Hope Unassailable

The following poem was inspired by the precious words written in 2 Corinthians 4:7-5:4.  I thank my God that the veil of blindness has been lifted from my eyes in Jesus Christ. I do not have to fear death, whether death comes naturally or by accident, by the ravages of some disease or malnutrition, or by the violence of persecution. The Lord Jesus Christ has overcome death, and will overcome it finally in the last Day.  As He has called me out of my spiritual grave and made me to walk in newness of life, He will call me from my physical grave and clothe this mortal body with immortality. If such is the case, and I believe it with all my heart, why should I fear anything or anyone at all? And if you are Christ’s, why should you fear? Only let the Word of God go forth more boldly than ever!

So many gaze intently
At the things which are seen,
But they do not seek
The unseen things.
The temporal and perishing
They clutch in desperation,
Forgetting eternity
And all that it brings.

But the hope of the Christian
Who dies and lives with Christ
Is a hope unassailable
Free from thieves and decay.
Though his outward man perishes,
He faints not.
For his inward man lives on,
Renewed day by day.

His deliverance unto death
As a sheep to the slaughter
Displays in mortal flesh
The life of His Lord.
He believes and therefore speaks,
“It is all but light affliction–
A momentary sorrow
Giving way to great reward.”

Bear about in your body
The dying of Messiah.
The greatness of God’s power
In a vessel made of clay.
Ye troubled, don’t be distressed.
Ye perplexed, do not despair.
Sorrow lasts for the night,
But joy comes with the day.

If our earthly house dissolves,
And this temple is torn down,
We have another building–
A house not made with hands–
Eternal in the heavens
Where corruption cannot enter,
Prepared by the Word
And secured by His command.

While in this mortal body,
Cast down but not destroyed,
Today we are burdened.
And today, we groan.
But with a single eye
We complete the race before us,
In the hope that Christ has given us–
Long life before His throne.

In Perilous Times, Fear Not

Undoubtedly, these are dangerous days. There are dangers of bombings and explosions. There are dangers brought in by evil men who destroy the earth’s food, air, and water. There are dangers to our children imposed by the education system, the “health” system, etc.  There are dangers of heresies, false gospels, a false Jesus, and false churches that stumble souls rather than help them. There are dangers due to wicked governments all over the earth.

Then you have the “truthers,” who claim to expose all the truth for us. But there is a subtle danger here too.  So often they do not really expose all the truth, but only part of it. They expose only the negative and they fill us with fear. They have proof and they have daily videos and caustic diatribes that get us worked up and agitated.  They make a living peddling fear and leading us to trust in them and their foresight. They exalt in guns and off-grid living (which are not inherently evil but offer no real refuge).

What they fail to show us is the armies of God in the heavens poised and ready to fight for God’s people. They don’t show this because they do not see it. They only see “the enemy” (whichever one they are currently focused on), and think the cure is a fight in the flesh to save our flesh, or a valiant stand on a man-made constitution. They have only half the story and pitiful cures. They will teach you to save bottled water and freeze-dried food, but they seldom teach you about the Word of God that keeps alive the man who trusts in it. They can serve to awaken us to danger but they can’t provide any real help. They are often angry and bitter, and disobedient to God’s commands to trust in Him and pray for our leaders. The powerful gospel which alone changes men is shelved and forgotten, while vitriolic remarks against “the enemy” are taken up.

They–and those who trust in them–think they are saving us all by pointing out the “real terrorists,” whether these real terrorists be Muslims, government officials, Jews, Illuminati, bankers, the catholic church, or the KKK.   And while people expend great efforts to expose “the truth,” the whole truth is that EVERY PERSON AT WAR WITH GOD IS A TERRORIST. Some are fighting for Allah, some are fighting for a false Jesus, some are fighting for physical freedom and the pride of a nation, some are fighting for racial elevation, some are fighting for global power or financial gains. But all are deceived and fighting God and trampling His people. All are headed for destruction no matter how heavily armed or well-fed they may be.

In the meantime, the one who has found refuge in the mercy of Jesus knows that a thousand may fall at our side and ten thousand may fall at our right hand, but it shall not come near us. What shall not come near us? Shall our bodies be kept from the perils of this perishing world? Not necessarily. Paul was shipwrecked, suffered hunger, and was beaten and stoned. He was chained in prison, and his mortal life was cut short by violent men. But–if we look through spiritual eyes–he fought the good fight and won, he finished his course triumphantly, he kept the faith, and he won the imperishable crown of righteousness. To live was Christ and to die was gain. He knew that whether he lived or died, he was the Lord’s. His eye was single and he recognized that his battle was not against flesh and blood, and his weapons were spiritual weapons.

Disciple of Jesus, even the sparrows do not fall to the ground unnoticed. You are worth more than many sparrows. Do you believe this?

Be not afraid of them that kill the body and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God?  But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.  Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God:But he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God. (Jesus in Luke 12:4-9)

The greatest danger may not be what we think it is. The greatest danger is denying our Lord Jesus by refusing to live a life focused on confessing Him before men, come what may.

We are not constitutionalists, but soldiers of Jesus, ambassadors of His Kingdom, and carriers of His precious Word. We are not saviors of the physical body, but bearers of good news that saves every soul that believes. We are not proud Americans (or some other nationality) who need to rise up & preach the glories of our nation; we are bold witnesses who will suffer all things gladly for His sake.  We are not saved to preserve whatever culture we were born in; we are  saved to advance an eternal righteous kingdom that is not of this world. We do not teach the fear of men, but the fear of God who is coming to judge the world!

 

Our homes may burn, our jobs may be lost, our health may deteriorate, and our bodies may be locked in a steel and concrete cell away from the light and fresh air. If our faith is real, we will not wilt under these conditions! Because of the Word of our God, we will live and flourish and have light in the darkness. We will be like trees planted by the rivers of water that continue to bring forth fruit in season, and all the devils in hell will not prevent our fruit-bearing. The Word of God cannot be chained, WILL NOT be chained, and WILL NOT return void.

Blessed be the name of the Lord, who raises up all those who are bowed down. His meek shall inherit the earth. They SHALL inherit the earth.  No weapon formed against Him or His sheep shall prosper. The gates of hell cannot prevail against the church. Faith is the evidence of things not seen. We do not judge by sight alone. We do not judge by our feelings or by circumstances and current events. We judge by the mind of Jesus Christ, who has already overcome the world.

We do not turn aside from our great commission to lesser goals.

And though we are a “little flock” sent out into the very midst of wolves, we will obey the command of Jesus to FEAR NOT.

Dead Works vs. Good Works

Hebrews 6:1-2 contains a list of foundational principles of the doctrine (teaching) of Christ. In order, they are:  repentance from dead works, faith toward God, baptisms, laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.

So…what exactly is repentance from dead works?

I have heard it taught that this refers to a repenting of doing good works, and that one must be sure not to do good works when they are seeking salvation.

The gospel, presented with this particular understanding of repentance from dead works, looks like this:

You must repent of doing good works (often called “self-righteousness”) and you must understand there is nothing you can do. Then have faith in Jesus and He will do it all.

This explanation of the gospel is woefully inadequate and dangerous. Some people who hear this message conclude that their works (good or bad) don’t matter at all, and that trying to live a life pleasing to the Father is sinful. They think it would be a better expression of faith if they stop (repent of) trying to do good, and just go with the flow, trusting the mercy of God to cover them. I believe this false understanding is a recipe for spiritual shipwreck.

While it is true that we can’t earn salvation with good works, I do not think this is what the writer of Hebrews had in mind. By dead works, I believe he meant works that lead to death–or in other words, sin.  Remember, the wages of sin is death. We are required to repent of sin/iniquity (2 Tim. 2:19).  We are to repent of dead works, and we begin to do the good works that glorify our Father (Matt. 5:16) which God has ordained for us to walk in (Eph. 2:10). We don’t begin to do those good works in order to earn our salvation, but because we have been converted from the heart to love righteousness and hate wickedness as our Father does.  [For more detail on the necessity of biblical repentance and what it looks like, please read Repentance Toward God.]

Hebrews 9:13-14 also contains the phrase dead works. Look at how it is used–

For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

Do we need our conscience cleansed in the blood of Christ from righteous works or from evil works? Evil works offend our conscience and weigh us down with guilt. Notice we go from doing these dead works to serving the living God. In other words, we go from doing evil (serving the flesh and idols) to doing good (serving God.)

Another interesting verse is Rev. 9:20–

But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk.

Notice that the works which mankind was expected to repent of was the worship of demons and idols. They were not condemned because they were trying too hard to please God with good works. They were condemned because they wouldn’t stop worshiping demons and idols.

Elsewhere in Scripture, dead works are referred to as wicked works (Neh. 9:35; Psa. 141:4; Col. 1:21), evil works (Jonah 3:10; John 7:7; 2 Tim. 4:14; I Jn. 3:12), abominable works (Psa. 14:1), works done in the dark (Isa. 29:15), works that are as nothing or vain (Isa. 41:29), works of iniquity that leave a man naked and vulnerable to judgment (Isa. 59:6), works of darkness (Rom. 13:12; Eph. 5:11), and works of the flesh that will exclude us from the kingdom of God (Gal. 5:19-21).

Let us remember that Scripture was given that the man of God can be perfect and thoroughly furnished unto all good works (2 Tim. 3:16-17).  Jesus died for us to redeem us from iniquity and purify unto Himself a peculiar people who are zealous for good works (Titus 2:14).  What sets us apart from the world and makes us peculiar is that we are zealous for good works rather than for evil works!  Christians are to consider how to provoke one another to love and good works (Heb. 10:24), and we are urged to maintain (continually do) good works (Titus 3:8,14).

Our good works do not atone for the dead works we have done while we were yet children of wrath. We (believers) do not do good works for the purpose of atoning for our sins;  we do them because we love our Redeemer and agree with His ways.

Nevertheless, God commands all men everywhere to repent–to turn from their evil ways and works. Every evildoer is called to repent, and turn from all his transgressions, so that iniquity will not be his ruin (Ezek. 18:30).  Do not let the false explanation of some teachers water down the seriousness of the Bible’s warnings. Repenting of works that lead to death is foundational to the Christian faith, and unless we do repent, we will perish according to Jesus (Luke 13:3-5).

My Salvation Testimony

I was adopted at age 4 out of a bad situation. My birthmother had married an abusive alcoholic who wouldn’t keep a roof over our heads. He had dedicated their marriage to satan on their wedding night. After living through a nightmare and having 3 children in 3 years, my birthmother had a nervous breakdown and gave up the 2 youngest children for adoption. I went to my adoptive parents with a terror of men, chronic nightmares about the devil and violence, and emotional issues.

My new mother was a teacher in a Christian school. She made sure I had a good educational foundation and she invested time and love in me. I still remember her reading the Proverbs to me when I was very little.  I didn’t understand all the words, but I was drawn to them. When I had nightmares as a child, I would turn on my light and read the Bible. Something about the wonderful Word of God comforted me.  I owe much to my mother.

My parents took me to church several times a week. I learned about Jesus in a time when an 80 yr.-old Sunday School teacher could easily control 20 small children all by herself.  I remember the little painted wooden chairs we sat on, and Mrs. Hahn’s white hair and wrinkled face, and how she illustrated Bible stories by sticking felt people to a felt board. I easily believed everything I learned of Jesus, but…

Unfortunately my father had issues of his own, and my rejection of him didn’t help. Our relationship started badly, and by the time I was a teenager, I hated him. He was very religious, but he was also physically abusive. I despised him for his hypocrisy and resented my mother for being so submissive to him. I began to rebel against God as a teen attending a Christian school. Most of the other students seemed to be Christians in name only just like me. Amazingly, though, I had a best friend–a pastor’s daughter–who seemed to have a true heart for God. I admired her and wanted to be like her, but I just couldn’t. My own heart was darkened. Jesus had failed me (so I thought). I knew He existed & died for my sins, but I declared to my mother at 17 years old, that I had

***no intention of letting Jesus tell me what to do.***

I was angry and bitter. I was sure I could make myself happy once I got to make choices for myself. I thought Jesus was my Savior even if I didn’t listen to Him, because this is a message I had heard.  It was a comforting lie, very easy to embrace.

I began dating my husband when I was 16 and he was 17.  We lived in sexual sin and more guilt piled onto the burden I already carried. Even before I married my husband, I was weighed down with shame that I tried to blame on everyone else. It was my parents’ fault, my boyfriend’s fault–it was never my fault. And though I was calling all the shots in my life now, I still wasn’t happy.

After marriage, our lack of a real foundation in Christ caused our relationship to suffer. I was sure my husband didn’t love me because he didn’t worship me the way I thought a husband should. I didn’t realize a wife was to be a helper for her husband, not a god to be worshiped! I really had no idea what a marriage should look like. In my mind, my mother had been a doormat, and I had no intention of being so. I tried to control everything and was chronically depressed because of my false expectations and selfishness.  My frustrated husband withdrew from me and spent more time at work.  Still searching for that elusive happiness, I decided that having children must be the magic “fix” for my sorrows.

At 20 years of age, I had my first baby, and a second baby followed a year after. It didn’t take long for this self-centered girl to realize that having children was not the best way to keep life revolving around ME! My little children needed me so much, and they forced me to look outside of myself and focus on the needs of others (God is so wise!) I did my best to do this, but I secretly resented it and felt sorry for myself.

I then decided that a career must be the thing that would make me happy, and I handed my kids over to a babysitter and went to work. Problems got even worse at an alarming rate. My friends were all bad (birds of a feather flock together!) Men flirted with me, inflating my ego and increasing my resentment of my husband. Women listened to my complaints and told me,

“You don’t deserve that. You deserve to be happy. Follow your heart.”

***I had no idea how satan was setting me up through the evil counsel of evil friends to my evil heart.***

I began to entertain wicked, adulterous thoughts–always justifying myself with the lie that I was the victim, and thinking I was hurting no one.

My thought life led to grievously wicked actions that only brought me into more bondage. But as I got more disillusioned, Jesus began to show me that the wages of my sin would only ever be death.

Because I returned to work in a medical facility so soon after my 3rd baby was born, she got very sick and nearly died. She was in the ICU with half a lung functioning, and a nurse told me if she didn’t turn around soon, her heart would stop. This thought terrified me. Completely selfish, I couldn’t see how *I* could handle losing a baby. It wasn’t fair. A relative  urged me to read the Bible, which made me even more angry. Why was he talking to me about God when my baby was dying! He said Jaime would go to heaven;  it was ME he was worried about. I was frustrated and angry at God, but in desperation I promised God that if He would heal my baby, I would start living right. He healed my baby and I forgot my promise. After all, this was about ME, not HIM.  I was the victim.  I treated God like He was one of many gods in my life. I would pull Him out and pray when I was in distress, but otherwise I preferred Him to leave me alone.

I must leave the details of my bondage to sin out, as they will edify no one. But suffice it to say I did things that broke my husband’s heart and endangered my family. And all this time I thought I was a Christian. After all, “we all sin every day,” right, and He just overlooks it all because He died on the cross?–That’s what I thought.

I sank lower in sin than I ever thought I could. And one day while I was trying to get drunk so as to dull my guilty conscience, I could not get drunk no matter how much I drank.  My mind was unbearably clear. Then I had a kind of vision of Jesus. He was looking at me–He saw what I was doing, and tears were running down His face. I cry just typing this out because it was so real. I heard Him say to my heart, “What you are doing is not what I want for you.”

The full weight of the evil I was doing hit me. I realized I was a bad person. I had never wanted to be a bad person who hurt people. Yet here I was hurting the very people I was supposed to love. Wasn’t I supposed to love my husband and children?–Yes! Why did I not seem to have the capacity to love them? And I began to pray very honestly for the first time. I asked Jesus why I was such a bad person. To my surprise, I heard Him answer me very clearly–

*** “Because you don’t listen to Me.” ***

Then I remembered my declaration that I would never let Jesus tell me what to do. The light went on suddenly!  I was a sheep GONE ASTRAY because I wouldn’t listen to Him!  It wasn’t His fault. It wasn’t everyone else’s fault either.  I was not a victim; I was the sinner. I was the rebel determined to do as I pleased. I WAS THE PROBLEM.

Not only that, I needed forgiveness so desperately. Even if I repented and followed Jesus–which I knew I must do, how could I ever get all this wickedness off my record?! I was filthy and wretched. Though I needed to do what was right, future good works couldn’t undo my dreadful past. I needed forgiveness and mercy, not only from God but from my own husband.   Suddenly the cross of Jesus Christ became the most valuable thing in the world to me. It was no longer a nice story about a selfless God who was far from me. Everything was my fault and it was breaking God’s heart, yet God was reaching for me. He wanted to forgive ME. Would I stop going my own way and cleave to Him?  The cross began to change me from a rebel to an obedient, teachable child. And it alone could atone for my many acts of rebellion.

The transformation was not easy, but very painful! Oh, how the Lord opened me up and searched me with His bright light and laid me bare before His eyes and the eyes of my husband. I heard my husband weep over my sin; it was a terrible sound that taught me how much sin hurts God and people. When I heard that sound, I remember thinking to myself, “I never want to cause this kind of pain ever again.”  Suddenly the commandments of God were all Love to me.  They were so reasonable, but I had been unreasonable. I wanted them engraved on my heart so I couldn’t–wouldn’t–forget.

Oh, how I wished I could undo all those selfish decisions, but we often can’t undo what we have already done.  I hated sin with every fiber of my being. I wasn’t a person trying to escape hell with a little prayer designed to blindfold God. I knew God wasn’t blindfolded, and I deserved hell. I wasn’t even a person trying to save her marriage. I knew I didn’t deserve marriage any more than I deserved heaven. I was willing to lose it if that is what it took to make my husband see how sorry I really was.  No more manipulation, no more control. I was a person wanting to escape sin. Oh, God, save me from sin! Save me from my SELF! Save me from the person I have become! Oh, save me from hurting You and hurting people! Save me from bringing more suffering into this already suffering world! Save me from causing so much heartache and so many tears!  Forgive me, please!  Change me, change me, change me. I will do whatever You say. Just give me Your teaching and I will do it.

Thus I was thoroughly humbled before God. He forgave my sin and gave me a new start, a new heart. He also taught me to forgive the people who had hurt me.  My first assignment was to forgive my parents, especially my dad. I was able to cry for the abuse he suffered as a child, and I cultivated genuinely benevolent feelings for him where I used to feel only hatred.

Our family needed healing and it would take time, but the Lord spoke to my husband through a Christian. The message was, “Forgive and love your wife as Jesus loves the church.” And he courageously embraced that message despite his own confusion and pain, and made a commitment to do it no matter how much it might hurt. He is such a hero to me.

Good and bad times followed.

There were days I could hardly get off the bed because my heart was so broken, and my husband would come  home early from work to hold me and cry with me (a tender miracle in itself).

There were other days when he himself struggled as satan tried to get him to forsake his commitment, and I wondered if we would make it. I was reading my Bible and learning God’s heart, and striving to follow Him daily, but there were hard days when it seemed we couldn’t survive the past.  We began to homeschool, but I was unsure of the future and we had 3 children–I desperately wanted them to survive and thrive. And God spoke to me through Galatians 6:7-9 that I might have to reap a bad harvest for a while (I had sowed alot of bad seed), but if I would patiently continue in doing good, a good harvest would come. And so I set my heart to learn and do what is written in God’s word, and to leave the future to Him.

He has been more than faithful to teach when our hearts were yielded.  He has helped us help our children.  Our marriage is stronger today than it has ever been before. We are not plagued by bad memories; we are filled with thankfulness at the redemption of Jesus, the power of the Gospel and forgiveness, and the wisdom now at our disposal.

Since my conversion almost 14 years ago, I have often spoken out against sin, especially sin amongst professing Christians. Sometimes I am accused of acting like I’ve never sinned, or thinking I’m better than others. This is why I wrote out my testimony, including a summary of the darkness I once walked in.

You see, I do not think I am better than others. I know my past is ugly–I was ugly. I have been forgiven much.

But I recognize that many professing Christians are deceived about their state before God, as I was for many years. Many of these continue in sinful living and think their head belief in Jesus saves them, but Scripture says even the demons believe in Jesus. Obedience to Him is what they lack, and Jesus is the author of salvation to those who obey Him (Heb. 5:9). His blood is what atones for sin (not good works), but His humble sacrifice–the good dying for the wicked–was meant to change our hearts from willful rebellion to loving obedience. We must be converted and become as little children, no longer leading ourselves but being led by our wiser Father.  We need to “come to our senses” like the prodigal son did in the pig pen, and return home humbled to faithfully serve the Father. Anything else is doing despite to the Spirit of grace and trampling the blood of Jesus under our feet.

The grace of God that brings salvation TEACHES us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world (Titus 2:11-12).  If we have not responded to the cross of Jesus Christ with godly sorrow for sin that works real repentance in us, then we need to examine ourselves to see if we are really in the faith.  Scripture says, “Let everyone that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.” (2 Tim. 2:19)  The sheep to whom Jesus gives eternal life are those who hear His voice and follow Him.  They will not follow the voice of a stranger, who tells them they can live any way they want and still have eternal life.  Jesus must be Lord, or He will not be Savior.

If there is one thing I want to give to other people, it is the awareness that they will either listen to Jesus or go the wrong way and end in destruction. There is no middle ground.  The way that seems right to us–apart from following Jesus–always ends in death.

Through the written Scriptures and the teaching of His Holy Spirit–our own conscience and the testimonies of nature bearing witness–we can know who He is & His loving and selfless character.  Through His sacrifice, we can have forgiveness and the new birth and become new creations.  WE DON’T HAVE TO BE LIKE WE ALWAYS WERE. We do not have to be tossed about by the opinions of “experts” (who are often blind people leading blind people into a ditch).  We do not have to follow our own hearts into deeper and deeper bondage and confusion. There is no life or joy or hope apart from submission to Jesus. The best that Sin and self-will can offer is a short season of sensual pleasure followed by death and destruction and misery. People in the world often sorrow about this death and misery, but they don’t sorrow with GODLY sorrow to repentance. That is the difference between the one who is sorry about sin yet continues to sow the wind and reap the whirlwind (Judas), and the one who repents and is born again to a new life that is empowered by God Himself to bear good fruit (Peter).

Head knowledge of Jesus, going to church or practicing religious rituals won’t save us. We can’t manage our lives ourselves, tell ourselves we are doing pretty good compared to Hitler, or even the scale by adding some token good works to the bad. We must completely die to our old life and be born again to a new life. In this way, we participate in the gospel.  Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. We need to be humbled and converted, and receive the mercy He offers.  We need to get on that Way, obey that Truth, and abide in Him so that His Life remains in us producing good fruit.  Do you believe? Do not believe merely as devils believe. Believe unto salvation.  How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?

All praise to the LORD Jesus Christ, who loved us and gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world. God bless you.

 

 

Pleading for Baal

Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord. So the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian for seven years…So Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites, and the children of Israel cried out to the Lord. And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried out to the Lord because of the Midianites, that the Lord sent a prophet to the children of Israel, who said to them, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘I brought you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of bondage; and I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of all who oppressed you, and drove them out before you and gave you their land. Also I said to you, “I am the Lord your God; do not fear the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell.” But you have not obeyed My voice.’”  (Jud. 6:1-10)

Israel–the “people of God” separated unto Himself–had not obeyed His voice.  They loved the idols of the heathen, so they were delivered into the hand of Midian.

American “people of God” need to see that we also are delivered into the hands of God’s enemies because of our disobedience. It is not that God can’t or won’t help us. It is that we will not obey.

I believe God has sent some prophets to the people of America. They are men and women who have the testimony of Jesus and keep His commandments. (Rev. 12:17)  While others are bitterly blaming the Midianites, these are rightly assessing the problem–the problem of disobedience in the professing people of God.

Gideon was not told to start a petition to make the Midianites obey God’s law. Instead, he was told to tear down the altar to Baal that was in his own back yard.

To do so, he would have to stand against his own family, for his father owned the altar and the wooden image beside it. Frightened as he was, Gideon did as God asked. He tore down the false altar and set the wooden image ablaze, and sacrificed his father’s bull to the Lord.

When the men of the city saw what had been done, they wanted to kill Gideon. How does a culture that once declared, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods” (Josh. 24:16) switch to calling for the death of a man who tore down a false altar in their midst?  The deceitfulness of sin!  Israel would go on to kill and crucify and scourge and persecute many of its prophets, including its own Messiah.

Surprisingly, Gideon’s father protected his life by saying that if Baal was a god, let Baal plead for himself against Gideon. Perhaps Gideon’s father was convicted by Gideon’s bold obedience to the Lord and repented.

Today among the people of God, we have many pleading for Baal. If you touch their false altars or their idols, they are angry enough to kill you.  They will brand you a heretic, a legalist, or a Pharisee, in hopes that others won’t listen to you.  When you tell them to love the Lord with all their heart, they confess it perfectly impossible to love the Lord. They cannot love the Lord and they cannot cease from sin because they love their idols. They are doubleminded and unstable in all their ways.

I am not talking about the Midianites, but about the professing people of God.

By and large, the American church is modern-day Laodicea, fully deceived about our condition before God. We don’t know that we are wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked. How can this be? The deceitfulness of sin!

We have called good evil, and called evil good, in an attempt to serve God and idols simultaneously. Sincere obedience is now the new legalism. The gospel message we preach is powerless because we add and take away from the Word of God. We don’t require true repentance lest someone be offended at God. We don’t require endurance to the end in obedient faith, lest we contradict some man-made doctrine in a man-made creed.  We have reduced the “born again” experience to a repeated prayer that changes nothing–the old has not gone and the new has not come. The same old sinners carry their Bibles to church and encourage one another in their evil deeds. Brother, we all sin every day. Thank God for His grace, eh?  So religious, so void of power.

You know it is true. Look at the youth group in your church;  how many young people are living holy to the Lord?  How many are truly set apart from this world?  Where is the power? I will tell you where it is. It has departed, and we are turned over to our enemies. We plant and the enemy burns up the whole crop.  ICHABOD is written across the doors of most churches, but the show goes on. The majority of the people have never known the true power of the Lord, and so they don’t miss it. Those who know something is missing weep in secret.

If you have a heart for the Lord and zeal for His kingdom and righteousness, be like Gideon. Be prepared to obey the voice of the Lord when He asks you to prove your devotion to Him by tearing down a false altar that has been in your family–or your country–for years. Religious people will come out against you. They will destroy your reputation.  They will put you out of their churches. They will unite “Christians” against you, and they will plead for Baal.  Know that it is for the Lord’s sake that you suffer. Know that if you would be the friend of God, you must bear a small portion of His burden. Know that there is only one worth pleading for, and you are His ambassador and witness. Be faithful and endure hardness for His sake.

God bless you.

American Christian, Judgment Begins in the House of God

We did not lose our country because “we failed to stand up for our rights.”

We will not “gain our country back” when we “stand up for our rights again.”

Where is “standing up for our rights” in the New Testament? We have not so learned Christ. But this comes from another spirit.

We lost our country because we (the professing people of God) loved the idols of the heathen. We became worthless salt fit only to be trampled.

We will head in the right direction again when we destroy those idols from our midst and from our hearts.

We can rail all we want against our heathen neighbor, our heathen president, or the “dumb Christians who don’t vote.” It’s not going to do a bit of good. It is a self-righteous way of refusing to deal with the plank in our eye. We have become churches filled with sinful, self-indulgent hypocrites having temper tantrums, not because we are zealous for God’s glory, but because we are zealous for protecting our idolatrous way of life.  Judgment begins in the house of God.  If His people humble themselves and pray, and TURN FROM THEIR OWN WICKED WAYS, He will heal the land.

President Obama is not the problem. Professing Christians who love the idols of the heathen are the problem.

The Democrats are not the problem. Professing Christians who are too busy polishing their idols to fulfill the Great Commission are the problem.

The Muslims are not the problem. Professing Christians who don’t love the Muslims enough to share truth with them are the problem.

Gideon didn’t rail against the Midianites. He risked his own neck to destroy the altar to Baal that was on HIS OWN LAND in the midst of HIS OWN PEOPLE–the “people of God.”  After he did this, God GAVE the Midianites into his hand. (Judges 6-7)

Jesus didn’t take a whip into a Roman shrine and chase out the prostitutes.  He took a whip into the “temple of God” and chased out those who turned His house of prayer into a den of thieves.  How could the temple prostitutes ever understand God’s great salvation with the “people of God” so perverting His message?

Saints, we have got to clean house. If Jesus came in the flesh today, most churches and most “Christians” would outright reject Him. He would be crucified all over again, or perhaps shot by some Christian gunslinger who is trying to win back the nation to Christ.

If you are angrily fighting for your rights to dominate the heathen, you need to check and see what Master you are following. See how He came like a Lamb to the slaughter. See how He poured out His life blood for those who still hated Him. See how He refused to divide material possessions between men but instead warned of covetousness (Luke 12:14-21).  See how He was rejected in favor of the anti-Roman insurrectionist, Barabbas. See how He rebuked His own disciples when they wished to call down fire on those who rejected the gospel (Luke 9:53-56). See how He attributed Peter’s desire to avoid suffering to a satanic preoccupation with the things of men (Matt. 16:23.)

Is this the Master you are following?

Did you know that those who followed Him and walked in His ways turned the world upside down without a single gun or a single vote?

Selah…

Early Church Writings on Christians & Violence

Scripture, as illuminated by the Holy Spirit, is the source of doctrine and practice for every Christian.  The “early church fathers” have left us a testimony of how they interpreted and followed the Scriptures. They were fallible men, and cannot be our final authority.  Yet I think it is worth examining what they taught, since these men preached in a time before the leaven had so thoroughly corrupted the whole loaf.

On the subject of Christians in military service, and Christians using violence for self-defense, much was written by these men. Their convictions on these matters are strikingly different than the prevailing convictions of Christians today, even though they lived in times and places where persecution was likely. Have we surpassed these men in understanding what God’s will is, or have we fallen into greater ignorance and unbelief? Each of us must prayerfully decide.

A person who has accepted the power of killing, or a soldier, may never be received [into the church] at all.
—Hippolytus (170-236 A.D)

Above all, Christians are not allowed to correct with violence.
—Clement of Alexandria

I do not wish to be a king; I am not anxious to be rich; I decline military command… Die to the world, repudiating the madness that is in it.
—Tatian’s Address to the Greeks

We who formerly used to murder one another now refrain from even making war upon our enemies.
—The First Apology of Justin Martyr

Whatever Christians would not wish others to do to them, they do not to others. And they comfort their oppressors and make them their friends; they do good to their enemies…. Through love towards their oppressors, they persuade them to become Christians.
—The Apology of Aristides

A soldier of the civil authority must be taught not to kill men and to refuse to do so if he is commanded, and to refuse to take an oath. If he is unwilling to comply, he must be rejected for baptism. A military commander or civic magistrate must resign or be rejected. If a believer seeks to become a soldier, he must be rejected, for he has despised God.
—Hippolytus of Rome

There is nothing better than peace, in which all warfare of things in heaven and things on earth is abolished.
—Ignatius of Antioch to the Ephesians

The new covenant that brings back peace and the law that gives life have gone forth over the whole earth, as the prophets said: “For out of Zion will go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem; and he will instruct many people; and they will break down their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks, and they will no longer learn to make war.” These people formed their swords and war lances into plowshares,” that is, into instruments used for peaceful purposes. So now, they are unaccustomed to fighting, so when they are struck, they offer also the other cheek.
—Irenaeus

We would rather shed our own blood than stain our hands and our conscience with that of another. As a result, an ungrateful world is now enjoying–and for a long period has enjoyed–a benefit from Christ. For by his means, the rage of savage ferocity has been softened and has begun to withhold hostile hands from the blood of a fellow creature. In fact, if all men without exception…would lend an ear for a while to his salutary and peaceful rules,…the whole world would be living in the most peaceful tranquility. The world would have turned the use of steel into more peaceful uses and would unite together in blessed harmony.
—Arnobius

Wars are scattered all over the earth with the bloody horror of camps. The whole world is wet with mutual blood. And murder–which is admitted to be a crime in the case of an individual–is called a virtue when it is committed wholesale. Impunity is claimed for the wicked deeds, not because they are guiltless, but because the cruelty is perpetrated on a grand scale!
—Cyprian of Carthage

Those soldiers were filled with wonder and admiration at the grandeur of the man’s piety and generosity and were struck with amazement. They felt the force of this example of pity. As a result, many of them were added to the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ and threw off the belt of military service.
—Disputation of Archelaus and Manes

We have rejected such spectacles as the Coliseum. How then, when we do not even look on killing lest we should contract guilt and pollution, can we put people to death?
—Athenagoras of Athens, A Plea for the Christians

In that last section, decision may seem to have been given likewise concerning military service, which is between dignity and power. But now inquiry is made about this point, whether a believer may turn himself unto military service, whether the military may be admitted unto the faith, even the rank and file, or each inferior grade, to whom there is no necessity for taking part in sacrifices or capital punishments. There is no agreement between the divine and the human sacrament, the standard of Christ and the standard of the devil, the camp of light and the camp of darkness. One soul cannot be due to two masters–God and Caesar. And yet Moses carried a rod, and Aaron wore a buckle, and John is girt with leather, and Joshua the son of Nun leads a line of march; and the People warred: if it pleases you to sport with the subject. But how will a Christian man war, nay, how will he serve even in peace, without a sword, which the Lord has taken away? For albeit soldiers had come unto John, and had received the formula of their rule; albeit, likewise, a centurion had believed; still the Lord afterward, in disarming Peter, unbelted every soldier. No dress is lawful among us, if assigned to any unlawful action.
–Tertullian, On Idolatry 19

‘Nation will not take up sword against nation, and they will no more learn to fight.’ Who else, therefore, does this prophecy apply to, other than us?
—Tertullian (c. 197, W) 3.154.

A soldier of the civil authority must be taught not to kill men and to refuse to do so if he is commanded, and to refuse to take an oath. If he is unwilling to comply, he must be rejected for baptism. A military commander or civic magistrate who wears the purple must resign or be rejected. If an applicant or a believer seeks to become a soldier, he must be rejected.
—Hyppolytus.

Oh emperor, it is the Christians that have sought and found the truth, for they acknowledge God. They do not keep for themselves the goods entrusted to them. They do not covet what belongs to others, but they show love to their neighbors. They do not do to another what they would not like done to themselves. They speak gently to those who oppress them, and in this way, they make their enemies their friends. It has become their passion to do good to their enemies. They live in the awareness of their own smallness. Everyone of them who has anything gives ungrudgingly to the one who has nothing. And if any of them sees a homeless stranger, they bring them into their own home, under their roof. If anyone of them becomes poor while the Christians have nothing to spare, then they fast two or three days until everyone can eat. In this way, they supply for the poor exactly what they need. This, oh emperor, is the rule of life for the Christians. This is how they live.
—Aristides 137 AD

[Origen, quoting Celsus] If everyone were to act the same as you Christians, the national government would soon be left utterly deserted an without any help, and affairs on earth would soon pass into the hands of the most savage and wretched barbarians.” [Origen:] Celsus exhorts us to help the Emperor and be his fellow soldiers. To this we reply, “You cannot demand military service of Christians any more than you can of priests.” We do not go forth as soldiers with the Emperor even if he demands this. [Origen goes on to say that if the Romans followed the teachings of Jesus there would be no barbarians.]
—Origen

We who formerly treasured money and possessions more than anything else now hand over everything we have to a treasury for all and share it with everyone who needs it. We who formerly hated and murdered one another now live together and share the same table. We pray for our enemies ad try to win those who hate us.
—Justin Martyr

I do not wish to be a ruler. I do not strive for wealth. I refuse offices connected with military command. I despise death.
—Tatian

The Lord, in disarming Peter, disarmed every soldier.
—Tertullian’s On Idolatry

Christians could never slay their enemies. For the more that kings, rulers, and peoples have persecuted them everywhere, the more Christians have increased in number and grown in strength.
—Origen, Contra Celsius Book VII

Wherever arms have glittered, they must be banished and exterminated from thence.
—Lactantius, Divine Institutes IV

As simple and quiet sisters, peace and love require no arms. For it is not in war, but in peace, that we are trained.
—Clement of Alexandria, Chapter 12 of Book 1

In their wars, therefore, the Etruscans use the trumpet, the Arcadians the pipe, the Sicilians the pectides, the Cretans the lyre, the Lacedaemonians the flute, the Thracians the horn, the Egyptians the drum, and the Arabians the cymbal. The one instrument of peace, the Word alone by which we honor God, is what we employ.
—Clement of Alexandria, Chapter 4 of Book 2

Do not avenge yourself on those who injure you… let us imitate the Lord, who when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he was crucified, he answered not; when he suffered, he threatened not; but prayed for his enemies…Nothing is better than peace, by which all war of those in heaven and those on earth is abolished.
—Hippolytus (approx. A.D. 200)

The soldier of the government must be taught not to kill men. If ordered to, he shall not carry out the order, nor shall he take the military oath. If he does not accept this, he must be rejected for baptism. A military commander or civic magistrate must resign or be rejected. The believers who wish to become soldiers shall be cast out, because they have despised God.
—Tertullian (wrote between A.D. 195-212)

I owe no duty to forum, campaign, or senate. I stay awake for no public function. I make no effort to occupy a platform. I am no office seeker. I have no desire to smell out political corruption. I shun the voter’s booth, the juryman’s bench. I break no laws and push no lawsuits; I will not serve as a magistrate or judge. I refuse to do military service. I desire to rule over no one – I have withdrawn from worldly politics! Now my only politics is spiritual – how that I might be anxious for nothing except to root out all worldly anxieties and care.

Inquiry is made whether a believer is able to turn himself into military service… But how will a Christian wage war, indeed how will he serve even in peace without a sword, which the Lord has taken away? …The Lord in disarming Peter, unbelted every soldier.

What will be God’s if all things are Caesar’s?

All zeal in the pursuit of glory and honor is dead in us. So we have no pressing inducement to take part in your public meetings. Nor is there anything more entirely foreign to us than the affairs of state. We acknowledge one all-embracing commonwealth – the world. We renounce all your spectacles.

For what difference is there between provoker and provoked? The only difference is that the former was the first to do evil, but the latter did evil afterwards. Each one stands condemned in the eyes of the Lord for hurting a man. For God both prohibits and condemns every wickedness. In evil doing, there is no account taken of the order… the commandment is absolute: evil is not to be repaid with evil.

As for you, you are a foreigner in this world, a citizen of Jerusalem, the city above. Our citizenship, the apostle says, is in heaven.

Shall it be held lawful to make an occupation of the sword when the Lord proclaims that he who uses the sword shall perish by the sword? And shall the son of peace take part in the battle when it does not become him even to sue at law? Shall he who is not to avenge his own wrongs be instrumental in bringing others into chains, imprisonment, torment, death?

The Lord will save them in that day – even His people – like sheep… No one gives the name of ‘sheep’ to those who fall in battle with arms in hand, or those who are killed when repelling force with force. Rather, it is given only to those who are slain, yielding themselves up in their own place of duty and with patience – rather than fighting in self-defense.
–Tertullian

I am a Christian, and therefore I cannot fight.
—Origen (approx. A.D. 250)

What if the law of nature – that is, the law of God – commands what is opposed to the written law? Does not reason tell us to bid a long farewell to the written code… and to give ourselves up to the Legislator, God. This is so even if in doing so it may be necessary to encounter dangers, countless labors, and even death and dishonor…It is not for the purpose of escaping public duties that Christians decline public offices, but that they may reserve themselves for a divine and more necessary service in the church of God for the salvation of men…How was it possible for the Gospel doctrine of peace, which doesn’t permit men to take vengeance even on their enemies, to prevail throughout the earth, unless at the coming of Jesus a milder spirit had been introduced into the order of things?…Our prayers defeat all demons who stir up war. Those demons also lead persons to violate their oaths and to disturb the peace. Accordingly, in this way, we are much more helpful to the kings than those who go into the field to fight for them. And we do take our part in public affairs when we join self-denying exercises to our righteous prayers and meditations, which teach us to despise pleasures and not to be led away from them. So none fight better for the king than we do. Indeed, we do not fight under him even if he demands it. Yet, we fight on his behalf, forming a special army – an army of godliness – by offering our prayers to God…We have come in accordance with the counsels of Jesus to cut down our warlike and arrogant swords of argument into ploughshares, and we convert into sickles the spears we formerly used in fighting. For we no longer take sword against nation, nor do we learn any more to make war, having become sons of peace for the sake of Jesus, who is our leader…If all the Romans were to be converted they will by praying overcome their enemies – or rather they will not make war at all, being guarded by the Divine power, which promised to save five whole cities for the sake of fifty righteous men.
—Athenagoras (approx. A.D. 180)

We have learned not only not to return blow for blow, nor to go to law with those who plunder and rob us, but to those who smite us on the one side of the face to offer the other side also, and to those who take away our coat to give likewise our cloak…We cannot endure even to see a man put to death, though justly. —Testament of Our Lord (approx. A.D. 220)

If a soldier or one in authority wishes to be baptized in the Lord, let them cease from military service or from the post of authority. And if not, let them not be received.
—Lactantius

It can never be lawful for a righteous man to go to war, whose warfare is in righteousness itself.”“When God prohibits killing, he not only forbids us to commit brigandage, which is not allowed even by the public laws, but he warns us not to do even those things which are legal among men. And so it will not be lawful for a just man to serve as a soldier – for justice itself is his military service – nor to accuse anyone of a capital offense, because it makes no difference whether thou kill with a sword or with a word, since killing itself is forbidden. And so, in this commandment of God, no exception at all ought to be made to the rule that it is always wrong to kill a man, whom God has wished to be regarded as a sacrosanct creature…When we suffer such ungodly things, we do not resist even in word. Rather, we leave vengeance to God…The Christian does injury to no one. He does not desire the property of others. In fact, he does not even defend his own property if it is taken from him by violence. For he knows how to patiently bear an injury inflicted upon him…When God forbids us to kill, he not only prohibits us from open violence…but he warns us against the commission of those things which are esteemed lawful among men. Thus it will be neither lawful for a just man to engage in warfare… Therefore, with regard to this precept of God, there ought to be no exception at all; but that it is always unlawful to put to death a man, whom God willed to be a sacred animal…We do not resist those who injure us, for we must yield to them…When men command us to act in opposition to the law of God, and in opposition to justice, we should not be deterred by any threats or punishments that come upon us. For we prefer the commandments of God to the commandments of man…Someone will say here: ‘What therefore, or where, or of what sort is piety?’ Assuredly it is among those who are ignorant of war, who keep concord with all, who are friends even to their enemies, who love all men as their brothers, who know how to restrain their anger, and to soothe all madness of mind by quiet control…God might have bestowed upon his people both riches and kingdoms, as he had given previously to the Jews, whose successors and posterity we are. However, he would have Christians live under the power and government of others, lest they should become corrupted by the happiness and prosperity, slide into luxury, and eventually despise the commandments of God. For this is what our ancestors did…Why should the just man wage war, and mix himself up in other people’s passions – he in whose mind dwells perpetual peace with men?
—Clement of Alexandria (approx. A.D. 195)

Christians are not allowed to use violence to correct the delinquencies of sins…Man is in reality a pacific instrument…The followers of peace use none of the implements of war…We have made use of only one instrument, the peaceful word, with which we do honor to God…We are being educated, not in war, but in peace…We are the race given over to peace…[Christians] are an army without weapons, without war, without bloodshed, without anger, without defilement.
—Tarachus (3rd century)

I have led a military life, and am a Roman; and because I am a Christian I have abandoned my profession of a soldier.
—Marcellus (approx. A.D. 298)

I threw down my arms for it was not seemly that a Christian man, who renders military service to the Lord Christ, should render it by earthly injuries.
—Marcellus (approx. A.D. 298)

It is not lawful for a Christian to bear arms for any earthly consideration.
—Marcellus (approx. A.D. 298)

Christians have changed their swords and their lances into instruments of peace, and they know not now how to fight.
—Justin Martyr (approx. A.D. 138)

The devil is the author of all war…We, who used to kill one another, do not make war on our enemies. We refuse to tell lies or deceive our inquisitors; we prefer to die acknowledging Christ…We who had been filled with war and mutual slaughter and every wickedness, have each one – all the world over – changed the instruments of war, the swords into ploughs and the spears into farming instruments, and we cultivate piety, righteousness, love for men, faith, and the hope which is from the Father Himself through the Crucified One…We who hated and slew one another, and because of differences in customs would not share a common hearth with those who were not of our tribe, now, after the appearance of Christ, have become sociable, and pray for our enemies, and try to persuade those who hate us unjustly, in order that they, living according to the good suggestions of Christ, may share our hope of obtaining the same reward from the God who is Master of all…As to loving all men, he has taught as follows: ‘If ye love only those who love you, what new thing do ye do? For even fornicators do this. But I say to you: Pray for your enemies and love those who hate you and bless those who curse you and pray for those who act spitefully towards you.’ … And as to putting up with evil and being serviceable to all and without anger, this is what he says: ‘to him that smiteth thy cheek, offer the other cheek as well, and do not stop the man that takes away thy tunic or thy cloak. But whoever is angry is liable to the fire. Every one who impresses thee to go a mile, follow for two. Let your good works shine before men, that seeing them they may worship your Father in heaven.’
—Justin Martyr (approx. A.D. 138)

Maximilian, a young Numidian, was brought before an African proconsul named Dion in A.D. 295 for induction into the army. Maximilian refused to join, stating: “I cannot serve as a soldier; I cannot do evil; I am a Christian.” Dion threatened Maximilian, stating: “Get into the service, or it will cost you your life.” With courage, Maximilian did not yield to the threat of death: “I shall not perish, but when I have forsaken this world, my soul shall live with Christ my Lord.” Later he refused the royal badge that had the sign of the emperor on it, saying, “I do not accept your mark, for I already have the sign of Christ, my God… I do not accept the mark of this age, and if you impose it on me, I shall break it, for it is worth nothing.” The outcome was that on March 12, 295, Maximilian was executed. Maximilian’s father returned home, “giving thanks to God that he had been able to bring such a present to the Lord.” Later, as a special honor, his body was brought to Carthage and buried near the tomb of Cyprian, a great leader in the church, who had also died as a martyr.
—The Martyrdom of Maximilian (A.D. 295)

Make thyself a peace-maker to all men.
—Commodianus

[Christians] are not allowed to kill, but they must be ready to be put to death themselves… it is not permitted the guiltless to put even the guilty to death…God wished iron to be used for the cultivation of the earth, and therefore it should not be used to take human life…The whole earth is drenched in adversaries’ blood, and if a murder is committed privately it is a crime, but if it happens with state authority, courage is the name for it. Impunity is claimed for the wicked deeds, not on the plea that they are guiltless, but because cruelty is perpetrated on a grand scale…We should ever and a day reflect that we have renounced the world and are in the meantime living here as guests and strangers.
—Cyprian (approx. A.D. 250)

You know that you who are the servants of God dwell in a strange land. For your city is far away from this one. If, then, you know your city in which you are to dwell, why do you here provide lands, and make expensive preparations, and accumulate dwellings and useless buildings? He who makes such preparations for this city cannot return again to his own… Do you not understand that all these things belong to another, and are under the power of another? …Take note, therefore. As one living in a foreign land, make no further preparations for yourself except what is merely sufficient. And be ready to leave this city, when the master of this city comes to cast you out for disobeying his law.
—Hermas (approx. A.D. 150)

If all without exception . . . would lend an ear for a little to Christ’s salutary and peaceful rules… the whole world, having turned the use of steel into more peaceful occupations, would now be living in the most placid tranquility, and would unite in blessed harmony, maintaining inviolate the sanctity of treaties…Since we – so large a force of men – have received from Christ’s teachings and laws, that evil ought not to be repaid with evil, that it is better to endure a wrong than to inflict one, to shed one’s own blood rather than stain one’s hands and conscience with the blood of another, the ungrateful world has long been receiving a benefit from Christ, through whom the madness of savagery has been softened, and has begun to withhold its hostile hands from the blood of a kindred creature. But if absolutely all who understand that they are men by virtue, not of the form of their bodies, but of the power of their reason, were willing to lend an ear for a little while to his healthful and peaceful decrees, and would not, swollen with pride and arrogance, trust to their own senses rather than to his warnings, the whole world would long ago have turned the uses of iron to milder works and be living in the softest tranquility, and would have come together in healthy concord without breaking the sanctions of treaties…Did Christ, claiming royal power for himself, occupy the whole world with fierce legions, and, of nations at peace from the beginning, destroy and remove some, and compel others to put their necks beneath his yoke and obey him?
—Arnobius (approx. A.D. 310)

The soldiers of Christ require neither arms nor spears of iron…The servants of God do not rely for their protection on material defenses but on the divine Providence.
—Tatian (approx. A.D. 160)

Say to those that hate and curse you, you are our brothers!
—Theophilus of Antioch, approx. 412 A.D.

Christians have changed their swords and their lances into instruments of peace, and they know not now how to fight.
—Irenaeus

Take heed, then, often to come together to give thanks to God, and show forth His praise. For when ye assemble frequently in the same place, the powers of Satan are destroyed, and the destruction at which he aims is prevented by the unity of your faith. Nothing is more precious than peace, by which all war, both in heaven and earth, is brought to an end.
—Ignatius of Antioch

Give Us Barabbas

An interesting choice was presented to the people of Jerusalem around 30 AD. Do you want Jesus, or do you want Barabbas?

Jesus was accused of “perverting the nation,” claiming to be a king, and forbidding people to pay their taxes to Caesar (Luke 23:2). (How else could an apostate church use a secular government to put a good man to death, but to claim He was a national security threat?)  While Jesus had never encouraged tax evasion, He did readily admit to Pilate that He was a king. However He stated that His kingdom was not of this world, and this was why His servants were not fighting to protect Him (Lk. 20:20-25; 23:3;  Jn. 18:33-37). In an earthly kingdom, it is important to keep the king alive.

Barabbas was a Jewish “notable prisoner” of Rome (Matt. 27:16).  He was an insurrectionist and a rebel, who had both robbed and committed murder (Mark 15:7; Lk. 23:25; John 18:40).  When Pilate asked the Jewish people which of the two criminals–Jesus or Barabbas–they wanted released, they clamored for the release of Barabbas and the crucifixion of Jesus.

There is historical evidence that Barabbas was actually called “Jesus Barabbas,” which means literally, “Jesus, son of the father.”  The New Revised Standard Version of the Bible includes the name “Jesus” with Barabbas in Matt. 27:16-17, and other ancient historical writings also attribute this name to him.  As an insurrectionist, he was almost certainly a patriot who had either led or participated in an attempt to thwart Roman occupation of his homeland. He was probably something of a hero in the minds of many Jews.

Jesus Christ was the “Son of the Father” also. He came to do the will of His Father, which included going to the cross to atone for the sins of mankind. He declared that He came into the world to “bear witness to the truth.” (Jn. 18:37). He said He was the way, the truth, and the life–the only possible way to the Father. And He declared that any who are not with Him are by default against Him (Matt. 12:30).

In Matthew 5-7, Jesus taught the principles by which the Kingdom of God is operated.  He warned that a man cannot be ruled by both God and money; he will serve only one, so we dare not focus on what we will eat and drink and wear. We must have our treasures in heaven rather than on earth. He taught that His disciples were to love their enemies and pray for them that mistreated them. He taught that it was the meek, the merciful, the peacemaker and the persecuted that would enter the kingdom of God.  He even commanded His followers not to resist an evil person. We are to let the one who slaps us, slap us again; and we are to let one who takes our tunic have our cloak also. He said we must seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness above all else, and warned that it was a narrow and difficult way that leads to life. He declared that only a few people would actually walk the difficult way to life, though many would give him the lipservice of addressing Him as “Lord, Lord.” And He ends this passage with the stark reality that only those who DO His words will be saved. Those who merely hear His words will end in destruction.

It is important to remember that these teachings were delivered to a people oppressed and heavily taxed by an occupying nation. The nation of Israel, though apostate from God, certainly saw Rome as pagan and wicked compared to themselves. Yet Jesus did not lead an insurrection against Rome, or murder or rob anyone.  He did not spew venomous rhetoric against the occupying forces; in fact He healed a Roman Centurion’s servant out of pure compassion. Why?–The weapons of His warfare were not carnal. While He acknowledged He was a King, He was careful to make a distinction between His kingdom and others. And when Peter spoke out rashly that this King should not suffer, Jesus gave him the harshest possible rebuke, attributing his words to satan, and exposing his motive for agreeing with the devil–he cared more about “the things of men” than the things of God. (Matt. 16:21-23)

I submit to you today that professing Christians in America live in days very similar to the times of the Jews under Roman occupation. We live in a nation that once enjoyed prosperity and relative peace, the deterioration of which is due to our own sin.  We see our freedoms being taken away and we nostalgically long for the days of old. Like the Jews who prided themselves in having “the law of God,” and oblivious to how much perversion had entered the picture through their own apostasy, we pride ourselves in being in a nation that still has some shreds of Biblical truth remaining. Our justice system still bears a resemblance to the guidelines that God gave to Israel. Almost everyone knows the “golden rule” even if they do not obey it, and “God bless America” is commonly heard on the lips of those whose daily deeds call down curses upon themselves rather than blessings. We have joined the righteous fight to keep God’s name in our antichrist schools, and on the money we love more than God.  We hate the direction our nation is headed in and desire to throw off the “occupation,” but we do not seem to have enough sense to get on our knees and acknowledge that we ourselves have stopped loving God, even in our churches!

To add insult to injury, we have become a nation that judges other nations by our own hypocritical “form of godliness,” rather than a nation that judges itself by God’s Word. We are, by and large, not Good Samaritans stooping to pour oil and wine into the wounds of other nations (Luke 10:29-37), but instead good Pharisees stooping to any level of wickedness to preserve our own positions of authority and wealth (John 11:48).  We send out democratic “missionaries” to recreate overseas what we have here in America, because we are sure our righteousness is better than their righteousness, and sure this righteousness can be advanced by force.  In the meantime, we ourselves are drunk on pornography, the love of money, blatant promiscuity, and violence; we are lovers of ourselves.  Instead of condemning our own actions and seeking God’s forgiveness, we export these evils to other nations in the name of “freedom.”  We promise them liberty while we ourselves are servants of corruption.  We have been doing these things for many years, but we justify ourselves by blaming our current state of subjugation on our current leader. The apostate church is no victim of these events, carried along against her will; she is leading in this hypocrisy. But we are “the people of God!” Surely we cannot be to blame!  Surely if we rise up in the flesh, we can save our nation (and our money and our position!)

Before the “people of God” is set a choice. Do we want Barabbas, or do we want Jesus Christ?

We can choose “Jesus, son of the father” or we can choose “Jesus, Son of the Father.”  Which Jesus do you want?–the patriot Jesus or the suffering servant Jesus?

The first did the will of the one who was a murderer from the beginning (John 8:44), and the second did the will of God, who desires all men to have life.  The first was a man who reacted in the flesh to secure a temporary carnal kingdom; the second was a Man who obeyed the Spirit of God to secure an eternal spiritual kingdom.  The first cared for the things of men;  the second for the things of God.  The first took the life of an enemy; the second gave His own life for His enemies.  The first was a national hero in spite of his evil;  the second was despised and rejected of men in spite of His good (Isa. 53:3).  The first took part in an insurrection that changed very little; the second took part in a resurrection that changed everything.

The Jews chose Barabbas.  Here was a man after their own hearts, for he loved their physical nation. They had hoped Jesus would help them to throw off the Romans, but He insisted on preaching this invisible “kingdom” into which only the meek could enter.  They had tried to crown Jesus king, but He had slipped away from them, content to rule only in the hearts of men who could hear His voice.  They cheered for Him when He rode into Jerusalem, but why did He go like a lamb to the slaughter rather than organizing an armed resistance?–How disappointing! His Sermon on the Mount was idealistic, but anyone with common sense knows these ideals don’t work in the real world! What is this we hear about Jesus telling Peter to put his sword away? Away with this useless man! Give us Barabbas!

How about you?

Which one do you want–Barabbas or Jesus Christ?

The Religion of Patriotism

American patriotism has become a religion, complete with inspired “scripture” (the Constitution and other writings), patriarchs (the Founding Fathers) whose words are sacred, and martyrs (patriots) willing to die for what they believe in.

When I discuss the Sermon on the Mount with professing Christians, they send me quotes from the Founding Fathers, as if their “revelation” cancels out everything Jesus taught.

They see me as weak because I believe Jesus meant what He said, and I believe Jesus’ way of the cross is the only way that really advances true righteousness in the earth. They conclude that our country is in the mess it’s in because of people like me.

Worshipers at the altar of patriotism are blinded by their devotion to something other than Christ.

Alot of work goes into keeping a nation in love with itself. Continual propaganda that demonizes every other nation, glorification of the military and carefully controlled news about its objectives and actions,  indoctrination of children with the wonders of their country compared to all others, and a whitewashing of historical events.

It does not surprise me when unbelievers worship at this altar. All men worship, and we will seldom find a person who does not worship their country of birth.  Nation worship is a way to identify with something bigger, something unbelievers hope will protect them.

What hurts the most is professing Christians worshiping at this altar.

Our mother is “Jerusalem Above”–that free country that can only be seen in the Spirit by those who are born again (Gal. 4:26; John 3:3).  Have we not come to Mount Zion, the city of the Living God, the heavenly Jerusalem? (Heb. 12:22)  It appears that many have not.

The sad reality is that many professing believers do not really want the “promised land” that is Christ, and they do not want His Jerusalem Above.  They look with longing back to Egypt (the world and its self-preserving ways).  They want flesh, and flesh they will have until it comes out their nostrils unless they repent (Num. 11:18-20).  They do not seek the things which are above; no, their affections are firmly planted in the things on earth–their lives, belongings, & physical “freedoms” (Col. 3:1-3). They are not looking to the eternal things which are not seen;  they love what is temporal (2 Cor. 4:18).  They forget that the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (I’m proud to be an American...) are not of the Father, but are of this perishing world (I John 2:15-17).

By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter;choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible. (Heb. 11:24-27)

How many professing Christians today are refusing to be identified as children of Pharaoh? How many would rather suffer affliction with the people of God than enjoy a season of pleasure bought with the bloodshed and oppression of others? Not too many. Most are like Esau–gratify me with soup now, and I care not what I lose later.

They do not see the One who is invisible, nor do they really want to see Him.  His name is on their lips but His ways are not in their hearts.

They have explained His teachings away and are confident in their judgment of His Words, because majority opinion is on their side.

They have judged His cross unbearable and unimportant, and they have inadvertently judged every godly martyr a fool for not fighting back.

They are most uncomfortable following the humble Jesus down paths of self-denial; they prefer earthly leaders they can see with their eyes, who will justify their disobedience and promise them the moon.

They have traded in the Sword of the Spirit for the sword of Constantine, and they do not know that they are now naked in battle. They are like Samson just shorn, unaware that the Spirit has even gone.

It is time to exit false religion once and for all. It is time to tear down the altars, and destroy the “high places” in our hearts where we worship idols. It is time to figure out who we are going to serve, the gods of our fathers or the One True God. Wars will continue until the end, and as long as men war, the religion of patriotism will continue to be practiced all over the earth. But our kingdom is not of this world.  Our allegiance is to the kingdom of Christ, and our duty is to bring people who think they are “free” into the true liberty of the children of God (Rom. 8:21).

Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen  (I John 5:21).

Nationalism is an Idol

God is not looking for us (American believers) to trust in the “founding fathers,” the man-made Constitution, guns, the military, the voting process, financial prosperity, or the pre-eminence of our country in the world scene. God wants us to depend on Him and His Word.  We must renounce our idolatry. Following Jesus is more than not getting drunk or believing the Bible is inspired. We are to be as He is in this world. We are to keep His commands and follow in His steps. Let us consider the steps He took while He walked the earth.

Jesus did not start a Jewish uprising to overthrow the pagan Roman government. He did not preach on a return to Jewish rule and law, or bitterly denounce the Romans for destroying His homeland. He did not run for political office; in fact He rejected being a secular king when He had the vote of the people.  He did not teach that His homeland was more righteous than other nations and deserved international preeminence–His biggest enemies did!  The Pharisees, from whom we have the racist/elitist Talmud, taught these things. Jesus told them they were of their father the devil. Their “form of godliness” did not impress Him; neither did the cause of the zealots who were trying to overthrow the Roman occupation.  He had bigger fish to fry. He came to strike the root of man’s problem. He understood that politics and nationalism could never be the vehicles through which real change would come, because both are always saturated with and fueled by man’s pride.

How about Jesus’ apostles and disciples? Where in their writings is there a hint of nationalism? Where do you see them promoting their country? On the contrary, you see them reaching out to other nations with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  You see them risking their own lives to bring Truth where lies prevailed.  You see them standing before governors and kings and boldly yet respectfully declaring the Way of Salvation.  Did they get involved in politics and try to take their country back from the pagans? Did they work overtime to make new laws? Did they rail against the leaders of their day, and teach others to do the same? Did they encourage believers to arm themselves and prepare for civil war? Did they seek their own prosperity and complain about taxes?  They did none of these things. They obeyed Jesus and fulfilled the Great Commission. How far we have fallen, Church! We need to repent.

True morality cannot be legislated into existence. You can force some (not all) women with a law not to kill their children by abortion, but you cannot remove murder from–or create compassion in–their hearts with that law. You can take guns away from people, but Cain will still kill Abel with whatever is at his disposal. You can force people with the sword to “become Christians” (so-called), but you cannot remove the pagan idols from their hearts. You can ban homosexual marriage, and we should be glad if secular governments are wise enough to do this, but the Church–of all people–should know that this will not stop homosexuality from spreading.

Are we really seeking these things out of love for others, or out of love for ourselves? Don’t we just want to preserve a semblance of righteousness in our surroundings, so that we can comfortably continue to live as we always have?

Our goal must always be the true repentance of man from rebellion and self-will to love, which keeps the commands of God out of voluntary affection. In short, true morality can only come through the Gospel. Obedience to the gospel will only happen when the church focuses on plowing the ground and sowing Good Seed, by preaching repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus. Everything else is flailing at the branches of sin while the roots of men continue to plunge ever downward.

Both the laws of God and the laws of man have their purpose, but their purpose is not redemptive. Lawlessness is no antidote to wrong thinking about the law, but we must understand that enforcing law does not save wicked people.  They must be born again.

As people called to be ambassadors for the kingdom of God, we are here to bring a message of salvation to all nations. We are, with Christ, to strike at the root rather than the branches that regenerate faster than we can cut them off. Man does not need to merely stop aborting babies; man needs to stop being self-centered.  The message of salvation can be precluded by a recap of the moral law of God, which men have broken, so that men can see they need a Savior. But we (the Church) cannot have as our goal, forcing people to obey the law of God or even laws of morality. The government is correct to enforce morality whenever it does, and the government is given the right by God to use force if necessary to do this. However the government will be a reflection of the people, so we cannot expect that it will always have the same moral code we believers have.

The Church is not the secular government and has a much higher purpose. The Church has never been given the right to enforce morality in the world. Yes, she must discipline those professing believers in her midst who walk in immorality, but even this is only rebuke with intent to restore, and separation until there is repentance if necessary (I Cor. 5).  Yes, the Church is the salt of the earth, but we can assume Jesus was salty, and He did not join with secular powers to change men’s hearts. His Way was, and still is, the way of the cross.

When governments allow wickedness and punish righteousness, we can conclude that many of the people themselves are completely turned around morally due to separation from God. Who is best equipped to help the people change?–the government?–No, the Church.  How is she to do this? By holding hands with the wicked secular government and trying to direct its steps to force people to do what is right? No! Shall the Woman ride the Beast into a perfect sunset? No, the harlot church and the Beast will both be destroyed.

The true Church needs to refocus on her Lord and her mission. She will not see spiritual victories until she repents of worshiping the idol of nationalism. How can one idol worshiper help another?–This is the blind leading the blind, and it is hypocrisy.  Paul was a “Hebrew of Hebrews,” but he counted this as dung compared to knowing Christ. (Phil. 3:4-8). Are you “proud to be an American,” beloved? God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Are you going to stand up for your rights? Unless you deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Jesus, you cannot be saved.

Please see also:  Light that is Really Darkness, Proudly Armed Christians, Do Christians Love Guns? by Andrew Strom, American Excuses Rather than Repentance