Let God Be True and Every Man a Liar
II Tim.3:15-17 - And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
In Concord, New Hampshire, Rick Santorum, a candidate for the Republican nomination for president, replied to questions asked from college students. As a rule college students tend to be liberal, or free thinking, and this crowd seemed no different in that respect. When asked about gay marriage the exchange became a little feisty. Here is some of that exchange:
He (Santorum) called on a woman who asked, "How about the idea that all men are created equal, rights to happiness and liberty?
Santorum responded, "Are we saying that everyone should have the right to marry?"
Several members of the crowd loudly yelled, "Yes!"
At that point, the former senator from Pennsylvania compared same-sex marriage to polygamy.
"So anyone can marry can marry anybody else? So if that's the case, then everyone can marry several people ... so you can be married to five people. Is that OK?" Santorum asked.
The woman asking the question was of course quoting the Declaration of Independence which reads, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
If you look closely at the wording of the Declaration, you will see that the answer to Santorum’s rhetorical question about having five marriage partners is, “Yes!” The Declaration does not refer to any Biblical authority, and in fact, elevates our pursuit of happiness as the arbiter and as a “self evident” truth. So in effect, anyone can marry whoever pleases them and makes them happy. You see, the Declaration of Independence is a humanistic document and provides sweeping freedoms for every citizen.
It would seem appropriate to guard the young against abuse, but to all citizens of voting age who desire to engage in things not infringing upon the happiness of others, well, that is an uninalienable right. Therefore no one can marry an 8-year old girl because the government has rightly deemed her as not reaching voting adult status, but as it pertains to consenting adults, full throttle.
So what has happened and what has the church missed? Well, the evangelical church has taken a humanistic document which has some nebulous reference to a deity, and which defines that deity as existing for the happiness of man, and we have attempted to make it a Christian document. And just like the square peg in a round hole illustration, it cannot be done and causes great confusion and compromised loyalties among believers.
When believers embrace the documents of man as inspired in any way, they immediately compromise their hearts, their faith, and the revelation of Jesus Christ. These same deceived believers would never embrace the documents of Joseph Smith, or Mary Baker Eddy, or Charles Taze Russell, but they enthusiastically embrace the writings of Jefferson, Madison, or Franklin. And what is the difference? It is because of their misguided loyalty and allegiance to a country called America.
If you shoot a rifle at a target that is 1 mile away, and if you gun is off 1 degree to the right, then you will be almost 100 feet off target. The same principle applies in matters of truth and spiritual understanding. If you begin with a false and faulty premise, one that is vital and essential, then as you proceed further into Scripture you will inevitably taint the entire process and ultimately come to many inaccurate conclusions. That is how cults are formed, and that is also how all of us can be deceived and compromised.
And so it is with America. Even the humanistic documents, written by carnal men and endorsed by unbelievers, are embraced by professing followers of the Lord Jesus, and ones who boldly proclaim the exclusivity of the written revelation we call the Bible. But because their eyes have been blinded by the light of nationalism, they embrace humanistic documents and the works of men. And it must be remembered that the original documents issued by the founding fathers were the product of both saved and lost men, slave holders and philanderers, and give no reference to the Lord Jesus Christ in either the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution.
The chains of nationalism are real. And those unseen chains have serious repercussions on every believer who is bound by them, as well as the church at large. I humbly exhort you to seek the freedom that can only be found in Jesus Christ. And the government that rests upon His shoulders is no democracy. It is a monarchy and the King that rules over that government is the only hope for the world.
Let God be true and every man a liar.
I suppose, however, that as Christians we can appreciate the Declaration of Independence for creating a bedrock of this country for a free-market of ideas and that each man operates as an individual.
ReplyDeleteThis is by no means Christian but it allows us as Christians to operate and spread the Gospel. If such a document is scrapped, we need not be worried but this humanism is a benign form of the beast.
Men like Santorum would like to inject the name of Christ into documents like this and doing such would only dishonor His name. Nationalism and patriotism has polluted the Church so much that men are more willing to abandon the divinely inspired Scriptures of the Apostles and Prophets than to compromise their love for country.
We are not dual citizens, we are pilgrims here and citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven. Why have we forgotten?
Remember this: The fastest growing church since 1945 is the Chinese church. That occured under emmense persecution and absolutely no religious freedom. Even earthly freedom is no friend of the gospel, although through temporal eyes it seems so.
ReplyDeleteThe free market of ideas has no bearing on the power of the gospel, and in any cases, works against it.
I'm not saying it is better, just evaluating merit.
ReplyDeleteWhen there peace, an open, pluralistic 'agora' to preach the Gospel in. God be praised.
When there is persecution and the Church is underground and in prison. God be praised.
The Chinese Church sadly is in a critical position that the Greco-Roman Church was in 1750 years ago. Our prayers is that they do not become throttled and contained by the Chinese government's offer for power.
So we too in America are sad because we sit on the bargain given by Constantine. We've traded the crown of Thorns for a crown made of jewels crafted in the blood of treachery and violence.
But through the Holy Spirit, the Church shall prevail.
Yes. Inevitably, the church has relied upon this earthly freedom and in so doing we have compromised our spiritual freedom. The American Christian church has become far too American and far less Christian.
ReplyDeleteBut the Chinese church has been refined through persecution. I fear, though, with the advance of capitalism they might be lured into compromise.
Yes Rick, the deception and compromise is everywhere. We have to love the truth more than anything else. The leaders that wrote the declaration were deists. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4kvLTAWR34 Many like George Washington were freemasons. Our costitution has been treated like it was inspired by YHWH, which is sad. Satan has been using the same tactics of mixing truth and error to deceive. Good word about war and violence too. We need to see through the gospel and as citizens of heaven to eliminate the prejudgice that comes from nationalistic idolatry.
ReplyDelete