The Scourge Of Racism
E-Book Availability 4/12-26
Released January 5, 2024
Download Your Copy
Now In The Strong Man Store!
Those professed Christians that cannot bear to hear talk about God as Judge may not actually know Him from the Bible and are in a bad place spiritually. As the Lord has led me to write in recent blog and social media posts, much of the blame for this must be shouldered by those pastors and teachers whether in church buildings or the media that have deceitfully focused exclusively on what are considered the non-threatening, positive aspects of the divine nature, character and acts presented in Scripture.1 However, the evidently massive numbers of fragile souls that need God to only show His sunny side must also accept responsibility (Isaiah 30:8-11; 2 Timothy 4:3-4).
While space will not allow me to do more than give only a very lightweight introduction to the God of the Bible, I proceed as the Lord leads out of His love for those He foreknows will be helped to understand who it is that has called them to salvation and eternal life! God wants to be known by us and has taken the initiative in four ways to make this happen. God is revealed through what has been observably created both external in the creation all around us (to include the human body) as a first and internal--made as we are unique above all animals in the divine image and likeness--as a second way of knowing Him (Genesis 1:1, 26-27, 5:1-2, 9:5-6; Psalm 19:1-4; Romans 1:18-21).
A third way God makes Himself known to us is in His written Word; a marvel of divine inspiration using human vessels over many centuries (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21). A fourth and final way humanity can know God is up close and Personal through Jesus Christ, the Son and Word who revealed God at His first century A.D. coming and after to all who believe on Him (Jeremiah 31:31-34; John 1:1-18, 14:7-26; Hebrews 1:1-4). From all of these ways of Self-disclosure, but especially the written Word, mankind can know what God wants known about Him. For this reason, every man should read the Bible for himself; not relying solely on what others tell him it says!
According to His Word, God is the eternally living God whose nature and character do not change--He is who He is forever (Exodus 3:13-15; Isaiah 40:27-28, 43:10, 44:6-8; Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8; Revelation 1:4-8, 17-18)! God perfect in nature is alone just, righteous, truth, holy, merciful, gracious, good, love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kind, gentle, faithful and Self-controlled as some of His attributes (Deuteronomy 32:3-4; Leviticus 19:1-2; Psalm 103:8; Matthew 19:17; Galatians 5:22-23). His nature informs His character so that as holy for example, He is set apart from and has no dealings with sin lest He break out in wrath to destroy its bearer (Leviticus 10:1-3; Isaiah 6:1-7).
Because God does not change in nature and character, even after the coming of Christ in mercy and grace to endure the divine wrath against human sin as our sin bearing substitute, the benefit of His sacrifice extends only to those that repent of their sins, believe the Gospel about Him--that He died on the cross for our sins, was buried and rose again on the third day--and receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:36-38; Romans 3:21-26, 10:6-13; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4; Hebrews 9:27-28). However, those that reject the Gospel of Jesus Christ remain in their sins and must find another way if there were one to turn the wrath of God away from their sin guilt (John 3:16-21, 36; Acts 4:8-12).
Now, this is where many professed Christians and those that lead and teach them (some well intended) in these latter days are getting into trouble with God. For though, He is loving, good, kind, benevolent, merciful, gracious, longsuffering and ready to forgive the sins of believers (all disobedience to God’s written Word is sin) in the aftermath of Christ’s sacrifice, He does and will not do so unless we in humility confess, repent from and forsake them out of reverence for His holiness (1 John 1:5-2:2).2 Otherwise, the professed believer who refuses to do so faces God as Judge now, and in the future (Romans 2:1-11; 2 Corinthians 5:9-11; 1 Timothy 5:24-25; Hebrews 10:26-31).3
Indeed, Christians are called to be holy as God is in the New Covenant just as Israel was under the Old (1 Peter 1:13-21). Knowing God as He is, we supposedly need no one to teach us these things since His law is in our hearts and written upon our minds and we are eager to obey all of His commandments (Hebrews 10:11-22). Out of this context alone comes our legitimate confidence in all of God’s scripturally assured promises, benevolences and blessings. We are also enabled to “be strong” and do great deeds out of our knowledge of God (Daniel 11:32, NKJV).4 Nevertheless, the apostle John is very direct in declaring that anyone who professes to know Jesus Christ, but “does not keep His commandments is a liar,” (1 John 2:3-4, NKJV).5
Therefore, coming to Jesus Christ, Son of the holy God, believers that do not want to fear facing Him as Judge are called to follow His example of love motivated obedience to all of His Father’s commandments which are His too (John 14:31, 15:10; Philippians 2:5-8)! Keeping the Lord’s Word in obedience proves one truly knows and loves God and is in Christ, while walking as He did is proof one abides in Him (1 John 2:5-6). This is all critical to understand now and going forward. The risen, living Christ continues His cry among American churches, "Who is on the Lord's side?"
1 See the two-part post beginning May 17, 2020, Persecution, Hatred And Betrayal, under the category, Bible Prophecy.
2 God already knows He has called us to mission impossible as it concerns sin without His help. He has provided the Holy Spirit and continuing access to His throne of
grace and mercy where our confessed and repented from sins are forgiven through the shed blood of Jesus (John 16:5-15; Hebrews 4:14-16). For more instruction on
biblical forgiveness, read my November 2, 2014 post, Once And For All Forgiveness?, under the category, Call To Repent.
3 Many Christians and their churches in sin now, endure God’s Coronavirus judgment as an example and are called to repentance.
4 This is the heart of every faithful Christian aspiring to be strong men or great women of God in the image of Jesus Christ I write about in my book, The Strong Man Of
God: Back To Basics. Get a print copy or digital download of the book at major internet booksellers such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, ChristianBooks.com and Apple
(digital only). You can also purchase a print copy in the Strong Man Store.
5 See the five posts on the topic of obedience that begin on September 7, 2014, under the category, Call To Repent.
The ability to think, reason and form opinions is a powerful ability we humans have from being made in the image and likeness of God. Created by Him with freewill, we are free to think whatever we want. The issue is, however, is what we are thinking lined up with reality and truth especially as set out objectively for us by our Creator? Atheists clearly see the reality and truth of God’s existence and deny it because they choose to think otherwise about the evidence. But for those of us that have been born again by the Spirit of God, we not only see the reality and truth of our God, but by His Word and revelation our eyes are opened to joyfully know these more deeply and learn that which is to be--His mind as it were (1 Corinthians 2:6-16)!
In the aftermath of declaring the spiritual reality and truth about the Eternal Sons Of God in the June 19, 2016 repost, the Lord has led me to repost this re-titled and edited 2013 blog that followed it. It serves as a prelude to addressing immortality from a biblical perspective. In it, we also see again the devastating consequence of culturally conditioning the faith to the point human thinking supplants God’s Word. For while titillating, flights of fancy, romantic ideas, wishes and subjective speculations in their error create heresy and rob believers (as they have done over the centuries) of the awe and child-like wonder available from the authentic glimpses of the unseen spiritual realm and future God has provided us in His Word. Why settle for false fantasy when the reality and truth are so good?
Originally Posted May 26, 2013
Faithful Christians know that we are not to impose our own ideas, views or desires onto Scripture or the faith. Even the apostles among themselves had to constantly guard against this in preserving the purity of their Scripture rooted message and the simplicity of Christ (Galatians 2:11-21). Nevertheless, with the rise of Christianity the religion of men after the passing of the 1st century apostles, as foretold, all manner of corrupt violence has been done since to God’s Word with the result that much wrong thinking and many false doctrines exist and persist among professing Christians along with their leaders in the churches to this hour (Acts 20:27-31; 2 Peter 2:1-3).
Examples of unbiblical thinking and ideas abound, but consider a few popular ones. As it concerns the impact of literature on Christian thinking, Dante may have written a fictional work showcasing Catholicism’s Purgatory and Hades as Satan’s current residence, but the Bible teaches neither idea. The television show Touched By An Angel starring Della Reese featured female angels, but where are they in the Bible? One of the most popular widespread cultural sentiments today not at all taught in the Bible puts anybody human opinion believes to be good in Heaven at their death. Related to that thinking is the unbiblical idea the dead in the afterlife can see earth activity.
I have heard even professing Christians say regarding departed loved ones: “I know he (or she) is looking down on us right now.” Where in the Bible is it taught that disembodied human spirits either in Heaven or Hades are permitted to view earth activity in real time? Concerning the afterlife too, not discouraged by solid Bible teaching to the contrary, many professing Christians solely out of mortal sentimentality and desire continue to insist they will reunite with loved ones and take up where they left off before death disembodied in Heaven and after at the resurrection to immortality forever! Such wrong human thinking and ideas will only continue to proliferate among professing Christians unless the guilty repent and turn back to the Bible as the final authority for spiritual reality and truth.
I fully empathize with the deep emotional ties we mortals have to our family and friends in this life. As finite mortals, the temptation to want eternity to be like our present is linked to what is familiar and excellent to us. For example, males find it hard to think of an eternity without females because of their mothers and intimate involvements with others. However, God’s Word is to be considered true because His perfect character permits Him to speak no other way (Numbers 23:19; Deuteronomy 32:4; 2 Samuel 7:27-29; Psalm 119:160; Titus 1:1-2)! Thus, Scripture is clear that death ends life, all biological family and marital ties as we knew them physically in this mortal age forever (Job 7:6-10; Ecclesiastes 9:2-6; John 19:25-27; Romans 7:1-3; 1 Corinthians 7:39).
Indeed, for the Christian, the disconnect process from family begins in terms of priority at salvation when we take up with Christ (Psalm 45:10-11; Matthew 10:34-39; Luke 14:25-27; Romans 6:3-4) following His example (Mark 3:31-35). Sadly, many professing Christians do not believe Christ means what He says about the primacy of our relationship with Him. But He warned the otherwise thriving church of Ephesus He would take away their existence unless they returned again to Him as their “first love” (Revelation 2:1-7, NKJV). Some in days to come will deny the Lord clinging to their mortal families of this world and perish eternally (Mark 8:34-38; Revelation 14:9-11).
At the onset of the new eternal order God also gives His redeemed sons a permanent memory wipe of all the “former things” of this present creation to include the sinful, sorrowful and painful experiences we had even with family and friends during our mortal sojourn so that they will not interfere with our new glorious experiences in His presence forever (Isaiah 25:8, 65:17-19; Revelation 21:1-4, NKJV). The memory wipe is necessary too because though in perfect agreement with God’s righteous condemnation of the wicked to the lake of fire, how could we not grieve forever as emotive creatures knowing that people we cared about during our mortal lives are there (Malachi 4:1-3; Revelation 20:11-15, 21:8)?
Please note how Christ’s mortal family members (Mary, James and Jude) relate to Him as Lord, are not accorded any special standing nor do they appear to pursue it by right of family relationship in the aftermath of His resurrection and ascension in the canonical New Testament (Acts 1:12-26, 15:6-22; Galatians 1:18-19, 2:1-10; James 1:1; Jude 1). Only the transcendent spiritual relationships formed in and through the Holy Spirit of divine love with fellow faithful believers (including those from the family) in this present life will survive death intact and continue as we serve God together forever (John 3:3-7, 13:34-35, 14:15-17; Romans 5:5; 1 Corinthians 13:8-13; 2 Corinthians 5:16-17; Galatians 5:22-25; 1 John 3:14-15, 4:20-21; Revelation 22:1-3).
Rather than attempting to impose our wishes on Christianity and corrupting His Word to do so, God’s will is for us to accept His will, way and Word as it is written (1 Corinthians 4:6)! If we do, it will mean we think righteously, objectively and truthfully about things as well as hold to and teach sound doctrine as the Lord wills (John 7:24; 2 Timothy 1:13-14). As it concerns our unsaved family and friends presently, the truth about God’s total disconnect at death should move us to do all of the loving of, witnessing to and good deeds for them we are going to do now (Ecclesiastes 9:7-10; Ephesians 5:15-16; Colossians 3:17)!
Concerning after we die, remember Heaven currently is only a temporary stop for our disembodied spirits to await God’s promised resurrection to immortal glory. As exceedingly superior to our present, mortal experience as Heaven will be to us disembodied, Scripture promises exponentially greater, unending experiences still to unfold for us as the immortally embodied and glorified eternal sons of God (Ephesians 2:4-7; Revelation 21:5-7)! The risen, living Christ continues His cry among American churches, "Who is on the Lord's side?"
One of the most impressive things about the Man, Christ Jesus, is that He is absolutely serious about living to please and do His Father’s will.1 He is the loving Son of God and acts like it; living as a true Disciple of His Father (Isaiah 50:4-6; John 5:19-23, 8:48-49, 10:30-39, 12:48-50)! Sadly, the same cannot be said for many professed Christian men that relate to the Father and the Lord Jesus mostly from a detached distance. In my book, “The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics,” I teach with the Lord’s leading that aspiring strong men of God in His image are loving sons of God and Christ’s disciples forever!2 As I write in this edited 2010 Commentary, living the faith in real life is about living these roles out now, in spite of the hardships, criticisms and persecution that it provokes.
Originally Published July 2010
I have lost count of the times I have been persecuted with the occasional open, but mostly subtle verbal assaults I receive for seeking to live out biblical Christianity in real life. No longer to my surprise after over thirty years, the persecution I receive is primarily from professed Christians who have found ways to rationalize and justify compromises with or just to boldly corrupt God's Word. I am knocked as the proverbial "goody two shoes"3 that makes all of the contemporary, go with the flow folk including even members of my own family angry because I will not get with the program (Matthew 10:34-39). After all, everybody is doing it. Um, where have I heard that before?4
I take a hard look at the lives of my critics and find absolutely no evidence whatsoever that they have more joy, peace and experience of God's genuine blessing in their lives than I do. Instead, what I do find is a whole lot of heartbreak and needless sorrows because contrary to the narcissistic lie made popular on much of Christian television, God does not exist just to make us happy, healthy, wealthy and whole. But even worse, so many have actually invented their own god and jesus that allows them to do anything they want including sin without consequence.5 As a result, many professed Christian lives and homes mirror those of people that have not professed Christ.
As He made His way toward the city of Jerusalem just days before His crucifixion, the Lord Jesus saw it and wept over it. He grieved because the religious leaders and people were doing everything they could to bring peace to the nation, but they were rejecting Him who was their peace. The end result would be Jerusalem’s and their destruction as occurred in 70 AD (Luke 19:41-44). With the Lord's heart I weep today for many professed Christians and fellow pastors that are doing the same exact thing Israel was with their made up and corrupted forms of Christianity. In the process, they reject the Jesus of the Bible and destroy themselves.
Christianity is not a religion or set of spiritual and moral principles to live by if you like them. It is the authentic, in time response of the living God to our need for deliverance from His righteous wrath toward our rebellion. For what compared to eternity has been a brief historical period, He has given us time to repent and believe on His Son, Jesus Christ, who died for our sins, was buried and raised to life so we might be forgiven and reconciled back to God. Those that do so, become the adopted sons of God who zealously love Him and begin an incredible journey that overflows with the gracious blessings of our Father even in times of difficulty (Galatians 4:6).
Christianity does not make all of our problems and troubles go away. Indeed, as His disciples, we are guaranteed to have tribulation and persecution as we pass through this life on our way to glory (Luke 9:20-26; Acts 14:21-22; 2 Timothy 3:12). However, the Christ of biblical Christianity gives us the spiritual resources to face and overcome this world's troubles through faith in Him (John 16:33). As a result of the very real costs of devotion and suffering for His sake in a fallen, hostile world, the Lord challenges those that would be His disciples to count the cost before signing up to follow Him (Luke 14:25-35).
The aspiring strong man of God in the image of Jesus Christ takes the words, instructions and commandments of our Lord to heart. With a sold out heart in all zeal he seeks to please Him and do His will. He does not twist and corrupt His Master's program to fit his own. Instead, he lives out his faith in and applies the truth of God's Word to every life circumstance he faces. Love, marriage, parenting, extended family, other relationships, the job, athletic fields, politics, social issues etc. are all arenas he lives out his biblical faith without compromise or corruption. Is that you, sir? Please stop calling yourself a Christian if it is not and you are unwilling to repent (Matthew 7:21-23)! The risen, living Christ continues His cry among American churches, "Who is on the Lord's side?"
1 See my January-February 2017 three-part series, Jesus, Son Of Man (and especially part-two posted February 5, 2017 ), under the category, The Cause, to explore
this point further.
2 The book is available at all major internet booksellers, by order at your favorite brick and mortar bookstore or in the Strong Man Store.
3 This is actually the first instance I used this derogatory phrase in commentaries or blog posts since 2010. I decided not to remove it after having already used it in the
January 28, 2018 post, Character Is Required Of Christian Men, under the category, Instruction, because it fully captures the words and attitude of no small number of
those toward me I have encountered over the years from among professed Christian religionists especially.
4 Read the August 26, 2018 post, Worldly Peer Pressure, under the category, Call To Repent.
5 See and/or download the sobering free one page document, The Gods Of Cultural Christianity in the Strong Man Store.
The Lord Jesus Christ loves His Church and speaks correction to and chastens those within the local churches that supposedly make it up (Revelation 3:19). This is the why and what for of His end of the first century specific messages to seven churches of Asia and their messengers in His Revelation I wrote about to open this New Year (Revelation 1:9-11, 19).1 The mere fact the Lord has something to say about what goes on in the churches demonstrates not only His knowledge, but concern that things be done in accord with His will, way and Word! He did not go away back to Heaven and turn the business of the Church over to us. He is Lord (Ephesians 1:15-23)!
In exercising His ever active Lordship over His Church from birth, the Lord Jesus presents Himself to the messenger of the church at Sardis as “He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars.” With authority granted by His Father (Mathew 28:18), the Son asserts His control over the fullness of the Holy Spirit represented as “the seven Spirits of God” in His activities among men and church messengers as “the seven stars” He earlier interpreted to John (Revelation 1:20). Then, after declaring He knew Sardis’ works, He drops a spiritual bomb shell on them with shock waves that reach to this very hour: they had “a name” for being “alive,” but were “dead” (Revelation 3:1, NKJV)!
The church in Sardis had a name or reputation for being alive whatever that meant for them at that time. Perhaps like some churches that were before and many that have followed them down through the centuries, professed Christians in the Sardis church were intensely engaged in sensational spiritual practices such as speaking in tongues which the apostle Paul warned against over emphasizing (1 Corinthians 14:1-19). Maybe it was passionate preaching or spirited singing and dancing that were carried out as a telltale sign God was present. Possibly too, it was all of these elements that are found variously in numerous churches among the ethnicities on earth today.
Few however, would argue with me that among the ethnicities, those of my own either on the African continent or scattered among the world’s countries including this one engage in all or most of what is described in the foregoing during any given service of what we call worship. The reputation for being alive among black Americans in their churches draws tourists to observe us from all over the world. And we typically do not disappoint; putting on emotion charged performances sometimes that are hard even for the most stoic of souls to resist being caught up in.2 I do understand such services have been historically cathartic for us and in loving empathy have written about why.3
Nevertheless, without the Holy Spirit whose living, working presence the Lord Jesus controls, none of what professed Christians do in the churches lives now or eternally before God (John 6:63). Clearly, from the Lord’s judgment of the church at Sardis, sensational activity and high energy emotional worship are not surefire indicators of the Holy Spirit’s living presence and work as many want to falsely believe. By default, works not empowered by the Holy Spirit are of the sinful flesh. Those acting in the flesh do not please God (Romans 8:5-8). And while there may be “liberty” when the Holy Spirit is present, such times are never a license to sin (2 Corinthians 3:17, NKJV)!4
The verdict of the Lord Jesus on the reputation of the church at Sardis was that they and their efforts were spiritually dead as is the case in every church where the Holy Spirit is not actually operative in what is going on! Apparently though, the church was not completely dead since after pronouncing them so, the Lord commands them to “Be watchful, and strengthen the things that remain, that are ready to die;” He not finding their works complete “before God.” Then, He exhorts them to go back in memory to what they had been originally taught, grip it tight and repent from their departure. If they don’t, He warns, He will come upon them suddenly for what will surely be retribution (Revelation 3:2-3, NKJV). The Lord says the same to guilty churches today.
Always in God’s economy there is a faithful remnant. At Sardis, there was one that by implication in their life and deeds were alive through the authentic work of the Holy Spirit. The Lord acknowledges them and promises a reward for their faithfulness--“for” He says, “they are worthy.” They will also never face the possibility of Him blotting their names out of “the Book of Life.” They will be alive in the Spirit forever! The Lord will also confess the names of these faithful saints before His “Father and before His angels.” He urges every individual in the church at Sardis and the one you attend too, if you will, “to hear what the Spirit says to the churches,” (Revelation 3:4-6, NKJV). The risen, living Christ continues His cry among American churches, "Who is on the Lord's side?"
1 See the two-part post that begins January 5, 2020, Revelation’s Seven Churches In Time, under the category, Bible Prophecy.
2 Save attempting to shame me for telling the truth on “us” since I have been black all of my life and even before I was a believer, as a child I witnessed how we do. And
as it concerns performing, while I know a relative few individuals among the musicians and audience may be having a genuine encounter with God, my teen years
were mostly spent in bands entertaining; I know performance, entertainment and being moved by the music when I see and hear it as still happens to me in all trans-
parency when I allow it (Ecclesiastes 3:1). Just because you are feeling it in what is called worship, does not mean God is and it is idolatry to think so, since He made
us in His image not the other way around (Psalm 50:16-23; Isaiah 1:10-20)!
3 Read the two-part repost beginning February 8, 2015, Strong Through God, Not Religion, under the category, Black History.
4 Examples occur whenever an assembly is thrown into disorder by folk lacking self-control and women in disobedience and defiance of God’s written Word are allowed
to lead worship where adult men are present (1 Corinthians 14:20-40; 1 Timothy 2:11-14). Women freely empowered by the Holy Spirit to prophesy (Joel 2:28-29,
Acts 2:1-18, 21:8-11) are not free to do so as they please or as sinning church leaders command in disobedience to God’s perpetually set order of mankind. Or are we
now blasphemously teaching that the “Holy” Spirit sanctions sin in rebellion against Himself? Knowing this not to be the case, no wonder the false escape is to lie on
God and declare He has spoken (Jeremiah 23:30-32), changed His mind (Malachi 3:6), updated His Word (Matthew 5:17-20, 24:35) or abandoned the temperance of
His eternal nature He wills to display in us (Galatians 5:22-23)! It is not nor will it ever be the Holy Spirit that pushes the guilty into sin, but the prince of darkness and
the lusts of their sinful flesh draw them into it (James 1:12-18).
There is nothing more delusional than for anyone to read exactly what God’s Word in straight forward declaration says and not accept it on its face. Instead, they read into or spin it to say what they want to support their own ideas confident God approves. Why would any professed Christian that truly knows and loves God purposely delude themselves and if a pastor, elder, teacher, preacher, prophet, evangelist or apostle (missionary) other people too, in this way? Fortunately for those of us that care, God in His Word objectively read, interpreted and applied with the leading of the Holy Spirit provides some answers and warnings about persons that deliberately disobey and corrupt it.
Before going further, I must disclose the divine burden on my heart that has led to this post. It is directly tied to the uniquely American professed Christian conservative delusional narrative that has caused many to pray and act at cross-purposes with God in the times we are in that I wrote about last week.1 I have read through the Bible many times since my surrender to Christ in 1979,2 but have not come across any promise of perpetuity for any nation but Israel! Also, it is certain not the American flag or any other nation’s flies in Heaven since Christ is and “will set up a banner for the nations” as He “assembles the outcasts of Israel...” in His Kingdom coming to earth (Isaiah 11:10-12; NKJV).
Having written the foregoing, you would be very mistaken to accuse me of not caring about my nation and its welfare! Because I deeply care about America, I have been faithfully obedient to the Lord at great cost to keep crying out against the wickedness bringing it down and proclaiming His way of salvation in the Gospel to fellow citizens of every hue--that He died on the cross for our sins, was buried and rose again to save sinners who will repent and believe! And realizing my natural allies on earth in helping our nation besides the Holy Spirit are ostensibly fellow believers He fills, empowers and leads in their churches that in the many are not, I have cried out with His grief for repentance.3
Alas though, in their largely compromised, corrupt, self-absorbed and divided state, the many guilty professed Christians and their churches in America also resist God's call to repentance and count me an enemy as the spiritually deluded and dead religionists have done from time immemorial (Genesis 4:1-8; Jeremiah 26:1-9; Matthew 23:27-39; John 8:37-47; Galatians 4:16).4 And so, once again the hard truth: how can any serious Christian really believe our nation will long endure without repentance by all the guilty from sin plainly defined and described in God’s Word? To think this is possible is to be completely deluded which apparently is acceptable among professed Christians.
Indeed, the American right and freedom to think, believe or say whatever one wants has led to the prevalence of false teaching from among many professed Christian liberals (progressives) and conservatives!5 Amazingly, many of these false teachers use Scripture as they deceptively assert it is written to undergird their particular philosophical narratives, related doctrines and opinions voluminously disseminated from pulpits and in Christian media. And because it is a permitted Americanism, the deluded, loyal followers of these false teachers will defend their right to teach falsehood to the death! But what men approve is not necessarily so with God (Luke 16:13-18)!
Everyone wants to believe and act on the Word of God as they see it rather than as it is. Scripture is clear, this was never God’s will nor is it now (2 Peter 1:16-21)! The average American in the pew does it deceiving him or herself to believe God is fully supportive of the American way of individualism, freedom and tolerance. The willfully deceitful false teachers do it puffing themselves up in pride to believe they are great teachers and their spin is right; competing with others to gain the largest possible following and income that in America’s free marketplace of ideas is acceptable. Such wicked motives, however, are not acceptable to God (Acts 20:25-31; 2 Corinthians 2:12-17, 4:1-6)!
We are supposed to come humbly to God and His written Word as eager learners ready to be taught His knowledge in Christ by the Holy Spirit (John 16:12-15; 1 Corinthians 2:6-16). If this were more widely the case now, there would not be as it is thousands of interpretations, false narratives, doctrines and opinions lest someone would even arrogantly believe God is the One confused about His own Word and the cause of confusion in His house (1 Corinthians 14:33)! But now, for those still mystified about what possible reasons the Lord might be put out enough with the current state of American Christianity and its churches to bring judgment, know that disobedience and corrupting of His Word causing “one of these little ones...to stumble” remains among them (Mark 9:42-48, NKJV).
1 See the January 10, 2021 post, Praying At Cross-Purposes With God, under the category, Bible Prophecy. Purely prophetically speaking, some generation had to roll up
on being close to the last before Christ’s coming. What does that say about the depth (not to mention authenticity) of relationship one has with Christ to selfishly want
Him to delay His coming because it interferes with your world narrative and plans? Seriously? The Lord instructs that we take the signs of His coming to heart and while
we keep living for Him and serving His causes, watch expectantly until He comes (Mark 13:28-36)! This is the heart of every aspiring strong man and great woman of
God in the image of Christ I write about in my book, The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics published by Open Door Communication Ministries, Inc. and available in
print or digital formats at major internet booksellers. You can also purchase a print copy in the Strong Man Store
2 Read my February 17, 2019 testimony in part, Surrendering All To Jesus, under the category, Glory To God!
3 Survey my posts in the categories Call To Repent and The Cause to see the consistency of the Lord’s message and heart through me to His Church in America.
4 “Well, maybe it would be different if you were not so harshly direct,” some have told me over the years. Without getting into the religious subterfuge behind such state-
ments, I cry out what God puts in my mouth with the same spiritual urgency all of the prophets of the Bible before me did and one that cares in the moment a person
about to be run over in the street needs to be warned to get out of the way! More poignantly, what is going on with the folk that have to be harshly spoken to (Ezekiel 33:
1-11; Matthew 3:1-12, 23:33; Galatians 5:7-12; James 4:1-10)?
5 As examples, consider the following. On this Sanctity Of Life Sunday created righteously by conservative President, Ronald Reagan’s 1984 proclamation to uphold un-
born life in the womb as sacred from God and to protect this life from murder by the parents (Genesis 9:5-7; Job 10:8-12), professed Christian liberals reject the occa-
sion falsely teaching a woman’s right to murder nowhere to be found in Scripture supersedes the unborn right to live. Tomorrow, many professed Christian liberals and
their atheist allies from many hues will celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on the holiday in his honor (quite apart from the God he honored) as one who fulfilled Scrip-
ture’s mandate of concern for the less fortunate, while many political and religious conservatives will falsely teach in denial the numerous historically documented acts of
oppression visited upon blacks and other American minorities by them and their forefathers has any application to them as “the oppressor” named in Scripture (Isaiah 1:
17, NKJV).
Over the past thirty years mainly, I have been on a God stirred quest to understand myself as a fallen mortal man that was created in the divine image and likeness and with assignments from Him I knew very little about. I have written about how teaching on the topic was quite limited in the churches I had attended from the time of my full surrender to the Lord in February 1979 until the early 1990s when my then, pastor, in a small Fort Worth, Texas church, began a purposeful presentation on the family. At about the same time I was introduced to Promise Keepers and a growing national movement of men on a similar quest I later found had issues that I have also written about.1
The major crippling issue of our national Christian men’s movement and in the churches that welcome the associated ministries in to teach and train their men is the hypocritical attempt to fit the square peg of the Bible’s instruction on God’s order, the roles and responsibilities of men into their round hole of practice dictated by feminist ideology. I was never comfortable with this burgeoning situation, but had included women in the incorporation and oversight of Open Door Communication Ministries for example, in an effort to be open-minded. Meanwhile, I also continued my personal quest to learn from God’s Word what a man is for my own need and to teach men as a pastor.
Illuminating instruction from the Lord through His Word brought me to the inescapable conviction that man and womanhood were not just some add on church discipleship topics, but essential doctrine that flows powerfully out of God’s purpose to save mankind both in time and for eternity! In the grip of this conviction in 2002, I felt led by the Lord to write a little booklet titled, Man, published by the Ministry’s Publishing Division. Shortly thereafter in May 2003 though, I was brought to a spiritual crisis by not being able to reconcile the biblical doctrine on men I was learning with the church practice I and other pastors were hypocritically allowing as I later wrote in a 2007 article.2
Confiding my dilemma to a pastor mentor, he confirmed the need to make a decision about what I would do since I was so deeply conflicted. I went home that day and prayed; finding myself once again in another of those true disciple, cost counting moments that test the depth of our commitment to Christ as Lord and the Word of God as the final authority of our lives. He honestly warns anyone that would be His disciple up front it requires a willingness to deny self to the point of suffering and death and urges “count the cost,” (Mark 8:34-38; Luke 14:25-33, NKJV).3 For those that are initially willing to follow the Lord no matter the cost, crisis comes when that cost gets painfully real!
Especially before me that day was His question: “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul,” (Mark 8:36, NKJV)? Too, His soul piercing charge, “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes...,” was potent in the moment (Mark 8:38, NKJV). I repented of my compromise, unwillingness to teach, contend for or implement the “whole counsel of God” in His Word as it is written concerning men (Acts 20:27, NKJV). Deciding to proclaim and teach only biblical doctrine on men led to the establishing of Strong Man Ministries on October 1, 2005.
I was also led by the Lord to write The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics first published in 2011.4 Many men to this hour have been reached with the Gospel and instruction on biblical manhood to the glory of God! However, none of this has taken place without cost. Not only have I had very few invitations to speak at or bring instruction to Christian men’s events or churches, but I have also been purposely rejected from serving as a pastor because of holding true to God’s Word as it is written. Humanly speaking it hurts, particularly as professed Christian folk as the unsaved try falsely and carnally to make it something about me when they are the ones guilty of compromise (1 Peter 4:1-5). I stand firm there is no temporal worldly profit worth being unfaithful to God’s Word for!5
Now, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I challenge every professed Christian man, pastor, elder, church and men’s ministry leader who have corrupted yourselves through compromise of the Word of God and what it says about His order of mankind, the roles and responsibilities of men to repent! Truly, are you really willing to gamble your eternal soul on the patently false supposition that the immutable God, Christ Jesus our Lord, has changed His mind about anything written in the Bible as His words (Matthew 5:17-20, 24:35; John 1:1-5, 14; Hebrews 1:1-4, 13:8-15)? “Yeah, but look at all of these mega and other large church pastors; their success clearly says God is okay with this,” someone will say. Get in your Bible sir; success is not necessarily an indication of God’s approval!6
Indeed, in His Coronavirus judgment God has shut down the churches of even the most successfully high flying pastors. He shows no favoritism! Pastor, I know the pride and fear that wells up in you to even think of having to admit you were wrong, misled and hurt people who trusted your subjective conviction that God was okay with your disobedient compromise of His Word. But this you must do if you will please Him and do His will since you already know remaining proud, defiant and stubborn in the face of His Word and call to repent will continue to be resisted by Him with more judgment (Psalm 138:6; Proverbs 3:31-35; James 4:4-10).7 You cannot prevail against God! The risen, living Christ continues His cry among American churches, "Who is on the Lord's side?"
1 Read part one of the three-part post, In God’s Revival Men Are Restored, under the category, The Cause that begins on January 8, 2017.
2 See the part two conclusion of the September 2007 FSTVEP Journal, If Not The Church, Then Who? 3 Read the two-part post beginning August 18, 2019, Lined Up Behind Jesus, under the category, Instruction.
4 A print copy or digital download of the book published by the Publishing Division of Open Door Communication Ministries, Inc. with fresh editing in 2019 for greater clarity
and updated web addresses in the footnotes is available at major internet booksellers such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, ChristianBooks.com and Apple (digital only).
You can also purchase a print copy in the Strong Man Store.
5 This does not mean I cannot be (and have not been) tempted to evil compromise--only God holds that distinction (James 1:13)! Satan, the tempter is wily and relentless
in his attempts to get me to sell Christ and His Word out (and you too, if you are truly in Him). The truth is, we all have been tempted by the satanic deceit of feminism
from whatever weakness or desire of the flesh to believe the lies God is no longer honoring His Word as it is written, biased males from Moses and to include Christ for
centuries have misunderstood or purposely misinterpreted the Word to subjugate females or blasphemously, God made a mistake and is wrong (Genesis 3:1-6; Isaiah
29:16, 45:9-10; Romans 9:20; 1 Timothy 4:1-2; James 1:14). And now, having ignored the Lord’s warnings not to be deceived in these latter days and without repen-
tance, many guilty are enduring the consequent fruit of their sinful compromise (James 1:15-18).
6 Large numbers and the majority can be wrong in God’s economy as was the case with Israel’s ten out of twelve spies when they assessed their prospects of taking the
Promised Land (Numbers 13-14). Also, as it concerns success as an absolute standard of divine approval, read how successful Solomon was and how God dealt with
his disobedience in the end (1 Kings 9-11). Finally, for anyone that would suggest “The compromise has existed a long time” (over half a century intensely). “Surely, God
has not waited until now, to actually do something about it?” Please read of His longsuffering shown to Israel in sin over extended periods beginning in Judges before
bringing remedial judgments. He waited in the case of king Manasseh’s sins over a century before finally bringing severe judgment upon Judah; in the meantime, send-
ing His prophets unheeded to warn and call the people to repentance (2 Kings 21:1-18, 23:26-27; 2 Chronicles 36:15-16).
7 This means that unless those sponsoring calls to prayer, repentance and revival at this time or going forward are willing to confess and repent from all God considers sin
including capitulating to feminism and the related compromise (and in many cases, serious corruption) of His Word to justify it, their efforts are in vain. Again, someone
will say, “Those who have corrupted themselves do not wish to repent from what they believe is right.” Then, the Lord from His Word has already made clear neither will
He relent from carrying out His foretold judgment (Proverbs 14:12; Jeremiah 15:1-9; Ezekiel 14:12-23)!
On this thirty-third anniversary since the Lord led me to found Open Door Communication Ministries, Inc., the organizational parent of Strong Man Ministries, He has me continuing to deal with two themes: violence against young black males and folk practicing Christianity as a religion of manmade invention. In this post of an edited 2012 Commentary,1 however, the violence against and killing of young black males comes purposely at their own hands, while it is predominantly black Americans as professed Christians in many churches practicing their own form of Christianity completely powerlessness to reverse this evil to any extent that are addressed.2
Without repentance, total community self-destruction is assured! With repentance and embrace of biblical Christianity in genuine Holy Spirit empowered revival, there is still some hope and a little time left to make a difference for good among our spiritually lost, young black males and entire community. This hope is not a fantasy like that of the fictional, comic book Black Panther king, his other world magical flower and cloaked kingdom of Wakanda. Our hope is fully grounded in the reality of the Son of God, His anointed King, Jesus Christ, revealed from Heaven who died on the cross for our sins, was buried and rose again to bring salvation and its exceedingly great benefits including His eternal power and Kingdom rule to all mankind now (Luke 24:44-49; Acts 1:8)!
Originally Published August 2012
The mostly Portland, OR area black American men and pastors that walk the streets to intervene with our boys and that recently came together to address how churches should handle gang related funerals are to be commended for their efforts. Formerly in my pastorates and through Strong Man Ministries I have witnessed to gang members. Eight years ago, I also attended a community meeting in the aftermath of yet another uptick in gang violence and was pierced deeply by the statements of one gang member who shattered all of our presumptions about gang bangers. His words made me realize Spirit led Christians can help curtail gang violence, but must be more assertive about it.
Let me be clear that I fully understand the problem with gangs and all forms of lawlessness in our communities are complex and multi-faceted. Even so, at its core, the criminal enterprise of gang banging with all of its associated lifestyle props is a spiritual issue of sin and evil. For example, the gang member that greatly disturbed me and others in the community meeting said that they are not all from single female led homes and poverty. This particular gang member had come from a two-parent, middle class home and was banging for the thrill of it--so much for viewing and solving the problem solely as a matter of political, economic, social and educational victimization!
Secular governments and police agencies are frustrated along with the few engaged church leaders that deal with the gang problem having rejected a biblical worldview and approach to curtailing it. Biblical Christianity is plain that gang bangers are sinners and need the Gospel like all other sinners to face up to the fact that a holy God has condemned them and their wicked behavior (criminality, violence and murder are sin). However, God loves and sent His Son, Jesus Christ into the world to save sinners that will repent from their sins and believe in Him (John 3:16-18a)! Those who believe become new creations with renewed minds by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:17-24).
Sinners who refuse to repent and believe in Christ from the heart remain condemned before God (John 3:18b-21; Romans 3:9-20; Galatians 5:19-21). With our continued attempts to reach gang members in and out of prison,3 they should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law to include receiving the death penalty when they harm and murder others respectively (Genesis 9:4-6; Romans 13:1-4). Churches mocking Christ's words should not provide a Christian burial service to those killed while banging (Matthew 7:21-23). But such tough love will never happen until pastors repent from not preaching the Gospel and the whole counsel of God with a unified voice into our communities.
Again, in having rejected a biblical worldview, secular governments and police agencies are outwitted and gunned in their struggle with the gang problem while too many church leaders appear to be willfully ignoring or helpless against the reality of the evil that supports it. Biblical Christianity also presents lawlessness as the spiritual outworking of evil (2 Thessalonians 2:3-9). According to the Bible, Satan is the original gangster as well as author of gang violence among angels and murder among men (Ezekiel 28:11-16; John 8:44). Because of this reality, faithful Christians or the world will never totally eradicate gangs for lawlessness even increases as the Lord foretold (Matthew 24:12).
However, just as our Lord went about destroying the works of the devil for the love and liberation of oppressed humanity, so must we for the sake of our sons, families, churches and communities (Acts 10:36-38; 1 John 3:8). Aspiring strong men of God in the image of Christ understand that we are not as a first priority wrestling against human beings, but territorial fallen spirits; demons whose mission it is to oppose God by destroying the men of His love (Daniel 10:1-14, 20-21; Ephesians 6:12).4 Therefore, we properly suit up and begin to attack the gang problem where it originates: in the spiritual realm among demonic hordes arrayed against us (2 Corinthians 10:3-6; Ephesians 6:10-18).
Such warfare requires that sinning pastors turn back to and lead their churches in the way of biblical Christianity which is routinely the power of God on display (Mark 16:15-18)! And since they have failed to do this until now, much fasting and prayer in revival must precede and bathe the warfare (Mark 9:14-29). Our liberated children will still need to be mentored spiritually in faithful, Bible teaching churches and encouraged to pursue an education as well as positive activities, employment or entrepreneurial opportunities. Our boys in particular must no longer be given mixed messages about what a man is and does as a leader in the home and churches!5 The risen, living Christ continues His cry among American churches, "Who is on the Lord's side?"
1 This Commentary originally launched a trilogy on violence that ended with Arresting Violence Against Women that posted on October 6, 2017, under the category,
Biblical Worldview. Lord willing, the middle Commentary--a follow up to this one entitled, Valuing Human Life, will post August 19, 2018.
2 The Lord has led me to write many commentaries and blogs over the years to professed Christian black Americans and our churches calling for repentance from re-
ligion and revival because of the sinfully lost opportunities to showcase the life changing power of the Gospel and power of God in our community. Read for exam-
ple, the February 8-15, 2015 two-part post, Strong Through God, Not Religion, under the category, Black History.
3 Since 2005 Strong Man Ministries has been intentionally engaged in reaching young males with the Gospel using media, on the streets, in sports and the prisons.
Learn more about our activities in summary on our Web Site or for our work with youth go directly to the Strong Man Minute Page. This Ministry stands ready to
come along side of and stand with any Kingdom driven church of Jesus Christ to reach especially our males--God’s chosen family heads with the Gospel and make
a difference for good among all of our community members.
4 I write about Christian men as aspiring strong men of God in the image of Jesus Christ in my book, The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics. It is available at all
major internet book sellers, by order at your favorite brick and mortar bookstore or in the Strong Man Store.
5 Males are purposely introduced to the Christian faith and taught biblical manhood which includes divinely willed Christ-like character in traits to help them mature in
Christ through The Strong Man Of God Men’s Group Study, available in the Strong Man Store. My book also teaches about purposeful mentoring by way of spiritual
fathering. This is spiritually maturing Christian men working with younger men and boys to help them grow in the faith. They also model to and teach them what it
means to be a man by God’s design and walk in His assignment of family headship and church leadership.
Join The Strong Man Of God Resources Conversation!
Get Your Copy Of The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics Today!
Your purchase supports restoring men, families and communities through Strong Man Ministries!
Purchase It Now