The Scourge Of Racism
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It is tragic to hear of and know many professed American Christians that are not willing to accept the coming global persecution of Christians to the death plainly foretold in Old and New Testament Bible prophecy.1 Jesus Christ our Lord--God “the Word” made “flesh,” (John 1:1-3, 14, NKJV) is the most prominent voice of prophecy on this topic among the sons of men ever (Matthew 10:16-23, 24:9; Mark 13:9-13; Luke 21:12-19; John 16:1-3)! Yet, many will not hear Him. As a result, they are making no spiritual, mental or emotional preparation for what the Lord has forewarned us is coming in spite of the fact it is happening to genuine believers in many parts of the world right now.
Giving us a heads up through prophecy long ago recorded in His written Word is another manifest blessing of God’s grace. It is not intended to frighten or ward us off from being Christians though, some are departing from the faith from fear. No, God’s good intent is to keep it real with us and encourage our diligent preparation in the face of His warnings in advance as the Lord Jesus indicated during and at the end of some of His prophetic discourses (Matthew 24:23-25; Mark 13:23; John 16:4). Understanding and accepting God’s purposes in allowing His people to be persecuted to the death through faith in and love for Him will help our preparation.
Indeed, it is written of the Lord Jesus Christ our example in everything that He is “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world,” (Revelation 13:8, NKJV). The apostle Peter similarly writes of Him as God’s “lamb” “foreordained before the foundation of world,” (1 Peter 1:18-21, NKJV), while Paul indicates God’s “purpose and grace” were “given to us in Christ Jesus before time began,” (2 Timothy 1:8-12, NKJV). These amazing statements clearly tell us our Lord Jesus had knowledge and understanding of what awaited Him at a future time from eternity before there was ever a creation or such a thing as time! After these, He still had to wait millennia knowing His future before the time.
When Christ did come into the world armed with advance knowledge and understanding of His Father’s will of persecution, suffering and death on a Roman cross for Him, He came with the trail blazing attitude of the Strong Man of God He is (Hebrews 10:5-7)! He does not hide the truth of possibly having the same future from those who would become His followers He also expects to possess His attitude (Matthew 16:24-27; Mark 8:34-38; Luke 9:18-26; John 15:18-25).2 The Lord’s apostles fully understood Him and experienced persecution and suffering to the death. They wrote to instruct us we to follow are not intended to long be exceptions to the rule if as has occurred here in America, there should be a brief respite (Acts 14:19-22; Philippians 1:27-30, 2:5-8; 1 Peter 4:12-19).
1 See the October 23, 2022 post, Revenge Of Those Without God’s Mark, under the category, Bible Prophecy.
2 The attitude of Jesus Christ, the Strong Man of God is exactly what He through the book, The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics, commissioned me to write about to help professed Christian men know so they might possess it! The book is available at your favorite internet bookseller or brick and mortar bookstore and the Strong Man Store. I also developed a curriculum drawn from the book, the companion Strong Man Of God Men’s Group Study and Great Woman Of God Women’s Group Study for the equip- ping of the saints in the home and churches. Get the Leader Kits that contain a Soft Cover Edition of my book, a respective Leader Guide and Participant Workbook as well as CD-Roms featuring PowerPoint Teaching Assistance, Pledge Sheets and Evaluation Forms for both studies exclusively in the Strong Man Store.
After addressing the strategic use of television specifically to advance the evil cause of rebellion against God and His Anointed, He now leads me to speak to the use of the medium by professing Christianity.1 With a degree in Radio and Television Broadcasting, graduate degree in Communication and over thirty-five years in the field mostly heading up a small media ministry in the express will and facilitation of the Lord, He has qualified me to speak and so, I do in this urgent latter day post. In days soon to come, Christian broadcasting will be globally targeted for eradication which is why it must be maximized now in its use for God’s causes in the Gospel of Jesus Christ!
To the credit of the initial Christian visionaries that understood God’s purposeful, creative hand in, vision for and use of the unfolding means of mass communication over the past century, there is such a thing as Christian broadcasting. For while the pioneers of radio and television broadcasting desperate for program content were initially welcoming of what was called religious programming mostly from Christian churches and their denominations, by the middle of the 1960s this began to slowly change due to the rising costs of production and air time and commercialism as well as the cultural shift toward secularism hostile to Christianity.
Television in particular--which provides pictures and sound--had such potential for good in the Kingdom cause of God to disseminate the Gospel of His Son and biblical instruction throughout the earth. This meant not only the opportunity to have men stand to preach and teach God’s Word, but to also be creative through such arts as drama. I feel blessed to be part of a unique generation that grew up watching the low tech clay animation of Davey and Goliath that presented important high moral lessons. The show was produced by the United Lutherans and featured the memorable hymn, A Mighty Fortress Is Our God, written by their famous founder, Martin Luther, as the theme music.
Nevertheless, the staple of Christian television fare has been worship services by large churches along with the preaching and teaching of their well known clergy. These churches and their denominational entities also provided holiday specials and helped to sponsor the televised specials of Evangelists such as the now departed Billy Graham, who was a trailblazer in the use of radio and television. Others in the Christian television vanguard include the also departed Paul Crouch, founder of the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) and Pat Robertson, founder of the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN). Together, these have all given Christian television its global presence.
Christian television’s global presence has not come without some scandal. Most Christian television networks feature so-called televangelists that dominate their programming schedules because they pay for the air time. But this has led to much and in some cases, questionable fundraising due to extravagant lifestyles bred of success.2 There has also been sensational heretical and conflicting teaching as well as sinful cultural compromises such as with feminism that allows women to take authority over and teach men.3 Nondenominational stations and networks that dominate the Christian broadcasting landscape are hesitant to deal with these issues (if they in guilt too will at all) because of the loss of income involved in removing paying customers from the air.
While all of the foregoing damages the integrity of Christian television, the continuing Babel and cultural compromises undermine what is supposed to be its unified message and imagery of the Christian Gospel in action (1 Corinthians 1:10; Ephesians 4:1-6)! The biblical Gospel (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) is not heard enough, though, the Christian programmers, television stations and networks all claim they exist to preach it globally; endlessly raising money supposedly to this end. Instead, unlike worldly programmers of sin who do all say and show the same thing, many professed Christian preachers pitch their own conflicting takes on the Gospel and God’s Word as they compete for followers and dollars (Acts 20:30); exporting their Babel and unbiblical compromises to the nations!
As television is supposed to do, this televised unbiblical and confused state of affairs precisely mirrors the spreading harlotries and spiritual dysfunction in American Christianity; a situation that no one of sound mind and Word should attempt to defend. For whatever good there may currently be in Christian television, it has so much greater potential in saying the same thing as it concerns the soul saving Gospel message and being consistently biblical as a divinely useful tool of dissemination. It is to the glory of God that there is indeed, some good on Christian television. Of late, TBN, for example, has made major creative inroads in children’s, youth and ethnic programming on several dedicated networks.4 CBN has the only major professionally produced Christian News program on television.
Even so, repentance from tolerating Babel and compromise is absolutely needed to most effectively use the medium now. Enemies of the cross are shortly to target Christian television and all Christian media in the ramping up of foretold global persecution (Matthew 24:9). This is because in modern warfare, the means of mass communication are seized or knocked out as a priority. Christian persecutors up to and including the Antichrist will be allowed by God to finally silence all means of humanly communicating the Christian message (involving the Gospel, biblical truth and prophecy) in opposition to their own (Daniel 8:23-26; 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12; Revelation 13). But God will get His message to the world by an angel one last time before bringing His wrath (Revelation 14:6-7)!5 The risen, living Christ continues His cry among American churches, "Who is on the Lord's side?"
1 See the October 14, 2018 post, Grasping For Normal, under the categories, Bible Prophecy and Call To Repent.
2 Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker with their PTL empire at its height in the mid-1980’s have been among those so charged and are a tragic and globally known example.
Learn more at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_PTL_Club.
3 The Lord leads me to explain why this compromise has been disastrous in the churches and for the Christian witness among the unsaved in many posts especially
under the categories Call To Repent, God’s Creatures, Instruction and The Cause as well as 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.
4 The leading Christian network in the world shows flashes of the creative possibilities in television with original programming such as productions Drive Thru History
that has its host travel to key New Testament locations in the expansion of 1st century Christianity to explain events in an entertaining way and Creation In The 21st
Century upholding a biblical worldview of creation by interviewing Christian men and women of science and using well done displays, graphics and on location foot-
age. The Gospel is preached by such heavy hitters as Billy Graham in a “Classics” program that replays his crusades, Dr. Charles Stanley, Dr. David Jeremiah,
Greg Laurie and Dr. Michael Youssef to name some of the relative few that stand flat footed to regularly include it in their preaching and teaching. Learn more about
TBN at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity_Broadcasting_Network.
5 Read the September 13, 2015 post, Praise For The Lord God Almighty!, under the category, Glory To God!
Knowing from eternity what awaited Him is one thing as the Lord led me to write about in my November 27, 2022 post, it is another thing experiencing the hatred, persecution and suffering that led to His death!1 Satan--who knows from experience the Bible narrative and its prophecies better than even the most studious of believers--sought to prevent Christ’s mortal entry into the world by destroying His godly lineage in advance. He could not (Genesis 3:1-7, 13-15, 4:1-8, 25-26, 17:1-8, 22:9-18, 25:19-26, 49:1-2, 8-12; Matthew 1:1-17; Luke 3:23-38; Galatians 3:15-18)! Undeterred because of his hatred for God and man, the devil did not stop trying to keep Christ from coming.
Being the Almighty God, the Father was undeterred from bringing His Son into the world in the face of Satan’s fierce hatred because of His love for and consequent desire to save mankind from eternal destruction (Jeremiah 32:26-27; John 3:16-21). In fulfillment of His Word spoken some seven hundred years before through the prophet (Isaiah 7:10-14), God sent “the angel Gabriel” to deliver His message of blessing and “favor” to a “betrothed” Jewish virgin named “Mary.” She was chosen by God for whom “nothing is impossible” to ‘“conceive’” in her ‘“womb’” ‘“a Son’” by the agency of the ‘“Holy Spirit,’” ‘“to be born’” and ‘“called the Son of God,’” (Luke 1:26-38, NKJV).
Only the apostle Matthew records how Satan persecuting Him before birth, might have destroyed the developing unborn Son in His mother’s womb. Discovering her condition however he did, Joseph, Mary’s “husband, being a just (or righteous) man” did not want to expose her to “public” scandal and the very possible condemnation of death by stoning required in the law under normal circumstances for not being a virgin or adultery (Deuteronomy 22:13-24; Matthew 1:18-19, NKJV).2 Stoning Mary to death would have also killed her unborn Child. But God intervened with Joseph by His angel in a “dream” as he wrestled with his troubling marital dilemma (Matthew 1:20a, NKJV).
The angel encouraged Joseph revealing the activity and purposes of God in Mary’s pregnancy. He was told not to fear embracing Mary as his wife because “that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit” validating her truthfulness and faithfulness. Furthermore, Mary would ‘“bring forth a Son’” and Joseph as His surrogate father given the honor of naming Him, ‘“Jesus,’” because ‘“He will save His people from their sins,’” (Matthew 1:20b-21, NKJV).3 Matthew goes on to also affirm Mary’s virgin pregnancy with Jesus, the Son of God, by the Father’s will and exertion of power to accomplish it “fulfilled” Isaiah’s prophecy (Matthew 1:22-23, NKJV). Too, he reports Joseph obeyed God’s message through the angel and kept his wife’s purity until her Son was born (Matthew 1:24-25).
1 Read the November 27, 2022, Christ The Lamb Slain Before Creation, under the category, Instruction.
2 Speaking of Joseph as “just” refers to his character which God plainly shows is important to Him with also Mary and all of the godly persons named in the Christmas narrative. He leads me to uphold His shaping and forming of the character of Christ in Christians as the nonnegotiable renewing work He does in us for the present and eternity in my book, The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics. It is available at your favorite internet bookseller or brick and mortar bookstore and the Strong Man Store. With the Lord’s leading, I also developed a companion curriculum drawn from the book, The Strong Man Of God Men’s Group Study and The Great Woman Of God Women’s Group Study for the equipping of the saints in the home and churches. Get the Leader Kits that contain a Soft Cover Edition of my book, a respective Leader Guide and Participant Workbook as well as CD-Roms featuring PowerPoint Teaching Assistance, Pledge Sheets and Evaluation Forms for both studies exclusively in the Strong Man Store.
3 As is commonly explained by most expositors the angel would have used the proper Hebrew and Aramaic for the Lord’s name, “Yeshua,” which means “Yahweh will save” or “the Lord is salvation” or quite literally to the point, “Savior!” Holy Scripture assures the Lord will respond to His name by whatever language is used to “call upon Him,” (Acts 2:1-6; Romans 10:11-13, NKJV).
Having just spent time giving serious thanks to God for all of His blessings this Thanksgiving, the Lord again directs my attention to the persecution being suffered by my Christian brethren among many nations. Though I do not write a lot about the ongoing persecution of Christians, I stay regularly informed and prayerful for all. The aforementioned “all” includes not just the suffering faces of those in faraway lands such as North Korea and Nigeria, but increasingly, those enduring persecution in this Western hemisphere and our own nation. Truly, growing hostility toward and persecution of Bible believing Christians in America is a reality that can no longer be dismissed as only isolated.
As a supporter of similarly named, but organizationally unrelated Open Doors USA, our Ministry regularly receives their reports on what is happening among our persecuted Christian brethren around the world.1 Not only are our brethren suffering from family and community exclusion within the nations they live, but government harassment, arrests, unfair trials, incarceration, legally sanctioned mob violence and martyrdom. When the Christian men are targeted for incarceration or murder, it leaves their families to suffer. While Communist and Islamic run nations fill the list of persecutors, nations such as Christian Eritrea, Hindu India and Buddhist Bhutan are also prominent.2
It is about to get really real for those of us that profess to be Christians in America too. Intensifying opposition to the biblical faith once on the fringe of American society is going mainstream. Moral tenets of the faith once taken for granted as absolute and bedrock to American society are not only being challenged, but cast down as no longer acceptable. These are not just tenets governing marriage and family for example, but definitions of objective truth, right and wrong, good and evil as well as justice and injustice. In the wake of this swiftly moving river of moral upheaval, Christians that would dare stand firm for the moral tenets of our faith are suffering varying degrees of persecution.
Besides the “in-your-face” government policies and litigations to remove crosses and nativity scenes as public displays of Christianity to implement falsely believed constitutionally mandated church and state separation, some Christians have suffered being demoted or fired from employment because they had Bibles at their work stations or read them on breaks. And because many secular entities have a “corporate culture” now, that does not tolerate religious expression (though, they publicly trumpet “inclusion” and “diversity” as values), being hired a Christian with a social media presence may be very difficult and once hired, witnessing Christ to co-workers is out.3
American secular colleges and universities that have historically celebrated tolerating various viewpoints as a means in the process of vigorous, but polite debate to sharpen the thinking of young minds have in too many instances today, hung out the “not welcome” sign to a biblical worldview. Biblically conservative Christian students are routinely singled out and held up to ridicule for their faith. Christian professors do not escape either.4 The secular media regularly ignores and mocks Christians that hold to a biblical worldview being quick only to report on high profile “Televangelists” and “Megachurch Pastors” whose sins come to light, while social media giants resist them.5
As I have also commented in other posts, a number of American Christians have been purposely targeted and martyred in mass shootings such as the one at Columbine High School in 1999 along with churches as occurred in Charleston, SC in 2015 and Sutherland Springs, TX in 2017.6 In agreement with all other observers here, none of what American Christians have suffered to date compares with the daily egregious and violent persecution our overseas brethren endure--yet! Praying for “the persecuted church” like it is some disconnected entity that exists only in non-exceptional, often impoverished nations of the world is about to change as persecutors intensify their efforts in America.7 And why? It is their “hour and the power of darkness,” (Luke 22:52-53, NKJV).
For this reason, beyond seeking to sensitize us to the ongoing suffering of our brethren wherever they are as a primary reason for this post, exhorting faithful American Christians to spiritually, mentally and emotionally prepare for the kind of hatred fed persecution our overseas brethren experience is an important secondary reason since our Lord has warned it is to occur in “all nations,” (Matthew 10:16-39, 24:9, NKJV).8 Now, is the time to awake from arrogance and apathy to get ready for what our Lord foretells and assures will take place. Among the equipping resources available is my book, The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics and related group studies.9 The risen, living Christ continues His cry among American churches, "Who is on the Lord's side?"
1 The organizational parent of Strong Man Ministries is Open Door Communication Ministries, Inc. I was led by the Lord to found August 12, 1985. Read some of the
stories of persecuted Christians among the many countries on the 2020 World Watch List of Open Doors USA.
2 What many of our brethren overseas “normally” suffer from their persecutors has been intensified during the Lord’s Coronavirus judgment. As we are banding together
with other Christians to help and encourage one another here at home, the Lord would have us remember our suffering persecuted brethren in those faraway lands
with tangible support as well (1 John 3:16-18).
3 Sadly, our military as a work place is no exception. Read about the case of Chaplain Curt Cizek.
4 To learn more about the experience of Christians on American campuses read the following ACLJ, Beliefnet and IsChristianityTrue articles.
5 I can attest to the heavy-handed resistance of Facebook to biblically conservative ministries such as this one among the social media giants. “Likes” to our pages by
Christians mysteriously dwindle after I write blogs or make posts on their platform that are not politically correct, tolerant etc. which the Lord has had me call them on.
They want me to believe that just making better posts and spending more money to “boost” them will remedy the situation though, such has not been the case since
they also limit the reach of the same. For the record, I do understand a to be expected number of professed Christians that formerly liked our Facebook pages are sub-
ject to “unlike” them at any time as a show of disagreement with me. I get that, but not what Facebook is doing which lately has even taken away page likes whenever
someone has liked a post! I urge Christians that have liked our pages and those of other ministries to check back periodically especially if you have not received a post
in your newsfeeds for a time and re-like the pages if necessary. Also, enlist other Christians on Facebook to like our pages after you have done so.
6 Read for example, the June 8, 2014 post, And Then There Is The War, under the category, instruction. Revisit the cited respective church shootings at the following
links Charleston, SC and Sutherland Springs, TX.
7 See the November 12, 2017 post, God’s Throwaways?, under the category, Bible Prophecy.
8 Read the two-part post beginning May 17, 2020, Persecution, Hatred And Betrayal, under the category, Bible Prophecy.
9 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 clari-
ty 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. Too, leaders can teach, disciple and equip through The Strong Man Of God Men’s Group Study and The
Great Woman Of God Women’s Group Study also in the Strong Man Store.
“Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. Let all that you do be done with love,” (1 Corinthians 16:13-14, NKJV). The foregoing verses are among the final exhortations to the church at Corinth by the apostle Paul in a deeply sobering letter filled with instruction and correction. I pray these verses will find their mark in the heart of every professing Christian American that reads this blog and is searching for how to handle the morality shift of our nation that is retracting the welcome mat Christianity once had in a God pleasing way. To be sure, Paul’s exhortation does not sit well with our reflexive American cultural mind set to go on the offensive for our rights.
However, he is exhorting us to watch for something far superior to America in her best days; we are to watch for the glorious Second Coming and Kingdom of our Lord as He also taught (Matthew 24:42-44)! We are not to back up on Him in the face of opposition, but literally stand still in the faith--biblical Christianity as it is written! We are to be courageous and strong in the Lord while the opposition presses in on us laboring as aspiring strong men and great women of God in Christ’s image (Ephesians 6:10-20)! Finally, we are to do all of what we do in love--the love supernaturally supplied to us by the Holy Spirit--for fellow believers and those who hate us (Romans 5:5).
Presently, many professing Christians are not giving heed to the apostle Paul’s exhortation and have instead, chosen the American way of fighting--which in the right situation legally is not wrong. But what the Lord led me to write in 2013 about a business situation close to home here in Portland with many similar instances around the nation, I remain steadfast in conviction is not the right one to fight since discrimination violates God’s commandment to us and man’s law. Christians are not to show partiality or if you will, discriminate against someone’s person in making judgments (Deuteronomy 1:16-18; 1 Timothy 5:19-21). The subjects of the 2013 blog have since been penalized by the governing authorities for discrimination and others face similar consequences.
In this edited repost of that blog, I use the hurtful experiences I and most of those of my race with other racial minorities have had in being discriminated against in America as a backdrop to try in love to help my mostly white, conservative evangelical Christian brethren get this right going forward. Based on the Anglo-centric mail that I have received from some organizations, though, I see not only that this original word from the Lord through me as an ignorant black man was ignored, but it appears something sadly predictable as another part of the American way is occurring: discriminated against racial minority Christians are intended to be left to themselves.1 Seriously, racism to the end? Where’s the love? Even so, my God will thwart this evil too and prove His Word right (Acts 27:9-21).
Originally Posted March 3, 2013
I greatly empathize with the position Aaron and Melissa Klein who own the bakery, Sweet Cakes By Melissa here in the Portland area have taken not to bake a wedding cake for a same sex couple. They have taken this position out of the biblical conviction that such marriages are wrong which of course, I also share. However, I do not believe they or any other Christian owner of a business open to the public has the right to refuse service to those whose lifestyle they morally disagree.
It would be one thing if this were a church or para-church organization and an immoral person came in demanding that these entities violate the tenets of their faith to allow the individual to become a member, be hired or receive services formally declared to be for Christians only. However, this situation is about Christians that own a business offering services to the general public without any stated restrictions (until now). By their own admission the bakery owners have gay customers and have served them previously.
As a black American, the whole situation is a painful reminder of the evil system of discrimination in this nation that legally permitted businesses to refuse service to blacks based simply on the color of our skin. If service was offered, blacks were humiliated in having to go to the back or side doors to receive it. Many of the white business owners then were good church members and believed they stood on Christian values in their discriminatory conduct as taught and reinforced by their leadership.
In shame, even many nominal white Christians today in honesty would have to admit this kind of targeted discrimination was morally wrong and unbiblical. Yet, many have stood to support the cause of this couple’s right to unlawfully discriminate (with thanks to God and the perseverance of those in the Civil Rights Movement, discrimination in public commerce and accommodations is illegal now) against two gay customers just because they want to marry each other which all Christians with a biblical worldview agree is wrong.
In line with the thinking of the late Chuck Colson and others concerned that we Christians hold to our biblical worldview in every corner of our nation’s secular culture, we are to engage unbelievers and rebels against the divine order in a winsome way. If Christians are going to open businesses serving everyone in the general public, they can be winsome about it for example, by using tactful signage that affirms in a positive way their standing as Christians with a biblical worldview. Their lifestyle, demeanor and conversation should also reflect the joy of relationship with Christ.
Any customers that come in know that this business owner is devoted to Christ and the Word of God and most will respect that. The few who do not respect this and want the Christian business owner to provide their product or service to them should be served in the love and humility of Christ who taught us to love our enemies and healed the cut off ear of one of the men sent to arrest Him (Matthew 5:43-48; Luke 22:49-51). The message on a receipt for a product or service rendered can share the Gospel or for instance, read: “Served with love from the God who loves and forgives sinners!”
As I wrote back on December 16, 2012 in the Powerlessness Of Being The Minority, Pt.1, Christians are fast becoming a despised minority in America. Christian businesses which are important and strategic outposts for the Gospel do not need to incite our future persecutors by unnecessarily breaking the law through discriminating against them at this stage of things. In short, while I commend their willingness to take a stand, this is not a Rosa Parks moment for the owners of Sweet Cakes By Melissa, other Christian business owners or Christians at large. If a Christian that owns a business open to the public cannot in good conscience serve same sex couples, close it down. Similarly, if thinking of opening a business with the same conviction, do not open it!
Truly, already Christians are being discriminated against and our values rejected by our once welcoming society (Matthew 5:11-12; Luke 6:22-23). We are not to return evil for evil (Luke 6:31; Romans 12:17-21). The foretold severe persecution just for being willing to confess Christ draws near. As aspiring strong men and great women of God we will have plenty of opportunities to take a stand for Christ and I hope many will in all faithfulness and obedience (Revelation 13, 14:9-13).
1 Examine the art work, photos and primary victims displayed in a sampling of white, conservative evangelical Christian publications addressing the impact cultural change is
having on largely white evangelicals. While most assuredly I appreciate what their proclaimed intentions are, in the 21st century, to call “an oversight” the failure to in- clude the continuing fight against discrimination by all racial minorities, but especially their brothers in Christ as a related and worthy cause is beyond incredible. Of course, being the president of a small non-profit, I do also see the fundraising dollars and cents of this “oversight.” Nevertheless, I hope our Christian readers from all
backgrounds will consider donating to our Ministry because of the fair, balanced and truthful way in the Lord I deal with everybody’s stuff including my own!
I wrote to guilty pastors, elders and churches in a January 27, 2019 post footnote, “How can you seriously expect the world to hear you from God’s Word and you do not even obey it?”1 The fact of the matter is blatant disobedience to God’s Word has characterized many professed Christians, their churches and other ecclesiastical bodies reaching back to the apostles (Romans 16:17-18; 1 Corinthians 5:1-2; Galatians 3:1-4). During the past 500 years, breakaway European Protestants protested the disobedience and corruptions of Catholicism only to find themselves in independence doing all of the same things as their mother (Revelation 17:1-6).
Both groups wickedly gave religious undergirding to the bigoted, violent and dehumanizing form of slavery my forefathers endured while passing down to them their manmade forms of Christianity the religion corruptly drawn from the Bible.2 Thanks to the continuing support of its many powerless manmade forms extant like yeast throughout American Christianity, racial bigotry and discrimination also remains a foil to the realization of a widespread display of biblically commanded, Holy Spirit fired love and brotherhood.3 This is to the glee of Satan who along with racial bigotry has initiated all of the deceitful strongholds of sin among the many harlot churches today God in His wrath will destroy (Amos 5:16-27; Revelation 16:17-19, 17:15-18:8)!4
Like our nation at this moment, American Christianity in the main is a racially divided house about to fall as I write in this edited 2013 Commentary.
Originally Published February 2013
The now deceased Rodney King's appeal, "Can we all get along" was moving, but not realistic for worldly men. His appeal came in the face of rioting after a 1992 trial acquitting white Los Angeles police officers of beating him that was captured on video and seen globally. For professed Christian American men, getting along in racial harmony is supposedly not to be the problem it is for worldly men since we have God resident in us. However, the nearly four centuries Christianity has been in America tragically presents contrary evidence. Aspiring strong men of God in the image of Christ celebrate diversity in His Body; fostering unity, harmony and where needed, healing.5
It is Black History Month again. The occasion may seem to be a purposeful discomfiting reminder to white Americans of the racism that once ran so deep among their forefathers, an attempt was made to destroy black contributions from American history. However, to prevent the loss of our history, help build appreciation in blacks and willing others, black educator and historian Carter G. Woodson created the special emphasis last century that now spans all of February. Nevertheless, as the uproar in Rodney King’s beating twenty years ago and subsequent events such as last year’s killing of black teenager, Trayvon Martin, show, racial tensions remain skin deep.6
Tensions are apparent too in churches that are racially homogeneous and wish to remain so. How could racial segregation as initiated by whites during slavery and continued by many of their descendants along with reciprocating black and other minorities professing to be Christians remain to this hour? Why can’t we come together in our racial diversity as Christians? As the Lord led, I explored this issue through a booklet I wrote in 2005 entitled, The Scourge Of Racism.7 In it, I conclude racism in the churches is a failure by professed Christians to obey the Lord's command to love one another (John 13:34-35).
I also write about the failure to love one another in a number of blog posts.8 This failure is tied to America's brand of Christianity the religion where impostors devoid of the Holy Spirit and weak believers quenching His fire in willful sin, practice all manner of evil including racism. America's Christian house is divided in defiance of the Lord all claim to follow and His teaching that "a house divided against a house falls," (Luke 11:17; NKJV). If the guilty do not repent from the toleration of racism and other sins that divide, the Lord's teaching will soon be fulfilled since it can be no other way (Luke 11:23, 21:33)!
As I assert in The Scourge Of Racism, God our Creator from the one man, Adam, has made us all different by purposeful design that mankind in all of their diversity might with common heart seek Him (Acts 17:24-28)! Our diversity of gender, race, ethnicity, nationality, language, body size, abilities etc. is all to the glory of God in this present age and to be celebrated.9 This, the aspiring strong man and great woman of God in the image of Christ do! For we all in Christ have been brought together in our diversity as sons by God through Christ, the blood He shed to save us on Calvary's cross and the new birth by the Holy Spirit. In Him, men are God's household and forever family held together in divine love (Galatians 3:26-29; Ephesians 2:11-22, 3:14-21)!
This is biblical Christianity that will only continue to seem as high idealism and deluded wishful thinking to professed Christians in divided churches until authentic repentance and revival sweeps through. In repentance, professed Christian white men must cease assuming they are superior to their brothers of color; that every way they see things or idea they propose is right because of their self-appointed standing as superior. They must also give up the notion that men of color should despise themselves and embrace every white value to gain acceptance. Truly, all are to be like Christ and obey His command to love each other as He has loved us (1 John 3:10-24, 4:20-5:3).
Professed Christian black and other men of color in repentance must let go of legitimate anger not just for past, but God knows about the ongoing racial injustices we suffer among many of our white, ostensibly Christian brothers. Bitter victimization is appealing, but is not God's way of love that forgives rather than keeps records of wrongs suffered (1 Corinthians 13:4-5). Also, stop looking for sinful men to fully vindicate your suffering. As aspiring strong men of God in the image of Christ we are waiting for divine vindication that will occur when Christ soon returns--unless you scoff at His coming (2 Thessalonians 1:3-12; 1 Peter 2:19-23; 2 Peter 3:1-9)?10 The risen, living Christ continues His cry among American churches, "Who is on the Lord's side?"
1 The quote is found in the eighth footnote of the post, Contending For God’s Design Of Masculinity In Men, under the category, The Cause.
2 Read the two-part, August 2016 post, Christianity The Religion Of Men, under the category, Instruction.
3 See Christianity The Religion American Style posted September 4, 2016 under the category, Call To Repent.
4 Much of Western Christianity (my fellow black Americans well represented) continues to want to idolatrously recast God away from His eternal holiness, righteousness,
justice and enduring commands for this mortal age with ear scratching preaching (2 Timothy 4:1-4) and emotion charged, supposedly loving, female led so-called wor-
ship in sin. The worshipper may have “enjoyed” what was taking place, but the issue is did God? The God of the Bible’s ancient rebuke stands as declared by the pro-
phet Amos in the Scripture listed to which this footnote refers. He does not accept nor is He pleased with worship no matter how sincere or emotional that is mixed with
sin! Truly, before Amos, the prophet Samuel proclaimed, “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice…” and the Lord Jesus: “If you love Me, keep my commandments,”
(1 Samuel 15:22-23; John 14:15, NKJV). Read the three-part series of posts beginning January 4, 2015, Worshipping God Without God, under the category, Call To
Repent. The Lord’s judgment of the unrepentant is just!
5 Learn more about the aspiring strong man and great woman of God in the image of Jesus Christ from my book, The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics and compan-
ion instructional resource, The Strong Man Of God Men’s Group Study. They are available in the Strong Man Store.
6 Read the two-part post beginning on July 29, 2018, The Racial Double Standard, under the category, Call To Repent.
7 The booklet is available on the Resources Page of our companion Web Site, https://fromslaverytovictory.org.
8 Read the four March 1-22, 2015 posts on love as an inescapable requirement of biblical Christianity under the category, Instruction.
9 See the December 6, 2015 post, Celebrating God’s Racial Diversity Initiative, under the category, Call To Repent.
10 Read When The Glory Comes, posted on November 29, 2015 under the category, Glory To God!
As Christmas draws near this year, I am awestruck yet again by how God brought to sudden fulfillment in time what had been planned from eternity (2 Timothy 1:8-10); His work of salvation foretold by His prophets of old (Luke 1:67-75)! For Christmas from the Bible is nothing less than the simple, but profound narrative of a loving God’s next in time action step among many before with a few still coming to save His fallen creature, man, from sin, Satan and death. Among those prior steps was the never before done in history calling out of a people through whom to bring forth His chosen Deliverer (Genesis 3:14-15, 22:9-18; Exodus 3:1-10; Deuteronomy 4:32-39, 18:15-19).
Though surrounded and obscured by various Gentile secular and manmade religious cultural traditions as I was led to write in a previous post,1 if there is to be an authentic, biblical celebration of Christmas it must begin with God and the divine plan to save among fallen mankind! The divine plan designating the Son of God as mankind’s Savior was formulated before there was ever a creation because God foreknew man’s fall (Acts 2:22-24; 1 Peter 1:20-21). Many--including some Christians I have taught--struggle with this truth. They wonder, “If God knew man was going to fall, why bother to create him?” The simple answer is bound up in God’s nature and wisdom as well as man’s purpose.
“God is love,” the apostle John emphatically declares (1 John 4:8, NKJV). The visionary desire of God to create man is rooted in the very depths of divine love. Thus, the existence of man is not the result of a divine whim, afterthought or experiment. In love, God would create eternal sons to love that would love Him back in the image and likeness of the eternal Son (John 14:31; 1 John 4:19)!2 In wisdom, God knew (and now, even we know) in order for His creature to love, he must not only be equipped with the ability, but the free will to choose to do so. For this reason too, created to loyally serve God and His eternal sons, angels also have free will (Psalm 103:20-21; Hebrews 1:13-14).
The sovereign God, who knows all things, saw in advance the first man would freely choose to disobey His command and bring forth upon himself the just judgment His holy nature demanded. Since this was no experiment where God discarding the first man, would continue trying like some mad scientist until He finally created one that obeyed, in perfect love and wisdom God constructed a righteous plan to save His fallen creature. No plan was made to save disloyal angels that chose to rebel against God; they would be condemned to Hell forever without recourse (Ezekiel 28:11-19; Matthew 25:41; Revelation 20:10). But from eternity God in love would show man His grace!
Here is where Christmas gets really deeply moving for me and I trust you also if in fact, you are among those saved by God’s grace through repentance and faith in the Gospel of His Son, Jesus Christ! While some stumble over the fact God would bother at all with constructing a plan to save fallen man, I am completely blown away by the fact His plan involved choosing to become one of us, His creature, leading to the indescribable pain, suffering and death He endured in successfully carrying it out (Isaiah 7:10-14, 53:1-9; Luke 1:26-40, 2:1-38; John 1:1-18, 3:16, 19:17-37; Hebrews 2:5-18). I am overwhelmed attempting to search out the kind of love that would do this for me!
Away from the secular commercial clamor, most significant for me as a Christian is the joyful worship of the God of my salvation; my Savior as planned, foretold and fulfilled--the powerful in simplicity real objective of Christmas! Indeed, so powerful is Christmas as the joyful worship of God in celebration of His action step to save fallen men by sending us His Son, the world has sought to diminish it with its own satanically inspired fabricated, sentimental storylines and cultural traditions which many churches of Christianity the religion of men endorse and support. To their shame and condemnation over the centuries, a great number of these have themselves offered up many complicated and heretical doctrines that corrupt the simple biblical narrative of God’s work to save.
Contending also with what he later describes as “false apostles” and “deceitful workers” as those that were phony messengers “of light” like Satan (2 Corinthians 11:12-15, NKJV), the apostle Paul strongly appeals for the Corinthians and all Christians to be faithful to our Lord Jesus; retaining “the simplicity that is in Christ,” (2 Corinthians 11:1-4, NKJV). For as Paul was concerned in the first, so, it continues to happen right into this twenty-first century that professed Christians are abandoning the simplicity of God’s work to save us from our sins through the first coming of Christ Jesus. Instead, to their destruction they are going after false christs, other gospels and doctrines following deceitful spirits as foretold (Mark 13:5-6; Galatians 1:3-7; 1 Timothy 4:1-5).
In faith and God’s command to stand fast, however, let every aspiring strong man of God in Christ’s image proclaim and witness the truth prepared from eternity and fulfilled to his family, church and the world at Christmas (Isaiah 53:10-12; John 20:1-18; Titus 1:1-3).3 Let us also accurately teach that if all of God’s foretold action steps in His work to save us from our sins were fulfilled at Christ’s first coming, then, it must be soberly understood that every one of the remaining prophesied action steps of salvation’s consummation at His Second Coming are to be shortly fulfilled (Acts 1:4-11, 3:18-26; Hebrews 9:23-28; Revelation 1:1-8, 21:7-8)!4 The risen, living Christ continues His cry among American churches, "Who is on the Lord's side?"
I will take next Sunday off as part of my Christmas celebration and Lord willing, return with a final 2018 post on December 30th. Merry Christmas!
1 See the December 2014 two-part post, Culturally Conditioning the Faith, under the category, The Faith. The Church is not a creation of culture, but Christ’s called out
assembly from it (Matthew 16:13-18). Therefore, the Church is not beholding to the culture its members have assembled out of, but to Christ as His “light” exposing the
darkness and His “pillar and ground of the truth” in it (Ephesians 5:8-14; 1 Timothy 3:15, NKJV)! Because this is true, I stand by every word and Scripture cited in the
post referenced in this footnote.
2 Read the June 19, 2016 post, Eternal Sons Of God, under the category, Instruction.
3 Learn more about the aspiring strong man and great woman of God 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.
4 Read Now Is The Day Of Salvation, posted December 4, 2016, under the category, Call To Repent. Also, while it is righteous not to attempt to declare a specific date or
hour of Christ’s return as He warned (Mark 13:32-37), a disservice is being done to the Body of Christ by those at this hour that say “it could be another thousand
years.” Not! The Lord also commanded us to watch for the prophetic signs He gave indicating His coming was near (Luke 21:25-36). Such signs have been breaking
out profusely since the time Israel became a nation again on May 14, 1948 which itself is the greatest of them so far and confirms as foretold that the punitive dispersion
of the Jews to the nations was only to be temporary (Hosea 3; Luke 21:20-24; Romans 11:1-15, 25-36)!
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