The Scourge Of Racism
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One of the most impressive things about the Man, Christ Jesus, is that He is absolutely serious about living to please and do His Father’s will.1 He is the loving Son of God and acts like it; living as a true Disciple of His Father (Isaiah 50:4-6; John 5:19-23, 8:48-49, 10:30-39, 12:48-50)! Sadly, the same cannot be said for many professed Christian men that relate to the Father and the Lord Jesus mostly from a detached distance. In my book, “The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics,” I teach with the Lord’s leading that aspiring strong men of God in His image are loving sons of God and Christ’s disciples forever!2 As I write in this edited 2010 Commentary, living the faith in real life is about living these roles out now, in spite of the hardships, criticisms and persecution that it provokes.
Originally Published July 2010
I have lost count of the times I have been persecuted with the occasional open, but mostly subtle verbal assaults I receive for seeking to live out biblical Christianity in real life. No longer to my surprise after over thirty years, the persecution I receive is primarily from professed Christians who have found ways to rationalize and justify compromises with or just to boldly corrupt God's Word. I am knocked as the proverbial "goody two shoes"3 that makes all of the contemporary, go with the flow folk including even members of my own family angry because I will not get with the program (Matthew 10:34-39). After all, everybody is doing it. Um, where have I heard that before?4
I take a hard look at the lives of my critics and find absolutely no evidence whatsoever that they have more joy, peace and experience of God's genuine blessing in their lives than I do. Instead, what I do find is a whole lot of heartbreak and needless sorrows because contrary to the narcissistic lie made popular on much of Christian television, God does not exist just to make us happy, healthy, wealthy and whole. But even worse, so many have actually invented their own god and jesus that allows them to do anything they want including sin without consequence.5 As a result, many professed Christian lives and homes mirror those of people that have not professed Christ.
As He made His way toward the city of Jerusalem just days before His crucifixion, the Lord Jesus saw it and wept over it. He grieved because the religious leaders and people were doing everything they could to bring peace to the nation, but they were rejecting Him who was their peace. The end result would be Jerusalem’s and their destruction as occurred in 70 AD (Luke 19:41-44). With the Lord's heart I weep today for many professed Christians and fellow pastors that are doing the same exact thing Israel was with their made up and corrupted forms of Christianity. In the process, they reject the Jesus of the Bible and destroy themselves.
Christianity is not a religion or set of spiritual and moral principles to live by if you like them. It is the authentic, in time response of the living God to our need for deliverance from His righteous wrath toward our rebellion. For what compared to eternity has been a brief historical period, He has given us time to repent and believe on His Son, Jesus Christ, who died for our sins, was buried and raised to life so we might be forgiven and reconciled back to God. Those that do so, become the adopted sons of God who zealously love Him and begin an incredible journey that overflows with the gracious blessings of our Father even in times of difficulty (Galatians 4:6).
Christianity does not make all of our problems and troubles go away. Indeed, as His disciples, we are guaranteed to have tribulation and persecution as we pass through this life on our way to glory (Luke 9:20-26; Acts 14:21-22; 2 Timothy 3:12). However, the Christ of biblical Christianity gives us the spiritual resources to face and overcome this world's troubles through faith in Him (John 16:33). As a result of the very real costs of devotion and suffering for His sake in a fallen, hostile world, the Lord challenges those that would be His disciples to count the cost before signing up to follow Him (Luke 14:25-35).
The aspiring strong man of God in the image of Jesus Christ takes the words, instructions and commandments of our Lord to heart. With a sold out heart in all zeal he seeks to please Him and do His will. He does not twist and corrupt His Master's program to fit his own. Instead, he lives out his faith in and applies the truth of God's Word to every life circumstance he faces. Love, marriage, parenting, extended family, other relationships, the job, athletic fields, politics, social issues etc. are all arenas he lives out his biblical faith without compromise or corruption. Is that you, sir? Please stop calling yourself a Christian if it is not and you are unwilling to repent (Matthew 7:21-23)! The risen, living Christ continues His cry among American churches, "Who is on the Lord's side?"
1 See my January-February 2017 three-part series, Jesus, Son Of Man (and especially part-two posted February 5, 2017 ), under the category, The Cause, to explore
this point further.
2 The book is available at all major internet booksellers, by order at your favorite brick and mortar bookstore or in the Strong Man Store.
3 This is actually the first instance I used this derogatory phrase in commentaries or blog posts since 2010. I decided not to remove it after having already used it in the
January 28, 2018 post, Character Is Required Of Christian Men, under the category, Instruction, because it fully captures the words and attitude of no small number of
those toward me I have encountered over the years from among professed Christian religionists especially.
4 Read the August 26, 2018 post, Worldly Peer Pressure, under the category, Call To Repent.
5 See and/or download the sobering free one page document, The Gods Of Cultural Christianity in the Strong Man Store.
The inward and supernatural character of the New Covenant is what gives rise to the apostle Paul’s rebuke of his fellow 1st century Jews still seeking to relate to God and earn salvation by attempting to keep the Law through their own strength and effort (Romans 2:25-29). Graciously included in the New Covenant, we Gentiles that believe do not have to futilely attempt to keep God’s Law and commandments in our own strength and effort either nor become Jews and practice Jewish rituals to be saved since it is impossible (Romans 3:9-20). But saved exclusively by grace through faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit does His work in us too (Romans 3:21-30; 15:8-13)!
Just because we do not attempt by any means to keep God’s written Law and commandments to be saved in the New Covenant, does not mean God has voided their authority in our lives as Paul makes very plain in His anointed teaching (Romans 3:31, 7:1-14). Indeed, he uses his own experience as a Jewish Christian to illustrate how those “in Christ Jesus” go from futility because of sin in the face God’s written Law and commandments to victory through the Holy Spirit’s ministry in our lives. For not only does He put God’s Law and commandments in our minds and write them on our hearts, but He also fills us with love and power to fulfill and do them (Romans 7:15-8:6; Ephesians 3:14-21, NKJV)!3
This is what is fully behind the apostle’s instruction contrasting the Law as the physical “letter” written on stone that kills and it written on our hearts by the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:1-6, NKJV). By letter in context, he does not mean “the letter of the law” as in legalism (though it too, kills), but as representative of the whole of God’s Law and commandments with the statutes, judgments, ordinances and instructions to Israel in all of the Old Testament as part of their Old Covenant relationship. These are perfect, but kill because no sinful mortal can keep them. Despite that, as Holy Scripture, the Old Testament retains beneficial value as Paul instructs his son in the faith (2 Timothy 3:14-17).
Truly, with new revelation, the instruction by the Lord Jesus, His apostles and New Testament writers the Holy Spirit uses is an elucidation of the Old Testament as seen by how all quote from it; many using the phrase, “it is written.” From this truth, it should be very apparent that unless context or literary form dictate otherwise, the whole Bible is to be objectively understood through literally interpreting and applying it as it is written!4 So, while Christians do not have to keep any Jewish specific laws or rituals, the Holy Spirit leads us to discern and apply their spiritual, moral and ethical dimensions as well as transcendent truths to our lives (Mark 7:14-23; Acts 10:9-16, 24-29; 15:22-29).
Again, by way of example, Christians do not keep the Sabbath observance on the seventh day of the week as God commanded the Jews. Christians may consecrate any day to God for worship and rest before Him as the fullness of spiritual application of the Law taught by the Lord. Each of us enjoys personal liberty in Christ to select a day or many (Romans 14:1-13). By a voluntary consensus, most Christians have chosen to assemble together on the first day of the week as did the apostles (who as Jews, still also went to the Temple or Synagogue on the Sabbath) in homage to the resurrection of our Lord (Acts 3:1, 13:13-15, 20:7; Colossians 2:16-17).
Yet, as spiritual descendents of the 1st century Judaizers the apostle Paul had to contend with, professed Christian religionists have retained Jewish Sabbath keeping and tithing among many other requirements of the Law legalistically insisted upon in their invented forms of Christianity. Too, they have added church covenants, annual days, traditions, rules and regulations that give the outward appearance of religious devotion5 as well as created heretical doctrines upholding immoral behavior such as racism to this hour.6 These are the true legalists that insist on being saved by keeping the Law that exposes and condemns them (Galatians 3:1-14, 4:9-11, 5:1-15; 1 Timothy 1:3-11). They are also rebels in that they read what God actually commands and ignore it to do what they want.
Other rebels do the same and would corruptly have us believe that the parts of God’s Word they select are to be subjectively understood and subject to flexible interpretation and application. A case where this approach is fully evident in these latter days involves the roles of women in the home and churches. With subjective reading into and willful distorting of very plain Scripture texts as well as a high handed dismissal of Christ’s apostles (especially Paul),7 professed Christian men and women that are guilty set aside God’s order of mankind and direct commandments concerning women (1 Corinthians 14:34-37; 1 Timothy 2:11-15). I with others have stood against them on the Word as it is written as I do in my book, The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics and are branded legalists.8
Nevertheless, it should be abundantly clear by now that the spiritual, moral and ethical dimensions along with the transcendent truths of God’s Law and commandments in the whole Bible have not been set aside by Him and Christians are expected to obey them. How could God have this expectation if His Word is not to be interpreted and applied literally? Because this is the case, our Lord Jesus even makes obedience to His commandments the proof of our love for Him (John 14:15-24; 1 John 5:3)!9 Therefore, it is not legalism to obey God’s Word properly interpreted and applied as it is written. For also, as we do so in the Spirit, the fully revealed apex of His New Covenant work is accomplished in us (2 Corinthians 3:7-18)!
Woe then, to the professed Christian rebels who reproach those that obey the Lord’s Word as it is written calling them legalists. Without repentance your judgment is near since you teach rebellion against the Lord and His Word as the false prophets of ancient Judah did (Jeremiah 28, 29:30-32). Hell also waits for the true legalists since you hypocritically ridicule and mock those of 1st century Israel and are just like them; those you even teach about that receive the Lord’s harshest words of condemnation (Matthew 23:1-33)! Those that "twist" and set aside God’s Word will not escape the eternal fire either (2 Peter 3:9-16, NKJV). “Blessed” are the Lord’s obedient (Revelation 22:12-17, NKJV)! The risen, living Christ continues His cry among American churches, "Who is on the Lord's side?"
3 In the image of Christ, faithful Christians are enabled by the Holy Spirit to love God and neighbor which distilled down to those two commandments as the Lord and the
apostle Paul teach, fulfills the whole Law of God (Mark 12:28-34; Romans 13:8-10)!
4 The Lord has led me to prepare a free self-paced video course, Fruitful Bible Study, teaching among other things Seven Principles Of Bible Interpretation that will be helpful in properly interpreting the Bible. View the course introduction at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uufAkc3aYSc.
5 A perfect example here is the rule of celibacy Roman Catholicism has imposed on its priests. Neither the Lord Jesus or His apostles anywhere in the New Testament
of the Bible teach celibacy as a requirement for any but the relative few God gifts and calls (Matthew 19:9-12; 1 Corinthians 7:1-9). For the record, a formal priesthood
of the flesh is not taught either. The sexual abuse scandals that continue to rock this form of Christianity are a direct result of the legalism of manmade religion which
sinfully goes beyond God to add and impose on men a requirement He does not!
6 Catholic and Protestant religionists equally share responsibility for enabling and propping up American slavery and other forms of the historic oppression of blacks and
other minorities rooted not in God’s Word, but sinful racism out of the human heart. Read my September 4, 2016 post, Christianity The Religion American Style, under
the category, Call To Repent.
7 Besides disrespecting apostolic authority, professed Christian male and female feminists pervert New Testament Scripture related to the roles of women in the
churches by attempting to claim Paul among the apostles are captives of their historical context and human in origin social customs that drive their teachings on the
subject. Such a conclusion undermines all New Testament teaching (including that of Christ who does so in the 1st century as a Jewish Man) and blasphemes the Holy
Spirit as an inconsistent, inattentive and sloppy Inspirer and Compiler of Scripture (2 Timothy 3:1-5, 16; 2 Peter 1:16-21).
8 The book is available at all major internet booksellers, by order at your favorite brick and mortar bookstore or in the Strong Man Store. The Lord has had me set forth
the divine good intent involved with His order of mankind and roles of men and women in my book and many blog posts including most recently, those made April 15-
May 20, 2018 under the category, God's creatures.
9 Read the September 2014 posts on obedience beginning with, Selective Obedience, under the category, Call To Repent. Aspiring strong men and great women of God
in the image of Christ even with many sin failures (confessed, repented of, forgiven and cleansed through His blood--1 John 1:9) are eager to obey God’s Word as it is
written exactly because we love Him--our Savior and Lord--so much (Luke 7:36-50)!
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