Killing

As I watched the advertisement for the movie “The Patriot” I could not but help wonder: What does it say about believers when we find exhilaration at America winning the Revolutionary War but most never find objectionable the fact that Mel Gibson’s character teaches his youngest sons to kill?

Classic Irony

The evangelical right is now bothered by the evangelical left getting involved with politics. Let us not forget that Ted Haggard was the president of the NAE and was a spearhead of religious politics – on the right. And the religious left is drawn to the political left just as the religious right is drawn to the political right, but SURPRISE - all politics is wrong, kinda like all war is wrong. If we professing believers only had a God who we could trust, notwithstanding our many verbal claims that we do, perhaps a lot less things would bother us and a lot more things would get done for the true Kingdom.

Who are the Real Soldiers for Christ

Many of us as believing followers of Jesus Christ happen to live in a country called America. As such we are to obey the laws of the land, and if any law is against the teachings of our faith we are called to obey God rather than man. But as much as we can we should strive to live in peace and humility, modeling and preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.

For the most part we have the freedom here to share the gospel as the Spirit directs us. To be sure all of us do not use that freedom to preach and share as often as we should. But in recent times there has arisen a Christian sect that positions themselves squarely within the political theatre and are prepared to both be offended and to organize some kind of assault at the slightest hint of persecution, or what passes as persecution these days. And with that structure in place almost anything the government does is met with umbrage and a sense of outraged entitlement.

Just recently the government desires to pass a hate crimes bill which is supposed to make any crime committed against someone because of race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation of a more serious nature. It seems as if the motive is correct. But some Christians are all up in arms about it since, for one reason, they believe they may be restricted in their speech and preaching. Of course that interpretation of this bill is another opportunity to express outrage, even if it turns out to be inaccurate. But let us investigate further into what we as believers are called to even when the laws of the land are not what we would desire (which is most of the time).

Here is a news report about preachers going to Capitol Hill to protest this bill since they believe it will restrict them in teaching and preaching the Bible. Now these preachers and other bloggers like you know who are tossing and turning in their sleep over this hate crime bill. Of course it must seem peculiar that followers of Jesus are against laws about hate crimes, but there is something even more disturbing. These Christians are bemoaning the fact that they may not be able to say that homosexuality is wrong. That interpretation is dubious at best and is in the same neighborhood as “Madeline Murray O’Hare is getting all religious programs banned from the airwaves”. Some Christians love to cry “Wolf!”

Let us assume for the moment that the government passed a bill that stated no one could preach the gospel anymore. What would be our response? Would we protest and write our representatives? Would we call Obama the antichrist? Would we wail and bemoan our persecution and would we quote the “founding fathers” as proof of the Christian roots of America? Or should we do as did Daniel when after he had heard the decree that no one should pray to any God but King Darius lest he be thrown to the lions? Daniel went right away to the upper chamber in his house and with the windows opened he prayed to Jehovah as he did three times a day.

Where was the outrage? Where was Daniel’s petition? Where was his impassioned “we’re losing our rights” speech? The principle is this: If the government passes a law that restricts your expression as a believer then we are called to humbly do what God has commanded and be willing to suffer the consequences for His name’s sake. All these “The British are coming!” blogs are nothing more than complaining forums and in fact bemoan the very persecution Christ told us would come and Peter said we should endure it with patience and humility. Some Christians lead a lifestyle of complaining about their circumstances, even in the midst of unimaginable wealth and prosperity.

The greatest thing that ever happened to the Chinese church was governmental persecution. But we in America deem it our inalienable right to pursue life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, which is the humanist manifesto. We as believing followers have no rights, just privileges. And one of the greatest privileges that can be afforded a follower of Jesus Christ is to suffer persecution for His name sake. Why then do so many complain and murmur about the smallest of issues including wearing a “One Nation Under God” pin? Do we even know what genuine persecution is, and are we willing to suffer any indignity for Christ’s sake with humility and joy?

And some blogs are information stations that do nothing but inform the continually outraged masses of the current set of torturous persecutions. We have morphed into a multitude of squawkers who resist the slightest suffering and lean on a constitution rather than the Supreme Sovereign. How will the world ever see Jesus in us if we continue to meld into the faceless crowd of political lobbyists, all of which clamor for their particular issue? When we use the same weapons as does the kingdom of darkness can we expect people to ask us about the hope that lies within us; the hope that should guide our attitude and lifestyle?

Here is an account of authentic Christianity in the face of genuine persecution:

In the winter of 320 AD, the Emperor Licinius, who was emporer of the East, broke his agreement with Constantine, Emperor of the West, in the Edict of Milan to end the persecution of Christians. Lucinius ordered all Roman soldiers to renounce Christianity and to offer a sacrifice to the Roman gods. Licinius was persecuting Christians at this time. His edict reached the Thundering Legion at Sabaste, and the order was passed down to the legionaries. Forty Christians in the legion withstood threats, beatings, and torture and refused to obey the edict, choosing instead to obey a higher authority:

"You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or worship them"

In retaliation, the legion marched the men to a frozen lake where they were ordered to remove their armor and clothing and stand naked, as a form of torture to death, on a frozen lake. The legion lit a large fire on the shore with a warm bath and food to tempt the Christians to make the pagan sacrifice, renounce their Christian faith, and save their lives.

The commander told them, "You may come ashore when you are ready to deny your faith."

The men began to pray,
"O Lord, 40 wrestlers have come forth to fight for Thee.
Grant that 40 wrestlers may gain the victory!"

The mother of the youngest legionary was present, and she enticed her son to abandon the others. There was a centurion named Sempronius on the shore at the warm house. On the ice, the remaining Christian legionaries continued to cry out,

"O Lord, 40 wrestlers have come forth to fight for thee. Grant that 40 wrestlers may gain the victory!"

In response, Centurion Sempronius confessed Jesus as Christ, removed his armor, weapons, and clothing, and joined the 39 remaining Christians on the lake. The next morning the Forty Martyrs of Sabaste were found on the ice and forever recorded their faithful resistance in the annals of history.

***********************

Notice they called themselves “wrestlers” even though they did not resist suffering for Christ! They knew that suffering persecution for the sake of our Blessed Lord and Savior is a sacred calling and an opportunity to preach Christ powerfully through their triumphant victory gained through the prism of suffering, and in this case, death. How holy is this account!! Does it not bring conviction to our hearts, we who murmur with the slightest irritation? Against this true story and others like it, how can we claim the same Christ as did they when we are engaged in resisting the smallest amount of cultural discomfort and we confront it with outrage and spiritual pique?

And when the centurion saw their courage and their surrendered will, he became a follower of Jesus Christ and his first act of worship was his death. What do the governmental centurions see in us today? What would ever make them evaluate the claims of Christ when his followers balk at inconvenience and are unwilling to bear the consequences of spiritual persecution? Those that walk in darkness see that so many Christians are just like they are, and just have a different point of view but surely not a different way of life.

We are pitiful as we set about to set ourselves as offspring of the true martyrs. But when you hear about some hate crimes bill, overcome hate with the only weapon that we have:

The love of God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Mystery of Deception

Webster defines deception as - the fact or condition of being deceived.

I thought I knew what deception was, at least in the general sense. It is a lie, disguised as truth, and that attracts people in such a way that they believe a lie. You usually assign deception to the gullible, or the susceptible, or the uneducated. They would seem to be the easiest targets of deception.

But I was unaware of the strength and depth of deception until I saw it unvarnished in the internet world. And this deception captures true believers who have a working knowledge of the Scriptures and who once embraced, and even championed, the truth. I do not speak of lesser issues, however important, but I speak of the very white hot core of theology, namely redemption. How does a sinner get saved and what is the gospel are the non-negotiable truths that must authenticate a minister and ministry. And this truth must be more than some tacit statement of faith, this truth must be woven unmistakably and forcefully throughout the writings and messages of the ministry.

One cannot just print some nice sounding theology in a statement of faith that seems to be orthodox, and then take license to speak and preach everything but the gospel, and in fact, speak and preach things contrary to the gospel of redemption. And the Biblical veracity of a preacher’s beliefs must not fall exclusively on the statement of faith, there must be irrefutable evidence of that truth in his teachings as well. A statement of faith without works is dead. How authentic would it be for a college class to advertise itself as a class that teaches the way to get to the Moon by spaceship, but the class only discusses things here on Earth? And when someone asks if this really was a class that teaches the way to get to the Moon, the other classmates point to the class description in the college advertisement.

“See,” say the classmates, “it says right here that this class is to teach the way to get to the Moon.”

“Yes,” you say, “but he doesn’t teach anything about getting to the Moon, he only teaches about the Earth.”

“Well,” the classmates respond, “you must listen real hard to discover anything about getting to the Moon, and in fact, the professor assumes he is speaking to people who already know how to get to the Moon, so what’s the point?”

And when faced with that scenario, or something similar, the truth becomes obvious: The professor is not teaching people how to get to the Moon. In fact, one might question if that professor actually knows how to get to the Moon. The same can be said with preachers who teach about anything and everything but never teach the clear gospel message, much less give an impassioned plea for sinners to come to Christ. And when that void is pointed out to those who are “in his class”, they say he is teaching those who already know the gospel and it would only be redundant. But they maintain he believes the gospel and as proof they offer the statement of faith.

That kind of deception centers on the idolization of man at the expense of the truth of God’s Word. Believers who have appreciated some of the new and avante garde teachings that are called “emergent”, get connected to a man and that connection can quickly become unhealthy and counterproductive. And the departure from the gospel is not instantaneous and startling; it happens slowly and over a period of time.

Heb.2:1 - Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.

A preacher usually doesn’t become a heretic overnight, it happens very slowly and often the deception occurs in him first. In an attempt to relate, which is not a bad thing, combined with a discontent with the old methods of communication and Scriptural interpretation, the preacher begins to search for the new and the innovative as it concerns truth. It begins with innovative perspectives on truth, usually juxtaposed on the many vulnerabilities of orthodox entrenchments, and eventually it progresses to a departure from truth rather than a more lucent and understandable communication.

And along the way these men pick up many types of followers. They can be the disenfranchised, the intellectual, the searching, the liberal, and an array of lost people looking for a religion that fits their mold. And as is the case with other social, political, and religious genres, once a person becomes enthralled with a man it is most difficult for him to see anything wrong with his teachings. When a person assumes a preacher is genuine, learned, and orthodox, he will process everything that preacher teaches through that perspective and he will hear and read everything he teaches with the most charitable orthodoxy, even taking the most obvious heresy and stretching it with a tortured kinship to Biblical truth. And those who question the preacher’s teachings provide fuel and energy for his defenders since they take up an offense for that preacher. Of course those who are vicious and demeaning are not productive either.

Those are, in my opinion, some of the mechanics of this deception. But I continue to wonder and have questions as well. How can a believer diminish the sufferings of Christ’s cross and present a bloodless gospel? How can a ministry be considered Christian if it vacates the teaching and preaching of the cross? I once heard a friend who leans emergent say, “The resurrection is more important than the cross!” Why would someone say that, as if you could place levels of value on the gospel events? The obvious reason is that most emergents devalue the cross just by its absence in their teachings as well as their theology. And that, my friends, is the pinnacle of deception.

How can we devalue and diminish the cross of our Blessed Savior? How can we take those wondrous and mysterious sufferings and count them as just an equal part of the Biblical narrative? All the millions of gallons of animal blood that was shed under the law of Moses shouted forward to the blood that was shed by God’s Perfect Lamb! Are we going to politely acknowledge that redemptive slaughter in our “statement of faith” and then move on to things more relevant and refreshing, thereby revealing the true nature of our perspective of the cross?

And what shall we say about our brothers and sisters before us whose blood and ashes testify of a level of commitment to that cross? Tradition tells us Peter so valued the cross of Christ he requested to be crucified upside down so as not to be confused with the cross of Golgotha. The evangelical land upon which we walk is soaked in the blood of the martyrs. They were persecuted not because of acts of kindness toward others, but because they would not renounce Jesus and His cross. And when we refuse to teach and carry that cross in our messages, we shame the memory of those martyrs and we do despite to the Spirit of Christ Himself. It is a deep and profound deception.

I am open to a discussion of how we treat and reach the gay community. I am open to a discussion of new ways to evangelize. I am open to a discussion of different styles of music. I am open to a discussion of church service constructs. We should all be open to the Spirit as it concerns fringe issues. But the firewall begins and ends at the gospel. There can be no discussion about redemption and the exclusivity of Christ and the absolute necessity of a personal born again experience. We will never trade the blood of Abel’s offering for the product of Cain’s hands. And yet sincere believers are being swept away from the blood of Christ through the enticing words of men’s wisdom.

I would welcome a challenge to a more perfect emulation of Jesus. I would welcome the rod of correction for all of us as it concerns our too often neglect of the poor and needy around the world. Go ahead and point out, to our shame, that we do not seek to exhibit those words in red. Let us open that dialogue and ask God to awaken us all through repentance and a renewed heart to seek Christ. But as soon as you tamper with the gospel, and as soon as you elevate those works as redemptive, and as soon as I cannot find the true gospel in your words, then you can count me out.

I used to think that the emergent movement sought to bring the church into a more living expression of Christ while scrupulously retaining the gospel message. No one should think that anymore. And the tragedy is that genuine and sincere believers are being deceived, and true to the very nature of deception, they do not realize that they are deceived.

This is no game of doctrinal chess, and this deception has eternal consequences. Remaining humble and non-descript about our own struggles of discipleship while openly confronting and exposing these deceptions will ultimately be the real challenge. The Lord Jesus doesn’t need our help, but He commands our obedience and faithfulness. These are trying times in which we live, and there is an unseen battle that rages with ferocious sophistication, using nuanced mendaciousness to appear as something that they are not. These deceptive spirits will showcase the harsh self righteousness of some as proof that their brand of orthodoxy is not Christian and against that backdrop they will urge people to conclude that the new truths are of God.

The seriousness of these present events cannot be overstated. Believers will waste their time on worthless political back and forths while the urgency of God’s gospel remains a foundation rather than the eternal spearhead by which the church engages the lost world. Love without the cross is an eternal lie and spiritual murder. When we discuss the gospel and its metamorphosis there can be no melodrama and no exaggeration. Life and death are at stake, and those who accommodate are complicit. We will all give an account one day for how we addressed those who are teaching eternal death dressed up as redemption. Lethargy is sin and silence is being a passive enabler.

The days when God chose prophets and spoke to them exclusively are gone. Every believer with a Bible must be God’s mouthpiece. Humility must be in our spirit, but within that humbleness must be forthrightness and even confrontation. All of us come short of what we should and could be for the Lord Jesus Christ, but that still does not provide an alibi for ignorance or silence. In fact, a loving and sincere warning based upon God’s Word and not the accuracy of your own expressions of that truth is the essence of humility. Do we care about sinners? Do we care about Christ? Do we care about the cross? If we do care then we cannot remain as silent spectators and hope for the best. We must rise up with humble boldness and preach and live the truths of redemption.

Perhaps some will be enlightened to this deception and come out from among them. I believe, should Jesus tarry, that there may be a growing number of “ex-emergents” who will give testimony to the delivering power of the Spirit of God.

Pray for them and pray for yourselves as well.

Fiery Trials

What American Christians call “fiery trials” is an affront to God, defiles true martyrs both dead and alive, and is an astonishingly novel way to exhibit clandestine self righteousness.

Rick Frueh circa A.D. 2009

The Human Condition

The human condition. It is completely impossible for the human mind to envision the concept of holiness. We often settle for a “without sin” definition and with that we have constructed some point of reference around which we can wrap our minds. Although that may suffice for the purposes of systematic theology, it is a pitiful and powerless mental safe house. It affords us the luxury of a discussion without the necessity of understanding the subject. Go ahead and provide some verbal or written outlet that presumes to broach the subject of holiness and the first step you take is usually a step backwards camouflaged as a step forward.

Holiness is a mystery only unraveled by Him Who is holy. God did not achieve holiness, He is holy. And we, as blind spectators, dialogue among us as if holiness were our own field of expertise. If we cannot grasp the concept, what hubris is it to explain the reality? The unholy sit at the gates of truth and bandy about the profound mysteries as if they were easily within our ability to unpack and present on some flannel graph presentation. Taking the Taj Mahal and reducing it to an Appalachian lean to, and using that lean to as a conduit through which we can see and appreciate the glory of the Taj Mahal, is hopeless. Let us understand holiness best by understanding that we are powerless to understand it.

Against that insurmountable mountain, let us now understand the human condition as it compares to God’s holiness. We, as a race, are lost in an incomprehensible condition of absolute depravity, both as a status and in practice. There are no beings that compare with humans as it concerns evil imaginations, deeds, and self righteousness. The Scriptures rightly describe us as “inventors of evil things”. The human race was not satisfied with exercising the panorama of evil already afforded us; we must invent more and more evil with which to exhibit who we really are.

We are not just adrift in a sea of evil, we are the architects of more powerful engines that carry us farther and more quickly downstream toward more and more perfect expressions of evil, all the while maintaining the mirage of philanthropic compassion and a pursuit of righteousness. What a breathtaking deception! What a piece of work is a man indeed! And in order to divert attention from our own deeds, we amplify the horrific deeds of others. As long as we seem far from being Charles Manson we suggest a more diluted essence of evil and on some level a milder form of depravity.

But as soon as the hint of holiness enters the room we are all undone equally and without a vestige of good, to say nothing of righteousness. Holiness reduces us all to what we really are, rebels and self serving creatures determined to have everything serve our carnal needs. Our minds are imagery cesspools that replay and create mental movies of all kinds of wickedness and savagery. Leaving aside the lie we tell ourselves about ourselves, our imaginations and thought processes envision everything through prisms of subjective judgments. Sitting in the front row, we review and critique the human play as if we alone have motives fair and bright. Everyone else is subject to evil surmise and the subjective evaluation of our own conjecture concerning their motives and hearts. In short, we have improved upon Copernicus by making ourselves the center of everything.

The human race murders. Some murder for profit while others murder by compunction. Some murder for greed and others murder for land. Some murder only adults while others murder children, born and unborn. Some are satisfied with one murder while others murder as a lifestyle. Some murder with their own hands while others are buffered by guns and bombs. And the entire human race are serial murders, executing many in the killing fields of their own minds. Oh yes, we are all placed at the scene of the crime called murder.

This spiritual condition is so vile and corrupt we are called simply “dead”. It is impossible from that vantage point to see with any clarity the contemptible debauchery that sin represents to a kingdom of righteousness. Sin is not just a kingdom infraction; it is active wickedness designed to undermine the foundations of that kingdom. Sin tears at the basic fabric of God’s kingdom and represents a death fissure in the foundation of holiness. Sin cannot be diluted and there can be no spiritual negotiations that make an allowance for sin in God’s kingdom. Sin is fatal.

When we are outside of Christ we are dead men walking. On the outside we appear alive and well while on the inside we are spiritual terrorists continually looking for ways to rebel against the King. When Adam sinned the spiritual breach was eternal and judgment was immediate, comprehensive, and eternal. God explains it to us in terms that we can grasp on some level, but to understand eternal death is far beyond our capacity to assimilate. Hopeless, helpless, lost, and dead…that is the human condition. Do not attempt to euphemize our plight, for in so doing you will minimize the cost of redemption. Words are poor vehicles for carrying the weight of our spiritual condition and only the Spirit of God can convict and persuade us, but He can never fully enlighten us concerning the eternal peril in which we stand outside of Christ.

So here we lie.

Fallen.

Next scene: Enter grace.

Suffering as a Witness

Perhaps the greatest non-verbal witness for Jesus Christ is when a believer’s suffering produces a humble and grateful joy.

Rick Frueh circa A.D. 2009