The Scourge Of Racism
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There is the Church and there are the churches. So very sadly, the two are not equivalent in all cases throughout the earth especially where the churches are the product of Christianity the religion of men! That said, let us be clear that the declaration of Matthew 16:18 from the lips of the Lord Jesus does not apply to the churches as institutions of men, but His Church. His Church are all who have come to Him by repentance and faith in the Gospel--His death on the cross for our sins, burial and eternal resurrection on the third day after (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). As is commonly known, the Greek word the Lord uses for “Church” is Ekklesia which generally means a called out assembly.
From the earliest eye witnesses of Him raised from the dead to every soul that will receive their proclamation of the Gospel and testimony to the end of this season of grace, all are assembled to Christ as His Church on earth and in Heaven after death (1 Corinthians 15:5-11). When He returns in awesome glory and power we all shall be gathered to Him in the sky and remain with Him as His Church forever (Matthew 24:29-31; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 2 Thessalonians 1:3-12)! This is the assembly of whom Christ speaks when He, based on who He is declares, “…on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it,” (Matthew 16:13-18, NKJV).
Not only does the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ to immortal glory validate His ability to fulfill His declaration, but the Father has given Him all authority both in Heaven and on earth as well as over Hades and Death (Matthew 28:19; Revelation 1:18). It goes without saying (yet, I say so anyway because of the widespread rebellion against His rule and disobedience in the churches) that Christ is also the Head of His Church (Ephesians 1:22-23; Colossians 1:18)! Therefore, the Church triumphant here and now and forever is an assured reality regardless of what goes on in this life or death because Christ our Head has already triumphed for us and reigns!
Many sinning professing Christians in the churches are confused about and wrongly apply to themselves, the victories of the faithful saints assembled to Christ by persevering faith and obedience as the Church. It is not just saying one is a Christian and getting baptized that saves, but it is living as one for life. As dirt and improper handling leaves spots and wrinkles on white garments, so, sin on sinners! Christ sacrificed Himself to purify for Himself a Church, a Bride without “spot or wrinkle” (Ephesians 5:25-27; Revelation 19:7-9, NKJV). So, where do unrepentant professing Christians willfully practicing sin in unbelief driven disobedience get off thinking they are fine with Christ?
Besides the fact many are impostors and religionists devoid of the Spirit practicing Christianity the religion of men in their churches who have invented for themselves doctrines of eternal security, there is also a great number of professing American Christians who have both culturally conditioned the faith and been conditioned through compromises with secular culture to believe in the concept of “American Exceptionalism.” From its secular and religious use, the concept expresses the idea that our nation has been uniquely raised up by God and graciously given such values as embodied in the founding documents and the national character along with prosperity and might as a world leader, to assure all of this from Him in perpetuity.
While I, with thanksgiving, have marveled with fellow citizens of like mind at the historic grace, prosperous blessing and might God has bestowed on our nation in spite of its many past sins to include legally sanctioning the oppression of my forefathers and present moral declension, His Word prophetic and otherwise precludes any of this continuing in perpetuity (Proverbs 14:34; Jeremiah 25:15-33). This being so, it is foolish for any professing Christian to bank on American Exceptionalism as a means to comfort themselves about the nation’s future, their escape from divine judgment for sin or for that matter, persecution as our brothers in other nations are now enduring.
Neither heretically constructed doctrines of eternal security or American Exceptionalism provide escape from divine wrath for unrepentant sinning professing Christians in the churches or our sinful nation. Those who say the contrary are false prophets of peace like the ones of ancient Israel the Lord condemned (Jeremiah 23:16-22); those that believe them are deceived (Galatians 6:7-8).
Too, the victory of Christ’s Church is not to have escaped persecution for His sake (Revelation 6:9-11), but in spite of it, to be gloriously displayed as immortal king/priests with Him at His appearing (2 Thessalonians 2:13-14, Revelation 20:4-6)! These are the saints who during their earthly sojourn as aspiring strong men and great women of God in the image of Christ faithfully served Him; loving Him more than their own lives (Matthew 10:34-39; 2 Timothy 4:6-8; Revelation 12:9-11). The risen, living Christ continues His cry among American churches, “Who is on the Lord’s side?”
With the Lord, I find sadly humorous those professing Christian leaders that exalt and admire the Old Testament prophets for their at times very harsh rebuke of Israel in sin who then turn around and condemn the contemporary prophets in this New Testament era sent to them for so easily finding critical things to say about the churches in sin declaring, “God is about love.” Hypocrites! Most assuredly “God is love” (1 John 4:8, NKJV), but He is also holy, righteous and just and therefore, judges sin wherever it is found including among those who profess to know Him as His people (Hebrews 10:30-31).
It is because God loved Israel that He sent the prophets to warn them of His judgment for their sins if they might repent, but they did not (2 Chronicles 36:15-16). It is because God loves sinners that He sent Christ into the world to die for our sins so that those who believe might be removed from eternal condemnation on the condition of their continuing faith and mutual love motivated obedience (John 3:16-21, 5:24, 14:19-24; 1 John 3:4-9). Otherwise, there is no other remedy for practicing sinners whether they never place faith in Christ or “draw back” from it in disobedience (John 8:21-24; Hebrews 10:26-29, 35-39, NKJV). Even so, our gracious God is ready to forgive the repentant!
Not the proud man who stubbornly resists admitting he has been wrong, but it is the man who humbles himself in brokenness and repentance from his sins that enjoys God’s grace in forgiveness (Psalm 32:1-5, 51:16-17; Proverbs 3:34; Isaiah 57:15; James 4:4-10; 1 Peter 5:5-6). If you, Christian leader that is guilty, will not repent seeking to save face among other reasons in the flesh, be reminded that knowing the right thing to do, but refusing to do it is sin (James 4:17). Also, as you have no doubt proclaimed to others, pride and haughtiness precede destruction (Proverbs 16:18). Know too for a certainty that God has warned and called you to repentance through this His servant and yours in the 2013 blog series on worship and this edited epilogue He led me to post. As a result, I fulfill the ministry He in love for you called me to (Ezekiel 33:1-11; Romans 12:3-8; 2 Timothy 4:1-5)!
Originally Posted September 29, 2013
In wrapping up the series of blogs the Lord led me to write entitled, Worshipping God Without God beginning September 8, 2013 there were a number of things that were left unsaid that I now present in a series of short statements.
To the triune God, Maker of the heavens and the earth, my God, my hope, my joy and my life; to You be my heartfelt worship, praise and adoration for all of who You are and all of your goodness to me both now and forever--Amen! Father, there is no one greater! Lord Jesus, my Savior and Champion: how awesome You are and pleased I am to praise You forever as one eternally grateful for your work to save a wretch like me! Holy Spirit, my constant Companion and Helper: thank You for bringing the love of the triune God to me and making possible my expression of it back to You! O God, you deserve so much better than what You are being offered as worship from us on earth.
To my Jewish brothers in Christ for whom I rejoice and am well pleased to be among and share as a Gentile in God’s salvation through grace by faith effected as of a first priority for you (Romans 1:16): you are of God’s continuing elect of your people since the earliest Jewish disciples that have enjoyed the initial realization of His promises in Christ (Romans 11:1-15) who is the Son of God and David soon to return to sit on His throne at Jerusalem (Psalm 110:1-2; Matthew 22:41-46).
As He spoke to the woman at the well “salvation is of the Jews,” so is everything pertaining to it historically (John 4:22; Romans 9:1-5, NKJV) and in the prophetic future yet to be fulfilled through Christ that true worshippers among the Gentiles celebrate with you (Isaiah 49:22-23; Zechariah 8:20-23). To the extent this is not true among any Gentiles professing to be Christians, forgive their willful ignorance and very importantly, do not compromise what you know is right from God’s Word following after their corruptions especially in worship! Instead, you who have suffered double persecution, lead the way before us in what pleases God through your obedience as did your first century Jewish predecessors, the Lord’s apostles most prominent among them (Revelation 3:7-9).
To my white brothers especially of Conservative Evangelicalism who are guilty not as you judge, but God: loving me and all of your black brothers has not been given to you as an option by God. It is commanded! Therefore, all failure to love your brothers in the Body of Christ is willful disobedience. As a result, your covert racism toward black Americans (trotting all over the third world helping and taking pictures with Africans and other people of color does not remove your guilt) causes you not only to continue to offer up polluted worship to God that is rejected, but many professors of Christ among you have died and will die entering eternity without Him because of clinging to it (Matthew 7:21-23; 1 John 3:10-15).
Also, the love Christ commands is not to be just words spoken insincerely in theory, but backed up by deeds (1 John 3:16-24). Repent now so God may send Holy Ghost revival that will supply His love to the many cold, dead hearts unable to love your brothers of color as equals and on an equal basis as you love yourselves. Nevertheless, many that read this will perish refusing to obey the call to repentance because it is coming from a black man. Surely, God is wise in all of His ways (Proverbs 27:12)!
To my black brothers in all of the major denominations caught up in Christianity the religion of men passed down to you by your former masters who are guilty: you pride yourselves on being free from the control of white men. So then, who is now holding you captive to carry on all of your traditional practices that cancel out obedience to the Word of God as it is written and pollute your world renowned, enthusiastically offered worship to God; worship which only pleases you and those entertained by all of your performance not God? While it is true from God’s Word that “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” (2 Corinthians 3:17, NKJV), the Spirit will never sanction sin or lead God’s people to sin in offering worship polluted through disobedience (1 John 1:5-7).
If you are truly free in Christ, then realize you are free to serve Him faithfully and obediently as a lifestyle of worship as He requires and not just a Sunday only affair where performers help you get your happy on! Also, our Christian slave forefathers learned singing to God lifts burdened hearts not as some cathartic release induced by the singing itself, but through the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit in faith filled hearts fulfilling the words of Christ found in Matthew 11:25-30. Repent, therefore, from your “old time religion,” wicked ways practiced even on Sunday and any bitterness of heart toward your white brothers in Christ which has already sent many to Hell, so you may offer up an authentic worship to God (Mark 11:25-26; Hebrews 12:12-17).
Finally, to my sisters in Christ who are guilty especially those of my own race and culture that beyond question have all of the right stuff in spiritual fervor and leadership skills to lead anybody’s worship of God: repent and voluntarily relinquish your leading of the worship of the whole church! Remember the divine response to Miriam when she challenged the leadership calling of her brother, Moses, and Sapphira when she blindly followed in the sin of her husband (Numbers 12; Acts 5:1, 7-10).
Your fervor for God, desire and ability to lead His worship is not somehow wasted because He has not elected you to lead the whole church in usurpation of men whom He has chosen. Thinking like this comes from the sinful flesh; a desire to be seen and heard by mortal flesh rather than the eternal God who has put His holy fire in you and called you to honor Him first with submission in this present age (Luke 1:38)! It is not about you in performance, but it is about what God has required for His own worship (1 Corinthians 14:34-37).
As an aspiring great woman of God in the image of Christ, pleasing Him in love and obedience should be your highest concern (John 14:15). Stop letting Satan deceive you into believing out of a rebellious, worldly feminist disgruntlement that you are being short changed by glory hogging men that want the spotlight all to themselves. Woe to any man in the flesh that is doing this as a worship leader or preacher! Instead, like Miriam before her sin, joyfully lead your daughters as well as fellow sisters in the churches, prisons and scattered as lost sheep in the community who need your fervor for Christ and leadership among them (Exodus 15:20-21). Your faith, submission, self-control and service will be richly rewarded by the Lord here and now as well as eternally if you will obey!
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