The Scourge Of Racism
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As the Lord has led me to write many times, removing the artificial and stuffy inventions of manmade Christianity that serve as barriers to unsaved folk coming into the churches to hear about Him is a good thing. However, many in recent years have gone much further than this and are among other things, altering biblical Christianity’s core message, the Gospel (if not eliminating it altogether) along with the Lord’s commandments and instructions to make the faith more amenable to especially those born after 1980. Tinkering with or setting aside the biblical Gospel no matter how noble the motive is still to fall under the apostle Paul’s God approved anathema (Galatians 1:6-10)!
Departures from God’s Word to accommodate human worldly interests and tastes are legion. They come complete with light, video and sound worship extravaganzas and dress code fit for the Holy One? I mention a few of the heretical departures from God’s Word in this edited 2012 repost that along with tinkering with the Gospel is clear evidence of widespread succumbing to worldly peer pressure by many professed Christians and their church leaders to fill large meeting venues. In the end though, besides the temporary display of the ability to draw a crowd by the leaders, what will the ostensible crowd of Jesus followers have to stand firmly against the world when they are still of it?
Originally Posted April 22, 2012
The pressure to conform to someone else’s standard of whatever begins early in life when as newborns, in spite of our best efforts to have our way, those giant people called parents insist that we behave as it pleases them. Then, it is siblings and finally school age peers that start applying pressure for us to share their interests, likes, dislikes, etc. Not only did I experience the foregoing for myself, of course, but as a parent I had to endure what I now know is every parent’s nightmare, the dreaded: so and so’s “parents let them do it.” This is followed by the not so subtle, “they have one.” This may be funny because at whatever level, you can relate to peer or other pressure to conform.
However, the issue turns deadly serious when others are attempting to pressure us to do evil. Contrary to worldly standards of political correctness and tolerance, evil is whatever goes against the written Word of God--period! Knowing my own exasperation at times with the yielding of my children to worldly peer pressure, I cannot imagine God is very pleased with how easily His children cave in to it. Oh, we try hard to rationalize and justify our worldly compromises even using Scripture at times and saying, “I don’t see anything wrong with…” or “that was back then” as if God changed; seeking any tiny sliver of release to line up with the world’s standards and what we want to do.
A major example of compromise is the removal of the Gospel for salvation from sin as the central theme of witnessing and preaching. As their defense, many corruptly cite the apostle Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23. Yet, he did not mean that he changed the Gospel, adopted worldly practices or did evil to bring about the good of saving souls in his witnessing. He did mean that he began his work where the people he was dealing with were at in their spiritual, cultural or occupational lives so he could connect to them. He then proceeded to work the Gospel into his conversation and preaching to the end of some believing and being saved (Acts 13:4-12, 16:20-34, 18:1-11). The Gospel is God’s first priority for preaching (Acts 2:14-41; Romans 10:13-15)!
Another example is how--contrary to Scripture--many professed Christians do not believe all of Scripture’s ancient commands and instructions are still valid lest the world be offended (Isaiah 40:8; Mark 13:31). Among these are God’s order of mankind and the related roles of men and women in the home and churches (Ephesians 5:22-24; 1 Timothy 2:11-15).1 And very popular at this strategic moment is the false teaching and inspired movement that makes Christ a fulfiller of personal dreams and selfish ambitions contrary to His demand of self-denial to follow Him (Matthew 16:13-27). Selfish ambition is a flesh work whose practitioners will not inherit God’s Kingdom (Galatians 5:19-21).
The fact today is that many professed Christians and their churches are downright worldly as the norm! This is purposeful on the part of guilty leaders to fill seats and offering plates. It is also an effort especially of younger congregants to show their observing worldly peers they are still just like them. Nope, Christianity has not made these folk change one thing of this world that is precious to them. In so doing, they deceive themselves into believing they have made God more appealing and the Gospel less judgmental of people’s lifestyles. The truth is, they love not being left out of the world’s fun and having to stand out as weird in its eyes. That is classic submission to peer pressure.
God the Father would remind His wayward children that we are His peculiar people who are not to be ashamed of Christ or the Gospel (Mark 8:38; Romans 1:16; 1 Peter 2:9-10).2 He has called us out of the world no longer to conform to its standards, but in all self-sacrifice, His and supplies the Holy Spirit to us to make it happen (Romans 12:1-2; 1 Peter 1:13-16)! The ways of this world are of the sinful, selfish nature we enter it with; ways parents are hard pressed to restrain as we develop and peers work hard to get us to indulge.3 The ways of this world are also deadly as a holy God has already condemned them. He calls us out of the world to save us from that condemnation (1 John 2:15-17).
Therefore, the Lord commands the guilty young and old to repent from the demonically deceitful doctrine that you can have God and the world too! Come out from under the condemned false teachers that with syrupy sweet words make God’s whole reason for existence to be all about you (2 Peter 2:1-3). They prep you for the fire that waits for all who fail God’s final exam in not loving and walking in the truth of His Word (2 Thessalonians 2:9-15; Revelation 14:9-13). God is the Creator; you are the creature. God is the Savior; you are supposedly the grateful saved creature that is eager to please and serve Him in doing His will,4 not He to serve you in doing all your bidding! The risen, living Christ continues His cry among American churches, "Who is on the Lord's side?"
1 As an unforeseen and unintended consequence I am sure, these guilty Christians find themselves on the side of the world in rebellion against God and His Word (they
may not see it that way, but God does--Psalms 2:1-3, 50:16-23; Matthew 12:30; John 14:15). They must also accept responsibility in this for such developments as
today’s gender identity confusion and the transgender movement. Sin, like seeds planted in the ground, always produces a crop of consequences because a holy
God will never be outsmarted by any of His creatures!
2 Read The Peculiar People, posted May 22, 2016 under the category, Instruction.
3 Fellow Christian Baby Boomers will recognize the frontal assault here on the worldly notion that sin is only learned behavior as captured in the lyrics of a song from one
of our favorite bands from back in the day and world, Earth, Wind & Fire. In That’s The Way Of The World, they sang, “Child is born with a heart of gold, way of the
world makes his heart grow (so) cold.” However, the Word of God is clear that we are born sinners learning only how to fine tune our methods as we get older (Psalms
51:5, 58:3)! For this reason, the wisest sinner that ever lived charged parents not to spare the rod (Proverbs 13:24, 22:15, 23:13-14). God also “now commands all
men everywhere to repent” and believe the Gospel to receive among other benefits, deliverance from His eternal rod of punishment for sin and a new nature wrought by
the Holy Spirit (Acts 17:24-31; Titus 3:1-8; 2 Peter 1:1-4, NKJV)!
4 This is the heart of every aspiring strong man and great woman of God in the image of Jesus Christ I write about in my book, The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics.
It is available at all major internet booksellers, by order at your favorite brick and mortar bookstore or in the Strong Man Store.
The citizens of our nation are now able in this 21st century to immediately exert moral pressure on the government, businesses and other institutions through social media. The positive display of this ability was powerfully seen again after audio recorded racist remarks by Los Angeles Clippers Basketball Team owner, Donald Sterling, were posted online by a sports news outlet. Within a few days this past week thanks to social media and Mr. Sterling’s admission the voice on the audio recording was his, the NBA Commissioner announced that the owner would be banned for life from the NBA, fined $2.5 million and steps taken to force him to sell his team.
The world ruled by Satan is pushing his great deception hard in these latter days; namely, that all of the social changes upending God’s order of mankind with gender roles and responsibilities in the family are going to permanently endure. Not so, according to God Almighty who long ago announced the end of all kingdoms in the eternal triumph of His own through His Son (Isaiah 2:1-4, 9:6-7; Daniel 2:31-45, 7:13-14; Micah 4:1-3; Revelation 11:15)! Now, the world in rebellion against God and His coming Kingdom can believe the lie as it wishes, but those that profess to be Christians are not supposed to standing firm in the never changing truth that is Jesus Christ (Hebrews 13:8)!
The Lord has led me to confront the lie with the truth especially from His prophetic Word in the footnotes of recent posts. They make clear He will push back against the rebel social engineers of worldly feminism among others destroying the family as He designed it even before He returns to visibly install His Kingdom on earth.1 The reality that the ostensible positive advance of worldly feminism now, at its triumphant peak is about to be turned back forever should be deeply sobering to professed Christian males and females that have banked their souls on the hope that somehow God was in it for the good even to the extent of corrupting and setting aside His Word to make it so.
However, Satan has successfully deceived these worldly minded Christians in convincing them that good can come out of his evil (Genesis 3:1-11)! Indeed, none of the relative few legitimate grievances of feminism such as pay inequity that should be fixed have justified the evil of attacking to dismantle God’s order of mankind.2 But like the Trojan gift horse the ancient Greeks used to hide in before coming out to war against and defeat Troy, so, worldly feminism has packaged itself as advocates for the positive advance of females while destroying them, their families and communities; duping many professed Christians and related entities into supporting their cause in the process.3
Their cause is ultimately Satan’s cause which means his successful temptation to lure many professed Christians and their entities into supporting worldly feminism under the pretext of advancing females is a two for one win for him since they are also aiding and abetting him in his war against God! This is spiritually unthinkable, unconscionable and a betrayal of the Lord who’s Word guilty professed Christians so easily compromise, corrupt and twist to justify their transgression and iniquity. For the implication in their departure from God’s Word is that He and it have been wrong and unfair in the treatment of females from the beginning! What, God unrighteous (Romans 9:14)?4
Even if you say, “we reject the more extreme assertions of secular feminism such as a woman’s right to murder her unborn child, but stand for the positive and progressive advancement of females into all heretofore exclusively male instances of authority and work,” it is an affront to God and His Word since the unspoken implication is again that He has been wrong! This is as arrogantly high handed as the creature can get before its Creator and expected from the unbelieving unsaved, but not those that profusely profess to know and love Him (Romans 9:20)! This is the mind of those professed Christians who have corrupted themselves still following after the world and its ways.
By God’s express will we Christians have been called out of the world; renouncing our former allegiances, worldviews and ungodly conduct for the sake of Christ, His eternal Kingdom and biblical worldview (1 Corinthians 6:9-11; Ephesians 4:17-24). But many “who exchanged the truth of God for the lie” of worldly feminism and its perpetual endurance have been so effortlessly deceived and drawn away by Satan because they have not turned their backs on the world (Romans 1:25, NKJV). They still love and revere particularly its opportunities for financial gain!5 As a result, when God and the Word are falsely portrayed as unfair toward females to them--as if this were really possible for the perfectly “Just One”--it is believed (John 1:1-5, 14-18; Acts 7:51-53; 1 Timothy 6:6-10, NKJV).
Professed Christian females are seduced by their ambitions and lust for power feminism insists is righteous since males have these. Professed Christian males are seduced by fear of appearing oppressive, sexist and misogynistic in the face of feminism’s false contention that true equality demands the removal of all forms of male leadership inherit in God’s order of mankind beginning in the family.6 Like Esau who desperately sold his birthright for some food, many males in and outside of Christianity have sold their election to lead by God to females to escape their wrath not considering His wrath is exceedingly greater and eternally devastating (Genesis 25:29-34; Revelation 21:8)! All fear being labeled “extreme” like they and the world see the Amish who generally reject modernity.
1 See for examples, the fourth footnote in the September 13, 2020 post, Marginalizing Men Proves Costly During Pandemic where the Antichrist is presented as a damp- ening foil to feminism and more recently, the eighth footnote in Fathers Help Build Excellent Wives posted on October 10, 2021 showing how God will send the prophet Elijah to restore fathers and their children in Israel even before the Antichrist appears. Both posts were made under the category, The Cause.
2 Read the April 8, 2018 post, The Second Adam Rules And Judges, under the category, Bible Prophecy.
3 See the May 6, 2018 post, The Value Of Women To Families, under the category, God’s Creatures.
4 Take a look especially at part one of the three-part post beginning April 18, 2021, Daughters Of This Age, under the category, God’s Creatures.
5 Guilty pastors, elders, and other church leaders motivated to keep churches going and solvent have heavily fallen for the lie since females predominantly fill them as have Christian leaders of ministries and businesses (to include Christian media concerns) motivated by financial profit because females also dominate the markets for the purchase of Christian merchandise. This tendency to rationalize away and/or jettison God’s commandments, spiritual principles, morals and ethics in the Bible for the sake of financial gain is an evil thread running throughout Christian history clearly seen for example, in the enslavement of my forefathers. It is soon to be done by many when the decision to “worship” and take “the mark or the name of the beast” has to be made in the face of God’s warning (Revelation 13:11-18, 14:9-13, NKJV).
6 Read the November 8, 2020 post, Why so easily Deceived?, under the category, Instruction.
In the aftermath of my August 26, 2018 repost, Worldly Peer Pressure, under the category, Call To Repent, I write with the leading of the Lord to offer some instructional guidance to especially my younger Christian brothers either hearing from Him about planting a new local church or that are already in the process in these latter days. The things I wrote in that post are not a matter of an old school preacher coming against the innovations of a new school of doing church. There is a place for that conversation, but not where it concerns the immutable God, His message to the world in the Gospel of His Son, Jesus Christ, the transcendent truths, commands and instruction of His Word!
Indeed, the living God speaks to 6th century BC Judah on the cusp of judgment and commanded: ‘“Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; then you will find rest for your souls,’“ (Jeremiah 6:16a, NKJV). Through the corruptions of her kings, priests and false prophets Judah had been walking down a road that in many ways had been portrayed as new school and beneficial. They were introduced to all manner of idolatry and pagan practices brought even into God’s house in disobedience to the old school Ten Commandments in their covenant relationship with Him (Exodus 20:1-17; Jeremiah 22:24-30, 23:9-15; Ezekiel 8).
God obviously does not share the view that old school as it concerns Himself, His will, way and written Word is something that can be regarded with respect as working for “back then,” but which has no continuing place and should in fact give way to a new school. He is the never changing God and His Son “the same yesterday, today, and forever,” (Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8, NKJV). Perfection needs no change! Thus, God commands Judah standing at the crossroads to see His good way in the old paths of holiness, righteousness, faithfulness and obedience to His Word in order to walk in it and avert disaster. But they defiantly refused to obey or hear (Jeremiah 6:16b-17).
Devastating, nation destroying judgment fell upon Judah in which they never fully recovered though, a remnant as foretold came back from captivity after seventy years. Their descendants some 500 years later experienced the first coming of the promised Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, but rejected and put Him to death on the cross. He was buried, but after three days rose again and commanded that God’s message of sin forgiveness through repentance and faith in Him should be proclaimed to the ends of the earth! He then ascended and beginning with His apostles has labored with those who became disciples in every generation since to make and teach other disciples until He returns.
Nearly 2,000 years later, the return of Jesus Christ is drawing near as is clearly being understood by those of His disciples watching the prophetic signs He and His apostles left us. His disciples today are expected to remain faithful to His now ancient, old school message and commanded assignment in proclaiming it that includes reaching men as a priority1 though He gives leadership to employ new school means such as communication technology to do so. Or don’t you know when God created radio waves, He intended for them to be used for His causes first and foremost? Still, as new means to communicate are discovered, God’s message in the cross preached remains His primary method for saving sinners (1 Corinthians 1:18-25)!
As 21st century church planters go forth to proclaim the uncompromised Gospel of Jesus Christ to make disciples and establish new churches, teaching His Word as commanded by Him and through His apostles, there should be no old versus new school debate on these. Nor should any new school involve building on personalities, personal views or worldly light flash and bang of music irreverently labeled “worship.” It is as the Lord led me to write in a recent Facebook post: “If a church cannot be built and hold together on the foundation of Christ, the preached Gospel about Him and the Word of God as it is written, then, no attempt should be made to build it!”2 A supposed Christian church built on any other foundation is not His and will be destroyed (1 Corinthians 3:11-15)!
And since these latter days are increasingly as the early days of the Church in terms of worldly hostility and persecution, let the church planters understand God’s house is wherever any number of believers assemble together.3 “Come as you are” should surely apply to unbelievers who visit, but never baptized believers who are all supposed to be taught the holy God they draw near to worship has set them apart as holy to Himself (Ephesians 1:3-6; Hebrews 2:10-12). Clothing that is overly revealing, sexually provocative, profane, purposely dirty and even new school raggedy in mockery of those who truly have no better clothes is offensive to our God who loves the poor (Proverbs 17:5). In exemplary holiness of body, clothes and heart we worship (Exodus 19:9-11; 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1).
Concerning generational style preferences in music, worshipping God in “spirit and truth” is not a license to disrespect and offend His holiness (Leviticus 9:22-10:3; John 4:19-26; Acts 4:32-5:11; Revelation 4:2-11, NKJV).4 While the church planting target audience and turn out should hold a little weight, respect for elders (who love the youth, right?) upheld by God and His holiness ought to always be the final, decisive factors (Leviticus 19:32; 1 Corinthians 10:23-24, 11:17-34). Nevertheless, those born into this time of worldly political correctness and tolerance must realize everything of the world cannot be baptized “Christian” and brought into God’s house--remember ancient Judah! The risen, living Christ continues His cry among American churches, "Who is on the Lord's side?"
1 God’s priority of reaching men as His chosen leaders in the home, churches and larger society (if it were still accepted) is the spiritual impetus behind our cause to
restore men at Strong Man Ministries and in my book, The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics. It is available at all major internet booksellers, by order at your fa-
vorite brick and mortar bookstore or in the Strong Man Store.
2 See the August 30, 2018 on the Strong Of God Facebook Resource Page.
3 As has been the increasing norm in non-western nations, homes and other “underground” settings for the assembling of Christians will become so here in America
and the West too as foretold hostility and persecution intensifies (Matthew 10:16-23). Truly, the days of the stadium sized “mega” and building centered churches
are coming to an end (Revelation 17:16-18:8)!
4 This disrespect and offending of the holiness of God most assuredly includes any kind of willful disobedience to Him, but in these latter days, that which is also de-
ceitfully involved in men covering their heads before Christ, their Head during and women leading worship at all (even with their husband’s permission--Jeremiah
44:15-30) when the whole church is assembled (1 Corinthians 11:3-4, 14:20-40). Read my January 2015 Blog Series, Worshipping God Without God, under the
category, Call To Repent.
As I concluded in an October 2020 post, it is only fitting that females embracing worldly feminism taught by demons in these “latter times” as foretold should be part of the multi-faceted rebellion against God and His Anointed, the Lord Jesus Christ (Psalm 2:1-3; Acts 4:23-28; 1 Timothy 4:1, NKJV).1 Indeed, the rebellion against God in all of its forms is a manifest sign of the world now, being fully in its latter times just before His return as He has led me to assert in many posts from Bible prophecy.2 Worldly feminists in their rebellion against God and His Anointed are focused on undoing His purposeful and perfect design of the order, roles and responsibilities of mankind.
In rebelling against God’s assignment of male authority through the husband-father in His design of family order particularly, feminists seek to overthrow it and re-structure the family after their own design. In their design rooted in their rebel vision of equality, there are impossibly two family heads, no head and an equal sharing of authority or the acceptance of females just as capable to lead--a reality in many homes by deliberate male default to avoid drama or acquiescence in spiritual ignorance and/or weakness. Not only has this rebel vision of family authority impacted marriages, but it has left the children confused especially about their very important relationship with their fathers.
While in His design as the Lord has led me to write in other places, fathers teach the whole family His Word generally and their sons specifically about biblical manhood,3 they also have important teaching as well as leading, providing and protecting responsibilities to their not of age and single daughters at home. Full disclosure here for me in that much of what I am about to write I have learned after my daughters in a blended family became adults. I wish I had exercised the knowledge I did have more wisely in their youth with that which I have gained since. And of course, back then, I completely underestimated the extent to which feminism would consistently undercut my efforts.4
Worldly feminism has purposely set daughters against their fathers as in no other time in the history of mankind! In the short span of the mid-1960s until now, many females urged through feminism to resist male authority have also been rebelling against their father’s God assigned family headship over them up to the time of marriage (Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:3-6). Godly fathers exercised authority over and taught daughters to value themselves and their bodies by staying virgins until given to husbands with their permission (Genesis 24:10-51; 1 Corinthians 7:34-38). They also provided for and protected them from lust driven, sex seeking males like me as an unsaved teenager.
The value of a female virgin was such that male family members would kill a man that soiled their sister who as today, were often traumatized (Genesis 34; 2 Samuel 13:1-33). God’s laws to Israel also reflected the female virgin’s value (Exodus 22:16-17). In my book, The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics, writing about the absence of women as lifelong celibates in the Bible the Lord leads me to present the sad case of Jephthah’s daughter who as a virgin, mourned not that she would die because of her father’s wrongheaded vow, but having kept herself pure, the fact she would not ever know marriage and family (Judges 11:29-40).5 Fathers and daughters valued their purity.6
However, the Women’s Liberation (from God’s order and morality) Movement born of worldly feminism and followed closely by the Sexual Revolution enabled through birth control and abortions changed everything! I am a living witness to and participant in these historical events which seemed like a boon to us males everywhere at the time, but as in so much of what feels good for the moment, the consequential aftermath has not been pleasant at all.7 Fathers that understood something of God’s ancient will for them were thrown aback. Suddenly, professed Christian females who had understood their value as virgins and intended to remain so until marriage were greatly challenged.
Still, in the midst of a world where our daughters are urged to scorn and rebel against us from every quarter, aspiring strong man of God fathers must stand firm in the fact God’s will, way and Word concerning His order, our roles and responsibilities are right! Start as young as you can teaching all your children to understand the realm of your home is different from the world outside because you have chosen to follow Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Let them know you would like to have them choose to follow Him also, but until then, your home is built on the values and life outlook you have from a biblical worldview that is non-negotiable (Joshua 24:14-15). Be consistent while also being relationally available and providing alternative activities when needed that are “fun.”
Make sure you affirm the value of your daughters as persons of worth and dignity. This does not mean pandering after them as even some Christian father-daughter gurus seem to suggest, but imitate God the perfect Father (Genesis 16; Numbers 12).8 Knowing His will for females to marry and bear children, encourage them to pursue an education and a line of work by which they can sustain themselves on their own until then. Otherwise, if they choose to stay home under your authority to further their education and/or work while waiting for God to bring His man to them, give them adult space, but with the understanding you and all house rules must be honored; a circumspect lifestyle maintained. In all this you work with God to build daughters into excellent wives (Proverbs 31:28-29).
1 See the October 11, 2020 post, The Great Woman Of God’s Character, under the category, The Cause.
2 Read the April 8, 2018 post, The Second Adam Rules And Judges, under the category, Bible Prophecy, along with the three-part post beginning April 18, 2021, Daughters Of This Age, under the category, God’s Creatures as examples.
3 See the June 13, 2021 post, The Heart Of A Son, under the category, Instruction and on July 11, 2021, A Father And Mother On Purpose, under the category, God’s Crea- tures.
4 No matter what my daughters that lived with me watched in the media or where they went--school, church, friend’s homes etc., what their father taught them at home from a biblical worldview such as I knew was challenged by the rebel views of feminism among others of this world! I know I am not alone in my experience and this is the reason, no doubt, the Lord in part has me writing this post to encourage and help a struggling Christian father; his daughter if she will give heed. For as aspiring strong men of God in the image of Christ we are not to just throw up our hands in exasperation caving into the way the world works in rebellion. But this too, is part of fighting “the good fight of faith,” (1 Timothy 6:11-16, NKJV)!
5 The book is available at your favorite internet book seller and in the Strong Man Store. The prospect of lifelong celibacy and sexual purity are are also discussed in The Great Woman Of God Women’s Group Study available through the same outlets.
6 I will say it again here. Sons are also to be taught to value their virginity until marriage. Sinful men have historically allowed a wicked double standard I acknowledge and condemn in Christ.
7 Casual and no fault sex has led to unprecedented promiscuity, millions of out of wed-lock births and abortions (used as birth control after the fact when either unprotected intercourse or other forms of pregnancy prevention measures failed), unmarried couples living together in large numbers, inconsequential adultery, increased date and stranger rapes, an out of control porn industry with related addiction, sex trafficking, sexual abuse and perversion, widespread and incurable sexually transmitted diseases as well as a long trail of broken and ruined lives.
8 God never compromises righteousness while also being gracious and merciful. Having then, given the warning about pandering after daughters leading inevitably to a father compromising God’s standards of righteousness for the sake of being loving and accepting, I defer to the counsel of more qualified men such as Dr. James Dobson, Dr. Kevin Leman and Dr. Willie Richardson among other faithful Christians as experts to help. Under no circumstances do I encourage following the advice of anyone about raising daughters that is accommodating to the rebel values of feminism as though it will perpetually stand as the defining global norm. Truly, even “Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord” near at hand, the Lord is sending the prophet Elijah to restore fathers and children in Israel as well as the willing beyond (Mala- chi 4, NKJV)!
It could be no plainer as written: “God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints,” (1 Corinthians 14:33, NKJV). In accord with the will of Christ the Holy Spirit imparts spiritual gifts to all genuinely born again believers and does so adhering to the divine order of mankind to be honored by the saints in every church and generation until the Lord returns. Too, women are not oppressed and no glass ceiling exists in the churches. Jesus as Lord is the infinitely stronger than iron authority over them! Thus, though a woman may be gifted to prophesy, preach or teach, she does so in line with God’s order of mankind (1 Corinthians 14:34-37; 1 Timothy 2:11-15).3
As a pastor, I was always on the lookout for sisters in Christ gifted to teach His Word both within our assembly and beyond to help me spiritually build up the women I served. Nationally, in those days I came to regard the teaching ministry of Beth Moore. I was saddened recently, though, after reading a blog she wrote to her brothers. I was certainly moved for her (and all other gifted female Bible teachers that have had or are having her experience) to learn that she has been treated as inferior and with the same contempt I have as a black man among not a few white conservative professed Christian males. According to her testimony up to now, she has handled this admirably.4
Nevertheless, while mistreating a fellow believer on the basis of gender or race is sin that should be rebuked, I urge us all affected not to appeal for acceptance and respect of our person as much as for God and His Word! In doing this, we must strive to be accurate which in a righteous attempt to uphold the Lord’s valuing of women, my sister was not when she labeled Mary Magdalene as the “first evangelist” based on Jesus’ command to carry His personal message to His “brethren” (John 20:17-18, NKJV). This is a common interpretive mistake among my sisters reacting defensively to justify and validate their existence in ministry and legitimize their ministries.5
Spiritual gifts are given by the Lord for the service of His house and Kingdom causes not our personal ambitions to achieve or be recognized for the sake of ego (Mark 8:34, 10:35-45; John 13:14-17)! Christian women gifted to prophesy, preach or teach that insist on being treated with the same deference in position as the men show they are after ego gratification, forgetting God’s order of mankind that always has the men in His house at the higher rank (Romans 13:1-2; 1 Corinthians 11:3).6 Feminism of the world in the churches insists this is not fair, but we in Christ are not of the world! Because this is true, Christian men and women are to interact with the proper attitudes while respecting rank (Romans 12:16; Galatians 3:26-28; Colossians 3:12-17; 1 Timothy 5:1-2).
Moreover, local churches or related parachurch entities are not the places we go to find significance in working nor to show up to show out in again, gratifying the ego (Romans 12:3-13; 1 Peter 4:7-11).7 But we should learn before we ever do anything that we have significance having already been accepted relationally “in the Beloved” by grace through faith; who gave Himself for us to redeem us back to God (Romans 5:6-11; Galatians 1:1-5; Ephesians 1:3-14; Titus 2:11-14, NKJV). Therefore, it is not nearly as important as we think it is that any of us in ministry be accepted or respected by peers as it is being faithful to the God who called us and His Word (1 Corinthians 4:2)!
To these ends, I hope Beth Moore keeps reaching and teaching women as gifted by the Holy Spirit, called by Christ and affirmed in Scripture as her sole mission; not allowing herself for the sake of greater success or respect to purposely include men as a target audience in sin. For though she cannot control that men come to her women’s events and rightly does not eject them (if not surveying her doctrine or from evil motives, the men are obviously searching for something they are not getting from male pastors and teachers), knowingly accepting invitations to teach in settings of disobedience as I have seen her in passing doing on Christian television is willful sin (James 4:17). Once more, the Holy Spirit will never lead us away from or into disobedience to God’s Word.
There is clearly enough personal, pastoral and corporate sin over just feminism in His house for the Lord not to be pleased with His people and churches that are guilty at this hour. We all know there are so many other strongholds of deceit in God’s house as well. Therefore, I cry out yet again with the Lord’s appeal to all of the guilty to repent now! For if there are natural consequences for disobeying the Lord Jesus’ words, then, in all consistency with His acts toward disobedient Israel of old, judgment is about to dramatically intensify upon professed Christian individuals, leaders and churches guilty of constructing and maintaining strongholds of deceit in His house (Luke 6:46-49). The risen, living Christ continues His cry among American churches, "Who is on the Lord's side?"
3 See the May 20, 2018 post, The Value Of Women To Jesus Christ, under the category, God’s Creatures. Also, get my book, The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics
in the Strong Man Store for instruction on the great woman of God who lives on purpose to please Him and do His will in all submission.
4 Read Beth Moore’s blog. Also, read one of the many posts the Lord has given me to make rebuking racism, Moral Pressure Rightly Applied, under the category, Call
To Repent.
5 An evangelist preaches the Gospel to the lost in which case, Scripture does not tell us who the female is that holds the distinction of being first to do so among women.
The unwitting woman at the well certainly qualifies in action to be considered an evangelist since she went and told lost men to ‘“Come, see a Man...’” (John 4:25-30, NKJV), but she was not gifted and called to do so. Surely, though, she was a witness of Christ as all Christians are supposed to be (Acts 1:8)!
6 Respecting rank applies to men immediately under Christ also. While He calls us “friends,” “one” with Himself and the Father and “brethren,” (John 15:13-15, 17:20-23,
20:17, NKJV), we never get in the Lord’s face insisting that we be regarded the same as He in rank (Revelation 17:14). We never see Christ attempting to equal His
Father in rank either, though, He is equal to Him in every other way (John 14:28-31; Philippians 2:5-7)! Such respect for rank is everywhere seen in the created spiritual
dominions of angels too and the natural order of the earth except in these latter days among fallen humanity as women under the influence of demons, rebel through
feminism to challenge God’s order of mankind. Truly, even with all of her business activity and acumen the Proverbs 31 woman never sought to stand with her husband
in rank at home or “in the gates,” the place of community governance by men as elders (Proverbs 31:23, NKJV)!
7 Seeing activity in the church as performance is another reason many churches of manmade religion especially have capitulated to and allowed feminism and its central
tenet of worldly defined gender equality to enter. Women are seen as equally as capable as the men to perform in any positions of the church and they are. Even so,
God calls His servants to serve Him and His causes in His house to please Him and do His will. This means among other things as the apostle John teaches, in love
obeying the divine order of mankind in all that is done (1 John 5:2-3). Evidently, the apostles did not consider faithful obedience to God’s Word “legalism” as many pro- fessed Christians under demonic influence and in rebellion accuse us of today who delight in it!
Why is it so hard for folk that profess to know and love Jesus Christ to own and repent from their transgressions, sins and iniquities when confronted by Him about these from His Word? From what I have seen of myself, guilty professed Christians and humanity prominently including Israel in the Bible over the years, there are at least five key reasons I will address in this post to help anyone willing. Meanwhile, we are not to deceive ourselves as many do. “God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap” leading to eternal death or life (Galatians 6:7-8, NKJV). Too, Christ returns for a “holy” bride (Ephesians 5:27; Revelation 19:7-9, NKJV). So, where does that leave you?
As the Lord led in 2020, I again announced His call to repent to professed Christians on Palm Sunday in light of His Coronavirus judgment starting to surge globally and followed it after Resurrection Sunday with a post entitled, Does Anybody Repent Anymore.1 In the latter post, I marveled at the lack of repentance among the millions that profess to be Christians in our nation as the Holy Spirit gave perception and Christian media no indication of any biblical signs of it--you know, confession like David when confronted by Nathan, brokenness over, renouncing of and turning from sin in godly sorrow (2 Samuel 12:1-15; Psalm 51:1-17; Acts 19:11-20; 2 Corinthians 7:6-12).
By the fall of 2020 various prayer and revival events (which have become the norm) were ostensibly held for the purpose of calling Christians and the nation to repentance. However, as the Lord has led me to write many times over the years, such events are a sham when some of the sins that He calls for repentance from such as defiantly allowing women as a show of worldly equality to stand with the men to lead out are put on display!2 For this reason, the Lord who has seen this movie before with Israel does not answer in the macro (Malachi 2:1-16), but only the micro among those sincere individuals who humbly come to Him as He requires (Psalm 130; Isaiah 57:15; Daniel 9:1-19).
Pride therefore, is the number one reason many smug, professed Christians refuse to humble themselves before the Lord to fully confess and turn in repentance from all that is defined by Him as sin in His holy Word (Jeremiah 6:16-17)! “Been there, done that!” However, the Lord most excellent Father that He is continues to lead me to trust Him that His forgiveness obtained through confession and repentance is better than guilt in proudly refusing to own my sin. He may not remove all the consequences, but His peace, presence and power operative in my life is more than what I deserve for the sin I was forgiven of.3 This leads to the second key reason many refuse to repent: shame.
Bound up in the pride of refusing to repent is shame at and for our sin failure. We are ashamed at the fact we were wrong--no, not me. But yes, like Nathan told David, “You are the man,” (2 Samuel 12:7a, NKJV)! Guilt and shame go together and is the reason Adam and Eve in this cause were covering up as the Lord exposed them (Genesis 3:6-11). Herein is yet a third key reason many professed Christians find it hard to repent of sin: fear. After the Lord exposed their disobedience, the first couple started the blame game out of fear of consequences. So, we fear not only the Lord’s just judgment, but the loss of status and reputation since we are not as perfect as we have put on.4
Because of the latter statement, I have sought to keep it real about myself without going into graphic detail of every flaw, fault and failure.5 I am a sinner under construction in righteousness and so are you if you are in Christ! I shamefully sin against the Lord and get it wrong sometimes and so do you! The Holy Spirit and God’s Word objectively interpreted and applied are reliable guides for making our sins known to us. Thus, our greatest fear should be of not being transparent with God who sees us as we are, what we do and judges (Psalms 32:1-5, 94:1-11, 135:13-14, 139:1-12)! Nevertheless, much of professing American Christianity refuses to repent because of the fear of man.
This brings us to a fourth key reason many professed Christians refuse to repent: love of family. The world ruled by Satan has deceitfully made standing against sin in its eyes hatred for the guilty person. So, from worldly feminism to sexual immorality in the name of loving and accepting their family members, many Christians to include even conservative evangelical leaders across the nation no longer concur with God’s Word that their ungodly behavior is sin and are unwilling to call it out it for what it clearly is because they now, permit it.6 You can and will not repent from anything you do not believe is sin! Hence, the many call to repentance events where not all sin is repented of. Here finally then, is the fifth key reason many professed Christians are refusing to repent: obstinacy.
The unwillingness at this hour to call out biblically defined sin and refusal to repent of it where guilty is leading to the natural spiritual consequence of hardened hearts (Jeremiah 5:3). I personally thought (hoped) this was still far down the road. But the doubling down and digging in to resist a need for any further talk about repentance or to be concerned about God’s continuing judgment beyond the Coronavirus pestilence I see and hear taking place among those who lead is telling. Rank obstinacy is evidence of a hard heart or did you first get saved with such a heart? I don’t think so! All God wants from the guilty in humility and fullness is five words: “I have sinned, I repent” so, He can forgive. His judgment continues as I have been warning (Proverbs 29:1; Jeremiah 14-15:9).7
1 See the April 5, 2020, God Is Speaking, followed by Does Anybody Repent Anymore? on April 19th both under the category, Call To Repent.
2 The display of self-satisfied obedience to righteousness with open sin at these events is as pitiful to the Lord as the “bleating of the sheep…and the lowing of the oxen” Samuel heard while king Saul insisted he had done His will (1 Samuel 15:10-23, NKJV). You cannot put on some contrived, superficial event and expect God the “great King” to be appeased (Malachi 1:6-14, NKJV). How little regard indeed, you have for Him! Read the August 17, 2014 post, The Sham Cry For Revival under the category, Call To Repent, also cited with related commentary in the sixth footnote of 2020’s, Does Anybody Repent Anymore? In 2014 as well, see the August 31 post, Soul Deep Repentance, under the category, Call To Repent.
3 The Holy Spirit would not have me fail to mention here another great motivator to help us be dislodged from our pride: God’s judgment for it on top of the sin(s) we are guilty of (Proverbs 3:34, 16:18-19; Jeremiah 6:18-21; James 4:1-10).
4 Here is where many pastors, elders, other church and ministry leaders live as I know from painful personal experience. What won’t sin laden, success driven, reputa- tion protecting and face saving men in the flesh do to protect their carefully crafted image of righteousness? See the October 26, 2014 post, Saving Face, under the category, Instruction.
5 Among the many places including years of this Blog and public articles one can see what God has been working in me as a redeemed sinner, is my book, The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics. It is available at your favorite internet book seller and in the Strong Man Store. Also, I commend to you the testimony of my fellow as- piring strong man of God in the image of Christ, Larry Lugo, a Northwest Native American, you can view in this Ministry’s first Strong Man Of God Online Rally, Gospel Reset, on its YouTube Channel.
6 They have not only permitted sin, but profited financially from it as in the case of replacing God’s order of mankind with their own to accommodate professed Christian women in their worldly feminism (Mark 7:5-13).
7 Read the two-part post beginning August 2, 2020, Flavorless Salt Is Worthless, under the category, Call To Repent and The Churches Under Judgment in two parts that begins August 23, 2020 under the category, Instruction.
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