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“Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ!” (Ephesians 4:17-20)

In our last post, we assessed the faulty worldview of the Black Lives Matter movement, particularly as it pertains to the idea of “race.”  By abandoning the Bible’s teaching that there is only one race, Adam’s race or the human race, and espousing the man-made theory of multiple races, we have only exacerbated the situation.  Whenever we add to or subtract from God’s Word, we fall under a curse (Prov 30:5-6; Rev 22:18-19).  America is living out that curse right now.  [previous blog post]

But the Church must not buy into the world’s narrative.  We must not cave to the culture’s categories, or definitions.  Racism itself is being redefined before our very eyes.  We are being told that if we do not tow the BLM line, and join the movement, that we are racists!  We are being told that if we do not adopt the language of Critical Race Theory and Intersectionality, that we are only adding to the oppression, or are ourselves privileged oppressors.  Many evangelical leaders and churches and denominations, including my own Southern Baptist Convention, are falling prey to this worldly non-sense. 

Of course the true Church comprised of born again followers of the King of Glory and Prince of Peace oppose oppression!  Of course we hate the sin of partiality, one form of which is racism or more accurately partiality based upon skin colors!  Of course we affirm the dignity of every human life!  And when the true Church has gotten these things wrong in the past, the Lord Christ who is the head of the Church has always granted her humble confession of sins and repentance. 

Racism, especially as defined and espoused by the BLM is the new #MeToo Movement.  Just a year or so ago the unpardonable sin was to just be accused of sexist behavior or mistreatment of women.  Many prominent men were fired from jobs and removed from posts without so much as a trial or any evidence.  The #MeToo Movement insisted all women are truth-tellers and all men are liars.  That women cannot ever oppress or manipulate or abuse men.  But this is not what God says (1 Kings 3:16-22; Rom 3:10-18).  Consider Proverbs 18:17, “The one who states his case first seems right, until another comes and examines him.”  But far too many in the church bought into the #MeToo philosophy hook line and sinker!  No doubt their motives were mostly good (there are some so-called churches and denominations who simply will do almost anything to remain “relevant” to our culture, but we pray they are the minority).  We all want to stand against abuse of any kind. Period.  But we cannot and must not allow the culture to dictate the terms of what that means, looks like, or what terms or definitions we must use in discussing the matter. 

For a classic example, consider the electronic billboard I saw just yesterday.  It read “The United Methodist Church says Black Lives Matter!”  Do you get the irony here?  The UMC also ordains into the gospel ministry those practicing a homosexual lifestyle!  The UMC is not true to the Scripture at all.  They gave up the doctrine of the inerrancy and sufficiency of the Scripture.  So now anything goes to somehow show themselves cultural relevant.  And God is not pleased nor is He honored.   

Racism, as defined by BLM, CRT, and Intersectionality, is the new unpardonable sin.  But the actual agenda of BLM defies what they are claiming is their primary motive – racial equality and to end systemic law enforcement or judicial racism / oppression.  For example, the official platform of BLM supports Planned Parenthood.  It is hard to deny the racist origins of Planned Parenthood.  Margaret Sanger was a flaming racist and eugenicist who believed in atheistic Darwinian evolution.  Abortion doctors have targeted black people for decades by strategically planting their murder mills in minority communities, all under the guise of “family planning / services.”  BLM also officially supports the LGBTQ agenda.  It is hard to see what link they think this has to stamping out police oppression of black people.  The founders of BLM have been open about their militant Marxist agenda, as well as their intent to completely eradicate the family unit led by a husband and wife.  All of the chaos being wreaked, including the statue toppling and rioting and looting and hijacking of mainstream media and domination of public school and state university curriculum is straight out of the playbook of Karl Marx, Lenin, Stalin, Mussolini and Hitler.  So as a movement, BLM is simply incompatible with genuine biblical Christianity.  Period. And I am thankful for the black voices now rising up to say so (see links at bottom of this article).  God give us courage to “speak truth to power,” or to those seeking to seize power.

BLM is spiritually bankrupt. Eradication of racism and other sins of the heart is not a project any socio-economic program or picketing or protesting can accomplish.  George Soros may well fund the upending of our Constitutional Republic based upon free market capitalism, but he cannot save the sin-sick heart of mankind nor produce any real righteousness in him.  Make no mistake, just like the Climate Change or Green Movement, BLM is a religion.  And there is no salvation of any kind, nor forgiveness of sins against a Holy Creator God, available in it at all.  There’s only One Mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus who gave Himself a ransom for all (1 Tim 2:5-6).  Only Jesus can and will make this broken world new (Rev 21:5).      

BLM is also scientifically bankrupt.  For all our talk as a society of being “science-driven” it turns out we are mostly emotion-driven.  Atheist John McWhorter, Professor at Columbia University, has been pointing out the need to pay attention to the actual facts of research for decades.  While I lament his atheism, I applaud his courage as a black man to point to the hard data.  We must ask: Do the research statistics actually back up the claims being made by BLM?  Are more black people killed by cops, as a percentage of population, than white people?  What is BLM doing to address black on black crime and the proliferation of gangs?  Does the disintegration of God’s design for marriage and home in black communities have any bearing on these issues?  Will BLM admit that the cities where race relations are the very worst have been governed by democrats for many decades?  Will BLM address the matter of police unions padding the pockets of the Democratic Party and protecting bad apple cops as being at least a part of the problem?  Will BLM honor the black voices of those standing in opposition to their agenda and their claims?  Will the black lives of Candace Owens and the Hodge twins (Conservative Twins on Youtube) matter?  Will their voices be heard and respected?  Will anyone other than Fox News give a voice to the black men and women of Project 21 or The National Center for Public Policy Research?  And will the Church listen to men like Dr. Voddie Baucham?  I am including links to these people and organizations below, not because I endorse everything they say or think, but because I believe their voices are quickly becoming the minority voices most likely to be persecuted and oppressed in America, and are worthy of our prayerful consideration.  In all our listening and talking, we must as Christians keep the total sufficiency of Scripture as our ultimate authoritative voice and guide. 

None of what I have written here should be interpreted as a polemic against Christians and the Church continuing to fight against hatred and oppression, and for human dignity, human life, and human flourishing.  The true Church always has stood against evil and for good, as defined by God in the Bible.  And we must continue to do so.  We lament mistreatment of any people.  We do desperately want to see harmony between peoples of all skin colors and ethnicities.  But we do not embrace BLM as the answer.  We must never look to any human government or movement for ultimate salvation.  For no utopia can ever exist on earth until Jesus Christ is literally acknowledged by every tongue as Lord of all (Phil 2:5-11).  And so as we go about doing good to all people, and especially to the household of the faith, let us not neglect our main mission – to preach Christ crucified in the stead of ruined sinners, and raised for their justification.  Our experiences in our culture may well differ based upon many factors. But our ultimate need as humans is the same.  We need the Lord’s grace to rescue us from our sin! 

I want no one to come into our worship service at Corydon Baptist and feel like an outsider. No! We want to reflect the Father in Heaven who welcomes outsiders to come inside His house of grace by repentance of sin and faith in Christ, where all things are reconciled by the blood of His cross (Col 1:20).  May God make it so. The voices of the weak and oppressed matter greatly to God, and to us. But we offer and embrace no solution to man’s plight other than the blood of Jesus.              

For further information and voices worth hearing:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiilN9PAZiQ
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pd1swytlzBg
• https://nationalcenter.org/
• https://nationalcenter.org/project-21/?utm_source=Amazon+Advocacy&utm_campaign=be1f33bc40-standing-up-for-those-who-stand-against_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c235f8a6c8-be1f33bc40-159050388

“If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (Psalm 11:3)

What started as a fringe movement among the politically socialist-with-a-tinge-of-anarchist crowd in America, has almost overnight become “mainstream.” 

The movement is known as BLM, Black Lives Matter.  To which nearly every American I know or even know of would answer, “Of course the lives of black people matter.  What’s your point?”  And now that we are all starting to see what their point really is (which seems more about political upheaval and total revolution against the form of government known as a Constitutional Republic resting upon free-market capitalism than about the value of any people’s lives), it is frightening and deeply disturbing, at least to many of us lovers of freedom within the constraints of good law and order. 

Now I know I am already being labeled as a racist, just because of that last paragraph.  My wife posted a quote from a prominent black pastor, Tony Evans, to her social media last week.  Something like “All lives matter from the womb to the tomb.”  She was immediately met by implied accusations of racism, and this from two women she grew up with and was friends with all throughout high school.  In other words, they know better!  They know my wife is not a racist.  But to even dare to offer a different perspective these days is sure to get us labeled.  I know of pastors who are just pretty scared to even say anything right now. Darned if you do. Darned if you don’t.

Well, dear Christians who love absolute truth as God has revealed it in the Bible, we are just going to have to get used to being called names. Of being falsely accused. Labeled. Attacked. Hated. Like our Savior.  Jesus told us there’d be days like this (John 15:18-25).  My dear, sweet ultra-non-confrontational wife simply removed her post, rather than challenge her friends’ insistence that the standard for racism is complete agreement with their viewpoint.  But I wish she had responded something like this:

Of course black lives matter.  But why? The worldview that has caused us to focus on our differences, and upon our skin colors (a simple matter of melanin) is Darwinian evolution.  Racism in our post-modern world is primarily the product of the atheistic humanism taught in public schools for the last 50+ years. It derives from an underlying belief in Darwinian evolution.  This is not to say racism did not exist prior to Darwin.  Of course it did because hatred resides in every human heart apart from the grace of God rooting it out by the application of the bloody sacrifice of Jesus.  But our form of racism in the western world has most definitely been brought on by the notion that we are all not from a common ancestor. That we evolved from different “evolutionary trees or chains.”  This leads to the idea of a higher class or a more evolved line than other lines.  And it has wreaked havoc on our world.  Watch the documentary “What Hath Darwin Wrought?” by Todd Friel for more details on my argument. 

You see, I do not accept your categories.  We have a disagreement at the foundational level.  I do not believe in races.  I believe in a race. One race. The human race. Adam’s race. I trust the word of our Creator who reveals Himself to us in the Scripture, the Holy Bible. The Bibles teaches God “made from one man [blood] every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth” (Acts 17:26).  The Bible speaks of tribes, tongues, nations and people groups / ethnicities. It never indicates any human being is of any race other than Adam’s race. The human race. The notion of multiple “races” has actually foisted more racism upon us than anyone could have imagined!  That view seeks to magnify and vilify our differences, when the Word of God says the diversity God programmed into human DNA redounds to His glory and is to be celebrated! 

This does not mean we ignore skin colors and ethnicities and cultures.  No! We embrace them as part of God’s good design for humanity, particularly as we see those cultures redeemed by God and brought under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.  There is a reason the heavenly vision God gave the Apostle John is one of unified worship: “And they sang a new song, saying, ‘Worthy are You to take the scroll and to open its seals, for You were slain, and by Your blood ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth’” (Revelation 5:9-10).

Can you see it?  All the peoples of the world singing in harmony to Jesus?  All the skin colors of the world will be there. Adam’s race now redeemed by the Second Adam, Jesus Christ. Reigning with Him. In perfect unity. Only Jesus cures racism!  Only Jesus unites all peoples!  Or, more accurately, I should say only Jesus restores all kinds of peoples to the foundational truth that they have been one people all along.  It is our sin that insists on erecting and re-erecting walls of division among peoples in this world. In the end, the only division among humanity that will be is in Christ or not in Christ, saved or lost, justified in Christ or condemned outside of Christ.  And none of that is based upon skin color!  The children’s ditty has it right, “Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world, red and yellow black, brown and white, they are precious in His sight.”   

So the only way for me to be a racist is for me to hate all humanity. Every single person. To have animosity towards the entire human race. Because that’s the only race there is.  This does not mean I have never committed the sin of partiality. I have and God has always exposed it and given me grace to repent of that sin and seek to mortify it in my heart.  But as for me, I accept only one race. We are therefore disagreeing on the most fundamental level. Our definitions are not even the same! 

The human genome project has verified that the genetic difference in various so-called “races” is so miniscule that we have to conclude even scientifically that we are all one race.  But that research finding is not being heralded in science books and at science fairs and from the halls of academia because it just does not fit their narrative. Their worldview cannot account for it. But God’s Word has been heralding it all along.  For more inspiration along these lines, see these sermons / clips:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoJGYCc7EUg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ip3nV6S_fYU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCivUBcap8Q

So yes, black lives matter!  Amen! Shout it from the rooftops! But this is true only because all lives matter. And only the Christian worldview can consistently make such a claim. There is absolutely no foundation to say black lives matter, or brown lives matter, or any lives matter, if you believe in Darwinian evolution.  And the destruction of the very foundation laid by Genesis 1:27, “So God created man in His own image . . . male and female He created them,” is precisely what has led us to this moment of insanity, mistrust, animosity, outrage and outright anarchy in our society. 

I urge you therefore to give up the world’s categories and definitions.  Cling to God’s categories and definitions.  For only there do we find lasting hope for a truly just and loving society.     

Our nation is in chaos.  It appears a “perfect storm” is upon us.  So many hurts and calamities combining to create mass confusion, extreme emotionalism, knee-jerk calls to action, and even greater hatred and division.  A pandemic. Government abuses of power. Then a very public murder. Then another murder. Then more murders, riots, looting.  All the while a “mega drought” plagues the Southwest, tornadoes rip through the South and hurricane season is upon those in the East.  And oh, let’s not forget all the riots and protests are sure to cause a massive spike in COVID-19 cases (at least if what we have been told for months about this virus is actually true).  One can only expect more shutdowns and economic woes if that does occur.  God help us!

Too many Christian leaders, prominent and obscure, seem to want to start talking all about these kinds of things the moment they are happening. Gotta get my tweet out before someone else does! Gotta stay fresh. Current. Relevant. Gotta endorse certain movements before bothering to research them to see what they really stand for and are proposing. Gotta get woke.  

While I do intend to address various issues in the weeks ahead pertaining to some of the chaos taking center stage in our nation and world, primarily for the sake of the local church I shepherd and serve, I am fully convinced that where we must begin is on our knees.  Not kneeling at a local protest. Rather, kneeling beside our beds with our wives and children, kneeling in our church houses with our brothers and sisters, kneeling with other local churches in area-wide calls to prayer.  Why is our first inclination in the Church today to tweet or start a Facebook debate?  Let us pray. 

Almighty God, it is You who have created us and not we ourselves.  Forgive us, Lord, when we try to live as our own gods. We ask as Your chosen people, those whom You have redeemed by the blood of Jesus, that You create in us first a hatred for sin in our own hearts.  “For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel?” (1 Peter 4:17) Help us, Holy Spirit, to pull the logs out of our own eyes that we might once again help our neighbors and society and nation and leaders identify the specks in their eyes. 

Where we have tolerated abortion, please forgive us. Where we have winked at sexual perversions and distortions of your design for marriage, for sexuality, for gender, please forgive us. Where we have cheated on our taxes or conducted our business in under-handed ways, or spent Your money in ways that defy Your holy Name, please forgive us. Where we have caved to Darwinian evolution and all of its implications in every facet of our society, please forgive us. Where we have allowed education systems to remove God, denigrate the Bible, and replace the gospel with a foundation of atheistic humanism, please forgive us. Where we have shown partiality, or harbored animosity in our hearts based upon the world’s category of “race,” please forgive us.  “And He made from one blood every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth” (Acts 17:26). And “here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all. Put on then as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, meekness, humility, patience” (Col 3:11-12).  Forgive us, Lord, for allowing the Church to be segregated by walls of partition Jesus has torn down at the cross!  Forgive us Lord for not fighting against oppression and violence, whether individual or systemic, wherever it is found.  And for our prayerlessness in the face of such demonic onslaught over many decades in our nation, O Lord, forgive.  What we are experiencing now pales in comparison with the everlasting lake of fire that we justly deserve, as individuals and as a nation.  So we pray, “In wrath, remember mercy” (Habakkuk 3:2). Our only plea is the righteous life, death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son and our Savior.  Politics, education and money cannot fix this. Only Jesus changes and purifies human hearts. Help Your people again proclaim the gospel boldly, from coast to coast.   

Our hearts are grieving as Christians in Your Church, and as Americans. We have seen injustice. We have watched precious men and women of all skin colors, all made in Your image, die needlessly or be harmed by violence and hatred and malice. We mourn for all the families who have lost loved ones or livelihoods in recent calamities, whether pandemic, storms, police abuse of power, or rioters abuse of privilege. O God help! O God save! O God! We need You! Heal us by Your gospel. Restore unto us the foundations of true justice and true mercy, as revealed only in Your Holy Word the Bible. We beg for Your grace in Christ to flood this land. We praise You for both Your acts of judgment, and Your acts of mercy; for You do all things well. Revive Your Church in America O Sovereign One. Awaken sinners to their absolute need of the Salvation and Lordship of Jesus the Messiah.  Make Your Church in America holy again. So we can yet again declare Your holy law and your holy cross with clarity of conviction. Restore our prophetic voice in this land. Employ us in Your kingdom service to spread the Name and Fame of Jesus to our next door neighbors, and to the peoples who have yet to even hear the Name.  And should You ordain for America more suffering and judgment, O Father God grant Your people endurance in Christ Jesus. Be glorified in us as we worship You whatever the circumstance or cost!   

“O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, give heed and act. Delay not, for Your own sake, O my God, because Your . . . people are called by Your name” (Daniel 9:19). Amen.

Like millions around this nation and globe, I have watched a virus reign terror down upon us.  Or, is it our governments and medical professionals reigning terror down upon us?  Or is it both?

I am not a doctor or medical professional.  I have no idea how best to battle a pandemic, at least not from a medical perspective.  But I also have read enough to know that doctors around the world are not in agreement on the matter either.  The medical recommendations vary quite widely, depending upon the nation, or the worldview of the doctors giving the advice.  As usual, science, especially medical science dealing with the complexity of the human body, is anything but exact.  This is perhaps why medical professionals are urging governments to literally close everything down - because they realize they truly have no control over this invisible killer.

I also know the irony of our pro-abortion society, and others like us around the world, suddenly urging us all to sacrifice everything to spare as many lives as possible, is stratospheric.  If Darwin's theory is true, like our state-run educational systems and universities have insisted it is for 1o0+ years, then this virus is doing the human race a favor.  It is survival of the fittest, right?  And why work so hard and sacrifice so much for organized pond scum?  If we all came from a primordial worm-like creature, as this article purports (https://phys.org/news/2020-03-ancestor-animals-australian-fossils.html) then why are we scrambling to spare human lives?  We have professors at universities who have for decades taught our nation's leaders that a pig is a cat is a dog is a human (research some of Dr. Peter Singer's statements, for example).  But it turns out, during a pandemic we discover we cannot really live out that godless, atheistic Darwinian worldview.  We simply cannot extinguish the Doctrine of Man made in God's Image, no matter how much academia tells us it should be snuffed out.

The irony is even thicker, however, when we see States claiming abortion is an "essential service" while church assemblies and other needed medical procedures are not.  The state of North Carolina has determined law enforcement should arrest side-walk prayer warriors and counselors outside abortion clinics, even though they are not violating any CDC COVID-19 guidelines.  Meanwhile, inside those infanticide clinics, every code is being violated, including the ultimate one, "Thou shalt not murder."  Watch this insanity unfold here: https://lifepetitions.com/petition/support-sidewalk-counselors-arrested-for-praying-outside-of-abortion-mills

Seems to me the most lawless among us may well be our own governments!  As a former Marine Officer, I vowed to "Support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, both foreign and domestic."  I am not sure how best to fight politicians who trample our Constitution in the name of a pandemic or "the greater good."  This is the same argument that gave us Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy.  It's how the eugenics movement has advanced around the globe for the last 100 years.  While I know there are many fantastic law enforcement officials all over this country, the fact that some will actually arrest peaceful Americans breaking no actual laws ought to disturb all of us greatly.

My own local county health department recently emailed pastors directly, telling us not to hold drive-in worship services until further notice.  When I pull into the parking lots at Wal-Mart or Dollar General, or get food at a Drive-Thru, or grab a carry out bag from a cashier, or pull up to a stop light in downtown Louisville with my window rolled down, I am much more at risk than anything happening at a church drive-in service.  Churches were targeted and there was so much push back that, thank God, our health department removed all those public website postings aimed at us.  If this kind of overreach and abuse of authority is happening in small-town Indiana, I can only imagine how bad it is in more populous regions.  Health Departments do not even make law!  So, as an American citizen I am very concerned about all the over-reach I see happening.  What we citizens allow our government to do, what rights we voluntarily give up, what trampling of the Constitution we permit, our government will not soon forget.  History does not lie to us in these matters.

Now, let me take a deep breath or two, and tell you as a local pastor I am very concerned to find the right balance here.  I want to protect my church, as every pastor I know does.  I do not want to do something that endangers their lives needlessly.  I am especially aware of our sweet, elderly saints who are most vulnerable to this virus.  We canceled worship services back in mid-March. We urged our older folks to stay home and let deacons deliver food or necessities to their door steps.  We have been using some online formats to do Bible studies.  We have called and texted and face-timed more.  We have tried to submit to our governing authorities, as the Lord requires (Romans 13).  I even quarantined my own family for 8-9 days when I suspected one of us may have been exposed.

But somewhere there is a line.  The early church recognized it.  When the governing officials required them to disobey or dishonor God Almighty, those first Christians said, "We ought to obey God rather than man" (Acts 5:29).  And they were willing to bear whatever consequences came.

A pastor in Florida was arrested for allowing members to congregate in violation of CDC and local guidelines.  While I strongly oppose this pastor's doctrine (he distorts the gospel), and I also think his actions were foolish, I am not so sure he should or even could be rightly arrested.  Not in America.  In China, yes.  But not in the USA.

Again, do not misunderstand me.  I do not think this is a time for pastors and churches to defy governing authorities.  At least not yet.  But there is a line out there somewhere . . . right?

Our Lord's expectations on us to "not forsake the assembling of ourselves together" combined with the dozens of "one another's" that simply cannot be obeyed virtually, digitally or online, tell all of us who love and follow our Risen King that we may have to cross that line sooner, rather than later.

Our hope is never in government.  Or medicine. Or technology.  Our hope is Christ Himself, crucified, risen, ascended, reigning in His church, and returning to rule the whole world.  Our short-term future looks bleak, dear Church.  But our long-term future is as bright as the Son in all His radiant glory (Revelation 22:1-5).

"Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom" (Luke 12:32).

And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others (Matt 6:5).

What I am about to say is not intended as a judgment upon any decisions being made by faithful pastors all around this nation.  And I certainly have no reason to impugn motives.  I have very close pastor friends who will not agree with all I say here.  They sharpen me.  And I offer these thoughts only to honor my Savior, stay true to His Word, and compel us all to ask good questions during this crisis concerning the essence of the church, her worship, her ordinances, and her mission.  This is not meant to be a rant.  It is, rather, a heartfelt plea to stop and prayerfully think about what we are doing during the COVID-19 pandemic.  For the glory of God in the Gospel of Christ and for the good of His bride, the Church.     

In the last few days, I have attended in-person pastor gatherings, and online pastor gatherings.  We are, of course, all talking about the same thing - how to shepherd well the flock of God entrusted to us through this virus outbreak.  Do we cancel services?  Limit out gatherings to 50 or less (Indiana), 10 or less (Federal), or just love our neighbors enough to limit nearly all human contact for two weeks to see if the Lord will use it to slow the spread?  And then there's the whole question of how to keep shepherding and teaching and connecting while holed up in our homes (assuming we do cancel and/or quarantine).

The elders here have decided to cancel all gatherings for the rest of this month.  And while we are offering a new podcast, and plan to do some discipleship classes via online platforms, we are not offering "online worship."  Granted, we have not been a "cool church" ever.  I abhor what Facebook and YouTube as companies support (abortion and pornography).  I cringe to use those platforms, and have for years.  Even the online classes we are now doing make me a bit nervous.  Some churches have been streaming worship, and doing all sorts of online stuff for years now.  This crisis probably doesn't affect much for them, with the exception of the actual physical gathering.

But that's precisely the point at which I wish to engage us and challenge us a bit.  I offer three reasons we think it best not to do online worship and/or to live stream a local church worship service. 

1. The Bible - we have no example at all in the Scriptures of a worship assembly being anything other than an actual worship assembly!  The expectation in the Old Testament is the "whole assembly" of Israel (including children) gathers to hear God's Word proclaimed and to worship and commit themselves to obeying God.  See for example Deuteronomy 31:9-12 and Nehemiah 8.  That expectation carries into the New Testament.  Consider  the Book of Acts.  A church assembly in that Book clearly anticipates all those who have been baptized into the local fellowship and their children gathering for hearing doctrine, praying, and taking the Lord's Supper together and meals together (Acts 2:41-47 being the quintessential summary statement).  The Apostle Paul assumes whole families are present together in the church worship assembly (he directly addresses children in Eph 6:1-3 and Col 3:20).  Paul speaks of the Corinthian Church gathering as "the whole church comes together" (1 Cor 14:23).  So, we who hold to the inerrancy and sufficiency of the Scriptures should be very, very skeptical and cautious when making claims that we are having "online worship gatherings" or that we are "doing church online."  We should be more honest, I think, and just admit this actually cannot be done "online" or in quarantine, at least not the way the Lord and His apostles command / prescribe. 
2. The Doctrine of the Church - to assemble is at the very heart of what it means to be a church.  This is why the Lord forbids us to forsake the assembling of ourselves together (Heb 10:25).  Now, when we are sick or out-of-town or providentially hindered in some way, we are not sinning by being absent from our local church gatherings.  If you go on and read the following verse (Heb 10:26) it is clear the author has a willful neglect of the church assembly in mind.  Nevertheless, we simply cannot pretend that actually getting together as God's redeemed people in Christ to praise Him, to pray hand-in-hand, to sing in harmony together, to hear the Word and discuss it together, to do the one another's, is not a significant part of what makes us an actual church.  There is no virtual church!  There is no online church gathering.  Friends, I am not saying we should not try to somehow "connect" with one another in these difficult days.  I am not saying using online platforms is wrong or sinful.  But the way we use them, and the way we market or promote these methods, matters a lot.  We do not want to give our folks the idea that we can actually be a New Testament church online.  Togetherness defines us!  It's what made the witness of the early church so powerful in their community and made people either avoid them or want to come be a part of God's work in the church (Acts 4:12-16).  Why not just humble ourselves and admit God is pulling the carpet out from under us right now?  Our idols are being removed (sports, concerts, celebrity preacher conferences, economy, comfort).  God exiled Israel.  He removed their ability to worship Him in the way He had prescribed!  The temple was smashed!  And He did so to create a renewed hunger for worshiping God in God's way.  The exile periods revived the righteous remnant (Ezra 7-10; Mal 3:16-18).  We have been praying for revival, haven't we Church?  But it seems we are in danger of only wanting it to come by means of our own choosing.  While I pray all this "online worship" will actually create a renewed thirst to actually worship Christ in the way He has designed (covenantal life-on-life), I fear it may well backfire on us!  Which leads me to . . .   
3. Our Culture - We already have a large segment of Christendom that think they are going to church or worshiping with the church by sitting in their bathrobes with a cup of java in their kitchens in front of screens.  We evangelicals have for the most part strongly opposed such a view.  We already have churches and whole denominations that do not even believe in church membership (covenant / commitment to a local body).  We Reformed Pastors have stood against this shallow, non-committed, unaccountable, undisciplined view of Church for decades now.  But it seems to me we very easily caved to that very model once a virus hit.  We are potentially and inadvertently contributing to the very mess we have opposed on doctrinal and theological grounds!  One pastor in the online training I attended earlier this week said, "We've not seen church-hopping like we're about to see now."  Well, surely we all know he's right.  Not just digital church hopping (which so long as our people are listening to biblically faithful preaching is no worry at all actually), but actual church hopping.  Well, that church has better live streams.  Well, that church's innovative podcast and rocking worship band (who happens now to be playing their instruments and singing their songs only for the cameras) tickles my fancy more than my more old-fashioned church.  We say we're not in competition with other faithful churches, but it doesn't look that way right now, dear brothers and sisters, as we rush to have the best online worship and we all (or at least most of us) preach to empty rooms! 

God help us slow down and think more carefully about what we are doing and why.  His glory in the Church is worth it, right?  Remember, as a pastor-mentor of mine used to say, "What we win them with is what we have to keep them with."    

Now, all that said, I pray and trust Jesus will save many sinners through this pandemic.  Our God brings beauty from ashes.  Jesus will save sinners who hear the gospel online.  And I pray and trust those truly born again, that the Holy Spirit will move them to be baptized into a local fellowship as soon as possible.  I pray faithful churches who just want to shepherd their people and not miss evangelistic opportunities will be given God's wisdom and power to exalt the Risen Christ.  I pray we will all be kind to one another as we critique and challenge each other in these trying times.  Again, I reiterate, I respect those making different decisions than we are.  And I am open to hearing a critique of my critique!  Most of all, I pray our Triune God receives all glory, every ounce of it, for both His acts of righteous judgment and His acts of saving grace! 

My own view of preaching and legitimate church worship assemblies may not be yours.  Preaching is not precisely the same thing as teaching in my view.  Our church is doing some online teaching.  But to preach to an empty room is not in line with God's design for the preaching / worship event, in my humble opinion.  I am not against live-streaming a sermon so long as it is actually being preached to a live, in-the-flesh church / audience.  I can see the benefit to shut-in members or those providentially hindered.  But right now that's all of us!  And while some may argue this is precisely why their online worship method is acceptable, I am arguing it is best to just say, "Church, we actually cannot have a worship gathering right now.  Let's fast and pray God will reunite us soon!" 

Every Sunday gathering is unique and unrepeatable.  God shows up among His people in covenant with Him by Jesus' blood, and sacrificially committed to one another, in ways that simply are not likely to be duplicated with online "gatherings."  You may worship God in spirit and truth with your family or even your small group in your homes, and in front of an I-phone.  In fact, we are praying for a revival of Family Worship in our church!  And we are praying for a revival of true fellowship among smaller groups in our church!  But you may not, from a New Testament viewpoint, call that in home gathering a church, nor a church worship assembly.  The church is the whole body . . . together.  And when one member is missing, we all suffer (1 Cor 12).  O, that God would revive a true ecclesiology among us during this time.  

More questions - What is the benefit or upside to offering a live stream sermon with no actual church gathered to hear it, compared to just encouraging our people to go listen to the years' worth of archived sermons we all have on our church websites already?  Do we seriously think our church members were all present for each one of those sermons?  Do we really think they remember them?  Are there no good truths or lessons or life applications from those past sermons that will serve them faithfully now?  Is it absolutely necessary that church members hear a "fresh" word or sermon this Sunday?  This crisis has reminded me just how susceptible I am as a Pastor to pride and the notion that I am somehow indispensible to the local church, so much so that they cannot even go a week or two without me.  God forgive me and us.  If we have fed them the whole counsel of God over the years, they can go be refreshed by a sermon from three years ago!  Our church has encouraged this among our members - to go listen to an old sermon.  And we are also telling them if they want to hear an online sermon at this time, why bother with us local small fries?  Log onto John MacArthur, John Piper, Alistair Begg, Steven Lawson or HB Charles, Jr.  Seize the opportunity to hear from these uber-gifted preachers.  Praise God, if our people get more exposed to God's Word coming through these men! 

But at the same time, just know that if/when you are lying sick in the hospital, it will not be John Piper who risks his own well-being to come pray over you.  It will be that local shepherd, called by God to "shepherd the flock of God among you" (1 Peter 5:2).  And THAT is a stark reminder of church God's way.                                             

The Supreme Court is hearing a pivotal case to determine whether to uphold Louisiana's law requiring abortion doctors to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals.  This is, of course, a reasonable safeguard to both the health of the mother, as well as the health of the baby if born alive (and yes we are now learning that happens more often then we might imagine).

But reason and logic do not accompany the pro-abortion side of this debate.  Never have.  Never will.

Exhibit A in this illogical hall of fame is Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.  She recently commented that "among medical procedures, first trimester abortion is among the safest, far safer than childbirth."

Safe for whom?  Safest for whom?  Safer for whom?  And do you really prefer women to have abortions, rather than to just give birth to babies, which you say is so unsafe?  Talk about fear-mongering!

And that, my friends, is the very essence of this matter.  When we reduce one person to a "choice" or a "medical procedure" based simply upon that person's physical size, or physical location, or supposed abilities, or inabilities, it is ethical discrimination and moral insanity.  Abortion is definitely not safe for babies!  And, several research  organizations would refute RBG's assessment of just how safe it is for mothers regardless of which trimester.

Would we consider it a simple medical procedure to hack off the limbs, causing death to a Parkinson's patient who has lost most physical abilities?  Would we talk about how safe the procedure is to puncture the skull and penetrate the brain of a 5 year old Down's Syndrome child?  Would we commend a 19 year old girl who, in the name of "my body, my choice" decided to cut off her arms and legs, or to chemically poison herself to death?

Can we not see where this "my body, my choice" worldview has lead us?  To a place where parents now think it loving to allow their 11 year olds to physically maim and chemically alter themselves permanently.  Where a man running for President sexualizes a 9-year old boy and thousands cheer that Presidential hopeful and that boy for "coming out" as gay.  We are running the risk of allowing our entire culture to live in perpetual dysphoria!

O, dear pro-life champions, do not fear.  Logic and reason are on our side!  Keep exposing the insanity of these pitiful, self-centered attempts to justify killing a baby.

Most of all, remember God's truth is on our side.

Children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward (Psalm 127:3).

 

Let me tell you where Mayor Pete Buttigieg is not today.

He is not at the burial ceremony for 2,411 aborted babies.  That ceremony is being held in his city, South Bend, IN.  But I feel sure he's not planning to attend.  His radical pro-choice agenda simply could not stand up to the actual reality of tiny babies with faces, arms, fingers, ears, toes, brains, legs, hearts.  Many of them dismembered and disfigured.  Stored in a late abortion doctor's garage like they were nothing more than cobwebs or roofing nails.  You can read more about it here:

https://www.lifenews.com/2020/02/10/2411-aborted-babies-abortionist-hoarded-will-be-buried-wednesday-finally-given-proper-burial/

America must decide if this callousness towards life is going to continue to define her.  If we decide wrongly, sinfully, and continue to tolerate the murder of babies, then God will no doubt keep giving us leaders we deserve.  Socialists.  Marxists.  Godless agnostics or those claiming religion, even Christianity, while pushing an agenda that is Satanic.

But I, and many thousands of others, are praying and crying out to God to have mercy on us!  To give us leaders with the moral spine to finally end this scourge.  If slavery is a stain on America, and it surely is, then abortion is more so.  To forcefully enslave another human, made in God's image, is to denigrate his very personhood and limit his potential.  To slaughter another human in the womb, is to permanently destroy his personhood and potential.

When will we finally demand an end to this butcher shop?

 

By now the dust is somewhat settling on Chick-Fil-A's decision to stop donating to the Salvation Army and Fellowship of Christian Athletes.  This was, apparently, due to certain corporate leaders' desire to pander more to the PC demographic regarding so-called Gay Marriage.  This is no longer Truett Cathy's Chick-Fil-A.

But I assure every Christian in America, this "dust" simply is not going to ever really settle.  Not until Jesus returns and makes His enemies His footstool and renews His creation.

It is intriguing to me as a pastor of a local church to watch prominent Christian leaders all start picking sides, drawing lines, making conclusions, and bickering back-and-forth when a large corporation makes a very public decision that is obviously slanted towards the secular / cultural morality and away from biblical morality.  To read up on just such a debate, check out this blog:

https://activistmommy.com/liberty-counsels-mat-staver-responds-to-`rank`lin-graham-chick-fil-a-betrayed-us-to-save-its-own-corporate-skin/?mc_cid=e151023cd2&mc_eid=ec99ada539

Now, to be sure, I was very disappointed by Chick-Fil-A's decision.  Disappointed because of who they claimed to be.  Because of the values they purported to hold.

Disappointed.  But not surprised.

This issue, what has been called the "gay agenda" or the LGBTQ agenda, is a machine that will come knocking on the door of every single organization in North America that claims to be Christian in any sort of way.  Dr. Albert Mohler has been warning the evangelical world of this for a decade plus.  There simply is no place to hide.  A decision will have to be made by every Christian leader, by every church.  Will we say what God has said about marriage, about sexual sin, about redemption for sinners who by grace repent and trust Christ alone?  Or will we accommodate to the growing power of the LGBTQ lobby.  Will we cave to so-called "hate speech" legislation, being too blind to see beyond its cloak of deception?  Ask churches in Canada about the real impact of "hate speech" laws.  These laws are, ironically, a product of hatred for Jesus Christ and His Holy Word.

Regardless of our decision, it will not come without a cost.

I suspect Chick-Fil-A counted the cost before announcing their shift.  Now we wait.  We watch.  For consequences.  Surely some believers will boycott.  Some will simply not frequent the Christian chicken as often as before.  Some won't change anything.  And others in our society will applaud this newly "enlightened" stance and will go eat a sandwich with waffle fries to salute what they perceive as "courage."

For me, the verdict is still out.  I probably will just stop going to Chick-Fil-A for a while.  That chicken may put a bad taste in my mouth, at least until the dust settles.  It is almost to the point now where a Christian cannot live in our society without violating his or her conscience at some level.  Nearly every single company donates to organizations committed to promoting evil, like Planned Parenthood.  We pay taxes.  And our government uses our money to do evil, and to export evil around the globe.  Corruption has waxed so deep and strong that is can really depress a follower of Christ who is determined not to ever give money to sinful causes.  Don't take my word for it.  Let 2nd Vote do the work for you:

https://www.2ndvote.com/

O, but don't despair too long, dear saints.  Let's not hang our heads in defeat.  The Christian worldview and the true church of Christ may have lost the "culture war" in America, as Dr. Russell Moore claims in his book Onward.  But Jesus wins in the end.

The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever (Rev 11:15).

Amen, Come Lord Jesus!  (Rev 22:20)

State run public education has been on my "do not approve" list for the last 15 years or so.  While I love the public school teachers in our evangelical churches, and pray for them as they are hand-cuffed by godless curricula and administrations, I stand by my general disapproval of the system itself.

The problems in the K-12 (not to mention the university system) system are really too numerous to even tackle now for Bible-believing pastors.  Planned Parenthood runs the "sex education."  GLSEN gets a nod to infiltrate every level of the system, meaning our 1st graders are being routinely exposed to the agenda of those who promote sexual sins and self-rule as normal and acceptable.  Public libraries across the country now sponsor "Drag Queen Story Hour."  High school boys, in some schools, can now shower with girls.  And girls can play on boys sports teams.  And boys who consider themselves girls can compete against actual girls.  And science texts lie and present as facts preposterous theories that have not given any good, hard evidence in 150 years (i.e., Darwinian Evolution).  The system truly appears un-redeemable, in my opinion.  For many parents like me, the only viable solution is to home-school or if you can afford it, to use private Christian schools.

Add to the madness now that a Social Studies textbook being used in Sullivan County Tennessee claims Allah is the same God as the Christian God.  For more information, see:

https://activistmommy.com/controversy-erupts-in-tennessee-over-textbook-that-claims-allah-is-the-same-as-the-god-of-the-bible/?mc_cid=b284f1092b&mc_eid=ec99ada539

Typically, if one public school is using a textbook, many hundreds more are too.  This is why I tell Christian parents whose children are in public schools that they really should take the time to read each textbook their child is assigned.  There is no other way to help the child learn to counter the lies.  While the Sullivan County school is defending the textbook by saying they are not allowed to promote one religion over another, that really skirts the whole matter, doesn't it?

A proper education deals in facts.  And no self-respecting Muslim would agree that Allah is the same God as the God of Christianity.  And no Bible-believing Christian would assent to that claim either.  Why not just teach the facts of each religion?  Students with any modicum of reasoning ability will then discern that all religious claims simply cannot be true.  Relativism does not work.  Islam cannot be true if the Bible is accurate and true.  I wonder if the social studies text also says the millions of Hindu gods are also the same as Allah or the Christian God?

You see, relativism never works.  Ever.  It's central claim, that there is no such thing as absolute truth, is self-referentially absurd.  To debunk it, one only needs ask, "Is it absolutely true, then, that there is no such thing as absolute truth?"

I hope some Christians show up to Sullivan County Board of Education meetings and ask:

• Is Allah the God who chose Isaac, not Ishmael?
• Is Allah the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ?
• Is Allah the God who saves sinners by pouring out His wrath on His Son on the cross, granting Jesus' righteousness to all who cry out to Him for mercy as Lord, King, and Savior?
• Is Allah the God who has committed all judgment to His Son, Jesus?
• Is Allah the God whose glory may only be seen and enjoyed in the face of Jesus Christ?

These questions ought to be sufficient to convince them to throw that textbook in the trash where it belongs.  I pray the Christians in Sullivan County will be found faithful, loving, kind and true to the gospel.  Only that kind of witness has God's stamp of approval.  And who knows?  Such a witness may just be the means God uses to save a Muslim, or a confused student, or an irate parent.  To the glory of Christ alone!

Earlier this week, the US Senate was unable to pass straight-forward legislation that would have ensured any babies born alive during abortion attempts receive standard medical care.  Every Democrat except three voted "no."

So, let's be very clear.  These Senators, elected to one of the highest and most noble offices in our great Nation, voted to allow a doctor, and nurses, to simply leave a bloody, crying, wriggling baby on the operating table to die.  No first aid.  No nothing.  Or, one would assume, these senators think it would actually be best and most proper for the aborting doctor to just go ahead and finish the job.  Stab that baby in the heart.  Decapitate the baby.  Whatever it takes.  Just stop the incessant crying.  End that baby's life, whatever it takes!

One wonders how it is possible for any human being to support such policy and procedure.  Much less some of the most educated and intelligent leaders in our country?!  I firmly believe in the Bible Doctrine of Total Depravity.  That is, every human is fallen and sinful and unable to be reconciled to our Creator God by our own efforts.  And sin has infected every single part of us as humans, thus the word "total" (if you need a refresher course here, read Romans 1-3).  But Total Depravity does not mean that every human is as sinful as he or she can possibly be.  Aren't we thankful for this common grace truth?  Imagine a world where everyone is as given over to evil as he or she possibly could be.  Literally hell on earth.  Scary, huh?

Well folks, that world is seemingly becoming a reality in the United States Congress!

But I must confess, at least the Democrats and pro-abortion proponents are consistent.  Once you support the killing of babies, does it really matter where the baby is located?  And if it does matter, why?  Why would it be OK to carve up an infant inside the womb, but not be OK to do so outside the womb?  If the baby's not wanted by the mother, then the mother's desire always matters most.  Right?  And carrying this to its logical conclusion, then why would a mother not then be able to shoot her five-year old dead too?  So long as she decides the child is not wanted, or the child is inconveniencing her, or threatening her "health," then why would the age of a child matter?  I mean, do we seriously think murder is right and good only if a doctor does it during a so-called "medical procedure" inside a woman's womb?  Why not just let moms kill their children whenever they want?  That's true "Abortion-On-Demand."

In a weird, stomach-churning kind of way, I am thankful for this moment of clarity in our Nation.  May God be pleased to awaken hundreds of thousands of Americans to the stark reality that abortion is murder.  It destroys a human being.  Period.  And once someone is OK with murder, then where does it stop?  Why bother trying to put any parameters on it at all?

And I wonder where the outrage of Republicans and thousands of Christians has been for the last two years as we have watched a once Republican-controlled Congress refuse to de-fund Planned Parenthood?  Why are we so outraged now that Democrats and pro-choicers have proven they are actually more consistent then we are?  At what point will we fully and finally . . .

"Be wretched and mourn and weep.  Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.  Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you" (James 4:9-10).