The Scourge Of Racism
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Today, the Lord would have me build an important bridge from the January 13, 2019 post, The Courage Of Conviction, under the category, Instruction, to a social issue and His preachers. The social issue is the wicked practice and tragedy of abortion solemnly held up, prayed about and protested by still not enough professed Christians and churches on this very day set apart each year as Sanctity Of Life Sunday. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is a preacher who with God imbued courage, led many to stand up to nonviolently protest America’s oppressive and unjust treatment of its black citizens a generation ago before being assassinated. We celebrate his holiday tomorrow.
Surveying internet articles on abortion as a social justice issue, I was amazed not by the divergence of opinion, but by how the phrase “social justice” was defined, claimed and used by basically two different sides. And since social justice as a contemporary concept draws its most important personification by way of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., each side also claimed him as a likely endorser. In this post, it matters not where Dr. King may or may not have stood on abortion since he made no quoted direct and specific declaration one way or the other. What matters to the God of the Bible is where all of the truly called preachers of His Word should courageously stand!
Because definitions are an integral part of the intensifying spiritual warfare of these latter days, I cannot in good conscience go any further in this post until I first give proper definition to the terms “social” and “justice.” In its first layer of definition for social, Microsoft Encarta relates it “to human society and how it is organized.” Encarta goes on to associate social with how “people in groups behave and interact” as well as how they live or prefer to live as part of a community. Justice is defined first as “fairness or reasonableness, especially in the way people are treated or decisions are made.” It also refers to the legal system and how laws are applied according to this dictionary.
So, then, it would seem that by combining the words social and justice one would come away generally understanding the phrase to mean the ways in which a human society has established standards of fairness and behavior that are upheld and enforced within it. However, the world governed by Satan cannot endure such simplicity and must complicate things with this definition of the phrase: “the way in which human rights are manifested in the everyday lives of people at every level of society.”1 And there it is, “human rights.” Differing views of legitimate human rights and the source of morality is the reason our society is divided on the social justice issue of abortion.
Faithful Christians--every aspiring strong man and great woman of God in the image of Jesus Christ--start with God and His Word rather than fallen, sinful human assertion no matter how scholarly or brilliant in understanding anything about societal function and concepts such as justice that originate with Him!2 Indeed, God as our Creator has made us in the divine image and likeness to function in community as God from eternity (Genesis 1:1-3, 26-28, 2:7, 18-24; Luke 3:21-22; John 15:17, 17:11, 20-26). Referring to God, Scripture proclaims: “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne,” (Psalm 89:14, NKJV). God is the source of righteousness and justice!
God introduced His righteous and just nature into the human experience when He gave a command and the consequence of disobedience to the first man (Genesis 2:15-17). The man sinned and God brought His just consequence (Genesis 3:1-6, 17-19).3 For generations thereafter, Adam’s progeny were without righteous and just laws and nearly all destroyed as lawless in the global flood of Noah’s day (Genesis 4:1-24, 6:5-13). God, not man; God later gave to Israel and the world His righteous and just laws introduced through Moses (Deuteronomy 4:5-8; Romans 5:12-14). In His Law, Israel and any other human societies had a perfect standard of justice (Psalm 19:7-8; Romans 7:12).
Our nation’s Declaration Of Independence declares we derive certain rights from God. While individual rights were recognized in God’s laws, they never overstepped the eternal morality issuing forth from the righteousness and justice those laws embodied (Psalm 111:7-8, 119:142; Proverbs 14:12)! Thus, no human individual or society on earth apart from government punitively has the right to take another human life which begins by God’s design at the moment of conception (Genesis 9:5-7; Exodus 20:13; Psalm 139:13-16; Luke 18:18-20; Romans 13:1-4).4 It is here that every God called preacher is to take his stand to uphold the righteousness and justice of God’s Word and speak up to call out societies engaged in the unjust, wanton murder of its weakest citizens (Jeremiah 7:28-31).
Truly, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. courageously stood up when called upon by the Lord to cry out for and demand social justice for oppressed, segregated, disenfranchised, poorly educated and impoverished black Americans from a nation claiming “In God We Trust” a generation ago (Psalm 103:6). But now, a folk more helpless and voiceless than my slave forefathers cries out to God for social justice; even the unborn whose right to live by divine sanction is taken away in their mother’s wombs. Why are the many preachers who know God’s Word silent? Why do they not courageously stand up like Dr. King for black Americans and cry out with one voice on behalf of the unborn? Is it not because they do not all know the Lord or have His heart (Matthew 7:21-23; Mark 10:13-16)?
Is it not also because the racial group in this society with the highest number of abortions today are black Americans whose post-Civil Rights era leadership that includes many preachers sold them out long ago like Esau for some stew (Genesis 25:29-34)?5 Therefore, unless they seek it now, they will not find a place of repentance in the judgment (Isaiah 1:10-20; Hebrews 12:12-17)! And to the nation that has made law the unjust right of women to murder their unborn as Israel once sacrificed its children to demons (Psalm 106:37-38): the Lord will stand for the unborn and vindicate their blood as their Avenger in His holy wrath (Psalm 9; Jeremiah 7:32-34; Nahum 1:2-6; Zephaniah 1:14-18)! The risen, living Christ continues His cry among American churches, "Who is on the Lord's side?"
1 Goggle “define social justice” and see the definition offered by Wikipedia.
2 Learn more about the aspiring strong man and great woman of God in the image of Jesus Christ from my book, The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics and com-
panion instructional resource, The Strong Man Of God Men’s Group Study. They are available in the Strong Man Store.
3 Death as a consequence of the first man’s sin included separation from fellowship and harmonious community with God (Isaiah 59:1-2) followed by the same among
humanity at every level beginning in the family; working its ruinous end among brothers and spouses (Genesis 4:8; Malachi 2:13-16; Matthew 19:1-8). The Lord Jesus
Christ alone through His death, burial and resurrection has made restoration of life, fellowship and harmonious community with God and among all humanity possible
(John 3:16-17, 11:23-27, 14:6; Romans 5:6-11; Ephesians 2:1-7; 1 Peter 3:8-12).
4 See the August 19, 2018 post, Valuing Human Life, under the category, Biblical Worldview.
5 Read the four-part post beginning February 26, 2017, God Of Restoration And Judgment (and especially part three for which this footnote is specifically made), under
the category, Black History.
Let no one believe I spoke of the death penalty for gang bangers found guilty of murder in some cold, heartless religious detachment in my 2012 Commentary “Curtailing Gang Violence,” under the category, Call To Repentance posted August 12, 2018.1 In the warmest love of God, I am for human life and fervently preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to see dead souls live (Ephesians 2:1-7)! However, urban communities across America are lawless killing fields where too often those not involved in gang conflicts such as children going to and from school are murdered. We all cry and cry and cry, but our sons and some of our daughters too, continue to hurt, maim and kill one another.
As I write in this edited, 2012 follow up Commentary, God has authorized human government to punish evildoers to include putting to death those that murder. This is because human life is of high value to God and He wants us to share His view of ourselves. God knows the horrible track record our nation has with minorities in its justice system and I do too. So, I am surely also calling for reform that brings it into line with His Word and the engagement of revived Christians in advance of prosecuting our sons in death penalty cases. It is hypocritical for us to insist to the world that black lives matter and we do not care enough to turn in and righteously punish our sons that cheaply murder them. The bloodshed in our streets as judgment proves God does not share in this hypocrisy!
Originally Published September 2012
I am not unaware of how those without a biblical worldview among professed black Christians processed advocating the death penalty as a means to deter and curtail gang violence in my August 2012 Commentary. Say what you will about the way of suffering our people have endured, self-destruction through murder as victims is not an appropriate response. This may be what is happening for many, but any so-called Christian and preacher that is only content to rationalize the slaughter rather than preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ and enforcing the divine value placed on human life to curtail it is in complicity! Still, the death penalty is to be done God's way also.
It is true that the devaluing of human life in this land has been going on since the colonizing of what was called a “New World.” Violence played a major role in subduing the Indians and turning captured Africans into slaves. These souls were treated with the utmost contempt in violence and murdered with impunity. After this came the dehumanizing Theory of Evolution and Margret Sanger who wished to control population by way of eugenics. Through the deceitful advocacy of women’s reproductive rights, feticide became national law and blacks now murder our own children in the womb at a higher rate than other groups. Survival in a harsh, often violent urban setting is daily life.
Daily too, is the saturation of violence in the media. Contrary to what a real "Christian nation" with a biblical worldview would look like, America has a history and culture of violence, murder and death that serves as a broader context and contributing factors for gangs among its many outlets. While there is always an outcry when an increase in gang violence and murder occurs, a couple of arrests and short prison terms later rather than being deterred in the main, these men are released morally unchanged to do it all over again. This is a vicious cycle that must and can only be broken when faithful Christians get involved with the Gospel, God's Word, power and accountability.
God Almighty, who declares in His Word without equivocation that He is man's Creator (Genesis 1:26-27), made him and all of creation at the beginning "very good," (Genesis 1:31, NKJV). Made in the image and likeness of God, human life is esteemed by God as the most precious of all since man is to be an eternal son. When man sinned, God, the Son of God and Word wrapped Himself in flesh to effect man's redemption that men of faith may even be raised from the dead to live with God forever (Psalm 49:1-15; John 1:1-5, 14, 10:10, 11:25-27; Hebrews 2:5-18).2 The death of Jesus Christ on the cross thunderously exclaims human life is of inestimable value to God!
Having such esteem for the life of man, after destroying a world of evil and violence (like our own) in Noah's day (Genesis 6:5-22), God gave him and all mankind an irrevocable edict. Man's life is so precious to God that not an animal or any man is to willfully shed his blood. If either creature does kill a man, as governing authorities men under God are to shed that creature's blood; that is, take the responsible animal or man's life as a statement of absolute opposition to the willful killing of a human (Genesis 9:4-6). Later, God in the Ten Commandments declares, "'You shall not murder,'" (Exodus 20:13, NKJV) which Jesus affirms and expands in application (Matthew 5:21-26).
God gave Israel just commandments, laws, statutes and ordinances (and thereby all mankind as a blueprint) for righteously dealing with those who murder. All persons accused of murder must first be given a trial where the facts of the case are determined. Given the historical and blatant corruption of American jurisprudence in the cases of minorities, every jury of peers in murder trials must include a fair number of the accused person's ethnic group or other minorities. There must also be a minimum of two eyewitnesses to consider the death penalty. All penalties must be handed out consistently to be an effective deterrent. Accountability and deterrence are the Lord's goals in the death penalty for murder (Exodus 21:12-14; Numbers 35:9-34; Deuteronomy 19:15-21).
It is now far past the time for Christians to have a biblical worldview on crime in general and gang violence in particular. Our compassion for the community ought to be displayed first in proclaiming the Gospel and God's Word on sin in unity. Our church ministries should be proactive in reaching our boys before they are introduced to gangs.3 They must be taught the truth that a holy God loves them, but hates their sins. Also, they are to value human life as God does or face man's justice and without repentance, His eternal condemnation (1 Peter 2:13-14; Revelation 21:8, 22:12-15). The risen, living Christ continues His cry among American churches, "Who is on the Lord's side?"
1 Have I not confessed to murder in allowing the death of my unborn children as an unsaved youth? Back then I would not have understood why I merited the death
penalty for my crime against humanity, but I do now and appreciate to the fullest measure the grace of God that did not treat my sin as it deserved in the midst of a
society that had legally and falsely decided aborting the unborn is not murder. I did not get away with anything since until my last breath, though forgiven, I must
endure public shame while with others, fighting to persuade our society to return to God’s view of murder in the face of His staggering judgments for refusing!
2 As the Lord leads, I present the reality of the divine eternal purposes and destiny of man as God’s redeemed creature in my book, The Strong Man Of God: Back
To Basics. It is available at all major internet book sellers, by order at your favorite brick and mortar bookstore or in the Strong Man Store.
3 Our Ministry is doing this through our Urban Radio Campaign and its Strong Man Minute Page as well as the Strong Man Academy. We welcome Kingdom dri-
ven Christians and churches that want to support us in the work! This can be securely done on the Give Page of our Web Site.
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