Slave to the King

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

Tag: Sexism

Of Blind Guides, Ditches, and Imbalanced Theology

December 6, 2024 / / 0 Comments

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

This article was also published on X.com.

Can Social Justice and the Church Co-Exist?

July 11, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Social justice outrage is very en vogue these days. So much so, that even the professing church in America is becoming infected by this worldview. Social justice advocates argue that there is inequality in America at various levels (income, race, job opportunities, sexual identity, etc). These inequalities are considered to be unjust as it unfairly allows some groups to advance further in life than others. Furthermore, as our nation was found by white, European males, it guarantees a level of privilege to all men of such an ethnic descent. Because these inequalities exist, it is argued that laws must be enacted that will “level the playing field” in order that disenfranchised persons and groups can be elevated in their social status. Of course, this means that anyone of a white, European male lineage must, by necessity, have their status in society lowered so that no inequality will exist.

In the last decade, American culture has seen a massive growth in the interest in social justice. While primarily championed by the Millennial generation, it is not solely owned by them. There are many people, including Generation X and Baby Boomers, who have argued for decades that government expansion is the solution to the social ills our nation faces. Those who are arguing for social justice causes are often quite sincere in their desires to see other persons or groups benefit from a more compassionate society. They genuinely believe that the inequalities that exist are unfair to those affected by them and want little more than to give aid and comfort to such persons. They see their efforts at social justice as being kind and generous to those legitimately in need.

In like manner, social justice advocates see the persons and groups who are believed to have unfairly advanced in society as being the cause of all inequality. Upper-class citizens, CEOs of corporations, political and religious leaders are believed to be the persons who champion maintaining the status quo. Likewise, average citizens who are unwilling to admit they have benefitted from the privilege of their existence, or who refuse to engage in social justice activism, are the willing pawns of the elite who do not want their way of life negatively impacted. Since these groups are engaged in maintaining a system that propagates inequality, they are viewed as an enemy combatant who must either surrender or be defeated. Social justice is seen as a righteous battle that must be won at all costs if humanity is to be rid of oppression and a social utopia be established.

Perhaps some will argue that I have either oversimplified or misrepresented what social justice advocates believe. That is certainly not my intent. I simply wish to convey the concept of social justice in a manner that will be understood by the broadest possible audience. With that said, it should be noted that social justice has become one of the most divisive issues in our current culture. If one endorses social justice, it is the person’s desire to ensure equality in every area of life, no matter how resistant culture may be to the changes required.

Additionally, the further one embraces the concept of social justice, the more one realizes how broad the landscape is with regard to victims of purported injustice. Race, sexual identity, gender, financial disparity, and more are now believed to be all interconnected issues of oppression. To be supportive of one disenfranchised class means that you must be supportive of all. Under the guise of intersectionality, defeating alleged oppression means that you must support any and all persons who believe they have been denied a place at the table based on their professed identity. If you do not seek to end inequality at all levels, then you are part of the problem. This is a never-ending cycle in which no end can ever be truly achieved. Unfortunately, when the basis of success is based upon the subjective determination of one’s feelings, you cannot objectively determine success.

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