The Scourge Of Racism
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One of the important tasks God has assigned aspiring strong men and great women of God in the image of Jesus Christ is to stand in every generation against the barrage of assaults upon the historicity, mission and literal resurrection from the dead of our Lord Jesus Christ! Tied to the doubt about the possibility of His resurrection, of course, is His bodily ascension into Heaven and this whole business of the unseen spiritual realm. While God in His infinite wisdom has cloaked the spiritual realm from our natural observation at this present time in His plans for mankind, He has not left us without some knowledge and insight about it in His Word (2 Kings 6:15-17)!
Without exception, though, no man can begin to glean the slightest appreciation for God, His power even to raise the dead, the unseen eternal spiritual realm He inhabits or the things therein unless he is first willing to believe that He is. For faith is the normative prerequisite for seeing God and His power through the general and special revelation of His Word as written testimony (Psalm 19:1-6; Habakkuk 2:4; Mark 5:21-43; Romans 1:16-20; Hebrews 11:1-7)! Thus, this edited 2013 blog repost and the three to follow are intended to edify, encourage and inspire rejoicing in faithful Christians as aspiring strong men and great women of God in Christ’s image that continue to celebrate the eye opening events on and which follow Resurrection Sunday. Keep standing, beloved; keep standing!
Originally Posted April 7, 2013
That “the Lord God Omnipotent” is able to raise the dead should not be of any issue whatsoever for anyone that even just acknowledges the existence of God (Revelation 19:6, NKJV). However, to make a valid case against the power of God to raise the dead unbelievers and professing Christian scoffers as impostors, willful and de facto apostates alike must overcome the towering hope of ancient men of faith and important historical narrative witness recorded in the Old Testament of the Bible that precedes that of the New Testament centering upon the Lord Jesus Christ.
Of course, they try anyway because they must find a way (any way) to justify their unbelief and the heavy weight of sin guilt and condemnation that otherwise awaits them in refusing to accept the divine testimony preserved in Holy Scripture. Born again, faithful Christians rejoice to have the testimony of the Word and inner working of the Holy Spirit to appreciate the awesome power of God to accomplish whatever is His will (Jeremiah 32:16-27; Luke 1:30-37; Ephesians 2:1-7)!
Indeed, the book of Job may be the oldest in the Bible. Job in great affliction and distress of soul nevertheless, expresses hope in his own bodily resurrection from the dead accomplished by God when he says: “For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth; and after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns within me,” (Job 19:25-27, NKJV)! God, the Redeemer here is none other than Jesus Christ! Faith in God’s power to do the impossible including raising the dead is typical of the Old Testament saints (Hebrews 11:30-40) but for brevity’s sake, consider two more.
The great patriarch and father of faith, Abraham, was commanded of God as a test to sacrifice to Him his promised son, Isaac (Genesis 22:1-10). In commenting on Abraham’s state of mind during the test, the writer of Hebrews states: “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac…concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead,” (Hebrews 11:17-19, NKJV). King David was presented a glorious promise by God of an eternal Descendant to sit upon his throne. Being a prophet of the Lord, he was blessed to offer up prophetic utterance concerning his future Descendant captured in many of his Psalms.
In Psalm 16 quoted by Peter on the Day of Pentecost in the aftermath of Christ’s resurrection and ascension, the voice of David’s future Son is heard through him expressing confidence that God will not leave His body dead or His spirit in the realm of the departed. He says, “My flesh also will rest in hope. For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. You will show me the path of life,” (Psalm 16:9b-11a; Acts 2:22-32, NKJV). Finally, there are narrative resurrection accounts featuring two of God’s well known Old Testament prophets, Elijah and his understudy, Elisha and alluded to in Hebrews 11:35.
The Lord answered the intercessory acts and prayer of Elijah to raise a dead boy to life so that the joy filled prophet exclaimed to his mother, ‘“See, your son lives,’” (1 Kings 17:17-24, NKJV)! While it was a bit more involved, sometime later after Elijah’s whirlwind ride into glory, Elisha also was God’s vessel for displaying His power to raise another woman’s son from the dead (2 Kings 4:8-37). The God who created the heavens, earth and all living things has the power to kill and make alive again (Genesis 1:1; Deuteronomy 32:39; 1 Samuel 2:6)! Therefore, the issue of believing whether God raised Christ from the dead is not can He, it is will the person hearing the Gospel believe it or not to the saving of his soul (John 3:16-21; 1 Corinthians 15:1-20)?
Far from the supposedly hope quenching gloom and doom view of Bible prophecy foretelling the apocalyptic end of this present world as we have known it even many professed Christians hold, is the gloriously bright reality captured in the phrase, “the Lord reigns,” (Psalms 93:1, 96:10-12, 97:1-9, 99:1-3; Revelation 19:6, NKJV)! These three words are exclaimed on the earth and in every other realm of existence after the victory of Jesus Christ at Jerusalem!1 Indeed, elect, mortal Israel and surviving Gentiles of His grace are urged to join the glorified immortal saints in joyful celebration of the King; singing His praises with awe and jubilation (Psalms 47, 98, 100, 150:1-4; Isaiah 12)!
As the faithful reflect from this mortal vantage point prior to the coming Day of the Lord, it is beyond tragically sad that all of humanity does not accept God’s free offer of salvation and restoration through repentance and faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ! For knowing the end from the beginning, salvation and restoration has been in God’s heart from eternity when He saw that man would sin. Giving His creature free will, God also saw that many would exercise it and reject His gracious offer of pardon with immortal glory. For this reason, any sadness we have now should move the faithful to proclaim the Gospel and witness Christ to unsaved fellow humanity with all the more zeal!
For truly, we of all people have known from God’s Word that deliverance from and an end to this present evil age governed by fallen angels was finally going to come. Rule over the earth or any part of physical creation was not intended for them, but man under the sovereign and righteous reign of God (Genesis 1:26; Psalm 8). However, Adam rejected God’s rule (Genesis 2:16-17, 3:1-6)! Nevertheless, the Day of the Lord was telegraphed in His foretelling of Satan’s defeat by the Seed of the woman (Genesis 3:15)! Patient and longsuffering over the millennia, God first celebrates restoration of His Kingdom rule through Christ outside 1st century Jerusalem (Colossians 2:11-15).
Doing my assigned Kingdom work with many tears for the lost and disobedient professed Christians along the way, I gladly leave it behind for a moment and in God’s will come to the foretold second celebration of His rule restored by Christ at Jerusalem! With His prophetic Word, faith and Kingdom vision causing me to be in attendance, I join in the celebration--shouting, clapping, dancing and singing praises to King Jesus; yes, in unrestrained joy shouting with all of my voice “the Lord reigns, He reigns forever and ever!” “All glory, praises and honor be unto Him!” Then, like David, with total abandon I dance before the “King of glory,” (2 Samuel 6:12-15; Psalm 24, NKJV)!
Subsequently, I realize again I and all of the saints around me are shining with God’s glory and explode in fresh inexpressible joy--yet, I am expressing it fully (Daniel 12:2-3; Matthew 13:41-43; 1 Corinthians 15:47-49, 54-57; 1 Peter 1:3-9)!2 My slave forefathers may have truthfully sung “nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen.” On this Day, though, everyone under, on and positioned over the earth knows my joy in the Lord with all of the saints for His victory; vindicating our faith, hope and suffering in Him (2 Thessalonians 1:3-12)!3 “Glory to God; glory to the ‘King of Kings and Lord of Lords’ who reigns and alone is worshipped forever more” (Zechariah 14:9, 16-19; Revelation 11:16, NKJV)!
As foretold, the King One with the Holy Spirit will reign in the reverence of His Father in truth, righteous judgment, unimpeachable justice that punishes wicked mortals in accord with what their sins deserve, divine wisdom, knowledge, strength, perfect fairness, impartiality and tenderness toward the meek (Deuteronomy 32:3-4; Psalm 99:4-5; Isaiah 9:6-7, 11:1-5; Matthew 5:5). Men will be taught the ways of the Lord and from Jerusalem His law will go forth throughout all the earth. In consequence, under His rule a real, thorough and lasting peace will prevail on the earth. Men will turn their weapons into tools and study war no more forever. The ferocity and carnivorous behavior of related plants and animals will cease (Isaiah 2:1-4; 11: 6-10; 65:24-25; Micah 4:1-3)!
The King will rule over mortal men with a “rod of iron” from His glorious throne at Jerusalem; elevated in height and beauty by Him (Psalm 2:8-9; Zechariah 14:8, 10-11; Revelation 19:15, NKJV). And we, His saints, shall reign on the earth with Him in all of the same character qualities and governance as He (Psalm 150:5-9; Daniel 7:26-27; Revelation 1:4-6, 2:26-29, 5:9-10, 20:4-6)! “Glory, glory to God for His awesome vindication of His faithful; of those that endured to the end proclaiming the Gospel to restore men and standing firm on His Word!”4 If only all professed Christians today could truly believe that what is unfolding in the world--great evil, a creation in labor pains and His coming wrath--is heading toward the exceedingly better Day of God’s Kingdom restored to earth!
1 I acknowledge that I with many other prophecy teachers and authors have conveniently named earth’s final war, “Armageddon” as is the case in my December 20, 2015 re-post, Reigning With Christ On Earth, under the category, Bible Prophecy that I recommend be read along with this present post. Technically, though, Armageddon is the hill or tel of Megiddo in northern Israel overlooking plains easily corresponding to the prophet Joel’s “Valley of Jehoshaphat” (Joel 3:1-2, NKJV). It serves as the ma- jor assembly area, staging ground and launch point of the world’s armies with Antichrist for war against Israel and Jerusalem. Christ descends upon the Mount Of Olives immediately in front of Jerusalem on the east and engages the enemy there delivering it while also overseeing His swift victory in the war actually raging all over Israel in- cluding Armageddon and around it (Isaiah 63:1-6). Then my Lord the King will enter Jerusalem to great acclamation as before, but this time on a white horse and with all knowing in absolute certainty who He is (Matthew 21:1-11, 23:37-39; Revelation 19:11)!
2 See the July 31, 2016 blog, The Immortal Bodies Of God’s Eternal Sons, under the category, God’s Creatures to learn more about the glorious immortal bodies of the saints!
3 Read the November 29, 2015 blog, When The Glory Comes, under the category, Glory To God!
4 Check out the Give Page on our Web Site to see how you can support the ongoing work of Strong Man Ministries to restore men.
Angels are “ministering spirits” according to Scripture whose natural form as created by God is solely spirit (Psalm 104:4; Hebrews 1:7, 14, NKJV). But man was created by God to be housed in a body whether of composition from the dust of the earth as the first Adam or of eternal spirit as the Second Adam, Jesus Christ from Heaven who was made mortal to suffer death in saving fallen mankind and resurrected to immortal glory (Genesis 2:7; 1 Corinthians 15:44b-50)! Therefore, it is unnatural for man to be disembodied, yet, God has permitted it as the temporary experience and consequence of sin (Genesis 2:16-17, 3:17-19; Romans 5:12; Hebrews 2:9, 9:27-28).
Nevertheless, even the unnatural condition of being disembodied God has made wonderful for those from creation that have looked to Him in faith. In this edited 2013 repost, marvel you saints at the awesome works of our God who has made comforting provision for us in between the death of the body and our soon coming resurrection to immortal glory all brought to light by the death, burial, resurrection, ascension and glorification of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Timothy 1:8-10)!
Originally Posted April 14, 2013
According to Luke’s Gospel account, just before His death on the cross, the Lord Jesus told the repentant thief crucified with Him, ‘“Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise,’” (Luke 23:43, NKJV). After awhile, the Son spoke directly and finally to His Father saying, ‘“Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit,’” then “breathed His last” (Luke 23:46, NKJV). Clearly, even a casual consideration of these two statements of Jesus on the cross indicates He was fully expecting to be alive on the same day He was to die on the cross. How can this be?
The resolution is that while Christ’s body did die on that cross, His eternally joined spirit and soul remained alive as do all human spirits and souls when the body dies! The human spirit and soul are a package deal though functionally different as seen at the creation of man and strongly implied in Scripture thereafter (Isaiah 42:5, 57:15-16; Mark 12:29-30, 14:34-38). Indeed, as the living Word of God, Christ absolutely knows the place of their division (Hebrews 4:12) and knew exactly what He was entrusting to the protection of His Father at the death of His body. As the Lord taught, ‘“God is not the God of the dead, but of the living,’” (Matthew 22:31-32; Mark 12:26-27; Luke 20:37-38, NKJV).
Be clear at this point that though all human spirits (understood to include the soul in tandem and vice versa going forward) live in terms of existence after the body dies, only born again Christians enjoy the qualitatively superior “eternal life” of God through relationship with Him stemming from salvation by faith in Jesus Christ (John 1:12-13, 3:1-8, 14-15, 10:10, 11:25, 17:1-3, NKJV)! Otherwise, the wicked having died separated from God spiritually (Isaiah 59:1-2), remain in that condition and await a bodily resurrection to endure what is described as a “second death” in the lake of fire forever (Revelation 20:6, 11-15, NKJV). Consequently, let the saints heed the Lord (Matthew 10:27-31)!
The spirit of man separates from the body at death which renders it disembodied. So, where does it go? As noted in my blog, God Raises The Dead! under the category The Faith, the Lord Jesus Christ expressed a confidence toward God the Father through His forefather, king David, a thousand years in advance that He would not leave His soul in Sheol (the Old Testament term for the abode of the dead or disembodied called Hades in the New Testament) or let His body decay and would instead raise Him from the dead (Psalm 16:9b-11a; Acts 2:27-28a).
Always in absolute control of His creation, the holy God established that disembodied human spirits from fallen Adam should abide away from Him because of sin guilt and defilement until future divine disposition in a location that is in the bowels of the earth as understood by the often associated term “down” with the place of the disembodied (Numbers 16:28-34; 17:13-16; Matthew 11:23, NKJV). Truly, when the prophet Samuel was permitted of God to appear to king Saul he came “up” from the earth (1 Samuel 28:7-14, NKJV). Apparently, the teaching of the Rabbis in 1st century Israel that this place under the earth holding departed human spirits is divided according to divine will was correct.
The Lord did not challenge this thinking in His parable of the rich man and Lazarus found in Luke 16:19-31. In order to be meaningful for its hearers, a parable must have things in it that are familiar and relatable to them. In the parable warning of the consequence of being caught up in the riches of this life and ignoring the teaching of God’s Word containing His priorities, the Lord shows Hades divided at least in half--other portions of Scripture reveal a special place of lockdown for chained fallen angels as well (ex. 2 Peter 2:4). “Abraham’s bosom” figuratively representing a paradise of comfort and rest is where the beggar, Lazarus, ended up upon death while the rich man was tormented in flames. He saw “Abraham afar off” and learned they were separated by a “great gulf fixed” that neither could cross (Luke 16:22-26, NKJV).
That God would create a divide where condemned sinners suffer and His people are comforted and protected is plainly seen in the way He made such a distinction between the Egyptians and the Israelites during the plagues He brought on the land of Egypt in the Exodus (Exodus 8:20-23). In Samuel’s disembodied appearance to Saul, he seemed to be annoyed that he had been disturbed--not the attitude you would expect if his spirit and soul were in torment (1 Samuel 28:15-19). Truly, Saul and his sons would join Samuel like the rich man with Abraham in the same place of the disembodied, but each in separate accommodations according to God’s judgment! Thus, with joyful anticipation of a restful paradise for saved by faith disembodied spirits under the earth, our Lord comforts the thief on the cross.
As the Holy Spirit leads, in this post I circle back to last week’s and specifically the fourth footnote to glorify God and celebrate faithful black Christians from slavery!1 The footnote challenges the lie that Civil Rights leaders after Dr. King’s death had no other option but to align themselves with liberal professed Christians rebelling against God and His Word to successfully destroy the remaining barriers of bigotry, discriminatory acts and oppressions of America’s systemic racism denying black Americans the full rights and privileges of citizenship. This action was a clear break from the faith of our faithful Christian slave forefathers and those that suffered even martyrdom during the King years.
I have heard and seen it all before as well as been guilty of it myself more than a few times in my near 47 year journey with Christ; how guilty professed Christians so easily justify the need to help God out in a situation by making choices and decisions that seem right only to discover afterward, He was not in it at all! Having lived through the years I write about, I saw how many Civil Rights leaders once so devoted to God in dependent faith, the non-violent strategies of Dr. King and suffering arising out of biblically conservative Christianity sold out to back room deals and agreements with strange bedfellows supposedly in similar need to further the cause of racial justice for black folk.
And while a little progress was enjoyed mainly among those blacks politically, educationally, socially and financially positioned to lay hold of what came trickling out of governments and big corporations, the masses remain in dire need to this day. Poverty is still the norm. Black males disproportionately overflow prisons and graveyards while black females murder their unborn at a rate higher than any other group. Also, marching to protest real and alleged racial wrong doing against blacks continues plainly demonstrating that a generation after King, leaders who made the decision to take the tack of seeking allies among those rebelling against God were mistaken (Proverbs 14:12).
According to the Bible, the foregoing is not what happens when God fights your battle! This is as king of ancient Judah, Jehoshaphat, learned when he faced the daunting reality of war with neighbor nations making up a massive force already on the march for the battle. The king as a man of faith in God did what he was supposed to do: call on the Lord and led the people to do the same (2 Chronicles 20:1-13).2 Isn’t this what was done under Dr. King? Then, the Lord answered giving instructions through a Levite, Jahaziel, He used in the moment urging all not to fear ‘“for the battle is not yours, but God’s,’” (2 Chronicles 20:14-18, NKJV). Isn’t this what was done under Dr. King?
After spending time worshipping God “with voices loud and high,” the king encouraged the people to ‘“Believe in the LORD your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.’” Then they went out marching to battle continuing to sing the Lord’s praises in worship (2 Chronicles 20:19-21, NKJV). Isn’t this what was done under Dr. King? And though they routinely suffered physical violence and incarceration, most as Christians believed they were serving the higher purposes of God He validated by convicting the nation of its oppressive evil and unjust laws tied to systemic racism and making it begin to tear these down (2 Chronicles 20:22-30).3
Even before this our faithful Christian slave forefathers looked to God in faith and waited upon Him to fight their battle for freedom. In the meantime, they prayed and sang in worship resulting in a legacy of spirituals in the thousands that serve as tangible proof of their faith in God we their descendants ignore to our detriment as the West African fathers who heard the Gospel in their native lands, but largely rejected it (Psalm 78:5-8). Having been brought to this land in chains for what God intended to only be a temporary remedial judgment to humble the hearts of many which He accomplished, through the nation’s Civil War He fought the battle for their release when its time came (Psalm 107:10-16, 39-43). He had brought us in, He would bring us out (Lamentations 3:22-42)!4
But now, what was left to be done to help our nation righteously and justly overcome the debilitating sin of racism using a humbled, faithful people of faith in God, will never be fulfilled this side of Christ’s return since those in the liberal majority and their leaders have refused His help in exchange for that of rebels against Him and His Word as it is written (Isaiah 30:1-5, 31:1-3; Jeremiah 2:9-19, 32-37).5,6 This means of course, the promise of a bright future built on rebellion against the divine order as with feminists most who also sanction the murder of the unborn, the perverted ends of those that practice same sex relations and gender confusion will be exposed for the demonic deceit it is in the face of God’s near severe judgments and coming wrath (Psalm 75; Jeremiah 25:29-32)!7
1 Read the February 25, 2024, Liberal Black Professed Christians To Lose, under the category, Black History and Call To Repent!
2 Such was also the confidence of many other biblical characters where God showed up to fight their battles including the slaves from Judah taken to Babylon, Daniel and his three companions. Read the February 27, 2022 post, Daniel: Slave Of God, under the categories Biblical Worldview and Black History.
3 Beginning with the important 1954 Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision rendering public school segregation based on race unconstitutional and following the historic non-violent activities of those with Dr. King which began in 1955, unjust racially discriminatory behavior across the nation was outlawed within ten years by na- tional government measures in 1964 with the Civil Rights Act and in 1965 the Voting Rights Act.
4 Visit this Ministry’s From Slavery To Victory Education Project Web Site for more of a biblical worldview on slavery and God’s good ends.
5 It is an egregious sin and offense to God to be unfaithful to Him (Psalm 73:27)! Just ask another king of Judah, Asa, the father of Jehoshaphat who having previously en- joyed God fighting a victorious battle for the nation (2 Chronicles 14:9-15), afterward looked to a pagan king to deliver him from the attack of a brother Israelite king (2 Chronicles 16:1-9).
6 This general judgment of God does not preclude faithful, individual black American remnant Christians from laboring alongside those of other hues in biblical conserva- tism for the cause of racial justice issues that arise with Him leading as the Ally nor pursuing racial unity within conservative evangelicalism, my appeal in The Scourge Of Racism. The printed book is available in the Strong Man Store, all major internet booksellers and brick and mortar bookstores. The E-Book is available at major E-Book sellers. Learn more about the book, survey some reader endorsements and see its trailer at https://www.opendoorcommin.org/featured-publishing-resource.
7 Rather than anger at me for telling the truth, why not consider that if you are reading this post it has been another gracious opportunity God has provided you to return to Him (2 Peter 3:1-9)! Watch this Ministry’s thirty minute Strong Man Of God Online Rally, Return To The Lord, on our YouTube channel.
As the Lord leads me to make plain in the book, The Scourge Of Racism, racism leaves no one involved untouched; not the object or the perpetrator!1 In the book chapter similarly titled as today’s post, He leads me to firmly assert the very real resulting wounds of racism in the American Church require healing through God’s methodologies already prescribed in His written Word! Of course, one must first be biblically conservative to honor and preserve God’s instruction in His Word intact and willing to objectively interpret, apply and submit to it in obedience. Because all or some part of the foregoing is missing in the main, the Church is now, under God’s judgment!2
Through its human vessels beginning with guilty professed Christian white colonists from before the nation’s founding, their local assemblies and subsequent institutions, the Church in this land that came to be America has tolerated, practiced and enabled racism within its ranks.3 Some of the guilty professed Christian objects of racism in bitterness have returned the favor. Obviously, none of these persons were practicing biblical conservatism in preserving or obeying Christ’s commandment to “love one another” over the past four centuries nor are the guilty doing so now (John 13:34-35, NKJV).4 This ungodly reality is contrary to the example of many biblical personages.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the foremost example of a biblical conservative. He announced to Israel He had not come “to destroy the Law or the Prophets…but to fulfill” them (Matthew 5:17-20; Luke 16:14-18, 24:25-27, 44-45, NKJV). Every godly person in the Bible after Christ also treats the Word of God with reverence and acts on it as it is written (Joshua 8:30-35; Daniel 9:1-2; Luke 2:25, 23:50-51).5 Even Satan and his demon cohort take God’s Word at face value while corrupting it to whoever will pay heed (Matthew 4:1-7, 8:28-29; 2 Peter 3:14-16). No, Christ’s commandment that His disciples love each other has willfully not been honored, preserved or obeyed!
There is absolutely no excuse for disobeying Christ’s commandment for the real “born again” Christian because the impetus and spiritual substance of God’s love through the Holy Spirit fills our hearts providing what we need to obey (John 3:1-8; Romans 5:5; 1 Corinthians 13:1-8a, NKJV). Beyond yielding to the sinful flesh along with worldly family and cultural conditioning, this raises the prospect of fear and the outcome of cowardice which the Lord does not accept as a reason for disobedience (Romans 13:8-14; Galatians 5:19-25; Revelation 21:8). After these reasons only one other is plausible and that is the disobedient are not Christians at all, but impostors and apostates.6
In my book, I do not pretend healing racism’s wounds in the American Church will be easy. The biblical process will be spiritually, psychologically and emotionally challenging for authentic Christians that have been practicing even subtle racism a long time. For the personal sin of racism and that of one’s fathers must be confessed and repented from before God to receive His forgiveness (Daniel 9:8-11; 1 John 1:8-2:2).7 Also, the forgiveness of those known brothers and sisters one has been bigoted toward and discriminated against is to be sought. Guilty black and Christians of every other hue must confess and repent from bitterness and be willing to forgive those past and present who have brought harm through racism (Mark11:25-26; Ephesians 4:31-32; Colossians 3:12-13).
1 The Scourge Of Racism, Copyright 2023, ODCM Publishing Division, Portland, OR. Learn more about the book to be released October 5th and the specific chapter referred to, The Sting Of Racism, at this link. The book will be widely available in Ministry Web Site Stores, among internet booksellers and brick and mortar bookstores.
2 Read the June 10, 2018 post, God’s Judgment Upon His House, under the categories Bible Prophecy and God’s Creatures.
3 See the respective September 10 and 17, 2023 posts, Our American Heritage and Racism A Two-Fold Scourge, both under the category, Biblical Worldview.
4 Read the September 24, 2023 post, Racism In Christ’s Church A No-No, under the category, Instruction.
5 This is the heart of every aspiring strong man and great woman of God I write about in my book, The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics. It remains available in the Strong Man Store among internet booksellers and brick and mortar bookstores.
6 See the two-part post beginning August 21, 2016, Christianity The Religion Of Men, under the category, Instruction. Practicing and attempting to pass off a counterfeit form of manmade of Christianity, religious folk as impostors that grow worse and apostates who knowingly infiltrate local assemblies are foretold (2 Timothy 3:1-9, 13; Jude 3-4, 16-19). These are easily persuaded by Satan, sin and self to hate as racists because the love of God is not in them!
7 Racism is most assuredly among the sins of the fathers and one’s own the Lord is expecting those professed Christians who will return to Him to confess and repent from in His appeal through this Ministry’s Strong Man Of God Online Rally, Return To The Lord.
Patriotism is found among individuals in all of the nations on earth! It becomes idolatry when the love for and devotion given to one’s nation including service and gifts exceeds that which is given to “the only true God,” (John 17:3, NKJV). This prescription for idolatry also applies to anyone or thing that we may become devoted to beyond our nation. For the first commandment of ten proclaimed by God to and written for Israel that also embodies the uppermost of His eternal transcendent spiritual principles is ‘“You shall have no other gods before Me,’” (Exodus 20:3, NKJV).1 Excessive devotion to a nation in idolatry is as precarious and detrimental as it is with any other god of this age!
Adam at the beginning and all mankind thereafter in whatever ethnic and/or national groupings were supposed to exclusively bow to and worship the God of the Bible as our Creator and sovereign Ruler (Genesis 2:7-9, 15-17; Acts 17:22-28). However, Satan, that fallen angel, worked to turn the first man’s heart from God by successfully enticing his wife, then he, to disobey Him (Genesis 3:1-11). Later, God did what He had never done or would do again. He purposely formed a nation through the elect men Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and Personally acted to bring them out of bondage to another nation to be His own people, Israel (Exodus 2:23-25; Deuteronomy 4:32-40; Romans 3:1-2, 9:1-5).2
It is in the context of making a covenant with Israel that God gave them His Law contained in Ten Commandments He audibly spoke to them then, along with Moses wrote them and related ordinances, statutes and judgments (Deuteronomy 5:1-22, 9:9-11, 31:24-29; Psalm 147:20). I opened this post quoting the first commandment. The second is related. It prohibited the making of and bowing to an image of anything in the sky, earth or water. In it God transparently declared He is “a jealous God” as the reason (Deuteronomy 5:8-10, NKJV). Not the nation as a first priority, but God was to be the primary object of loving devotion by every individual Jew and the nation as a whole.
The Lord Jesus Christ affirmed the foregoing when He quoted from the written Law answering a question about the chief commandment saying, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength,” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5; Mark 12:28-30, NKJV). Clearly, the Lord also applied His answer to Himself as the Son of God (Luke 14:25-26). Despite this, many professed Christians revere and exalt our nation to such an extent as to easily be idolaters and offensive to Heaven. Some even attempt to justify their excessive devotion by asserting America is “a Christian nation” and imply God established it as He did Israel.3
If in fact America is a Christian nation it has apostatized and will suffer fully as Israel over the millennia, but with no hope for a future recovery through deliverance by Christ since the nation now, willfully rejects Him they once all believed in (Hebrews 6:4-6, 10:26-31)!4 And as it concerns the good intentions of the professed Christian founders of the nation to anchor it to the Bible’s morality, the guilty began the slide to where we are today by retaining slavery. Others even corrupted the Bible by ripping out pages to take the hope of freedom away from slaves.5 Besides this, a Christian nation apart from all being born again Christians precludes submitting to God’s moral Law (Romans 8:6-9).6
In a prophetic context that announces the time near at hand when God in majestic greatness will show up in Person to “comfort” His doubly punished people, Israel, with all of the accompanying upheaval on the earth and in the universe, He makes known in no uncertain terms what He thinks of the Gentile nations formed by men (Isaiah 40:1-14, NKJV). The prophet declares, “Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket, and counted as the small dust on the scales…All nations before Him are as nothing, and they are counted by Him less than nothing and worthless,” (Isaiah 40:15-17, NKJV). The normal meaning of “all” here would have to include our nation too. In His sovereign will and for His temporal purposes, “He makes nations great, and destroys them,” (Job 12:23a, NKJV).7
“To whom” or what can God be compared to? Surely, nothing in creation or made by men in idolatry will do which is another reason God forbids making images of anyone or thing and worshiping them; nation worship being no exception since you insult the only living God (Isaiah 40:18-20, 44:6-8; Romans 1:18-23, NKJV)! He looks down from Heaven on the earth and “its inhabitants” in the midst of the universe He in wisdom and power created (Isaiah 40:21-26, NKJV). He rules the nations as He raises them and their rulers up and brings them down (Psalm 22:27-28; Daniel 2:20-21).8 “Blessed” indeed, “is the nation whose God is the LORD,” (Psalm 33:10-12, NKJV)! Yet, God is also gracious to rebel nations; giving them opportunity and time to repent if they will (Jeremiah 18:7-12).9
1 Faithfulness to God is one of several eternal character traits of Christ He forges in the hearts of His aspiring strong men and great women in His Son’s image I write about in my book, The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics. I invite you to pick up a Hard or Soft Cover or E-Book Edition of the book as well as the companion Strong Man Of God Men’s Group Study and Great Woman Of God Women’s Group Study in the Strong Man Store, among internet booksellers and brick and mortar bookstores.
2 Read the July 2, 2023 post, Christians Are To Fulfill God’s Written Law, under the category, Instruction. Continuing His original intent with Israel under the New Covenant still to be fully realized by them at Christ’s return, God has included Gentiles at present in fulfilling His creation of a “holy nation,” (Matthew 22:1-14; 1 Peter 2:4-10, NKJV).
3 I have already asserted directly from Scripture why such a thing could not be the case in the second paragraph of this post and others previously. See for example, part two of the two-part post that begins August 2, 2020, Flavorless Salt Is Worthless, under the category, Call To Repent.
4 An apostatized America is preposterous! Read footnote 8 of the above cited post.
5 See and learn more about The Slave Bible on this Ministry’s The From Slavery To Victory Education Project Web Site.
6 Here is absolute truth from apostolic instruction that cannot be brushed aside without seriously corrupting the faith. The Lord recently led me to warn that the attempt to force obedience to His moral law upon our secular nation through legal means will be disastrous. Read the August 7, 2022 post, Saving Souls Not Nations, under the cate- gory, The Cause.
7 In the eyes of God, America is not exceptional or too big (important) to fail! Rather than the arrogant stance of exceptionalism, professed Christians holding to this belief should be humbled and petitioning God not to righteously destroy our nation for its wickedness while repenting from their sins displeasing Him beginning with arrogance as well as those of the nation’s fathers with it idolatrously venerated! Watch the Strong Man Of God Online Rally, Return To The Lord, on our YouTube Channel and consider this from His Word along with the presence and power of the Holy Spirit.
8 God is not being capricious, but is working all things toward His predetermined end in Christ (Daniel 2:44; Ephesians 1:7-10)! See the January 10, 2021 post, Praying At Cross-Purposes With God, under the category, Bible Prophecy.
9 Israel is the poster child for the nation both blessed of God and punished for rejecting His call to repentance from sinning against Him (Jeremiah 18:13-17; Ezekiel 36:16-38).
As the Lord led me to warn in a December 2016 post, the window of opportunity for the unhindered preaching of the Gospel and witnessing of Christ in our nation is steadily closing as it increasingly becomes irreligious and hostile to biblical Christianity.1 Occurring simultaneously as I also spoke of in that post is the general hardening of hearts to the Gospel by especially our under fifty year-old fellow citizens. Apparently, many of these same folk along with disobedient professed Christians refusing to repent from biblically plain sin falsely believe God’s offer of forgiveness does not have an expiration date. The truth is, all any of us has is right now, to do as God wills!
God wills that no one should die before accepting His free offer of forgiveness through repentance from sin and faith in the Gospel of His Son, Jesus Christ! This is the message He has had faithful Christians proclaiming throughout the earth as He has waited in “longsuffering” for nearly 2,000 years (2 Peter 3:9, NKJV). That a time limit was attached to how long the Lord would wait in forbearance before ending it is evident in His whole Word, but also in the Gospel proclamation itself (Isaiah 57:16; Matthew 3:1-12; Mark 1:14-15; Acts 3:18-21, 17:30-31).2 Sinning, unfruitful professed Christians are also subject to the limits of God’s forbearance (Luke 13:6-9; Romans 1:18-2:11).
God waited many years for men to repent in the days of Noah while he constructed the ark of deliverance from the global flood of His wrath which came after it was finished (Genesis 6:5-7:12; 1 Peter 3:18-22). God also waited until Lot and his family were escorted out of Sodom by angels before destroying it with Gomorrah after many years of forbearance (Genesis 13:7-13, 18:16-33, 19:15-29; 2 Peter 2:6-8). God waited too, in two major judgments of Israel nearly 700 years apart. First, in 609 B.C. after almost 400 years of waiting He sent a remnant of Judah out of the land in three waves before in His wrath, Babylon destroyed Jerusalem in 586 B.C. (2 Chronicles 36:5-21).
Second, in 70 A.D. the Romans destroyed Jerusalem too, and the people were scattered after a generation of divine waiting as the Lord Jesus Christ foretold before His death, burial, resurrection and ascension (Luke 21:20-24). Faithful Christians who took Christ’s warning to heart no doubt escaped from Jerusalem before its destruction as is traditionally held. All of the foregoing instances of God’s longsuffering forbearance have in common among them that there were hardened hearts to repentance among those who perished in His eventual judgment that fell! We are seeing evidence of hardening hearts toward God and His call to repentance from sin in our nation at this hour.
So many men I share the Gospel with are hostile toward the message as avowed secular atheists, humanists and those who formerly grew up in and attended churches. With hardened hearts they do not want to hear it. The under fifty year-old group (Millennials and Generation Z) that have grown up with and been indoctrinated through public education and the media in the rebellion against God’s moral instruction, want nothing to do with Him if it means reversing what they have been taught and come to believe is the more equitable politically correct and tolerant standards of the world.3 Statistics bear out the decline of interest in God, biblical Christianity and church attendance.4
The danger of the unsaved willfully hardening their hearts against the sovereign God and the Gospel in unbelief is Him in perfect righteousness ending His merciful forbearance toward and permanently giving them over to the foolish choice of their darkened hearts so, if they would choose to believe thereafter, they cannot. This is as He did with Pharaoh when he would not let Israel go; has done with the guilty of Israel and among the Gentiles since the first century who have steadfastly refused in hardness of heart to believe the Gospel (Exodus 4:21, 7:8-13, 9:8-16; Matthew 13:10-17; John 12:37-41; Romans 9:14-29, 10:14-16, 11:8). Sinning professed Christians face peril too.
Contrary to popular theological opinion, God’s Word as it is written is clear that professed Christians with “an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God” can “be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.” The writer of Hebrews raises this issue as he exhorts Christians in the image of Christ to be faithful and warns of the divine imposed fatal consequence of their unbelief fed disobedience (Hebrews 3:5-19, NKJV). Whoever worships and takes the mark of the Antichrist whose time draws near will be instantly hardened for eternal destruction (Revelation 14:9-13)! Thus, let unhardened hearts hear and receive the Gospel and witness of Christ’s faithful now; let the faithful with resolute urgency proclaim the Gospel and witness Christ (2 Corinthians 6:1-2; Jude 20-25)!5
(I will be taking Sunday, September 4th off as my Labor Day rest with thanksgiving to God. He willing, my next post will appear on September 11th. Enjoy your Labor Day.)
1 Read the December 4, 2016 post, Now Is The Day Of Salvation, under the category, Call To Repent.
2 See the February 6, 2022 post, The Divine Delay, under the category, Bible Prophecy.
3 Despite this formidable obstacle, the Lord has led this Ministry to reach 13-29 year-olds with the Gospel through our most recent Strong Man Of God Online Rally themed, Reconciled To God. Invite someone you care about from this age range to view the thirty minute rally at https://youtu.be/pP3X4gtpaq8 where besides worship and music geared to their appreciation, they will receive a witness of the faith by one of their peers and proclamation of the biblical Gospel!
4 Read the 2019 Pew Research Center article, In U.S., Decline of Christianity Continues at Rapid Pace. Also, see how lack of a biblical worldview is widespread in profes- sing American Christianity and among its leaders in a recent study by the Cultural Research Center directed by Dr. George Barna at Arizona Christian University.
5 As I write in my book, The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics, the faithful include all aspiring to be strong men and great women of God in the image of Christ! The book is available with the companion Strong Man Of God Men’s Group Study and Great Woman Of God Women’s Group Study in the Strong Man Store, at your favorite inter- net bookseller or brick and mortar bookstore.
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