Tag Archives: article

Decision Making and Guidance, Spiritual Guidance, Unorthodox Doctrine

Cutting the ties of darkness that bind you

“Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever?” (2 Corinthians 6:14-15 NLT)

Dr. Henry Cloud wrote a piece for Success magazine 10 Things Successful People Never Do Again predicated on the idea that we have to change to progress. We must allow ourselves some pretty radical changes if we are to evolve in our life-journey. The Holy Spirit will lead us into the destiny that God is guiding us to in our distinct lives according to His higher values.

Chose your yoke-fellows wisely. The Scripture commands all Christians not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers? This scripture applies to marriage, business partnership, and church alignment. Paul offers profound insights into relationships. He writes out of both love and pain, about severing relationships and mending them. He writes in a way that is decidedly centered on God, as seen in the person of Christ. Paul is humble and meek; he is bold and adamant. Moses made it clear to the Israelites that ungodly influence can lead God’s people astray: “Be very careful never to make a treaty with the people who live in the land where you are going. If you do, you will follow their evil ways and be trapped…for the LORD…is a God who is jealous about his relationship with you” (Exodus 34:12-14 NLT)

Why is it important to cut your ties with darkness? When Paul says, “Do not be unequally yoked,” he means first, that we should not associate with believers who don’t actually live for Jesus, and second, that engaging in any intimate relationship or partnership with someone who does not let Jesus be the center of their lives will ultimately lead to our demise. We must cut ties with whatever or whoever leads us to darkness. Influence can be subtly corrupting. “For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people. “Therefore, “Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord…and, “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” (2 Corinthians 6:16-18 NIV)

Wasn’t Jesus loving? Christ engaged with people who didn’t understand who He was while on earth, to reach out to people and reveal the love of God. Nevertheless, He didn’t want to see relationships with unbelievers lead His followers into darkness. The Corinthian believers were to change the world, not to be changed by it. Paul wanted to see the Corinthian believers separate from their old way of living and fully embrace the ways of Jesus. Thus, his question which applies to all Christians today: How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever?

Kindness versus close or intimate relations with non-believers must be understood in context. For more depth on this subject read Influencing others for Christ.

But this is complicated. False teachers and leaders are even within the church; old friends can turn on you and become your enemies, and there are broken relationships among the followers of our Lord. There may be things in the Bible that are very clear to one following the Lord closely adhering to the Word, to form correct doctrine while desiring to live according to Sola Scriptura. Within the church, some follow a man or a woman, who some may feel they have prophetic insight (who may say or write: “God told me” or “my angel said”). However, we must follow only the Lord’s teaching found in the Word of God and never follow a teaching that the Bible does not condone.

Consider that the educated doctorates of Israel did not believe the teachings of Jesus though He was their Messiah. The scripture regarding cutting our ties with darkness was written by Paul of Tarsus to the Corinthians. Paul had been one of the leading Pharisees (named Saul). He was a leading doctorate student taught by Dr. Gamaliel. He turned from the darkness of twisting scripture to follow Jesus Christ as did the Pharisee Nicodemus.

Jesus Teaches in the Synogogue

 

 

Uncategorized

Self-will can avoid acting on the revealed will of God

“Pray that the Lord your God will tell us where we should go and what we should do.” (Jeremiah 42:3 ESV)

The people of Judah came to the prophet Jeremiah asking for his prophetic guidance to know if they should go down to Egypt to avoid King Nebucannezar of Babylon and his armies.

“I have heard you,” replied Jeremiah the prophet. “I will certainly pray to the Lord your God as you have requested; I will tell you everything the Lord says and will keep nothing back from you.” Ten days later Jeremiah gets the answer from the Lord:

“…hear the word of the Lord, you remnant of Judah. This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you are determined to go to Egypt and you do go to settle there, then the sword you fear will overtake you there, and the famine you dread will follow you into Egypt, and there you will die. Indeed, all who are determined to go to Egypt to settle there will die..not one of them will survive” (Vss 16-17)

Often we feel that we have the right intention to do a certain thing, go somewhere, advise someone, begin a new job, leave a spouse, and some go as far as to seek the Lord’s will as the people of Judah did. Notice that Jeremiah, speaking God’s word said “‘If you are determined to go to”, and they were determined to go, and to disobey.

The people had even said: “May the Lord be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act in accordance with everything the Lord your God sends you to tell us. Whether it is favorable or unfavorable, we will obey the Lord our God, to whom we are sending you, so that it will go well with us, for we will obey the Lord our God.” (Vss 5-6)

They quickly asserted their own determination, contrary to the Lord’s revealed will — and clearly though it was unfavourable to follow the Lord’s will: “all the arrogant men said to Jeremiah, “You are lying! The Lord our God has not sent you to say, ‘You must not go to Egypt to settle there’.” (Jeremiah 43:2)

Consider your own actions, prayers, and self-determined will. How do you behave when the revealed will of God is clear in His Word — do your own plans ever get altered or reconfigured to line up with the Word of God? The danger is this: Self-will can avoid acting on the revealed will of God.

Decision Making and Guidance, Eternal Life, Purpose Driven Life for Yahweh, Wisdom & Knowledge

Consider your days that remain.

“So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90: 12 ESV)

Psalm 90 is a prayer offered by Moses on behalf of Israel as he considered the 40 years that they had wasted in the wilderness, frequently disobedient to the Lord. The main problem was that they would not trust God enough to move into the promised land. Rather they became fearful and complained, despite the encouraging report given by Caleb and Joshua that “we should go up and take possession of the land for we can certainly do it” (Numbers 13:30).

We can lose our most effective timing and greatest blessings while whining and complaining. This first Exodus generation wasted 14,600 days (40 years) due to fear, which the Lord viewed as contemptuous behaviour. God judged Israel for their mistrust (verses 14-12, 20-23)

In his prayer Moses asked the Lord to redeem the lost time for the next generation of Israelites: “Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, and for as many years as we have seen evil.” (Psalms 90:15) Steve Jobs, though he was a highly successful man, faced a terminal illness — a shrinking lifespan. Being a meditative man, contemplating his remaining time, he became very focused:

“Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything—all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure—these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important.” Steve Jobs

David praised the Lord when he fathomed God’s presence in his foreordained life and acknowledged His creation of him. He also knew that his time remaining was preordained and measured: “Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them” (Ps 139:16 ESV) The following table depicts the approximated remaining 24 hour days left based on our current age, knowing that the Lord has numbered our particular allotted time on earth.

Days-to-age

Charles Stanley, a great leader, and preacher continues to minister weekly. In his eighties, he frequently warns those who have deferred acceptance of Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour from sin. He admonishes to accept the gift of  eternal life, emphasizing that “you may not be alive tomorrow”. If you are not yet a Christian, this will help you find peace when you wondering “how long do I have?” or if you face an illness. When we begin to comprehend God’s Grace we are moved by love, which alone is The Motivation for Accepting Jesus

Consider your age and consider the days that you have remaining on this earth to serve the Lord and expand His kingdom, advocating the Gospel, helping the poor, encouraging others, while meeting your goals. Let’s learn to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. Moses was 120 years old when the Lord took him. Don’t gamble your time away without rational purpose. You may not have quite that long.

If you doubt or fear death: The Manifesto of God’s Love

Using our time wisely: Living in view of the Second Advent of Christ

Why I take time seriously: My Testimony

Atonement of Christ, Uncategorized

Remembering Jesus at the Cross

“And Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’ It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun’s light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!’ And having said this he breathed his last.  (Luke 23:34;44-46 ESV)

Jesus at the Cross GP

Some misrepresent God’s character as one of Judgement before Mercy is even considered. In some cultures and religions, hatred triumphs over Love. Christ expressed His Character of Love by enacting a strategy planned since the beginning of time with His Father to redeem man from himself, from his wrong ideas of God who created him.

At 3:00 PM Good Friday, 2000 years ago, Christ set all mankind free from all misconception. Judgement and Mercy kissed each other as He took our judgment: His death ransomed us from all our sins — Love and Mercy expressed for the world to witness for eternity. To the world His Gospel of Love triumphs, not with violence, fear or intimidation, but with peace and joy in His righteousness offered to each who accepts Him.

I invite you to show some Gratitude, take a few moments to contemplate the cost of our Salvation, offer Praise, knowing Eternal Life is ours in Christ. I invite you to remember Him together as we take a moment of quiet Thankfulness today at 3:00 PM, the time of His death. Love is rarely honoured.

“Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, saying, ‘Certainly this man was innocent!’ And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts” (Luke 23:47-48 ESV)

Discernment and Thinking, Forgiveness Frees Us To Love

Jesus Heals on the Sabbath

On the 7th-day Sabbath when Jesus entered into the synagogue, he acted on the opportunity he had there, of doing some good toward the people whom he came to redeem. It was providential that He would practice what He preached confirming legal truth with a miracle of grace: “it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath” (Matthew 12:12)

The patient’s hand was withered, disabling him from doing craftsmen’s work to earn a living. Today at a civic level we understand the value of assisting a man with charity when truly in need.

shutterstock_98508314

Those present were unkind, downright merciless to the disabled man, likewise to Christ the Great Physician. The design: if Christ cured him now on the sabbath day, they would accuse him as a Sabbath breaker. This is about as unreasonable as to oppose a medic, physician or surgeon while helping some accident victim – or anybody in physical misery, where you can offer them healing in the body.

By a word, Christ asked the man to stand forth (v. 3). How much of an effect did this have on the audience I wonder? Perhaps now the spectators seeing the state of the man, will be moved with compassion avoiding shamefacedness while calling his cure a crime. Appealing to their own consciences, one might allow God’s Spirit to move. All witnessing could reckon with the truth of the matter.

The law of Christ speaks itself, resounding the New Covenant by echoing the divine principles given through Moses, by the Rock that followed Him. The lawmaker spoke. Jesus asked a question that would penetrate to the motive of  their selfish disapproval to the core, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent.” (Mark 3:4) The contrast is clear in the question implying: “is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath days, as I design to do, or to do evil, as you design to do? What is better, to save a life or to kill a man?”

Our main takeaway is that we need to allow the Holy Spirit to speak to our heart via our conscience to see and acknowledge the designs of mercy that the Father puts in place for His spiritually or physically disabled children who turn to trust Him and acknowledge the Son of God’s ongoing work on earth. And He has common grace for all men including the many refugees in crisis today.

Church Assembly, Holy Spirit

Fellow citizens with God

“In Him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit” (Ephesians 2:22 ESV)

The simplicity of this verse alerts and encourages every Christian that we have the presence of the living God with us. Let us reawaken to the reality of our placement in the church of Christ on earth.

The body of believers, the church, has been joined together and continues to grow in Grace together. Each part of the building, each believer, fits perfectly into the building, all the pieces being aligned with the cornerstone, Jesus Christ.

The building’s purpose is also described: it is a holy temple for the Lord. The church becomes a holy temple because of the presence of the holy God. The word used for “temple” here refers to what was the inner sanctuary (the Most Holy Place) in the Jewish Temple. The union of God with people, and the unity of previously alienated people with one another, could only occur through Christ: “all things were created through him and for him” – all creative powers and energy and mind flow “from him and through him and to him…to him be glory forever” (Colossians 1:16; Romans 11:36)

Being part of the universal church of believers (aside from doctrine or creed), I am part of this temple wherein God dwells via His Spirit. All believers are “members of the household of God”. Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us yield to the Holy Spirit as the great unifier of His people as we praise and worship Him daily for all of His benefits. We are indwelt by the Living God!

“For through him we all have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God” (Vss 18-19)

Law of God, Temptation, Witchcraft & Spiritualism

Macbeth: Dealing with your own sinful nature

“We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good.” (Romans 7:14-16 NIV)

The Apostle Paul faced the same struggle as all Christians do. We still struggle daily with an inherently evil nature, even though we are born again of the Spirt. He viewed the law with high esteem. For that reason, he made every effort to clarify the tension between the holy law and the sin when temptation comes our way.

The law comes from God, has his character, and tells his will for his people. As the majesty of the law fills Paul’s mind, along with it comes the vision of his character as a man and his daily standing for or against God’s law. Paul wants to make the point that sin does not damage the law established on God’s own loving character, will and mercy. Like Paul, every believer must clarify his ongoing relationship with the universal laws of God.

In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the great warrior is tempted by voices he hears through witches that he sees on the battleground—the Bard’s metaphor for our own inner voices of temptation—then by his wife to use his victorious influence at war to vault his growing popularity to usurp King Duncan whom he serves. This is a classic case of a man being tempted within his mind, to break the 9th commandment “do not covet”. 1

Paul tells us the trouble is not with the law but with me because I am sold into slavery, with sin as my master. The law has a capacity for reminding us of what we once were, and of how captivating that old life can still appear in our mind’s eye. The law also warns us of our ongoing need to daily focus on Christ for inner victory over temptation. By introducing his personal dilemma, Paul invites us to consider how well we understand our behavior: “For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do” (vs. 15). As long as believers live in this world as men and women of flesh and blood, they will face a constant tension—the conflict between their sinful nature and their new spiritual life.

Paul wrote to the Galatians, “The old sinful nature loves to do evil, which is just opposite from what the Holy Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are opposite from what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, and your choices are never free from this conflict” (Galatians 5:17).

Macbeth’s covetous temptation on the battlefield led him to eventually murder his beloved king, lose his mind as he became increasingly paranoid in his self-loathing fearfulness of others, and became a scheming tyrant that no one could trust. In the end, it cost him not just his life, but the life of his wife, and his most trusted friends. What can we learn from the apostle Paul as we deal with our old sinful desires?

1) Knowledge of the law is not the answer (7:9).
2) Self-determination (to want to do what is right) doesn’t succeed (7:15).
3) Becoming a Christian does not stamp out all sin and temptation from a person’s life (7:22–25).

Being born again starts in a moment of faith, but becoming like Christ takes a lifetime. Paul compares Christian growth to a strenuous race or fight (1 Corinthians 9:24–27; 2 Timothy 4:7). As we live in the Spirit of Christ, we become conformed to His character of love which is the basis of the law (Romans 8:29). Only in this way can “the righteous requirements of the law…be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:4)

1 Macbeth Official Movie Review

Authority in Yahweh’s Kingdom, Church Leadership

Leading with your life purpose

“Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth ” Genesis (1: 26 NIV)

We realize that God the Creator is the leader of all life, over all humans on earth. If we look at the creation of man in Genesis it becomes clear that each of us have a calling, a purpose to lead with some skill that God has gifted us with.

The Lord calls every believer to lead others or use our giftedness in some way. The way he arranged His creation indicates that every man and woman needs to find his or her purpose to find significance building their life around a centre of influence about that gift. If you have the gift of teaching, you will gravitate towards the area of interest which will define the subject that you can teach well.

In His love, He has called us to participate and to lead others or apply specific skills developed to the highest potential use, in various capacities as we follow Him.

He chose to create human beings who possess spirits with a capacity to relate to Him and follow Him, yet who are not forced to do so.  John Maxwell

We see in Genesis that God made it very clear from the beginning of His creation when He commanded man to take or  “have dominion” (Genesis 1: 28) over creation — over the administration of its assets.

John Maxwell, the great Pastor/Leadership teacher, notes: “The call to leadership is a consistent pattern in the Bible.”

He called out one leader — Abraham to be the father-leader of a nation for His own. He didn’t call out thousands to do this job. He selected one man with a giftedness to hear His directives when presented to him — Abraham was called to move to Canaan as God began to lead him.

Abraham called out

He directed one leader Moses to deliver His people out of Egypt — He didn’t guide them through a thousand singular men. As they readied to enter the Promised Land, again they followed one man—Joshua. This directorial leading of leaders carries on throughout the Bible with many examples such as Joseph, Samuel, David, Gideon, and the apostles Peter, John and Paul.

Every time God desires to do something great, He calls a leader to step forward which He still does for every work—both large and small. This is particularly true of spreading the gospel as it goes out to the whole world. There are roles for everyone according to how He has gifted us.

One of the most important things to do in life is to seek the Lord asking for Him to lead you as you lead with your life purpose building your life around helping others progress. “How can I use the primary giftedness God has given me to bless others as I seek to do His will?

 

Forgiveness Frees Us To Love

Why is holding a grudge dangerous?

“the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants” (Matthew 18:23)

Jesus told the parable of the Unmerciful Servant, to help Peter understand the importance forgiveness. He had asked “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”

The parable reveals that in our lives we are all servants, in various capacities according to our giftedness. Business people are servants to their clients, teachers to their students, doctors and nurses to their patients, husbands and wives to each other and their children. Further, each of us are to act as servants to the less fortunate we encounter, to help or assist them according to our ability and their need. “Blessed are those who have regard for the weak” (Psalm 41:1)

The parable also makes it clear that when serving, we can become indebted to one another, either above us to whom we serve or those subordinate to us who serve our needs. Though the parable deals with money, it also applies to anything which can be viewed as a debt other than financial debt, in any personal relationship we encounter which can be stigmatized by a grudge and may need you to forgive another.

We need to understand that we can also release someone from a debt of injustice. Christ makes it clear that our Father in heaven is the one whom we serve first, and that He is aware of how we treat our fellow servants, as regards to forgiving them of their offenses.

We can also be judgmental of servants who do not directly relate to us but we can hold a religious grudge. The woman caught in adultery by the Jewish leaders makes this all too clear.

Woman taken in dultery

God forgives each one of us when we ask him and He settles our account as he covers us with Christ’s righteousness. On the stage of life, though we serve or are served, we ultimately are servants of the Most High God our creator.

“But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:”BLESSED ARE THOSE WHOSE LAWLESS DEEDS HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN, AND WHOSE SINS HAVE BEEN COVERED” (Romans 4:5-7)

If this is true, shouldn’t we settle our accounts with others by forgiving them? The man who was forgiven much, and did not forgive his servant was accounted a wicked servant by his master. Our heavenly Father is not impressed with an unforgiving attitude:

“You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow-servant just as I had on you?’ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.” (Matthew 18: 32-35)

If we do not forgive and hold a grudge, the collateral damage is endless. For example: if a husband does not forgive his wife for an indiscretion, his grudge could lead to a separation or divorce which can damage the children and grandchildren, and future generations.

Forgiveness is the only pathway to allow the Spirit of God to build His kingdom of Grace, of undeservedly releasing each other, our fellow servant, from holding a grudge. Those who are forgiven much, are free to respond to each other ongoingly in love. Thus, the New Covenant of love can increase in the kingdom. Bear in mind, that the parable has a much higher issue as we relate directly to God when we relate to each other. As we treat others, Christ taught that in the judgment, it will be reviewed as if we have similarly treated Him in all our dealings with mankind.

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me'”(Matthew 25:40)

And He will “settle accounts with his servants” in the final judgment or ahead of that time now, as we confess our sins to Him and are forgiven.

Uncategorized

Biblical Principles oppose Moral Relativism

“See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.” (Colossians 2:8 NIV)

In our current culture, we have seen a huge shift away from biblical values – a shift which we are witnessing as the laws of the land rapidly change in Canada and the USA, as determined by the courts making decisions based on relativism offering more choices to groups who demand change. Often these changes begin in the USA and are soon seen in Canada.

The definition of a Relativist: Someone who holds that nothing is simply good, but only good for someone or from a distinct point of view, holds a relativist view of goodness. Concise Routledge Encyclopaedia of Philosophy

In the early days of the church after Christ was resurrected, Peter declared to the spiritual leaders “We must obey God rather than men” despite strict orders from the Jewish Council. They said, “We gave you strict orders not to continue teaching in this name, and yet, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” (vs. 39)

I began reading the late Dr. Francis A. Schaeffer in the late 70s and found his Christian philosophy encouraging. History is repeating itself as Francis A. Schaeffer contended. We are moving deeper into biblical lawlessness. Philosophy has separated the influence of divine revelation, as found in the Bible, from man-made relativism. Schaeffer used Raphael’s painting of “The School of Athens” (c. 1510), a copy of which hangs in my home, to illustrate the separation.

School of Athens
Symbolically the painting depicts two viewpoints, one looking upward toward God, the other viewing the lower academic sources as guidance developed by man. In Europe, this gravitation toward one or the other direction took divergent paths – the Reformation (God) and the Renaissance (man). Schaeffer traced moral relativism back to the Roman Empire. Pilate caved into the Jewish leaders when they accused Pilate of not being a friend of Caesar. Of the Christians Schaeffer wrote:

They worshiped Jesus as God, and they worshiped the infinite-personal God only. The Caesars would not tolerate this worshiping of the one God only. It was counted as treason. Thus, their worship became a threat to the unity of the state during the third century and during the reign of Diocletian (284– 305), when people of the higher classes began to become Christians in larger numbers. 1

We see this occurring in society now when Christian views are advocated, if they either are opposing or disagreeing with the choices of any relative practice of a group condoned by the courts and widely popular with the masses.

As Christians, we need to be cautious not to be seduced into the world’s viewpoint which is a distinctly opposite philosophy of life. “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition” (Colossians 2:8) Behind the worldview lies a philosophy contrary to the laws of God and Jesus Christ.

The Loss of Christian Principles
Christian principles are based on laws which are based on the love of God. We have seen many of them ruined, as the courts have now taken away the collective inalienable right to the freedoms the people have had. The court’s rulings bypass any legislative basis of wider representation of the people. In the courts and in North America, the once cherished principles are evidently lost perhaps forever in many areas, replaced by these:

  • Prayerlessness in the public schools
  • Abortion
  • Gay marriage
  • Assisted suicide

The above stated new rights are based on the deceptive principles of the world and are not biblical. Isn’t it hypocritical that the US courts disallow prayer in the school when the founding fathers’ reverent practice of opening Congress with prayer is still carried on with a presiding Christian minister?

Here is a quote from an academic address to American students. You will see that religion is viewed as unacademic, despite the fact that the many great universities such as Oxford and Cambridge in England began as Christian schools with a theological Christian focus.

This is an American public school, and American public schools were created to make better Americans. If you wish to affirm an ethnic, racial or religious identity through school, you will have to go elsewhere. We will end all ethnicity, race and non-American nationality-based celebrations. They undermine the motto of America, one of its three central values — E pluribus unum, “from many, one.” And this school will be guided by America ‘s values. This includes all after-school clubs. I will not authorize clubs that divide students based on any identities. This includes race, language, religion, sexual orientation or whatever else may become in vogue in a society divided by political correctness. 2

Apostle Paul noted regarding those not led by the Spirit of God: “When we were children, we were slaves to the principles of this world” (Galatians 4:3) Peter warned that that this conflict will continue: “Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute” (2 Peter 2:2) Peter warns of the impending judgement of God based on rampant lawlessness:

“…if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)— if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment. This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the flesh and despise authority. (2 Peter 2:6-10 NIV)

In Sodom before this judgement, sexual immorality abounded. “Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion”. (Jude 1:7) The lawless townsmen thought they could knock down Lots’ door to bring his guests out to gang rape (sodomize) them in the town square. Does this sound like something you might hear in the news today? The judgment began right there. The angels confronted them. They were all blinded, and the angels led Lot out of Sodom and Gomorrah before the rain of fire that destroyed the towns. Jesus warned us that just before His second advent the state of man’s lawlessness will be similar:

“Just as it happened in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building; but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. “It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed” (Luke 17: 29-29)

Schaeffer contended that Christians are to blame for not speaking up when the issues were developing. This may or may not be true in part. What is true today, is that all Christians need to be aware of relative humanism as the most profound catalyst in a society moving man to the Final Judgement, which will occur at the second advent of Jesus Christ in power and great glory.

We are witnessing more animosity from the relativists. Jesus warned of this: “Since they persecuted me, naturally they will persecute you. And if they had listened to me, they would listen to you. They will do all this to you because of me, for they have rejected the one who sent me.” (John 15:19-21 NLT) The apostle Paul’s warning makes sense today: “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy…”

1 Schaeffer, Francis A. How Should We Then Live? The Rise and Decline of Western Thought and Culture (Crossway)

2 A Speech every American High School Principal should give. (Dennis Prager)