This week, Chris and Rich discuss recent statements by well-known evangelicals such as J. D. Greear and Beth Moore which indicate a move to redefine what makes a church biblical.
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Category: Uncategorized (Page 20 of 38)
It is my firm belief there is a concerted effort in evangelicalism to change the definition of what is a biblical Christian.
Voted for Trump? Believe in Constitutional conservatism? You’re an unloving person, not a Christian, and probably a Nazi.
Believe the Bible is true in what is says about roles for men and women? That secular-humanist theoretical systems should not supplant Scripture? That God defines justice and not anti-Christian ivory tower elitists? You’re not a Christian, you are a hate-spewing bigotted racist.
Don’t believe the church should be dictated to by the government? Believe that meeting together to worship is a command of God to be obeyed? That a virus shouldn’t shut down the local assembly? You are an unloving person who hates your neighbor and who sets a horrendous example for those around you.
This will be the battle in the days, weeks, and even years to come. What is the definition of a biblical Christian? Who decides that? Scripture alone, or those who contort its words in order to advance their agenda? The answer should be simple, but the message is being clouded by redefining what biblical principles such as love and justice mean.
It’s past time for Christians to become serious about studying God’s Word diligently, to understand its clear meaning, to apply it in their lives, and to reject worldly ideologies being imported into the church.
This week, Rich and Chris talk about the decades-long war that has been waged against the American way of life, the future it may hold, and what the Christian needs to do in light of it all.
Christian Nationalism has been the new scare term used within elite evangelical circles these days. Primarily it has been used to describe Christians who supported President Trump in the 2020 election cycle. It paints a picture of Christians who ascribe to an extreme view of right-wing political conservatism.
The problem with this term is, like many scare terms, it is utterly flexible and lacking in any concrete definition. Nationalism, the idea that one loves and desires to promote one’s own nation over others, can have both good and bad impacts.
It can be a good thing to want one’s nation defended from foreign aggressors, to have the rule of law upheld, and to see freedom promoted and defended for its citizens. These desires can promote the prosperity and general welfare of the people of a nation while not neglecting the need to remain a face in the world at large, aiding other nations as need and ability arises.
However, nationalism can be a negative as well. Adolf Hitler demonstrated in the 1930s how one can manipulate the love of one’s nation to a fever pitch. That love of nation didn’t just simply mean promotion of the general welfare of the nation first, but a superiority to the point that a nation should dominate over others. So nationalism can indeed have a negative ditch into which a people may fall.
Evangelical elites like to use the most negative connotation of nationalism when throwing around the term “Christian Nationalism.” It seems they wish to paint Christians who love America and desire to protect its freedoms as those who uphold dangerous right-wing views (and yes, it is possible to take right-wings views to dangerous extremes, another point for another time).
This centered quite heavily during the 2020 election when evangelical elites wanted to be seen as opposing Donald Trump’s efforts at reelection. Media and political opponents have tried to create an image of Trump for four years as a racist, misogynist, and dangerous dictator. Evangelical elites were more than happy to aid in that cause in order to maintain credibility with popular culture.
Therefore, it was necessary to describe any Christian who intended to vote for Trump as being a “Christian Nationalist.” If Donald Trump was Hitler reincarnated, a wannabe dictator who was using conservatives to establish an American “Reich,” then any Christian who voted for him was a nationalist who needed to be exposed for extremist right-wing views.
Sadly, what many of these elites purposely ignored was that many Christians looked at the policies of Trump and the four years of his administration where he fought for religious protections, promoting freedom, and sought to protect the lives of the unborn. Christians were not ignorant of Trump’s serious character flaws, nor were they unaware of his arrogant and troublesome statements on Twitter.
Yet, when his policies were compared with the promises of unchecked Marxism made by the Biden campaign, many Christians knew that American freedom and exceptionalism were on the line. Whether they were die-hard supporters or people who reluctantly chose a lesser evil, Christians sought to re-elect a man who they felt would do the most to maintain the unique experiment that is the United States.
The term “Christian Nationalism” is a distraction. It is meant to invoke fear in the Christian electorate. That, if you voted for a man such as Trump, you may as well admit to being a modern day Nazi supporting a new Hitler. It is meant to cause fear and doubt. That Christians shouldn’t care about freedom or prosperity in a nation that still has racism, sexism, etc (as defined by Critical Theory, another anti-biblical compromise embraced by the elites). That if you do care more about freedom than supposed systemic-injustices, then you really aren’t a Christian at all.
Christians ought not fear demonization by evangelical elites. Those who seek to cozy up to the whims of culture in order to receive a crust of bread have long since abandoned any true submission to biblical fidelity. As such, their efforts to scare Christians into towing their line of leftist leaning reasoning should be ignored without a second thought.
This does not free us from being biblical when it comes to how we should cast our votes, however. There is a danger in taking nationalism too far. We should look to the proposals and policies of any candidate and seek to support only those whose promises most closely align with Scripture. Our desire to protect our freedoms should never allow us to choose a lesser evil that would put us in contradiction with Scripture.
So, Christian, don’t let the elitists in Big Eva frighten you. They have no power in your life. Furthermore, they need to repent of their own lack of biblical fidelity. You focus on being faithful to God, which often times means using your vote to promote freedom and prosperity in the unique nation God has placed you.
Given the current state of affairs in America, it is evident there will be even greater pressure brought upon the church to conform to the world’s standards. In light of the incident at the Capitol, the language of “extremism” will be applied to anything remotely appearing to be connected to Trump and conservatism.
Overwhelmingly, Christians are associated with the GOP and, as such, pressure will be brought to bear against churches to disavow any connection to Trump and his supporters. Be assured, simply condemning the actions on January 6, 2021, will not be enough. Claiming President Trump was responsible will not be enough.
Any attitude, dogma, belief, or opinion espoused by a Christian that can be connected to that day (no matter how ridiculously stretched out of shape) will be expected to be rejected. Not only rejected, but the church must espouse an opposing view, affirming the worldly definition of tolerance and love. Any belief that affirms the existence of sin, individual responsibility, objective truth/morality, and judgment from God will be declared divisive and dangerous.
This presents a clear crossroads for the American church. We have seen many evangelicals calling for more of a compromise with worldly ideals (i.e. seeker-friendly marketing, adoption of social justice ideals, softening of the gospel) in order to maintain some kind of influence in the culture.
Now, with the new order of things, such compromises will be expected to be greater by the culture at large. The professing church can either continue down the path of shifting goalposts, seeking the crumbs of approval of culture or it can stand firmly on the Word of God knowing it will cost us deeply.
Chasing the culture has always, ALWAYS, compromised the sufficiency of the Word of God and led people astray. Standing firm on God’s Word has always grown the church as it depends solely upon Christ alone.
The church can no longer be concerned with how the world views or what the world wants of us. We must stand firmly and proclaim directly to the world they need to submit to God’s Word, His gospel. The Scriptures speak to everything we need for life and godliness. Anything that detracts from this must be rejected. Wordly ideologies cannot “help” or “clarify” Scripture. In fact, they can only distract from or attempt to supplant God’s Word.
Using the world’s methods will leaving us chasing ghosts we can never catch. We will mislead our people and dishonor the Savior we claim to serve.
We must stand firmly on the Word of God, boldly proclaiming the truth without fear. This will cost us, it will bring the world against us, but we will honor God and His Word. And He will use it for His glory. Stand firm and preach the gospel.
We made it! It is the first episode of 2021! This week, Chris and Rich look back on 2020 and discuss how the challenges of the previous year can prepare us for the uncertainty of the new year. May our eyes ever be fixed on Jesus Christ in 2021.
This week, Chris and Rich discuss the incarnation of Christ, His sinless life, His sacrificial death, and the all-important topic of the resurrection. Christmas is upon us but it is meaningless without the resurrection, as there would be no forgiveness for sins.
This week, in an unscripted and off the cuff episode, Chris and Rich talk about how the difficulties of 2020 actually can be a blessing in our lives and how we can minister to one another during trying times.
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This week, Chris and Rich talk about how evangelical elites laid the foundation for Christians to vote for the party of Joe Biden (whose platform is patently anti-biblical) while rejecting incumbent President Trump (who had fought for policies that favored Christian freedom, life, and liberty).
Show Links:
JD Greear Speaks of Gender Justice (article)
American Conservative Article About Equality Act
John Piper Article Regarding the Election
Community Bible Church – Our Impenetrable Fortress (sermon)
Community Bible Church – The Forging of a Joyful Christian (sermon)
This week, Rich and Chris tip a sacred cow of evangelism by asking should we say “accept Jesus into your heart” or “receive Christ as Lord and Savior.” Is there a difference? Does it matter how closely we align with biblical terminology? Or are we just nitpicking at words?
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James White’s Poll (No, we were not kidding!)
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