aren't truly being saved.

It is my hope and prayer that you will prayerfully see the truth of the doctrine of election and predestinattion after critically reading this explanation. If you are interested in further reading, several years ago I wrote a blog entitled, Predestination and Free Will, which goes into the subject in more detail. You can find it on this blogsite if you look back to 2016.

WHAT IS IT GOING TO TAKE FOR THE CHURCH TO WAKE UP??

We may very well be witnessing the fall of the United States of America.

As an aside the tennis French Open is happening this week.

Imagine if you will, that it is the final match and it has come down to the #1 player and an unranked. If all goes as expected, the 'dark horse' will lose in straight sets in about 90 minutes. When the match is ready to start, to everyone's surprise the top player doesn't show up. After enough time has passed, the umpire finally calls the tournament for the underdog. He has won by forfeit.

This is exactly what is happening in our country today. We are in a spiritual battle between the forces of good and the forces of evil. If the battle went the way it should, the forces for good would overwhelmingly prevail.

The enemy is winning the culture war by forfeit.
The church which bears the name of Jesus Christ is a no-show.

In Matthew 5: 13-16 Jesus said,

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."

Recently we witnessed one of the most egregious bastardizations of our judicial system this country has ever seen. I don't have time to go into the specifics because there were so many things that happened that shouldn't have that it would take several articles to cover even a small percentage of them. Calling this a kangaroo court is insulting to kangaroos.

This didn't just happen overnight.

The enemy has been working on this for a very long time. President Trump was convicted of 'trumped' up charges in a sham trial presided over by an immigrant judge whose father was an officer in the Colombian army before he emigrated.

Where has the church been?

Absent.

I remember years ago hearing a prominent speaker say that if everyone who calls themselves a Christian would simply vote according to biblical values it would only be a few election cycles and abortion would be illegal. And if those same people would refuse to see movies that dishonored Jesus Christ, Hollywood would have to completely change their agenda and Robert De Niro would be unemployed instead of radically desparaging the legitimate president and speaking in favor of a bastardized judicial system.

So why is abortion still legal and why does Robert De Niro still have a platform?

The church is a no-show.

We are called to be salt and light!
If light is kept under a basket it doesn't do any good.
If salt stays in the shaker it doesn't do any good.

We are supposed to be making an impact. And that includes at the ballot box and the political arena.

It is not enough that we are simply involved. It is crucial that we are informed when we go to the ballot box. Years ago on the local Christian radio station the host was interviewing a popular recording artist. The conversation went to politics and the upcoming elections. The artist admitted that they really weren't familiar with the issues. The host said, "If you don't understand the issues, Please, don't vote!" A Christian not being familiar with the issues is frankly... embarrassing!

Hosea 4:6a 

"My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge...."

Voting ignorantly is worse than not voting at all.

Recently a professing Christian, a supposed ambassador for Truth, said they had voted for a third party candidate because they were 'voting their conscience.'

Jeremiah 17:9 says: 

"The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?"

We are in a spiritual battle and we cannot simply be relying on our consciences. The conscience will deceive you.

Proverbs 14:12 

"There is a way that appears to be right,

but in the end it leads to death."

YOU MUST BE INFORMED!!

Matthew 10:16

"I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves."

Often professing Christians get it exactly backwards. We do a lot of harm and we are really foolish. We are in a spiritual battle. It is time the church starts to act like it!

Quite frankly the liberal/democrat platform is so corrupt that I have to question whether a professing Christian who votes democrat is actually saved or not.

Perhaps they need to do as it says in 2 Corinthians 13:5;

"Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?"

If I just offended someone I do not apologize.


Some practical information:

Voting for a third party presidential candidate is a vote for the opposition. There is absolutely NO WAY a third party candidate can win the presidency because there are no third party electors. It is either Democrat or Republican. If it feels like you are voting for the 'lesser of 2 evils', then vote for the lesser of 2 evils. If you throw your vote away on a third party you just voted for the worst candidate. But if we vote for the lesser of 2 evils, we might be able to turn this thing around, but it may take a few election cycles.

This is also why primaries are so important.

"But I have to vote my conscience," you may say.
That is naive. It is not just naive, it is also a passive/aggressive way to justify unwillingness to take a stand.

Turn the TV off. As someone I used to know would say, "I don't listen to the campaign ads. I look up their voting record."

BE INFORMED!!!!

Usually voter guides are available where candidates are asked questions about their stand on pressing issues. Locally, there are forums where candidates are able to be asked about issues.

LOCAL POLITICS IS IMPORTANT!!

Attend meetings if possible. If you can't, go to the host's website to find the minutes and get the information that way.

Support good candidates.

Finally, I end with a quote from Charles Finney who made this statement 2 years before he died:

"If there is a decay of conscience, the pulpit is responsible for it. If the public press lacks moral discernment, the pulpit is responsible for it. If the church is degenerate and worldly, the pulpit is responsible for it. If the world loses its interest in Christianity, the pulpit is responsible for it. If Satan rules in our halls of legislation, the pulpit is responsible for it. If our politics become so corrupt that the very foundations of our government are ready to fall away, the pulpit is responsible for it."

~ Rev. Charles Finney

Should Christians Pray for God To Destroy The Wicked?

A question was brought up recently that in the Psalms, David prayed for God to destroy his enemies. But Jesus taught that his followers should love their enemies and pray for them. Some have suggested that the difference was that David was an Old Testament saint but we are New Testament saints. 

But is that true? 

David was called a man after God's own heart. He is also listed in the 'Hall of Faith' in Hebrews 11 where it says of them, "They were living by faith when they died...." Clearly they were spirit filled saints. In Psalm 51, David pleads with God not to take his Holy Spirit from him clearly indicating that he was regenerated.

So why did David ask God to destroy his enemies and the wicked, but Jesus said to 'turn the other cheek' and love our enemies? 

Is the Bible contradicting itself?

Is this a difference between Old Testament and New Testament?

Whenever we see a difficult passage of scripture it is important to read the passage in its entire context. You may have heard the expression:

"A text without a context is a pretext."

So the first thing we need to do is look at the entire context in which Jesus was speaking.

What Was Jesus Actually Saying?

Jesus's words about turning the other cheek and loving our enemies come from what has been called the 'Sermon on the Mount.' Previous to this Jesus has been explaining that while the law is good and perfect, it cannot save us because it cannot fix the sin problem. The problem was not the law. The problem was, and is, our sinful nature. We are not capable of obeying the law. Jesus illustrated this in the laws against adultery and murder. While the law may keep us from actually committing the acts because of fear of the penalty, it cannot remove the lust and unrighteous anger within our sinful nature. We have to understand that the Old Covenant law was essentially the constitution for the nation of Israel. It was made for a people who in general were not given the Holy Spirit. Therefore all the law could do was restrain human nature. You might think of it as putting a lion in a cage to keep it from killing sheep. it doesn't change the nature of the lion, it only restrains it.

So when we come down to Matthew 5:38, we see another restraint placed on our carnal nature:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. 

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."

The first thing to notice is that Jesus refers to the Old Covenant principle of 'eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.' That comes from Leviticus 24:17-22:

“ ‘Anyone who takes the life of a human being is to be put to death. Anyone who takes the life of someone’s animal must make restitution—life for life. Anyone who injures their neighbor is to be injured in the same manner: fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. The one who has inflicted the injury must suffer the same injury. Whoever kills an animal must make restitution, but whoever kills a human being is to be put to death. You are to have the same law for the foreigner and the native-born. I am the Lord your God.’ ”

'Eye for an eye' means that the punishment was to fit the crime. If this was not in the law people would be indiscriminatly taking revenge and possibly killing each other because of wrongs committed. 

Years ago I saw the movie End of the Spear. The Auca Indians were a fierce group that lived in the jungles of Ecuador. One thing I remember is that, after the gospel made its impact, a phenomenon appeared that had been almost absent before; there were grandfathers in the village. Before that, most men didn't live long enough to become grandfathers because they killed each other off. They had been a lawless people and when one got offended by another, they simply killed the offender. This is what human nature does when it is not held in check by law. The passage in Leviticus dictates how justice is to be administered fairly and equitably. This was to prevent vigilante justice.

The expression, 'love your neighbor and hate your enemy' is not actually contained in the law. But the law actually says in Leviticus 19:18:

“Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord."

We don't actually know where the saying originated, but because Jesus said in both cases, "You have heard it said,..." he may have been refering to a saying that was common at the time.

The concept expressed in Leviticus 19:18,  is repeated in Deuteronomy 32: 35, and in Romans 12:19

"Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord."

The bottom line is that as followers of Jesus Christ, we are not to be all about demanding justice for ourselves. Paul deals with that in 1 Corinthians 6 concerning the believers were suing each other. He even says in verse 7:

"...Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated?"

Nobody has ever been dealt with more unfairly than Jesus Christ himself. He told us that if the world hated him they would hate us. He also said we would be blessed if we endure persecution for his sake. Demanding justice for ourselves is not to be the hallmark of a Christian.

David's Call for God to Destroy the Wicked.

Many times throughout the Psalms, David cries out to God to avenge him or to destroy the wicked. David is not talking about taking matters into his own hands. Even when David had a chance to kill King Saul he would not raise his hand against the Lord's anointed. He waited for God to deal with Saul in His own good time. In Revelation 6:9-11, we see the same thing:

"When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been."

The saints that had been slain were asking for vengeance, but they were waiting for God to do it in His time. God fully intends to do away with the wicked. He will either do it by converting the wicked into his followers to where they are no longer wicked, or He will cast them into hell. But make no mistake, He will do away with the wicked.

The answer is yes, it is perfectly in line with both Old and New Testament teaching to pray for God to destroy the wicked and foil their plans. The issue in the New Testament is that our primary goal should not be demanding justice for ourselves and seeking revenge. 

The most loving prayer we can pray for our enemies is that they would repent. Because if they repent they will no longer be wicked and they will be saved. However, if they will not repent then praying for God to thwart the schemes of the evil doers and ultimately do away with them is appropriate. 

Jesus Was Preparing His Followers for Persecution.

Matthew 5:10-12:

"Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

The way of the Christ follower is the way of the cross. We are going to be persecuted. As followers of Christ we may as well get used to the idea that we are going to be treated unjustly. We aren't fit for the job if we are going to demand justice every time we are wronged. 

That doesn't mean we are to be passive doormats. 

The prophets were persecuted because they boldly and powerfully called the people out on their sin. Stephen was killed because he called the Jewish leaders out on their hypocrisy.

Passive people don't get persecuted. 

Christians are persecuted because they call the world out and convict them of their sin.

We are going to be persecuted. Jesus was telling us not to demand justice or seek revenge but to trust Him and keep proclaiming his word boldly.

We will be blessed. 

Transgenderism And Drag Shows. What's the big deal?

 Genesis 1:27

"So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them."

Deuteronomy 22:5

"A woman must not wear men’s clothing, nor a man wear women’s clothing, for the Lord your God detests anyone who does this."

1 Corinthians 11:14-15

"Does not the very nature of things teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him, but that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For long hair is given to her as a covering."

Some years ago I heard a message from a pastor who very emphatically stated that the entire bluring of the sexes and the accompanying perversions were a direct assault on the nature of God. Man was created in the image of God, male and female. And God said that the joining together of the man and the woman would complete the image:

Genesis 2:24-25

"That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh. Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame."

In the next chapter of Genesis we see the story of Satan tempting the man and woman to sin and immediately he begins to distort the image of God by making feel shame.

Genesis 3:7

"Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves."

Satan never just blatantly comes out and tells a lie. He is very subtle as it says in the first verse of this chapter. We learned earlier that God made man in his image. Then we learned that the male and female were to join and become one flesh. Then chapter 2 ends with the man and woman feeling no shame. 

The image of the male and female making up the image of God was good.

Now when man falls into sin, the first thing that happens is their eyes are open and they feel shame at the image of God that they both portray and they attempt to cover it up.

Then incrementally Satan and fallen man continue to attack the image of God by introducing infedelity, polygamy, homosexuality, bestiality, etc. Now in today's world we are at the point that we celebrate people who 'identify' as something other than their biological sex and anyone who disagrees is branded a 'transphobe' or 'hater.'

 Isaiah 5:20

"Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter."

What a backwards world we have become.

The fact is, the only reason anyone believes transgenderism is a real thing is because someone told them it was and they believed it. No other reason. A man may think he identifies as a woman without realizing it is absolutely impossible for a biological male to identify as a woman for the simple fact HE IS NOT A WOMAN!

A man cannot identify as a woman any more than a man, blind from birth, can describe beautiful scenery.

The only reason a person believes they can identify as the opposite sex is because someone, usually a teacher, who is more deceived than he is, told him he can. There is absolutely no science to back it up.

Proverbs 1:7 says; 

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction."

When man rejects knowledge he rejects wisdom. That is why Satan has been able to insert the absolute foolishness and depravity into our world that we see today. The apostle Paul says it very well in Romans;

Romans 1:21-28

"For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error. Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done."

And the depravity just keeps spiraling downwards.

But What About Drag Shows?

I've already referenced the verse in Deuteronomy 22:5 that says a man must not dress as a woman nor a woman like a man. Again this is distorting the complete image of God portrayed in the male and female sexes. Men should dress and style their hair in such a way that they are easily identified as men, and women should dress and style their hair in such a way that they are easily identified as women. 

Proverbs 22:6

"Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it."

If parents don't train their children, the government/state will.

It is no mistake that the drag shows want to target young children with 'drag queen story hour' and drag shows. In fact, they even speak out the truth of their motivation, "We're coming for your children." It is also no mistake that the enemy is teaching the sex education classes to young children. If they can start indoctrinating these children at a young age on ideas of transgenderism and sexual confusion, it will be very easy to keep them on the wrong path and very hard to get them to see the truth later on. That is why it is so vitally important that parents teach their children the truth from an early age. It is also vital that parents make themselves aware of what their children are being taught by others.

I highly reccommend that parents not send their children to public schools. They have simply become government indoctrination intitutions that are completely anti-God and anti-Christ. 

I conclude with Jesus's words in Matthew 19;

Matthew 19:3-9

"Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, 'Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?' 'Haven’t you read,' he replied, 'that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.' 'Why then,' they asked, 'did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?' Jesus replied, 'Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.' "

This is the way it was intended. God created man, male and female. The two were to join together and become one. This union is intended until death. This is how man reflects the image of God.

We have perverted it!

The United States is Ripe for Judgment

 Daniel 5:28-31

" 'Peres : Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.' Then at Belshazzar’s command, Daniel was clothed in purple, a gold chain was placed around his neck, and he was proclaimed the third highest ruler in the kingdom.

That very night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians, was slain, and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom, at the age of sixty-two."

According to ancient historians, the way Darius(Cyrus) was able to get into Babylon was by digging trenches to lower the Euphrates River so the soldiers could march under the city wall and enter the city. What is astounding about this story is that nobody seemed to be aware of what was happening. Diverting a river is no easy task. It would take time and the water level would have been getting noticably lower.

Either nobody noticed, OR...

The Persian army had help from the inside. 

The interesting thing too is that had the Babylonian military been paying attention, they could have easily stopped the invasion. Here's a portion of an article from The Armstrong Institute of Biblical Archeology by Brad MacDonald:

"Although the soldiers had infiltrated the outer gates, there were still brass and iron internal gates controlling access out of the riverbed and into the city. If they couldn’t get through the gates, the soggy riverbed would turn the Persians’ tactical advantage into a massive kill box. All the Babylonian soldiers had to do was rain spears and arrows down on them. In fact, if they could block the Persians’ retreat, the Babylonians could conceivably kill every last Persian soldier, to a man—like shooting fish in a barrel.

But strangely, on the night of the invasion, there were no soldiers, and the internal gates were wide open. King Nabonidus, his son Belshazzar, the imperial guard, the soldiers, and many of the people of Babylon were partying. Consumed with drinking and games, they had failed to close the gates and to station guards. Having quenched the Euphrates and penetrated the outer gates, the Persian soldiers were able to stroll through the internal gates, taking the city—including the shocked king—by surprise!"

Can you say, 'Open border?'

It is very similar to the policy our current administration has adopted with our southern border. Our own leaders are setting us up. 

And we deserve it.

Is God about to Judge the U.S?

In our passivity as the church, we have somehow gotten the idea that God doesn't and isn't really going to judge the sins of the nations, but the Bible is full of examples of him judging them. From the Flood, Egypt, The Land of Canaan, Israel and Judah, Babylon, Persia, etc. Also, in the New Testament there are numerous examples of God judging individuals and church congregations; Ananias and Saphirra, Herod, and God's warnings in Romans and Revelation, to name a few.

It is astounding how morally corrupt the United States has become. As our nation has rejected God it has become the picture of what the apostle Paul wrote in Romans;

Romans 1:28-32

"Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them."

          * Abortion on demand.

          * Sexual perversions of every type.

          * Trangenderism, drag shows, and the list goes on.

Our current government has gone out of its way to find the most depraved and corrupt individuals to serve as the president's cabinet, and other bureaucracies. The Assistant Secretary For Health is a man who thinks he's a woman. In my early years we still had the discerment to realize that these people were mentally ill. Today they are celebrated.

The church of Jesus Christ has been virtually silent.

Cyrus is diverting the Rio Grande River,...

and he has plenty of inside help.

We have forgotten that God is a God who will and does judge the sins of the church and of the nations, but make no mistake:

JUDGMENT IS COMING!!!!

So what are we to do?

2 Chronicles 7:14

"If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land."

We often read the first part about humbling ourselves and praying, but stop before the next part; 'Turn from their wicked ways.'

The answer is the church needs to REPENT!

Repent of our silence. 

Repent of our tolerance of sin. 

Repent of our ignorance of the gospel. 

Repent of our passivity. To not speak out against the evil is to participate in it.

TURN FROM OUR WICKED WAYS!

Maybe God will spare us.

Indwelling of The Holy Spirit is Necessary For The Rebirth, Always Has Been.

 WERE OLD TESTAMENT SAINTS INDWELT WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT?

It is commonly believed that the old testament believers were not filled with the Holy Spirit in the same way as New Testament believers are. But the basis for that assumption is on very shaky ground.

In John 3;3 Jesus told Nicodemus:

“Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”

And in verses 5-8:

‭‭Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. [6] Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. [7] You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ [8] The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

In order to be saved then requires the rebirth that comes from being indwelt by the Holy Spirit. If Old Testament saints did not have the indwelling of the Spirit then we would have to conclude that none of them will be in the Kingdom of Heaven. But that flies in the face of what Job said in chapter 19 verse 25-27:

"I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth.  And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!"

Job knew that he had a redeemer and he looked forward to that day when he would be with him.

SO WHY DO WE BELIEVE THEY WEREN'T FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT

Some of that 'doctrine' that comes from reading Psalm 51:11:

"Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me."

If the Holy Spirit could be taken away then there was no assurance of salvation.

We have to be careful about extrapolating a doctrine from a single passage of scripture, especially a song or a line of poetry. Just because the line asked God not to take his Spirit away doesn't mean that the Spirit would have ever left David.

Another passage that is used to support the idea that the Holy Spirit wasn't permanently in believers is 1 Samuel 16:14;

"Now the Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul  and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him."

The problem here is that it doesn't say anywhere else that Saul had been filled with the Holy Spirit. In chapter 10:10 it says that the Spirit of God came powerfully upon him. That is different than being filled. It came upon him and enabled him to prophecy. The same as when Samson would have the spirit come upon him and he would perform his deeds of strength. Or even in the New Testament when the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples in the upper room.

Having the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and having the Holy Spirit come upon you seem to be 2 different things. 

    * The indwelling is the rebirth. 

    * The Spirit coming upon someone is for a specific purpose.

And it it is possible for the Holy Spirit to come upon an individual to enable them to perform a specific task but not necessarily dwell in them to bring about the rebirth. That is the case with those Jesus refered to in Matthew 7:

Matthew‬ ‭7:22‭-‬23‬ ‭NIV‬‬

"Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

These individuals were operating in the power of the Holy Spirit but were not indwelt by the Holy Spirit. It is through the indwelling that we are known.

Notice Jesus's reference to Isaiah's prophecy in Luke 4:18;

‭‭“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free."

Of course Jesus Christ is the embodiment of the Holy Spirit and yet it refers to the spirit of the Lord being upon him -- so that he might proclaim the gospel. In other words, to empower him to perform a task.

OLD TESTAMENT SAINTS WERE LIVING AS NEW COVENANT BELIEVERS

One of the major differences between the Old Covenant and the New is that the Old Covenant promises were for material blessings. The majority of the Israelites were not living by faith. They were living by law. While the prophets and other heroes of faith were also under the law they were also living by faith. They were looking forward to when the fullness of the New Covenant would become reality;

1 Peter 1:10-11

"Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow."

Peter clearly says that the Spirit of Christ was IN THEM.

‭‭‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭11:13‭-‬16‬ ‭NIV‬‬

"All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them."

It is true that under the Old Covenant there was no general outpouring of the Holy Spirit. But there were certain individuals even in the Old Testament who were born again and therefore had the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. And these individuals were living as New Covenant believers, by faith, just like we are except we live on the other side of history.

The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is necessary for ALL believers and always has been. So the Old Testament believers would have to have been indwelt by the Holy Spirit or they weren't saved.

The Sin of Passivity

 1 Kings 18:21

"Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.” But the people said nothing."

Revelation 3:15-16

"I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth."

The story of Elijah is one of the most familiar narratives in the Bible. Ahab was king of the northern kingdom and he was the most wicked king the northern kingdom ever had. His wickedness was driven by his wife Jezebel, a foreign woman who made Baal worship prominent in the land.

In the previous chapter this mysterious charactor named Elijah stepped into the pages of history and made this proclamation:

1 Kings 17:1b

 ... "As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word."

And then he disappears.

For three years there was no rain and the famine was severe. The interesting thing is that Baal, as the supreme god, was responsible for the harvest. He clearly failed the people. Things had become desperate.

When Elijah returns he sets up a contest between Baal and the one true God and that's where 1 Kings 18:21 comes in. In spite of the desperate situation in Israel the people were waffling. When Elijah challenged them, THEY SAID NOTHING.

It doesn't seem that the nation as a whole was fully engaged in Baal worship. Elijah said they were 'wavering between two opinions.' 

Why weren't the people speaking out? If even a simple majority had stood up  against Ahab and the foreign woman he had married, they could have ended the apostacy right then. But they didn't.

In spite of the desperate situation in the land they were passive. Passive people don't do anything and, eventually don't know what to believe.

It is the same today with the church in America. The moral decay is happening at an incredible rate and we are hearing crickets from the church. We don't even know what we believe anymore. 

Some years ago I remember hearing a well known TV preacher saying that if everyone who claims to be a follower of Christ would vote according to biblical principles, it would only take a few election cycles and abortion would be completely outlawed. And if these same people would refuse to watch TV shows and movies that were dishonoring to God, Hollywood would go out of business. 

The reason that abortion is still legal and Hollywood is rich is because those who call themselves followers of Christ are consuming the moral garbage like starving junkyard dogs. 

Jesus had very harsh words to say to the church in Laodocia about their lukewarmness. He was ready to spit them out. The modern church is a picture of Laodocia; lacking conviction, combining Christian principles and worldy philosophies, and general passivity. We just don't want to get involved and speak up.

By the time the last disciple had died, Christianity had spread to the entire civilized world. They had 'turned the world upside down.' (Act 17:6) Today it appears that the world has turned the church upside down. 

That's what happens when we are passive. Passivity leads to compromise. Compromise leads to compliance. Compliance leads to conformity. Conformity leads to irrelevance.

Obey the governing authorities.

Romans 13:1-2

"Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves."

Some have used this passage to claim that as Christians, it is our duty to simply submit to the governing authorities. I heard that over and over again in regards to the recent saga of Covid-19. There were very few in churches who understood that this was an act of tyranny to shut down churches and businesses. In response, let's go back to the story of Elijah. After the one true God showed unequivically that he alone was God, and Baal was a false God, Elijah did something that many who call themselves Christians would assert was a violation of Romans 13:

1 Kings 18:40

"Then Elijah commanded them, 'Seize the prophets of Baal. Don’t let anyone get away!' They seized them, and Elijah had them brought down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered there."

This was an open act of rebellion against the king. By the standard many who call themselves Christians use to justify following the tyrannical mandates, Elijah would have been in violation of Romans 13. What gave Elijah the right to execute the prophets of Baal? Now some would say, "Well he was a prophet." This is true and his prophetic authority was firmly established by the fact that his predictions of drought came true and his God answered by fire. 

But there is something else.

There was a law higher than the king -- the Covenant given at Mount Horeb. Ahab was in violation of that covenant. Therefore Elijah and the Israelite citizens had the right, and a duty, to rebel against Ahab and Jezebel.

In the United States of America we have a law that is higher than our elected officials. It's called the Constitution. And there is still a higher law than the Constitution -- the same higher law as the Covenant God gave at Mount Horeb. The Founders gave instructions in the Declaration of Independence for what the people must do if they find themselves under unjust and unlawful government. If our elected leaders act in ways that violate the Constitution or don't govern in accordance with authority specifically given in our Constitution, then we don't have an obligation to comply. 

If the Israelite citizens had rebelled against Ahab they could have stopped Baal worship and there would have been no need for a drought. But in spite of the 3 year drought and the famine that went along with it, they were silent.

Fifty-one years ago the Supreme Court passed Roe v. Wade. Had the church risen up against abortion at that time we could have stopped it fairly quickly. But except for a few lone voices, the church was silent. And those that did speak up were encouraged to keep quiet and were often ridiculed by those that claimed to be Christ followers. 

Our moral decay is exponentially worse.

And the salt has lost it's savor and is pretty much useless.

So what is it going to take to get the church to rise up and be the salt and light that we are called to be? In Elijah's day, 3 years of drought and God miraculously setting fire to the offering didn't result in one recorded repentance. Oh, the people fell on their faces and declared that the Lord was God, but very quickly things went back to normal. There was no revival. It reminds me of the Sunday morning after 9-11. The churches were packed -- that Sunday. But in the weeks that followed things went back to normal. There was no revival.

What is it going to take?

It is time for the church to repent of its passivity and lukewarmness. Stop trying to conform to the world. Being separate does not mean cloistering ourselves from the world around us. It means being in the world but DIFFERENT from the world. 

Speak out against the evil! 

Engage as stewards who will have to account on the final day for how we took care of the country that God gave us!

VOTE! BUT BE AN INFORMED VOTER AND VOTE ACCORDING TO GUIDELINES IN SCRIPTURE AND NOT BY YOUR FEELINGS! Remember that we will have to give an account to God for how we voted.

And for those who claim to be Christians, but who are really just foolish virgins who walk around with lamps having no oil in them;

 IT IS TIME TO CHOOSE A SIDE!!