Voice of Reason Ministries

Unworthy rebels, redeemed by the King of Kings and made servants fit for His use.

Month: December 2024

The Prejudice of Jonah

December 30, 2024 / / 0 Comments

There is a recent bout of antisemitism within professing Reformed circles and there are some things that should be considered. The argument seems to be that Jewish people are somehow more malevolent and destructive within society and even suggests that Scripture supports this. Furthermore, it is argued that, because Talmudic Judaism holds that Jesus is currently being punished by being boiled in a vat of excrement, they are more wicked than other false religions that consider Christ to be a prophet. Therefore, since Judaism is more malevolent, it is acceptable to hold a certain amount of disdain for Jewish persons and to target them specifically as a kind of enemy of society.

First, it must be considered that Judaism is worse because how it views Christ’s current state is hardly “more wicked” than other false religious views. Yes, their rejection of Jesus as their long-awaited Messiah, as God in flesh sent to redeem men from their sins, is highly sinful. However, their view of His punishment because they think He is a false Messiah is consistent with their false religious beliefs. They are holding to what they believe should happen to one who blasphemes God. It is a wicked view because it rejects Scripture’s prophecies and revelations regarding the Christ but it is still consistent.

By comparison, other religious systems, such as Islam, try to reduce Christ to a mortal prophet to which they give “honor.” While some argue that this is better than Judaism’s view, it is actually equivalently evil, if not worse. It is not honorable to deny Christ’s deity and work of salvation in any fashion. It is a complete rejection of all that God revealed in His word regarding the coming and the work of His Son. His sinlessness, His righteousness, and His obedience to all that God commanded are denied by reducing Him to being merely human. There is also the rejection of the hypostatic union of Christ, being fully God and fully man, without which, there can be no hope of salvation. But, lastly, and perhaps even more wickedly, it is not honorable to turn Christ into the mouthpiece of false deities. It is demonic to take the name of Christ and claim He is nothing but a sock puppet for whatever godless idol one has concocted. To suggest that this means other religions have a “better” view of Christ is simply delusional.

With that aside, it must be considered what has been said about Jews being somehow more wicked than other ethnic people groups. One argument suggests that Scripture supports this by pointing to the Jews’ repeated efforts to oppose Christ when He walked this earth and their continuous persecution the Jews perpetrated on Christians following the birth of the church. This argument suggests that the Jews’ efforts to thwart Christ reveal they, as a people, were unique in their sinful attitudes toward Christ and the church. Therefore, it is not wrong to believe that Jews today carry that same uniquely wicked mindset today. However, this is woefully myopic from a Scriptural standpoint.

First off, Scripture clearly reveals that Israel (aka, the Jews) is the ethnic people group through which God chose to reveal Himself to the world. All that God did with the Jews was to establish the types and shadows that would be fully revealed in Jesus Christ. All His promises and prophecies are given to us through this people. Therefore, Scripture spends a great deal of time with Israel, dealing with both her sins and her obedience, showing us God’s character, requirements, and His ultimate plan to deal with sin. When we see the Jews in rebellion, it is not so that we consider them to be a far more wicked people. Rather, they are an example of sin in the world at large. And, given that they received God’s direct revelation and still rebelled, what hope has the rest of the world which was as deeply stained by sin? Israel’s sinfulness was not something for others to look down upon but a picture of how all people are desperately wicked apart from Christ.

Consider all the Gentile nations and their treatment of God’s people. The Egyptians enslaved the Jews and killed their firstborn male children. The Philistines regularly attacked and took captive Israel (yes, by God’s allowance in response to Israel’s rebellion but they were equally punished for their wicked treatment of the Jews during these campaigns). Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Rome all took captive Israel and treated them wickedly. Are any of these people (or any of their descendants) who assaulted the people of God, and brought in false idols that were imposed on the Jews, more wicked or malevolent? Or is that only to be reserved for a particular people group? It reveals one’s personal bias to suggest that Scripture reserves a special designation of sin for only the Jewish people.

It is necessary to suggest one final consideration for people to think about regarding this debate. There was a particular people group in Scripture that God intended to bring judgment on for their malevolent treatment of His people: the Ninevites. The people of Nineveh hated the people of God and took every opportunity to oppose and persecute them. So wicked were these people that God took specific note to send His judgment upon them. Yet, God would not bring this judgment without warning. He called upon the prophet Jonah to give them a message, that in forty days Nineveh would be overthrown. God, in His mercy to a particularly wicked people, would give them notice of their impending doom. He did not need to do so, for His judgment was justified. Still, God desired to give them a warning.

However, Jonah did not want to go. Why? Because Jonah knew God’s heart. He knew that, should the Ninevites receive a warning and chose to repent, God would stay His wrath. Jonah believed that Nineveh was so malevolent and destructive that they should not receive God’s mercy. Jonah’s hatred was so overwhelming for this ethnic group, that he fled in the opposite direction to avoid the possibility they could be spared. God would not be thwarted, however, and he dragged Jonah back kicking and screaming, in the belly of a great fish, to have His message preached. Jonah’s bias would not justify his disobedience, God made sure of this. And, much to Jonah’s utter dismay, the Ninevites repented and were spared for a time. Jonah judged that his anger toward these people was more justified than God’s willingness to show mercy to a repentant people. God revealed that Jonah’s prejudice did not hold a candle to His perfect plans and purposes.

Those Christians today who believe there is something justifiable about holding antisemitic views simply do not have a leg to stand on. Yes, Jews today are outside the covenant of God because they have rejected Jesus as Christ. This is no different from any other ethnic or religious group that is apart from Jesus. They hold wicked views of Jesus for which they will be held accountable. There are many Jews, just as there are many other non-Jewish people, involved in sinful acts and industries around the world. And, just like the non-Jewish people, they will be held accountable for their sins. Not because they are more inherently sinful as a people, but because they are sinful by nature just as is every other human being who walks the earth. If Christians show bias toward Jews as an ethnic people and treat them as uniquely sinful as compared to all others, we commit the same sin as Jonah. No sinner will escape the judgment of God, yet, He has not called us to be a generation of Jonahs deciding who is or is not worthy of God’s warning of impending wrath. He has called Christians to be His kingdom of priests who preach that judgment is certain apart from repentance and faith in Christ alone.

Therefore, I urge my brethren in the faith, to abandon this foolishness. Stop being hard-hearted Jonahs who take pleasure in seeing others as more wicked than yourself. Rather, admit your self-righteous arrogance, repent of it, and submit to God’s calling to proclaim the gospel to all, regardless of their ethnic background.

NOTE: This article was also published on X.comX.com.

You Must Be Above Reproach

December 23, 2024 / / 0 Comments

Recently, Tullian Tchividjian, pastor of “The Sanctuary” church in Jupiter, Florida, made a rather shocking post on his X account. He wrote, “10 years ago, I crashed. I cheated on my first wife and lost everything. Some believe such failures permanently disqualify a person from ministry. However, there isn’t a single passage in Scripture that even suggests a universal, lifelong ban for every minister who has fallen.”[1] Many persons responded to Tchividjian, noting that his past sin of adultery had disqualified him from the pastorate according to 1 Timothy 3:1-7. Their replies referred to a 2015 revelation where he had confessed that he had been involved in an extra-marital affair, which resulted in their divorce.

Furthermore, Tchividjian had been removed from the position of senior pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church by the Presbyterian Church in America after this admission. He could only be returned to ministry after displaying an “eminently exemplary, humble and edifying life and testimony,” according to the PCA’s Book of Church Order.[2] Tchividjian was never restored to that position by the PCA. However, he later remarried and, in 2019, began the “The Sanctuary” in Jupiter, Florida.[3] In recent history, he has made news using and defending foul language in the pulpit. He used similar language when he responded to some of his detractors on X following the post noted above. It is because of the very public nature of his sin and failure to address the church disciplinary process that many people argue that Tchividjian is permanently disqualified from the role.

This argument has resulted in quite a public discussion in online Christian circles. While many agree that Tchividjian is disqualified from the pulpit due to his notable sins, others have tried to argue in agreement with him that there can be no permanent barring to the office. Pastor Gabe Hughes of Providence Reformed Baptist Church in Casa Grande, Arizona, stood firm on the argument that a pastor who commits adultery is indeed barred permanently because he is no longer above reproach.[4] And this is truly the crux of the argument. The issue of being above reproach is the matter that many, including Tullian Tchividjian, have failed to consider concerning the qualifications of a pastor.

The office of bishop, overseer, elder, and pastor is of utmost importance in the life of the church. So much so that God gave the church stringent qualifications for the role through the Apostle Paul’s first letter to Timothy. Paul wrote:

The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church? He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil. [5]

The purpose behind these qualifications was to ensure those who stand before the people to represent God through the preaching of His word are men of good character. It is no trifling matter to lead the flock of Christ in the worship of our Savior. Such a man must be willing to lay aside all personal ambition and become a humble servant of the Lord. It is not his own word he is to preach but the word of God alone. Any man whose character is lacking will be prone to seek his agenda and promote his own self-glorification. Only by being a man whose heart is captive to Christ, thus meeting the qualifications of Scripture, should such a person be considered for the pulpit.

It is important to understand that not only are these qualifications for entering into but also for remaining in the office of pastor. Every man who enters the pastorate must be willing to have his life examined by his fellow elders and members of the church. He is as much accountable to walk in holiness as any other Christian; he is not exempt from confessing and repenting of sin. While no man is sinless, and there is no expectation in Scripture that a pastor must be so, pastors must be willing to receive correction and counsel, even undergoing church discipline if necessary. And, where a pastor openly sins and not only rebuffs correction but refuses any kind of discipline for his sin, he can and should be removed from the office. This is where the very first qualification in Paul’s list is of utmost importance, for any man taking the role of pastor must be above reproach.
The term “reproach” simply means disgrace or insult.[6] Therefore, to be above reproach is to be above the ability to be disgraced or insulted. Yet, this does not give us a complete understanding of what this qualification calls for. John Chrysostom gives us clarity when he writes:

Every virtue is implied in this word; so that if any one be conscious to himself of any sins, he doth not well to desire an office for which his own actions have disqualified him. For such an one ought to be ruled, and not to rule others. For he who bears rule should be brighter than any luminary; his life should be unspotted, so that all should look up to him, and make his life the model of their own.[7]

One who seeks the office of pastor should be a man that others aspire to emulate. If his life and practice disgrace himself and the name of Christ, how can he then inspire others to pursue Christ in righteousness? Likewise, John Calvin writes,

He wishes a bishop to be blameless, instead of which, in the Epistle to Titus, he has used (Tit. 1:7) the word ἀνέγκλητον, meaning by both words, that he must not be marked by any infamy that would lessen his authority. There will be no one found among men that is free from every vice; but it is one thing to be blemished with ordinary vices, which do not hurt the reputation, because they are found in men of the highest excellence, and another thing to have a disgraceful name, or to be stained with any baseness. In order, therefore, that a bishop may not be without authority, he enjoins that there shall be made a selection of one who has a good and honourable reputation, and not chargeable with any remarkable vice. Besides, he does not merely lay down a rule for Timothy what sort of person he must select, but likewise reminds every one of those who aspire to that rank, to institute a careful examination of himself and of his life.[8]

Some sins so hurt the reputation of the pastor, sins which are so debased that the man’s name cannot be disassociated with his actions that his ability to exert any authority over the church is irreparably damaged. When faced with such sins, the man can never be seen as above reproach because his name and reputation are forever tarnished. When that happens, such a man must either be barred from entering the pastorate or be removed (should he be already serving) with no ability to reclaim the mantle. While it is always the desire of the church to bring about repentance and reconciliation with any member of the church, we must honor God’s protection of this role by permanently barring those who have brought reproach upon themselves and the name of Christ.

Tullian Tchividjian and others like him would have the church utterly disregard this most important biblical qualification. Rather than recognizing the pulpit as a sacred duty of a servant committed to the service of Christ, they see it as a personal platform that they deserve to own simply because it is desirable to them. This places their sense of personal fulfillment over and above God’s plan and purpose for the pastorate. They fail to recognize that God has spoken on the issue and limits that position expressly because He calls humble servants who divest themselves of personal gain so that they may make much of Christ. Christians would do well to reexamine the Scriptures on this matter. If we are unwilling to yield our personal feelings so that we feel good about our favorite personalities can take center stage, then we will by no means surrender ourselves to any other matter of holiness that God requires in our lives. As the pastor goes, so does the congregation. Therefore, the pulpit must be protected so that the sheep may learn to be conformed to Christ.

Footnotes:

[1] https://x.com/TullianT/status/1870496030489510043
[2] https://theaquilareport.com/tullian-tchividjian-files-for-divorce/
[3] https://www.news-journalonline.com/story/news/state/2019/09/08/after-sex-scandal-billy-grahams-grandson-to-start-church/3465171007/
[4] https://x.com/Pastor_Gabe/status/1870693594082038258
[5] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version(Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 1 Ti 3:1–7.
[6] Chamberlain, G., and G. L. Knapp. “Reproach.” Edited by Geoffrey W. Bromiley. The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised. Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1979–1988.
[7]John Chrysostom, “Homilies of St. John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople, on the First Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to Timothy,” in Saint Chrysostom: Homilies on Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Thessalonians, Timothy, Titus, and Philemon, ed. Philip Schaff, trans. James Tweed and Philip Schaff, vol. 13, A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, First Series (New York: Christian Literature Company, 1889), 438.
[8]John Calvin and William Pringle, Commentaries on the Epistles to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2010), 76.

This article was also published on X.com.

Be a Man Like Jesus

December 20, 2024 / / 0 Comments

There has been much debate in our current age about the issue of masculinity. The traditional cultural image is one of a man who bravely shoulders the burden of providing and caring for his family, working hard with his hands, being a warrior who defends the home front, and who does all these things with nary a quiver in his emotional state. In other words, the quintessential man’s man. However, there have been many voices influenced by godless secularism that have decried this image and called it toxic and destructive. Those who do so claim this form of masculinity is responsible for untold damage to women, children, and persons of varying gender ideologies. They have sought to unseat the man’s man ideal and insert a definition of masculinity that far more resembles femininity than anything else. Men and their identities have become the battleground for our cultural future.

The question for the Christian is not how culture defines manhood but what Scripture says. To that end, the best example we should consider is the God-Man Himself, Jesus Christ. We must look to the examples Christ gave us in His life on this earth so that we might emulate Him above all else. In this examination, we need to look at His work in totality, not focusing merely on one character trait over others. This has happened far too often in Christian circles where the intent is to co-opt Christ to forward a particular agenda. Progressives may seek to apply Jesus’s compassion and kindness to claim Jesus would be a feminist, for example. Those hyper-focused on patriarchal ideals may seek to find rugged manliness in Jesus to promote the traditional man’s man image. Yet, in looking at the whole picture of Scripture, we find something far more biblically balanced.

There is little question that Jesus grew up in a world where working hard with His hands would have been the norm. His earthly father, Joseph, was a carpenter (Matt. 13:55). Jesus would have learned the trade and worked with him over the years. Likely, Jesus was even working in this trade before entering His itinerant ministry at thirty years old. Carpentry was not easy work; it would have been rugged work done with His hands. Jesus labored hard as a man, living out the very commandment Adam was given in the garden when God told him to work and keep it (Gen 2:15). Man was made to work, and in doing so, he gives glory to God. Those years of hard work and their impact on Jesus’ earthly body are demonstrated in John 2:14-17 when He made a cord of whips and chased the money changers out of the temple. This was no trifling task, as he would have needed the skill to make the whip and the strength to overturn tables and drive the thieves out of the temple area. Not only did this act reveal His physical strength but His spiritual and mental commitment to His Father. Jesus demonstrated truly righteous indignation, justifiable anger, at those who would make a mockery of the very place where men were to draw close to God.

Jesus further showed godly use of anger when faced with the religious leaders who sought to accuse Him when He was healing on the Sabbath (Mark 3:1-5). These leaders cared very little for the flocks they were to be leading, caring only to be exalted for their traditions, which they added to the law. Christ came to seek and save that which was lost, demonstrating His power over sickness and death by His repeated miraculous healings. He looked at these hard-hearted leaders with righteous anger as he healed the very man they would have denied just to preserve their positions and traditions. Jesus had repeated conflicts with the scribes and Pharisees throughout His walk on this earth, in each case showing courage and boldness unseen in His day. Though the Pharisees repeatedly tried to entangle Him in words and threatened those who would follow Him, Christ would not be deterred; He would not back down. So much so that in Matthew 23, Jesus pronounces several woes on them, judgments they would face for their hypocrisy and self-righteousness. Jesus showed no fear before them, demonstrating uncommon courage for all to see.

With such examples, is it not clear that Christian men should be strong, hard-working, courageous heroes who are angry at those who would defy God? Yes, these are ideal traits that all men should strive for, but they are not the only ones. Jesus also showed characteristics that are all too easily overlooked in this debate. Firstly, Jesus showed kindness that many would see as weakness. In Matthew 8:2, we see such a display. A leper, one who was an outcast in society, who could not be near others, much less touched, lest he communicate his disease to others, comes before Jesus. While this man asks for healing, Jesus takes the matter one step further. While He could have healed the man merely by a word, Jesus touched the man. This man, who had not been touched by another human being for an untold amount of time, received the touch of Christ. Such beautiful kindness was not required, yet our Savior extended it out of love.

In another act of gracious healing, Jesus, on His way to heal Jairus’s daughter, is pressed on every side by a crowd (Luke 8:40-48). Being bumped and jostled by every person in His path, Jesus stops and asks who touched Him. It is not for lack of knowledge, for He knew, but to draw out the one who so desired healing. A woman who had “an issue of blood” for twelve years steps out from the crowd. She was terrified for, in faith, she had touched the hem of Christ’s garment, knowing He could heal her when all others had failed. Yet, like the leper, she could have faced dire consequences, for under the law, anyone who touched her was made unclean. Christ does not pronounce judgment on her but, with compassion and love, tells her, “Your faith has made you well; go in peace” (v. 48) This kind of love and grace is not called for in the man’s man ideology, yet Jesus stops an entire crowd and halts His journey to save a little girl just to ease the physical and emotional burden of a woman who had endured so much.

This kind of lovingkindness was repeatedly displayed by Christ during His ministry. Yet, we see two other acts when He suffered on the cross that help us cement our understanding of His fully orbed masculinity. After enduring an illegal trial, the mockery of the crowds, and the scourging of Pilate, Jesus is hammered to the cross, left to die for crimes He had not committed. While hanging there and suffering, He is ridiculed and mocked by those around Him, including two thieves. At some point during this excruciating experience, one thief comes to realize who Jesus truly is and repents (Luke 23:39-43). He rebukes his fellow thief, acknowledging their crimes have earned them a just punishment, yet Christ has done nothing to deserve His. He then asks Jesus to remember him when He enters into His kingdom. Jesus, who had endured the vile mockery from the man only a short time before, who could have called down righteous judgment for this man’s sins, says, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise” (v. 43). Where most would argue that men should stand firm and hold others wickedness into account, Jesus shows mercy on the most undeserving. And, as one of His last acts, before He yielded up His spirit, Jesus showed compassion on the earthly mother who birthed and cared for Him all His life. After hours of suffering at the hands of evil men, Jesus looks to His mother and the Apostle John, calling for the Apostle to care for her as his own mother (John 19:26-27). Jesus showed in His death that He would care for those most dear to Him and that His mother would never be without someone to watch over her. So, we, as men in Christ, should likewise love those under our care, regardless of whatever it may cost us.

Genuine Christian manliness is not merely about toughness, boldness, and speaking without fear; it is also about gentleness, kindness, and mercy. In Christ, the perfect picture of the godly Man, we have the perfect example of genuine masculinity. No trait outshines the other, all are in perfect balance and used accordingly. Christian men should certainly stand against secular godlessness, which seeks to emasculate men, rendering them into genderless drones. However, this cannot be done by neglecting the fully orbed masculinity given to us by Christ in the Scriptures. We dare not fail to balance our boldness with our patience. We must temper our righteous indignation with our love for the lost. And while we seek to war against all that is ungodly, we must never fail to show kindness to those around us so that they may see Christ in us.

 

This article has also been published on X.com.

Whips, White Washed Tombs, and a Woman at the Well

December 12, 2024 / / 0 Comments

It is without question that we live in a depraved and perverse culture. Sexual immorality, infant murder in the womb, and gender confusion are just some of the sins that are celebrated as virtues throughout the nation. The Christian church must respond rightly to this growing acceptance and celebration of rebellion against God. The question, however, is how we do so. At a time when the nation is deeply divided along sociopolitical lines, publicly displaying anger and animosity toward one’s ideological opponents has become the norm. In some respects, this is understandable. As a culture, we are being told that anyone who disagrees with our position hates and despises us. To attempt to argue an opposing view means a person wishes to dominate and oppress you. Therefore, the only “reasonable” response is to shout down the opposition and prevent them from having any kind of public voice. In reality, this is nothing more than an attempt to maintain a stranglehold on the culture through verbal violence.

Unfortunately, this ideology has invaded the church as well. Being swept up in the socio-politically driven culture wars, Christians see how secularists have targeted the church as a great “evil” that must eradicated for their agendas to move forward. This is not debatable, as the sociopolitical left has deemed Christian thought and practice as “hate speech” that must be removed from the public square. In response, the desire to respond in kind has been a temptation some have been unable to resist. Many Christians find themselves engaged in a tit-for-tat dialogue where they not only call out the depravity of their opposition but mock and deride them, sometimes quite maliciously. While the concept of fighting fire with fire seems to make pragmatic sense, one must question if it is biblical. In fact, many other Christians have called out this practice, calling on their brethren to tame their tongues and to remember our calling to proclaim the gospel. This has resulted in a debate between professing believers as to how far is too far when responding to a God-hating culture.

Those who engage in coarse protestations often point to the fact that Scripture describes times when even Christ Himself used hard language in dealing with unbelievers. Most famously, they will address the time when He used a whip of cords to drive out the money changers (John 2:14-17) or when He called the Pharisees “white-washed tombs” (Matt. 23:27-28). While Christ indeed could demonstrate hard speech and actions when dealing with His detractors, it is necessary to examine the context in which those events occurred. If we are going to argue we can emulate Christ in like manner, we must ensure that we are applying this behavior rightly instead of using the passages as proof texts to justify what may be sinful behavior.

In John 2, Christ had come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. The city would have been packed with faithful Jews coming to make sacrifices at the temples as commanded in the law. It was a time for the Jews to draw close to God and worship Him for his gracious kindness in covering their sins. However, rather than the temple being a place where they could come and worship freely, it had become a place of thievery. Through a complex web of web animal inspectors and money changers, the Jews were being extorted to pay more for temple-approved lambs to be brought for their sacrifices. When Christ laid eyes on this vile practice, which placed an undue burden on God’s people, His response was to drive out these thieves at the end of a whip. Understand that this was not a response to sinners in general. In reality, sinners surrounded the temple. It was the whole reason they were there. Christ’s actions were directed at a specific people who were making merchandise of His free offer of salvation. They were barring the way of salvation by misleading the people into believing it had to be purchased at a high monetary cost. Christ’s righteous indignation was directed at those who were leading His people astray.

Similarly, in Matthew 23, Christ is proclaiming his famous woes to the scribes and Pharisees. At the beginning of the chapter, Christ is preaching to the people and describing the hypocrisy of these religious leaders. He speaks of how they lay heavy burdens on the people to prove their worth before God, yet they “are not willing to move them with their finger” (v. 4). These are the men who want all the accolades and to be seen as the model of godliness. They expect the masses to do all they command but refuse to hold themselves to the same standard. It is here, in verses 27 and 28, where Christ describes them as “white-washed tombs” that are “full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness.” The scribes and Pharisees were supposed to be the ones who brought God’s word to the people and the people before God.  They were to be so familiar with God’s word that they would rightly lead the people in worship before a gracious God, the One who would cover their sins. Instead, they selfishly made a spectacle of themselves, desiring the worship and applause that rightly belonged to God. They made themselves appear upright and clean before the people, but God saw the wicked hypocrisy of their hearts. It is for this reason that Christ showed no patience with them and declared His woes upon them. His sharp speech was directed at the very leaders who made a mockery of God’s commandments.

Now, let us contrast this with Christ’s interaction with a deeply sinful woman from Samaria. In John 4, Jesus and His disciples are en route to Galilee when they stop in Samaria. The disciples leave Christ at a well to obtain food. It is here where Christ meets a woman who has lived a life of ongoing sexual immorality. Christ does not mock her, He does not distance Himself from her, and He does not call on others to shame her. Rather, Christ engages in a conversation in which He reveals not only His knowledge of her sin but also her desperate need for the spiritual water of forgiveness that can only be found in Himself, the long-awaited Messiah. This woman’s sin was clearly known by the people of Samaria, hence her coming alone to the well in the middle of the day. Her deeds were not secret. By all biblical standards, she was a harlot. Christ had every right as God in flesh to not only condemn her but to openly shame her. Instead, He engages her with love and compassion, bringing her the message of the gospel. The very kind of person Christians find themselves surrounded by today was the mission field Christ Himself sought out intentionally to which to minister.

If Christians desire to engage this wicked culture and seek to emulate Christ in their speech, then we are required to understand just how and why He used the manner of speech He did. Hard speech was indeed used on occasion by our Lord; however, it was most often reserved for those who were expected to rightly lead the people in humble worship yet used their position for their own gain. Christ openly shamed those leaders who were leading the people astray and could not care one whit how much damage they wrought. Yet, when seeing the sinners in the streets, Christ showed compassion on them as sheep in need of a shepherd. He did not water down the message, nor did He waffle on the matter of sin. He warned sternly that fiery judgment awaited all who lived in rebellion, but He called them all to the only means of salvation, Himself. He later commanded His disciples to go into all the world and make disciples of every nation with this very compassionate message.

Christians must find that balance of knowing when and how to speak to the world around us. We cannot use the fact that Christ spoke harshly at times to justify our abuse of those who need the gospel message. We cannot allow our sense of self-righteous indignation to be a shield that allows us to misuse God’s Word so we may gain our pound of flesh at those whose depravity offends us. Yes, there may be times when hard speech is necessary to expose those who would lead sinners into the fires of Hell. Still, we must remember that our mission is to go into the world and make disciples. We can be firm and passionate, exposing sin in the lives of our hearers, just as Christ exposed the Samarian woman had five husbands and was living with a man not her husband. But, we must also love as Christ loved to show those sins can be forgiven through His righteous sacrifice. Our love for Christ and His act of propitiation should drive us to care for those in need of the gospel. It should mold our thoughts and our speech toward them. Even when we must be firm and unwavering, like our Savior, it must always be to point them to the One who can bring them peace. Let this be our guide rather than seeking to cherry-pick the portions of Scripture to justify our anger at those whose sins were once our own.

 

This article was also published at X.com.

Of Blind Guides, Ditches, and Imbalanced Theology

December 6, 2024 / / 0 Comments

The Christian walk requires us to be ever-thoughtful about remaining on the narrow path. The slightest deviation from God’s prescribed direction for our lives can result in falling into ditches we should have clearly seen had we been paying attention. Proverbs 4:25–27 tells us,

“Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.”

Solomon gives his son this warning to heed his sayings, the guidance that would keep him on the narrow path and free from evil. The Christian has all he needs to keep him on that path in the Scriptures, as Paul writes to Timothy saying,

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (2 Tim. 3:16–17)

To avoid the deep ditches that face us on our walk, we must be diligent students of the Word. We cannot approach this flippantly, looking for passages that we affirm our predispositions either. We need to have a fully orbed understanding of God’s commandments so that we might not misapply them and find ourselves deviating from His design for our lives.

In recent years, one such deviation that led into a deep chasm was the inclusion of Critical Race Theory (CRT) into evangelical churches. Attempting to co-opt Scripture’s teachings on justice, CRT adherents preached a gospel of grievance into the church. They demanded Christians recognize what they called “systemic oppression” of certain ethnic groups, which required a dismantling of “power structures” within the church and society. All of this was taught under the guise that God desired justice in His world and that it could only be accomplished by elevating those oppressed ethnic groups while tearing down others. It was a grievous misuse of Scripture, which purposely ignored the Bible’s use of justice (primarily applied to God’s judgment of sinners for their own wickedness) and redefined it with Marxist ideals of monetary and power redistributions in mind. In refusing to read and apply Scripture accurately, CRT proponents led themselves and their followers into a ditch. There was no gospel, no forgiveness of sins, and no joy in the grace of God. Only a perpetual treadmill of victimhood and guilt from which no person could ever be freed.

One might find such a misuse of Scripture easy to identify because the socio-political agenda behind it all runs counter to our own ideals. We can recognize how oppression, which God hates, has been altered to fit the presupposition that ethnicity is the defining characteristic of who is the oppressed and the oppressor. When one party wholly subscribes to an ideology that is so characteristically different from our own, pointing out their sin of changing God’s Word to fit their agenda feels like child’s play. But what about when the ideologies are more akin to our own? Are we so quick to see the ditch for what it is? Or will we fall in line, ignoring the dangers ahead? Unfortunately, some persons within the Reformed camp of Christian theology have not only ignored the warning signs but have led a host of their followers into a ditch of their own making.

The gospel of grievance is not solely owned by the Marxist-driven CRT movement. Today, ostensibly Reformed pastors and social media influencers are preaching a message that white, male, patriarchal Christians are an oppressed group that must rise up and seize the reins of power in our current culture. Unquestionably, they have recognized that our culture is awash in moral depravity. The proliferation of sexual immorality, infant murder in the womb, child mutilation in conjunction with gender confusion hysteria, and more is a real and present danger. Furthermore, the powers that be have made it their goal to isolate certain ethnicities, genders, and ideologies as the scapegoat for all the world’s ills. If there is an “antichrist” in secularism, it is the white, male, conservative Christian. Secularists have made it their stated goal to denigrate and isolate them from any influence in culture. The question is not if these things be true but how then we should deal with the issue at hand.

Traditionally, the church has taught that the answer to a world drowning in sin is the proclamation of the gospel and discipleship of believers. Christians have recognized that, apart from the miraculous work of the Holy Spirit in regeneration, sinners cannot hope to please God. While we desire and work toward societies that do not flaunt or celebrate sin, we know that hearts must be changed for nations to desire to obey God. And changed hearts can only come through the preaching of the gospel. It is a time-intensive, generational work that has impacted societies around the globe. Many cultural transformations occurred because faithful Christians preached the gospel to the lost and taught them to live in accordance with Scripture. However, as time passes, subsequent generations either are not discipled as they ought to be or reject the teachings of their progenitors, following their sinful hearts to do what is right in their own eyes. Today, we find ourselves at such a point, replaying in our day Scripture’s revelation of how Israel time and again fell into sin and depravity.

Within Reformed Christian circles, there is a desire to achieve the end state of years of discipleship by instituting a Christian government by force. Rather than urging Christians and churches to be engaged in massive evangelistic efforts, they are calling for an immediate overturn of the current national governing system and implementation of Christian laws to be enforced by the church. They preach the grievances of how white Christian men have been maligned and emasculated by our culture and call for Christians to engage in sociopolitical activism to create a new form of nationalism. This may seem to be encouraging until examination of their professed ideology is compared with Scripture as a whole. When viewed in this light, it becomes apparent that there is an imbalance in their theological applications, something that must be righted lest well-meaning brethren continue to be led astray.

Some of the concerning issues revolve around issues of ethnic relations and gender roles. As noted above, there is no question that secular Marxist ideologues target white males today. In response, there have been calls by some professing Christians for white persons to find unity solely within their own ethnicity, claiming that nationalism requires ethnic solidarity as part of its foundation. Some have rebuffed any notion that, as Christians, we are to have closer ties to fellow Christians who have different ethnic backgrounds than unbelievers of the same skin color. While Scripture does recognize that distinct ethnicities are part of the makeup of the church (Rev. 7:9), those distinctions are ultimately irrelevant as part of our identity (Gal. 3:28–29). To call on Christians to establish a nation that focuses on ethnicity as part of our identity is to ignore the totality of Scripture.

When it comes to the roles of men and women, especially in the home, some professing Christians are strict adherents to a patriarchal system. It is clear from passages such as Ephesians 5:22–33 that wives and husbands have unique roles involving submission and authority. However, patriarchy, while biblical, is being stretched to bordering on oppression in the Christian home under their teachings. It is not uncommon for some persons to claim women should always be silent, never questioning their husbands, submitting to every whim (as long as it is not sinful by their definition), and elevate the husband’s authority as ultimate in the home. This is contradictory to passages such as Colossians 3:19, which says to not be harsh with one’s wife, and 1 Peter 3:7, which calls on husbands to live in an understanding way with their wives. Even Ephesians 5:25 describes having a self-sacrificing love for one’s wife. The attitude that any perceived dissension between a wife and husband is a direct result of feminism is nothing more than giving cover fire for blatant misuse of Scripture.

These are only a couple of examples of concerning, imbalanced beliefs within this nationalist framework. Yet, these alone should give every Christian cause for concern. While not every professing Christian who adheres to nationalist ideals is a false teacher driving professing believers astray, it is becoming clear that those enamored with this view are adopting similar strategies to the CRT-driven lunacy. And, in both cases, whether they be deliberately misleading or unintentionally misguided, they are falling off the path into deep, cavernous ditches. It is incumbent upon the Christian church to identify these nationalist teachings as a misuse and misapplication of Scripture. We must desire to do all that we can to teach Scripture in its full context and keep sound biblical truth from being distorted to advance agendas, regardless of any good intention, that will lead Christians off the narrow path. This has and will continue to offend the most vocal of its teachers and adherents. To that, all we can do is echo the words of Christ,

“Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit” (Matt. 15:14).

 

This article was also published on X.com.

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