How strange it must be for a pastor to stand at a funeral and preach the reality of heaven — even though he mostly dismisses the book from which he preaches. What a terrible burden it must be for a man or woman to make himself or herself God’s judge — choosing which of God’s words should be kept and which should be discarded based on the shallow, always-changing moral fashions of the age. Millions of churchgoers are led by people who subordinate God’s Word to the whims of a sick culture.
To impose today’s political correctness on the Bible does violence not only to the Bible, but to human souls. One seminary student turned politician has made a name for himself in Texas saying that God is “nonbinary.” Yet in Matthew 6:9, Jesus taught us to pray, “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name.” After His resurrection, Jesus said to Mary Magdalene, “I ascend unto My Father, and your Father; and to My God, and your God.” To all but the most distorted minds, this means that Jesus — the One on whom Christians pin all our hope — proclaims God as Father — as male.
The same politician has announced that there are “six different genders.” He certainly doesn’t get that from the Bible. It says in Genesis 1:27, “Male and female created He them.” According to The New York Times, running in the Texas general election, he now regrets “the way he had articulated some of his progressive views on gender and race.” But he has reiterated that “The Bible is silent about abortion.” Really? Most Bibles include the Ten Commandments, including number six — “Thou shalt not kill.”
This is not about politics. I’m not telling anyone how to vote. If you vote regularly, you have almost certainly found yourself voting for the lesser of evils. So, you hold your nose and vote for one of the choices, even if it involves voting for someone with whom you have major differences. This is not about politics but about the state of the Church.
This week I talked to a 12-year-old neighbor who I know comes from a strong Christian family. I asked him what message he would give today’s Church. Without hesitation, he responded, “They need the Gospel.” Then he added, “The real Gospel.”
The real Gospel offers salvation from sin. Therefore, a fundamental part of “the real Gospel” is that we are sinners and we need a Savior. Large numbers of churches today advertise themselves as “affirming.” But the real Gospel does not “affirm” people in their sin. “I’m Okay, You’re Okay” does not lead to the cross. Jesus offers salvation from something dark and deadly — something people ignore at great personal peril. Jesus does not affirm you in your sins. He saves you from them.
Our value and meaning rest on the foundation of God’s truthfulness. So, to deny God’s Word also denies His benefits. When a Christian denies God’s Word, he undermines his own hope and meaning. If God says one thing and means the opposite, how can we trust Him on anything? But Psalm 19:7 says, “The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.”
Jesus said in Matthew 24:35, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.” When the winds threaten, and the storm rages — when the earth quakes beneath our feet and seems to be breaking apart, we find security in the unchanging, everlasting Rock of Ages.
