8 Signs of True Repentance

October 4, 2019 | Jennifer Greenberg

“I’m sorry,” I remember my dad saying. “I’m sorry, and I love you.”
He didn’t say what he was sorry for. He didn’t mention the hand-shaped bruises aching up and down my small 11-year-old body. He didn’t seem to understand how afraid and devastated I’d been. But that was the first time I’d ever heard my dad say sorry, and the relief it brought felt like rain after a drought.
In the back of my mind, a little voice said, Don’t trust this. He’s only apologizing because Mom threatened to tell Pastor Jim if he didn’t. I shoved that voice down. I smothered my doubts. I had prayed for so long that Dad would change. I had tried to be a good daughter who reminded him of Jesus.
His apology, however vague, was hope and a sign that God was working. Or was it?
Cruelty of False Repentance
Around a decade would pass before I’d hear my dad apologize again. Initially, I didn’t assume sincerity. By that time, I’d already blown the whistle. I’d told our pastor everything. Dad was under church discipline. His marriage was imploding. He had nothing to gain by lying, did he?
And then something strange happened. As I began sharing my story with pastors, family, and friends, my dad would admit and apologize for things he’d done, but then weeks or even days later, claim he didn’t remember any of it. He’d say he didn’t recall beating me, throwing me down on the stairs, or even his recent apologies for those events. He didn’t remember his sexual comments, throwing a knife at me, or threatening to shoot me. He’d apologize, then retract. Remember, then claim to forget. Back and forth this went for maybe a year, until I felt like I was losing my mind.
“I don’t know what to think,” I told him over the phone one day. Huddled on the kitchen floor, I spoke between sobs. “I can believe either you’re crazy and didn’t know what you were doing, or you’re evil and you understood completely.”
“I’m not crazy,” he replied calmly. “You’re just going to have to accept that I’m evil.”

Analyzing Repentance
I’ve had a lot of experience dealing with unrepentant people: multiple abusers spanning two decades of child abuse, domestic violence, and sexual abuse. All of this was reinforced and compounded by psychological abuse, which continued well into my 30s. Because of my background, I’ve accrued some practical wisdom. Because of my faith, I’ve turned to the Bible for guidance when distinguishing real from fake repentance.
There are stubborn sinners who refuse to apologize, liars who claim to be sorry when they’re not, and hypocrites who may truly believe they’re sorry yet lack sympathy or understanding of biblical repentance. So what are the attributes of genuine repentance? Here are eight signs I’ve gleaned, from life and from God’s Word.

1. A Repentant Person Is Appalled by Sin
Horrified by what they’ve done, they’ll humble themselves, grieve the pain they’ve caused, and be cut to the heart in their conviction. As the prophet mourned in Isaiah 6:5, “Woe to me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips.”

2. They Make Amends
In Luke 19:1–10, we read the story of Zacchaeus and the generosity he demonstrated as part of his repentance. A tax collector, thief, and oppressor of God’s people, Zacchaeus made amends: “Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor. And if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount” (v. 8). And Jesus confirmed the authenticity of Zacchaeus’s repentance: “Today salvation has come to this house” (v. 9).

3. They Accept Consequences
A genuinely repentant person will accept consequences. These may include losing the trust of others, relinquishing a position of authority, or submitting to worldly authorities such as law enforcement. When the thief on the cross repented, he said to his companion, “Do you not fear God? . . . We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve” (Luke 23:40–41). And Jesus commended his repentance by assuring him of his salvation: “Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43).

4. They Don’t Expect or Demand Forgiveness
Often I’ve been told by my abuser, “If you don’t forgive me, God won’t forgive you.” But this threatening posture indicates insincere repentance. It’s unloving, manipulative, and implies the offender doesn’t accept or comprehend the gravity of what they’ve done. When Jacob approached Esau and repented, he didn’t expect mercy, let alone compassion. In Genesis 32, we read he felt “great fear” and “distress” (v. 7). He anticipated an attack (v. 11) and considered himself unworthy of kindness (v. 10). In fact, so certain was Jacob of retribution that he separated his wives, children, and servants from him, lest Esau’s anger fall on them too.

5. They Feel the Depth of the Pain They’ve Caused
A repentant person won’t try to minimize, downplay, or excuse what they’ve done. They won’t point to all their good works as if those actions somehow outweigh or cancel out the bad. They’ll view even their “righteous acts” as “filthy rags” (Isa. 64:6). They won’t shame the offended party for being hurt or angry. They won’t blame their victims or other people for making them sin. Rather, they’ll take responsibility, acknowledge the damage they’ve done, and express remorse.

6. They Change Their Behavior
A truly repentant person will realize they need God to sanctify their heart. They’ll proactively work to change their behavior and take steps to avoid sin and temptation. That may mean seeing a counselor, going to rehab, or asking friends, pastors, or law enforcement to give them oversight and hold them accountable. Consider the stark contrast between the church persecutor Saul before salvation and after. Acts 9 tells us that even though some Christians were understandably hesitant to trust him, his character had already altered dramatically.

7. They Grant Space to Heal
The fruit of the Spirit includes patience, kindness, grace, and self-control (Gal. 5:22–23). A truly repentant person will demonstrate these consistently. They won’t feel entitled to trust or acceptance; rather, they’ll be humble, unassuming, and willing to sacrifice their own wants and needs for the benefit of the injured party. They won’t pressure us to hurry up and “get over it” or “move on.” Rather, they’ll understand our distrust, acknowledge our grief, and honor the boundaries we’ve requested.
As an abuser, they loved their sin more than they loved you. As a repentant sinner, they should love you more than their sin and pride.
As an abuser, they loved their sin more than they loved you. As a repentant sinner, they should love you more than their sin and pride.

8. They’re Awestruck by Forgiveness
If a person feels entitled to forgiveness, they don’t value forgiveness. When Jacob received Esau’s forgiveness, he was so astounded he wept: “To see your face is like seeing the face of God, for you have received me favorably” (Gen. 30:10). Jacob realized that forgiveness is divine miracle, a picture of the Messiah, and a sign of the Lord’s mercy. Though Jacob and Esau hadn’t spoken for 40 years, Jacob knew God had enabled Esau, by grace, to forgive him.
Repentance and Forgiveness Are from God
When these eight signs of repentance are authentically present, we are blessed. Our offender has forsaken evil, and the God of peace is glorified. But what do we do when these signs are not present? What do we do when someone lies about being sorry to avoid consequences, or uses our goodwill as an opportunity to hurt us again?
For more than three decades, I begged God to call my abusive dad to repentance. Instead, like Pharaoh, his heart only hardened. His pretenses at change turned out to be a strategy he used to enable his wickedness. My own love and trust were weaponized to betray me.
Eventually, I had to accept that my dad didn’t want to get better. And no matter how much I loved him and wanted him to repent, change, be a good dad, love me, and love Jesus, salvation is God’s work, and I couldn’t fix my dad. Sometimes the most loving thing we can do for a person is to not let them hurt us any longer.


Jennifer Greenberg is an author, recording artist, and church pianist. She belongs to The Haven OPC in Long Island, New York. She recently published her debut book, Not Forsaken: A Story of Life After Abuse: How Faith Brought One Woman From Victim to Survivor (The Good Book Co., 2019). Her writings combine experience with the gospel of hope to help victims, survivors, and those who walk alongside them. Jennifer is married to her best friend, Jason, and they have three daughters: Elowyn, Leianor, and Gwynevere. You can follow her on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and her website.

What does it mean that God draws us to salvation?

 

Answer from Got Questions . . . . . 

The clearest verse on God’s drawing to salvation is John 6:44 where Jesus declares that “no one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.” The Greek word translated “draw” is helkuo, which means “to drag” (literally or figuratively). Clearly, this drawing is a one-sided affair. God does the drawing to salvation; we who are drawn have a passive role in the process. There is no doubt that we respond to His drawing us, but the drawing itself is all on His part.

Helkuo is used in John 21:6 to refer to a heavy net full of fish being dragged to the shore. In John 18:10 we see Peter drawing his sword, and in Acts 16:19 helkuo is used to describe Paul and Silas being dragged into the marketplace before the rulers. Clearly, the net had no part in its being drawn to the shore, Peter’s sword had no part in being drawn, and Paul and Silas did not drag themselves to the marketplace. The same can be said of God’s drawing of some to salvation. Some come willingly, and some are dragged unwillingly, but all eventually come, although we have no part in the drawing.

Why does God need to draw us to salvation? Simply put, if He didn’t, we would never come. Jesus explains that no man can come unless the Father draws him (John 6:65). The natural man has no ability to come to God, nor does he even have the desire to come. Because his heart is hard and his mind is darkened, the unregenerate person doesn’t desire God and is actually an enemy of God (Romans 5:10). When Jesus says that no man can come without God’s drawing him, He is making a statement about the total depravity of the sinner and the universality of that condition. So darkened is the unsaved person’s heart that he doesn’t even realize it: “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). Therefore, it is only by the merciful and gracious drawing of God that we are saved. In the conversion of the sinner, God enlightens the mind (Ephesians 1:18), inclines the will toward Himself, and influences the soul, without which influence the soul remains darkened and rebellious against God. All of this is involved in the drawing process.

There is a sense in which God draws all men. This is known as the “general call” and is distinguished from the “effectual call” of God’s elect. Passages such as Psalm 19:1-4 and Romans 1:20 attest to the fact that God’s eternal power and divine nature are “clearly seen” and “understood” from what has been made, “so that people are without excuse.” But men still do deny God, and those who acknowledge His existence still do not come to a saving knowledge of Him outside of His drawing them. Only those who have been drawn through special revelation—by the power of the Holy Spirit and the grace of God—will come to Christ.

There are tangible ways in which those who are being drawn to salvation experience that drawing. First, the Holy Spirit convicts us of our sinful state and our need for a Savior (John 16:8). Second, He awakens in us a previously unknown interest in spiritual things and creates a desire for them that was never there before. Suddenly our ears are open, our hearts are inclined toward Him, and His Word begins to hold a new and exciting fascination for us. Our spirits begin to discern spiritual truth that never made sense to us before: “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14). Finally, we begin to have new desires. He places within us a new heart that inclines toward Him, a heart that desires to know Him, obey Him, and walk in the “newness of life” (Romans 6:4) that He has promised.

How do we see ourselves, ladies?

 

Posted on September 21, 2023

By Elizabeth Prata

I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes. ~Job

To possess dignity is to be worthy of respect. Worthy of high esteem. Absorb this: you are worthy of respect. ~Beth Moore

“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” ~Isaiah

Be kind to yourself. Be compassionate to yourself. Be loving to yourself. Be patient with yourself. Have the courage to be yourself. ~Christine Caine

But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” ~ Simon Peter

Who you are is more important than what you are called to do. ~Priscilla Shirer

Man was created to glorify God. (Isaiah 43:7). Our inherited sin nature makes it impossible to do that without His redemptive work in our heart. It’s important to see ourselves as we are (were). Ladies, yes, it’s good to have “self-esteem” to the extent that we know who we are: We’re sinners, saved by grace alone.

Women’s Ministries these days over-emphasize that we are women of valor, courage, of worth, esteem, and bravery. We’re princesses, running around sunlit meadows in wedding dresses dripping pearls.

Or we are as Isaiah, Job, and Peter saw themselves when they saw God: as worms in the dust, sinning with the pigs and needing to rely totally on the Father for any scrap of righteousness we might possess.

Praise the Lord He came, died for sin, was buried and resurrected. He glorified the Father and His reward will be…us. The Father will give Him a Bride, redeemed and washed. It is all about the Trinity and His work. It is not about us, our worth, our esteem, dignity, or “who we are.”

O Lord, depart from me, I am a sinful woman. Yet He lifted me from the muck and mire and gave me His righteousness, robes, Spirit, and future. From that moment, when I search inside myself to see my worth, esteem, or dignity, what I see is His.

from the-end-time.org 

Revelation

 

From Elizabeth Prata's blog on June 7, 2023

The word apocalypse comes from the Greek for “revelation,” or “unveiling.” It’s about future things dealing with the return of Christ and the events of the end time. Do you know that a third of the Bible is prophecy? Did you know that every book in the NT except Philemon speaks about the end times? It’s not just a Revelation thing. It’s a Jesus thing, and Jesus is throughout the entire Bible.

So what IS going to happen? Jesus is going to punish sin, plain and simple. Punishment is never pleasant, and Jesus said that the Apocalypse will be the worst time on earth there will ever be. (Matthew 24:21; Daniel 12:1b). Daniel 9:24 explains the 6 things God will do during the Apocalypse punishments. God, who is loving, wants us to be righteous so we can be with Him in heaven, so He sent Jesus. God, who is holy, is going to punish the unholy, who reject Jesus.

There will be earthquakes so bad that entire mountains crumble and islands flee away. One hundred pound hailstones will squash men. Plagues (and wars and beasts) will kill 1/3 of people. Demons will be let out of the abyss to inflict a painful bite so bad that people want to die: but can’t. They’ll chew their tongues in agony. Starving people will die in the streets, but no one will care. Things will come upon the earth so frightening that people have heart attacks on the spot. The sun and moon go dark, stars fall from the sky. Jesus said it will be so bad that if He let it go longer nobody would survive. As it is, 4 billion die within the 7 years. (Revelation 6-19).

Sin is real. God’s judgment of sin is real. Satan is real. Hell is real. The coming Antichrist is real. Everything in the Bible is real. Not any other book. Apocalypse will happen. The rapture will be the signal that it’s beginning.

How can I be so sure? Because for 43 years I had everything I ever wanted. Money, fame, comforts, ease, professional recognition, world travel, and yet I felt empty. I felt in my soul that there had to be something more. What was this longing? This hole I felt within me? (Ecclesiastes 3:1). Is this all there is? Live a life and then die? It seemed like a lot of trouble to go through just to die. Is there a heaven? Will I go there? I wondered all these things.

It was the lack of knowing Jesus that was the problem. He created us. (Rev 4:11) and because we are born with a sin-nature, I was separate from him. THAT’S what I was feeling. I had been trying to fill that hole with temporary and unfulfilling things. I finally found the answer, at middle age without ever having gone to a church (so I’m not brainwashed into Christianity, lol). When you confess your sins and repent to Jesus, He forgives you and He brings you to fellowship with Him. He sends the Holy Spirit to make the things of God understandable, like the Bible. (2 Corinthians 3:14). Before I was saved, the Bible made no sense. I thought it was stupid. I thought Bible thumpers and Jesus followers were stupid. After I repented, the Bible made total sense and I loved Jesus.

I now see death differently from all the rest of the world that has no hope. It is simply a transition, from something tiring and full of struggle, to something wondrous and glorious beyond compare. I have no fears of the Apocalypse, because I won’t be here to experience it. Those in Christ will be taken out of the way, because He is not angry with us. We’re forgiven sinners. He is angry with unrepentant sinners. O, it is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of an angry God!

I am very sure this age will come to a terrible end. I am sure that time is not long away. I am very sure that I will be lifted bodily away from earth to meet Jesus in the air at the rapture to live with Him forever. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 1 Corinthians 15:50-54.) If you want that certainty too, then repent of your sins and turn to Jesus. Believe He is Lord, who sacrificially died to satisfy God’s wrath about sin and who was raised on the third day. I will be in heaven. I hope you will be too.

They fell down

 

Posted on May 31, 2023

By Elizabeth Prata


I know it’s currently an atmosphere were we say Jesus is my friend…he met me in the garden and promised me… he whispered sweet nothings… he embraces me like a boyfriend…(ew), and more along that vein. In American (female) evangelicalism the view of Jesus is more toward the friendly nice boyfriend Jesus, or the (male) Jesus is ‘ma dude’ kind of view.

But He’s not. He’s not.

It’s also currently in vogue to say you’ve seen a vision of Jesus. It’s almost common these days. People are apparently spotting Jesus all over the place.

In the sermon The Sufficiency of Christ, John MacArthur related an anecdote:

“A man said to me, “Sometimes when I’m shaving, Jesus comes in the bathroom and puts His arm around me in the morning and talks to me.” I said, “You mean the real Jesus?” He said, “Yes.” I said, “And He puts His arm around you and you see Him?” He said, “Yes.” And I just had one question: “Do you keep shaving, or do you fall on your face in the ground in terror because you’re in the presence of a holy God? If you keep shaving, it wasn’t Jesus.”

Jesus is our friend, brother, comforter, intercessor, all that is true. It’s also true he is high, lifted up, the sustainer of the universe, powerful, omniscient, omnipresent, and HOLY.

That’s the part people forget Jesus is holy. He is God Himself. If we encounter Jesus today (and those visions and dreams and accounts are false) we do not casually stroll around a garden…we do not keep shaving…we do not ask Him for the earthly things we want in our lustful hearts. We FALL DOWN. We CONFESS SIN.

Those are consistently the two reactions people in the Bible exhibited when encountering the real Jesus.

Isaiah was given a vision of Jesus being worshiped in the throne room, and he immediately confessed his sin, saying ‘I am undone/ruined’. The word ruined means “cause to cease, cut off, destroy, perish”. In other words, one glimpse of Jesus and Isaiah was terrified as if dead. (Isaiah 6:5).

Manoah and his wife, when they realized it was ‘the angel of Yahweh’ rising upon the fire of the altar, they fell down on their faces. (Judges 13:20) and Manoah feared for his life, because he had seen the LORD.

When Job came to the same realization of just how holy and powerful God is he put his hand over his own mouth (Job 40:4) then repented in dust and ashes. (Job 42:5-6).

Hagar marveled that she was even still alive after her encounter with ‘the angel of Yahweh’. (Genesis 16:13).

Moses at the Burning Bush was afraid to look at God. (Exodus 3:6). When Moses came down fromt he mountain and his face reflected the glory of God, the people were terrified. Even second-hand glory was enough to frighten them through and through!

When Simon Peter saw the miracle of the boat filling with fish, he fell at Jesus’ knees. “Go away from me, Lord,” he said, “for I am a sinful man.” (Luke 5:8).

Apostle John was the beloved disciple. He had leaned on Jesus breast at the Last Supper. He was with Jesus for three years, as friend, fellow traveler in his troupe. YET when Jesus appeared to John on Patmos as he is, glorified and holy, John fell down as if dead. (Revelation 1:17).

The immediate reaction consistent among all who had an encounter with the true Jesus is worship, holy fear, and a thorough realization of their own corrupt sinfulness. We don’t casually walk around, keep shaving, ask for earthly things as if He’s Santa incarnate. WE.FALL.DOWN.

Keep remembering who Jesus actually is. Look at Him through the lens of scripture, and not the lens of the culture. Keep your eyes looking up, and not out.

“I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And came near before Him. And to Him was given dominion, Glory, and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations, and men of every tongue Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not be taken away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed.” (Daniel 7:13-14).

and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash. And His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters, and having in His right hand seven stars, and a sharp two-edged sword which comes out of His mouth, and His face was like the sun shining in its power. (Revelation 1:13-16).

Worship the Lord your GOD. He is glorified, striding among the lampstands, sustaining the worlds by the power of His voice. THIS Jesus is worthy to be worshiped. He is Alpha and Omega, all-sufficient. He is Jesus, Lord of Lords and King of Kings. And aren’t we blessed to have been forgiven and adopted by this powerful God, who will come in wrath for those who have not repented.

For all the gods of the nations are idols, but it is the LORD who made the heavens. (1 Chronicles 16:26)

Jesus Is Not A Rebel

 

So many people (mainly Christians) want to say Jesus was a rebel. No, he was not a rebel - he was holy, he was perfect, he was and is our plumb line. WE ARE THE REBELS. We have rebelled against God and to say God is rebellious is ridiculous. Jesus didn't come to earth to rebel against the government or religion. He came to show us how to live and that the only way to have a relationship with God, the Father was through Christ, the Son. How can God rebel? Who is he rebelling against? It doesn't even make sense.

If someone commits a crime (or a sin) then they are being rebellious. Jesus never committed a crime nor a sin so how can anyone call him a rebel? He came here to show us how it was supposed to be – the correct way we are to live – and then give us the ability to run the race toward that goal. Those who chose to ignore Jesus are rebelling against the God who created everything. Should God rebel against Himself? Ludicrous!

Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6) If you want to stop rebelling against the holy God of the universe, accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior today. Repent(turn away from your sins) and turn toward the Holy One, Jesus.

Hell Has Entered The Church

This sermon preached by Dave Hunt is convicting and tells the tale of where the Church is today.  Just as God told us in His word, we are lovers of self, wanting a comfortable and entertaining lifestyle instead of the life of sacrifice we are called to live.

 

On The Chosen: Jesus Is Not the Law of Moses. He is Far Better.

 by Grayson Gilbert  

Recently, The Chosen posted an image of the actor who plays Christ with a line from season 3 that is supposedly a “mic drop” moment for the show’s producers. It shows the character responding to one of the Pharisees by saying, “I am the Law of Moses.” While many flocked to the post in support of the “mic drop,” many others expressed how flatly unbiblical this is. They rightly said that Jesus is not the Law, but that the Law instead reveals the righteous standard of our thrice holy Lord. Likewise, they were right to say that Jesus came to fulfill the Law in His perfect, active obedience to it all His earthly life.

Contrary to the expression of infamous pastors like Steven Furtick, the active obedience of Christ means that He in no way “violated the Law” out of love. More importantly, the active obedience of Christ is a vicarious obedience. We think of the vicarious substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ, meaning that He died in our place as our Substitute, and paid the wrath that we deserved. In the vicarious obedience of Christ, Jesus lived in perfect obedience, likewise, on our behalf. He fulfilled what we could not do: Jesus obeyed the Law, and due to His active obedience, and His passive obedience on the cross, we actually gain the benefit of being counted righteous before God. This is the doctrine of imputed righteousness, which is an alien righteousness—a righteousness not of our own, but Christ’s. This is important, so hang with me.

As we come back to the “mic drop” moment of season 3 in The Chosen, this becomes all the more nefarious. In fact, nowhere in Scripture does Jesus say to anyone, “I am the Law of Moses.” In the book of Mormon, however, you will find such a statement in 3 Nephi 15:9, “Behold, I am the Law, and the light. Look unto me, and endure to the end, and ye shall live; for unto him that endureth to the end will I give eternal life.” That alone should give people enough pause on the show, owing to the fact that Mormonism is a false religion that teaches a contrary gospel to the gospel of our Lord. In short, Mormon doctrine holds that it is your active obedience that will please God in the end, and earn your salvation.

2 Nephi 25:23 states, “For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do” (emphasis mine). Often this verse from 2 Nephi is used in conjunction with Moroni 10:32 to give clearer meaning, which says, “Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God” (emphasis mine). It is quite important to notice the all-important temporal modifiers to these Mormon scriptures, because they explicitly teach that grace is a commodity earned only after one has exhausted their own spiritual muster.

The LDS Bible Dictionary puts it like this:

“This grace is an enabling power that allows men and women to lay hold on eternal life and exaltation after they have expended their own best efforts. Divine grace is needed by every soul in consequence of the fall of Adam and also because of man’s weaknesses and shortcomings. However, grace cannot suffice without total effort on the part of the recipient. Hence the explanation, ‘It is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do’ (2 Ne. 25:23)” (p. 697).

But what does the Bible say of all of this? It is bupkis. Rubbish. Ultimately, it is damnable doctrine. Romans 3:10-20 lays out the plight of mankind so incredibly clearly that it leaves anyone without a source of comfort in their own ability to earn grace. Likewise, Ephesians 2:1-10 displays not only the hopelessness of those born under the dominating power of sin—but it lifts up the reality that we are saved “by grace through faith…and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Eph. 2:8-9). The good works which we walk in were prepared beforehand for us by the Father (Eph. 2:10), meaning that even our good works are a production of this grace in us. In other words: even our active obedience to Christ is a display of the riches of God’s grace. They are not what produces salvation, but a production of salvation.

The lynchpin of my argument today though is not the tie The Chosen has to Mormonism, which is without dispute at this point. That should be enough—but for many, it is not. What I want to do then is simply take this “mic drop” moment from The Chosen and show just how flatly unbiblical, and truly sad it actually is. The reason for this is quite simple: Not only does Scripture simply never say in any one of the great “I AM” passages that Jesus Christ is the Law of Moses, Jesus is far better than the Law. Here’s why.

The apostle Paul begins in Romans 7 by describing the plight of mankind before the Law of God because of the dominating power of sin. The problem is not the Law. The Law, as Paul says, is “holy, righteous, and good” (Rom. 7:12). The problem is us. The Law is spiritual, but we are not; we are sold as slaves to sin, bound under obedience to the Law, but unable to keep the Law in perfection as it demands—and the result is that the Law produces death in us. Ultimately, we are caught up between the power of sin and death—we are bound by the flesh, and it is so bad that Paul tells us four results of being bound by the flesh, according to Romans 8:5-8:

The mind set on the flesh is death.


The mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God.


The mind set on the flesh does not subject itself to the Law of God because it is not even able to do so.


Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

This is the fundamental problem of the Law. As holy, righteous, and good as it is, it cannot free man from this body of death we bear under the weight and power of sin. The Law was never designed to do this. Even if one takes into account the threefold use of the Law—all should recognize that the Law was never designed to be a means by which sinners are freed from the power of sin and death—but Jesus is powerful enough to deliver us from sin and death. This is why is it so heinous that The Chosen depicts Jesus Christ saying, “I am the Law of Moses.” It equates Christ with the Law, rather than with Him being the second person of the Trinity, who is far greater than the Law.

The Law could not set you and I free from sin and death—but Jesus did. The Law was powerless to free one from the condemnation they deserve—but Jesus is not. This is why so many find comfort in Paul’s argument in Romans 8:1-4:

“Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”

What rendered death in us before and bound us all under the power of sin—is no longer binding us. We’ve been freed, not only from the power of sin and death, but from the judgment to come, and this is particularly why the gospel is such good news. The hopelessness of being bound by the flesh in death, hostility toward God, our inability to subject ourselves to God’s Law, and our utter inability to please God, has been replaced by a renewed hope under the law of the Spirit. The Spirit dwells within us (Rom. 8:9), gives us life (Rom. 8:10-11), enables us to put to death the deeds of the flesh (Rom. 8:12-13), allows us to be called “Sons of God” (Rom. 8:14-15), and testifies that we are His children (Rom. 8:16) and heirs to the promises of God (Rom. 8:17). The Law does none of these things.

Perhaps greatest of all though is that the Law was powerless to cleanse us from the stain of sin, but Christ’s sacrifice was not. Hebrews 10 speaks of this wonderful reality, showing that the Law was merely a shadow of the glorious things to come through Christ. It could never, by the same sacrifices offered year after year, make perfect those who draw near to God in worship (Heb. 10:2). But Jesus can. Instead of a continual reminder of the power of sin and death, we have a perfect sacrifice found in Jesus Christ, who satisfied the wrath of God and rendered us pure and blameless before the Father. In other words, we are truly counted righteous.

And this is where the vicarious obedience of Christ comes full circle—because it is only through the active obedience of Jesus Christ that we have come to be counted righteous (Rom. 5:19). It is only because the Son lived in perfect obedience to the Law that He could offer up His life in our place, and truly satisfy the wrath of God. To tie that all together: Christ proved that He was not only greater than the Law by this, but showed He was greater than the power of sin and death. Sin might take advantage of the commandment and produce death in us (Rom. 7:8), but it could not in Christ.

Did the producers of The Chosen intend to knock against all of this? Perhaps not. It is difficult to say, simply owing to how steeped in Mormon doctrine the show is—but I am inclined to not give them the benefit of the doubt as so many wish to do. This is their “gotcha” moment. This is their proverbial “mic drop.” But this isn’t quite the mic drop they believe it to be. Rather than showing people a genuinely biblical portrayal of Christ and His power over sin and death, they display an impotent Jesus, who is powerless to actually save people from their sins. Instead, they show a Jesus who is mastered by the dominating power of sin. That’s what truly gets communicated in one little line, because that’s what the Scriptures say about the Law. When you equate Jesus with the Law of Moses, that’s what you get.

Unfortunately, many don’t see this, but have fawned over the mic drop and been reduced to tears. They have, in other words, been profoundly impacted by the show—but in all the wrong ways and for all the wrong reasons. The sad reality is that until professing Christians start to pick up their Bibles and critically examine shows like these, those of us who do so will continue to be labeled curmudgeons, and “fun-ripper-outers.” In part, I’ll take that because I am sardonically asking along with Maximus Decimus Meridus to the blood-thirsty crowd who watched him dispatch of another in the gladiatorial arena, “Are you not entertained?” Things should not be this way, but they are.

What the show relies on is an ignorance of what the Scriptures actually teach, which is to say precisely why it is so popular. It offers much of the same style of Christianity pervading the Evangelical world currently, where the inch-deep, mile-wide preaching of the Word, the “At the Movies” canned sermon series, and the vapid emotionalism brought on by manipulative “worship” music laden with sentimental musical prompts, are commonplace. Indeed, it brings people to see Jesus—just not the biblical Jesus; but it is highly entertaining, is it not? The problem is that we keep asking the wrong question. The question isn’t if it is entertaining, but why so many are entertained at the expense of biblical truth.

Are Christians Meant to Feel Guilty All the Time?

KEVIN DEYOUNG | MAY 11, 2010


I imagine there are plenty of Christians who rarely feel the sting of conscience or the pangs of regret. But I also know many, many Christians (including the one I see in the mirror) who easily feel bad for all the things they are not doing or are doing less than perfectly. In fact, I’m convinced most serious Christians live their lives with an almost constant low-level sense of guilt.

How do we feel guilty? Let me count the ways. We could pray more.
We aren’t bold enough in evangelism.
We like sports too much.
We watch movies and television too often.
Our quiet times are too short or too sporadic.
We don’t give enough.
We bought a new couch.
We don’t read to our kids enough.
Our kids eat Cheetos and french fries.
We don’t recycle enough.
We need to lost 20 pounds.
We could use our time better.
We could live some place harder or in something smaller.

What do we do with all this behind the scenes guilt? We don’t feel stop-dead-in-our-tracks kind of remorse for these things. But these shortcomings can have a cumulative effect whereby even the mature Christian can feel like he’s rather disappointing to God, maybe just barely Christian.

Here’s the tricky part: we should feel guilty sometimes, because sometimes we are guilty of sin. Moreover, complacency as Christians is a real danger, especially in America.

But yet, I don’t believe God redeemed us through the blood of his Son that we might feel like constant failures. Do Peter and John post-Pentecost seemed racked with self-loathing and introspective fear? Does Paul seem constantly concerned that he could be doing more? Amazingly enough, Paul actually says at one point “I am not aware of anything against myself” (1 Cor. 4:4). He’s quick to add, “I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me.” But it sure seems like Paul put his head on the pillow at night with a clean conscience. So why do so many Christian feel guilty all the time?

1. We don’t fully embrace the good news of the gospel. We forget that we have been made alive together with Christ. We have been raised with him. We have been saved through faith alone. And this is the gift of God, not a result of works (Eph. 2:4-8). We can be so scared of antinomianism, which is a legitimate danger, that we are afraid to speak too lavishly of God’s grace. But if we’ve never been charged with being antinomian, we probably haven’t presented the gospel in all it’s scandalous glory (Rom. 6:1).

2. Christians tend to motivate each other by guilt rather than grace. Instead of urging our fellow believers to be who they are in Christ, we command them to do more for Christ (see Rom. 6:5-14 for the proper motivation). So we see Christlikeness as something we are royally screwing up, when we should it as something we already possess but need to grow into.

3. Most of our low-level guilt falls under the ambiguous category of “not doing enough.” Look at the list above. None one of the items are necessarily sinful. They all deal with possible infractions, perceptions, and ways in which we’d like to do more. These are the hardest areas to deal with because no Christian, for example, will ever confess to praying enough. So it is always easy to feel terrible about prayer (or evangelism or giving or any number of disciplines). We must be careful that we don’t insist on a certain standard of practice when the Bible merely insists on a general principle.

Let me give another example. Every Christian must give generously and contribute to the needs of the saints (2 Cor. 9:6-11; Rom. 12:13). This we can insist on with absolute certainty. But what this generosity looks like–how much we give, how much we retain–is not bound by any formula, nor can it be exacted by compulsion (2 Cor. 9:7). So if we want people to be more generous we would do well to follow Paul’s example in 2 Corinthians and emphasize the blessings of generosity and the gospel rooted motivation for generosity as opposed to shaming those who don’t give us much.

4. When we are truly guilty of sin it is imperative we repent and receive God’s mercy. Paul had a clean conscience, not because he never sinned, but, I imagine, because he quickly went to the Lord when he knew he was wrong and rested in the “no condemnation” of the gospel (Rom. 8:1). If we confess our sins, John says, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). We aren’t meant to feel borderline miserable all the time. We are meant to live in the joy of our salvation. So when we sin–and we’ll all sin (1 Kings 8:46; 1 John 1:8)–we confess it, get cleansed, and move on.

This underlines one of the great dangers with constant guilt: we learn to ignore our consciences. If we are truly sinning, we need to repent and implore the Lord to help us change. But if we aren’t sinning, if we are perhaps not as mature as we could be, or are not as disciplined as some believers, or we are making different choices that may be acceptable but not extraordinary, then we should not be made to feel guilty. Challenged, stirred, inspired, but not guilty.

As a pastor this means I don’t expect that everyone in my congregation should feel awful about everything I ever preach on. It is ok, after all, for people to actually be obedient to God’s commands. Not perfectly, not without some mixed motives, not as fully as they could be, but still faithfully, God-pleasingly obedient. Faithful preaching does not require that sincere Christians feel miserable all the time. In fact, the best preaching ought to make sincere Christians see more of Christ and experience more of his grace.

Deeper grace will produce better gratitude, which means less guilt. And that’ s a good thing all the way around.

Be Careful What You Consume

                                   from the blog Breaking The Chains Biblical Recovery Ministry . . . . . . .


June 4, 2020 | BtCBRM | Make A Comment | Red Flags and Warning Signs

The simple believes every word, but the prudent considers well his steps. (Proverbs 14:15)

Every Spring we have problems with ants and once our peonies bloom, they become more of a problem. A few days ago I noticed several very small ants in our kitchen behind our faucet, scouting for food. I went to the cabinet and pulled out an ant bait. I laid it on the area behind the faucet and dripped some onto that counter and continued with my work. Periodically I’d come back and see that they were checking it out and eating some of it. By the next morning, I saw a few ants laying around the area like they were in a coma while the others must have gone back to the nest. I left both the ant bait and the ants alone and continued on with my day. At night I poured a little more out as there were now more ants coming around it and then I went to bed. By yesterday morning there was an army of little ants all over the poison. I even watched some walk around the ones that were now dead and laying there. As I watched the ants eat the poison, and knowing that I had a few plates sitting right beside the sink that had some crumbs of good food left on them, I thought “they are distracted from finding the good food and are eating the bait without even realizing they are being poisoned”. If the ants would have scouted a bit further, they would have found the proper nourishment that could have kept them alive, but they ate the sweet poison instead. The ants were drawn to the bait because it appealed to them through their senses. It’s sweet and easier to consume and bring back to the nest and share it with the other ants. This bait is very effective and the ants will leave a trail of the bait for other ants in the colony to follow to the new food supply. In the meantime, the main poisonous ingredient is messing with their digestive system and slowly killing them. Due to its delayed effect, it gives the ants enough time to bring the poison back to their home, their colony, and share it with the other ants. Even when some of the ants die, their bodies will still emit the poison, further causing the living ants to be poisoned and eventually die. Instead of the ant having control over my house, the bait I used allowed me to have control over the ant colony without even going outside to look for it. I simply had to use something that appealed to their senses and they did the rest by sharing it with the other ants. At this point, I probably sound like an evil person, but I’m not. I just don’t want ants overtaking my house.

The ant really is a remarkable creature. They are hard workers, planning and preparing for the future. They store or invest what they have gathered through the summer to supply them for the winter (lean months). They work together to accomplish the mission. However, the one flaw they seemed to have (which I’m sure there are others) is that they couldn’t detect the poison in the ant bait. The liquid looked good, smelled good and tasted good to them, therefore appealing to what they like through their senses, but it was poisonous. Because they thought it was good food, they shared it with other ants in their colony, therefore poisoning the rest of the ants. They simply could not detect the difference between good food and poisonous food that was being given to them and by not knowing the difference, it cost them their lives and the lives inside their colony.

If this can happen to ants, how much more can it happen to us? Are you able to detect when you are being “fed” something good or something poisonous both spiritually and in your day to day life? Can you tell the difference? Can you tell if you are being baited by a person, a situation or the enemy? Proverbs 14:15 states:

The simple believes every word, but the prudent considers well his steps.

Proverbs 22:3 states:

The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.

The word, simple, means one who is naïve or lacks wisdom. A prudent person is one who is wise, careful and cautious. We are called to be wise, careful and discerning. Where do we find wisdom and discernment? From God!

James 1:5-6:

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.

When we ask God for wisdom and discernment, this will eliminate the chance of following our thoughts and flesh or a direction others wish for us to go into that could harm us or those around us. We must be careful not to consume anything that may be false which can lead us in a wrong direction and possibly take others with us. This can happen through false teachings, media, gossip, opinions, etc. We must investigate what we are being fed and compare it to the Word of God. Is it godly? Is it considered gossip? Does it promote good change or destruction? Is it safe or dangerous? It’s imperative that we bring what we hear or see before the Lord and seek His wisdom and discernment on it when we are unsure. We must seek Him for guidance and truth.

Psalm 32:8:

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye.

We must realize that the enemy will take every opportunity to draw us away from God and jeopardize our walk with Him. In 1 Peter 5:8 we are warned of this and to be alert for it:

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

He will try to entice us, or bait us, through our senses by what we see and/or hear. He knows how to manipulate through utilizing our environment because he knows what buttons to push in us that will cause us to react. In other words, he knows how to get to our flesh. He can do this utilizing our surroundings, our weaknesses, people, and what we like or dislike. He can utilize other people or situations to tempt us away from doing what is right which can eventually cause us to justify our incorrect thoughts or actions.

We must walk with two feet in the spirit, not one foot in the spirit and one foot in the world. By doing the latter, it will be difficult for us to know truth from lie because we are ingesting worldly views, causing us to be double minded, which will slowly kill us.

Galatians 5:24-26:

And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

Take a moment to think about what you are feeding upon and consuming. Is it Godly or is it worldly? How is it affecting you? Does it cause you anger and misery or joy and peace? Will it produce a good outcome or harm to yourself or others? Does it fall in line with the Word of God or the world?

Whatever your concerns are, take it to the Lord and ask for His wisdom, guidance and truth on the matter. Then be patient and wait for His answer. You won’t be disappointed.

Today is the Day!

NOW IS THE TIME!!! 

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Wolves in Sheep's Clothing?

 

One major way Christian self-help books damage you

Posted on March 12, 2019

By Elizabeth Prata

“Christian” self-help books saturate the publishing market. Isn’t the notion of Christian self-help an oxymoron? We can do all things…through Christ, who strengthens us. (Philippians 4:13). Apart from Him, we can do nothing. (John 15:5).

Yet the books keep coming. Osteen, Hollis, Warren, Niequist, Lusko, Shirer, Meyer…all under the guise of helping you and all sold under the banner of the spotless Name.

These books and ideas harm you. They steer you away from Jesus and that always hurts a Christian.

I was listening to a John MacArthur sermon titled The Hope That Overcomes the World, and though the sermon was not remotely on self-help, something Dr. MacArthur said brought the issue to my mind.

Trying to secure a meaningful, lasting relationship in marriage seems well-nigh impossible. Families are full of chaos and disintegration. Add to this decades and decades of propagating self-esteem and pride, and what you have is people who are consumed with their own desires and their own wants, who then double-down on the impossibility of making meaningful relationships because they’re so self-centered. Source

That’s where self-help books fit so well into the chaos. Using these kind of books or materials will only help you circle the drain. Why? Our natural penchant for self-involvement due to our thorough depravity and sin, engenders this. Turning to these books, instead of to Jesus, for help will only propel us to double down on our sin and selfishness.

I liked the use of the phrase “double down”. It’s apt. The natural man wants his own desires and will seek them in any way he can. We are to rely on the Spirit to slay that old man and kill those desires. Allowing these materials to come into your heart and mind will only double the propensity to turn from Jesus and begin a downward spiral…it’s what the false teachers are there for, to help you do this.

How does it double down? That’s the trap. When the first book doesn’t “work” to help solve the problem of the hour, you’ve tried this or that from the bulleted list the author has earnestly told you will help, you’ll go back and make a second trip to the bookstore, looking for what will help. As one becomes more involved in the journey back to self, the possibility of making meaningful relationships diminishes because we’re ever more focused on self rather than Jesus, who is the source and flow of all meaningful relationships- because He is the primary relationship.

2 Peter 1:16 says, For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.

What false teachers have to peddle are myths. They’re cleverly devised, which makes them dangerously hard to spot. They purposely exploit the unwary for gain, with these stories that “they have made up”. (2 Peter 2:3).

When we have been witnesses to His majesty, not eyewitnesses like the Apostles, but witnesses in seeing Him through His revealed word, why turn to myths and stories, and allow ourselves to be exploited? Some books are written by true teachers and may be helpful, but the genre is riddled with the false. Be careful, sister, and watch out that the natural man’s flesh isn’t creeping to the unhelpful. If we double-down on anything, it should be His word made alive in our heart and mind.

Fully Known and Truly Loved

John Piper

Jesus knows us fully and completely. He knows us better than we know ourselves. And He loves us - truly, fully and completely.  Have you surrendered your life to Him? Have you put your trust in Him? Will you spend eternity with Him?

Purpose in Anticipation

(excerpt from Josh Buish article) 

Do you often consider the simple conversations that you have on a daily basis? What about that person that you talked with on the subway this week? What about the Uber driver that you talked with last week? What about the person in the coffee shop who talked with you as you waited on your Frappuccino to be served? The God who rules the Universe also directs the steps of us all—and there is no “chance” conversation that we have in a single day.

If we anticipate the return of Jesus—it will change how we look at such conversations, friendships, family connections, and work relationships. We will look at people through an eschatological lens and our conversations will suddenly have a much deeper purpose. We should not look at people as “projects” or opportunities for notches in our evangelistic belts, but a proper anticipation of Jesus’ return will cause us to engage in disciple-making at a much deeper level.

Furthermore, as we anticipate the return of Christ it will often redirect our priorities to be less self-focused and more Kingdom-focused. Why would we pile up resources to use for our own pleasure and temporal joys when the world needs to know the true joy of Jesus Christ? Longing for the return of Christ doesn’t make you hate taking vacations, but it will certainly prevent you from wasting your resources without any care for the lost world that is perishing around you.

We live in-between the already and the not-yet reality of the rule of Jesus. While Jesus has defeated death and paid for the sins of all of his people, we still live in the world of brokenness and sin. Such reality is heavy and burdensome at times. But, we live with hope of a Christian that Jesus rules today from heaven’s throne and that he will one day return in visible victory for the whole world to see. When Christ returns—all things will be made new.

Dr. Tony Evans

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Pursuing Your Heavenly Citizenship

How to Live in the Last Days

by Jack Graham

By the Roots

James MacDonald

Monday, October 29, 2018

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O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing (Matthew 23:37, ESV)!

I really hate dandelions. The harder you try to get rid of them, the more they hang around. It doesn’t really matter what you spray or what kind of program you get on, they’re coming up anyway. There’s another one—here, there, everywhere. That’s just the way dandelions grow. They spring up all over the place.

And sin, I’m sad to say, is a lot the same. Contrary to popular opinion, the longer you live and the more time you spend in self-examination, that’s how certain you can be of spotting a new one sprouting up where you thought you’d already treated for it.

“THE LORD WANTS YOU FREE, ONCE AND FOR ALL, FROM THE SIN THAT HAS ONLY MADE YOU RESTLESS AND MISERABLE FOR SO LONG.”

But as discouraging as it can sometimes be to discover even more things in your life that grieve the Lord, this dandelion count is to be expected. We were wrong to think we’d become more content with ourselves the longer we knew Jesus, that we could spend more time sitting back, admiring our green fields of self-righteousness. It’s good, in fact, to become more acutely aware of how badly we need His grace. And to find He is not there scolding us, offended by us, but rather is eager to work with us so we don’t stubbornly resist His intentions to bless us, encourage us, and give us life.

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem,” Jesus cried out, looking over a rebellious city that God had previously destroyed, then rebuilt, and would destroy again. But notice His heart. It wasn’t harsh. He wasn’t flying off the handle. He was wanting them to come to Him, out of the pain and heartache their sins had cost them, and into His loving embrace. He wanted them free, once and for all, from those things that had only made them restless and miserable for so long.

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem”—hear Him say it again—“how often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!”

Here, then, is the encouragement you can take from those patches of dandelions you keep noticing. Are they areas where you’re leaning on a crutch of some kind, rather than leaning foremost on Jesus? Are they matters of job-related integrity? Are they images of other faces appearing at the corners of marital intimacy? Are they pockets of financial fear, where you’re not sure you can trust His Word and the faithfulness of His provision? Are they places where you’re not prioritizing your family, or not being loving and forgiving?

Nobody wants to keep seeing these blemishes in their lives. But they are less of a cause for condemnation and more of a reminder of how much you need Jesus. So, unlike the generation of His day, who wouldn’t gather up close to Him, who wouldn’t accept His relief, use these sightings to draw nearer to His side. And He will pluck those weeds for you, one at a time.

The field won’t ever be totally rid of them. But you will love Him increasingly, as you allow His uprooting in your life.

Journal

• What are some of the weeds you’ve noticed lately, that you hadn’t recognized before?
• Why does it make sense that our sanctification would be a lifelong endeavor?

PrayLord, I admit to sometimes becoming discouraged. I’d hoped I wouldn’t still be finding so much that needs work in my heart. But thank You for not being surprised at my continual need for You. And thank You for looking on me with grace and compassion, eager to do for me what I can’t do for myself. I yield to You today. I come up close to Your side. In the strength of Your arms, You give me hope in my discouragement. I pray this in the life-giving name of Jesus, amen.

Gay Rights, Hate Speech, and Hospitality

by Rosaria Butterfield

That particularly bitter New York winter whipped harsh promises against the front door of my neighbor’s house — promises that remained elusive and unimaginable.

Behind that door, my neighbors, Ken and Floy Smith, and I were talking.

Ken leaned in, a warm mug of weakly percolated decaf coffee in hand, and asked the question that put our opposing worldviews into perspective: “Do you believe that what is true determines what is ethical? Or do you believe that what is ethical determines what is true?”

Before It Was Hate Speech

Decades ago, when this question unsettled my God-rejecting-but-otherwise-moral life (as I would have described it then), I believed the latter. I believed that ethics drove truth, and that truth was a cultural creation, born out of the sheer goodness of humanity and the felt needs of people. When my neighbor asked this question, I immediately rejected it as ill-informed and vulgar — somewhat like the weak decaf in my mug. I shot back with years of schooling in situational ethics: Truth is a social construct. Truth takes its shape in the eyes of the beholder.

We were talking, my neighbor and I, about gay rights. This was a topic both personal and political for me. I identified as a lesbian, and lived happily in a committed relationship with another woman. I loved my girlfriend the way it felt best to me. I cared about my queer community. I co-authored the first domestic partnership policy at my university. I was poised to become a “tenured radical” — a university professor with enough job security and hutzpah to take queer theory from the university to the street.

I was standing, so I believed, on the right side of history. But my neighbor, Ken Smith, then-pastor of the Syracuse Reformed Presbyterian Church, was also my friend. He, his wife, and I shared weekly meals — sometimes at my house, but mostly at theirs — where we talked about deep and weighty matters of life and faith and worldview. Where we listened and disagreed and came back again the next week to do this again: to break bread and talk.

Enter Intersectionality

Twenty-two years ago, it was not considered hate speech for Ken to tell me that he accepted me as a lesbian, but did not approve. I rejected Ken’s worldview, and he rejected mine. We were on even ground. We saw clearly our worldview differences, but those divisions, back then, did not come with the accusatory weight of personal attack. In today’s playbook, that wouldn’t fly.

Why? What is standing in our way of becoming friends with our neighbors who think differently than we do?

1. Unbiblical Anthropology

My conversations with Ken and Floy came before the idea of “intersectionality” had moved from the academy to the streets. Intersectionality was, in 1997, still just an academic idea. Its premise was this: personhood and identity, who you really are, is best determined by how many social oppressions you have suffered.

Originally, intersectionality dealt with material, structural oppressions — highlighting how race and class and the glass ceiling of sexism weigh heavy in a society made up of sinners. But when feminism shifted allegiance from Marx to Freud, when it turned from numbers to feelings, sexual orientation and gender identity took on new forms.

When ideas like “dignitary harm” (the harm accrued to your dignity by someone’s refusal to approve of your sin) found its place in civil law, intersectionality unleashed a monster. And with that monster came a message: homosexuality is not a sin; it is an aesthetic, an erotic orientation or way of looking at the world and everything in it. Today, the gospel is on a collision course with this message.

2. Compromised Churches

Intersectionality informs the divide between Christians and our neighbors who think differently, but God’s people should never be sucker punched by the current fad in worldview — even if some segments of the evangelical church are smitten by it. The real problem is not what the world thinks, but rather that parts of the evangelical church are allowing the world to preach to it about personhood and identity — about who people really and ontologically are, and what they need to flourish.

Many tragedies occur when the world preaches to the church (and the church listens), and one is that false conversions multiply. We live in an evangelical world whose prophets may be convinced of gospel promises, but who are not necessarily converted under gospel truth. And what is the sermon topic that they preach? They preach sermons of questions, relocating what God calls sin into the category of aesthetics — the observation of beauty amidst the pain. They reject God’s truth as “bumper sticker” logic, and answer questions with more questions, with no answers, always favoring a sinner’s point of view over that of the crucified and risen Christ.

Once leaders in the evangelical church locate something that God calls sin into an aesthetic framework, the great gift that the Lord Jesus holds out to his people, the gift of ransom and repentance, is no longer considered necessary. The blame shifts from a person’s sin to the church’s perceived prejudice.

What to do? Make sure that you are a member of a biblically sound church whose practices embrace the marks of faithfulness: handling rightly the word, the sacraments, and the practice of church discipline. If your church fails to meet these standards, or you refuse membership because it ties you down, or you think that making peace with sin will allow you a place at the table to witness Christ to the world, think again. Your church membership is part of your spiritual discipline for engaging with the world. If you hold membership with a church that practices or endorses sin, you have made yourself corporately guilty of this sin.

3. Social Media Infatuation

Social media infatuation has removed distinctions between private and public. Ken and Floy Smith and I had private dinner gatherings. Often other people joined us. But our heartfelt differences were not subjected to the harsh glare of Twitter, Facebook, or blogs.

Instead of mocking or attempting to destroy each other on social media, we pondered our differences, and brought a hot dish to the next Thursday night meal. This response helped us to let some offenses slide and focus instead on the big picture. It encouraged us to regard each other as human beings — not blank slates filled by competing ideologies and power relations.

Open Doors

Ken and Floy and I became friends before this current cultural moment. We could see that our humanity was intimately connected to, but not completely absorbed by, our differing worldviews and the sets of ideas, vocabulary, books, and values they represented. We could see each other as human beings even across our differences. And because of this perspective, we could come to the table, break bread, and talk.

So, Christian, how can you begin to constructively engage with your neighbors? Know your culture, take membership vows in a biblically faithful church, and return to a practice of privacy. Yes, intersectionality has found its foothold today, not only in the wider culture, but also in some segments of the evangelical church. It’s a worldview that comes with ultimatums (“love me, love my dog”). It’s a worldview that rests on unbiblical notions of ontology (who people are). It rejects that original sin is really sinful, preferring to regard this sin that registers in our hearts before we take our first breath as merely a form of aesthetic difference.

And the best way for God’s people to say “no” to unbiblical reflections of personhood and intersectionality is to say “yes” to biblical hospitality. When you gather around the table with your perceived cultural enemy, not once, but weekly, you show that culture is not king. Jesus is. Ask good questions and listen to people’s answers. Perhaps you could start with this one: Do you believe that what is true determines what is ethical, or do you believe that what is ethical determines what is true?

Rosaria Champagne Butterfield is a former tenured professor of English at Syracuse University. She has taught and ministered at Geneva College, is a full-time mother and pastor’s wife, and is author of The Gospel Comes with a House Key: Practicing Radically Ordinary Hospitality in Our Post-Christian World.