Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Of
Abraham Kuyper’s
Calvinism
Ron Smith's Summary of
Abraham Kuyper’s Speech at Princeton in 1898.
"There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: 'Mine!'"
Abraham Kuyper (1837-1920)
Abraham Kuyper was an extraordinary figure uniquely capable of wearing several hats throughout his long public career as pastor, theologian, scholar, journalist, educator and statesman. Although he began in the parish ministry, he moved on to become editor of two periodicals; to found the Antirevolutionary Party, the first Dutch political party and the first Christian Democratic party in the world; and to establish the Free University, a Christian university established on Reformed principles. He was first elected to the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament in 1874 and eventually served as Prime Minister from 1901 to 1905. Kuyper's thought was introduced to North America in 1898, when he delivered the Stone Lectures at Princeton Seminary.
Although Kuyper was not an academic political theorist, he nevertheless laid the foundations for a highly original approach to politics that would come to be labelled "Kuyperian." Its originality consisted in the fact that he sought to articulate a consistently Christian view of the place of politics in God's world free from the distortions of various nonchristian ideologies.
The most characteristic feature of Kuyper's political thought is the principle of soevereiniteit in eigen kring, usually referred to in English as "sovereignty in its own sphere," "sovereignty in its proper orbit," or simply "sphere sovereignty." Sphere sovereignty implies three things: (1) ultimate sovereignty belongs to God alone; (2) all earthly sovereignties are subordinate to and derivative from God's sovereignty; and (3) there is no mediating earthly sovereignty from which others are derivative. Current efforts at rehabilitating what is often called "civil society" owe something to this principle.
Kuyper's ideas were further developed by Herman Dooyeweerd and others in the twentieth century.
Kuyper points out that the vital turn in modern history was made in 1789. That year gave birth to the French Revolution and the "violent rise of modern humanism." That struggle continues to rage today. The only answer is Biblical Calvinism.
Kuyper points out that the term Calvinism is used in four ways:
1. In its sectarian use it is used as a derisive term with little or no understanding of what it really is.
2. The dogmatic use represents Calvinists as narrow and dogmatic people who believe in predestination.
3. The denominational use is applied to groups such as "Calvinist Baptists" or "Calvinist Methodists."
4. The scientific use refers to its political name. We say, “political name,” because, historically, it sanctions no church hierarchy or magisterial interference by the civil authority, and it results in republican (representative) government.
We can see that it is this very Calvinism, in the scientific use that resulted in the US. Constitution. The French Revolution was based on atheism, while the American one was called "the Scots Irish Presbyterian revolt," and was based on Biblical Calvinism. George Washington and the founding fathers rejected the radicalism of the French Revolution. Calvinism's peculiar theology, special church-order, and its given form for political and social life is unique in its character. The French Revolution was a humanist imitation and counterfeit of Calvinism.
Just as Paganism, Islamism, Romanism and Modern Humanism each have their life systems, so every life-system requires conditions in the three fundamental relations of all human life, namely:
-- our relation to God;
-- our relation to man, and
-- our relation to the world.
The First Condition: Our Relation to God
Paganism worships God in the creature. Islamism isolates God from nature. Romanism teaches "God enters into fellowship with the creature by means of a mystic middle-link, which is the Church." Each of these views stands in opposition to Calvinism.
Calvinism "does not seek God in the creature, as Paganism; it does not isolate God from the creature, as Islamism; it posits no mediate communion between God and the creature, as does Romanism; but proclaims the exalted thought that, although standing in high majesty above the creature, God enters into immediate fellowship with the creature, as God the Holy Spirit."
Kuyper anticipates the objection that Luther and Protestantism should share with Calvinism and be given credit for this world-view. Though Luther alone stands by the side of Calvinism, "Luther still leaned upon the Romish view of the sacraments, and upon the Romish cultus, while Calvin was the first in both to draw the line which extended immediately from God to man and from man to God." He says, "Even the name of 'Lutheranism' is hardly ever mentioned; while the students of history with increasing unanimity recognize Calvinism as the creator of a world of human life entirely its own."
Some might object that Humanism ("People for the French Way") denies any relation with God. The fact is, they make themselves their own god. Man becomes god.
Kuyper repeats: "Thus I maintain that it is the interpretation of our relation to God which dominates every general life system.”
The Second Condition for Every Life-System:
Our Relation to our Neighbor
Paganism results in systems of caste, as in India. Islamism results in a system of slavery. The woman is the slave of man and the infidel is the slave of the Moslem. Romanism results in every relation of man to man hierarchically, and leads to "an entirely aristocratic interpretation of life." "Humanism, which denies every difference, cannot rest until it has made woman man and man woman, and, putting every distinction on a common level, kills life [abortion, etc.?] by placing it under the ban of uniformity. One type must answer for all, one uniform, one position and one and the same development of life; and whatever goes beyond and above it, is looked upon as an insult to the common consciousness [the dogmatic attitude of evolutionists?]."
Calvinism, on the other hand, holds that "we stand as equals before God." "Hence we cannot recognize any distinction among men, save such as has been imposed by God Himself, in that He gave one authority over the other, or enriched one with more talents than the other, in order that the man of more talents should serve the man with less, and in him serve his God. In the same way, Calvinism condemns not merely all open slavery and systems of caste, but also all covert slavery of woman and of the poor; it is opposed to all hierarchy among men; it tolerates no aristocracy save such as is able, either in person or in family, by the grace of God, to exhibit superiority of character or talent, and to show that it does not claim this superiority for self-aggrandizement or ambitious pride, but for the sake of spending it in the service of God... It was Calvinism, then, which was bound to find its unique utterance in the democratic interpretation of life..."
"The difference between [Calvinism] and the wild dream of equality in the French Revolution is that while in Paris it was one action in concert against God, here [in Calvinism] all, rich and poor, were on their knees before God, consumed with a common zeal for the glory of His Name."
Our Relation to the World:
The third Requirement for Every Life-System
Paganism and Islamism
"Of Paganism it can be said in general, that it places too high an estimate upon the world, and therefore to some extent it both stands in fear of, and loses itself in it. On the other hand Islamism places too low an estimate upon the world, makes sport of it and triumphs over it in reaching after the visionary world of a sensual paradise." Muslims make the world a slave and Hinduism is enslaved by it.
Romanism
By the late medieval Church's "dominion over the world the Church proved an obstacle to every free development of its life." This was a dualistic world-view. It was Calvinism that changed England’s attitude toward banking and toward the Jews. This brought about prosperity and freedom to invent and create.
Calvinism’s Early Rejection of Dualism –
Calvinism rejected dualism with the doctrines of "particular grace, which works salvation, and common grace, by which God, maintaining the life of the world, relaxes the curse which rests on it, arrests its process of corruption, and thus allows the untrammeled development of our life in which to glorify Himself as Creator."
"Henceforth, as the Calvinist saw it, the curse should no longer rest upon the world itself, but upon that which is sinful in it, and instead of monastic flight from the world the duty is now emphasized of serving God in the world, in every position in life."
Calvinism also rejected the dualism of the Anabaptists who withdrew from all civil institutions and was bound to take all civil life under its guardianship, and to remodel it, by force, if necessary. Scripture gives a good model in Joseph and Daniel "Your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies" (Gen 22:17). True Biblical Calvinism also rejects the dualistic notion of “escapism” from the troubles of the world.
Conclusion to the "Three Fundamental Relations"
"This justifies us fully in our statement that Calvinism duly answers the three above-named conditions, thus is incontestably entitled to take its stand by the side of Paganism, Islamism, Romanism and Modern Humanism, and to claim for itself the glory of possessing a well-defined principle and an all-embracing life-system."
The first written constitution in history came about as the result of a sermon by Calvinist Thomas Hooker in 1639 Connecticut.
• Everyone has a worldview. Few have a coherent worldview or are able to articulate it clearly.
• Most people don’t consider their worldview to be a central defining element of their life, although it is.
• People spend surprisingly little time intentionally considering and developing their worldview. More often than not, their worldview development process is one of unconscious evolution and acceptance. They allow it to evolve and sum it up this way: “Whatever.”
• Americans rarely interact with each other on a substantive level regarding matters and issues that relate to worldview development and clarification. When they do so, they often do not know how to process the interaction or how to progress from their existing position.
“Survey after survey has shown that Americans – including a huge majority of born-again Christians and evangelical Christians – lack a biblical worldview.”
--- From the book, “Think Like Jesus,” by George Barna.
ChurchoftheKingMcAllen.com
7401 N. Ware Rd
585-4402
Abraham Kuyper’s
Calvinism
Ron Smith's Summary of
Abraham Kuyper’s Speech at Princeton in 1898.
"There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: 'Mine!'"
Abraham Kuyper (1837-1920)
Abraham Kuyper was an extraordinary figure uniquely capable of wearing several hats throughout his long public career as pastor, theologian, scholar, journalist, educator and statesman. Although he began in the parish ministry, he moved on to become editor of two periodicals; to found the Antirevolutionary Party, the first Dutch political party and the first Christian Democratic party in the world; and to establish the Free University, a Christian university established on Reformed principles. He was first elected to the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament in 1874 and eventually served as Prime Minister from 1901 to 1905. Kuyper's thought was introduced to North America in 1898, when he delivered the Stone Lectures at Princeton Seminary.
Although Kuyper was not an academic political theorist, he nevertheless laid the foundations for a highly original approach to politics that would come to be labelled "Kuyperian." Its originality consisted in the fact that he sought to articulate a consistently Christian view of the place of politics in God's world free from the distortions of various nonchristian ideologies.
The most characteristic feature of Kuyper's political thought is the principle of soevereiniteit in eigen kring, usually referred to in English as "sovereignty in its own sphere," "sovereignty in its proper orbit," or simply "sphere sovereignty." Sphere sovereignty implies three things: (1) ultimate sovereignty belongs to God alone; (2) all earthly sovereignties are subordinate to and derivative from God's sovereignty; and (3) there is no mediating earthly sovereignty from which others are derivative. Current efforts at rehabilitating what is often called "civil society" owe something to this principle.
Kuyper's ideas were further developed by Herman Dooyeweerd and others in the twentieth century.
Kuyper points out that the vital turn in modern history was made in 1789. That year gave birth to the French Revolution and the "violent rise of modern humanism." That struggle continues to rage today. The only answer is Biblical Calvinism.
Kuyper points out that the term Calvinism is used in four ways:
1. In its sectarian use it is used as a derisive term with little or no understanding of what it really is.
2. The dogmatic use represents Calvinists as narrow and dogmatic people who believe in predestination.
3. The denominational use is applied to groups such as "Calvinist Baptists" or "Calvinist Methodists."
4. The scientific use refers to its political name. We say, “political name,” because, historically, it sanctions no church hierarchy or magisterial interference by the civil authority, and it results in republican (representative) government.
We can see that it is this very Calvinism, in the scientific use that resulted in the US. Constitution. The French Revolution was based on atheism, while the American one was called "the Scots Irish Presbyterian revolt," and was based on Biblical Calvinism. George Washington and the founding fathers rejected the radicalism of the French Revolution. Calvinism's peculiar theology, special church-order, and its given form for political and social life is unique in its character. The French Revolution was a humanist imitation and counterfeit of Calvinism.
Just as Paganism, Islamism, Romanism and Modern Humanism each have their life systems, so every life-system requires conditions in the three fundamental relations of all human life, namely:
-- our relation to God;
-- our relation to man, and
-- our relation to the world.
The First Condition: Our Relation to God
Paganism worships God in the creature. Islamism isolates God from nature. Romanism teaches "God enters into fellowship with the creature by means of a mystic middle-link, which is the Church." Each of these views stands in opposition to Calvinism.
Calvinism "does not seek God in the creature, as Paganism; it does not isolate God from the creature, as Islamism; it posits no mediate communion between God and the creature, as does Romanism; but proclaims the exalted thought that, although standing in high majesty above the creature, God enters into immediate fellowship with the creature, as God the Holy Spirit."
Kuyper anticipates the objection that Luther and Protestantism should share with Calvinism and be given credit for this world-view. Though Luther alone stands by the side of Calvinism, "Luther still leaned upon the Romish view of the sacraments, and upon the Romish cultus, while Calvin was the first in both to draw the line which extended immediately from God to man and from man to God." He says, "Even the name of 'Lutheranism' is hardly ever mentioned; while the students of history with increasing unanimity recognize Calvinism as the creator of a world of human life entirely its own."
Some might object that Humanism ("People for the French Way") denies any relation with God. The fact is, they make themselves their own god. Man becomes god.
Kuyper repeats: "Thus I maintain that it is the interpretation of our relation to God which dominates every general life system.”
The Second Condition for Every Life-System:
Our Relation to our Neighbor
Paganism results in systems of caste, as in India. Islamism results in a system of slavery. The woman is the slave of man and the infidel is the slave of the Moslem. Romanism results in every relation of man to man hierarchically, and leads to "an entirely aristocratic interpretation of life." "Humanism, which denies every difference, cannot rest until it has made woman man and man woman, and, putting every distinction on a common level, kills life [abortion, etc.?] by placing it under the ban of uniformity. One type must answer for all, one uniform, one position and one and the same development of life; and whatever goes beyond and above it, is looked upon as an insult to the common consciousness [the dogmatic attitude of evolutionists?]."
Calvinism, on the other hand, holds that "we stand as equals before God." "Hence we cannot recognize any distinction among men, save such as has been imposed by God Himself, in that He gave one authority over the other, or enriched one with more talents than the other, in order that the man of more talents should serve the man with less, and in him serve his God. In the same way, Calvinism condemns not merely all open slavery and systems of caste, but also all covert slavery of woman and of the poor; it is opposed to all hierarchy among men; it tolerates no aristocracy save such as is able, either in person or in family, by the grace of God, to exhibit superiority of character or talent, and to show that it does not claim this superiority for self-aggrandizement or ambitious pride, but for the sake of spending it in the service of God... It was Calvinism, then, which was bound to find its unique utterance in the democratic interpretation of life..."
"The difference between [Calvinism] and the wild dream of equality in the French Revolution is that while in Paris it was one action in concert against God, here [in Calvinism] all, rich and poor, were on their knees before God, consumed with a common zeal for the glory of His Name."
Our Relation to the World:
The third Requirement for Every Life-System
Paganism and Islamism
"Of Paganism it can be said in general, that it places too high an estimate upon the world, and therefore to some extent it both stands in fear of, and loses itself in it. On the other hand Islamism places too low an estimate upon the world, makes sport of it and triumphs over it in reaching after the visionary world of a sensual paradise." Muslims make the world a slave and Hinduism is enslaved by it.
Romanism
By the late medieval Church's "dominion over the world the Church proved an obstacle to every free development of its life." This was a dualistic world-view. It was Calvinism that changed England’s attitude toward banking and toward the Jews. This brought about prosperity and freedom to invent and create.
Calvinism’s Early Rejection of Dualism –
Calvinism rejected dualism with the doctrines of "particular grace, which works salvation, and common grace, by which God, maintaining the life of the world, relaxes the curse which rests on it, arrests its process of corruption, and thus allows the untrammeled development of our life in which to glorify Himself as Creator."
"Henceforth, as the Calvinist saw it, the curse should no longer rest upon the world itself, but upon that which is sinful in it, and instead of monastic flight from the world the duty is now emphasized of serving God in the world, in every position in life."
Calvinism also rejected the dualism of the Anabaptists who withdrew from all civil institutions and was bound to take all civil life under its guardianship, and to remodel it, by force, if necessary. Scripture gives a good model in Joseph and Daniel "Your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies" (Gen 22:17). True Biblical Calvinism also rejects the dualistic notion of “escapism” from the troubles of the world.
Conclusion to the "Three Fundamental Relations"
"This justifies us fully in our statement that Calvinism duly answers the three above-named conditions, thus is incontestably entitled to take its stand by the side of Paganism, Islamism, Romanism and Modern Humanism, and to claim for itself the glory of possessing a well-defined principle and an all-embracing life-system."
The first written constitution in history came about as the result of a sermon by Calvinist Thomas Hooker in 1639 Connecticut.
• Everyone has a worldview. Few have a coherent worldview or are able to articulate it clearly.
• Most people don’t consider their worldview to be a central defining element of their life, although it is.
• People spend surprisingly little time intentionally considering and developing their worldview. More often than not, their worldview development process is one of unconscious evolution and acceptance. They allow it to evolve and sum it up this way: “Whatever.”
• Americans rarely interact with each other on a substantive level regarding matters and issues that relate to worldview development and clarification. When they do so, they often do not know how to process the interaction or how to progress from their existing position.
“Survey after survey has shown that Americans – including a huge majority of born-again Christians and evangelical Christians – lack a biblical worldview.”
--- From the book, “Think Like Jesus,” by George Barna.
ChurchoftheKingMcAllen.com
7401 N. Ware Rd
585-4402
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Psalm 2 And The Current Raging Of The French Revolution
The Raging Of The Nations
There is a culture war raging in America. The outcome of this conflict could not be more important - it is nothing less than the survival of Western civilization. This is because the roots of this conflict run far deeper than most people realize, and its consequences far more serious. For example, one of the major battlegrounds is over civil rights for homosexuals.
The Gay issue is just one manifestation of what
Psalm 2 describes.
1 Why do the nations rage, And the people plot a vain thing?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, 3 “Let us break Their bonds in pieces And cast away Their cords from us.”
God’s Response
4 He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; The Lord shall hold them in derision.
The Decree
5 Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, And distress them in His deep displeasure: 6 “Yet I have set My King On My holy hill of Zion.”
7 “I will declare the decree: The LORD has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.
The Promise
8 Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession.
9 You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’”
The Warning
10 Now therefore, be wise, O kings; Be instructed, you judges of the earth. 11 Serve the LORD with fear, And rejoice with trembling. 12 Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, And you perish in the way, When His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.
1. They rage
2. They plot
3. They counsel
They Rage & Plot
“Why do the nations rage?”
Whenever the Bible talks about the nations, it means the pagan Gentiles. All the nations except Israel were pagan unbelievers who each had their own gods and found their identity in the doctrines of those gods. This is described as “raging.” It’s like the raging of the sea.
When David wrote this Psalm under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit he had in mind all the nations that he was fighting in order to establish the kingdom of God in Jerusalem. But the Holy Spirit had in mind all nations that reject God and His anointed One. David was God’s anointed one and so is Christ. David was a type of Christ. Just as David was making war to subject the nations to God’s rule, Christ also is doing that now. The Bible says, “He must reign until he puts all enemies under his feet.” God said to his Son through the prophet Isaiah, “The nation and kingdom that will not obey you shall be destroyed.”
Zech 14
Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem [the church] will … worship the King, the LORD Almighty… If any of the peoples of the earth do not … they will have no rain…. The LORD will bring on them the plague he inflicts on the nations (Zech 14:16-19).
The nations that resist the rule of Christ are raging by plotting a vain thing. It says, “Why do the nations rage, And the people plot a vain thing?.”
Every nation of the ancient world had their gods. False gods and idols are described in the Bible as being vain things. Actually, every nation in the world today is a theocracy. Every man has a god he believes in. Even the atheist worships a mental image of what he adores & venerates. Some worship nature; some worship the state; some worship man; and some worship themselves, and some worship the buffoon gods of Mt. Hollywood. Every other religion in the world ends up worshipping the state as the highest authority. That is what God’s word means when the rulers of Jerusalem said, “We have no king but Caesar. Crucify him & give us Barabbas the revolutionary!” This is raging & plotting a vain thing.
Envy Cuts Off The Heads Of All Authority And Traditional Values
Since the French Revolution of 1789, this raging humanism has taken over nation after nation. The aim was to destroy Christianity and the Law of God. They even tried to scrap the seven-day week and replaced it with a ten-day week. They cut off the heads of the rich people & the heads of all historical authority. They bowed to the goddess of reason. You can see from the picture what was meant by “reason.” It meant freedom from moral restraints & God’s authority. This is the aim of the socialists and the secular progressives of today who are trying to change the U.S. Constitution to mean something different from the original intent of our nation’s founders. This is a culture war that has been raging since the Tower of Babel & is intent on dethroning God’s rule.
Ever since the French Revolution of 1789, the nations have been raging & plotting in a brand new way. After the fall of Rome around 500 A.D., France became the 1st nation of Europe to become a Christian nation. But after 1200 years, CHANGE came. 200 years before that, at the time of the Reformation, there were many Calvinists in high places in France. The admiral of the navy was one. But then came St. Bartholomew's Day massacre. 30,000 Calvinist believers were slaughtered in one week. Over the next 200 years they were annihilated or run out of France. One was the father of my great, great grandmother, Mariah Bobo.
Then came God’s judgment. God gave them up and sent a strong delusion. Otto Scott, in his book, Robespierre, The Fool As Revolutionary, describes the conditions in France at that time.
For the first time since the decadent days of Rome, pornography emerged from its caves & circulated openly in a civilized nation… Strange cults appeared; sex rituals, black magic, Satanism. Perversion became not only acceptable but fashionable. Homosexuals held balls… Prostitutes were admired; swindles & sharp business practices increased… the word revolution became common; it no longer created shock but became a respectable, accepted word and idea… And no name was the target of more assiduous & filthy inventions than that of Marie Antoinette, Queen of France.
When Christ arose and sat down on the throne of David at the right hand of the Father, he said, “All authority is given to me in heaven and in earth.” America and all other nations belong to Christ. He has all authority over them. God said to him, “Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel (vs.8-9). God is in the process of dashing the unbelieving nations to pieces. France has been a 2nd class nation for 200 years now. But France is destined to return to Christ once again. This is not the end. Keep your eye on God for the next 100 years. He has some surprises up His sleeve.
America is a Christian nation and belongs to Christ and His people. God’s enemies know this subconsciously. That’s why they can only resort to tyrannical force. They are a minority, but right now they have the power. God has both authority and power, but he has given His enemies the power because of our sins.
Power is what they seek. Power is the watchword. They try to forcefully change the laws any way they can. They are lawless. They don’t care about legitimate authority because they know in their hearts they don’t have it. They are tyrants by nature. To prove it, when they run out of logic, they raise their voices and call names. “The workers of iniquity sharpen their tongues like swords and bend their bows to shoot their arrows of bitter words” (Ps 64:3). They invented a new doctrine called “separation of church and state.”
Why do they rage and plot a vain thing? Because they want to be free from God’s Law. They want to be liberal. They want to be free to use drugs, free to have illicit sex, free to abort babies, free to lie & steal, free to do swear & do whatever they want to do. So they make the government a substitute for God. “Let us break their bands asunder and cast their cords from us.” “God’s Law makes us unhappy” they say. It creates pathologies and it is humiliating. A recent study reported on Fox News says that conservatives are much happier than liberals. They don’t understand that true freedom comes with rules, boundaries, and limitations (to quote the Dog Whisperer). Dogs and humans find our true harmony with nature when we become calm submissive to Christ our pack leader.
In the French Revolution, they paraded a woman through the streets dressed as the goddess of reason. Reason, they said, proves that humans have no moral point of reference, that nothing I think can be more wrong or right than what you think. They said there are no absolutes. They believed that as people became more knowledgeable they would eventually turn away from religious faith.
They Take Counsel Together
They have this thing all worked out. Their professors told them so. David Letterman' jokes and Oprah give counsel. Hollywood agrees. The media agrees. Friendship with the world is enmity with God. The friend of the world is the enemy of God (James 4).
Psalm 2:10-12
10 Now therefore, be wise, O kings;
Be instructed, you judges of the earth.
11 Serve the LORD with fear,
And rejoice with trembling.
12 Kiss the Son, lest He be angry,
And you perish in the way,
When His wrath is kindled but a little.
Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.
Conclusion
What can you do about it? Be not conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Arm yourself. Be aware of what is happening. Be a Christian soldier. Get educated on the issues. Be ready to give an answer. Attend SS. Read. Grow in grace. Spread the word. Instruct your kids. Give money to the cause of the kingdom. Be a witness. Jesus said, “All authority is given … go therefore and teach all nations…” Go for it. This is what you signed up for. Lay your life on the line. Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. Get excited. Pray for wisdom. Pray for the church to repent. Pray for leaders to arise. Enter the fray. Contend for the truth.
Young or old, you have a task. Uncle Sam wants YOU and so does Jesus. Side with God against yourself and be a victor.
There is a culture war raging in America. The outcome of this conflict could not be more important - it is nothing less than the survival of Western civilization. This is because the roots of this conflict run far deeper than most people realize, and its consequences far more serious. For example, one of the major battlegrounds is over civil rights for homosexuals.
The Gay issue is just one manifestation of what
Psalm 2 describes.
1 Why do the nations rage, And the people plot a vain thing?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, 3 “Let us break Their bonds in pieces And cast away Their cords from us.”
God’s Response
4 He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; The Lord shall hold them in derision.
The Decree
5 Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, And distress them in His deep displeasure: 6 “Yet I have set My King On My holy hill of Zion.”
7 “I will declare the decree: The LORD has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.
The Promise
8 Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession.
9 You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’”
The Warning
10 Now therefore, be wise, O kings; Be instructed, you judges of the earth. 11 Serve the LORD with fear, And rejoice with trembling. 12 Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, And you perish in the way, When His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.
1. They rage
2. They plot
3. They counsel
They Rage & Plot
“Why do the nations rage?”
Whenever the Bible talks about the nations, it means the pagan Gentiles. All the nations except Israel were pagan unbelievers who each had their own gods and found their identity in the doctrines of those gods. This is described as “raging.” It’s like the raging of the sea.
When David wrote this Psalm under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit he had in mind all the nations that he was fighting in order to establish the kingdom of God in Jerusalem. But the Holy Spirit had in mind all nations that reject God and His anointed One. David was God’s anointed one and so is Christ. David was a type of Christ. Just as David was making war to subject the nations to God’s rule, Christ also is doing that now. The Bible says, “He must reign until he puts all enemies under his feet.” God said to his Son through the prophet Isaiah, “The nation and kingdom that will not obey you shall be destroyed.”
Zech 14
Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem [the church] will … worship the King, the LORD Almighty… If any of the peoples of the earth do not … they will have no rain…. The LORD will bring on them the plague he inflicts on the nations (Zech 14:16-19).
The nations that resist the rule of Christ are raging by plotting a vain thing. It says, “Why do the nations rage, And the people plot a vain thing?.”
Every nation of the ancient world had their gods. False gods and idols are described in the Bible as being vain things. Actually, every nation in the world today is a theocracy. Every man has a god he believes in. Even the atheist worships a mental image of what he adores & venerates. Some worship nature; some worship the state; some worship man; and some worship themselves, and some worship the buffoon gods of Mt. Hollywood. Every other religion in the world ends up worshipping the state as the highest authority. That is what God’s word means when the rulers of Jerusalem said, “We have no king but Caesar. Crucify him & give us Barabbas the revolutionary!” This is raging & plotting a vain thing.
Envy Cuts Off The Heads Of All Authority And Traditional Values
Since the French Revolution of 1789, this raging humanism has taken over nation after nation. The aim was to destroy Christianity and the Law of God. They even tried to scrap the seven-day week and replaced it with a ten-day week. They cut off the heads of the rich people & the heads of all historical authority. They bowed to the goddess of reason. You can see from the picture what was meant by “reason.” It meant freedom from moral restraints & God’s authority. This is the aim of the socialists and the secular progressives of today who are trying to change the U.S. Constitution to mean something different from the original intent of our nation’s founders. This is a culture war that has been raging since the Tower of Babel & is intent on dethroning God’s rule.
Ever since the French Revolution of 1789, the nations have been raging & plotting in a brand new way. After the fall of Rome around 500 A.D., France became the 1st nation of Europe to become a Christian nation. But after 1200 years, CHANGE came. 200 years before that, at the time of the Reformation, there were many Calvinists in high places in France. The admiral of the navy was one. But then came St. Bartholomew's Day massacre. 30,000 Calvinist believers were slaughtered in one week. Over the next 200 years they were annihilated or run out of France. One was the father of my great, great grandmother, Mariah Bobo.
Then came God’s judgment. God gave them up and sent a strong delusion. Otto Scott, in his book, Robespierre, The Fool As Revolutionary, describes the conditions in France at that time.
For the first time since the decadent days of Rome, pornography emerged from its caves & circulated openly in a civilized nation… Strange cults appeared; sex rituals, black magic, Satanism. Perversion became not only acceptable but fashionable. Homosexuals held balls… Prostitutes were admired; swindles & sharp business practices increased… the word revolution became common; it no longer created shock but became a respectable, accepted word and idea… And no name was the target of more assiduous & filthy inventions than that of Marie Antoinette, Queen of France.
When Christ arose and sat down on the throne of David at the right hand of the Father, he said, “All authority is given to me in heaven and in earth.” America and all other nations belong to Christ. He has all authority over them. God said to him, “Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel (vs.8-9). God is in the process of dashing the unbelieving nations to pieces. France has been a 2nd class nation for 200 years now. But France is destined to return to Christ once again. This is not the end. Keep your eye on God for the next 100 years. He has some surprises up His sleeve.
America is a Christian nation and belongs to Christ and His people. God’s enemies know this subconsciously. That’s why they can only resort to tyrannical force. They are a minority, but right now they have the power. God has both authority and power, but he has given His enemies the power because of our sins.
Power is what they seek. Power is the watchword. They try to forcefully change the laws any way they can. They are lawless. They don’t care about legitimate authority because they know in their hearts they don’t have it. They are tyrants by nature. To prove it, when they run out of logic, they raise their voices and call names. “The workers of iniquity sharpen their tongues like swords and bend their bows to shoot their arrows of bitter words” (Ps 64:3). They invented a new doctrine called “separation of church and state.”
Why do they rage and plot a vain thing? Because they want to be free from God’s Law. They want to be liberal. They want to be free to use drugs, free to have illicit sex, free to abort babies, free to lie & steal, free to do swear & do whatever they want to do. So they make the government a substitute for God. “Let us break their bands asunder and cast their cords from us.” “God’s Law makes us unhappy” they say. It creates pathologies and it is humiliating. A recent study reported on Fox News says that conservatives are much happier than liberals. They don’t understand that true freedom comes with rules, boundaries, and limitations (to quote the Dog Whisperer). Dogs and humans find our true harmony with nature when we become calm submissive to Christ our pack leader.
In the French Revolution, they paraded a woman through the streets dressed as the goddess of reason. Reason, they said, proves that humans have no moral point of reference, that nothing I think can be more wrong or right than what you think. They said there are no absolutes. They believed that as people became more knowledgeable they would eventually turn away from religious faith.
They Take Counsel Together
They have this thing all worked out. Their professors told them so. David Letterman' jokes and Oprah give counsel. Hollywood agrees. The media agrees. Friendship with the world is enmity with God. The friend of the world is the enemy of God (James 4).
Psalm 2:10-12
10 Now therefore, be wise, O kings;
Be instructed, you judges of the earth.
11 Serve the LORD with fear,
And rejoice with trembling.
12 Kiss the Son, lest He be angry,
And you perish in the way,
When His wrath is kindled but a little.
Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.
Conclusion
What can you do about it? Be not conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Arm yourself. Be aware of what is happening. Be a Christian soldier. Get educated on the issues. Be ready to give an answer. Attend SS. Read. Grow in grace. Spread the word. Instruct your kids. Give money to the cause of the kingdom. Be a witness. Jesus said, “All authority is given … go therefore and teach all nations…” Go for it. This is what you signed up for. Lay your life on the line. Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. Get excited. Pray for wisdom. Pray for the church to repent. Pray for leaders to arise. Enter the fray. Contend for the truth.
Young or old, you have a task. Uncle Sam wants YOU and so does Jesus. Side with God against yourself and be a victor.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Tolerance
Tolerance
In 2008 America, atheists placed a sign next to a manger scene that says there is no God. They claimed their rights were being violated and that Christian symbols on public property also violated the separation of church and state. Gay people were demanding equal rights and the right to be married by the state. A group of them even invaded a church service and took over, demanding their rights. Moslem minorities were demanding special public schools. Illegal aliens were waving Mexican flags and demanding a right to vote in the U.S. What is the answer to all this chaos? What is the deciding factor in a pluralistic society?
In any nation, the majority rules unless a tyrannical minority, or a just law seizes it. Either “might” or “right” will rule. Minorities have the legal right to believe what they want, but they do not have the right to “take over” by force. So, they resort to “might” (i.e. force).
Pagans dominated Babylon and God sold His people into Babylonian captivity because of the broken covenant. He commanded His people to submit to Babylon and to pray for the peace of the place. Daniel and his three friends purposed in their hearts to not defile themselves with the king’s food because it had been sacrificed to demons. This tells us that faithful believers can tolerate the dominant culture and still not be defiled by it. We can be in the world and not of it. As a minority, it is rude to demand our rights. It is not only rude; it is presumptuous, arrogant, and intolerant unless the law requires it as in the case of Martin Luther King. But even in that case, force was not used nor should it be.
When Persia freed God’s people to return to Jerusalem, there were minorities in Palestine that did not tolerate the rebuilding of the Jerusalem culture. In this case, the Jews were right in resisting them because the law had given them permission and had even partially financed them.
Then, when Greek culture took over the world, Antiochus Epiphenes made a concerted effort to impose it on the Jewish minority by force. He made a law against circumcision and forced Jews to offer incense to Apollo. The religion of the one true God was hanging by a thread. He sacrificed a pig on the altar of the Temple and placed an idol in the Temple court. A small group, led by the Maccabee family blew the trumpet, fled to the wilderness and raised armed resistance. Against impossible odds they prevailed, recaptured Jerusalem and cleansed the Temple. Happy Hanukkah.
Daniel had prophesied that this would happen over 400 years previously. He said that the reason for this trial was the sins of the Jews themselves (Dan 8). He also said there would be a faithful remnant that would do exploits for God (Dan 11). The Maccabees were the faithful champions that saved our godly heritage.
Now let us go back a few thousand years to the time of Abraham. He lived in a world of idolatry, but had enough freedom to establish a godly culture within his own camp. God told him he would have a descendant through whom all nations would eventually be blessed and that the land of the Amorites already belonged to him. (The only way to be blessed is to be a child of Abraham. Only those who enter the covenant of Abraham are blessed with special grace. Others are blessed with common grace. God rains on the just and the unjust alike. That is common grace. Special grace makes us acceptable to God. Common grace does not.)
God told Abraham his descendants would live in Egypt under a pagan culture for four generations and would not return to rule that land until then because the cup of wrath for the Amorites was not yet full. Four hundred years later Moses led them out of Egypt and God commanded them to destroy the inhabitants of that land because of their idolatry and degenerate culture. It had become so degenerate that it had to be destroyed in order to eventually bless all nations. The pollution of degenerate cultures had to be stamped out. There was to be no tolerance because the situation demanded it. God’s Law must dominate. Jesus defined love as the fulfillment of the Law. The destruction of pagan cultures was necessary “tough love” in order to save the world. A few must die in order to save many.
But God’s people failed to drive out all the idolatrous inhabitants of the land and God sold them to their enemies as judgment. Under oppression they then cried out to God and He rose up a judge to deliver them. This happened several times until there was no remedy and they were finally taken to Babylon in 606 BC.
In spite of these failures and judgments, the prophets predicted a Savior would come and all the ends of the earth would remember and turn to the Lord; all nations would bow to Jehovah (Psalm 22:27). They said that His kingdom would destroy all the others and that His kingdom would never be destroyed. He came, was crucified and arose in fulfillment of prophecy. He ascended to the Father and is now ruling with all authority in heaven and in the earth. “Yes. All kings shall bow to Him” (Psalm 72).
The most powerful pagan empire of all time ended up bowing to him 300 years later. But no sooner had that happened than barbarians from the north destroyed it. Then those same barbarians bowed to Him and became Christian Europe.
But now Europe and the West are living in a “post Christian” era. They have forgotten God just as the Jews did before they were carried to Babylon. The humanism of the French Revolution has taken over the culture in Europe and a minority in America now rules. Due to the Puritan foundation of America, Christians are still a majority, but are being defiled by the minority that is in control of the media and the education system. Eating the king’s food is defiling Christians and their children cannot even speak the language of Canaan.
The “Amorite” minority of the secular progressives are now changing the laws and the culture by means of tyrannical activist judges and legislators. The Hollywood culture and the educators love it so and cheer them on so they can be free to fornicate and destroy our children. It is not enough for them to do it privately. They have an agenda to impose their culture on Christians. They tolerate every pagan abomination, but do not tolerate God’s Law and Judeo Christian culture unless it is practiced in private. Their culture must be dominant by all means possible. They by no means tolerate Christian culture. “Why do the nations rage and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth take counsel together against the Lord and against His Christ, saying, ‘Let us break their bands asunder and cast their cords from us.’ He that sits in the heavens shall laugh and make fun of them” (Psalm 2).
When gay people insist on “coming out,” they force us to accept their culture and to violate our own conscience. It is either their culture or ours. It cannot be both. Neutrality is a myth. By tolerating their culture, we violate ours. When they object to “Don’t ask; don’t tell,” they impose a tyranny on the majority. They want their way and will throw a fit to get it. They will cram it down our throats if they can and make people feel guilty for not tolerating them. God hates the sin and loves the sinner.
The reason this is happening to America is the same reason it happened to the Jews. God sold them to their enemies because of their own sins. Godly principles made America great. Godly laws and culture gave birth to prosperity, and the daughter is eating the mother. God warned His people that after He prospered them they would forget Him.
What were the sins of Christians that caused this? Bad theology. Gnostic dualism that separates the sacred from the secular and says, “The Lord is coming soon anyway, so why dominate the culture? Why polish brass on a sinking ship?” Christians abandoned the theology of the Puritans that made America great. They cut off the legs of the trunk with a truncated gospel that seeks to escape the world instead of changing it. That is a gospel without legs and not the full gospel. They think “getting saved” is just a matter of going to heaven and they forget that the purpose of salvation is not going to heaven. The purpose of salvation is to restore all things as they were in Eden. Our prayer should be “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” The pastors have also swallowed the lie of “separation of God and state.” Many of them actually believe that preachers have no business getting involved in cultural issues and politics. Can you name one man of God in the Bible that was not involved in politics and/or cultural issues?
The eclipsing of the Puritan Hope is the cause. The Calvinist Reformers and the Puritans brought the Reformation and the Great Awakenings that changed the world and brought great liberty and justice like the world had never seen. In spite of their dark times and persecution, they believed the knowledge of the glory of the Lord would cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. The Puritan Calvinists brought a new kind of government called republican democracy and capitalism. The first constitution in the history of mankind was written as a result of Puritan Calvinist Thomas Hooker’s sermon in 1639 Connecticut. “Freedom under law” was their watch cry. It is true that at first the Massechusetts Bay Colony inherited some of the medieval errors by not tolerating heresies, but in a few decades they moderated. This then resulted in liberty and justice for all. But sin was not tolerated.
The current “secular progressives” tolerate sin, but do not tolerate God’s Law. God’s word does not tolerate them because God’s love wants to bless all nations and the only way to do it is by the kingship of His Son. He says to the nations and their rulers, “Kiss the Son lest He be angry and you perish from the way when His wrath is kindled but a little” (Psalm 2:12). He says that the nation and kingdom that will not obey His Son shall be destroyed (Isa 60:12). Unless there is a radical reversal, God will replace what we knew of America with a socialist godless culture. This will result in financial downfall similar to what happened with every other socialist experiment. But just as Christian Britain was replaced by Pagan Anglo Saxons, and re-converted by the Irish missionaries, so others like Chinese Christians will re-convert America.
Jesus promised that He would build His church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it. Daniel’s vision saw that His kingdom would grow and grow until it becomes a great mountain and fills the whole earth. God promised His Son, “Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession” (Psalm 2:8). That prayer, because God so loved the world, shall be answered. The meek shall inherit the earth.
When Christians are a minority as they are for example in China, we submit to majority rule as long as we are not required to disobey our God. Christians are the best citizens of any country. They work hard and do not commit crimes. True Christians are willing to pay the price for civil disobedience unto death.
In Christian nations, minorities must submit to the majority, also.
The progress of the atheistic and humanistic French Revolution has taken over much of American culture by means of treasonous activist judges. Instead of submitting to the original intent of the Constitution, they interpret it as a so-called “living” document and re-invented it according to their personal preferences. The Supreme Court in the 1890’s declared America to be a Christian nation, but in 1948 Justice Black reversed that with the new doctrine of “separation of church and state.” Based on that decision, the Court kicked God out of the public schools in the early sixties. The “hippie belch” out of the bottomless pit followed that. Then came the Court decision to legalize abortion in the early 70’s.
These decisions were unlawful and treasonous. Therefore, Christians are obligated to resist them and be willing to pay the price. The law of King Jesus must be obeyed. We must obey God rather than men (Acts 2).
The argument of the secular progressives now is what is called “multiculturalism.” Christianity is the only true multicultural nation. Babel’s attempt to unite everyone under one single government resulted in confusion and division. But on the Day of Pentecost God poured out his Spirit on people from all nations. They spoke in several languages, but understood each other because they were united under One Head. The secular progressives seek to “head up” everyone under the headship of “equal rights.” Their aim is to “cut off” our Head. The cutting off of heads in the French Revolution continues today.
A true Christian nation allows freedom of religion as long as others do not try to replace Christian culture. Christianity is what brought freedom of religion in the first place. The humanist faith of the secular progressives is a religion. Religions are based on presuppositions that are taken by faith. Evolution is a dogma taken by faith. Atheism is a religion. They presuppose the Bible is not true and base all their science and reason on that. Christians presuppose it is true and base all their reason on that. “Why do the nations rage and the peoples imagine a vain thing?” The real reason the Bible is rejected is because they have an “axe to grind.” They consider its laws to be “binding cords.” “They gather together against the Lord and against His Christ saying, ‘Let us break their bands asunder and cast their cords from us”’ (Psalm 2). They hate God’s Law and want to be “free.” They reject the notion that sin results in slavery. “He that sins is a slave” (John 8:34).
In 2008 America, atheists placed a sign next to a manger scene that says there is no God. They claimed their rights were being violated and that Christian symbols on public property also violated the separation of church and state. Gay people were demanding equal rights and the right to be married by the state. A group of them even invaded a church service and took over, demanding their rights. Moslem minorities were demanding special public schools. Illegal aliens were waving Mexican flags and demanding a right to vote in the U.S. What is the answer to all this chaos? What is the deciding factor in a pluralistic society?
In any nation, the majority rules unless a tyrannical minority, or a just law seizes it. Either “might” or “right” will rule. Minorities have the legal right to believe what they want, but they do not have the right to “take over” by force. So, they resort to “might” (i.e. force).
Pagans dominated Babylon and God sold His people into Babylonian captivity because of the broken covenant. He commanded His people to submit to Babylon and to pray for the peace of the place. Daniel and his three friends purposed in their hearts to not defile themselves with the king’s food because it had been sacrificed to demons. This tells us that faithful believers can tolerate the dominant culture and still not be defiled by it. We can be in the world and not of it. As a minority, it is rude to demand our rights. It is not only rude; it is presumptuous, arrogant, and intolerant unless the law requires it as in the case of Martin Luther King. But even in that case, force was not used nor should it be.
When Persia freed God’s people to return to Jerusalem, there were minorities in Palestine that did not tolerate the rebuilding of the Jerusalem culture. In this case, the Jews were right in resisting them because the law had given them permission and had even partially financed them.
Then, when Greek culture took over the world, Antiochus Epiphenes made a concerted effort to impose it on the Jewish minority by force. He made a law against circumcision and forced Jews to offer incense to Apollo. The religion of the one true God was hanging by a thread. He sacrificed a pig on the altar of the Temple and placed an idol in the Temple court. A small group, led by the Maccabee family blew the trumpet, fled to the wilderness and raised armed resistance. Against impossible odds they prevailed, recaptured Jerusalem and cleansed the Temple. Happy Hanukkah.
Daniel had prophesied that this would happen over 400 years previously. He said that the reason for this trial was the sins of the Jews themselves (Dan 8). He also said there would be a faithful remnant that would do exploits for God (Dan 11). The Maccabees were the faithful champions that saved our godly heritage.
Now let us go back a few thousand years to the time of Abraham. He lived in a world of idolatry, but had enough freedom to establish a godly culture within his own camp. God told him he would have a descendant through whom all nations would eventually be blessed and that the land of the Amorites already belonged to him. (The only way to be blessed is to be a child of Abraham. Only those who enter the covenant of Abraham are blessed with special grace. Others are blessed with common grace. God rains on the just and the unjust alike. That is common grace. Special grace makes us acceptable to God. Common grace does not.)
God told Abraham his descendants would live in Egypt under a pagan culture for four generations and would not return to rule that land until then because the cup of wrath for the Amorites was not yet full. Four hundred years later Moses led them out of Egypt and God commanded them to destroy the inhabitants of that land because of their idolatry and degenerate culture. It had become so degenerate that it had to be destroyed in order to eventually bless all nations. The pollution of degenerate cultures had to be stamped out. There was to be no tolerance because the situation demanded it. God’s Law must dominate. Jesus defined love as the fulfillment of the Law. The destruction of pagan cultures was necessary “tough love” in order to save the world. A few must die in order to save many.
But God’s people failed to drive out all the idolatrous inhabitants of the land and God sold them to their enemies as judgment. Under oppression they then cried out to God and He rose up a judge to deliver them. This happened several times until there was no remedy and they were finally taken to Babylon in 606 BC.
In spite of these failures and judgments, the prophets predicted a Savior would come and all the ends of the earth would remember and turn to the Lord; all nations would bow to Jehovah (Psalm 22:27). They said that His kingdom would destroy all the others and that His kingdom would never be destroyed. He came, was crucified and arose in fulfillment of prophecy. He ascended to the Father and is now ruling with all authority in heaven and in the earth. “Yes. All kings shall bow to Him” (Psalm 72).
The most powerful pagan empire of all time ended up bowing to him 300 years later. But no sooner had that happened than barbarians from the north destroyed it. Then those same barbarians bowed to Him and became Christian Europe.
But now Europe and the West are living in a “post Christian” era. They have forgotten God just as the Jews did before they were carried to Babylon. The humanism of the French Revolution has taken over the culture in Europe and a minority in America now rules. Due to the Puritan foundation of America, Christians are still a majority, but are being defiled by the minority that is in control of the media and the education system. Eating the king’s food is defiling Christians and their children cannot even speak the language of Canaan.
The “Amorite” minority of the secular progressives are now changing the laws and the culture by means of tyrannical activist judges and legislators. The Hollywood culture and the educators love it so and cheer them on so they can be free to fornicate and destroy our children. It is not enough for them to do it privately. They have an agenda to impose their culture on Christians. They tolerate every pagan abomination, but do not tolerate God’s Law and Judeo Christian culture unless it is practiced in private. Their culture must be dominant by all means possible. They by no means tolerate Christian culture. “Why do the nations rage and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth take counsel together against the Lord and against His Christ, saying, ‘Let us break their bands asunder and cast their cords from us.’ He that sits in the heavens shall laugh and make fun of them” (Psalm 2).
When gay people insist on “coming out,” they force us to accept their culture and to violate our own conscience. It is either their culture or ours. It cannot be both. Neutrality is a myth. By tolerating their culture, we violate ours. When they object to “Don’t ask; don’t tell,” they impose a tyranny on the majority. They want their way and will throw a fit to get it. They will cram it down our throats if they can and make people feel guilty for not tolerating them. God hates the sin and loves the sinner.
The reason this is happening to America is the same reason it happened to the Jews. God sold them to their enemies because of their own sins. Godly principles made America great. Godly laws and culture gave birth to prosperity, and the daughter is eating the mother. God warned His people that after He prospered them they would forget Him.
What were the sins of Christians that caused this? Bad theology. Gnostic dualism that separates the sacred from the secular and says, “The Lord is coming soon anyway, so why dominate the culture? Why polish brass on a sinking ship?” Christians abandoned the theology of the Puritans that made America great. They cut off the legs of the trunk with a truncated gospel that seeks to escape the world instead of changing it. That is a gospel without legs and not the full gospel. They think “getting saved” is just a matter of going to heaven and they forget that the purpose of salvation is not going to heaven. The purpose of salvation is to restore all things as they were in Eden. Our prayer should be “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” The pastors have also swallowed the lie of “separation of God and state.” Many of them actually believe that preachers have no business getting involved in cultural issues and politics. Can you name one man of God in the Bible that was not involved in politics and/or cultural issues?
The eclipsing of the Puritan Hope is the cause. The Calvinist Reformers and the Puritans brought the Reformation and the Great Awakenings that changed the world and brought great liberty and justice like the world had never seen. In spite of their dark times and persecution, they believed the knowledge of the glory of the Lord would cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. The Puritan Calvinists brought a new kind of government called republican democracy and capitalism. The first constitution in the history of mankind was written as a result of Puritan Calvinist Thomas Hooker’s sermon in 1639 Connecticut. “Freedom under law” was their watch cry. It is true that at first the Massechusetts Bay Colony inherited some of the medieval errors by not tolerating heresies, but in a few decades they moderated. This then resulted in liberty and justice for all. But sin was not tolerated.
The current “secular progressives” tolerate sin, but do not tolerate God’s Law. God’s word does not tolerate them because God’s love wants to bless all nations and the only way to do it is by the kingship of His Son. He says to the nations and their rulers, “Kiss the Son lest He be angry and you perish from the way when His wrath is kindled but a little” (Psalm 2:12). He says that the nation and kingdom that will not obey His Son shall be destroyed (Isa 60:12). Unless there is a radical reversal, God will replace what we knew of America with a socialist godless culture. This will result in financial downfall similar to what happened with every other socialist experiment. But just as Christian Britain was replaced by Pagan Anglo Saxons, and re-converted by the Irish missionaries, so others like Chinese Christians will re-convert America.
Jesus promised that He would build His church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it. Daniel’s vision saw that His kingdom would grow and grow until it becomes a great mountain and fills the whole earth. God promised His Son, “Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession” (Psalm 2:8). That prayer, because God so loved the world, shall be answered. The meek shall inherit the earth.
When Christians are a minority as they are for example in China, we submit to majority rule as long as we are not required to disobey our God. Christians are the best citizens of any country. They work hard and do not commit crimes. True Christians are willing to pay the price for civil disobedience unto death.
In Christian nations, minorities must submit to the majority, also.
The progress of the atheistic and humanistic French Revolution has taken over much of American culture by means of treasonous activist judges. Instead of submitting to the original intent of the Constitution, they interpret it as a so-called “living” document and re-invented it according to their personal preferences. The Supreme Court in the 1890’s declared America to be a Christian nation, but in 1948 Justice Black reversed that with the new doctrine of “separation of church and state.” Based on that decision, the Court kicked God out of the public schools in the early sixties. The “hippie belch” out of the bottomless pit followed that. Then came the Court decision to legalize abortion in the early 70’s.
These decisions were unlawful and treasonous. Therefore, Christians are obligated to resist them and be willing to pay the price. The law of King Jesus must be obeyed. We must obey God rather than men (Acts 2).
The argument of the secular progressives now is what is called “multiculturalism.” Christianity is the only true multicultural nation. Babel’s attempt to unite everyone under one single government resulted in confusion and division. But on the Day of Pentecost God poured out his Spirit on people from all nations. They spoke in several languages, but understood each other because they were united under One Head. The secular progressives seek to “head up” everyone under the headship of “equal rights.” Their aim is to “cut off” our Head. The cutting off of heads in the French Revolution continues today.
A true Christian nation allows freedom of religion as long as others do not try to replace Christian culture. Christianity is what brought freedom of religion in the first place. The humanist faith of the secular progressives is a religion. Religions are based on presuppositions that are taken by faith. Evolution is a dogma taken by faith. Atheism is a religion. They presuppose the Bible is not true and base all their science and reason on that. Christians presuppose it is true and base all their reason on that. “Why do the nations rage and the peoples imagine a vain thing?” The real reason the Bible is rejected is because they have an “axe to grind.” They consider its laws to be “binding cords.” “They gather together against the Lord and against His Christ saying, ‘Let us break their bands asunder and cast their cords from us”’ (Psalm 2). They hate God’s Law and want to be “free.” They reject the notion that sin results in slavery. “He that sins is a slave” (John 8:34).
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Dogs THAT CAN'T BARK
A Republican Christian heard my radio spot about socialism and abortion. He said I had no right as a pastor to be involved in politics. I asked if he could name one man of God in the Bible that had nothing to do with politics. He could not name one. Can you? Christians in America could be by far the largest voting block. We could turn this nation in one election toward righteousness in our laws. The two obstacles to this are gnostic dualism and fear.
Dualism separates the sacred & the secular. That is the spirit of anti-christ. Fear of man is the other problem. American freedom never would have rung if the preachers of the founding fathers' day had been "girlie men" like so many today. Satan whispers, "Play it safe, boys. Keep your offerings rolling! If not, your heads might roll," like John the Baptist who rebuked a king. God help us not to be like the shepherds described by Isaiah.
"They are all silent dogs; they cannot bark..." (Isa 56:9-11).
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