Taking a Prophetic Stance in the Public Arena

As I'm sitting here listening to the American Solutions presentation on the internet, I came across a post by Doug Wilson at Blog & Mablog. He posits that we should not align the voice of the church with a political bloc. He writes, in part:

The hook that Loconte uses in his article is the image of the Shadow taking shape and growing in The Lord of the Rings. He says that in our day the shadow is, Sauron-like, the rise of Islamo-fascism. He rightly observes that all kinds of people, who should know better, appear to be unconcerned about this. We ought not to look at total fire-power available. I am willing to bet there was more explosive power in one American bomb than in all the suicide bombs put together. But Mark Steyn has shrewdly observed that suicide bombing is not a potent tactic . . . unless it deployed against a suicide culture.

But Tolkien was wiser than to buy into false dichotomies. Not only was Sauron gathering his forces, but the Shadow was also growing from within. Saruman was one who once stood against evil, and was corrupted in the process. Our oaths of office are frequently wiser than we are. The Constitution has enemies both foreign and domestic. Why is it that those who see the threat of radical Islam frequently cannot see the threat of a secularist American empire? Why is it that those who see the threat of a swollen American empire cannot see the threat of radical Islam? Is it allowable for us to think that the Patriot Act would have had Patrick Henry running to his gun cabinet . . . without praising Hamas as a humanitarian group similar to Rotary? Is it permissible to think that Ahmadinejad is a terrible man without thinking that presidents get to declare war whenever they feel like it?

Read the rest of The Fox News Jesus or the CNN Jesus?

Wisdom and Discernment

Years after the death of President Calvin Coolidge, this story came to light. In the early days of his presidency, Coolidge awoke one morning in his hotel room to find a cat burglar going through his pockets. Coolidge spoke up, asking the burglar not to take his watch chain because it contained an engraved charm he wanted to keep. Coolidge then engaged the thief in quiet conversation and discovered he was a college student who had no money to pay his hotel bill or buy a ticket back to campus. Coolidge counted $32 out of his wallet, which he had also persuaded the dazed young man to give back, declared it to be a loan, and advised the young man to leave the way he had come so as to avoid the Secret Service! (Yes, the loan was paid back.)

President Coolidge is an example of the spirit and attitude of a Christian. It’s the attitude of being ready to love and understand, not of being ready to be angry and oppose. And although Silent Cal’s personality may have had something to do with his response to the young burglar, I suspect his faith was the major motivation. But it’s also an attitude of making proper distinctions. He properly distinguished between a sinner motivated by desperation and a sinner motivated by malevolence.

Christians today need to be able to make distinctions, to exercise discernment. Pop Christianity fails to make needed and basic distinctions. Therefore, it makes us simplistic rather than wise. Two prime examples of this simplistic failure are in the areas of judging and forgiveness.

Many Christians and non-Christians quote what Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount as if it means we should never say something negative about another person’s belief system or behavior. Nothing could be farther from the truth. (Matthew 7:1 NKJV Judge not, that you be not judged.) Jesus indeed warns us about the type of critical, self-righteous condemning done by religious hypocrites. This kind of judging springs from a proud heart and a sense of being better than others. But we should be able to know when someone is advocating false beliefs or living in a way contrary to God’s Word. As a matter of fact, we should confront them with it. (Galatians 1:8-9 NKJV But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. (9) As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed. Ephesians 5:11 NKJV And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them..)

In the same way, many Christians and non-Christians think the Bible requires believers for forgive everyone for everything all the time. Jesus didn’t teach that. He did teach that we should be patient with others, treat them with kindness and grace, and not take vengeance on them. But forgiveness is reserved for those who repent. (Luke 17:3-4 NKJV Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, 'I repent,' you shall forgive him.") That means the offender must change his mind about what he did and genuinely set forth not to do it again.

The Lord has called His children to be wise, not simple. We need to exercise mature judgment in our relationships and in our stand for truth. Discernment exercised with a kind and humble spirit is a mark of growing in the Lord.

Thoughts on Revival

I’ve never really cared for the term “revival services”, although I love and appreciate the actual meetings. “Revival services” almost assumes that the evangelist will bring spiritual renewal and increased fervor with him…practically guaranteed. Of course the evangelist himself will tell you that he cannot and does not bring revival. Revival is a gift, a state, an event that only the Lord God can give.

And revival is not primarily about unbelievers being converted. It can often result in men and women and young people receiving Christ. But that’s really just a glorious side benefit. Revival is about God’s people drawing near to Him. It’s about removing the obstacles we’ve allowed to get between our Savior and us. It’s about becoming humble and genuine again. It’s about us being broken over our own vile sinfulness. It’s about ripping our focus away from the temporal and the material and gazing once again on eternity. It’s about the I AM filling our vision, thereby crowding out all priorities of lower order. It’s about Christ’s glory radiantly illuminating our hearts.

In other words, revival is about the holiness of God and about His holiness being applied to our lives, making us holy. Revival is about the sanctification of God’s people. The only way to progress in holiness is by exposure to God’s Word. John 17:17 “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.” As we are exposed to God through His Word, the impurities of our lives are surfaced, sanded, and expelled. Jeremiah 23:29 "Is not My word like a fire?" says the LORD, "And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?” Truth is the agent of conforming us to Christ’s image.

It’s hard work. It’s uncomfortable, even painful, at times. But it is necessary work. Brokenness. Authenticity. Humility. These are not the words associated with pragmatic, market driven Churchianity. But they are words associated with revival…real revival. They require generous doses of Truth.