This is a post about the status quo, and the mess that we (the church) have gotten ourselves into by buying into it. For the last twenty years or so, the church has been slipping into a me-centric mentality of “what can the Kingdom do for me.” It’s the “entertain me” religion of the bigger, better show. Meanwhile, truth has been slain in the streets.
Don’t get me wrong. I love the church with a blazing passion. It’s my life’s calling to see it restored to the glorious nature of the bride of Christ. But when church members are voting for pro-choice candidates simply because they “want change,” we’ve obviously missed the boat.
Abortion is an abomination before the Lord. The shedding of the blood of innocent babies smacks of the ancient religion of Baal worship, and many of us have been complicit in it’s prosecution, at least passively.
“That’s not very politically correct, and certainly not very tolerant.”
Nope. It’s not. Tolerance is overrated. We have far too many Pastors who won’t preach on the topic of abortion for fear of marginalizing somebody who probably needs to be marginalized. It’s as simple as that. Don’t shoot the messenger.
“What are you doing about it then?”
That’s a fair question. I’m praying and fasting. I’m calling out upon the Lord to release His justice on the Earth. I’m looking for like minded people to build a coalition for justice. I’m just a man, but I’m focused on the cause of Christ.
The more interesting question, at least to me, is “What are you doing?” If you’re not doing anything, start now. There’s always room for one more intolerant Jesus Freak.
I absolutely LOVE what you have said! It validates me somewhat because I am surrounded by passive, tolerant Christians who think that I shouldn’t have a political voice. BUT this is not politics… this is life and death! Thank you so much for being bold and may it catch like a fire!
I totally agree. We need to stand for the truth and not what we think will draw a crowd.
Thanks Lorrie. I’m adding you to the blogroll. Send all of your radical Christian friends and let’s make this thing a revolution!
you are all freaks, you and religion are whats wrong with the world today, just cause you believe something in your arrogant and uneducated head doesn’t mean you have the right to push your ideas on others, srsly whats it going to take for you people to understand, you are the same as the jihadis and other religious zealots, you should do the world a favor and kill yourselves now and get a good spot in your heaven
I seriously believe that the church is the only thing holding back the darkness in this country. I don’t like to argue with people about religion. I’m not a religious person.
OK – Tolerance with sin in YOUR life is definitely sinful – but tolerating the sinners around you is part of the deal of “in the world, not of the world”.
Are you going to severe all relations with people who read their horoscope?
I agree that abortion is an abomination – but our job is not to stone these people – it is to preach the good news and let them be healed and transformed by God.
Kudos on standing for the truth.
Jon said-
“just cause you believe something in your arrogant and uneducated head doesn’t mean you have the right to push your ideas on others”
Isn’t it an overgeneralization to assume that we are all uneducated? Secondly, your grammar suggests that you are either uneducated, or you simply don’t care. If you are going to make such an accusation against such a large group of people, wouldn’t it be appropriate to use proper English to do it?
Secondly, you said that just because we believe something, it doesn’t give us the right to push it on others, but I would contend that you are doing that very thing. You disagree and are pushing your disbelief on us.
“you are all freaks, you and religion are whats wrong with the world today”
Again, here you are voicing an opinion. How many of us do you know? I mean really know. We aren’t ALL freaks. Religion isn’t the problem so much as people who get a hold of it and use for their own selfish desires to rule over others. I would suggest that if one is really following Christ, he or she is learning to abandon self-centeredness, and live their lives for the benefit of others.
“srsly whats it going to take for you people to understand, you are the same as the jihadis and other religious zealots, you should do the world a favor and kill yourselves now and get a good spot in your heaven”
This statement is almost too ridiculous to tackle, but here we go. How many churches have you been to that actively teach their adherents to strap bombs to themselves and blow up innocent people? Therein lies a huge difference between us and “jihadis”. And that’s just one of several things that distinguish us from radical Islam.
As to killing ourselves to secure good places in heaven: One of the places the Church as a whole has gone wrong (in my humble opinion) is that we have put too much emphasis on the afterlife. Don’t get me wrong, Heaven is going to be amazing, but the resurrection power of Christ is so that we might walk in His life here on earth. We are now freed from our sins to walk as Jesus did. In a manner of speaking, Heaven has already come to earth. As we walk with God and by the power of the Holy Spirit we can experience Heaven on Earth.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer once said, “When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die.” That’s what happens. My sin, my desires, my thoughts, my feelings die little by little that the Spirit of Christ would be resurrected in its place. This walk of sanctification is the life to which we have been called. That we would give our lives to love others and esteem them higher than ourselves.
Jon, I’m sorry that you haven’t had the greatest experiences with us. I hope and pray that someday, you will get to know one of us or better yet, that you could experience the love and grace of Jesus Christ that will wreck you forever.
Grace and Peace,
pakelekia
I’m glad to see our dinner conversation stirred something up in you. It is definitely time for the church to take a stand against all things that are not of God. But at the same time it is not time to add “religion” to the mix. My beliefs have led me to establish a relationship with the Father, not a bondage. It is time the church loves these people who are so desperate they turn to extreme measures. It is our responsibility to spread truth about the word of God and to be an example to the world of what a relationship with Christ and the Father can do in our lives. This has to start with the body of Christ taking a stand and realizing that the greatest gains require the most perseverance and adherence to the truth. God has a perfect plan for all life He creates.
I totally agree with you Jon and this article!!!
Way to go Jon. I 100% agree with you on this and its high time people understand the consequence for their actions.
Wow. Kate writes perty sentences. I love you guys for stopping and commenting on the blog.
Wow, what a wonderful conversation we are having! If I were just an objective, casual observer, I would say that those who love life and seek to respect and protect it have by far out-articulated the closed-minded, biased, caloused views of the objectors.
Thank you Jonathan for speaking the Truth.