Defending The Word In An Age of Compromise

For the sake of this post, I am referring to all Believers as "preachers" of the Word when we share it with the lost. But how do we know we are preaching it "rightly"? After all, 2 Timothy 2:15 says, Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the Word of Truth. I don't know about you, but I take that very seriously, and I consistently pray that I am representing God and His Word accurately and well. 

As we look upon our religious culture in the 21st Century, it is becoming quite apparent that there are diverse "messages" out there, all proclaiming to represent the rightly divided Word of God. But they can't all be correct, since there are contrasting views within "the Church" on God's acceptance of homosexuality; on the relevance of spiritual warfare; on the definition of the Great Commission; on His acceptance of worshiping other gods (sadly); and even on how we are to honor rituals and traditions.

How do we know, these 2000+ years later, that we are in alignment with the teachings that Jesus commanded the Apostles to carry forward as "the Church"? From the very beginning, there was an ardent desire to preserve the Lord's teachings accurately and authentically. It's important for us to know how those teachings became theology and doctrine, and just how difficult it became to do that without letting human error creep in, whether consciously or subconsciously.

I hope you will suffer me to give a cursory history of the struggle to "rightly handle" the Word of God -- from the very beginning. Just in the first 300 years, Christ's teachings were rendered and interpreted through several groups which have become known as the Early Church Fathers. You have the "Apostolic Fathers", who were a group of early Christian leaders and authors who lived shortly after the 12 Apostles. Their writings are typically dated between AD 80–180. Most of the Apostolic Fathers are believed to have known the Apostles personally or were connected to them in some way. The apostolic church fathers were the ones like Clement of Rome who were contemporaries of the apostles and were probably taught by them, carrying on the tradition and teaching of the apostles themselves. Polycarp and Clement are considered two of the imminent Apostolic Fathers, and they soon became embroiled in presenting truth to counter the theological heresies of Gnosticism and Docetism. Gnostics believed that anything done in the body was inherently evil and sinful, but it didn't really matter, because real life existed in the spirit realm only. Docetism promoted that Jesus was never fully human; He only "seemed" to have a body, and may have been somewhat divine. 

The ante-Nicene fathers were those who came after the apostolic fathers and before the Council of Nicea in AD 325. Such individuals as Irenaeus, Ignatius, and Justin Martyr are ante-Nicene fathers. The post-Nicene church fathers are those who came after the Council of Nicea in AD 325. These are such noted men as Augustine, bishop of Hippo, who is often called the father of the [Roman Catholic] Church because of his great work in Church doctrine; Chrysostom, called the “golden-mouthed” for his excellent oratorical skills; and Eusebius, who wrote a history of the church from the birth of Jesus to AD 324, one year before the Council of Nicea.

But even these zealous Early Church Fathers could not keep the Enemy of God from working his own agenda and begin infiltrating the Church with false and counterfeit teachings and doctrines. The Apostolic Fathers were passionate in presenting the gospel just as the apostles taught them, but became increasingly involved in defending the gospel from these heresies, rather than presenting Jesus's teachings in their purest and authoritative form. The very fact that the Nicene Council was convened in AD 325 is evidence that there was a growing fragmentation in the Church between various theologies and doctrines. What followed in the way of commentaries and endless examinations among these disparate groups undoubtedly has led to centuries of interpretations [and denominations] led by theologians such as Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Wesley, and the post-Enlightenment theologians like Karl Barth. 

As we consider this history, we have to ask ourselves this question: So, do all these varying religious opinions down through the centuries meet the approval of God by the standards He sets in His Word? Which of these messages come from human wisdom, and which are revealed through the Spirit of Truth in the Bible? Which messages rest in the wisdom of men, and which in the power of God? 

These may seem like elementary questions, but I think we need to be very aware of the Enemy's tactics in these Last Days. I am seeing everything from a powerless Gospel being preached, to a dangerous message of unity among different gods and religions; that is not Biblical. The Word is the power of God to save us from eternal hell. But that Word must not be weakened, watered down, or compromised. The very definition of the word compromise is this: a middle state between conflicting opinions or actions reached by mutual concession or modification; an agreement or a settlement of a dispute that is reached by each side making concessions; the acceptance of standards that are lower than is desirable. Do any of those definitions sound like they define the Nature of our God? Does He make concessions or allowances for His laws and commandments -- or ever lower His standards?

Yet, we are now paying the consequences in our society because of compromise; because of our willingness to undermine the Word of God by embracing cultural lifestyles that do not conform to the commandments of the God we pray to. There is no "happy medium" where God is willing to adapt His Glory, Majesty, or Sovereignty to fit our ideas of theology, justice or mercy. Nor is He willing to compromise His order of divine government with corrupted and unholy social ideologies that subvert His righteous rule of the nations. It is time that we, the true Believers in the One True God, declare our unyielding and unshakeable faith in the accurate Word of God. It's time to step into our authority to preach the Word as laid out in 2 Timothy 4:2: "proclaim the Word of God and stand upon it no matter what! Rise to the occasion and preach when it is convenient and when it is not. Preach in the full expression of the Holy Spirit —with wisdom and patience as you instruct and teach the people". No more compromise! 

Thanks to the website gotquestions.com for the concise history of the Early Church Fathers.

I Thessalonians 2:13   And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the Word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the Word of God, which is at work in you believers.

The Meaning of Words Matters!

 

By now, it should be clear to anyone paying attention to our world, that things are changing. As a Christian with a Biblical worldview, I can see that there is a new ideology growing in our Western culture that threatens to destroy what we have believed for centuries. And I'm not just talking about our faith, but what we have adhered to in our family structures, our form of government, our history -- and it threatens to destroy the culture itself.

This new ideology is not dissimilar to the theme of George Orwell's famous novel, 1984. If you are of a certain age or generation, you probably read it in a high school English class. Long described as a "dystopian novel", the book warned society of the dangers of a totalitarian government that ruled through fear, surveillance, propaganda, and mind control. The not-so-funny thing is that "dystopian" means "an imagined place or state in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmentally degraded one." I don't know about you, but that description doesn't seem so imaginary anymore, and our culture and society are increasingly looking like the super-state Oceania in 1984.

I say that because there are certain similarities between the novel and where we find ourselves today. I don't want to spend this post rehashing the plot of this book, other than to say there is one aspect that I think we need to understand because it plays into the threat of eradicating some of God's most important Biblical principles. Let me explain ... as part of the plot in 1984, one of the political parties of the imaginary totalitarian government wants to get rid of certain troubling words; without the words no one can conceive of their concepts and it will be easy to destroy the reality of what they mean and inspire.

Today, that translates into not only getting rid of words, but changing them to mean something entirely different. For instance, there are certain politicians that are re-writing laws that omit "women" or "mothers" from the text, and replace them with "Birthing people". Other activists want to get rid of the word "equality" and change it to "equity"; and "affirmative action" becomes "diversity". Furthermore, how some words make people feel is now being termed as "violent". There is no longer any room for discussion or debate. And as Tim Sandefur of the Goldwater Institute says, "That is dangerous"... if we are going to label language and words violent, "then the only way we can relate to each other is through power". I think we can agree that that is not a good standard.

You may recognize this idea as comparable to terms like "wokeism", "political correctness" or "cancel culture". But the damage this ideology does goes much deeper than any theory of how our culture is changing in a political or societal sense. It is leaning towards dismantling the very foundation of believing in God and His standards. If activists can change the idea of Biblical precepts by removing God's part in them, then they can be reformatted to remove Him altogether. Another way to say it is this: if we can remove the God connection to a word, then rather than the word being defined by God's perspective, it becomes the opinion of the person who is experiencing or feeling it. God no longer has a place in our language.

For instance, let's take a look at the word Guilt. As a Christian, I know that guilt is a noun; it is a state or condition as a result of violating one of God's moral laws. And there is the idea of repayment and restitution to the offended party. But if you remove God from the definition, then guilt can be simply defined as "guilty feelings", and there is no payment or consequence associated with the violation. Indeed, the violation itself, is subjective [based on personal feelings, tastes, or opinions]. Any shame that is felt is lessened to a loss of face before your peers because there is no God before whom one is ashamed.

Now, consider the word Freedom. As Christians, we know that there is a weight to that word. Our ultimate freedom in this world comes from Christ and His sacrifice on the Cross for us. There is no greater freedom on this earth than the freedom from eternal death. And freedom is also deliverance from the bondage to sin. It is a gift from our God to us. But when you remove God from the concept of freedom then it becomes a word that means permission to do whatever feels good to us. Doesn't have quite the same weight to it, does it?

Finally, let's think about the word Tolerance. I think the original meaning of tolerance, in regards to Christians, was to acknowledge that other people had different belief systems and to believe that it was their right to do so. But when you remove God from the Christian principle of tolerance the word comes to mean that you have to agree with all belief systems; to fully approve of them -- all are equal in their value and significance. As a Christian, I know that is not true. Furthermore, without God, tolerance ends up being an incoherent ideology, or nothing more than a request to be nice and get along.

So, do you get the idea I'm trying to convey? The meaning of words is important, and if God's perspective is lost in that meaning, then there is no standard by which the world understands each other. Taking it a step further, if words can be eliminated or changed, then so can our history, which is chronicled in words. Words may seem like such a small component of the troubles we face in this world, but let me share what a secular writer wrote about the importance of words. Esther Lombardi wrote, "Words can incite anger or invoke passion. They can bring people together or tear them apart. Words can uphold the truth or nurture a lie. We use words to encompass history, to describe the natural universe, and even to conjure realistic visions of things that exist only in fantasy." 

I can agree with that sentiment. And here are the rest of her words in that description "In fact, in some mythology, spoken words are thought to be so powerful that they can create worlds, creatures, and human beings." Note how the truth of God is removed from those words, and compare it this concept in John 1:1-5 ... "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it".

Words matter! And their meanings matter! The Enemy of this dark world is all about distortion and corruption. It's been his game plan since the Garden of Eden. It is up to us to preserve and uphold the truth of words as they pertain to the Goodness of God. I fear the tactics of those who wish to remove God from the knowledge of the foundation of this world and societies and cultures. The next generation is in danger of being robbed of all that God has intended for us. Let us defend the importance and accuracy of our words, lest they be lost forever. And I want to end this post by quoting the latter part of The Message's version of Matthew 12:37 ... "Let me tell you something: Every one of these careless words is going to come back to haunt you. There will be a time of Reckoning. Words are powerful; take them seriously. Words can be your salvation. Words can also be your damnation". Serious words for thought.

#wordshavepower #godsword #cancelculture #wordsmatter #biblicalworldview

Matthew 12:37   By your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.