"The church is being
redefined before our very eyes. Soon it will be just a faint memory of what God
had truly designed it to be; like an old faded picture on a wall." -Author
Unknown
The Expanded Definition of Evangelical Co-Belligernce (ECB):
Creating alliances with individuals or groups who do not share belief in or
with orthodox biblical Christianity, in order to fight an agreed upon social,
moral, cultural cause that seeks to undermine the traditional family and family
values. This includes, but not limited to: gay marriage; abortion; euthenasia;
etc. and those who aid, influence, or control such societal moral decline such
as the Supreme Court, Congress, state and local officials, and a run-a-way
Federal Judiciary. This is accomplished by using boycotts, petitions, picketing,
legislation... any political remedies available to resolve the moral maladies in
our nation. This is further accomplished by organizing evangelicals/local
churches as PAC's, lobbyist groups, or as some refer to as "Christocrats", as
Christian voting blocks to threaten with militant tones sitting politicians with
the prospect of not being reelected if they fail to adopt the ECB moral/family
agenda. This tactic is being championed by many evangelical leaders, seminary
presidents and pastors absent of the authority of Scripture, absent of the
preaching of God's Word, and absent of the heralding of the gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ. -Steve Camp, July 14, 2005
In John 18:36 our Lord says
these surprising words in answer to an inquisition by Pontius Pilate, “…If my
kingdom were of this world, my disciples would be fighting…” These words cut
straight to the heart of the matter before us today. Clearly, the Lord’s kingdom
is not of this world. Jesus did not come as a social revolutionary to clean up
the culture from lascivious delinquents; or as a religious zealot to overthrow
the Sanhedrin; or even as a political agitator to dethrone the Emperor. His
kingdom is eternal; it is not of this world. What we do here on earth now, we
will do in glory in unbroken fellowship for all eternity—give Him unceasing
praise and adoration as King of kings and Lord of lords. As the great Pauline
doxology says:“Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be
honor and glory forever and ever. Amen” (1 Timothy 1:17).
His
Disciples are Fighting
But why then is it today, beloved, that we do
see His disciples fighting? –and fighting not for eternal things, but for the
temporal things of this earth. Fighting for religious rights; fighting against
unregenerate people for acting like unregenerate people; fighting against the
secularization of public policy; fighting for a social moral imperative;
fighting against senate filibusters; fighting for family values, etc. And yet,
with an eerie wholesale silence we don’t see them contending for the faith,
boasting in the cross, heralding the good news of the gospel of grace through
faith in Christ alone, and proclaiming Jesus Christ and Him crucified as the
answer for the social ills plaguing our society today. Why is it that some of
His disciples are striving for political influence and unity on community causes
rather than laboring exhaustively for that which is eternal only with believers
in Jesus Christ?
It may seem strong to suggest, but I believe that
Christianity is under siege today. Not by liberal academics or atheistic
adherents. But by much-loved evangelical leaders who have unwittingly
marginalized the faith, redefined the church, gagged the gospel and made all but
insignificant the Word of God by legitimizing a strategy to recover the moral
fiber of this nation through the political process promoting cultural unity with
anyone (Christian or not) if all simply agree to “societies scarlet letters.” I
have named this movement and its proponents: Evangelical Co-Belligerence (ECB);
and in this politically charged environment, they are holding Christianity
hostage. It is the New Moralism – where postmodernism, faith-based values and
cultural conscientious objectors intersect. This is ECB. Are they ashamed of the
gospel? Have they let the flag wave higher than the cross? Has the concern for
Christian influence in public law eclipsed the gospel’s transforming power in
the lives of the citizenry?
History - A Lucid Teacher
To answer
these important questions we turn our eyes back to the rich 19th century
ministry of England’s finest expositor and preacher, Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
Mr. Spurgeon faced similar issues in his day and he stood firmly and boldly
against the tide of common trends within the Baptist Union in England warning
them that they had slipped into compromise by adopting a worldly methodology
that would eventually give way to a skewed theology if they didn’t “have the
courage” to make dramatic and necessary changes. Though Mr. Spurgeon faithfully
sounded the alarm against modernism, he quickly became one of the most hated
ministers by most of his fellow churchmen. He would even be the object of his
own brother’s scorn, which evidenced itself in helping the opposition vote him
out of The Union (so much for family values). This broke his heart and caused
him to sink into such grave depression that many felt it ultimately contributed
to his death.
Listen to Spurgeon’s own words of warning: “Biblical
truth is like the pinnacle of a steep, slippery mountain. One step away, you
find yourself on the downgrade. Once a church or individual Christian gets on
the downgrade, momentum takes over. Recovery is unusual and only happens when
Christians get on the 'up-line' through spiritual revival.” As one very well
respected pastor has insightfully noted, “Christians today tend to forget
that modernism was not first of all a theological agenda, but a methodological
one.” Spurgeon was right and this is exactly what we are facing today.
Are we on the downgrade today beloved? According to Mr. Spurgeon’s
criteria… unmistakably!
The Times... They Aren't a Changin';
Just as
it was in Spurgeon’s time so it is in ours. It is men of God, genuine believers
in Christ—not liberal worldly theologians—who are leading the charge. ECB is
taking the church down an almost irreversible path of destruction. It’s
Achilles heel is the nonbiblical justification of normalizing a pseudo-morality
based upon some general goodness inherent in society absent of regeneration
through the gospel of Jesus Christ. I must say at this point in fairness to
my brothers of ECB that I have never heard one of them ever claim, for example,
that Romanism is truly Christian. They would all say, as far as I know, that
Romanism is a false religion, representing a false gospel, under false
leadership, under a false church. That has never been a point of contention with
my brothers. But shockingly what is, is that even though they affirm a right
view of Romanism—they cast it aside and are quick to say, “though we must stand
apart from them confessionally in terms of faith, we must stand together with
them in the battle of "the culture wars.” That my dear friends is called
compromise!
That is what makes this issue so alarming--the purposed
casting aside of all that is dear to the faith and the gospel to create this new
alliance for societal renewal. This kind of cultural methodology will prove to
be gangrenous to the entire body of Christ. Why? Ultimately it will demand the
invention of an evangelical co-belligerent theology to justify its existence if
its pundits are to continue to champion its validity. There can be no justice on
any given Sunday when the Lord's Day is turned into a political rally and the
preaching of God's holy Word is abrogated to allow a Romanist to turn a pulpit
into a punch line for his shared moral cause with evangelicals. We need ECB men
of God to repent and return to a biblical Christianity in practice—not just in
precept, once again in our day.
Human Rights; Human Dignity; Human
Happiness
Listen to these defining and dynamic words written by one of ECB’s
most influential voices: “Western civilization now faces a new invasion of
the Vandals, and Christians are again confused about the meaning of our current
struggle. Theological vandals seek to undermine the Church; political vandals
have debased our civic discourse; legal vandals have turned the law into a
playground of invented rights; moral vandals entice with a promise of
polymorphous perversity; psychological vandals have made every self a victim;
and the academic vandals have transformed the university into a circus of
irrationality.” I wholeheartedly agree on his analysis of our culture’s
condition; I just don’t agree on the cure they are prescribing.
As one
advocate and architect of evangelical co-belligerence has stated, ”In the
sovereign providence of God, we face a great cultural challenge. We must be
unembarrassed co-belligerents in this battle. Human rights, human dignity, and
human happiness hang in the balance.” I couldn’t agree less. What hangs in
the balance is the gospel of Jesus Christ; the veracity of His Word; the
function and purpose of the church; and how we as Christians are to be
salt and light in a pagan world. Rights? I have none--"I have been
crucified with Christ." Dignity? It is only found in the Lord--"I count
everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my
Lord." Happiness? It’s all about obedience--"love the Lord your God with
all your heart and with all your mind and with all your soul and with all your
strength..."
Many have recently requested for more specific concerns
about co-belligerent philosophy over the past four weeks. I have tried to
outline for you at least twelve dangers (there could be more as this movement
unfolds) of ECB that I prayerfully trust in God’s grace will serve as a grid by
which to encourage the church to biblical discernment on this issue.
His
unworthy servant in His unfailing love,
Steve Camp
1 Timothy 6:20
May 6, 2005
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"Truth can
always stand the test of scrutiny. Error never wants to be challenged--it always
breeds tolerance."
Twelve Dangers of ECB
1. The Lack of Biblical Foundation
There is no Scriptural
foundation or instruction for cultural co-belligerence found anywhere in holy
writ—none. If it cannot be biblically or theologically supported (and no one who
is involved in this movement has developed any Scriptural foundation for its
justification) then why do those who believe in Sola Scriptura still claim
loyalty to this practice? If this is such a vital contribution to
Evangelicalism/Protestantism in winning the culture wars, influencing government
and turning back the tide of moral decay in society, why was it not taught or
practiced by the Lord or any of the Apostles?
DANGER: People who
champion co-belligerence do so outside the authority of Scripture and therefore
cannot affirm Sola Scriptura in its practice.
2. The Removal of the
Offense of the Cross
trying to achieve unity in the cultural war or even
advancing a moral agenda recovery program with non-believers absent of the
gospel of Jesus Chirst removes the offense of the cross. It is a biblical
certainty that because the world hated Christ it will therefore hate His
followers (John 15:18-19). The servant is not greater than the Master and if
they persecuted Him, they will most assuredly persecute His people. The Apostle
Paul gives this precious promise, “all who desire to live godly in Christ
Jesus will be persecuted” (1 Tim. 3:12). It is unavoidable. Even Peter
encouraged other believers that were suffering for the sake of Christ to
“think it not a strange thing that this fiery ordeal has come upon you…”
(1 Peter 4:12). Suffering for His name sake is part of living for Christ. The
word of the cross is “foolishness to those who are perishing;” and to
preach Christ crucified is to the “Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks
folly” (cp 1 Cor. 1:18, 22). If the Apostle Paul believed in an evangelical
co-belligerent strategy to fight against the social ills of Nero in his day, he
could never have said, “But may it never be that I would boast except in the
cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which this world has been crucified to
me, and I to the world; from now on let no one cause trouble for me for I bear
on my body the brand-marks of Jesus” (Gal. 6:14, 17). Paul was no
co-belligerent; but oh, what a tremendous Christian!
DANGER: People who
champion co-belligerence do so without “preaching Jesus Christ and Him
crucified.” For the sake of cultural unity the offence of the cross is purposely
removed.
3. The Secularization of Being “Salt and Light”
Many
co-belligerents site the biblical phrase, “salt and light”, as applying to any
people/social/political group that will come together with believers to stand
against the moral ills of our day. But that is a secularization of the term. The
phrase “salt and light” applies only to those who have responded to the gospel
of grace (Matt. 5:1-12); who now have a righteousness “better than that of
the scribes and the Pharisees” (Matt. 5:20); and whose good works when seen
by pagans will “give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 5:16).
In other words, this is our cultural mandate for change, for influence, for
impact and for being an effective witness in the culture to others. Being salt;
letting our light shine is the evidence of the transformed life by the gospel.
DANGER: People who champion co-belligerence adopt a secular view of
being salt and light—applying that reality to anyone who rallies with them on
the social cause which their moral conscience agrees.
4. The Promotion
of a Moral Human Imperative
There is no such thing in Scripture as a “moral
human imperative” that applies to all peoples absent of the gospel. The
co-belligerents of Christ’s day were the Pharisees whom the Lord rejects and
condemns in Matthew 23. In Matthew 5:20 the Lord absolutely shatters their
claims to any kind of moral righteousness due to their own merit, moral compass,
or inherent culturally beneficial good works. Creating a “moral majority” a
“Christian coalition” a “religious right” according to the standard of societal
moral acceptability, family values, or in the words of the late Pope John Paul
II “a gospel of life” is a biblical fallacy.
DANGER: People who champion
co-belligerence do so in support of a moral imperative derived from works
righteousness thinking God is pleased and society redeemed with the veneer of
pseudo-spirituality.
5. The Denial of the Efficacy of the Gospel
The
“great divorce” suggested by leaders of evangelical co-belligerence is the
purposed separation of the social cause from Christ and His gospel—standing
together/standing apart. This at best is social schizophrenic spirituality. If
you amputate the gospel from the social concerns, you end up promoting,
proclaiming and promulgating a “morality or righteousness” apart from Christ
that the Lord Himself calls "iniquity or lawlessness" (Matt. 7:21-23). There can
be no meaningful social change or impact apart from the proclamation of the
gospel of Jesus Christ (Sola Fide, Sola Gratia, Solus Christus). Why? Because
only the gospel can produce life transformation.
ECB promotes the idea
that real change in our society against moral decay can occur without the power
of the gospel. Our Lord is so clear, “Do you not understand that everything
that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is eliminated? But the
things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the
man. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications,
thefts, false witness, slanders” (Matthew 15:17-19). The fountain from which
any social straying from morality flows is the heart; and it can only be
transformed by the gospel--not by social co-belligernce.
Christian
political activism is simply a flirtation with moral justice; (i.e. evangelical
leaders confuse access with the oval office with impact.) Résumé’s, press
releases, and well-nurtured political alliances do not change the world;
committed Christians living under the Lordship of Christ in obedience to the
Word of God in the power of the Spirit of God through the means of the gospel
do.
DANGER: People who champion co-belligerence do so to the purposed
exclusion and amputation of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ in their social
causality.
6. The Condoning of Unequally-Yoked Alliances
It is
against the command of Scripture to partner with an unbelieving world in any
kind of spiritual ministry or enterprise. This is what the apostle Paul called
“being unequally yoked” (2 Cor. 6:14-7:1). To do so is to forfeit the blessing
of God and His favor on any venture they embark. Listen to Paul’s powerful words
and stinging rebuke to would be cobelligerents: “What partnership have
righteousness and lawlessness; or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or
what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an
unbeliever?” Could it be anymore clear? There can be no “shoulder to
shoulder” standing together with anyone who rejects the gospel of Christ or
doesn’t know Christ as their Lord and Savior. Evangelical Co-belligerents for
the sake of political capital and influence, cultural cleansing and family
values restoration will “unashamedly and unembarrassingly” stand shoulder to
shoulder with anyone that agrees with their cause regardless of faith
preference, truth constraint, or doctrinal conviction.
Parnering even
with other faith-based groups such as Romanists, Orthodox or Jews still violates
the command of Scripture. There can be no "shoulder to shoulder" alliance with
this world; even with "faith-based pagans." This is a page right out of the ECT
(Evangelical and Catholics Together) and The Ecumenical Jihad playbook.
DANGER: People who champion co-belligerence must yoke themselves with
nonbelievers; they do so in direct disobedience to God’s Word forfeiting His
favor and invoking His judgment.
7. The Alienation of Unbelievers for
“Acting Like Unbelievers”
Evangelical Cobelligerents fault and accuse
nonbelievers in society for living like nonbelievers. When ECBers publicly fault
nonbelievers for their failure to change their moral convictions in conformity
to theirs; coupled with the use of legislative/political muscle, they end up
alienating the very ones that need the transforming power of the gospel of
grace. Apart from regeneration through Jesus Christ our Lord and His restraining
grace any of us could be slaves to all matters of sin in our lives. Let me ask
the ECBs a question: if you didn’t know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior,
what would you be living like? And then, would you want someone to picket you,
boycott you, petition against you, vilify you, strong arm you, coerce you,
legislate against you – or would you rather someone had come to you with the
gospel of grace and walked with you as your neighbor and explained how to have
eternal life by grace alone, through faith alone, because of Christ alone?
DANGER: People who champion cobelligerence lose sight of eternity in
those because of temporary social moorings and therefore become calloused and
hardened against the very ones that need the gospel. They therefore cannot
fulfill the Great Commission for they have elevated worldly concerns above
another eternals soul.
8. The Body of Christ Turned Into Political
Agitators
Co-belligerents really distrust the Sovereignty of God in His
working through the governments and the leadership of those governments that He
by His own choosing, purposes and will has raised up in power to accomplish
whatever He has predetermined them to accomplish. Even wicked, corrupt,
insidious authorities He will ultimately use for His eternal purpose and glory.
There is an amazing verse of Scripture on this theme found in 1 Peter
4:15. He says, "Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief,
or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler." That phrase troublesome meddler
literally means a "political agitator." Peter warns them not to suffer for that
reason... Suffering as a Christian and for the name of Christ is one thing;
suffering as a political agitator though brings no glory to the Lord and is
forbidden biblically. We are not to be seen in the culture as ones who would
disrupt the political process and its leadership to forward our own moral or
spiritual agenda.
Listen to the Word of God:
“Everyone must
submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except
that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established
by God. 2Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against
what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.
3For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong.
Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right
and he will commend you. 4For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do
wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's
servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5Therefore, it
is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible
punishment but also because of conscience. 6This is also why you pay taxes, for
the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. 7Give
everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then
revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor” –Romans 13:1-7.
“Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human institution,
whether to a king as the one in authority, 14or to governors as sent by him for
the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. 15For such is
the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish
men. 16Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but
use it as bondslaves of God. 17Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God,
honor the king” –1 Peter 2:13-17.
Even in exile under Babylonian
captivity the Lord instructs His people how to live. Notice, He doesn’t call
them to organize and overthrow their captors. He says,
"Thus says the
LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile
from Jerusalem to Babylon, 5'Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens
and eat their produce. 6'Take wives and become the fathers of sons and
daughters, and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands,
that they may bear sons and daughters; and multiply there and do not decrease.
7'Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the
LORD on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare” –Jeremiah
29:4-7.
DANGER: People who champion cobelligerence live as political
agitators fighting for morality against the very authorities that the Lord has
sovereignly placed in power.
9. The ECB Political Entitlement—“Religious
Rights”
Evangelical Cobelligerents say they exist to protect our religious
rights. This is spiritual smoke and mirrors. First, we don’t have any religious
rights to violate (our only rights lie in Christ, not in culture). Secondly,
even if all our “religious rights” are violated (i.e. say for a moment they mean
prayer, worship, the reading of the Scriptures, etc.), we then must “obey God
rather than man” regardless of the consequences (Acts 5:28-32).
Proponents of this kind of thinking will site examples like in 1963 when
they say that the Supreme Court outlawed prayer from the public schools. This is
patently untrue. What they outlawed was sixty seconds of token silence. That
isn’t prayer—it’s just sixty seconds of silence. Beloved, we are to pray without
ceasing (Eph. 6:19-21); not just give God a minute a day. I have five children
and they all attend public schools. As a praying parent, I still can walk down
the hallways of their respective schools and pray quietly for the teachers and
leadership there; I even pray with my kids before they have lunch; and on
occasion I have let their teachers know that I am praying for them as well. The
only way that prayer can be taken out of the public schools is if Christians in
those schools stop praying. My rights have not been violated one bit. But if
they saw me praying and asked me to stop, I would not; I could not. I would obey
God rather than man.
I realize that this is a difficult way of thinking
in our times, but as Christians we only have one right—to have no rights. Paul
even brings this home to the courts when saying in regards to lawsuits that you
only “have the right to be wronged.” (see 1 Cor. 6:1-10). (If all of our
so-called “religious rights” were taken away from us in this country tomorrow,
it would be a tremendous blessing from the Lord. For we might actually find out
who is really saved and who isn’t.)
DANGER: People who champion
cobelligerence fight to protect religious rights, violate the Scriptures in John
18:36 where our Lord said, “if my kingdom were of this world, my disciples would
be fighting.” But His kingdom is not of this world—all our rights lie only in
Christ.
10.The Pagan Co-belligerents – Still “Safe” in Their Sin
Paul never allowed unbelievers that he encountered in the culture to remain
in their ignorance. Even on Mars Hill he didn’t meander on Stoic philosophy,
Greek political issues or pagan rituals. He immediately directed them to the God
of creation and called them to repentance. Even when he appeared before Felix
and Festus he gave a defense of the gospel and the testimony of Christ, not
political moral justifiers for a better nation. When Paul was ready to be
beheaded for the cause of Christ under the wicked hand of Nero, he called
himself the prisoner of the Lord and used his incarceration as an ambassador in
chains to further the gospel and do all things for the sake of the elect. Paul
was always about the winning of men’s souls, not the moral fiber of a nation.
DANGER: People who champion evangelical co-belligerence seldom get
around to sharing the gospel with their opponents; the societal concerns on
cultural or political issues have overshadowed and robbed them of seeing their
opponents as sinners in need of Christ (cp, Luke 14:21ff).
11. The
Church Turned PAC/Lobbyist/Voting Force
One of the most tragic fallouts of
ECB philosophy is reducing the body of Christ to nothing more than a political
force. We have slowly, subtly, and serenely become the fourth major arm of
American politics (Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians and Evangelicals). We
are unfortunately not known today by our divine duties: proclaiming the gospel;
worship and glory of God; loving our neighbor; taking care of the widow and
orphan; discipleship; missions; church discipline of sin; prayer; honor the
ordinances of baptism and communion, and preaching of the Word of God. (read
Acts 2:40ff; 1 Timothy; 2 Timothy; Titus).
DANGER: People who champion
evangelical co-belligerence dumb-down the body of Christ to the status of a
political action committee for the purpose of flexing our religious muscle to
sway candidates, issues, morals, elections and party platforms to line up with
our social-moral values. This violates the standard of Scripture as to the
purpose and function of God’s church: “which is the pillar and support of the
truth” (1 Tim. 3:15).
12. The Inevitable Conclusion: Win the Culture
War; Lose a Voice for the Gospel
What if the culture war could be won
through co-belligerence? What if the tide of moral decay could be reversed and
we saw a moral societal shift back
to traditional family values in our
lifetime? What then? You will have to ultimately return back to the divine duty
that God has had for his people all along: the preaching of His Word; the
proclamation of the gospel; loving your neighbor; the worship of God; the
fellowship of the saints; being salt and light to our world; praying for those
in authority over us; etc.
But under ECB social philosophy of cultural
ministry we will have a tragic situation on our hands. We will have a moral
society that is left safe in its civility—but not saved; a church that is
comfortable because the cultural ills have been inoculated by co-belligerent
Christians who have whitewashed the landscape with the veneer of spirituality
absent of real regeneration—but not holy. We will have grateful politicians—but
Washington will still be corrupt; we will be on mainstream media talk shows—but
they will still have not heard the gospel; and we will be organizing Christians
to be outraged with disdain by something else someone who doesn’t know the Lord
has done—but we still won’t go to them, share the gospel and be known as our
Lord was as “a friend of sinners.” We will wake up in Laodicea and we will be
neither hot, nor cold—just lukewarm and we will call it Christianity. This,
beloved, is the apostate church where the Lord is knocking at its doors asking
to come in and fellowship with us again.
So while Rome is indulgencing,
the Mormons legitimizing, the Islamic moralists smirking, the atheists
applauding, the agnostics dancing, the media craving, the politicians praising,
and the flag is still waving, will you hear again the faint powerful lyrics of
the Apostle Paul ringing in your ears once again: “We preach not ourselves;
but Christ Jesus as Lord and ourselves as your bondservants for Christ sake”
(2 Cor. 4:5).
DANGER: People who champion evangelical co-belligerence
will never win the culture wars, though they might improve them some. But they
will have failed miserably by sacrificing the gospel message, sound doctrine,
theology, the church, and the biblical duties that the Lord has called us to all
along “for a piece of political pie” with the reward of temporary fame,
increased fortune and the still unrealized fantasy of a moral Christianized
world without Christ and His truth at the core.
In Closing
When one
eliminates the centrality of the gospel from the social cause; or amputates the
call to repentance to unregenerate people they’d rather play politics with,
share picket lines with, boycott corporations with, legislate morality with, and
strong arm politicians by militant means with—rather than deny themselves, take
up their cross, and follow Jesus Christ with; when one tries to focus on
everything from family; to culture wars; to filibusters; to elections; to
religious rights; to a bankrupt social moral imperatives; rather than on
focusing on the Lord and His “once for all faith delivered to the saints”, where
does this all lead? You end up with ECB.
May the church turn away from
this defection from Christ and His Word and come back to the Lord Jesus Christ
and His gospel as the cure for the sin sick hearts of
mankind. |
