I Should Have Known Better
This is now the second blog I’m writing for this week. I put up one this morning and almost immediately took it down.
I should have known better …
“It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.” Psalm 118:8
Once again I found myself getting “burned” by a fellow conservative Christian leader. He is the head of a very prestigious seminary.
How did I get “burned”?
The podcast I listened to yesterday was dated from 10/22/20. It was simply, and unbelievably, awesome. All during the podcast he built his case and concluded by saying the following:
“And this is where CHRISTIANS MUST UNDERSTAND THAT BEING JUST MORE CONSERVATIVE, SLIGHTLY MORE CONSERVATIVE THAN A MORE LIBERAL PARTY IS NOT ACTUALLY A CONSERVATIVE POSITION. (my emphasis) A conservative position begins in defining what must be conserved for society to thrive. And amongst the first things that must be conserved are objective definitions, rightful definitions of marriage and sexuality and gender. IF THAT’S LOST, NO CONSERVATIVE POSITION BASED ON OBJECTIVE TRUTH WILL SURVIVE.” (my emphasis)
He continues …
“There'll be plenty of opportunities in the future, sad to say, for us to think these issues through, but the bottom line is that there is no such category as being almost or slightly theologically orthodox. Orthodoxy is not a sliding scale. Biblical fidelity is not graded on a curve. And the same thing is true when it comes to moral principles. You either hold to the moral principles that are essential for the survival of society, or you are eventually THE ENEMY (my emphasis) of those principles and convictions. (my emphasis) Time will tell. And as the stories today make very clear, time is running out.”
That is great stuff. It’s what I’ve been waiting to hear from a leading conservative Christian leader. As a matter of fact, I was so elated upon listening to the podcast that I wrote a blog about it. I also posted the complete transcript of the podcast as well. It was, to me, that good.
But I took my blog down before (hopefully) the host site sent it out. It’s at least down from our website. I feel like a stupid idiot who, once again, has egg on his face for putting confidence where God in His Word says not to: Man, my fellow Christian man no less. Frustrating.
So what caused me to retract my blog?
In a nutshell he (in my opinion), turned right around and on 10/27/00 did exactly what I thought he was advocating we should not do.
Why should we not follow through with what he wrote so eloquently on 10/22/20? I thought he stated that to do any differently would be acting just like “the enemy of those principles and convictions.” And that: “Orthodoxy is not a sliding scale. Biblical fidelity is not graded on a curve. And the same thing is true when it comes to moral principles. You either hold to the moral principles that are essential for survival of society, or you are eventually THE ENEMY of those principles and convictions.”
How did he (though I don’t think this was his intention) explain/justify the decision he made to act (in my opinion) contrary to what he wrote previously? In the 10/27/20 podcast he focused on these two issues: Abortion and LGBTQ issues.
He got around his own previous conclusions by focusing on the abortion issue as being, seemingly, the more important factor which should determine our actions.
But, here’s where I see a potential dilemma.
Could the shedding of innocent blood and the wanton abandonment over to sexual debauchery actually, from God’s perspective, be both sides of a singly important coin? One coin, two issues. The killing of babies is indeed horrific. But I also tend to think that sexual debauchery (as Romans 1 lays out) is also really, really bad from God’s perspective.
Are they equally bad? I don’t know.
But, as the Bible informs us, these two issues will cause God to inflict death upon a society that upholds either one of these. Granted, LGBQT issues might not bring immediate death like abortion. But, God in His Word brought about death on people because of these two issues. One issue, abortion, brings immediate death. But let’s not forget that — “the wages of sin is {always} death.” (Romans 6:23)
And yes …
Admittedly I, personally, feel a little conflicted saying abortion and LGBQT issues are two sides of the same coin. And admittedly, this line of thinking is something that, in the light of the Bible, each one of us has to weigh for ourselves.
All I know now is that …
God brings death to a people that have given themselves over to the shedding of innocent blood AND immorality that flaunts itself in the face of God and His Word. He seems to take these very personally.
So …
In a fallen world, in a fallen society, in a fallen country how do we function? How do we choose our actions? How do we determine who to endorse or not endorse politically?
I can’t answer that for you. But I have for me. I happen to believe everything the person originally stated in the podcast. And I believe that what he said should conclusively determine our decisions, actions, and endorsements.
I know some, perhaps most, will disagree with me. That’s OK. I disagree now with myself of many years ago in relation to what I am now advocating in this blog.
Does that make me a hypocrite. Probably not.
Does it make the author of the podcast a hypocrite? Not sure. But perhaps not.
Maybe we’re all in a process of figuring out what it really looks like to not be conformed to this world. Perhaps we’re all in a lifelong process of learning what it means to be conformed to the image of our Saviour.
I do know this though ...
If we can’t talk out these issues amongst ourselves as fellow believers in Yeshua, we might be culpable at a level we don’t want to consider. We can’t stick our heads up our collective backsides because facing these hard issues makes us uncomfortable.
And so …
Without being too hard on myself, the author of the podcast, or on any of us …
Perhaps it’s time to consider, at least to some degree, the words of that great musical artist Elvis …
We’ve gotten ourselves caught in a trap and we can’t see, at this point, any way out.
And so …
We keep perpetuating, to increasing levels, what makes sense to us in the physical world while all the while knowing it doesn’t jibe with the spiritual world as laid out in the Scriptures.
Do we in all actuality know better than that?
I trow so.
“It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.” Psalm 118:8