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On September 23, 2024 By In Culture

Cults, Sects and Catholicity

What is the difference between a cult and a sect? Here is how I define these terms. A cult is outside of Christianity – ie Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witnesses. A cult rejects the truths of creedal Christianity that are the centre of the Christian faith. A sect is within Christianity, but separates itself from the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church in various ways. It maintains the creedal truths of Christianity, but it rejects fellowship (at times) with Christian brothers over secondary and tertiary issues. You should be able to see under those definitions how cults can so easily arise in the midst of a church that is prone to sectarianism. This is why North America has been a seedbed for cults (JWs, Mormons, etc). North America is rife with sectarianism. If Christ alone is the Head of the church and His Word is the charter for that church, and He defines the boundaries of His Church, that should put a check on sectarianism.

This is why North America has been a seedbed for cults (JWs, Mormons, etc). North America is rife with sectarianism.

Historically, the Reformed Churches sought to maintain a sense of catholicity in the midst of sectarian and even cultic teachings. It was the criticism of various Reformed pastors at the time of the Reformation that the anabaptists, the Radical Reformers, were sectarian (not cultic). Some of the anabaptist did verge on the cultic such as the anabaptists in Munster. Even though many of the Reformers had been excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church. Nevertheless, the initial goal of the reformation had been reform, not to leave the Roman Catholic Church.

While my Anglican and Presbyterian colleagues have similar statements, which reflect the broad sense of catholicity among the reformers, I will focus on the Three Forms of Unity here.

I would encourage all Protestants who are meditating on what it means to have a Protestant (or Reformed) doctrine of the Church to read the Belgic Confession, Articles 27-32. Read the Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Day 21. Read the Westminster Confession of Faith, chapters 25, 30, 31. Read the 39 Articles, articles 19-21.

In the Belgic Confession, the author uses the language of true church and false church, this statement of faith was formally adopted by an ecclesiastical body at the Synod of Dordt in 1620, a synod of the Dutch Reformed Churches, but a synod at which there was a substantial international delegation that included both Anglicans and Presbyterians. In the Westminster Confession of Faith, the authors use the language of pure and purer churches and acknowledge that even the purest churches on this side of heaven, are subject to sin and error, and that some have so much sin and error that they have become synagogues of Satan. The Westminster Confession of Faith was adopted by a “synod” in Scotland in 1646, following the Synod of Dordt.

The point of these remarks is to indicate that the Presbyterian Church of Scotland did not see themselves as the “only pure church” or that the Dutch Reformed Church did not see themselves as the “only true church”. Instead, they struggled to maintain a strong sense of catholicity even as there was so much foment and revolution happening across Europe. At the same time, they were determined to call “a heresy a heresy.” There are synagogues of Satan, both in their land at that time in history, and also at our time in history. At the same time, we don’t want to act in a sectarian fashion towards those who struggle with the same intermixing of error and sin that we struggle with in our churches as we fight and contend for the purity of the Church in Christ.

What does that look like?

For example, historically (with exceptions), the Reformed did not re-baptize Roman Catholics.

If a Roman Catholic family came to my church, we would not re-baptize the parents or their children. This would have been the same when I was a pastor in the United Reformed Church of North America as now in the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches. This really was one of the major flash-points of the reformation as the anabaptists were the “re-baptizers” and the Reformed accepted the Trinitarian baptisms of the Roman Catholic Church.

In our congregation we welcome all Christians to the Lord’s Table who are baptized in the Triune Name and who are connected to the Church of Jesus Christ. More subjectively we warn those who are living in unrepentant rebellion and come to the Table of Christ in such a spirit, that they will eat and drink judgment on themselves. Of course, we welcome all to come and see that the Lord is good, we extend the free offer of the gospel, we welcome sinners to trust in Christ and to pass through the waters of baptism and then to come to the Table of the Lord.

It is in this way, that we seek to maintain unity with the church of all times and ages, the one, holy catholic and apostolic church, as it pursues Jesus Christ by faith.

We should take cues from how Augustine handled the donatists and from how John Calvin handled the anabaptists of his era. We recognize a sect for what it is. But we don’t act in a sectarian way towards those who love Jesus, but due to error or confusion, segregate themselves from large parts of His Church. I think here also of the way in which Paul dealt with error in Colossae. He warns against the error, but in that case, he doesn’t call for immediate excommunication for those who are struggling with the inter-mixture of strange philosophies with the doctrine of Christ. He does call for clear teaching on the supremacy of Christ, nevertheless.

Cults, on the other hand are not Christian at all. Cults abandon the true doctrine of the Trinity and the divinity and humanity of Christ. For that reason, as Christians, we should acknowledge that the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Mormons are cults. There is also something cultic about theological liberalism in the church, in its rejection of sound doctrine, and its embrace of heretical teachings. Theological liberalism is no longer Christian or Church. If you read Christianity and Liberalism by J. Gresham Machen, he makes the point well that those who reject the Trinity, the divinity & humanity of Jesus Christ, the authority of the Word of God, that is not Christianity at all. That is why you see many of the mainstream denominations dying out, as most churches that reject the Word of God will disappear or become a full-blown cult like the Mormons or the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Notice how Mormons and JWs have also rejected the historic Christian Church. There is a point at which sects can verge on the cultic, especially wherever Jesus Christ is rejected as Savior and Lord. We see that in the moral chaos that has ensued in many of the mainstream churches upon their rejection of core doctrines.

The all-encompassing purpose of any true or pure church is that in everything Jesus Christ would be preeminent (Col 1). Read also the goal of Paul’s ministry in Romans 1:1-6.

Finally, in its popular use, the term “cult” is frequently used to describe the visible manifestation of power or control in a society. There are scary things and horrific abuses that happen in these cults because men (and women), being sinful by nature, tend to believe that all authority in heaven and earth belongs to them, rather than to Christ. These things do happen from time to time within the true church as well. Every visible assembly of believers has both hypocrites and sinners. In fact, the church has been described as a “hospital for sinners”. Even (especially!) the pastors of the churches must trample daily over the bellies of their own lusts. But what distinguishes the true or pure church from these cults or synagogues of Satan, is that these churches seek to correct these sins and errors, not only among their members, but also among their leaders.

You see, in this world, it is not about whether, but which, authority you will submit too. Is it the authority of Christ or the Devil? You must see here the centrality of the Biblical truth that Jesus Christ is the sole Head of the Church (Col 1, Eph 1). Any authority that is wielded by the officers of the church is delegated authority (Matt. 16:18-19, 18:18-20; I Peter 5), not transferred authority. Jesus is the King and we are His subjects. We must bend our necks to the yoke of Jesus Christ, which is easy, and His burden light. The false church does not bend its neck to the yoke of Christ and as a result places its neck under the iron yoke of the tyranny of sin & of the Devil. All ministers, pastors, elders, deacons, theological professors are servants of Jesus Christ, the only universal bishop of the Church. The officers of the church, as guardians of the church, are not called to act on their own authority, on their own whims, rolling with the tides of culture and popular opinion, but rather, ought always to guard against deviating from what Christ, our only Master, has ordained for us.

This why the Apostle Paul when he advances the ministry of reconciliation in II Corinthians 5, in the power of the Spirit says boldly: “For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.” (II Cor 5:13-15)

You see then, how Paul directs the power of the gospel into service. The work of the catholic church is for the life of the world, in service to Christ who is the sole Head of the Church, the King of kings and Lord of lords, that in everything He might be supreme.

End note: This post was initially posted on Substack by Nathan Zekveld

Photo by ThrowBack Graphics on Unsplash

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On August 16, 2024 By In Culture, Politics

How to Make America Christian Again (A Call to Christians to Become Leaders)

Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you. – Exodus 20:12

THE IMPORTANCE OF A CULTURE OF HONOR

The first commandment in the Decalogue that comes with a promise is to honor your father and mother. This promise, originally given to the Old Testament Israelites, assured them that if they adhered to this command, their days would be prolonged in the land the Lord had given them. While this was specifically spoken to the Israelites regarding their covenant inheritance, the principle carries a broader spiritual truth: any society that upholds a culture of honor, rooted in God’s law, will generally experience stability and longevity.

This principle is as true today as it was in ancient times. A nation cannot thrive without a culture of honor. When children are incentivized to disobey their parents, societal hierarchy begins to disintegrate, leading to moral chaos, political instability, and geopolitical vulnerability. We are witnessing the results of this breakdown in our own nation, where generations of children have not been taught to honor their parents, elders, or any authority. The resulting compromise of the family structure has sent adverse ripples through education, vocation, military, government, and every other facet of society. We are raising a generation of coddled, ego-sensitive narcissists who cannot receive orders, follow commands, or defend any cause greater than themselves. God help us in the days ahead.

THE NEED FOR A CULTURE OF HONOR

As daunting as this may seem, Christians can and must be part of the solution. But that solution goes beyond merely pulling our children out of public schools, homesteading, and drinking raw milk. The Westminster Larger Catechism rightly deduces that the command to “honor your father and mother” extends to all rightful and lawful authorities that God has placed in our lives. Yes, children must obey their parents, but adults must also honor their bosses, congregants must honor pastors, and citizens must honor governors. A culture of honor and respect for authority must permeate every level of society, for when it does, it preserves a nation and lengthens its lifespan. Conversely, when such a culture is lost, societal division and decay are inevitable.

If we desire to see American society redeemed and transformed into a Christian nation once more, we must “build it,” like Ray Kinsella, and pray that the spirit of honor “will come.”

THE EXTENT OF THE PROBLEM

To achieve this, we must embrace the mantle of leadership not only within our churches but also in the broader culture. We must move beyond the gnostic tendencies that have crept into Christendom, which suggest our only work is in the spiritual realm. Christians must re-engage with the public square, reclaim leadership in the public sector, and once again become thought leaders, inventors, CEOs, and politicians. While this calling is not for every Christian, it is a necessary pursuit for some.

Consider the absurdity of retreating from culture and expecting it not to decay. How can we assume that unregenerate men will take up the reins we have abandoned and provide Christocentric leadership that heals our land? Expecting the darkness to act as if it had the light is as foolish as waiting for a blind man to paint the next Mona Lisa. If we desire true transformation in our land, we cannot leave the leadership of this world to the morally blind, spiritually deaf, and ethically mute.

As Christians have retreated from institutions of leadership, the vacuum has been filled by sinful men. Here are a few examples: As we abandoned politics, the presidency has been handed over to greedy, narcissistic men leading our country into disaster. As we left the halls of power, they were occupied by bought-and-paid-for degenerates who vote according to who offers the biggest payday rather than according to the Word of God. The courts have become corrupted by men of compromise, college campuses have been overrun by irrational materialists, and corporate boardrooms are now occupied by spineless ideologues who promote insanity, like bikinis with a penis pocket. Most critically, as we have abandoned leadership in the home to government-run schools, babysitters, and daycares, our nation’s moral fabric has rotted in just a few generations, leaving us on moral life support.

THE SOLUTION TO A NATION IN CRISIS

But we are not without hope. If we simply change our level of involvement, we can begin to see improvement. Instead of fleeing from leadership, Christians should embrace it. Why? Because while common grace enables even non-believers to contribute to societal good, Christians, uniquely equipped by the Holy Spirit and guided by Scripture, bring a God-centered approach to leadership. When we step into the public square as Spirit-indwelled believers, we come as walking temples that house the presence of Almighty God. As we work hard, create excellent products, and demonstrate godly wisdom, we let the light of Christ shine in areas of life that have been devoid of a Gospel witness for far too long.

But what about those Christians who pursue leadership for selfish gain? They must repent and act like Christians! The problem of a few undisciplined Christians should not deter us from the discipline of leadership. On the contrary, we should strive all the more to become godly and righteous leaders, so the light of Christ shines brightly at the top of companies, counties, and countries, providing the world with a clear picture of Jesus rather than the caricatures they often receive.

The Westminster Larger Catechism offers a paradigm for how this can happen, stating: “Superiors are… to work inferiors to a greater willingness and cheerfulness in performing their duties to their superiors, as to their parents.”

When we speak of “superiors,” we refer to anyone in a position of authority or leadership. “Inferiors” are those in a position of following, including children under parents, employees under employers, congregants under church leaders, and, within the family, wives under husbands. It is not only the responsibility of the child to obey the parent but also the responsibility of the parent to exercise holy and righteous leadership. It is not only for the employee to honor his boss but for the company president to rule with integrity and Christ-like morality. Only Christians, empowered by the Holy Spirit, can grow into this kind of leadership, and such leadership is desperately needed in our time.

The catechism assumes that Christians will step into leadership roles. Since there will always be superiors guiding inferiors, the goal of Christian maturity is to grow out of childlike ways and into Christian leadership. Out of love for Christ and to the glory of God, we are called to strive for leadership positions in the world, instructing, guiding, and nurturing those who do not know Him, thereby creating a culture where even pagans will thrive. If we desire a godly culture, we must build it, teach it, and disciple it.

This responsibility goes beyond mere instruction to imparting the knowledge of God through our verbal witness and Christ-like living. We are the ones who get the privilege of modeling Christ to those who have never seen Him and glorifying God in front of those who do not perceive Him. Just as parents teach their children to navigate life’s challenges, preparing them to live according to a prescribed manner, Christians must guide those under their charge—both Christian and pagan—to fulfill their roles and responsibilities in a way that honors God. We must create a culture where even atheists recoil at the thought of chemically roasting an infant in the womb, where the influence of the Church is so pervasive that when homosexuality is abolished and outlawed, unbelievers will cheer.

BUILDING A GODLY CULTURE

How can this be done? The Westminster Larger Catechism provides at least two starting points:

1. Expressing Love and Tenderness

Leadership, at its core, is not about authority or titles but about influence shaped by Christlike character. True leaders model the love and tenderness of Christ, demonstrating sincere care for the well-being of others. This is not merely passive kindness but active engagement with the needs, struggles, and burdens of those around us. As Christians, we are uniquely equipped to reflect the compassionate heart of our Heavenly Father, who is “compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness” (Psalm 103:8). By embodying these qualities, we do more than improve individual lives—we begin the profound work of rebuilding a culture fragmented by godless ideologies. Leadership rooted in Christ stands in stark contrast to the cold, utilitarian approaches that have left society hollow. Through such leadership, we can restore the very fabric of our communities and ultimately guide our culture back to a foundation that honors God.

2. Inspiring Willingness and Cheerfulness

When leaders express love and tenderness, they do more than fulfill their duties—they inspire others to rise to the occasion with willing and cheerful hearts. Godly leadership creates an environment where people are motivated not by fear or obligation but by a shared sense of purpose and joy. In every sphere—whether in the home, workplace, or church—leaders who are genuinely invested in those they lead cultivate a culture of enthusiasm, dedication, and excellence. This isn’t about merely getting tasks done; it’s about inspiring others to embrace their roles with a sense of calling and joy. When Christians lead in this way, we not only fulfill our own responsibilities but also empower others to fulfill theirs in a manner that glorifies God. This kind of leadership is transformative, creating communities where Christ is not only seen but experienced, leading to a broader cultural renewal that touches even the hearts of unbelievers. While this doesn’t mean salvation for them, it does mean that unbelievers will recognize that God is at work among His people, a concept deeply rooted in Scripture (1 Peter 2:12).

But this transformative leadership is not something we can merely admire from a distance—it demands action, reflection, and, where necessary, repentance. If we are to lead as Christ did, we must first examine our hearts and lives to ensure we live up to this high calling.

A CALL TO REPENTANCE

As we stand on the brink of a culture in desperate need of godly leadership, we must first look inward and ask: Are we embodying the leadership qualities Christ has called us to? Have we truly embraced our leadership roles, or have we allowed fear, complacency, or worldly distractions to sideline us? The time for passive Christianity is over; now is the moment for action, commitment, and—where necessary—repentance.

In the Workplace: Have you been content with mediocrity, avoiding leadership roles to escape responsibility? By shying away from these opportunities, you miss the chance to shine for Christ in places that desperately need to see Him. Imagine the impact if you stepped up, leading with integrity, compassion, and a commitment to righteousness. Your leadership could transform your workplace into a beacon of Christian values.

In Public Office: Have you been silent when your voice was needed? Our nation desperately needs leaders who will govern with justice, mercy, and truth. If you have avoided the political sphere out of fear or a sense of inadequacy, consider this a call to step forward. We need Christians in public office who will uphold godly principles and advocate for the well-being of all.

In the Home: Parents, what culture are you cultivating within your family? Are you actively teaching your children to honor God and respect authority, or have worldly influences crept in? Your home is the first place where godly leadership must be exercised. If you have neglected this responsibility, it is time to repent and recommit to leading your family in a way that reflects Christ’s authority.

In Marriage: Husbands and wives, does your marriage embody the leadership of Christ and the submission of His Church? Have you honored your spouse with love, respect, and selflessness, or have selfishness and strife taken root? Strong marriages are the foundation of strong families and communities. If your marriage has fallen short, seek God’s forgiveness and strive to model Christ in your relationship.

In Discipleship: Finally, are you taking the call to disciple others seriously? Have you invested in the spiritual growth of those around you, or have you focused solely on your walk with Christ? Discipleship is not optional—it is a command. If you have neglected this vital aspect of Christian leadership, it is time to change. Step into the role of mentor, guide, and spiritual father or mother to those who need it.

Now is the time to act. God has placed each of us in positions of influence, no matter how small they may seem, to lead and to shine His light in a dark world, to live out His plans and priorities, and to bring His truth into a world of lies. We all get to play a part, not by hiding, but by leading.

Let us repent where we have fallen short of this. Let us seek God’s forgiveness and strength to fulfill our calling, living publicly for Him with renewed vigor and determination. Brothers and sisters, embrace the mantle of leadership that God has placed upon you, and let us work together to rebuild this culture, God willing, so that it will honor Him in every sector and sphere.

May the Lord bless us with the wisdom, courage, and grace to lead well, to His glory, and to the advancement of His Kingdom. Amen.

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On July 17, 2024 By In Theology

The Death of Dispensationalism

Dispensationalism is not faulty because of its adherents. As the prevailing evangelical ethos in our country, I have met thousands of faithful, Bible-believing, zealous saints who subscribe to various dispensational features. It’s the mode of operation of the American church.

But the system of Dispensationalism is faulty for ten reasons:

1) Literalizes the text in places where literal readings are unnecessary. This approach overlooks the Bible’s rich, genre-saturated literary nature, which is a source of profound enrichment to the Christian reader.

2) Separates theological paradigms like law and gospel and thus misses the gracious nature of the law and the command-driven imperatives of the gospel.

3) Fails to see the compelling nature of Israel’s story as a preparation for the story of the new Israel. Israel is the seed planted in the parched desert places, nourished by priests, prophets, and kings, and flourished under the reign of the One Priest, Prophet, and King.

4) Truncates biblical categories that demand far more glory and weight in the text. It minimizes covenantal realities into stages rather than the maturation of history.

5) Subjectivizes and moralizes historical characters instead of seeing their typological and historical function in the text.

6) Reject eschatological realities that were declared in the first century to be true and tangible by futurizing them into a future millennium.

7) Differentiates Israel and the Church without reading the Messianic story as a recapitulation of the Israel story.

8) Spiritualizes this age and thus fails to see the earthly transformative effects of the vindication of Jesus.

9) Transforms piety into an introspective paradigm that sees the salvation of souls as the sine qua non of the Christian experience.

10) Fragmentizes the biblical story and thus fails to see each biblical text as a part of the overarching whole.

Dispensationalism is a system that is slowly perishing. As a mode of interpretation, it cannot survive the test of time or the present tests of biblical scholarship.

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On June 26, 2024 By In Culture

Paul & the Head Covering: An Alternative Interpretation

Introduction

         The broader challenge of interpreting 1 Corinthians stems from the fact that Paul sorts out a seemingly unending list of problems and we are privileged to hear (read) only one side of the conversation. Paul’s First letter (as we know it) may very well be a second or third letter, and we know from 7:1 that the Corinthian church had written to Paul, asking a series of questions. These other letters are now lost, and what remains for the church is 1 & 2 Corinthians. To make matters more interesting, the Greek language doesn’t use punctuation marks, so we have no quotation marks to rely on, nor do we have question marks to tip us off. Because of these hermeneutical hindrances, interpreters need to make sure that they are reading things in context, and this includes picking up on some of Paul’s linguistical ‘cues’ that are sprinkled throughout the text. We are not in a position to draw unassailable conclusions solely based on what a Greek word may or may not have meant. Sound interpretation requires contextual considerations, both in the immediate context and in the larger context of a particular epistle. While knowing some of the cultural background can be invaluable for doing exegesis, this, too, isn’t always a foolproof process. There are a lot of opinions regarding the cultural background of this particular passage, and it can be helpful to trace what may or may not have been the case regarding head coverings in the Roman city of Corinth. Nevertheless, at the end of the day, we need to be able to do the exegetical work necessary to reach our conclusions—cultural ideas notwithstanding.

         My goal in this article is straightforward: to provide an exegetical interpretation of the text that (1) Consistently makes sense of all aspects of the passage; (2) Resolves any potential contradictions in the passage; and (3) Provides a healthy framework for interpretation that will hopefully alleviate besieged consciences that are struggling with whether or not to wear a head covering. Because there has been a recent uptick in advocacy for head coverings from various social-influencing pastors[1] who are (rightly) frustrated with feminism, I found it important to answer these questions by giving a biblical defense for abstaining from head coverings. Many pastors have seen first-hand the divisive nature of head coverings in a congregation, and because our culture continues to reject God’s ordering of the sexes, the allure of covering a wife’s head in response has become an increasingly exciting option for those wishing to establish patriarchalism in the home and church. I have no doubt that there are many men and women who read this passage and think to themselves, Why haven’t we been obeying this? Obedience to Scripture will always be, indeed it should always be, a motivating factor in the life of the Christian.

         However, to suggest that the passage is ‘obviously pro-head covering’ is dishonest. It may be obvious to you because your righteous anger at our culture overfloweth and you’re looking for a fight. Furthermore, to suggest that ‘all of human history did this’ and ‘basically every theologian taught that a woman should cover her head’ is equally dishonest. Were head coverings argued for in the early church? During the Reformation? Yes. Still, there were others in the early church and during the Reformation who suggested otherwise. My point is this: there is no uniform position of adherence to head coverings throughout church history. An appeal to history just doesn’t work.

(more…)

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On June 11, 2024 By In Culture

The Power of the Prophetic Word

Open the Bible and you will see prophets calling both king and priest to faithfulness to God. In David’s Palace, the prophet Nathan stands with his finger pointed, crying out “you are the man.” As Jeroboam approaches his idolatrous altar to make sacrifices to an idol, a man from Judah marches up to that place of idolatry and calls down the judgment of God on him. Amos, that rough and tumble farmer from Tekoa, cries out for the northern kingdom to return to the Lord. John the Baptist is beheaded for challenging Herod on his adulteries. The Apostle Paul goes right for the center of power as he is hauled off in chains to Rome, where Christian tradition claims that he died for his Lord.

In his commentary on I & II Kings, Peter Leithart writes (p. 97): “Prophets break into and out of the normal ‘chronicled’ history, the usual progression of kings and successors, as Yahweh slices across the grain of history with his prophetic word.”

In revolutionary times, pastors must never underestimate the power of the Word preached faithfully, in the power of the Spirit and pointed at the glory and majesty and mercy of Christ.

But there are a number of ways to empty the preaching of its power. There are a number of ways that this can be done in our time.

First, the preaching of the Word can be emptied of its power by becoming a fun little TedTalk, with all the right hand gestures and voice inflection. Not that these things don’t matter (it is said that Isaiah was silver-tongued), but is a man with great rhetorical ability drawing the attention to Christ, is he faithfully dividing the Word of Truth, or is he building a ministry on a persona?

Second, the preaching of the Word can be overpowered by the beauty of the liturgy, the presence of the sacraments, the glory of song. Word and sacrament come together. Apart from the Word, the sacrament is an empty symbol, and the sacrament is the visible sign & seal of an invisible grace that the Lord uses to confirm the Word. The song is a means of employing the Word to praise God, but it is not the teaching and application of the Word. The liturgy plays a role in effectively teaching the patterns of Biblical repentance and grace and thankfulness, but again, the prophetic Word is the centerpiece that humbles the pride of man and raises him up again to serve the Lord with a thankful heart.

Third, the preaching of the Word can get lost in the pathways of a mad pursuit for political power. Rather than allowing God through His Word to do the great work of humbling the pride of kings & popes as Luther did when he was drinking beer with his friends in Wittenburg, there is a temptation for pastors to drift from their mission and seize earthly power through unlawful means that are outside their calling. A pastor is lawfully given the task to preach the Word (also to teach that Word from home to home), to administer the sacraments and church discipline under the authority of a session of elders. This does not mean that there is no place for Christians to acquire political power, but that is not the duty of the minister of the Word and sacrament. He is not called to administer God’s wrath by the power of the sword as the civil magistrate is called to do (Romans 13).

The modern Christian, and especially the modern Christian pastor, must see then the unequivocal power of the Word. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 10:3–6: “For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.” If it is a revolutionary aim, then it is only revolutionary in the sense that kings are established in their rule when they bow the knee to the true sovereign over the whole universe, which is Jesus Christ, the King of kings and the Lord of lords. And the way that we effect this as the pastors of the Christian Church is through the bold preaching of the holy gospel and by not backing down from that high calling and task when the state threatens to disband the gathering through lockdowns or locking up a pastor in prison.

The duty of the pastor then is to bind Himself to the Word and let the Word bind his speech, his actions, everything. It is in this manner that he becomes an example to kings of the great power of the Word to transform nations by transforming individual men and their families by the power of the gospel. The minister who places himself so firmly under the Word of Christ, will be an example to his flock and to the gathered church across the nation of what fidelity to Christ looks like, imitating Christ as Christ was exalted through humiliation.

In this we ought to become an example to the kings of the earth. Every godly king to must go through a humiliation, whether that be David in the caves, King Alfred in the forests of Britain, or all the kings of both the Old Testament and New Testament times who were humbled through Christian repentance and a turning to the Lord in faith.

But remember the ministers of the gospel will break. They go into stages of depression. They are on the run. They are killed and sawn in two and live in the dens and caves of the earth from time to time. But it is when the ministers of the gospel break, that the light of Christ shines out through the cracks of earthen vessels (II Cor. 4). It is the breaking of the ministers of the gospel that God has ordained as the means by which His Word will break the pride of men. Just as Gideon’s armies moved to victory when their earthen vessels were broken open, so the armies of the Lord come to victory when pastors are “are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;” (II Cor. 4:8-9)

The Word of God is the hammer that will break the pride of men and pound out Christian men into sharp pointed weapons who are able to be more and more effective with the Word in the business sphere, in the workplace, in their homes, in the town hall meeting, equiped to love and serve their communities in truth. The pastor is the vessel that the Lord raises up to bring that Word into collision with the pride of nations. This is why Paul is so concerned that Timothy be a faithful expositor of the Scriptures. Timothy and Paul are both men under orders: farmers who patiently sow seed, athletes who obey the rules, soldiers who faithfully listen and obey the commands of their Lord & Master Jesus Christ. If we would see revival & reformation sweep our land then we must see the Holy Bible faithfully opened and applied across our nation again. We must see pastors willing to take a hit and broken open, rather than deny their Lord and Master who is the sole Head of the Church. We must grow pastors who relentlessly believe that the Word is above all earthly powers and show that they believe by obeying its commands of Christ even to the point of martyrdom.

This is the prophetic Word that slices through the grain of history. As Peter writes to the Christians in exile: “…since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God, for ‘All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.’ And this word is the good news that was preached to you.” (I Peter 1:23-25).

This is the Word above all earthly powers. God has invested it with the power to regenerate wicked kings, homeless men & women, and sanctimonious Christians who have a veneer of holiness but are full of dead mens bones.

So submit to it, study it, search it, love it. And preach it.

Note: this has also been posted over on Susbtack here.

Photo by Duncan Kidd on Unsplash

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"Homosexuality, lesbianism, and transgenderism violate the Sixth Commandment by killing future generations through fruitless unions and mutilating surgeries. These practices reject God's design for procreation, promoting a culture of death and barrenness instead of life and godliness."

On June 4, 2024 By In Culture, Sexuality

The LGBTQ Cult And The 6th Commandment

THE BIBLICAL COMMAND FOR LIFE

At the foot of Mt. Sinai, God handed down to Moses, on two stone tablets, the Ten Commandments, which would form the basis of all Biblical law and societal ethics from that point forward. The Sixth Commandment, “Thou shalt not kill,” stands as an unambiguous defense of life. It condemns murder, yes and amen, but its scope extends far beyond the apparent sins like serial killing and suicide bombing. It also denounces any kind of action that undermines the sanctity of human life or promotes a culture of death, including behaviors and ideologies that stifle the production of future generations in the womb. If the womb of a woman was to be fruitful and multiply with her husband, any action that robs fruit from the womb of a woman is akin to a kind of killing. Not just killing the actual children of her womb, which is undoubtedly the case in abortion. But also in destroying the potential fruit from her womb, engaging in behaviors that shrivel and prevent her from bringing new life into the world, which today are legion.

For instance, homosexuality, lesbianism, and transgenderism are more than mere deviations from Biblical sexual ethics; they are direct violations of the Sixth Commandment. These practices, under the guise of love and identity, tragically result in the killing of future generations by engaging in fruitless sexual unions and surgeries that mutilate the body God has fearfully and wonderfully made.

MURDERING FROM BARREN UNIONS

When two men or two women come together, their union is intrinsically sterile. This sterility is not only biological but profoundly spiritual, as it defies God’s design for human sexuality. In Genesis, God commands humanity to “be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:28). Homosexuality and lesbianism reject this divine mandate, choosing instead a barren path of emptiness and void. Every act of homosexual or lesbian sex is a deliberate choice against the potential life that heterosexual unions naturally produce. It is a silent yet profound killing of the unborn, future generations, legacy, and a denying of the very possibility of future life to come from bodies committed to death. Homosexuality is not only about the unholy use and practice of your genitals, it is the implementation of pure unadulterated selfishness, to rob the future of life to enjoy a commitment in the present to death.

MURDERING IN MULTILATED SELFISHNESS

Transgenderism, with its invasive surgeries and hormone treatments, takes this violation a step further. It not only prevents the natural procreation process but also destroys the God-given body, crafted with a specific purpose. These actions are the epitome of societal selfishness, where personal desires are placed above the natural law and the greater good of humanity. The surgeries that render a person infertile or the hormonal treatments that disrupt natural biological processes are acts of violence against God’s creation, ensuring that no future generations can come forth from such mutilated bodies.

A GENERATION ADDICTED TO DEATH

The LGBTQ movement’s refusal to populate society with sexually healthy and moral citizens, as commanded by Scripture, is one the greatest act of societal selfishness imaginable. Rather than embracing the blessing of children, the movement celebrates death, and only stays alive by perverting the offspring of the heterosexual unions they detest and reject. They rely on the very system they abhor to continue propagating their ideology, like a parasite who cannot live without the life of the host, their dependence on the fruit of our wombs highlights the utter emptiness of their lifestyle.

By refusing to bring forth life, they not only violate the Sixth Commandment but also contribute to a culture of death, where the value of life is diminished, and the sanctity of procreation is discarded. They perpetuate a legacy not of life and godliness but of barrenness, all-out rebellion against God’s design, and stand ready to receive the awful judgment that God has been patiently and mercifully withholding.

A CALL TOWARD THE REVIVAL OF LIFE

As Christians, we must be people who stand for life. Life in the womb, life that comes from covenant marriages, and we must stand against anything that stands in the way of that. From the policies that promote death written by politicians who are the grandchildren of eugenicists to defending the Sixth Commandment in all its fullness, we must advocate for the sanctity of life in every form, from the womb to natural death, and reject any ideology or practice that undermines this sacred principle. Our society’s future depends on our willingness to populate it with godly, moral people and to speak the truth against the culture of death.

As the culture around us swims in its own filth, reveling in death, let us be places where vibrant living and the production of life occur. And may our joy and jubilant love for God and His creation become so infectious that all who are addicted to death will come home to the God of life, embracing life in Christ, repenting of deathlike living, and helping us kill the culture of death forever.

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On February 13, 2024 By In Culture

Does Politics Have any Place on the Pulpit? How to Speak to Kings 101

One of the issues that has presented itself to the Christian Church, especially in the last 100 years, is the problem of politics and the pulpit. It was an issue in Bonhoeffer’s day as the Church, especially Christian pastors, went quiet on major cultural-political issues out of fear of being deemed “too political.” This is a problem in the American Church just as it was in the German Church in the pre World War II era. Eric Metaxas points out in his book Letter to an American Church. If it is a problem there, it is so much moreso a problem in the Canadian Church. I heard many such comments whispered from the pews of Reformed Churches in the years heading up to the COVID tyranny of 2020-?. I’ve heard it with increased frequency in the last couple of years. This has lead me to reflect deeply on Scripture and pray about what God demands of the preacher in a time like this. And so I’ll begin by posing a question: does politics have any place in the pulpit?

I submit that this debate is not about whether politics are in the pulpit, but how we preach on politics from the pulpit. Everyone engages in politics of some form or another (whether secular, totalitarian, pagan, or Biblical). It is another question if it is guided by a proper interpretation of the Scriptures.

Be Ye Not Political:

I use the language here that Eric Metaxas uses for the title of the 11th chapter of his Letter to the American Church. This has become an additional commandment in much of the Canadian Church as we silence our pastors and/or as pastors self-censor. Of course, there is something here in this command that we should be warned against. The answer to the problems of our society is not found in the politics and policies of men. The answer is found in the Scriptures. The answer to sin comes from God in His revelation of Jesus Christ. As a Christian Church, we also have to take care not to align ourselves with a political party, although we must “abhor what is evil and love what is good” (Rom. 12:9), wherever it might be found, including in political parties and state leaders. We must also avoid political alliances with evil in order to accomplish a single isolated good. But at the end of the day, there is no Biblical command that says “be ye not political.” It is more a matter as to how to be political.

Is the gospel at the front end? Is the Word of God central? Is worship central? Is the city of God the city that transforms the cities of men? How does it transform the cities of men? These are all important questions.

But in order to understand more what is going in here, we must first acquaint ourselves with secularism.

The Lie of Secularism:

Secularism does not simply refer to the old idea of the separation of church and state which is a good ideal, when understood rightly. Secularism refers to the separation of religion and state, that the state can govern by morally neutral principles, by a social contract, maybe incorporating some of the natural law.

But the problem with secularism is that it is an impossibility. Man is inherently religious. He will either worship the state or he will worship science or he will worship something or someone else. Man needs a higher authority. For that reason, secularism as an ideal has failed at its inception. It failed the minute someone thought it up.

Nevertheless, we continue to promote the lie as a society. That way the Christian faith is kept out of politics, that is, politics being the activities associated with the governance of a country or other area.

The Church has become deeply secularized, separating faith and business, faith and politics, faith and family. But the resounding motto that our people should hear both in the pew and in all of life is this: if Jesus is not Lord over all, then He is not Lord at all. This is the truth that is taught throughout the Scriptures, but especially as we find it in Colossians 1:18–20: “And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.”

Here is the problem. When God’s Laws are mocked, especially the preachers and teachers in the Church cannot be silent. It is an impossibility. It is an impossibility because the initial place that His authority is made manifest is in the Church. The pastors have been given the holy and sacred duty to declare the crown rights of King Jesus.

Christians and Kings:

We see themes of believers standing before and speaking to kings throughout the Scriptures. We hear the true God of the Bible described this way in Deuteronomy 10:17: “For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe.” Solomon speaks to his son in Proverbs 22:29: “Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.” And again in Ecclesiastes 8:3 “Be not hasty to go from his presence. Do not take your stand in an evil cause, for he does whatever he pleases.” King David writes in Psalm 119:46–47 “I will also speak of your testimonies before kings and shall not be put to shame, for I find my delight in your commandments, which I love.” Daniel stands before Nebuchadnezzar and Beltashazar to speak the Word of God. John the Baptist rebukes Herod for taking his brothers wife (as a side note: I remember reading of one commentator who claimed that John the Baptist was a young minister who had a promising career that was cut short by political preaching). Paul stands before various kings until he finally brings the gospel to Caesar after Christ commissioned him in Acts 9:15–16: “But the Lord said to him, ‘Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.’” We hear Jesus described by John as “the ruler of kings on earth” in Revelation 1:5 and by Paul to Timothy as “the King of kings and Lord of Lords” in I Timothy 6:15. Jesus Himself says in Matthew 28:18 that “all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me” and that we are to teach the nations all things that He has commanded after going out and baptizing and discipling them. We find this promise in Revelation 21:24: “By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it…” (Remember the principle of “now and not yet” for that passage from Revelation.)

Does the Call to Repentance include Kings?

Jesus writes in Luke 24:46–48 “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.”

I’ll cut right to the point. Yes, repentance for the forgiveness of sins must also be declared to our civil authorities, regardless of how “political” that might be deemed. This is our basic duty and task as a Church, as a Christian people. Just as Paul was a witness of Christ to Jews, to Gentiles and the children of Israel, so we are witnesses to the reality of Christ’s suffering, His resurrection, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His Name to all nations – that includes Canada.

We see it in the annals of Christian history, as Ambrose called King Theodosius to repentance, Patrick brought the gospel to the kings and princes of Ireland, John Knox called out the sins of the queen of Scotland, Abraham Kuyper tried to bring Biblical principles to bear as the Prime Minister of the Netherlands for a time.

The prophet has a duty to cavil against the evils and pride of all men and call them to bow the knee to Jesus Christ and to find their life in Him. And he has a duty to do it in a particular way. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:1–3: “Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.”

Throughout Christian history, Christian kings have sought to bring the laws of Christ to bear, such as Constantine, Charlamagne, King Alfred, William the Silent, and other Christian kings and leaders of the post-Reformation era.

In order to call for repentance, men need to repent of something, they need to turn away from something and turn to something. The primary thing is a recognition among the kings and leaders of the earth that Jesus is Lord over all, and that in order to rule rightly, they must bow the knee to Him. If Jesus is Lord of all, then His principles for justice and law that are found throughout the Scriptures, are the best principles to rule by. Anything that stands in opposition to those principles is fundamentally rebellion against Him, and in His goodness, He died for rebels, to deliver them from their rebellion. We find the promise inPsalm 68:18: “You ascended on high, leading a host of captives in your train and receiving gifts among men, even among the rebellious, that the LORD God may dwell there.” We find the fulfillment in Ephesians 4:8 where Paul applies this to Christ: “Therefore it says, ‘When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.’”

Conclusion:

The clear conclusion of what we find in the Scriptures is that the implication of the gospel message that Jesus is our final prophet, priest and king is that there are massive political ramifications to the call to repentance and faith in Him. And yet, the kingdom of Christ advances differently than the kingdoms of this world. The kingdom of Christ advances through the bold preaching of the gospel message, the call to bow the knee and yield allegiance to Jesus as King, the king who came to serve and give His life as a ransom for many (Mk. 10:45). It advances as bold martyrs give up their lives rather than betray or deny their Lord and Master Jesus Christ. As the blood of the martyrs has watered the dry and stony grounds of godless and unbelieving nations, the church has sprung up out of it. This is because we have a God who knows the way out of the grave. It advances as kings and presidents and prime ministers get down on their knees and say to Jesus Christ: “My heart I offer to you Lord, promptly and sincerely.”

So yes, politics do have a place on the pulpit. Jesus speaks to the governance of a specific region, especially when that government begins to mock His laws and Word and despise or even persecute His holy Church. Secular politics are a lie. And no pastor should either assume a lie or preach a lie. The Bible and the truths therein should set the agenda. The Lordship of Christ over all things is central. All men, all parties, must bow before His throne.

This means that those bearing the Word must first and foremost be in submission to it, in their warnings, encouragements, exhortations and praise.

Note: The header photo is an illustration by the Dutch painter Peter Paul Rubens of St. Ambrose barring King Theodosius from the sanctuary after the Massacre of Thessalonika. He would not allow the king to enter until he repented of this massacre.

Note: This is part of a series of items relating to ecclesiology that I am posting on Kuyperian Commentary. You can find other work on my Substack account. My latest essay on Kuyperian is important background to this one.

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On January 29, 2024 By In Culture

Alistair Begg and Gay Weddings

I want to acknowledge that Alistair Begg’s ministry has been an illuminating journey into exegetical faithfulness. Five decades of opening your Bible and examining it verse-by-verse is the ol’ fashioned evangelical method, which has birthed much fruitfulness in this country and produced remarkable teachers. It worked for Martin Lloyd-Jones, John MacArthur, and many who followed in their train.

While I have not followed Begg’s ministry in over a decade, I know his fervor and sense of the holy from the testimony of many respected leaders in the Reformed world. So, it’s with enormous sadness that I have watched a man who should be ending his pastoral career at the height of ethical orthodoxy in his preaching and teaching utter unconscionable rubbish.

For those tuning in, here is the lengthy section from his interview with Bob Lepine:

BEGG: And in very specific areas this comes across. I mean, you and I know that we field questions all the time that go along the lines of “My grandson is about to be married to a transgender person, and I don’t know what to do about this, and I’m calling to ask you to tell me what to do”—which is a huge responsibility.

And in a conversation like that just a few days ago—and people may not like this answer—but I asked the grandmother, “Does your grandson understand your belief in Jesus?”

“Yes.”

“Does your grandson understand that your belief in Jesus makes it such that you can’t countenance in any affirming way the choices that he has made in life?”

“Yes.”

I said, “Well then, okay. As long as he knows that, then I suggest that you do go to the ceremony. And I suggest that you buy them a gift.”

“Oh,” she said, “what?” She was caught off guard.

I said, “Well, here’s the thing: your love for them may catch them off guard, but your absence will simply reinforce the fact that they said, ‘These people are what I always thought: judgmental, critical, unprepared to countenance anything.’”

—–

I have waited patiently to give honor to whom honor is due, but nothing has clarified his position. I often give these elderly statesmen honor (I Tim. 5:1). I want to believe Begg has not kept up with the times or failed to see the negative world and its ramifications. Or perhaps Begg stays away from these political discourses, and the moment he spoke into it, he butchered the pastoral applications. I am hoping for an ethical epiphany.

(more…)

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On December 18, 2023 By In Culture

The Pastor’s First Duty

Pastors have a fundamental responsibility to shepherd within before they can shepherd without. While the negative world provides us plenty of opportunities to uphold truth, if those propensities and proclamations are not shaped by the garden of the Church first, the opinion pieces will fail to get a hearing. They will only draw the untrained and uncivil pugilist to your corner, who eventually may swallow the young clergy. Therefore, that percentage dynamic should be heavily weighed in favor of the immediate parish concerns (I Pet. 4:17).

While much of theological and pastoral output can benefit the outside community, the minister’s primary goal is to meet the needs of his people. He is a local shepherd, accountable to a local body (Heb. 13:17), connected to a local people.

We are experiencing a monumental decline in pastoral candidates in mainline traditions and a slight decline in more conservative bodies like the Missouri Synod Lutheran.* While there are sociological demands for modern pastors to confront every conceivable moral issue, the minister represents God to his visible assembly, whom he addresses from the pulpit and to whom he administers the elements of bread and wine. His particular dispositions must be used accordingly; his gifts need to be activated rather than re-creating him after the image of some publicly acclaimed character.

While there is tangible evidence of institutional dereliction among seminaries, there is still a more significant fault among those who have demands of pastors that do not place them first at the feet of their congregants before the feet of outside inquiries.

Of course, every pastor has a public face, but his local image shapes that public image. To reverse that dynamic is to create influencers rather than shepherds. The decline of candidates stems from expectations that ministers must embody nearly renaissance gifts, and no man can endure that level of pressure for sustained periods of time.

Too much pastoral theology in our day, put the Table and Pulpit secondary, and the political halls and podcasts as primary. But ministers are heavenly professionals tending to the first garden of God before moving into the land and world.

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On November 30, 2023 By In Culture

Love the Sinner. Hate the Movement.

A MATTER OF LOVE

Generally speaking, every Christian has some level of understanding that God has called us to love. It is kind of the point of being a Christian, right? Paul says if we do not have love, we are nothing. Jesus said that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. And He did not provide such a glorious and precious Son to reproduce more Grinches on Mt. Crumpit or more Ebenezer Scrooges on Business Street in London. 

God saved us and did it through the greatest act of love ever recorded to make us loving people. Jesus even said that they (the world) will know that we are true disciples of Jesus by the way that we love one another, which means how we love other Christians (John 13:35). But, Jesus also taught us that we are to love our enemies and to pray for the ones who persecute us, which means our love must extend beyond the people who attend Church with us. We must be willing and ready to love anyone, even those who hate us most ferociously. 

And this is where the confusion occurs. Just because we are to love people does not mean we are to love what they do or the sinful movements that they have ensnared them. It is my contention, and what I will be arguing here, that standing against a MOVEMENT is wholly necessary, and it is one of the chief ways that we genuinely love the PERSON. 

For a moment, pardon me for my pungency. I will grab the flame thrower to light a couple of candles, and I will do this on purpose. Sometimes, we need a mother’s soothing lullaby to help us fall gently to sleep. Yet there are other times when we need to be shaken from our slumber by the father because the house is on fire. Today will be more like the shaking. 

THE ABORTION MOVEMENT

I said above that we must love the sinners caught in sinful movements while hating the movements that trapped them. This is true. Which means we must not hate women who have had abortions. We must love them (profoundly so). This means we must love them enough to hear their stories of pain, to empathize with their struggle, but also to refuse to sugarcoat what they have done and to bid them to repent for murdering one of their children. If that language seems overly harsh, perhaps you are part of the problem.

Think about it, how many children in this country, and around the world, have to brutally die before we start taking this issue seriously? How many heartbeats need to stop for us to go beyond conservative incrementalism and heartbeat bills to flat-out abolish this disgusting, immoral practice? And let me just ask the obvious question: can our actions really be called loving if we allow this culture of death to continue? Are we really being kind to all the innocent babies who were chopped up into bloody pieces inside their mommy’s womb or chemically roasted by toxic abortifacients when we say things to the mother like: “It wasn’t your fault” or “You had no other options.” How sick and demented do we need to be to believe this garbage? Biblically speaking, abortion is the wanton sacrilege of human life, plain and simple, and total abolition of it is the only just outcome. To tell a woman anything else is to lie to her, make excuses for her sin, and allow her to believe the lie that God is not enraged over the shedding of innocent blood. He is the one who heard Abel’s blood crying out from the ground, and He is the one who hears every tortured fetus screaming from the cold metallic pan. And He will avenge them. 

From a Biblical and ethical standpoint, there is nothing morally different between a woman getting an abortion and hiring a hitman to kill her toddler. In both instances, she bought and paid for a professional to kill someone she was supposed to love, care, and protect. We must stop euphemizing our language and call this precisely what it is. Abortion is not healthcare. Abortion is the intentional, inexcusable, and unauthorized decision to terminate a precious life that belongs to God alone, who endowed it with significance, dignity, and personhood. 

And, while you may still be reeling from my descriptions, this is precisely how we love people. We love them by telling it to them straight and by pointing them to the risen Christ as their only hope. We love man and woman by exposing the lethality of sin, which is awful news, and then by providing them with the remedy, which is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He is the only one who can heal the wounds of a mother who killed her child. He is the only one who can forgive a man for pressuring his wife to let medical serial killers in planned parenthood dismember his legacy. He is the only one who can forgive the murderous doctors who have gallons of blood dripping from their hands. And the only way to truly be loving is to point everyone to Him. 

And, what I find most astonishing is how the amazing grace and tender mercy of our perfect spotless savior totally and completely buries all of our sins! As reprehensible as abortion is, and as much shame as that should induce if left to our own devices, a woman who turns to the Lord Jesus Christ is not only forgiven but her shame is also eliminated! Her sins have been washed white as snow, and He restores her to royalty in His Kingdom. She has been given a new and glorious nature that cannot be taken away from her. She is healed! She is loved! She is restored! She is no longer known by a scarlet letter. And she may well worship in eternity alongside her aborted child. How? Because He took the curse that she deserved and gave unto her the honor she could never earn! Jesus Christ, her Lord and Savior, overpowered the putrescence of our iniquities and rescued us for His glory and our great good. This is true for all sinners! Why do we hold back from declaring this message? Why do we think this is unloving? And because of that, why do we entirely pervert this glorious Gospel by avoiding nearly half of it, skipping past the bad news of sin and death, to accommodate a sinner’s fragility? If you throw out the bad news, the good news makes no sense! If you throw out the need for a savior, you no longer have the Gospel! That is not the path of love or how we ought to love anyone. 

At the same time, while I love the woman who has had an abortion, I must hate the abortion movement with every bone in my body. I will ever be at war against this modern day temple to Moloch! Why? Because it is the movement that is promoting, cheering on, and subsiding the murder of nearly a million image-bearing humans every year! This movement was dreamt up in the recesses of hell, fueled by the power of demons, and has captivated a swampy and pathetic government of fiends who would rather kill its citizens than lose political power or funding. I will love the person enough to hate such a despicable movement. And I will hate the movement enough to make war with it all my days. 

THE LMNOP MOVEMENT

We must not hate the sodomites or lesbians who are caught in nature-denying, God-hating behavior. We also must not hate transgender people who have denied one of the most basic tenets of reality: their own biological gender. And, furthermore, we must not hate human beings who are mired in such delusional confusion, that single persons now want to identify as plural pronouns, or the genetic human who now want to use a litter box instead of a toilet. This is not to mention the kind of mental disorder that would cause a homosapien to identify as a two-spirit penguin. This would be hilarious if it were not true. Being true, I am heartbroken for them. I am shocked and grieved that such an apparent mental health crisis, of this magnitude has broken out in the Western world, and the “adults in the room” are trying to cure it with identity politics and clever deceptions. This is like trying to put a fire out with gasoline or trying to plug that hole in the Titanic with bubble gum. Instead of receiving the help they need to confront such vivid and wretched delusions, people today are force-fed horse manure from a society that absolutely hates them and a medical establishment that is profiting from lopping off their genitals. 

Remember, love always seeks the best for a person. And what is best for a person is what God says in His Word. We must love men and women who are being led to the slaughter enough to point them away from these diabolical fantasies, the damned identity politics dreamt up by demons and instead bid them to turn to the truth of the Holy Scriptures. We must love them enough to call them out of their sins and perversions, leading them toward the belly of the fiery abyss. We must love them enough to call them to repent and turn to the Lord Jesus Christ before it is too late. Placating them is not loving them! A parent who gives into every demand of the child to reinforce their inner totalitarianism is not loving them!

In the same way, patting people on the head, leaving them with warm and fuzzies in their sin, while they are eternally separated from a Holy and Righteous God, is to despise them! It is to wish them doubly dead with a disturbing smile on our faces. That is not love; we must love the person enough to behave differently! 

But, simultaneously, I pray that the LGBTQ movement dies a thousand deaths. A movement that cheers on abominations mocks the living God with flags of rainbow-colored debauchery and prays upon the most insecure and impressionable minds. A campaign that calls its victims to abandon nature and reason for social clout and swelling subscriber lists. A movement that is championed by an unhinged government that will take children away from their parents for not allowing them to degrade their own bodies in the most lude, disgusting, and abhorrent ways. A movement that is weaponized by doctors who threaten body butchering as the only escape from suicide. A movement peddled by freaks on Youtube and TikTok that promise you will be well-liked, ever-celebrated, and left always with a feeling of belonging if you would only come out. I loathe that movement. And I will do whatever it takes to see it come to a total and complete end. Why? Because it is destroying men and women, and it is devouring children! It is toxifying the country my children will inherit. And it is damaging the social fabric of the nation. 

Very simply, we are called to love our enemies, love the ones who are caught in soul and body-degrading sins, and love them enough to speak the truth to them before it is too late. Yes, and amen! But we are never commanded to love the ideologies that are destroying them. We are never once called to cheer for the movements that trap humanity like fish in the net. Yet, as I said before, this is where so much confusion has occurred in the Church these days. This is where the enemy has divided and conquered in legionous ways. By leaving the Church in the West so divided on this issue, typically into four camps as it related to this issue, we have become easy pickings for the author of these Luciferian fables, the lord of darkness himself.  

For a moment, I want to sketch out three erroneous views and how those views are wrong, and then I want to end with the right approach. 

THREE ERRONEOUS VIEWS

1) LIBERALISM- THE DEMONIC LEFT 

This view barely needs to be explained. Proponents believe the sinner and the movement should be lauded, supported, and championed. This means that there is no view of sin or hell, there is no Biblical understanding of what love is and what it calls for, and all that is left is just a watered-down “gospel of tolerance,” and the twin bricks of “love is love” and the “you do you’s” that pave the path to destruction. This view is not the Biblical Gospel because it begins with the assumption that what people need most is acceptance of their sins instead of repentance from them. And sadly, this view has infected entire churches, denominations, and conventions.  

Every lumberjack lesbian pastor to every dove-award-winning male musician who now sings in dresses proves my point. This is not loving, and they are not Christians. They have abandoned Christ for hedonism and pluralism. They have abandoned the Biblical Gospel for infatuation with immorality. They have not chosen the path of love but are on a highway to hell. And thankfully, they are not very difficult to spot in the wild. Just look for the bright colors or the 6’4 muscle bound woman on the swim team who still has a cringy bulge. 

We must reject the lie of liberalism. Instead, we must love each and every person caught in sin. We must love them enough to call them to repent. And we must be at war with ideologies that ensnare them. 

2) FUNDAMENTALISM – THE HATE-FILLED RIGHT

On the other end of the spectrum is a nearly equally abhorrent view. Instead of being known for unbiblical and degenerate forms of tolerance and love, this group is known for its rigid intolerance, as well as a refusal to love anyone. And while the fundies rightly understand the need to hate the sinful movements that trap so many souls in the bogs of sin, they forget that they are also sinners and peddle a gospel that is devoid of humility or grace. They turn their pharisaical ire upon anyone and everyone who exists “out there,” and they chide them all to hell. 

Sadly, this view has also infected the Church in small but shrinking pockets that usually do not spread as quickly as liberalism since no one likes being around them enough to join them. Where does this disease show up? It shows up in every megaphone screaming street preacher who is not out there to see men and women saved but to remind them they are damned. It shows up on Sunday mornings in every Westoroesque Church where the blowhard behind the pulpit screams, “God hates fags.” It shows up wherever men and women caught in these sins become the object of our hatred instead of the mission field we have been sent to. 

We must reject the hate of fundamentalism. Instead, we must love sinners enough to get to know them, eat with them, and call them to repent. We must be at war with the ideologies that ensnare them and the pride that entangles us. 

3) EVANGELICALISM – THE MUSHY MIDDLE

The evangelical Church is always trying to land in the mushy middle, whose spine seems to be made of pudding or jello. And, before you object, let me remind you that the vast majority of squishy pastors these days will not preach on the reality of hell, the ugliness of sin, or the dire need for repentance because of the holy, righteous wrath of God. I have been to these churches. I have served on staff in these churches. Where men are so afraid of offending men that they regularly offend their God by either apologizing for God’s Word or refusing to herald it. How many sermons have you ever heard on the covenant curses in Deuteronomy 28, the list of sins that are called abominations, or any other topic that our society is struggling with in any meaningful way? If there is a potential for offense, the modern-day pastor runs like a coward from the battle. And this is not mere opinion. It is an epidemic in evangelicalism. 

This gets to my point. You cannot love someone you are lying to, and if you refuse to tell them the truth or call them to repentance, then you are lying to them. That is like knowing a man has stage 4 cancer, and instead of giving him the diagnosis so that he can begin the treatment or settle his affairs, you refuse to tell him because it may hurt his feelings. That is the opposite of love! That is to become the equivalent of a moral monster. And it was certainly not the way Christ loved people in the Gospels. Yes, He knelt down in the sand to restore a sinner, but He also said, “Go and sin no more.” In fact, there is no single account where Christ doesn’t point out the sin, call the man or woman to repentance, and extol them to holy living moving forward. To adopt an ethic that Christ will vomit out of His mouth just to save face in public is not loving. It is criminal! That is the picture of a very sinister sort of hatred that watches as a person asphyxiates when all they needed was to be turned onto their side. In this case, men and women must be pointed to Jesus Christ! He is the hope! He is the cure! To trade in the Gospel for niceties is repugnant, unloving, and something every cowardly pastor will answer for. 

Furthermore, you cannot hate a movement that is destroying human beings when you refuse to call it out. I am talking to you, pastor yellow-belly, when you sit silently on the sidelines as sexual predators fester, as women in your congregations believe the lie that it was just a clump of cells, and as diabolical trends in Hollywood disciple your people, just remember that your silence was akin to hating them. You wasted your office. You impaled your people on the post you were supposed to care for them with. And you have hated your own ministry. When you have mold growing in your home, you spray it; you don’t ignore it. And yet, your sugar and spice mentality that never rocks the boat, never calls out evil in our society, has let something far more sinister seep in and spread among your people, and you did nothing to stop it! Instead of being the salt of the earth, you have become the high fructose corn syrup that has made our society fatally unhealthy, and I am calling upon you to repent! 

Yes, you should love the person. Love them enough to confront their sin and call them to Christ. And yes, you should grow a backbone to perform the role of shepherd, who not only pets the sheep but takes out a sawed-off shotgun to take down the wolf. Repent, brother! 

THE RIGHT VIEW

4) THE BIBLICAL APPROACH 

Now, the right approach is the Biblical approach. Look at what Paul says about this: 

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. – Ephesians 6:12

Paul tells us that our struggle is not against the individuals caught in the nets of sin. Instead, our war is against the net makers, the wicked powers who are making the traps that drag men and women away to their doom (2 Timothy 2:26)! This certainly includes evil politicians, woke corporations, and degenerate government agencies who spend taxpayers money on evil. But Paul is alerting us to the power that is underneath them all and fueling them. He is telling us of the kind of power that caused Roman men to find it socially acceptable to abandon their female infants to the elements because they wanted a son. We are talking about the kind of power underneath the hubris of the Enlightenment, which captivated men’s hearts with scientific pride instead of humility before their God. We are talking about the elemental forces, the rouge spirits in high places, and the kind of power that gave birth to the bastard child named liberalism, who questions the authority and veracity of Holy Scripture. The kind of power that is underneath every godless movement, from the Freudian psychology that undermines faith in God to the Sangarian ethics inflicting genocide upon the womb to the Kinneyism that unleashed rank sexual perversions upon our populace. Paul is telling us that behind every Hitler, Stalin, and Mao, behind every pagan ideology and philosophy, and behind every movement that brings devastation and rebellion upon man are the demonic forces led by their commander Satan, who want nothing more than to destroy the masterpiece of God’s creation, man and woman. God called male and female – in covenant marriage, reproducing offspring to the glory of God, and extending His dominion to the ends of the earth – “very good,” the hounds of hell cannot keep themselves from trying to destroy us. It is in their nature, and we must resist them (James 4:7). 

LOVE THE SINNER. HATE THE MOVEMENT

I know this article may seem a tad inflammatory to you, but I make no apologies. I simply implore you not to be soft on movements like abortion and sexual deviancy. Because underneath them is the power of demons who want nothing more than to pervert, manipulate, butcher, and destroy God’s creatures. If you are soft on these movements, you are complicit with the war crimes of demons, and you are a reviler of the humanity you claim to love. 

Our job is to love the sinner enough to call them to repentance. And to hate the movements that accost them. Dear Christians, the mission Christ has called us to requires that we declare the true Biblical Gospel no matter who it offends and that we continue advancing until every sulfuric stinking gate of hell falls limply down. We aim as emissaries in His Kingdom to see all of Jesus’ enemies put under His feet. He will do that work, but He has also called us to be about that work (praying, declaring Christ, making disciples, having godly children, attending public worship, feasting at His table, etc. ). We live in the Kingdom of Christ and we pray to see abortion abolished so that no more child is decapitated in her mother’s womb. We labor in Jesus’ fields to see sodomy eliminated and a wholesome, godly, and covenantal view of sex and marriage proliferated. And as Christians, we do not bury our talents in the sand… We keep after it, worshipping, praying, seeking Him, and doing what He has commanded us to do until all two-spirit penguins are entirely extinct because we do not believe allowing people to live in their madness or delusions is healthy, proper, or holy. We labor till every family comes under the blessing of the Lord Jesus Christ, as promised to Abraham, and until our enemy is put swiftly under our saviors heel. Until that day, we must love people enough to herald the one true Gospel to them and we must hate the sinister movements sufficiently enough to work for their demise. No other behavior is Biblically legitimate.  

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