The edited and updated blog below was posted in February 2015, but I believe it is
even more relevant today. The Liberal Left Secular Society almost seems
to be winning the battle for Abortion-on-Demand at any time within the
pregnancy - and even after birth. The LGBTQ community seems to have
overrun all moral values in America.
By all outward evidence it seems
the Far Left and Anti-God Secular Society has won. But we know that,
while they may have won some of the skirmishes, God won the war over
2000 years ago when Christ went to the cross.
Yes God has won the war and today we are fighting the clean up
skirmishes. But like the Marines we have a duty that "no man (or woman)
will be left behind" as long as we are breathing. That is the core
teaching of the Great Commission which I believe is encompassed in these
Scripture passages:
Matthew 28:19-20 (nasb), "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
Acts 1:8 (nasb), "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth."
Mark 16:15 (nasb), "And He said to them, 'Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.'"
To
summarize the Great Commission: "GO, Make disciples, Baptize them,
TEACH them. . . Be My witnesses in all the world" (Matthew 28:19-20,
Acts 1:8, Mark 16:15).
So we Christians have our marching orders to take the Gospel to the
world, all non-believers, and to the best of our God-given abilities -
Let no man/woman be left behind!
Considering my 2015 blog and what has transpired in America and the
world since then, I believe we should get the following blog information
out to all our FRANs (Friends, Relatives, Associates, Neighbors).
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
WHICH DAMAGES THE CHRISTIAN FAITH THE MOST - Atheists OR
Compromising Christians? Hands down, by far the compromising
Christian does more harm to our Christian faith than
any atheist ever could. The atheists will just declare that
God does not exist - and most will just walk away. Those who
do not walk away and attempt to prove their erroneous belief
by arguing against God - only give the mature Christian a
platform from which we can share the full Word of God.
On the other hand, the compromising Christian, one who is a
member of our Christian family - by caving in and accepting
anti-Biblical, anti-Christian teachings instead of refuting
them from the Bible - helps the atheists and other
non-believers fuel the fires against Christianity. This has
always been a problem in the Christian communities. From the
days of the early church, we read:
2 Peter 2:1, "But
false prophets also arose among the people, just as there
will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly
introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master
who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon
themselves."
2 Timothy 4:3-4, "For the time will come
when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to
have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for
themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and
will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn
aside to myths."
In our modern day, instead of
standing on the teachings of the Bible, many Christians,
churches, and denominations have chosen to insert antithetical
teachings into their view of the Bible - rather than using
the Bible to refute those false teachings. In other words, it
is easier to compromise than to take a firm stand for
Christian teachings, morality, and Biblical truths.
About 150 years ago, Charles Darwin published his book "On
the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection" which
is more commonly known as "On The Origin Of The Species."
Yet, this book which basically gave birth to the religion of
Darwinian Evolution - does not, in any way, address the
origin of life (as insinuated in its title). In this book,
the bible for atheists and other non-believers, there is
absolutely no mention of how life on earth came to be. So
how can it explain the "Origin Of The Species"?
The religion of Darwinian Evolution teaches that billions of
years ago lifeless single cell amoebae were floating in a
primordial swamp. And, over millions, maybe billions, of
years - those lifeless cells somehow became living cells.
How? Did an accident of nature, i.e., a random
combination of chemicals in that primordial swamp, eventually
cause those lifeless cells to become living cells?
Consider this question: "What was the origin of the nature
which brought life to those lifeless cells?" How did
that primordial swamp come to be? Who or what put those
simple lifeless cells into the primordial swamp? While you
are contemplating those points - truthfully ask yourself just
how those first lifeless cells became life.
Darwinian Evolution does not answer any of those questions.
Yet, we know that if the theory is true, the nature which
supposedly birthed life into those lifeless cells - those
lifeless cells themselves, the primordial swamp, the chemicals
to convert lifeless cells into living cells - had to come from
somewhere. Were these elements preexisting? Did they always,
eternally, exist? How? If they are preexisting, they are God for only God can be eternally preexisting.
Even Darwin does not declare that the universe has always
existed; only that it has existed for billions of years. If
that is true, then "In the beginning of those billions of
years" something or someone had to create them. Who or
what?
The Bible has a simple answer, and the only viable answer,
"In the beginning GOD CREATED the heavens and the earth"
(Genesis 1:1). God created the heavens and the earth,
including human, animal, and plant life, ex nihilo, i.e.,
out of nothing. Part of His creation was the origin of life
and all that sustains it. And part of that creation was all
of the sciences and all the laws governing those sciences. In
other words, since science did not create the universe -
science has to be a subset of the His Creation.
There is no other viable explanation for the universe and all
the life within the universe - other than God and His ex
nihilo Creation.
But, to avoid a confrontation with Darwinian Evolutionists -
in the latter part of the 19th century, to adapt the Bible
into the realm of science liberal church leaders and
theologians came up with a new form of Creation: Theistic
Evolution. Theistic Evolution tells us that God did create the universe and
life, but He did it using the process of evolution, instead of
ex nihilo, from nothing. And that Theistic Evolution
process took billions of years (an absolute requirement for
Darwinian Evolution), thus giving birth to another false
teaching, the Gap Theory.
The Gap Theory teaches that, between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis
1:2, there was a gap of time - millions or billions of years -
and within that gap of time God had previously created another world
which became so evil that He destroyed it. Then He began over
again by creating our world. That theory is describing a two
step creation: Step one - the first world which was
destroyed. Step two - our world.
In that teaching, there had to have been a previous Adam and
Eve who gave birth to generations of man. Otherwise, without man and his free will, that
created world could not have become so evil that God had to
destroy it and start over. Plant life and animal life cannot
become evil, only man can do that through our Adamic sin
nature curse. So if one is to believe the Gap Theory, one
must also believe that the story played out in Genesis 3 of
our Bible - is only a repeat of that same story happening
millions of years ago in the first earth. That story requires
too much faith, in the wrong god, for me.
The Gap Theory totally ignores this fact: the Bible teaches
that before the fall of Adam into the sin of disobedience, sin
and death did not exist in God's creation. Adam's fall
brought sin and death into all the creation. So, how could
another world, populated with many people and animals, have
disappeared without death being involved? The only possible
reason for anyone to even consider accepting the Gap Theory -
is to compromise God's Word by trying to adapt it to fit into
the the limited realm of science and the mores of modern day
society.
Romans 5:12,
"Therefore, just as through one man (Adam) sin
entered into the world, and death through sin, and so
death spread to all men, because all sinned."
Rather than belabor this point any
further, let me point you toward a good article to read which
explains Theistic Evolution (or Evolutionary Creationism)
more fully:
What is theistic
evolution?
www.gotquestions.org/theistic-evolution.html
After you have read that article,
we can "evolve" on down the road a wee bit to the end
of the 19th century. After the Civil War and on into the
latter part of the 19th century and the early part of the 20th
century, the specter of Liberalism began to loom largely over
the Christian communities.
A basic tenet of Liberal Theology is that of relegating the
Bible to the status of being only a good book, a book of
metaphors, symbolisms, and myths useful for teaching morals, a nice
guideline for Christian living - but NOT the God
inspired, God inerrant, literal Written Word of God. In other
words, the stories in Genesis are myths and metaphors, only
stories which teach lessons - but, are not to be understood as
the literal Written Revelation of God to man.
Why is the Liberal Theology view of the Bible so important to
those who support it? Because, if the Bible is only a good
book, only a guideline for living - then man can insert his
own beliefs and desires into it. We call that Eisegesis,
i.e., reading INTO the Bible what folks want it to say to
support their beliefs and teachings. Instead of using
hermeneutical
exegesis to read FROM Scripture what is truly written
there.
Thus, with such a metaphorical Bible, you can insert the
teaching that folks living an active homosexual lifestyle can
be pastors. You can insert the teaching that hell does not
really exist and that all people will eventually go to heaven, i.e.,
universalism. You can even teach that God does not condemn
the homosexual lifestyle. You can teach that the Bible allows
women to be pastors, spiritual leaders over man and family. But you
can teach these ONLY if the Bible is not the
Written Word of God.
You can even teach that because God loves us, He wants us all
to be happy and wants us to be able to marry anyone or
anything we want: man to man, woman to woman, adult to child,
human to animal, human to any inanimate object, etc.. All the
way to the Far Left declaring that marriage should be abolished
altogether.
In 2007, a guy married
his guitar, honest! (https://www.pulse.com.gh/filla/man-legally-marries-his-guitar-in-an-amazing-wedding-ceremony-video/1pgvtn3).
In 2006, a woman marries a
dolphin, honest! (www.theage.com.au/news/world/woman-marries-dolphin/2006/01/01/1136050339590.html).
In 2012, Lesbian journalist Masha Gessen declares: "The institution of marriage is going to change, and it should change. And again, I don’t think it should exist." (https://illinoisfamily.org/homosexuality/homosexual-activist-admits-true-purpose-of-battle-is-to-destroy-marriage/)
You get the picture. Without
holding the inspired, inerrant, literal Bible to be our sole
authority for salvation and Christian living - society can
insert anything, any lifestyle, any teaching it wants into the
Bible. But, only if it is a liberal, non-literal,
non-inerrant Bible.
In the last few years, a major bastion of anti-Biblical
teaching has swept across America - Same-Sex Marriage.
And for the most part the DOMA (Defense Of Marriage Act) has
been nullified. Why has this happened? The cause is
multi-pronged, but let me list just a few:
1. Liberals have
relegated the Bible to the status of only a good book, into
which they can insert any belief or teaching society wants
to push on America.
2. The Liberal Socialist regime
of Obama pushed the Bible even further into the
background of American living.
3. Gay activists became more
aggressive than Conservative Christians. Thus that small
minority who is pushing an unBiblical lifestyle makes more
noise - than the passive Christian community to whom Christ
has given the Great Commission, that we should be His
witnesses in all the world, spreading His Gospel of
salvation and the full Word of God to all the world. This
is the old "squeaky door gets the oil"
philosophy being played out all across America. And, the
oily same-sex marriage perversion has become the law
of the land.
4. Young people of the high
school, college, and recent post-college age - tend to lean
more toward liberalism. In large part because our public
education system in America is dominated by liberal and
socialist thinking teachers and professors.
When those
young people leave their home nest, if they are not solidly
grounded in their Christian faith - the influence of these
liberal and socialist teachers and professors can have a
strong effect upon them - pulling many away from their
Christian faith and into the Liberal Socialist Left of the
American society.
That was a large factor in Obama winning
the elections. But, I have faith that now this pendulum has now
swung to the opposite pole - and will help bring America
back from the Liberal Socialist precipice.
5. And, very damaging, is the
Hollywood and Music Industry influence. Hollywood and the
Music Industry have long been and will, most likely, always
be - the center of moral decadence in America. Bring a
young person into that pool of decadence, even one raised in
a solid Christian home - and very soon the Hollywood peer
pressure will be pulling him/her into walking with them,
instead of walking with the Lord.
We have two good examples of that happening to young ladies who came from Christian
homes - but entered the world of Hollywood:
The first is Miley
Cyrus, who seems to have not only fallen into the trap
of moral decadence - but appears to have willingly jump into
the pool and is relishing her new found decadence. I once
viewed Miley as a good role model for young people. But
now I cringe whenever I see her on the television screen.
And, sadly, the second
is one that I have admired for a long time - Carrie
Underwood. The whole country, and I joined
them, were greatly blessed when she and Vince Gill performed
"How Great Thou Art" at the ACM Girls Night Out
Superstar Women Of Country show in 2011. For the next year,
it seemed that every Christian home was buzzing about her
amazing and spiritual rendition of that song. I, too, was
giving her that old spiritual pat on the back.
But, I did have some reservations. As my wife and I were
watching that performance on television, I turned to my wife
and told her, "She has a great voice, she is a
beautiful young lady, and I am blessed that she is open
about her Christian faith. BUT, I wish she had chosen a
more modest dress for this performance. She is open about
her Christian faith - and, yet, she is on nationwide,
maybe even worldwide, television wearing a dress which is
way, way too short for a modest Christian girl. At the same
time she is singing this beautiful Christian song - she is
also showing way too much earthly flesh, which belies that
faith."
But because she did seem sincere
in her Christian faith, I gave her the benefit of the doubt on
that point - knowing that she was young.
However, since then she has shown herself ready to make a
major compromise of that Christian faith. In a 2012
interview, she publicly came out in support of Same-Sex
Marriage. And to add insult to injury - she tells us that "her
Christian faith" demands that she support the homosexual
lifestyle!
Even the liberal Huffington Post writes about her erroneous
stand. But in its typical fashion, the Huffington Post calls
her stance "in support of marriage equality" instead of
what it truly is - in support of an unBiblical and
God-condemned lifestyle:
Carrie Underwood Speaks Out For Gay
Marriage, Cites Christian Faith As Influencing Her
Liberal Views
www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/11/carrie-underwood-gay-marriage-interview_n_1587250.html
Add
Carrie Underwood to the list of stars who've come out in
support of marriage equality.
The
country songstress, who was raised Baptist, spoke at
length about the topic in an interview with The
Independent, noting that her Christian upbringing is at
the core of her attitude toward same-sex marriage.
"As a married person myself, I don’t know
what it’s like to be told I can’t marry somebody I love,
and want to marry," Underwood is
quoted as saying. "I can’t
imagine how that must feel. I definitely think we
should all have the right to love, and love publicly,
the people that we want to love."
This all brings me full circle to
the point I raise with the title of this writing: "Which
Damages The Christian Faith The Most - Atheists OR
Compromising Christians?"
I was prompted to write this article by a post on Facebook by
my nephew, Brad Gray. He posted an article written by Kyle
Butt who is a graduate of Freed-Hardeman University
where he earned a B.A. with a double major in Bible and
communications, and an M.A. in New Testament. Currently, he
serves in the Bible department at Apologetics Press and as
editor of Discovery magazine.
The following is an excerpt from that Kyle Butt article:
Jesus Didn’t
Condemn Homosexuality
by
Kyle Butt, M.A.- Apologetics Press
www.apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=11&article=1627
By and large, the American
culture is aggressively promoting the sinful lifestyle of
homosexuality. In the midst of such pressure, many people
who call themselves Christians are caving in and accepting
this perverted lifestyle in spite of God’s clear teachings
against it (Butt, 2003).
Just recently, the country singer Carrie Underwood
stated that her Christian faith lead her to support gay
marriage (Nilles, 2012). In truth, the life and teachings
of Jesus Christ could never be accurately understood to lead
a person to conclude that homosexual marriage is moral
(Miller and Harrub, 2004).
One of the most common arguments
made in support of homosexuality is that Jesus Christ did
not explicitly condemn the practice. Supposedly, since
Jesus never stated specifically: “Homosexuality is a
sin,” then His failure to denounce the lifestyle can
be interpreted to mean that He approved of it. This
reasoning is riddled with error.
And, in fact, Jesus Christ does
condemn the homosexual lifestyle in the Bible. The Triune
God: Father, Son (Jesus Christ), Holy Spirit - condemns that
lifestyle in both the Old Testament and in the New
Testament. Therefore, Jesus Christ most certainly is
condemning the homosexual lifestyle in the Bible. Consider
these Scripture references:
The homosexual lifestyle is an
abomination (Leviticus 18:22), a detestable act
(Leviticus 20:13), a degrading passion
(Romans 1:26), an unnatural act (Romans 1:26), an
indecent act (Romans 1:27), contrary to
sound teaching (1 Timothy 1:10), that it is
unrighteous and those who practice it will not
inherit the kingdom of God, i.e., will not have
eternal life in the presence of God (1 Corinthians
6:9-10).
I suppose the question I must ask
my Christian Friends is: Are YOU a Biblical Christian - OR
- are YOU a compromising Christian as this young lady, Carrie
Underwood, has shown herself to be?
Either way, as a Christian believer, you are saved and have
His promise of eternal life. But, when you stand before Him
at the Believers' Judgment (Bema Seat Judgment), will you be
cringing like the young teen who has just put a dent in the fender of
dad's new car? Will you be comfortable, standing before Jesus Christ and explaining to Him your stand
in favor of that Liberal view of His Bible, knowing that He has
strongly condemned that lifestyle, and all sin lifestyles?
God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,
Bill
Click on image to enlarge:
