Love made that common to the poor and needy which was proper to every man
John Calvin
Source: Acts 4:32-37
Which Means It Ought Not Be Legislated
Marching to a Better Song
The momentum is on our side now. We pro-lifers have written, marched, voted, and prayed for a moment like this. This is a moment when we can take advocacy beyond simple rhetoric and see it take the form of actual progress towards the goal of the end of abortion. David Daleiden‘s undercover exposure of Planned Parenthood’s selling of baby parts forced a renewal of attention upon the “medical procedure” which heinously dismembers babies, which, in another mother’s womb, could survive if labor came prematurely. We’ve shown pictures of dismembered babies, we’ve started clinics to help mom’s facing a pregnancy they weren’t prepared for, and we’ve cited scientific studies which show that life begins at conception, a heartbeat within a few days thereafter, and for all our advocacy we’ve been painted as backwards buffoons of a bygone era.
The science is our on side when it comes to this matter. It isn’t on the side of climate change, nor on the side of sexual orientation, nor on the side of trans-gender-bending. To those who advocate for the pro-choice stance, please let me appeal to you once more to set down your rhetorical guns and listen to our side for a moment.
Indeed, the world is a complex web of difficulties and sufferings. It can feel tangled, because it is. But what if we actually found a point of agreement here? You say that abortion is a woman’s right. But can we back up for a second? You claim to care deeply about women; in fact, we do too. It isn’t calloused of you to care about a woman and her body. Neither is it calloused of us to care about a baby and the baby’s body.[epq-quote align=”align-left”]It isn’t calloused of you to care about a woman and her body. Neither is it calloused of us to care about a baby and the baby’s body.[/epq-quote]
Here’s the rub, evangelical Christians have, for a while now, been attempting to state that pregnancy is something beautiful, glorious, and queenly. It is the love between a man and a woman made visible. Thus, our protesting the abortion of the unborn has to do with a broader premise that there is something majestic about erotic love. It has the magical capacity to produce another life. Our concern about abortion is even broader than simply mothers & babies. Our concern is that our disregard for the glory of human life has produced a society that doesn’t know how to hear the symphony that is the interweaving of the deep tones of manhood and the pealing strains of womanhood mingling to produce a new line of music.
Our concern is for all things good, true and beautiful. Are there gnarled messes of humanity to be sorted out? Yes. A teenage girl raped by her uncle and now carrying his child is a horrific situation. But does a discordance in that moment in the symphony mean that the entire song must end in silence? Does the new line of notes that is that new child have to be deleted from the sheet music in order for the performance end in a perfect resolution? [epq-quote align=”align-right”]Does the new line of notes that is that new child have to be deleted from the sheet music in order for the performance end in a perfect resolution?[/epq-quote] Might I assert that our view of the world and humankind has a greater luster to it than the individualistic mindset that often accompanies the pro-choice worldview?
Now, a word to pro-life Christians. We have made it here, through many twists and turns. Some setbacks by our own doing (like unhelpful zealots bombing abortion clinic). Some setbacks due to blood-thirsty and greedy political maneuvers. Let me remind you that victory is not simply the abolition of abortion. Our end goal is the glorification of Christ by obeying his command to disciple the nations. It is the establishment of a Christian society which teaches young men & women that their sexuality belongs in the context of a faithful marriage, and this means personal responsibility.
It also implies hard consequences for selfish decisions. The heat of passion may bring about a pregnancy. We believe that neither the mother nor father are then at liberty to walk away from the new strain they’ve created. We also believe that the Bible provides a framework that enables us to sort through the (uncommon) occurrences of pregnancies caused by rape, incest, etc. In essence, the victory we seek is the triumph of the Gospel, as we as a nation submit to Christ and His Word as the standard for life.
Onward.
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The Tizzy Party Protests
Ah, what days we ‘mericans are living in. Sex-symbols who have spent their lives making money off of objectifying women through so-called “entertainment”, spent a whole weekend protesting our new President who is a notoriously braggadocios womanizer; this new President, however, threatens to cut off access to the heinous rite of abortion, which these protestors insist is quite sacred and necessary to their happiness.
A few observations then, shall we? One of the demands of these tizzy party protesters is equality. They are the downtrodden of the earth, and with their sacrosanct p••••-hats nesting atop their head, they demand to be treated with equanimity & seriousness. The ingratitude is quite repulsive; even the poorest American has it better off than the average Lithuanian (ranked 49th on the list of GDP per capita). They decry the “1%”, but the data tells us that “the U.S. represents 4.5% of global population but nearly 30% of its total GDP.” In essence, honey, you are the “1%”.<fn>https://mic.com/articles/2636/compared-to-the-rest-of-the-world-americans-are-all-the-1#.cZX8E5ez1</fn>
Furthermore, the vulgarity which was on display was quite telling; they claim to be repulsed by Trump’s “rhetoric” and how it demeaned women. Yet, many of these celebrities don’t blink twice when they say and do the same sorts of things in the name of their art, performance, entertainment. The same group demands that gender is fluid, but they screech for “women’s rights”. My dear, “woman” is no more; that term might trigger someone who identifies as a gay man, but was born a straight woman. The term “women’s rights” might summon up for “him” thoughts of the patriarchal system of our ancestors.
Speaking of the patriarchy–you know the oppressive system where the father is the head of the home–the patriarchy that gave us modern comforts such as hair-driers, light-bulbs, and cars. The patriarchy that bled on these shores for their very liberty which allows you to express your views. The sad truth of the thing is that the lunacy of all this screeching for equality is asking for dry water, and a lightless sun.
Equality has come to mean something vastly different from the impartiality with which it ought to be synonymous with. Rather, it demands that a woman should be allowed to writhe and contort her body in a sexual way (as Scarlett Johansen, Madonna, Miley Cyrus and these other spokes-babes often do), yet expect men to not see it as what it is: sexually arousing.
They want to get paid for trotting the pleasures of the marriage bed onto the stage and the screen, but do not want the responsibility of perpetuating the pornification of our boys and men, which produces men who come to view the female body as a disposable pleasure, sort of like pizza pockets, or Coors Light. If they want dignity, they’re barking up the wrong doctrinal tree. Secularism reduces all of us to disposable blobs of tissue; it, in fact, objectifies us all. Christianity glorifies men and women. Of course, all mankind should be treated with impartiality, respect, and dignity; but the only basis for that dignity is found in the Christian Gospel.
The Bible does not produce oppressed women; sin in man produces oppressed women. The Bible offers the cure: a new heart, through the good news of Christ’s atoning work on the cross. We cannot legislate or protest our way out of the mess we are in. We must repent of our hatred towards God, His Word, and His Church.
However, a word to Trump supporters. I didn’t vote for Trump, for I found him, his policies and his lack of forthrightness on what his undergirding principles were appalling. That said, many of his appointees, and some of his executive orders “repealing” Obama’s overreaches are moves in the right direction. I am ready to applaud where he happens to reduce the size of government, and I’m prepared to oppose his overreaches. You should be prepared to do so as well.
Now, to Christians caught in the thick of all this. Many Christians who opposed Trump have made the mistake of lumping in their loyalty with the aforementioned “tizzy party”. Christian Trumpers though are showing a dangerous amount of blind loyalty to Trump. I saw both “sides” bickering over whether Obama or Trump had more people at his inauguration. This is a profound case of the pettiness that is causing our inability to have a grown-up debate on all these issues. A Christian’s loyalty must rest with King Jesus alone, and then, in allegiance to Him, we submit to how His Word commands we build our culture.[epq-quote align=”align-left”]A Christian’s loyalty must rest with King Jesus alone, and then, in allegiance to Him, we submit to how His Word commands we build our culture.[/epq-quote]
Finally, and then I promise I’ll be done for now, these protesters need to realize that letting movie stars and people like Madonna lecture the American people is precisely how Trump was elected in the first place. Enough Americans were tired of being told–by leftist celebrities–what to think and what they must embrace. I read recently that over the last several presidential cycles the average TV clip of a candidate has gone from 49 seconds down to 7 seconds. It maybe is no wonder that we can’t seem to have an intelligent conversation, when our attention span can’t handle patiently following an argument without wondering: “Where’s  some poster-board and a Sharpie?”
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Expensive Skulls of Mush
The Senate hearing for Trump’s pick for Secretary of Education–Betsy DeVos–was a cringe-worthy spectacle on many fronts. I, like many conservatives who didn’t support Trump in the general election, have been trying to figure out what it will look like to evaluate, critique, and perhaps even applaud the direction of the Trump campaign. I will say that for the most part, Trump has picked well; although I’m not versant in every cabinet position, things seem to be going better than I would have thought.
Now, the hearing for Betsy DeVos was, shall we say, educational. Senate Democrats were out for blood, as they know that those in charge of educating the next generation can advance their worldview more efficiently. This is a sacred cow for liberals, and their “hand-wringing” was on full display. The prevailing sentiment on social media was that DeVos whiffed hard on many questions and provided all sorts of fodder for viral video clips, intended to make her look like an incompetent rich crony.
However, the response I’ve seen on social media exposed how many Christians have simply gone along with the presumption that education is a primary responsibility of the Government. There was outcry that someone who has not spent much, if any, time in the public orphanage–er–school system should be appointed to lead that department. I saw one person express their they are “tired of people making decisions about education that have never even stepped foot inside a classroom as an educator”! To which I reply, you realize that that defines the majority of politicians; the issue isn’t that DeVos hasn’t been involved in the Public School system, therefore disqualifying here, the problem is that as a nation, we have handed over the keys of educating our children over to bureaucracy.
Fee.org had a tremendously helpful article highlighting that the US has been spending more and more money on education, and getting the exact same results! We spend more per child than any other nation, and yet our results are sub-par to say the least. We score lower than small countries like Macao, Finland, Estonia, Slovenia, and Portugal, despite spending $165,000 per child for a K-12 education.
So the real issue is not that DeVos isn’t versed in all the many government education policies, programs, etc.; the problem is that we think that spending more money on education is the solution. Further, when she was asked whether charter schools that receive Federal funding should be held to the same standards as the typical public school, the response ought to have been, “absolutely not”. Those standards are horrifically ineffective at actually, you know, edumacating our young-uns.
About a hundred years ago, the US public school system took a radical turn to the left and adopted a “child-centric” model of eduction which emphasized “self-fulfillment” as the goal of education. In abandoning older, tried and true methods of teaching children to think, speak, and reason logically, we began a crash course with what we see today: a generation with ambiguous morals, high insecurity, very tender feelings, and rather expensive skulls full of narcissistic mush.
The problem with our Department of Education is really not about who is running it, but the fact that it is run at all. We have entrusted the training of our children to a secular government and have not surprisingly gotten the result of secular thinking children. When a generation is raised thinking that they are god, it will inevitably lead to a cataclysm when that generation discovers the fact of their own impotence. Demands of all sorts are the necessary result of such an upbringing; we taught them they are god, and now they make the demands of a false god: human sacrifice, insatiable greed & lust, and general confusion about which direction is north.
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A Pocket Harem
Love & War
As technology advances we, as Christians, must be prepared to address the ways in which the sinful heart of man will misuse and abuse the technology to the hurt of themselves and their fellow man. The abuse of technology throughout history is nothing new. The thing to keep in mind is that we are not to fear technological advancement, but rather we should remain vigilant to guide culture to healthy uses of technology.
Man will, generally, always be inventing ways to be more powerful, thus bigger and more deadly weapons; and he will be inventing things to bring him pleasure & comfort. The issue at hand is not protection from harm (i.e. technological advancements in weapons), or the many pleasures which an iPhone can afford. Weapons over the last 150 years have gone from the sort where you must look your opponent in the eye, to the sort where you need never leave your office and can unleash devastation on an entire city; going from broadswords to nuclear bombs poses a whole discussion on the ethical use and development of such powerful weapons; I will leave that for another time.
At Our Fingertips
What I want to speak to is a more pressing topic for our everyday life, and that is the fact that the prevalence of internet pornography is such that you don’t even have to go looking for it. Solomon had 900 concubines, but he didn’t have an iPhone that would allow him access to more sexual images, videos and situations than one red-blooded 16 year-old boy could even fantasize.
FightTheNewDrug.com just reviewed the analytics released by the biggest porn website regarding the amount of content and the sort of content which was consumed in 2016. The results are horrific. The amount of time spent LAST YEAR ALONE on this ONE website amounts to 5,246 centuries of human life (4.6 billion hours). The most popular search terms were, for the most part, either incestuous (i.e. step-mom/sister sex) or perpetuating the exploiting of impoverished minority groups (i.e. latin, asian, or black women). This perpetuates women in third world countries being devoured by the black hole of sexual sin which porn websites open up; it is a system that treats humans as merchandise to be consumed and tossed aside, and it disproportionately effects especially women in poorer countries.
Fight the Fight of Faith
So, before you unplug the internet, and flush your smartphones down the loo, we must remember that the issue is not the technology, the issue is the human heart. That said, Christian men and women should take very seriously the fact that technology has made it possible for all of us to have a little “pocket harem” which we might summon up at any time. Again, mankind’s quest for pleasure apart from Christ is nothing new, what is new is from what source the temptation comes.
A few steps I recommend and seek to practice:
- On social media have a “one-strike” policy; if a friend posts images, videos or content you can block/hide either that page, that acquaintance, or both. Facebook and YouTube are designed to keep you on their site for as long as possible; thus, related videos are gold for them. A good YouTuber knows that “skin sells” and will put as much “flesh” in their “thumbnail” photo as possible, because humans all too often think with their hormones and not their brains. Again if you see a suggested video, page, etc., learn how to block/hide those videos.
- Be brave enough to confess your temptation to misuse the good technology which God has blessed you. It has less allure when you talk about it out loud to a spouse, friend, parent, pastor, etc.
- Refuse to be suckered by it. Be strong with the strength which God gives to His children. He has made us more than conquerors. This means you can resist it, not just that you should resist it. [epq-quote align=”align-right”]This means you can resist it, not just that you should resist it. [/epq-quote]
- Remember that the average “lifespan” for porn actors/actresses is very short (a few years at most); they are then left to look to prostitution, drugs, etc. for the rest of their lives. Sex on screen is posed, covered in make-up, and never has a bad attitude. I’ve written on this before, but essentially, it is as fake as it gets! The industry chews them up and spits them out; sounds more like Satan than Christ to me. Thus, refuse to be a pawn of Satan. Show some spine and simply spurn the temptation to misuse the technology by turning your phone into a personal harem.
This is one front which, as Christians, we will need to be vigilant to fight against in our personal lives, families, churches and communities. It will change with time (i.e. artificial intelligence, service robots in the home, robo-brothels), which is why we must be ready to apply the Gospel to technological advancement, and not be like the numb-skull in Proverbs 7 who was devoid of understanding, and wandered down THE WAY to HER house.
Above all, remember that God made us sexual beings with the intent of us glorifying Him with this dimension of our existence. Sex isn’t dirty; the unregenerate heart is, and it will sully everything it touches. Think like a Christian, by the renewing of your mind, and do not be conformed to this world’s reckless blunder in insatiable lust of its own destruction.
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The Gospel as a Verb
But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you. 1 Peter 1:25
Here at the end 1 Peter 1, in which the Apostle has surveyed many important truths, not the least of which being our new birth by the incorruptible seed of the word of God–logos theos (1 Pt. 1:23). His concluding statement of this section is that man & his glory are temporary, and will whither like the grass, but the word of the Lord endureth for ever. This is referencing Isaiah’s words from Isa. 40:7-8.
Our redemption is not procured by earthly treasure; for, all things found in this world are like vapor that will soon vanish. [epq-quote align=”align-right”]Our redemption is not procured by earthly treasure; for, all things found in this world are like vapor that will soon vanish.[/epq-quote] This is a recapitulation of truth found in Jesus’ parable of the wise and foolish builder (Mt. 7:24-27): build on sand, your building will be swept away, build on the Rock of Ages, you will stand firm. Peter reminds us that the Lord’s word endures forever, and it is Gospel preaching that brings the word unto us, that we might be redeemed.
I’ve always loved the Greek word Peter uses here: εá½Î±Î³Î³ÎµÎ»Î¯Î¶Ï‰Â euaggelizÅ. It is the verbal form of the noun (εá½Î±Î³Î³Îλιον euaggelion), which we usually translate as “gospel” or “good tidings”. Peter says that in order to be redeemed, the everlasting word of the Lord must “gospel” you. In essence, while the Gospel is certainly an objective noun, it is a noun that demands verbal action. A baseball bat is a noun, but it is a noun that is intended for swinging.
We need to be “gospel-ed” by the word of God, and we need to “gospel-ize” this world. It will not do to simply be able to define the Gospel, it is something that must be put into action in our own lives and families, and which we are to bring to bear upon the world around us. To reiterate, Webster’s 1828 dictionary can provide us with the correct definition for a broad-sword:
BROAD-SWORD, noun [broad and sword.] A sword with a broad blade, and a cutting edge.
But if you’re going into combat, you need more than a mere definition, you need to noun itself, and then wield it. This is what Peter is getting at. The truth of God’s enduring Word is that which “gospel-ed” us, thus redeeming us, and by implication it is that which we are to go forth with, and “gospel-ize” the nations.
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Book Review: “Biblical Eldership” by Alexander Strauch
Biblical Eldership: An Urgent Call to Restore Biblical Churc by Alexander Strauch
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
In my years of being a pastor’s kid, then a worship leader, and now training for pastoral ministry myself, I’ve only grown in my conviction that biblical church leadership is of utmost importance. Much of the spiritual deadness we see in the modern evangelical church is directly attributable to unbiblical leadership structures, or disqualified men in leadership, or both!
Strauch’s Biblical Eldership is really a modern masterpiece of addressing what the Bible teaches on how God desires His church to be ordered. Most striking to me was how much “air-time” the New Testament gives to directions to and for the elders of the early church. When people complain of bad experiences with a church, or a pastor, or board of elders, I have found that the problem wasn’t a “too faithful” to Scripture, but a “not faithful enough”. Strauch masterfully demonstrates that the Biblical model for the ordering of the Church is found in a plurality of biblically qualified pastoring elders (that are men)! He pithily remarks, “A biblical eldership is not a church board that conducts business for two or three hours a month— it is a hard-working, pastoral body.”
All too often the church is run like a business, rather than like what it is in truth: the house of God, which is to be pastored, shepherded and led with all humility. Strauch again: “Christ’s presence is with the whole congregation, not just the elders.” He goes on to show how the New Testament is full of admonitions, warnings, threatenings, cautions, and directions for the elders who rule the Church of God. When there is an abusive, unhealthy church, it is always the result of neglect of the biblical qualifications of the individual elders, or else an unbiblical ordering of leadership (i.e. a sort of “board of directors” with the Senior Pastor as CEO).
A “top-down” model only leads to a corruption of the alpha male; in contrast, where Scripture doesn’t necessarily give the “method” for how the preparation, selection, and appointment process works, it clearly lays out the principles that must guide the church. Further, the Scriptures do provide us with a healthy understanding of how a plurality of male elders, whose goals are the goals of shepherding and caring for the people of God (and viewing themselves as included in that body). This plurality of elders ensures that the men on the session or group of elders are responsible to keep each other accountable to the biblical standards of behavior and lifestyle both in their personal and private lives.
I could go on, but more and more I see this as a vital doctrine which the Church must not neglect; if she does, it will only lead to heresy, abuse, and disaffected sheep, in danger of wandering. I highly recommend this book for every believer. Strauch writes at a lay-persons level, and is quite skillful at expositing the pertinent texts. In essence, we need more men like this!
AÂ Selection of Quotes
An elder who doesn’t know the Bible is like a shepherd without legs; he can’t lead or protect the flock.
The greatest way to inspire and influence people for God is through personal example. Character and deeds, not official position or title, is what really influences people for eternity.
I must warn, however, against the arbitrary requirement that many denominations impose on their shepherds to earn a master’s degree before they are allowed to serve as a church pastor. God does not require advanced academic degrees as a qualification for spiritual leadership. When we set up formal academic standards, we professionalize the government of the church and create, at least in practice, a pastoral office that is separate from the eldership. We do not have God’s authorization to establish such standards.
Elders, therefore, must be men who know God’s Word.
The fundamental principle that every child of God must learn and relearn many times throughout life is to depend on the God who is absolutely trustworthy.
Even the best elders are inevitably accused of pride, wrong judgment, doing too much or too little, moving too slowly or too quickly, changing too much or not enough, and being too harsh or too passive.
Elders cannot teach and defend the gospel if their lives discredit the gospel.
The household (i.e. the Church) belongs to God, not to the elders.
A man who doesn’t tenaciously adhere to orthodox, biblical doctrine doesn’t qualify to lead God’s household because he, who is himself in error and unbelief, will mislead God’s people.
The people do not belong to the elders; they belong to the One who assigned them to the elders’ care, that is, to God.
The best training a Christian young man can have in preparation for church leadership is to first learn to submit to those in spiritual leadership.
Perpetuating the eldership is a major aspect of church leadership responsibility.
God’s standards alone, not group popularity, govern God’s house.
Appointment to eldership is not a holy sacrament.