Strong Man Of God Blog

          God is awesome beyond human words to express, for even in the judgment of His “wrath” as the prophet prays, He does “remember mercy,” (Habakkuk 3:1-2, NKJV)!  Consequently, a remnant of Israel will be forgiven in accord with His grace at the return of Christ and because “He delights in mercy,” (Psalm 103:8-10; Micah 7:16-20; Zechariah 12:10-13:1, NKJV).  In parallel with Samson’s story as I write about in The Scourge Of Racism¹ and biblical revival spurred by repentance among those of ancient Judah at the time of Hezekiah the king, the Lord is displaying grace and mercy to those of His Church that with humbled hearts return to Him during the adversities of His judgment.²

          I will leave it to the reader of this post to discover the particulars surrounding the parallel story of the American Church with the Bible’s physically strong man, Samson (Judges 13-16).³  Suffice it to say here that although Samson had failed the Lord miserably in his spiritual weakness leading to utter humiliating disgrace, God showed him grace at his end such that he had a final outstanding fulfillment of his calling and mission.  The Church of Jesus Christ exists on earth at all and in America not by the will of sinful flesh, but His (Matthew 16:13-18)!⁴  God has made Him the Head (Ephesians 1:22-23; Colossians 1:15-18).  Many over the centuries have willfully forgotten these biblical truths.

          Like Samson who started out well, during the assembling years of those fleeing the corruption and turmoil of Europe’s Catholic and Protestant versions of counterfeit Christianity to what would become America, there were some who nobly set out and did the will of Christ as His Church.  Others--many others, did not as evidenced by the ignoble history of American slavery, followed after the Lord’s severe rebuke with Jim Crow Segregation which still found ways to violently oppress former slaves and others of color as even spiritual brothers and through the active overt arrogance of racial bigotry and discrimination by some; covert complicity through silence by many to this very hour.

          As He led me to write in several previous posts, the Lord is now, moving through His Church in judgment for not only tolerating, practicing and enabling the gross sin of racism, but being so spiritually unfaithful as to serve other gods in idolatry, brazenly stand with the world in rebellion against God’s order of mankind from creation and indulge the sexually immoral among others.⁵  As has the Church’s sins, Samson’s finally caught up to him as the Lord in judgment allowed him to suffer the full weight of their consequences.  After a little season though, the Lord showed Samson grace and mercy by letting him go out (die) fulfilling his calling and mission as intended once more.

          Similarly, the Lord extends grace and mercy with bona fide biblical revival to His humbled (remnant to be sure) American Church in the midst of the escalating adversities allowed as part of His judgment.  There is so much unnecessary confusion in the use of the word “revival” today.  It is used by many especially in Christian media to indicate any apparent event where the activity of God seems to be at work to excite an assembly of people.⁶  But while everything having to do with the saving and reviving of souls is the supernatural activity of God at work, biblical revival follows His judgment on those already His people, their humble repentance from sin and deeds freshly empowered by Him.

          What happened with ancient Judah under king Hezekiah is a perfect example.  Following behind the evil deeds of his father, king Ahaz, who had worshipped other gods, sacrificed some of his children to the fire, destroyed articles of, trashed and shut down the Temple putting the priests out of work and leading to God’s severe judgment on the nation (2 Chronicles 28), Hezekiah went the other direction and cultivated a heart of faithfulness to Him.  He called upon the priests and Levites to repent and commanded they clean up God’s Temple (2 Chronicles 29:1-19).  He then, directed these men to restore worship and led out with other city leaders to participate (2 Chronicles 29:20-36).  After this He called all Israel and Judah to commemorate Passover at the Temple (2 Chronicles 30).

          Having freshly encountered God through repentance and revival of spirit, the people went forth to tear down the implements of idolatry in the land.  The king also saw to it that the Temple and the men God had ordained to serve Him there were taken care of wherever they lived.  As is typical of authentic revival that takes place in the heart, the king served God “with all his heart.  So he prospered,” (2 Chronicles 31, NKJV).  Such revival could have occurred in the American Church years ago, but holding on to the sin of racism among others has prevented it until now.  Proud and obstinate, many have not been willing to receive correction.⁷  However, the severe adversities the Lord in judgment is permitting will change this (Isaiah 57:15, 66:1-2; James 4:1-10; 1 Peter 5:6-11).

1 The  book  is  available  in this  Ministry’s  Web Site Stores including the Strong Man Store, all major internet booksellers and brick and mortar bookstores.  View the short
   book trailer.

2 Watch  this  Ministry’s  Strong Man Of God Online Rally, Return To The Lord.  It is one of the ways the Lord is presently manifesting His grace and mercy; appealing to His
   professed people as Christians who have strayed from or are not living for Him with a sold out heart to return!

3 Greater  are  the men that are spiritually strong in the image of Jesus Christ as I write about in my book, The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics!  The Hard or Soft Cover
   or E-Book Editions are available in the Strong Man Store, all major internet booksellers and brick and mortar bookstores.

4 While the Lord declares in the passage cited regarding His Church, “and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (VS. 18, NKJV), this does not mean as some I have
   heard  assert  that destructive evil He permits cannot assail and even diminish it on earth!  What He means is “the dead in Christ” which includes every faithful believer and
   martyr  from  the  first  century  until  He  returns are with Him in Heaven, not Hades where those who don’t know Him go when they die to await the judgment (Matthew 11:
   20-24; John 14:1-3, 17:24; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Hebrews 12:18-24; Revelation 6:9-11, 7:9-17, NKJV).

5 Read the July 9, 2023 post, Corrupt Christians Not Hidden From God, the one on July 23, 2023, The Nations Do Not Impress God, both under the category, Call To Repent
   and the September 24, 2023 post, Racism In Christ’s Church A No-No, under the category, Instruction.

6 See the July 16, 2023 post, God Saves While Judging, under the category, Call To Repent.

7 The Scourge Of Racism, Copyright 2023, ODCM Publishing Division, Portland, OR, p. 57-58.

          “God is righteously at work in His house through judgment.”  This is what He led me to write and explain in a post earlier this year as well as warn again of in the opening paragraph of last week’s.¹  And why?  The tolerance and practice of the sin of racism led out over four centuries by the guilty majority of professed white Christians in the Church that also enabled it in the larger society is one of several very serious reasons the Lord has brought judgment.  While due to taking racism lightly some in evangelicalism are incredulous and dismissive concerning any judgment from the Lord because of it, He for that reason and other Church sins is about to take His judgment to another level!

          I warn about the Lord’s judgment in my updated book, The Scourge Of Racism.²  That His judgment should amaze a professed Christian demonstrates such a one does not know the Lord from His Word or in relationship!  From Genesis to Revelation God is shown to judge sin, disobedience or insubordination if you will (Genesis 2:15-17, 3:17-19; Revelation 2:12-17).  There is not a sinful fallen human organization on earth that will long tolerate insubordination before punishing it!  Even lions and wolves punish their insubordinate.  So, how is it anyone supposedly acquainted with Christ would presume He would not judge any sin as insubordination and much more racism in His Church?

          The guilty have made this false presumption about Christ concerning racism in the Church from colonial times as they also make it today in the face of His very direct and specific commandment through the apostle Paul regarding the role of women (John 13:34-35; 1 Corinthians 14:34-37): because they want to!  They mistaken the Lord’s slowness to judge for permission to sin instead of what it really is, “forbearance, and longsuffering” to give time for them to repent (Luke 13:6-9; Romans 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9, NKJV).  Otherwise, the guilty have not gone nor will they go unpunished by the Lord without repentance.  Moreover, the whole Church suffers when the Lord judges as He does now.

          The American Civil War not only divided the nation, but churches and denominations too!  The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) owes its name to a split among white Baptists in favor of retaining slavery shortly before the brief, but bloody and destructive war over it as judgment from the Lord after years of resisting His will to abolish it.³  Centuries of Church toleration, practice and enablement of now, systemic racism helped pave the way for the rebellion that erupted a generation ago and set in motion radical feminism, sexual deviance and gender confusion.  These all subvert the family and its order as God designed and is leading to the nation’s swiftly paced ruin.  Sin has consequences!

          Another clear consequence of widespread insubordination in the Church is seen too, at this moment: dwindling memberships, the death of local churches and loss of cultural influence.  If the people who profess to know Christ do not obey His Word, how can it be expected that unbelievers will?  And as it concerns racism, I point out in The Scourge Of Racism, the world is shamefully doing better than the Church in its flawed attempt to deal with it!⁴  White conservative evangelical and Southern Baptist Seminary President, Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr., points out the Church’s very existence is threatened when the authority of Scripture and by implication obedience to it are surrendered.⁵

          Of course, consistent with the typical priority focus on other important select moral issues by conservative white evangelicals and the SBC currently the nation’s largest Protestant denomination, racism is not dealt with by Dr. Mohler in his book I refer to in the preceding paragraph.  Though racism may not be a priority moral issue for conservative white evangelicals and the SBC, my book among a growing number of others addressing this willful lapse trumpets it is for the Lord!⁶  As I write about in my book, conservative white evangelical in-house silence on racism is fed by a continued toleration and widespread practice of it among guilty leaders and members;⁷ silence that also held sway while sexual predators preyed on church members and allowed women to become pastors.⁸

          Contrary to popular professed Christian opinion, Jesus Christ is not a marshmallow!  Along with His continuing work to save throughout our nation, “the LORD strong and mighty” at the end of His forbearance and longsuffering is about to intensify His judgment upon His American Church (Psalm 24:7-10, NKJV).⁹  More churches that should be discipling new converts are going to die because the Lord can no longer trust them to do so with fidelity to His Word (Matthew 23:15).¹⁰  More frequent and devastating calamities upon the nation many of His professed people love more than Him are coming.  Finally, more intense resistance to evangelicalism’s demand for secular society to submit to biblical morality while many of them do not is on the way with greater persecution!

  1 See the April 30, 2023 post, God’s Warning To Non-Christians, Pt. 1 and Healing Racism’s Wounds In The Church, both under the category, Call To Repent. 

  2 The book is now widely available in this Ministry’s Web Site Stores including the Strong Man Store, all major internet booksellers and brick and mortar bookstores.  View
     the short book trailer.

  3 Read the February 12, 2023 post, Leaders Can Get Their Nations In Trouble, under the category, Call To Repent. 

  4 The Scourge Of Racism, Copyright 2023, ODCM Publishing Division, Portland, OR, p. 15-18, 47-48.

  5 See  The  Gathering Storm, Secularism, Culture And The Church by R. Albert Mohler, Jr., Copyright 2020, Nelson Books, Nashville, p. 34.  On the same page Dr. Mohler
     writes,  “Where  you find a church, you find a community committed to the Bible.  If not, you have not found a church.”  Sobering truth every pastor jumping on the band-
     wagon of insubordination to Christ and His biblical commandments as written should fearfully consider!

  6 Read the September 24, 2023 post, Racism In Christ’s Church A No-No, under the category, Instruction.

  7 I  spent  over  thirty  years  of  my Christian life with the SBC and talk about its issues with racism in my updated book.  In-house silence precludes hypocritically taking a
     stand  against  racism  in  the larger society which is why it must be repented from now, with all other sins in returning to Him!  Truly, racism is equally egregious in its of-
     fense to God as all other transgression, sin and iniquity.  Watch our Strong Man Of God Online Rally, Return To The Lord for Christians.

  8 The widely reported and dealt with at the convention level cover up of sexual impropriety in many of their churches by SBC leaders has publically at least, rebuked the si-
     lence  concerning this iniquity.  It has also righteously led to an emboldened stand against churches flagrantly defying Scripture and being insubordinate through enabling
     women to become pastors, lead and take authority over men (1 Timothy 2:11-3:13; Titus 1:1-16; Hebrews 13:8; Revelation 2:18-23).

  9 Jesus Christ is the Strong Man of God and role model for every Christian man I write about in my book, The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics.  The Hard or Soft Cover
     or E-Book Editions are available in the Strong Man Store, all major internet booksellers and brick and mortar bookstores.

10 New  converts  are  easily  taught  and  mentored in person by spiritually maturing individuals as has always been done or in this technologically sophisticated age, online
     (Acts 18:24-28).  As He showed during the pandemic, local churches--especially ones sinning against Him--are not so essential Christ cannot do without them (Revelation
     2:1-7, 3:14-22)!