Tag: Gospel (Page 1 of 4)

Andrew Tate Is Not Masculine

March 10, 2025 / Chris Hohnholz / 0 Comments

The recent craze surrounding self-appointed masculinity expert, Andrew Tate, continues to garner public attention. Tate built his financial wealth by prostituting women through websites such as “Only Fans.” He has made a name for himself by encouraging men to be physically fit and desirable to women. Furthermore, he has drawn public attention through bold speech, arguing that men must be willing to fight for what they want, must work hard, and stand up for nationalistic ideologies. His brashness, appearance of being tough, and unapologetic pride have drawn many young men into his wake. For them, Tate is the epitome of manliness. This has resulted in his being accepted and sought after by politically conservative personalities as a spokesman for masculinity.

However, Tate has a dark side. Allegations with accompanying videos and testimonies abound regarding his physical violence toward women. He regards marriage as a worthless institution and claims that men should seek to have numerous sexual encounters with a variety of women, so much so that he has accused men who seek marriage of being homosexual. He has stated that pastors who rebuke his practices are envious of him because he has made numerous women pregnant. Furthermore, Tate is facing numerous criminal allegations regarding his pandering and physical violence toward women. The stark reality is that Andrew Tate is a man of uncontrolled lust, anger, and speech, none of which meets the standard of masculinity set by Scripture.

The pursuits of men such as Tate are the works of the flesh according to Scripture (Gal. 5:19-21). While God indeed made women to be the perfect helper for men (Gen. 2:18-23), that relationship was to be confined to one man and one woman in a lifelong relationship called marriage (vv. 24-25). Tate’s pursuit of multiple partners is an utter rejection of God’s design for men. Furthermore, his rejection of marriage demonstrates how he despises God’s command that men are to love their wives in a self-sacrificing manner, putting her needs before his own (Eph. 5:25). A man who pursues multiple women purely to satisfy his sexual desire demonstrates that he is self-centered and could not care less about what God has called him to be. Additionally, Tate’s marketing of women to men looking for the easy gratification of online porn is drawing men into the sin of lust in the heart, which Christ condemned in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5:28). Everything about Tate is a man who not only celebrates sin but demands other men join him in his rebellion against God (1 Peter 4:4).

Another matter of concern is Andrew Tate’s unmatched pride and arrogance. He has repeatedly demonstrated that there is never a time when anyone can teach him anything. The manner in which he not only promotes himself as an idol to model oneself after but also denigrates any person who challenges his position reveals much about the pride in his heart. God hates pride. It is the sin that drew Satan and the fallen angels into rebellion before God. It is the sin by which Adam was tempted to eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Pride is the very root of sin in the heart of man and the core of almost all other sins. It is the sin of self-aggrandizement, believing oneself to be higher and better than all others. It denies the truth of Scripture which calls the heart of man “deceitful above all things and desperately sick” (Jer. 17:9) and thinks itself to be better than even God declares man to be. But, Proverbs 18:18 tells us, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” Those who trust in themselves will one day face the God they refused to humble themselves before.

Biblical manliness is found in the heart of the man who does not exalt self, rather he exalts the God who has redeemed him. James reminds us that, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble,” (4:6) and that men are to humble themselves before God, doing the works that He gives us, trusting that it is He that will exalt us in His timing (4:10). True masculinity emulates the perfect God-man, Jesus Christ, who emptied himself by stepping out of the throne of Heaven, becoming a servant and obeying all that the Father commanded, even to the point of death (Phil. 2:5-8). In all that he did, Jesus never trumpeted himself as the King all men were to follow. Rather, he taught and served exactly as the Father commanded, allowing himself to be exalted at the proper time, waiting for the day that every knee will bow and all men will worship him as Lord and Savior (2:9-11). Christ has made it clear that those who mimic Tate in pursuing pride and self-exaltation will one day find themselves humbled by the hand of God when they face his judgment (Matt. 23:12).

Lastly to be considered is that Tate is a man of unwarranted violence. His verbal and physical abuse has been documented and demonstrated publicly. While physical violence may be warranted in defense of self or others, or the defense of one’s nation in a just war, God gave numerous commandments in the law (as seen in Exodus 21:12-27) regarding the punishments one would receive for striking another. When men strike other people unjustly, when they cause physical harm to one another, it is a sin against God himself. Yet, it is not merely the act of unjust violence that condemns a man, it is the unwarranted hatred and anger within one’s heart for which God will judge men (see Matt. 5:21-22 and 1 John 3:15). Hatred is born out from from the heart which is tempted by envy and disdain for others. Over time, that hatred and disgust boil over into one’s speech and actions, resulting in the wickedness of violence against another (see James 1:14-15). Men such as Tate show the evil within their hearts when they verbally tear down others and act out with physical aggression against them. Biblically masculine men are those who esteem others better than themselves (Phil. 2:3) and seek to love others as they love themselves (Mark 12:31). Unjust hatred, anger, and violence are rejected because men are to love God and love others as he has commanded us. Those men who demonstrate anger and violence toward others are not masculine, they are brute beasts who reject God’s reign over their lives.

Andrew Tate is not masculine by any biblical definition. He is a proud, angry, and lust-filled man who believes himself to be better than everyone else. He despises God and his word, believing his own depraved mind to be better counsel than God can offer to mankind. His influence over men in this world should be rejected at every level. He should be given no platform from which to espouse his godless and wicked ideology. Christians should expose his evil for what it is, calling on him and all who follow him to repent of their lawlessness. Christians should reject any politically conservative influencer who promotes Tate and his crowd, for those who promote him share in his wickedness. The church should instead preach true biblical masculinity which commands men to serve God humbly, loving others, restraining their minds and lusts, and leading as Christ has done, as the perfect servant-leader. Those who do so demonstrate truly biblical manliness.

Note: This article was also published at X.com.

A Christian’s Identity is in Christ Alone

February 26, 2025 / Chris Hohnholz / 0 Comments

Within professing evangelicalism is the tendency to prefix an adjective to one’s identity as a Christian. While some may seem a bit innocuous by describing the stripe of their faith (Reformed, biblical, or born-again Christian) or their national citizenship (American Christian), others have attached an ethnic modifier (i.e., white-Christian, black-Christian, Asian-Christian, etc.). Still others have added the dubious and sinful marks of identity to their “Christianity” (LGBTQ Christian, Gay Christian, etc). There may be a myriad of reasons a person may feel compelled to affix these titles to the Christian faith; however, it raises the question of whether such modifiers are necessary or even biblical.

There are times when descriptors may be necessary. In some cases, when identifying the doctrinal beliefs under which a Christian may operate, referring to something like Reformed or Progressive Christianity is a short-hand form of telling others what you believe. Likewise, when there is a need to explain how national ideologies have impacted the Christian faith, comparing or contrasting American Christians with Middle Eastern Christians can be appropriate. In other words, adjectives can and do have uses that are helpful in discussions and in no way conflict with how Scripture describes the Christian faith. Yet, not all adjectives are created equal. Other modifiers are used specifically to center on one’s sense of identity upon which they append the Christian faith. Some seek to identify themselves solely by their sinful proclivities (gay, LGBT, trans, etc). They then attempt to legitimize their identities by forcing a connection to Christ by calling themselves Gay or LGBT-Christians. They take that which is patently sinful according to Scripture and attempt to turn it into virtue by affixing it to the name of Christ. This is blasphemous to Christ because it tries to make God, who condemns their sin, their chief cheerleader. It also demonstrates how little they understand the Christian faith as not only do they refuse repentance from sin, but they are also making themselves the center of their faith by using their personal adjective to describe Christianity rather than being transformed by Christ. Such usage is the definition of sin.

While the above examples deal with the far ends of the spectrum of adjective usage, there is a more common yet concerning issue. While it may not be quite as inherently sinful, some attempt to attach their ethnicity to Christianity, and they face a similar problem. Today, there has been a lot of debate surrounding ethnicity and whether or not it is appropriate to have churches, gatherings, or communities that are focused solely on ethnic identity. While very few professing Christians (though they do unfortunately exist) would argue it is appropriate for there to be a “whites only” church, association, or community, there are those who believe other ethnic groups should be afforded such consideration. It is not uncommon to see arguments in favor of Christians who are black, Hispanic, or Asian to be given space and have gatherings with other persons of their shared ethnic heritage. Such places, it is argued, are necessary to be safe to feel in community and separate from the alleged oppressive forces of our current culture. Thus, it is considered normal for one to use the ethnic identifying descriptors as a prefix to their professed faith. However, this places the primary focus on their personal sense of ethnic identity as opposed to their identity in Christ. And that is where the problem lies.

When writing to the Galatian church, the apostle Paul argues that their obsession with returning to the Old Covenant law signifies an abandonment of their New Covenant salvation in Christ. Paul states that their identity in Christ marks their profession of faith, an identity that comes only by faith alone in the completed work of Christ (2:15-16). The law could not save anyone; it could only reveal that every man, woman, and child is guilty of sin before God. While the law was not useless, it was an absolute necessity because it made them aware of sin and their need for Christ. It was given to them so that they might come to Christ (3:21-24). This becomes the lynchpin of Paul’s argument: because the law has led them to Christ, and they have turned to Him in faith, they have now “put on Christ” (3:27). Paul takes this one step further when he writes, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (3:28). In other words, their entire identity is now in Christ. It defines their very being and existence. They did not supernaturally become sexless beings lacking any ethnically identifiable traits; they still retained all the hallmarks of their humanity. Yet, those markers have become secondary, even tertiary, to their identity in Christ. They are a new people entirely, unified as one body across all nations, cultures, and times because they belong to the Savior who has redeemed them all. This is why turning back to the Old Covenant law is such an assault on Christ: it is a rejection of this new identity, a reversion to identifying themselves by their works and attempted obedience to the very law that was meant to lead them to Christ.

Christians today face a similar issue. When Christians seek to add the modification of their biological identity to Christ, they reject the idea that they are defined as a new people or a new creation. When they seek to find community based on the ethnic prefix, they are saying that there is more in common with someone who has common ancestral attributes than with someone who shares their faith in Christ yet lacks similar DNA. The Galatians were called foolish because they were turning from their identity in Christ and were placing their trust in a shared sense of working and earning merit from God. This community was being built upon a false premise that they could be accepted by what they did rather than their common faith in Christ. Likewise, those who argue for adjective-based Christianity seek to establish common ground on what can be seen by the naked eye (ethnic appearance) and like-minded ideologies (i.e., “if you have this particular ethnicity, you must think and act this way”). This is a rejection of the Scriptural truth that our identity is solely defined by our common saving faith in Christ. It is a turning away from Christ and turning back to the works of the world.

Interestingly, when Paul writes to the Galatians about their common identity, he identifies three particular groups: ethnic, sex, and slave/master relationships. Of the three, Scripture only gives us commands for two regarding the roles each must fulfill. Wives are to submit to their husbands and husbands are to love their wives (Ephesians 5:22-33). Slaves are to obey their masters and masters are to treat slaves fairly without threatening them (Ephesians 6:5-9). There are no such commands for those who are Jew or Gentile. However, Paul does address relationships between the two in Romans 11:17-24. He had written of his love for the Jewish people and their rebellion against God, teaching that their removal from their place and the subsequent grafting in of the Gentiles was to provoke them to jealousy that they might one day return. It was here that Paul commanded the Roman believers not to be arrogant, thinking their own inclusion made them better than the Jews. For, just as the Jews were removed and themselves added, they could be removed and the Jews added back. In other words, the ethnic identities of either group meant absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of things. It was their faith in Christ and their commitment to living in obedience to Him that mattered above all. The only command was not to be haughty about one’s ethnic identity and not to mistreat the other for their own. This is such a blow to the idea that we should ever be concerned with ethnically based adjective Christianity.

The use of adjectives has its place, even within the Christian church, but that use is limited in its scope. We are identified by our union with Christ alone. And, within that union, we are united as one new people (Gal. 3:28), we are commanded to come together regularly to celebrate our union in Christ (Heb. 10:25), and we are given gifts to serve and build one another up in Christ (see 1 Cor. 12). God calls us to be a people unique and set apart from the world, brought together to be the visible example of the gospel at work in this life. When we seek to divide ourselves along these lines of personal identity and add modifiers to our Christianity, we make ourselves the focus, and not Christ. This ought not to be. Let us reject the world’s means of declaring our identity, let us reject divisive descriptors, and let us embrace our one true identity in Christ alone. Let this identify us and drive us to the good works that God has set before us.

Note: This article was also published at X.com.

Repentance and Forgiveness in an Age of Digital Relationships

February 19, 2025 / Chris Hohnholz / 0 Comments

Two of the most important aspects of the Christian faith are repentance and forgiveness. They are the foundational elements of how one even becomes a Christian for it is through repentance (turning from sin) and faith (turning to Christ) that one is forgiven. There is no Christianity apart from these two elements. This is why Christ commands repentance from all persons everywhere and throughout all time (Acts 17:30) and directs Christians to grant forgiveness to those who seek it (Matt. 6:14-15). Just as one cannot call oneself a Christian if he or she lives in unrepentant sin, neither can we claim to follow Christ if we refuse to grant forgiveness to those who ask it and seek to make amends for their offense.

In the setting of the local church, this is demonstrated when a person comes before another, confesses their guilt, repents, makes restitution, and asks for forgiveness. It is personal, upfront, and can be aided by the elders of the church when called upon. We can see the guilty party’s actions and work with them through the process of forgiveness and reconciliation. While the aggrieved person may truly forgive, the one who sinned still must demonstrate a willingness to change their thoughts and behaviors to keep from such behavior in the future. In the physical presence of many brethren, those who give mere lip service to repentance, who make no real changes to their thoughts, words, and deeds, will be quickly exposed. This can result in further counseling or even church discipline when required. In a church where these matters are taken seriously, there is little room to hide behind words alone.

Yet, in the 21st century, Christians are not isolated from relationships that occur solely in the presence of the local church. With the explosion of digital technology and social media over the last couple of decades, relationships no longer are confined to one’s local community. We are connected with people around the globe and can build relationships with people we may never meet face-to-face. Furthermore, these relationships exist 24/7. We can communicate with virtually anyone at any time with little to no restraint. Christians can build virtual communities with each other and never have to experience the limitations set by schedules, jobs, childcare, uncomfortable group settings, and more. It is little wonder why so many people live much of their lives in these virtual settings. While seemingly more comfortable than living with one another face-to-face, virtual relationships face many challenges as well. The ability to create echo chambers, to block anyone who creates obstacles to our comfortability, and to be swept up in an antagonistic mob mentality is all too easy when those you interact with are pixels on a screen rather than a flesh and blood person. Therefore, just as in the real-life arena, Christians can and do sin against one another in the digital world. The question becomes how one addresses sin, repentance, and forgiveness in this environment.

The unique nature of social media gives every user a modicum of anonymity. Usernames and profile pictures can be purely fictional, never revealing the truth about a person’s identity. Even when someone is willing to use their true name and image, the lack of physical presence before others makes it easier to curate his or her appearance in the virtual world. We show the online community only that which we want them to see. And, with that sense of anonymity, we can easily set aside the fact that we are dealing with physical people on the other side of the screen. Compassion, kindness, and grace are all too easily discarded because we do not see the impact of our words and behavior toward others. Mistreatment, lying, bullying, and even defrauding others can become justifiable because we are only dealing with screen names, not real people. Sin becomes so much easier in such an environment. With that in mind, the idea of holding someone accountable for their sins suddenly feels daunting. When others are simply pixels on the screen, the certainty over the conviction of sin, repentance, and the ability to forgive appears to be impossible to discern.

Difficult though it may be, Christians are still obligated to address sin as they see it in their midst, virtual or otherwise. Passages such as Matthew 18:15-20 and James 5:19-20 require Christians to confront sin, call on their brethren to repent, and seek reconciliation. This may be more difficult in a virtual setting, but it is not impossible. First and foremost, the confrontation for sin must occur. Ideally, this could be done through private messaging or phone/Zoom-style calls. This allows for person-to-person contact outside the view of others. If such contact is rebuffed or repentance is rejected, then as Christ commanded, trying to mediate with other persons may become necessary. This is not done to shame or gang up on the person, but to hopefully help the sinner see the seriousness of their behavior online and to provide oneself with witnesses that these attempts are being made according to Scripture. If repentance is further rejected, it may be necessary to seek out the sinner’s church, if this can be determined, and provide the elders with documentation of all efforts so they can address the matter themselves. If such information is not available, and all other avenues are exhausted, it is advisable to step away from further contact so that we do not provide the person further means to sin in the same manner. Furthermore, one may need to warn other online users if the sin involves lying, theft, or defrauding in order to protect them from harm. None of this is to be done to shame, bully, or even dox the sinner. This is all done because we desire the repentance and reconciliation of one’s brother or sister in Christ.

If the person found to be in sin confesses and seeks forgiveness, we can forgiven and rejoice, yet we should desire to see genuine repentance occur. Where the sin is public (and it almost always is on social media) the confession should be public as well. It should also be immediate, for when sin is left to hide in the dark corners it is all too easy for someone to later mitigate, minimize, and even justify their behavior. Genuine repentance expresses a willingness to be seen by others and to be held accountable for future acts. Those giving lip service are less likely to publicly admit their wrongdoing even though they showed no such resistance to their public sin. They should also be encouraged to stand before their own elders and seek biblical counsel on why they sinned, what drove such thoughts and intents, and how they might seek to avoid sin in the future. If the sin involved some kind of defrauding of others, the person should be called upon to confess to all the aggrieved parties and make restitution where necessary. Lastly, it may be necessary to urge the person to cut themselves off from all social media use that is not watched over by the elders of their church. Christ made it clear that whatever gives us the means to sin should be removed from our lives (Matt. 5:29-30). While sin is a matter of the heart, if social media is the means of temptation, then repentance requires that it either be removed or heavily monitored. Those who refuse any and all such steps, or who seek to minimize the sin, claiming such repentance is unneeded, are likely exhibiting guilt over the consequences of sin rather than over the sin itself. It may be necessary to walk away from any further association with such a person and hand the matter over to God, trusting He will deal rightly with them.

The virtual world is distinct from the real world, yet it exists alongside and is used by flesh and blood people. Sin will occur in both arenas and Scripture calls upon us to address sinners so that repentance and forgiveness may occur. When we do this rightly, it pictures the gospel to all who are watching. If we fail to do it, then, not only do we allow sin to run rampant among professing believers, but we also communicate to those impacted by those sinners that sin does not matter much to us, or God. Both should be unacceptable to Christians. Let us be a people who desire to see our brethren conform to the image of Christ by calling on one another to live in obedience and to be repentant when we fail, both in the real and digital worlds.

Note: This article was also published on X.com

We Must Call Them to Repent

February 12, 2025 / Chris Hohnholz / 0 Comments

The gospel of Jesus Christ redeems sinners. That is the Christian message, that is what we are called to preach to the lost of this world. Mankind is dead in trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1) because we all are born with a sin nature (Ps. 51:5). Because our federal head, Adam, sinned in the garden, all mankind has been impacted by the stain of sin on our very souls (Rom. 5:12). Since we are conceived in sin, we live out our lives enslaved to sin, and all we do is sin (Rom. 6:20). When we stand before God, we will receive the due payment for our sin, eternal death in the fires of Hell (Rom. 6:23). There is no hope in ourselves or anything of this world by which we can be freed from sin and avoid the just wrath of God to come. Only one thing can free us from our fate and that is Jesus Christ.

When Christ came into this world, He took on humanity, lived a perfect life in thought word, and deed, and then died a sacrificial death for sinners on the cross. He took the just wages of sin, the wrath of God upon Himself, that the penalty might be paid in the place of sinners (Rom. 5:15-21). The righteous God-Man Jesus Christ willingly laid down His life so that guilty sinners might go free (John 10:18). And how is this accomplished? Sinners must repent of (turn from) their sins (Matt. 4:17) and place their complete trust in Christ alone. Trusting in Christ means confessing that He is Lord and that He died in one’s place and rose from the grave, defeating sin and death (Rom. 10:9). It is through this act of repentance and faith that sinners are freed from sin and made new creations in Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 5:17). As a new creation, the sinner is made righteous, his heart of stone is replaced with a heart of flesh that is inclined to love and obey God (Ezekiel 36:26). The gospel is a message that frees the sinner from enslavement to the passions of his flesh, creates in him a new heart that he might live in obedience to Christ, and then spend eternity with the Savior who redeemed Him. This is the most precious and important message any person can hear and it is the duty of all Christians everywhere to proclaim it to the world.

The only problem is that the world hates this message. Those dead in their sins hate hearing there is a God over them who will hold them accountable for sin. They love their sins and will do anything to remain in that which they believe gives them pleasure, fleeting though it may be. Therefore, sinners will concoct any scheme they can to unseat God from His throne and put themselves in His place. From denying that God exists to creating idolatrous versions of God that they worship in His place, mankind will do anything to silence their God-given consciences against the knowledge that they will face His judgment. This includes reinventing the Christian faith in such a way that it ignores Scripture’s command to preach repentance (for both the sinner and the saint) and replacing it with feel-good messages that coax sinners into believing God loves them no matter what. Or, they desire a message of “tolerance” that denies certain acts are sinful at all. In both cases, when professing Christians acquiesce to these desires, they neglect the duty of the church to proclaim the whole counsel of God and fail to proclaim the true gospel of Christ.

When the church either waters down Scripture’s teachings regarding sin or denies that people are sinning despite the clarity of God’s word, it does sinners no favors whatsoever. By enticing the sinner into the pews without addressing the need for repentance from sin, Christians appeal to the unregenerate flesh of the world rather than piercing the heart with the truth of God. Sinners are made to feel comfortable and included while still being at war with God. There is no examination of one’s heart and no understanding of their desperate need for forgiveness. Sinners then believe they can stand before God on their own merit and they feel no fear before Him. This is a dereliction of duty on the part of the church. The unrepentant and unregenerate sinner has been assured God loves him despite the fact he has never truly trusted in Christ for his forgiveness because he doesn’t believe his sins are really a problem. The sinner is “comforted” with sweet words of encouragement while being set on the path of eternal condemnation.

When sinners are given false assurance of their having a relationship with Christ apart from genuine repentance and faith, they continue in their sins believing God has no issue with them. For example, sexual immorality is rampant in our current culture. So much so that many churches either turn a blind eye to heterosexual couples living in sexual sin outside of marriage, or they are tripping over themselves to be “inclusive” of LGBT persons, assuring them God loves them as they are. Furthermore, many such persons publicly celebrate their sexual sin and demand Christians affirm not only their lifestyle but also their alleged relationship with Christ. However, all these individuals are living in unrepentant sin and Scripture makes clear that such persons will have no part of the kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6:9-10). While every true Christian struggles with sin and will fall into sin, those who refuse repentance and live in an ongoing state of sin will face the eternal wrath of God (1 John 3:9). The most wicked thing the church can do for these persons is deny them the truth that their sins will condemn them eternally.

Professing Christians are not being loving or showing grace to sinners by neglecting the commands of Scripture on these matters. Sin is a serious matter before God. He will not look on sin and will bring His just and righteous wrath upon it on Judgment Day. Christians must have the courage to speak the truth regardless of how they are received by the world at large. Both inside the church and without, people need to hear of God’s condemnation of sin. Those in the church must be reminded what sin cost for them to be forgiven, the death of Christ on the cross. They must be corrected, reproved, and rebuked that they may not return to the shackles of sin (Rom. 6:16). But, those outside the church, those living in continuous, unrepentant sin must hear that they face the righteous judgment of God apart from their turning away from sin and turning to Christ alone. If we refuse to do this for them, if we give them smooth words that would make them more comfortable around us, then we are not loving. In fact, we show that we have no love for them at all. Shame on us if we do so.

Note: This article was also published at X.com

The Danger of Unjust Anger

January 7, 2025 / Chris Hohnholz / 0 Comments

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.” (Mt 5:21–22)

We live at a time when sinful depravity is celebrated as virtue and godliness is treated as vice. Those who seek to uphold all that is right and good according to Scripture are seen as evil, people to be hated and shunned from society. As such, it is all too easy to cultivate a heart of unjust anger and even hatred, toward “those who call evil good and good evil” (Isa. 5:20). This is not to say that Christians cannot feel hurt, frustrated, and dismay over those who seek to persecute the church for preaching the truth about sin and its inevitable consequences. It would be irrational to expect Christians not to have a reasonable emotional response to evil in the world, especially that which is directed at the church. However, our emotions must not lead our thinking. Our biblically informed mind must guide and control our emotional state.

Jesus taught His disciples in the Sermon on the Mount that Christians will face persecution (Mt 5:10-12). It is not a question of if but when we will face the wrath of the world for standing with Christ. We may feel inclined to be angry at those who demand our acquiescence to their sin or their threats of persecution against us. However, Christ teaches His followers an altogether different reaction. When facing the onslaught of a wicked culture, Jesus taught, “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven” (Mt 5:12). Rather than be consumed by anger and hatred toward their persecutors, the followers of Christ are to count themselves as blessed to be counted among the prophets who came before them, those who paid the ultimate price for trusting in God. Christ commands us to fix our thinking on Him and His promises that we might be joyful even in the midst of the worst kind of affliction.

As Christians, we know that the world is dead in trespasses and sin. This is the default state of every human being outside of Jesus Christ. While God, in His common grace, restrains much of humanity from expressing just how evil it can be, we know that no one is capable of obeying and honoring God apart from being made a new creation in the Holy Spirit. It should not surprise us that the world will not only embrace sin but will demand we join them in their depraved celebration of it. So blinded are they by the passions of their sin, that they will attack and malign Christians who refuse to take part with them (see 1 Peter 4:4). It is when we lose sight of this biblical truth that we begin to succumb to a sense of shock and dismay as we watch the world enraptured with sinful abandon. This is not to say that sin should not grieve us deeply. It must do so for what else drives us to proclaim the gospel to those enslaved to sin? Yet, when we allow our emotions to override our understanding of God’s truth, grief over sin can change to distress, anxiousness, anger, and even hatred. Instead of being driven to compassion to proclaim the truth to sinners, we can be led to treat them as an enemy to be vanquished.

When we allow our emotions to lead our thinking, unjust anger and hatred for sinners can lead us to justify the mistreatment of the very persons who should be our mission field. Rather than preaching the truth in love – warning people of the wrath of God for sin and calling them to repentance and faith in Christ – we may find ourselves mocking, deriding, and cursing sinners. Instead of leading them to the path of salvation, we verbally assault those who stand opposed to God, attempting to drive them from public view. It is not compassion and love that drive us but animosity and anger. Furthermore, we will begin to justify our behavior, claiming that we are acting as the prophets and Jesus did when they stood against the world. Our emotional drift leads us to believe that our personal sense of offense that sinners actually sin can be categorized as righteous indignation rather than self-righteous anger. Once we allow ourselves to believe such behavior is acceptable, we turn a blind eye to Christ’s warning against unjust anger.

Christ’s sermon reveals that God’s law was not only about action but also the thoughts and intents of the heart. Adultery was not just the act of fornication with someone you are not married to but also the lustful thoughts of the heart and mind. Murder, one of the most heinous sins one can commit, was not just the act of taking a life but also the evil emotional state of hatred against that human being. God’s law demands complete perfection in thought, word, and deed. There is no means by which we can justify sins of the mind and heart. Even if never acted upon, the sins of our hearts, which no one may ever see, are enough to condemn us eternally. Therefore, when Christ preaches against unjust anger and verbal mockery, it should be a stark warning to all Christians everywhere. If we are called to live holy lives, that is not limited to how we act, but how we think and speak as well. When the Apostle John warns us that hatred of a brother places one in darkness (1 John 2:11) and even marks that person as a murderer in the eyes of God (3:15). And before we think we have found a loophole, it is no shield to say that sinners are not our brothers. Before we were redeemed in Christ, we were His enemies. Yet, while we were yet these wicked and vile rebels, Christ died for us (Rom. 5:8).

Christians must be wary of their hearts which so easily lead us to believe we can justify anger and hatred because sinners are evil. Indeed, they are, just as once we were. But Christ in his mercy sent compassionate, grace-filled believers to seek us out and proclaim the truth of the gospel to us. Yes, Christians must have a hatred for sin. We must so hate it that we seek to continuously repent of that which caused our Savior to die in our place. We must so inform our minds with God’s word that we recognize sins of unjust anger and hatred in our hearts and turn from them. We need to control the passions of our emotions by leaning heavily into the promises of Christ, knowing that any wickedness we face for His sake will be our blessing in eternity. Then, we must so despise sin in the world that we desperately call sinners around us to turn from it and turn to Christ who is the only hope of salvation.

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

The Prejudice of Jonah

December 30, 2024 / Chris Hohnholz / 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.

Be a Man Like Jesus

December 20, 2024 / Chris Hohnholz / 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.

It Shall Not Be So Among You

November 20, 2024 / Chris Hohnholz / 0 Comments

But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Mt 20:25–28)

As I watch a certain movement within Reformed Christian circles continue to demand attention, I cannot help but see a stark difference between their behavior and Christ’s command to His disciples. Today, there are those calling for the establishment of a distinctly Christian nation. This would be a nation whose laws and governmental systems would require its citizens to appear to live as if they were Christians, even if they are outside the covenant. It is a top-down structure where Christian ideals and principles are to be enforced as the law of the land. And those who disobey the law would be punished by the Christian government.

Such a nation may seem to be an ideal but the question remains how we would attain such a Christian utopia. The Christian church has taught throughout history that we are to proclaim the gospel of Christ, seeking to convert sinners to Christ. Such converts are then taught to obey the Scriptures in all manner of their lives, including how they interact with the civil government. As the church grows and the people are changed through the Spirit and the Word, the byproduct can be a nation transformed for Christ. Laws and governments begin to reflect this change as the people become increasingly involved. While this is not guaranteed in every corner of the world, Western culture for many generations proved this to be a likelihood. The church grew and the governments changed because humble Christians shared the faith and lived out what they preached.

But, as the culture has fallen into depravity and great evils have been given government endorsement, many Christians feel that the gospel alone is not the antidote. They call for greater activism and demand the church go forth and conquer the civil realm, not through the preached word, but by the takeover of governmental institutions. They see brash militancy as the solution where humble servitude has failed. The reclamation of the culture through enforcing Christian laws, by their definition, is seen as the only viable option. The establishment of a kind of Christian monarchy where society is ruled by fiat is the only consideration given. Those espousing this system seem to believe the time for humble service has passed, it is time for the church to rule the nations with a rod of iron.

Yet, Christ, the King of all creation taught something quite different. When James and John sought to sit at His right and left – positions of authority, places of ruling and reigning – Jesus gave the disciples God’s position on Christian leadership. He showed them how the rulers of the nations lorded their power and authority over the people, something one would expect from the government. But Christ then said, “It shall not be so among you” (Mt. 20:26). Instead, He taught them that the greatest among them would be the one who sought to be a servant, a slave. They were not to seek power that they would be mighty rulers over all. They were to see themselves as humble servants. They were to be the least among all that they might be servants of all. Just as Christ gave Himself as a ransom for His people, the disciples were to consider themselves to be the chief slaves so that the people might be won to the Savior.

This does not mean that no follower of Christ can ever be in a place of authority. We are not relegated to being those who only ever work in the lowest places of the workforce. Nor are we prohibited from working in civil government or places of leadership. Rather, in all our vocations and places within society we are to have an attitude of humility, seeing our work as a means of service to others, using even our humble work as a tool in leading the lost to Christ. We do not seek authority and power that we might lord it over others and compel them to follow Christ by force. Rather, we preach the truth wherever we may be and then serve those both above and below us so that they see the truth of the gospel worked out before them.

Those who seek the authoritarian, top-down approach reveal the lack of humility in their hearts through arrogance, crassness, and perpetual anger directed, not just at the depraved culture, but also at their Christian brethren who raise concerns with their ideology. Whenever a brother or sister reminds them that our call is to proclaim the gospel, that person is often met with derision and mockery. An attitude of superiority and haughtiness permeates many of their interactions with others. It is not uncommon to see the uses of slurs and crass language leveled at those whom they believe to be the cause of society’s downfall. Much like James and John in Luke 9:54-55, they seek to figuratively call down fire on their adversaries. All of this is contrary to the image of the servant leader Christ called His disciples to emulate.

It is right and good for Christians to desire to see their cultures and nations conformed to the Word of God. Any person calling themselves a Christian who does not desire to see the lost come to Christ should question if they are truly in the faith. But, such desire must be tempered by our conformity to Christ. We cannot act like the world, gnashing our teeth in anger at the very sinners with whom we once walked arm in arm before Christ graciously redeemed us. Jesus’s teaching is clear, all leaders and rulers who call themselves Christians are not to be conquering warriors, ruling over societies by force. Rather, we are to be the servants of all, humbling recognizing that it is God who is the one true King over all creation. We are merely His servants to be used according to His gracious plan to bring the lost to salvation. And, if He graces us to live in a nation where Scripture is the authority over all the people, it will be because we have heeded the call to go forth and make disciples in all the land. Let us reject the lustful power of worldly kings, let us embrace the role of humble servitude by which God has turned nations on their heads.

Article also published on X.comX.com.

We Do Not Need Celebrity Christians

April 13, 2024 / Chris Hohnholz / 1 Comment

Forgiveness and redemption, the testimony of a sinner who has renounced their sinful ways and turned to Christ, is always an amazing story. Human beings are, by nature, rebels against the sovereign King of all creation. By our wicked works, we seek to unseat God from His throne and put ourselves in His place. No matter what sins beset us, the central issue is the worship of self. We seek to please and fulfill ourselves constantly and above all else. Yet, when the gospel of Christ is proclaimed and the Holy Spirit humbles the human heart, bringing it to a place of repentance and faith, the rebel is redeemed and becomes an adopted son or daughter of the King. We are no longer at war, we are reconciled and made right with a Savior who loves us for all eternity. No other story can begin to compare.

Every genuine Christian loves to hear the stories of how Jesus Christ saved a sinner. We walked that road ourselves once before. We remember how we went from hating God to loving Him above all. We once lived only for ourselves only to be transformed and now live our lives in devotion to Him. So, when another Christian comes forward with that testimony, we cannot wait to hear how Christ gripped that new believer, ripping him or her out of the world of sinful depravity, and made that person His own.

The stories of transforming grace run the gamut of human experience. Some people lived relatively quiet, unassuming lives, thinking they were pretty good with God. They may have even grown up in the church and thought they made them Christian enough. But, God exposed them to the truth, showing them that there are none good and all need Christ. In repentance and faith, they became a story of God’s saving grace.

On the other end of the spectrum, we have murderers, thieves, drug addicts, idol worshippers, and the sexually degenerate. They can testify of lives lived in utter rebellion, seeking after the most vile passions to satisfy the lusts of their flesh. They know how great their hatred for God truly was, how much their love for self destroyed lives around them. Yet, God in His glorious grace showed them their true nature, how wicked and vile they were in His eyes, and how just His eternal judgment on them would be. God humbled them and wrought massive change in their lives through His work of justification and redemption.

We love these testimonies, from the most mundane to the most dramatic, they all speak of the kindness and love of God. However, there is something we must be honest about. The stories of the greatest turnarounds, the ones where the most vile human being suddenly becomes the most humble and loving person by God’s hands get our attention a little bit more. It should not be so but, if we are being truthful, we love the pauper to prince story. Our ears perk up just a bit more when the story is about the satan worshipper turned Christian instead of the local nice guy office worker coming to faith because he read a gospel tract. There is something a bit more exciting about the former than the latter.

This is where the story of the celebrity turning Christian comes into play. Celebrities (whether they be actors, athletes, musicians, politicians, or influencers) are rarely known for their upstanding morals and stable lifestyles. The reason that so many magazines, news programs, and television shows exist specifically to detail the lives of celebrities is because we want to see them living lives so very different from our own. We want to know about the scandals, the breakups, the drug addictions, and the degeneracy. Celebrity gossip is just another form of entertainment for our wicked hearts.

Therefore, when a celebrity suddenly professes in a public forum that they have renounced their wicked lives and turned to Christ, we Christians get really excited. Just like the testimony of the drug addicted serial adulterer perks those ears up, the celebrity coming to faith is that story that becomes very important to us. That publicly degenerate person that everyone salivated over being “one of us” just satisfies the longing for another exciting testimony all the more.

Perhaps more concerning, however, is that we see the high-profile convert as something more than just an exciting testimony to be heard. Not only does the story feel good to hear, we get to do something with it. We get to put that celebrity on display for the entire world to see. The average Joe who gets saved when a friend shares the gospel with him is not a story the world at large cares about. They do not know who Joe is and could not care less about him. But, the celebrity, well, everyone knows who that is. And now, that same everyone gets to see the degenerate celebrity become a Christian, can hear their testimony, and we can promote that person to everyone we know as God really doing something amazing.

Celebrity Christians become trophies, not of God’s grace, but of our religious camp to be put on display. We get to claim this very important person, who once belonged to the world at large, as one of our own. And, in doing so, we gain a kind of validation, that the Christian faith is important. So much so, that the most well-known and recognized can become our public faces, our mouthpieces to the world.

This public face, this desire to have them speak and be seen for us, becomes so all-important that we forget new Christians are people who need, above all else, godly discipleship and teaching to grow in the faith. And that is damaging to the sinner-turned-believer. Sinners saved by grace are certainly indwelt by the Holy Spirit, provided they are genuinely saved. But, they are neither mature nor well instructed. Getting saved does not equal becoming all-knowing. New believers need to be taught the Word, taught how to pray, and taught to discern not only true from false, but true from almost true. New believers can testify to the gospel and its transforming work in their lives but they are ill-equipped to become the public voice of the Christian faith.

Furthermore, new believers need leaders and mature believers to guide them as temptation and sin continue to be a part of their lives. While Christians are freed from the power of sin, we need the knowledge of the Word and the discipleship of the elders to train us in resisting sin. We need our brethren who have been gifted and equipped to edify us and be ears to hear our cries when temptation threatens to overwhelm us. The new believer thrust into the spotlight is being denied this all-important time of growth and maturity. They are being thrown into the deep end of the pool when they barely even know how to dog paddle. It is a selfish people who care more about the celebrity being a public face instead of caring about the growth of their souls.

Of course, there is another aspect we far too often overlook when it comes to the celebrity as well: false conversion. Jesus’ parable of the soils tells us that not all who claim to follow Christ are truly His. It takes time for the grain to grow and develop fruit. The time can also reveal those who have no depth of soil or those who will be choked out by the weeds. The Christian life is one in which trial and tribulation are our birthright. Such difficulty reveals those false converts who fall away in the heat of the world. Or those who have never truly repented and turned back to their sinful lives when the cares of the world matter far more to them than the Savior they profess.

When we immediately cling to the celebrity Christian rather than desiring them to come under the teaching of sound, biblical churches, we can be guilty of helping promote false brethren to the world. People who will give the heathen reason to blaspheme the Lord because they think God just cannot seem to keep His people under His wing. No, we do not need to demand the celebrity provide incontrovertible proof of their salvation before we give praise to God and welcome them into the church. But, we ought not to promote them and platform them as our public voices when the seed has not yet grown and shown the slightest fruit. We should praise Christ for His grace, pray for the newly professed believer, and encourage them to seek genuine discipleship under elders called and equipped by God to lead them.

Brethren, it is well past time that we Christians stop looking for and celebrating “celebrity conversions.” Why is the celebrity Christian always such a celebrated topic for us? Because we desire to find validation of the Christian faith through the conversion of high-profile people. We want somebody important or someone well known for their debauchery to get saved because we can point to their story as being a really big deal. We do not publicly announce the salvation of Jim the accountant down the street, who typically is a nice guy, has a good family and pays his taxes. Nobody knows who Jim is and his story is kind of boring. He is a trophy of God’s grace and all Heaven celebrates his redemption but we do not find it a compelling enough account to blast all over social media.

But, when a singer, actor, politician, or even a vile seductress professes faith, we jump up and down, share the story, and commence debating with one another about the validity of the conversion. It’s the story du jour and we will not stop talking about it for weeks. We put these people in the public eye over and over again. We want them on the news, on podcasts, and live streams because the public viewing of this celebrity Christian just has to be seen by everyone because they are, well, famous.

Change needs to happen. Change must happen. We once again need to care enough about the glorious gospel to praise God’s name when the most “mundane” of conversion occurs. We must stop expecting the celebrity world to get saved so our professed faith can be validated in the eyes of others. Certainly, pray for those in high-profile people to get saved but desire to see them step out of the limelight so that they may come under genuine discipleship and grow in the faith. Because, in the end, salvation is not about the public attention that may come from it. Rather, salvation is about seeing the dead in sins be brought to eternal life in Christ so that we may all worship our Savior for eternity. Leave aside the spotlight for another time. We will see if there is genuine fruit in the person’s life in due course. Give glory to God for His gospel and pray for those who profess faith, that they would come under genuine discipleship and grow, or, if need be, to be exposed as pretenders to the faith.

Make much of the transforming power of the gospel. Make much of Christ. And stop worrying about the celebrity Christian. Leave to God who He will desire to make His mouthpiece. He is far better equipped to make that calling than we ever will be.

(This article was also published at X.com)

That Person Can’t Be Saved!

April 11, 2024 / Chris Hohnholz / 0 Comments

A New Christian?

Recently, a now former “Only Fans” model known as Nala made a public profession of having become a Christian. She has reportedly pulled down her pornographic images and videos as well as having engaged in many public interviews and statements about changing things in her life in order to live as she believes God desires for her.

There has been no end of debate regarding Nala’s public profession of faith. Many have argued against the validity of her profession given that her images and videos remained active initially.

Still, others have pointed out that we cannot know or judge her profession given the fact that is only a recent occurrence. Therefore, Christians are being told to not declare her unsaved simply because she is not showing the level of repentance we personally deem necessary.

The point of this article is not to determine whether or not Nala is truly a Christian. That is a discussion best addressed at another place and time. The concern for this piece is to address a concerning development in the overall debate. While this matter is specifically Christian in nature, the issue of genuine salvation, there are those within the sociopolitical right, those engaged in the current culture war, who have waded into the matter with their own take.

The reason this should concern Christians is that, more often than not, cultural and political conservatism finds itself in alignment with Christian values. This has resulted in collaboration between the two camps. While being conservative does not necessarily mean one is a Christian, the bleedover between the two is extensive. Therefore, what the politically conservative movement says publicly can, and often does, impact the Christian church. To that end, I would like to discuss two public postings from the website “X” that specifically address Nala’s conversion testimony and why Christians should be concerned.

On April 6, 2024, conservative journalist, Laura Loomer, wrote a post in response to Nala’s interview on “The Michael Knowles Show.” Ms. Loomer wrote, “These Only Fans girls can ‘pray’ their slutty behavior away all they want. They will never be respectable no matter how much they cry to God. Praying to be a respectable person doesn’t work once you do sex work. It’s best that we shun women like this from society forever.” A number of persons on the site did take Ms. Loomer to task for this post and pointed to the transforming of the power of the gospel. Ms. Loomer dismissed these objections on a post the following day by stating “I’m not a religious person. I am focused on my investigative reporting and exposing people.” She further added, “People should just be grateful I am honest and upfront about who I am instead of trying to change me.”

Ms. Loomer’s post makes it clear she believes she can wade into matters of faith, despite not being religious. Because of the vile nature of Nala’s prior sinful work, and because she is now publicly professing faith in Christ, it appears Ms. Loomer sees it necessary to openly denounce her as part of her work in exposing people. In her effort to engage in politically conservative journalism and to push back against “sex work” as part of the culture war battle, she openly dismisses the transforming work of the gospel. Ms. Loomer declares Nala to be unfit for society and is unsavable because her sins are simply too vile to be forgiven.

Another such public statement was made by an account going by the name of “Neo” (@ControlledNeo). In this case, on April 8, 2023, Neo, whose X bio states “Relationships, female nature, fitness and geopolitics,” weighed in with his post which stated, “Christians believe this woman can truly be saved, The naivety of conservative Christis is driving more people towards atheism and Islam. The same naivety that is making your society crumble. ‘Accept everything and fall for anything.” On April 9, Neo made another post where he said in part, “Truth is not all people deserve forgiveness.”

In these two posts, Neo, who clearly rejects the Christian faith, wades into the waters of Christianity to determine just who can and cannot be saved by God. He has determined that there are some sins that are simply unforgivable and that any society that believes otherwise is doomed to destruction. Neo is a man attempting to engage in the cultural battle and seeks to drag down not only a newly professed believer in Christ but the system of faith to which she ascribes in order to change society.

In both the cases of Ms. Loomer and Neo, what we see are people who fundamentally fail to understand God and His gospel message. They view themselves as capable of judging the depth of a particular person’s sin and being able to determine she is not only unsavable but also undeserving of even the slightest grace from God. With this view in mind, they have consigned her to banishment from the culture, leaving persons such as themselves as icons to be respected and emulated.

Such Were Some of You

At stake in this current discussion is the very nature of the gospel itself. According to Scripture, mankind is dead in trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1). Through Adam’s sin in the garden, sin entered the world and all mankind was affected (Romans 3:10-12 and 5:12). We are conceived in sin (Psalm 51:5) and we are enslaved to sin throughout the entirety of our lives. Furthermore, because God is a holy God who cannot look upon sin (Habakkuk 1:13), He will judge all sin, and the wages for our sin is death (Romans 6:23). In the eyes of God, sin is a serious assault upon Him and He will not let the guilty go free.

Yet, our God is not only a just God but a loving, kind, and gracious God. Though we are all deserving of His righteous wrath, God made a way of forgiveness possible, through His Son, Jesus Christ. It is through Jesus, the Son of God, God Himself, who took on human flesh, that God can be both just and the justifier (Romans 3:26). Jesus came to earth and lived a life of complete obedience to the Father, never sinning in any manner. In all this, Christ lived the life were are commanded to live but fail at every single day. Then, at the time of His choosing (John 10:18), Jesus willingly went to the cross, enduring an unjust trial where he was declared guilty of crimes he did not commit, never once speaking in His own defense (Matthew 27:14). He did so in order that the promise of His death on behalf of sinners would be fulfilled. He was crucified, died, and was buried. Then, on the third day, He rose Himself from the grave (John 2:19 and 10:18) defeating the power of sin and death. Now, those who turn in repentance and faith in Christ’s completed work are redeemed and given eternal life.

It is through this gospel message that sinners have a promise of forgiveness of their sins. And more than that, they are promised that Christ, through the Holy Spirit, will come and reside in them (John 14:23). Because of this, the believer is freed from the power of sin and becomes a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). With this new nature, while the believer may be tempted by sin, he or she is no longer bound to sin. Believers have a new nature and a new heart, one inclined to seek to love and please God over pleasing self.

This is why Paul, writing to the Corinthians, said, “And such were some of you” (1 Corinthians 6:11). Paul had just explained that the unrighteous, those who lived enslaved to the power of sin, would not inherit the kingdom of God. He lists such persons saying, “Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God” (6:9-10). Yet, to the Christians, he writes “But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (v. 11). The believer is no longer part of the unrighteous, at war with God, he or she is now an adopted child of God whose sins have been cast as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12).

Because God has purchased us through Christ, because we are made new in the power of the Holy Spirit, we are justified, made right in the eyes of God. And we are sanctified, set apart from the world for His good purposes. Furthermore, God also continues to sanctify us by exposing our sins before us, bringing us to a place of ongoing repentance and seeking to be conformed in our thoughts, words, and deeds to the image of Christ. This walk is not a perfect walk, for we often stumble and fall into sin. Yet, these stumbles do not negate the perfect work of Christ whose sacrifice paid for all sins, past, present, and future. While God may discipline us for our sins, He will not judge us into eternal hellfire for Christ has paid that penalty for us.

It is imperative that the Christian understand that there are no sins for which Christ’s propitiation does not pay. According to Christ Himself, there was only one unforgivable sin, the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:31). And given that no modern-day sinner was present to observe the signs of Christ, where it was undeniable that He was the promised Messiah, and attributed those works to Satan, it is unlikely anyone today would face such a curse. So, when Christless conservative culture warriors choose to deny the saving work of Christ in the life of any sinner, simply because they object to the nature of that person’s sin, they are warring against all of Scripture itself. They are denying that God could love a particular group of sinners because their sin is just too vile in their own eyes. Yet, it was the apostle Paul himself who wrote, “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

There is no place for any person to believe that some sinners are savable while others are clearly undeserving. For any person to do so is tantamount to saying that God is wrong. But, then again, perhaps the issue is a failure to see oneself rightly before God to begin with.

“I thank you I’m not like…”

In Luke 18:9-14, we read the following,

“To some who trusted in their own righteousness and viewed others with contempt, He also told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like the other men—swindlers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and pay tithes of all that I acquire.’ But the tax collector stood at a distance, unwilling even to lift up his eyes to heaven. Instead, he beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man, rather than the Pharisee, went home justified. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Jesus exposed his hearers to the hypocrisy of self-righteousness and pride from the very people they thought were the most holy before God, the Pharisees. These were the conservative religious leaders of the day who were concerned with rightly understanding the Scriptures and seeking to teach people to obey them. However, over time, they had added their own traditions to the law and had become puffed up with their ability to outwardly appear holy.

Now, their sin was not that they held a high and strongly conservative view of Scripture. On many points, they were right in their teachings, which is why Jesus told his followers to “observe whatever they tell you” (Matthew 23:2-3). But, in their pride, they added increasing works onto the people while doing nothing to aid them. Furthermore, they elevated themselves to a higher position than the people, not holding themselves to the same standard. This is why Christ then told the people to not “do the works they do. For they preach but do not practice” (v. 3-7).

Therefore, when the Pharisee in the parable prays “God I thank you that am not like the other men…” he reveals a heart swelling with self-righteousness. He believes himself to be better than the rest and that his accomplishments will buy him merit in the eyes of the Almighty. That, even if or when he does sin, it bears little to no resemblance to “other men.” The Pharisee simply believes he is good just as he is, and that there is nothing he needs to fear before a holy God.

Yet, it was not the Pharisee that went away justified, but the tax collector! Why? Because the tax collector understood who he really was before God, a wicked sinner deserving nothing but judgment. He did not appeal to anything good he might have done in his life because he knew nothing in him was good when compared to a holy God. Instead, he humbled himself before his Creator and cried out for mercy. He deserved judgment, yet because he surrendered himself in humility, he received mercy and grace from God. This is such an amazing picture of the gospel at work.

It is this picture taught by Christ Himself, that helps us understand the Laura Loomers and Neos of the world. They think far too much of themselves. They see their place in the current culture war as vital, as people leading the charge against the wicked depravity being poured out on the world. And, while this depravity is indeed vile, it is not worse than the sins of Ms. Loomer or Neo. Nala’s pornographic and lust-filled sins are not worse than their sins, they are just sins that were further down the line of progression. Romans 1 reveals God will pour out judgment on a people who continually reject Him. Chief among the sins that indicate a people being given over to debased thinking is sexual depravity. But, just as those who gorge themselves on sexual depravity will face the wrath of God on judgment day, so will those who seem less sinful in their own eyes.

As we saw above, Paul lists in 1 Corinthians 6 numerous types of sins that will not inherit the kingdom of God. Such sins include greed, drunkenness, and reviling. We also read in Revelation 21:8 that, “the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and sexually immoral and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur.” Cowardice, unbelief, and lying too will be judged for they are sins for which God will have no mercy, only righteous wrath.

When people like Ms. Loomer or Neo dismiss the Christian faith because it offers forgiveness to a woman who engaged in “sex work,” they fail to see their own wickedness rightly before God. They too desperately need His mercy and grace lest they fall into His just wrath. There is no person deserving of God’s forgiveness. All of us have fallen short and stand guilty before Him. Therefore, we must never fall into the trap of thinking there is something better about us because our sins are not as bad as someone else’s. Such flippancy could find us in the place of the Pharisee under judgment while the adulterous may enjoy the merciful forgiveness of Christ.

In Conclusion

The gospel is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16). It is the only way in which mankind can be made right with God. There simply is no other hope for us, no way we can please God, apart from repentance and turning to Christ in faith. It is a glorious message that should never be taken for granted. Laura Loomer, Neo, and countless others fail to grasp the significance of this message because they only see a tiny sliver of the real battle going on around them. While engaging the culture war is necessary, if the battle were won in this world yet all our souls were condemned to hell eternally, it would be a most shallow “victory.” Therefore, the Christian can never neglect the spiritual war going on around us, we can never be so quick to dismiss God forgiving the vilest among us. Understand, if God cannot forgive a vile, pornographic adulterous, neither will He forgive you. The gospel is just that important.

(This article was also published at X.com)

Tag: Gospel (Page 1 of 4)

Andrew Tate Is Not Masculine

A Christian’s Identity is in Christ Alone

Repentance and Forgiveness in an Age of Digital Relationships

We Must Call Them to Repent

The Danger of Unjust Anger

The Prejudice of Jonah

Be a Man Like Jesus

It Shall Not Be So Among You

We Do Not Need Celebrity Christians

That Person Can’t Be Saved!

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