Are the Passover, or Easter, or Foot-Washing Taught by Jesus for Christians?

The chants of the crowd in the Roman theater at Smyrna (in western Turkey) grew louder, demanding the deaths of more Christians. “Away with the atheists!” they cried, in reference to these deniers of the Roman gods. Many Christians had already been killed in the arena throughout this period of violent games. It was 155 AD. Christians were again under intense persecution.

“Let search be made for Polycarp!” they shouted, this man being, as they later called him, “the puller down of our gods, who teaches many not to sacrifice nor worship.”

After a few days, Polycarp was found and brought before the Roman magistrate in the theater. With the crowd calling for his blood, the proconsul pressed him to swear by Caesar’s spirit and curse Christ, effectively telling him, “Deny your faith, and I will set you free.”

Polycarp refused, saying: “Eighty-six years have I been His servant, and He has done me no wrong. How then can I blaspheme my King who saved me?”

The pressuring intensified, the magistrate threatening death by wild beasts or fire and again promising release if Polycarp would recant his faith.

Here was a moment of supreme testing for this aged man, who was a presiding elder in western Turkey. His home church was Smyrna, in the eastern extreme of where Christianity had penetrated.  This area was initially taught by the apostle John. Now, after John’s death, Polycarp held the post, keeping the faith of most of his disciples he was charged with. His leadership stood firm at a time when others were compromising. Most of other eastern elders followed him. Polycarp had known this moment of trial and testing of faith would come.

Let’s take a further look at this man and his setting, then return to what happened on that day—considering his final answer and what our own resolve must be. Polycarp lived in the period after the age of the original apostles—so now, without the giants of the faith, the Apostles, there were false prophets creeping in, distorting the teachings and practices Jesus delivered to the original Church. Some groups were changing, even falling into apostasy. It was a time of great internal stress for the Church.

It was also an age of martyrs, with severe pressure from outside the Church as well. Roman authorities were clamping down on any subversives who refused even token participation in emperor worship, a symbol of state loyalty.

The first disciples of Christ were Jews, but their belief in the resurrected Christ brought a clash with the mainstream Jewish faith. Christians encountered increased animosity from unbelieving Jews who felt that Christian Jews were betrayers. The addition of Gentiles to the Church made relations worse. Many of the unbelieving Jews hounded the Christians, following them around to find fault, just as they did with Jesus. Plus there was heat from the Roman authorities.  Even some of the Jews of Smyrna were among those calling for Polycarp’s death.

As a result of things like this, a growing number among the Christians were beginning to abandon all things “Jewish.” The Church began blaming Jews for killing Jesus, not focusing on how God had that as part of His plan to offer salvation to all the world through Jesus’ death. The earliest Church, even though persecuted in their day, still avoided this hatred of the Jews. They still observed the Passover and other festivals God gave to Israel, and Jesus’ Words confirmed that it was given to Gentile Christians too. Yet heretical teachings were gaining ground, being embraced by more and more nominal Christians in the Roman world—including Jewish “Christians.” Some of these were the cause of true Christians’ persecution, even martyrdom. In other words, it wasn’t just the Romans who persecuted Christians.

One of the great controversies among Christians around 150 AD was the continuing observance by Polycarp and others of the Passover, which they properly insisted keeping it on the Jewish date of the 14th of the Hebrew month of Nisan (or Abib) see Exodus 12:3, 5-8, 13-14 for an explanation of the orinal Passover:

Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: ⁵ Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. ⁷ And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. ⁸ And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it…For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord.

¹³ And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. ¹⁴ And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance forever.

Exodus tells the story of how Egypt put the Jews under slavery. God in return put plagues on them, but the pharaoh refused to free them. It ended with God sending the angel of death to Egypt’s first born. To get the angel of death to pass over the Jews, they had to slay a lamb, and put the sacrificed lamb’s blood on their doorpost, top crossbar and sides (a crude cross). They finally obtained their freedom from slavery on the 14^th of Nisan, a Jewish month (this corresponds with part of March and part of April on our calendar.) They were to celebrate their freedom every year on that date by sacrificing a lamb. The Passover meal included unleavened bread, symbolic that when pharaoh finally said “Begone!” they were to act fast, before he changed his mind. They could not take time to put in leaven and bake it and wait for it to yeast up. The blood was symbolic of the lamb that they would slay and apply the blood on the doorposts for the angel of death to pass over them when he killed the firstborn.

But now, with Jesus, Passover had many symbolisms of Christ. For instance, John the Baptist called Jesus “the Lamb of God.”  The Jews did not know it, but the Passover in Exodus foreshadowed His future death on the cross to free us from the slavery of sin. In fact, His death and shed blood by crucifixion happened exactly on a Passover day. He was crucified and giving His blood at the same time that the Jews were slaying the lamb, and offering its blood on the altar. God arranged that very date for the sacrifice of His Son. This happened in 33 AD. The Jews could see the connection, and realize, especially on His resurrection, that He was God in the flesh. But most of them never got it.

Going back to 150 AD. The church of Rome and other western congregations, because of their distaste for the Jews, abandoned Passover, and shifted to the observance of what would later be called Easter. Polycarp traveled to Rome to discuss the matter with the Roman bishop Anicetus, but the contention remained unresolved. To quote a historian at the time:

“For neither could Anicetus persuade Polycarp to forego the observance {in his own way}, inasmuch as these things had been always {so} observed by John the disciple of our Lord, and by other apostles with whom he had been conversant; nor, on the other hand could Polycarp succeed in persuading Anicetus to change back to Scripture, for he maintained that he was bound to adhere to the usage of the presbyters [or elders] who preceded him [in Rome]”

The matter became more heated a few decades later, when a Roman bishop suggested to excommunicate (send to hell) the eastern churches over this. (And Smyrna was in the east). But the eastern churches still kept the 14^th of Nisan date annually, to celebrate the crucifixion of Jesus. The important Council of Nicaea in 325 AD did in fact do that in writing. They exccommunicated those churches who still held to the 14th of Nisan Passover, and refused to celebrate Easter. It amounted to the Western churches excommunicating many Eastern churches. Constantine favored that, since he was a Roman emperor. He also was Pontifex Maximus, or High Priest, of the official state religion—namely, Christianity. So now the Roman church would become political. Seven hundred years later the East Church would split from the West. (These became the Orthodox Churches). Now many of their lands are overrun by Islamists or Communists. But the Eastern churches, called Orthodox, still cling to Christianity and tradition. 

History labels those who kept the Passover observance and Festival of Unleavened Bread according to the teaching handed down from the apostolic era as Quartodecimans (or “Fourteeners,” for the 14th of Nisan). Church historian Henry Chadwick writes: “There can be little doubt that the Quartodecimans were right in thinking that they had preserved the most ancient and apostolic custom. They had become heretics simply by being behind the change in culture” (The Early Church, 1967, p. 85). But that change of culture was because of the hatred of the Jews. Christians who keep a New Testament Passover today can be assured that they are holding firm to observances God instructed through the Apostles.

With that background, we return to Polycarp before the Roman proconsul. If he hadn’t been singled out because his churches observed Christ’s Passover, he might never had been put on Roman trial. Rome was not concerned with the Jews’ religious observances, but they were sensitive to insurrection. If Christians are getting riotous with themselves or Rome’s pagans (such as what happened to Polycarp), they might trump up a charge that a man might even be executed, just to get trouble out of the way. So the Romans pressed Polycarp to renounce his Christian faith under threats of execution.

This story of faith is recorded for us in greater detail in an early letter from the Smyrna congregation known as “The Martyrdom of Polycarp” (also reproduced in Eusebius’ History of the Church, both of which you can find online).

Faced with being burned alive, Polycarp said: “You threaten with fire that burns for a bit and after a little while is quenched, for you are ignorant of the fire of the future judgment and eternal punishment, which is reserved for the ungodly. But why do you delay? Come, do what you will.”

He thus stood firm in his convictions. Wood was quickly gathered, and Polycarp was tied up on the pyre. With his final prayer looking ahead to his resurrection, the fire was lit. But remarkably it billowed up around him without burning him. So an order was given to stab him through the flames, whereupon he bled to death, the fire strangely ceasing. At some agitators’ insistence, his dead body was then burned, successfully this time.

And there are lessons for us today. Faith in the Bible is under attack from many quarters. A rising tide of secular hostility to the Bible continues to mount. And it’s even harder for those who seek authentic, biblical Christianity in churches.

Would you stand up for your faith against attack, to the point of death, as Polycarp and others did? It was not just the pagan Romans who stood against them, but the misguided “Christians.” They persecuted the few who persisted in the truth about the proper Passover doctrine, and kept false doctrines instead.

Many believing Christians, and churches, celebrate “Easter” as a way to honor Jesus Christ's resurrection. But “Easter” is a day with very un-Christian roots—stretching long ago into pre-Christian paganism. (It comes from Ishtar, a fertility goddess celebrated among pagans. Rome, as typical, renamed her as Aphrodite, then later Venus). Why did the Church do this, besides getting apart from the Jews? Because, again as typical, Rome mixed pagan practices with Christian practices (called syncretism) to increase its acceptance among the pagans in the area. A bad evangelistic idea, though. We should stick with the Bible alone. It alone has the truth of Jesus' life, death and resurrection, and it shows a different set of celebrations that Jesus commanded—one of which is the Passover—that give us the real story that Easter doesn't tell us.

Most Christians are not aware that Jesus made a series of commands when He celebrated His last Passover with His disciples--commands that He directed to us, as we are His disciples too, if we want to follow His commands, to please God. Let’s learn of them, and seek a group to worship that follows this Passover command along with all the other Gospel commands—the purpose of all this is to seek to please God and to end up in heaven.

Here are the rules Jesus commanded and followed by the Apostles and the early New Testament Church (before 325 AD). These are the rules that we should follow as well.

First, there was a foot-washing of another member's feet. No, I know, you’re ready to forget this already. But this is a symbol of your willingness (a) to live counterculture and to be an evangelist, to be willing to say, “yes, I am different, because I will do whatever my Lord tells me, since He saved me from eternal death, no matter how the culture changes.” THAT testimony will gender some great questions—you can become an instant evangelist.

It is also proof that you are willing (b) to be a servant, to live humbly before the Lord. Micah 6:8 says it well:

 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

Sure, that’s an Old Testament quote, but we should still follow the moral principles of the Old Testament. Those principles are more than just the Ten Commandments. Just not the dietary, religious rituals, mixing linens in clothing, etc.

Here is proof that foot-washing is a command for us, His continuing disciples.  After the Old Testament Passover supper was completed, He set forth new rules for His disciples, including Us. From John 13:2-5a,13-15:

And supper being ended… ³ Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God; ⁴ He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. ⁵ After that he poureth water into a basin, began to wash the disciples' feet…

Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. ¹⁴ If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet. ¹⁵ For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.

The Greek word translated “example” is indicated in Strong’s as “copy of the thing to be imitated.” This is more than an example; it is a command, to copy what He just did. See the words ye should do as I have done to you.

 It has been argued that the other three Gospels say nothing about foot-washing, so maybe it was just for the Jews, or maybe we should ignore it for its inconsistency. But this is just an effort to hide what’s happening in context. True, the foot-washing was only in John, but that casts no aspersions on the truth of it. There are events in this Passover supper that are recorded in Luke only, such as He changes the rules about their traveling from town to town evangelizing (Luke 22:35-38). No one has questioned the truthfulness of that. Also, when you look at the four Gospels regarding Jesus' resurrection day, they tell different things. But it was a day of excitement, when there was more emotion. But they each told what they remembered. Experts have proven no inconsistencies, and when you put it all together, the day’s events can be figured out. That’s why there were four Gospels—different people telling what they remembered. As long as there are no inconsistencies, no one is lying. God made sure that, together, they remembered everything that He wanted heard. In putting doctrines, or history, or even science together, the Bible has all the facts there to make a decision in context. Nothing is left out. No one’s memory fuzzed out. It is truly God’s infallible Word.

Secondly, and this is what our paper is mainly about, we should forget Easter for reasons that I gave before, and follow Jesus’ commands on Passover. This means three things:

• We should celebrate it annually, on the day the Crucifixion happened, namely Nisan 14. We look for that date on a Jewish calendar. Then we do what Jesus did:
• Have a foot-washing ceremony; and
• We take what is called Jesus' Lord’s Supper, the unleavened bread and the wine (or juice, if you have a problem with alcohol). Scripture has it this way. From Matthew 26:25-30:

Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou hast said. ²⁶ And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. ²⁷ And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; ²⁸ For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. ²⁹ But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom. ³⁰ And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives.

Note His reference to the “new testament” in v. 28. This certified that the rules about Passover changed for us. No lamb or hyssop. Secondly, I emphasize that Jesus was not giving the disciples pieces of His body; so when He said “this is my body,” we must assume its symbolic significance. It still has great meaning, though. Unleavened bread, His body in symbolism, is stress-striped, as was Jesus’ body when the Roman guards hacked up His back with their famous flayed whip. The nails in the wrists and the feet, and the spear that He was stabbed with, and the mocking crown of thorns on His forehead, tell of His blood that was shed. Sadly, He knew in advance what would be done to Him, but He never lodged a complaint, nor suggest we were not “worth it.” He loves His followers. More than any family member or wife can. More even than our mothers. The wine was symbolic of His blood shed or us.

There is a second symbolism of unleavened bread for Christians. Leaven is a type of sin. See I Corinthians 5:7, substituting “sin” each time you read “leaven”:

Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? ⁷ Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us.

As he says, a little sin makes us sin more. Purge sin out. Do not practice a sin. All because One who knew no sin was sacrificed for us. His gifts to us are, and can be, so vast that we want to please Him. Practicing holiness will get that. With the Holy Spirit’s help we can be closer to His likeness each year. Christ’s death was a “Passover” for His believers. Believers’ sin and penalty in hell has been passed over. But we still need to confess our sins frequently to Him, and we will get better at cleaning them up.

Another advantage for this radical change in tradition—you have identified yourselves with Jews. It is an effective evangelism to them, when you take a day off work for the 14th and explain what is significant about it. The Jews will take notice. There are many of them that feel persecuted every day. They respect an ally. They may tease you for it, but if hard days come, they will come to you for advice.

There is something else that should go on in this celebration of His crucifixion: It was recorded in I Corinthians 11:23-31:

For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: ²⁴ And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do proclaim the Lord's death till he come. ²⁷ Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. ²⁸ But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. ²⁹ For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. ³⁰ For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.

We are to be sober and introspective, not only because it is the suffering of Christ as our subject, but we are to “examine” ourselves. That means thinking about our sins, and how we have kept ourselves not in the perfect will of God’s commandments, and how we have grieved Him. How can we, with the help of the Holy Spirit, become holier and make God happier? Not thinking about becoming holy will make us take the Lord’s supper “unworthily,” and possibly even bring damnation to ourselves if we ignore this command regularly.

In this passage by Paul in the New Testament, by the way, echoing Jesus’ Words just before He gave His life, please note that he was speaking to Gentile Christians. This is again definite proof that the Lord’s Supper command was to be done on the anniversary of Jesus’ crucifixion for the Gentiles too.

Now I know that many of you celebrate the Lord’s Supper weekly, or monthly. Some churches only at night (they are trying for it just to be taken by the “true” Christians. Those who come at night must be the true Christians.) But these verses seem to suggest it should only be once a year, on the exact anniversary of His death. Note verse 26—as often as you do this “you proclaim the Lord’s death til’ He comes.” In your church that serve it several times each year, are you reminded of crucifixion each time? My experience doesn’t indicate that with multiple-Lord’s Supper churches. Most who quote I Corinthians 11, will only quote verses 23-25—most never make it to verse 26.

Do it on the right day, the 14th, no matter what day of the week it is. Don’t forget, He was not crucified on this day this year, and another day, another year, like we do for "Easter." For those married, how would you wives like it if your husband played games with what day he came with anniversary gifts? You would ask, “Does he not respect the day we were married? Is that day important to him or not?” Isn’t an anniversary a treasured day, that’s only once a year? Is July 4 important, that we can play with the dates? I mean, Jefferson drew it up on July 4, it’s in the heading of the Declaration—not several dates. Our Congress respects the date enough not to mess with it. 

Besides, the fact is, there is seemingly nowhere in Scripture where we are bound to a commandment to celebrate the Resurrection. I’m not saying it’s not important. But God chose the crucifixion over the resurrection for commanding us for various reasons. First, since God does not have His family in heaven yet (us), He can say the resurrection is not ready to be celebrated, with only the Trinity there. He wants to do it with all of us present, too.

Related to that, we should think longingly for that day to come, not think of it as it already is a done deal. The crucifixion is a done deal; that is what we celebrate. Romans 6:9-10 proves that:

9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God

Doing the right kind of Lord’s Supper cannot be a frequent thing. Since He died once, we should celebrate it once—on its anniversary. The frequency reminds me too much of the Mass. There they symbolically crucify Christ—or a vicar does--repeatedly.

That brings up another issue in the resurrection, which we are supposedly “celebrating” now.  People feel that to celebrate the crucifixion, not the resurrection, seems a wrong emphasis. Well, let me set this straight. Messing with the resurrection dates, and emphasizing sweets, like chocolate Easter bunnies and colorful eggs, is that a proper celebration of Easter as resurrection? No, I think not. Those things betray the pagan fertility rites it came from. Simply, Jesus made no command on celebrating His resurrection,

Actually, a lot of things have crept into the church sermons to get away with the “downers:” Like never talking about the fear of God, the depravity of sin that we all have, or hell, the need for holiness, or judgment. Every funeral is bidding the dead adieu to heaven—it doesn’t matter if he or she may be a liar, a fornicator, or an adulterer. We think hell is just for Hitler, or Stalin, or Pol Pot (I’m showing my age.) But those “negative” things about sin are facts too. We need to be reminded about the dangers of hell. It seems that in many churches (especially in the megachurches), all we get preached is the love of God, the unconditional “just say a prayer like this, and you’re saved forever.”

But we need to focus in on the crucifixion, to remind ourselves why it happened—our sin made it necessary. We are to examine our lives. All are worthy subjects for a true celebration: that Jesus freed us from the penalty of sin, if we believe in Him, and follow up with a loving relationship with Him. That shoildn't be too hard, for One that loves us like that.

So, in summary, after this long paper, I’m suggesting three things that are major changes that you should do:

• Celebrate the crucifixion, as commanded, on the proper day: Nisan 14 on the Jewish calendar.
• Do a foot-washing;
• And, after a self-examination quiet time, give the Lord’s Supper, unleavened bread (sorry, the Styrofoam stuff doesn’t fly) and wine (or juice, for the forbearing), once a year.
• Forget Easter. Your kids should, of course, be taught about the Lord's resurrection.

Got that? Now, you influential people and elders: Urge your church to betray tradition in honor of Scripture. Study up to be an effective apologetic, because there will be much moaning and groaning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Raising Christian Children

 Training our children in godliness is perhaps the most important job we parents have. Churches offer little real help, actually, nor are they meant to—it’s the parents’ job.  Caution:  The application of God’s rules below are not meant to be formulaic, but the speaker has found it to work surprisingly well on his own children.  Some of these instructions appear harsh, but he cites Scriptural reasons for each.  So I plead with you to obey God and trust that He will give you and your children growth into godliness as we obey His Word—as exactly as we can.  God’s Word is being ignored by both Christian and non-Christian today.  It’s too easy to “go with the flow,” but God urges us to be separate from the world.  Just because they’re too often raising sons of the devil is no excuse for you to follow their example.

Let’s start with Ephesians 6:1-4:

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ² “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: ³ “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.”  ⁴ And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.

The discipleship of our children involves three phases:

First, the discipline training phase—crucial in the first few years of a child’s life.  In this phase, we are saying, “Child, give me your attention.”  Of course, when the baby first comes home, we are giving that baby much more attention.  But at some point, that must change.  We have ways of telling that child, “Your survival has been secured; so from this point on, you must pay a lot more attention to us.”  If we don’t do that, we raise egocentric, narcissistic, spoiled beasts—and that’s not what we’re after here.  God is serious about this, as we read in I Samuel 3:11-14 about Eli, a Levite, or priestly official who performed worship services associated with public worship, including assisting priests, guarding the temple, playing music, and serving as temple officials. But--his sons were lazy gluttons who mistreated the food and people who supplied the  animals brought for sacrifice. To scorn God this way ultimately led them to an early death:

Then the Lord said to Samuel: “Behold, I will do something in Israel at which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. ¹² In that day I will perform against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. ¹³ For I have told him that I will judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knows, because his sons made themselves vile, and he did not restrain them. ¹⁴ And therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.”

God has given parents authority and responsibility about raising your children by His Word.  Remember, think of you training your child between the ages of nine months to three years as you read below.

John Wesley’s comment on these verses point to the parents: “…they who can and do not restrain others from sin make themselves share in the guilt.  Those in authority will have a great deal to answer for if that sword they bear be not a terror to evildoers.”

Our natural tendency in this culture is to never spank: “Well, they’re just kids and they have their own minds.”  But we’re talking about sin here. It’s like if a crime is committed but the policeman does nothing-- our response is to place some blame on the police officer.  We would think, “You had the badge, you had the charge to stop the sin from happening, and you did nothing.”  That’s why God is holding up Eli to a fearful judgment: “he did not restrain them.”  And that is what God can hold us parents accountable to.  Are we supposed to halt all the sin of our children? No; but we have the call to restrain the sin we see.  The policeman is guilty if he wipes his hands and says, “Eh, just crooks acting as they were raised.”  That’s the point. And we are guilty if we say, “Eh, toddlers.”  Or, “Eh, teens.”

Here is a word from Jonathan Edwards: (not restraining your children) “is a sign that you have brought up your children without government, that your children regard not your authority…this is the fountain of so much later debauchery and of such corrupt practices among young people.”

Family government in our country is in a great measure extinct, by neglect of Scripture and ignoring the judgment of God.  We must proclaim “Thus saith the Lord” to our child to avoid guilt.  Without it, the untrained children grow up with more sin which they will be accountable for in judgment; and so will parents as well.

God made the command that “Children obey your parents in the Lord,” so we should consider disobedience (not doing what we say) as sin.  The child may learn nuances of disobedience, too, and we should expose them and flush them out.  We’re speaking of two more areas.  First, if they delay in doing what we ask till doing it when they feel like it (which can be a passive aggressive rebellion), OR if they are not respectful—you must force them to be accountable to Scripture that says “honor your father and your mother.”  So if they do it with wailing, or, later, head-wagging, stomping feet, slamming door, they have still violated the 5^thcommandment.  These expressions are wrong, and unacceptable. Come down on the child with punishment if they break any of the three of what “obedience” really is.

This may be hard in the first three years of a child’s life—he/she seems so innocent.  But the very young child learns to test you in many way.  Remember, you’re not the child’s friend—you’re his parent, with God-given responsibilities. The real meaning of love is: showing him what God expects.  It’s not as important to develop your child’s reading, or creativity, as it is to teach them to obey, when to obey, and with respect.

Once the child is learning this, then we are really ready for the second phase, teaching.  We will call this “catechism,” not because we’re Catholic, but because the word has a broader meaning—it’s teaching, by means of questions and answers that the child learns.  This begins when the child is verbal—between the ages of 3 to 4—and continues on past adolescence Keep in mind your goal, for them to respond to God’s Word. BUT it’s tough to catechize a disobedient child.

Continuing on, two things to avoid in the first phase: Inconsistency between parents—i.e. mom has one standard of obedience, dad has another.  They send mixed messages to the child, confusing him.  Or, the child learns to play off one against another to get what he wants—he manipulates them.  That builds up his ego in a sinful way. Inconsistency also is, when we’re at home we have one standard, but when we’re out, where we don’t want to be embarrassed, we have another.  The child learns when to act up and be more successful in getting what he wants—another sinful thing to learn. Then, you remove the child from public display. Then you take the child to a private place, and give him the same treatment that you would at home.

The second thing to avoid: Anger.  Well, you might ask,” doesn’t it produce a fear of being disobedient in the child?  Not a good result.”

Well, what about James 1:20:

…the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

I want my children to obey me because they honor me, and honor the position that God has placed me in.  There’s also the problem that if the husband yells, and the child responds, what will the child do with the wife’s lighter voice, who isn’t scary?  They might ignore her; but children need to respect and respond to both in the same way.  In this phase, we want to win our children’s hearts; anger doesn’t do that. Using anger doesn’t trust God.

Thirdly, avoid contradiction.  Like yelling “YOU BE KIND TO YOUR BROTHER!”  Or like saying, “Johnny, put down that toy.  I’ll give you to three; 1…2…”  Or, by repeating yourself ten times.  The point is, Johnny knows when you’re on your last nerve, and won’t obey you till he hears that special frustrated tone.  See, by doing these, you’re teaching that child delayed obedience, one of the three aspects of disobedience.  So we’re really coaching Johnny to sin. Doing that means I’m flexing his sin-muscle.

By the way, Johnny might not have heard me right, so the way I test that is, when he doesn’t do what I ask, I approach him with my spanking tool (the rod of correction), and if he jumps up, Busted!  He was, indeed, disobedient.  But instead he might look quizzical, and say, “What did I do?”  Then you can repeat the part he didn’t hear.

If you’re wary of spanking, remember that the child is resilient, and will get over it quickly.  (If they wail that you’ve almost killed them, that’s just another technique they have to change your mind.  If you stick by your standards, and ignore them when they wail-- that will fade away.  Their standard is, “whatever works.”)  Think of this, too:  we thank God for the beautiful grace He gives to our child—namely, they have a great desire to please us.  You put something on the refrigerator that they did, or just say, “y-a-a-ay” when they do it right, and with plenty of hugs all around, that child will light up and smile so big that it looks like it will break their face.  God gives them that.  Build that up too.

You should show and teach your children. Too few parents actually show the child how to do something.  Some say, it’s too frustrating, they make too many mistakes.  Well, take your time, be patient, they can learn one thing at a time.  So you’ll sit down for several sessions. Even something you think they automatically know, like “sharing”—don’t assume. You can’t just sit your child down next to another child, and then ask them to “share.” You need to teach the child how to share, that it’s a “win-win” situation.  You sit down, tell them “We’re going to play the sharing game,” and then give one child a toy, then comment favorably when the child smiles, or uses the toy. Then show how the child gives the toy to another.  But you comment unfavorably if another child tries to take it away, or hogs it.

Or, say a child is too shy to greet people (these are people you know, of course).  They hide behind mama’s leg. So you teach “greeting.”  Show them how: we stand up, we look them in the eye, we extend our hand and shake firmly. We encourage our kids, we repeat the steps over and over.

Now you have to assume rebellion, so then it’s time to apply correction.  I mean, please spank your children—early and often.  For those who say, “I only had to spank her maybe twice her whole life.”  Really?  Are you raising Jesus?  No, I suspect that’s not very active parenting.  For those who say, “Just reprove them.  Spanking is not necessary.”  Go ahead and lay that rule down—so you are wiser than King Solomon—or, actually, wiser than God.  Because HE best knows and loves His creatures, and His commandment is in Prov. 13:24:

He who spares his rod hates his son,
But he who loves him disciplines him promptly.

And Prov. 19:18:

Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying

Do you really think you love your child more than God?  No. Follow His rules to truly love your child.  We mistakenly believe that our children will love us more if we don’t spank.  Well, that’s a selfish motive to begin with.  Truth is, and studies agree, that if you don’t spank your children, they will even get to where they despise you. They will not respect you.  You may believe Dr. Spock or Dr. Oprah or Dr. Phil, but you refuse to believe God.  That’s called idolatry.  There are many Old Testament views on where that leads you. Do you ever let your child be vaccinated (I’m not talking about the untested Covid vaccine)?  Well, that hurts too, right?  If your child could get one of these horrible bacteria, you’re willing to allow your child to be temporarily hurt to forego that.  But you know, too, don’t you, that because of the Fall, every child already has a venom, called sin. Sin is poison. The rod of correction is part of the anti-venom. Remember Eli.

You may not believe Proverbs 22:15:

Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child;
The rod of correction will drive it far from him

But you are perhaps are denying that Solomon was writing under the influence of the Holy Spirit.  Denying God’s Words, as a regular thing, will get you a lot of places at the Judgment Seat—just not heaven.  So if you regularly follow the culture, or follow the majority… beware the destination (Matthew 7:13, 14).

Another reason we don’t spank is because we think it “child abuse.”  Yes, the world is getting closer to the day that if your child is spanked, and reports it to authorities, let’s say at school, you will be hauled off to jail. Then the child gets the ultimate payback for thwarting his narcissism. Let’s pray that doesn’t happen.  Until that day, we should be in the business of following God, not the perverted culture.  Did you know that when some parent is put away for child abuse, it’s more likely that they’re paying a price for NOT following God’s commandments?  How’s that, you say.  Sometimes, a parent who doesn’t spank has a wild child on their hands, and the child has taken the parent to the very last nerve with constant disobedience.  When the parent snaps, and whales on the child, leaving bruises on the arms or legs, that’s abuse…because the parent was NOT following God’s plan.  Spanking should be done without anger.  The child is first quietly told what his sin was, that Christ had to die because of sins like the one he had committed, that God loves him, and gave him parents that love and correct him.  Then after the spanking (which should hurt), the parent embraces the child, and the child is reconciled—and the parent should not bring it up again—because that’s a sign that reconciliation didn’t happen.  The parent would be a liar.  The child will recognize that what he is hitting his head against is a rock, called God’s Truth.  This is not about my relationship with the child—I have clearly let him know that I love him.  It’s not personal; I’m doing this because it’s my duty as a parent under God.  I want the best for you—and that’s following His instruction. What happens if my child resists reconciliation? (Holding a grudge is another attempt at getting his way—another act of rebellion). Then you have to spank him again.

Don’t miss the spankings just because you’re tired, or feel that the child (or you) is getting worse with these methods, or the child is uncorrectable. You may have to use “tag-team” with the other spouse administering correction if the child is not getting it. (If the child seems to have other issues that cause a spate of uncharacteristic unruliness, try to get them to bring it up—but if they don’t, you must proceed with correction). It is seen that as long as we deal with disobedience regularly, the less likely that we’ll have those frustrating moments. These are all phase one of lifting your child to God.

May God lead us in our most important job.

Acknowledgement: Voddie Baucham, Sermon on “The Importance of Biblically Disciplining Children”

 

Note: There can be no greater model for child-rearing than Susanna Wesley, mother of John Wesley, the great founder of Methodism. Through his perseverance (he traveled an estimated 250,000 miles on horseback), there was a great Revival in England that turned people to the Lord, and that in turn birthed social reforms as well. Susanna was the youngest daughter and the twenty-fifth child of the distinguished Puritan minister, Dr. Samuel Annesley. Her methodical and renowned approach can be seen in these words she penned about raising her ten children (nine more did not survive infancy—typical mortality of the day). Keep in mind, she home-schooled all her children. She also lived in poverty (but never regretted it), since her husband, Samuel, had contracted income of only 60 pounds a year, but he had time to be a rector (the head clergyman of a parish; he led religious services, delivered sermons, and oversaw parish affairs, while also playing a role in the social and civil life of the community, including overseeing births, deaths, and marriages). She did have one to two servants, usually white children whose parents lent approval, who were trustworthy and reliable (except one, which accidently smothered her child). They cost very little, since their earnings were mostly food and a roof over their heads.  Here are her words:

The children were always placed in a structured routine from birth in all things suitable to their age, such as dressing and undressing. The first three months generally passed in sleep; after that, they were, if possible, laid into their cradle awake, and rocked to sleep—remaining so until it was time for them to wake. This method was used to establish regular sleeping patterns--which initially were three hours in the mornings, and three in the afternoon, then reduced to two, until no naps were needed, by the age of one, or sooner. They were taught to fear the rod, and to cry softly; thus avoiding much correction, and that dreadful noise of crying, which was rarely heard in the house. The family usually lived in as much quietness as if no child were among them. As soon as they were reasonably strong, they were limited to three meals a day. At dinner, their small table and chairs were placed beside ours where they could be supervised. They were allowed to eat and drink as much as they wanted, but were not permitted to ask for anything. They were never allowed to choose their food, but were made to eat whatever was served to the family. At 6:00, following family prayer, they had their supper by 7. Then they were bathed, starting with the youngest, then dressed them, and got them all to bed in their nightshirts by 8. They were left in their respective rooms awake; as it was not allowed in our house to sit by a child, until it fell asleep. They were so accustomed to taking what was given to them that if any of them were ill, there was no trouble in getting them to take unpleasant medicine. They dared not refuse it. They quickly learned that they could not have anything they cried for, and were taught to ask politely for what they wanted. They were not permitted to ask even the lowest servant for anything without saying “please give me such-a-thing.” And the servant was reproved if she allowed them to omit that word.

There were several additional rules we observed which I believed to be useful. First, we noticed that fear of punishment often leads children to lie; eventually forming a habit that is difficult to break. To prevent this, a rule was made: if a child confessed a fault honestly, and promised to amend, they would not be punished. This rule reduced lying considerably. Second, no sinful action, such as lying, stealing, playing at church on the Lord’s day, or disobedience, or quarreling--was ever allowed to go unpunished. Third, no child was to be scolded or beaten twice for the same fault; and if they amended, they would not be reproached for it afterward. If any child performed an act of obedience, or did something to please, even if it were imperfectly done, the intention was kindly received, and the child was gently guided on how to do better in the future. That promise was to be strictly observed, and a gift once given was to be not taken back.

As I said, a great model to use today. It clearly worked then, with John—and let’s not forget, his musician brother, Charles (my favorite was “And Can It Be?”)—being the proven results of godly child-rearing. I can’t tell you how strongly I feel about home-schooling as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Modern Culture Has New Ways to Persecute the Church

  

(This was written in 2022—update follows)

 Most people don't scroll through their Twitter feed thinking a few simple clicks will change their life. But for Birmingham Pastor Chris Hodges, a handful of "likes" were all it took to make the biggest church in Alabama disappear from there.

 

A little explanation is in order here:  You can lose your lease a lot of ways -- if you fall behind on payments, abuse the property, or follow conservative media. Like most people Chris Hodges probably didn't think a quick tap of support for posts on Donald Trump or China's role in the coronavirus would amount to much of anything.

 

Turns out, he was wrong. A local English teacher decided to catalogue Hodges's "likes" and share them with the press (how did she get access to that? Hmm.) Little did anyone know, it would be the beginning of the end of the church's services at two local high schools.

"I do not attend Church of the Highlands," teacher Jasmine Clisby said openly. And, she insisted, "I can't see into Pastor Chris Hodges's heart." But his support for what she considered "culturally insensitive" views is "troubling." "I would be upset if it comes off as me judging him," she said without a hint of irony. "I'm not saying he's a racist." But thanks to her smear campaign, the Birmingham Board of Education, effectively, is saying that.

On Tuesday night, members voted to abruptly terminate the church's lease -- ending a six-year relationship that brought the city almost a million dollars in revenue. Thanks to this ridiculous complaint, Parker and Woodlawn High Schools will no longer be home to a diverse congregation of 60,000.

 

But unfortunately for the needy people of Alabama, that's just the beginning. Because of this manufactured controversy, the church's Christ Health Clinic will also be banned from operating, according to the Birmingham Housing Authority, who also decided Monday to ban volunteer workers.

 

"Commissioners agreed," their statement said, "that Pastor Hodges's views do not reflect those of [the Housing authority] and its residents... HABD and Campus of Hope staff will continue to work with other faith-based organizations in the community to identify resources that will replace the services that were provided."

Starting immediately, the church is banned from the city's public housing communities. That means the church will not be able to give out free COVID testing, no more free mentoring, health, or social service ministry -- all because Pastor Chris dared to do what millions of Americans do every day: engage on social media.

Even more incredibly, both councils went ahead with these tactics despite the pastor's sincere apologies -- which, in most people's opinion, weren't even necessary! And yet, Pastor Hodges did the humble and gracious thing, telling his congregation -- and the community -- that he was sorry for any hurt he'd caused. He called it a mistake. He said he owned it. He pledged to never mindlessly scroll again and explained how he was trying to use his influence to heal the hurts of these difficult times.

 

None of that mattered to the opposition, who not only ignored Pastor Chris' work in their neighborhoods but the church's standing in the minority community. At least a third of the Highlands' congregations are black and Hispanic.

If anything, Hodges was respected for fighting for the disenfranchised, for preaching about healing and reconciliation. As recently as last Sunday, he called the city to mutual understanding, peace, and prayer. But in this "cancel culture," those 20 years of bridge-building don't matter to those bent on burning down any platform but their own.

And unfortunately for Birmingham, their intolerance doesn't just affect the Church of the Highlands. It affects many hurting neighborhoods, who leaned on Church of the Highlands for help it couldn't get anywhere else.

These are the same people the opposition wants us to believe they care about: the children, minorities, and poor. But in the end, we know -- they'll always care about punishing Christians more. We've seen it in the adoption debate, the foster care debate, even the virus outreach. Now, to no one's surprise, they're willing to let Birmingham families suffer over a handful of "likes."

 

Imagine if we held everyone by that standard. If we combed through these public servants' accounts, what would we find? Political objectivity, or the bias and bitterness that's led to these baseless attacks? "I would love for you," Pastor Hodges urged, "to not just look at a microscopic zoom-in but look at the totality of 37 years of ministry and 19 years as a church. If you look at that, it will be abundantly clear that we value every person."

 

Unfortunately for Birmingham and so many others, the persecutors cannot say the same.

 

Acknowledgements:  The Family Research Council, and Prophecy News Watch

 

Update: Church of the Highlands is still around, but in five other campuses in or around Birmingham, including its gigantic auditorium (which, in seating capacity, is tied with Joel Osteen’s Lakewood auditorium in Houston, TX). Chris Hodges has stepped down from lead pastor, but is still an Elder along with several others. They also have Highlands College, a ministry training school, along with local ministries, such as AA and NA, etc.

 

There is still controversy: Robert Morris, a Texas megachurch pastor who was also an overseer (and part-time speaker) at Church of the Highlands, was accused of sexual misconduct with a child for years in Texas in 2024. He resigned his position as overseer at Church of the Highlands, and they are instituting a due diligence process on him.

 

So parties on both for, and against Christianity, have proven what we all knew--we are all sinners, and need to avoid hell, the just place for our sins. Jesus talked about hell quite a bit, including the statement (Matthew 7:13ff) that the majority of people would go there. People have deceived themselves. I have many blogs on this obviously important subject.

 

Ministry Among Drug Runners in the Colombian Jungle

 

David and Gloria Martinez moved deep into the Choco area in 2005 in the dangerous country of Colombia to share the gospel, give Bibles, and plant churches.  They studied the local language and learned to live off the land, building relationships among the region’s large Afro-Colombian population, and with numerous indigenous people.  They eventually learned to live in close proximity to right-wing paramilitary groups, and  the National Liberation Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC).  They began to train church leaders and establish churches in the area.  Many came to faith in Christ.   “That’s when it got difficult,” Gloria said.  “The devil was mad; we were making an impact.  So the spiritual attacks started; the witchcraft and the different armed groups started to intervene.”  The couple had a 9-month-old daughter at the time, so they began imploring God for protection. 

 

They had met while attending a missionary school in central Colombia.  David felt called to bring the Gospel to the jungle.  And Gloria, his girlfriend at the time, had already visited Choco on a short-term mission trip.  After their marriage in 2004, they moved to Choco, a jungle area, one of the poorest regions in Colombia—and it was a hub of violence and drug trafficking.  The mission school provided 180 Bibles to get them started, but they received little money.  “God showed us the way in,” David said, smiling. 

 

The thick rainforest of Choco, the large rivers, and lack of developed roads make it inaccessible, even to Colombian security forces.  So it became an ideal spot for boats transporting cocaine, where it went to Central America and Mexico.  The few Christians in the area had experienced persecution in the past.  In 2002’s “Bojaya massacre,” the FARC bombed a church, killing more than 70 people, and they also ran off 6,000 people from their homes—they were fearful about staying there.  About a year after David and Gloria moved to Choco, a prominent guerrilla commander in Colombia declared all pastors in the country’s “red zones,”  (which Choco was) that is, “objects of war.” 

 

When locals figured that David and Gloria knew who helped transport cocaine, they threatened them.  David said “we had to decide if we were going to leave or stay.  We decided to stay and spread the Gospel.”  Then, one day a rebel leader with about 60 guerrilla soldiers came to the couple’s house and told David he had to support them.  “They knew everything about me,” he said.  “They knew all my wife’s family members, all of my family members.  They knew the offering I was receiving every three months, the exact amount.”  They told David that they would triple his salary and allow him to continue his pastoral work if he would” join” them, as other pastors already had.  David was bold.  “If those pastors are collaborating, they are no longer considered pastors.  I won’t do it; you kill people.  The only person who should have power over life is God.”  The rebel leader didn’t appreciate David’s words.  “You are lucky it’s me and not some other guerrillas, as they would have shot you in the head already,” he said.  “We are going to talk tomorrow.” 

 

Holding their daughter, Gloria began to pray for protection from God.  “A lot of the guerrillas are famous for taking kids,” she said.  “I feared for her.”  The next day, the rebel leader and 60 guerrillas returned to David and Gloria’s house, but this time the leader had a changed attitude.  He told David that his mother was a Christian.  Though surprised, David relaxed as the two began to discuss the Bible.  David said, “I became good friends with this man.  I told him to listen to God.  He said, ‘I will only come to Christ when I am injured in the war.”  David urged the man to place his faith in Jesus as Savior before he died in conflict, but he resisted.  Still, before the rebel leader left, he accepted 60 Bibles from David to share with the other fighters.  Fifteen days later, the rebel leader was killed in an attack by a paramilitary group. David hopes he read the Bible and came to faith.  “When he received his Bible, he remembered his childhood.  He thanked me.” 

 

After developing a relationship with the rebel leader’s replacement, David continued to supply them with Bibles.  He and Gloria gave them 400 Bibles over the next several months as guerrilla fighters rotated in and out of the group.  But the superior of the new leader finally burned the Bibles.  Since the commander told David that he had read a few pages, “then those Bibles burned have not been a waste.” 

 

The rebel groups watched David and Gloria’s movements.  To buy food and other goods, they had to walk through both FARC and paramilitary territories.  “Every time we passed the paramilitary, they thought we were collaborators with the guerillas,” he said.  “They threatened us.  They told the indigenous people they were going to kill us.”  Finally the couple decided to transfer to a safer part of Choco.  In five years from the time they began, they had raised up four indigenous pastors and planted churches in two communities.  And 70 people had come to faith in Christ.  So the believers would carry on well when they left. 

 

Even after they moved, David, Gloria and their children continued to experience persecution from all sides as the government, paramilitaries, rebel groups, and organized crime syndicates vied for control of territory and the money income.  “There were weeks we had to run out of the community,” Gloria said, “because the drug situation was really bad.  There was a lot of fighting.”  But at their new location, for the first few years, most of the persecution surprisingly came from a local

religious group.  “For four years, they wouldn’t rent us a good house,” David said.  “We always had houses that were falling apart.  I would fix them, and then they would kick us out once I fixed it.”  Then, a group of indigenous village leaders prohibited David and his family from entering their community.  The village even sued them, claiming David’s family was “damaging their cultural identity by introducing and spreading Christianity.”  David said, “We have been able to demonstrate with those who are believers that we are not here to damage their culture.  We always try to teach in their language.  We talk to the kids in their language.”  To keep the peace, David and his family moved out of the indigenous community and into an Afro-Colombian community—still in Choco.  Those people were descended from those brought to the Americas from the slave trading days.  Some of them continue to practice African folk religions, which involve much superstition and questionable medical practices—besides heretical views about Jesus. 

 

Among this community, David and Gloria now lead a mixed congregation from indigenous and Afro-Colombian backgrounds.  They still minister to 20 indigenous believers in the community they left as well.  “Those people can’t kick us out again because we are already out,” David quipped.  In 2019, David and his family visited 25 of the 28 indigenous communities in the area, often receiving threats as they passed through guerrilla and paramilitary territories.  Although the Colombian government and the FARC signed a peace agreement that was ratified by the nation’s congress in November 2016, the peace deal has not brought peace, especially in Choco.  In fact, they said, the guerrillas are taking the opportunity to regroup and rearm.  “Right now we are a military target for the armed groups because we were not born in the area,” Gloria said.  “We are always praying to become invisible.  Actually, the Christian indigenous people experience a lot more persecution--from their community, and in many cases from the armed groups as well.” 

 

On a spiritual level, David and Gloria are battling the guerrilla groups for the minds of the region’s youth.  Guerilla groups lure the children into their ranks with the promise of weapons and cash.  Thousands of Colombian children have fought in the country’s war; many were raised in guerilla camps and trained as fighters from a young age.  The FARC alone has reportedly recruited 3,700 child soldiers throughout its history.  To help children follow Christ instead, David and Gloria started teaching a children’s Bible class two years ago.  At first they held the class in an indigenous village, but after receiving threats, they decided, with parents’ approval, to pick up about 200 children each weekend using a boat that Voice of the Martyrs helped provide.  David picks up 50 children at a time, takes them to their home for the Bible lessons, and then returns them.  David and Gloria also watch for vulnerable children whom the guerrilla groups might target as recruits.  They help the children’s families enroll them in school and even transport them to and from school when possible.  David thinks they have prevented about 10 children from joining the guerrillas.  “God helped us to save these kids,” he said. 

 

As for their own children, David and Gloria bring them wherever they go, relying on God to help them recognize risky situations.  “There was only one time that God showed us they shouldn’t accompany us on a trip,” David said.  Although Samantha, now 13, has, in the past, occasionally expressed fear and anxiety when traveling through guerrilla territory, even having nightmares, her parents said she has largely overcome those fears as she has gotten older.  “I am not afraid,” she said.  “Because I know that God is protecting us and there are a lot people praying for us when we do this.  I really like being in the ministry, the adventure of so many rivers, so many challenging places, and I like it with the family.”  Juliana, 10, and Daniel, 7, help their mom with Sunday school and share the gospel with children in their own ways.  “I am a little embarrassed to say a lot to them, but when I play with them, they see Jesus in me,” Daniel said quietly.  David and Gloria admit that raising three children while ministering in a dangerous area has been a challenge, but God has helped them.  David says, “Sometimes people say they don’t go to the mission field because they have kids, but we say, “You can work, you can do ministry, and your kids will be fine. God will help you… Right now in school, our kids all have very good grades.”  Samantha takes online classes, and Gloria plans to homeschool the others until they are in fourth grade.  “I will go to the city to download all the homework; I take it to the jungle, and I upload that onto the platform they gave me.” 

 

David and Gloria know their children are getting a spiritual education by being a part of their ministry work.  “We don’t limit what they see as we minister,” Gloria said.  “They also must have their own personal devotion.  They need a personal relationship with God and not just what they see their parents do.  I learned it that way when I was growing up.  If I didn’t have a personal relationship with God, I wouldn’t have felt the call.” 

 

About two years ago, Voice of the Martyrs helped the family attend a retreat with other pastors and their families.  It was their first “break” from the intensity of their jungle ministry in 14 years.  “We give the glory to God,” David said.  David asked us to pray for their protection from the armed groups and from spiritual attacks.  And for those they’re reaching with the gospel.  Gloria thanked Voice of the Martyrs.  “Through your prayers, we go together.  We don’t do this alone.  If it weren’t for you guys praying for us, I don’t think that God could make us invisible. “ 

 Acknowledgement:  Voice of the Martyrs magazine, June, 2020

 

Note: This couple’s faith in God’s protection, even with children around, is noteworthy, and seldom seen. They see God as few people see Him. They did have to abandom some areas, but that’s the direction the Holy Spirit gives us, when danger gets too close. Matthew 10:23:

 But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.

  I have a feeling that their kids with do amazingly for the Lord as well. Praise God for this dedication. They will have crowns in heaven.

 

Note 2: Massacres of Christians are also going on currently in Syria. There are dedicated missionaries like David and Gloria there too. Syria has a significant history; Christians were first called that in Antioch, Syria. Paul’s conversion to Christianity was in Syria. Christian missions dominated the whole area from Israel to Turkey, bringing many to the Lord, but that was slowed down to a trickle since Islamists conquered the whole area in the 7^th century, radically changing the culture to a foreign god, Allah. You don’t read about this persecution in the alphabet media, of course, since only 8% of them are reportedly Christians themselves. Besides the probability that with national newscasters, personal views are coloring what they present.

 

A Scriptural and Logical Approach to Homosexuality

 

 

One of the greatest of today’s apologists is Dr. Voddie Baucham.  I’ve always believed in using logical response to questions by unbelievers in evangelism; and nobody does it better than he. 

 He begins his message at Dr. John MacArthur’s Grace church with the following wake-up quote: “I’m going to address what I believe is the most pressing cultural issue that we face today: same-sex marriage.”  It is an issue that has its roots in our understanding of origins.  He will give us how this issue has been framed by its promoters to put Christians on the defensive.  How it has been co-opted by our educational system.  And he wants to give us some logical apologetic response to verbal attacks by non-believers. The rest of my paper is a summary of his statements.

 The data suggest that acceptance of homosexual lifestyle is winning American culture:  In 2007, 49% of Americans say this lifestyle should be accepted vs. 72% agree in 2019.  Even among those who say “religion is very important” in their lives, still 57% are accepting of homosexuality.  But this varies widely, from 12% acceptance among Jehovah’s Witnesses to 96% Unitarians.  If Christians knew their Bibles, far less than a majority would feel that tolerant.  What does Genesis teach us about marriage?  Genesis 2:24-25:

Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. ²⁵ And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

It is clear here that marriage is a relationship between two corresponding halves of humanity—men and women. The phrase “one flesh” suggests a corresponding complementary makeup of the two who are to unite—which only men and women physically are truly able. And how that bears favorable fruit.  All you have to do is look at their bodies that He created, and you get a pretty good clue.  Then, several months later, you get a bonus clue that says, “Yep.  That was how it was supposed to happen.” 

A note: This argument against homosexuals from Genesis is also an argument against those (pastors) who say that Genesis, being in the Old Testament, is not that important (so say more of them, unfortunately).  They think that origins—arguments over whether there were six literal days of creation, or whether there was a literal Adam and Eve, etc—are not worth getting heated up over; they say that What Matters is Just the Cross!”

Dr. Baucham counters “OK, well, Who died on the Cross?”  Let’s hear what Jesus says about homosexuality.  (Yes, He does speak on this issue, despite arguments we hear otherwise.  But you need a deeper knowledge of Scripture to see that.)  Matthew 19:3-6: 

 The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?” ⁴ And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ ⁵ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? ⁶ So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”

A side note: Jesus’ teaching on divorce is also rooted on His analysis of Genesis.  He is asserting these were real events—thus He believes in a literal reading of these texts. (“Literal” reading is when the Bible reads like history—i.e., Adam was real, not a moral tale or allegory).   Jesus derives a second argument against a too-popular sin from Genesis, divorce.  Let nobody tell you to ignore the Old Testament.

Further, from Genesis we learn the three-fold purpose of marriage:  procreation, illustration, and sanctification.  On procreation; they are told to “be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth.”  Adam can’t do that alone. Regarding illustration:  The family--father, mother, and child--are a picture of the Triune God. (We are not suggesting the gender of the Holy Spirit has to be feminine—the correlation is not intended to go that far.  Nor are we suggesting that if a man and woman cannot bear a child, that they’re not a family).  There is also Christ and His bride, the church, a Groom and a Virgin Bride.  Regarding sanctification:  there is a holiness in their marriage. For example, here, they were naked but unashamed. (Paul has a few additional things to say about marriage on the subject of avoiding temptation for sanctification, but Dr. Baucham doesn’t cover that).

Homosexuality is a violation of the created order. Male and male (or female and female) were not made for each other, physically.  That arrangement denounces procreation categorically.  God designed male and female to give birth, raise, rear, and protect children. It also blasphemes the illustration. Christ and His male bride? No way.  Finally, on sanctification:  it takes what God calls sinful and an “abomination” (a term used for the most sinful of sins--elsewhere in Scripture you’ll find that term) and some want to call it righteous. Homosexuality is so evil that it is the only sin that God destroys cities with fire and brimstone in historical Scripture. An unbiased reading of Genesis 18 and 19 cannot deny that. 

Let’s talk about Education’s role in this growing disease.  Arne Duncan was Pres. Biden’s Secretary of Education.  His resume is ‘sterling,’ as you shall see:  Right after his term as Secretary of Education in Illinois, 83% of 8^th graders couldn’t read at grade level; 87% couldn’t do Math at grade level; 77% couldn’t write at grade level; and 84% couldn’t do Science at grade level! He did this by spending a ‘modest’ $10,555 per student.  The residents of Illinois paid that, including home schooling parents.  The media, and the teacher’s unions, complain that they could do better with more money, that they’re underpaid.  He says, “No, that’s not the reason. Home schooled students outperform both public and private students, and their parents spend an average of $600 per year per student.”

Since Duncan clearly lacks skills for the job, why was he Biden’s pick?  Because he was also “innovative”—in a wrong way.  He started Chicago’s Annenberg Challenge, a Marxist program.  Bill Ayers (background:  A co-founder of Weather Underground, a militant activist group in the 1960s, for those who can remember those bad old days; described as a terrorist group by the FBI; a self-described communist revolutionary group that bombed public buildings, including police stations, the U.S. Capitol, and the Pentagon.  He kept out of prison on a technicality)  and Barack Obama (former president, but who aroused controversy in 2008 over his connections with Ayers in those days) served together on the board of the Annenberg Challenge in Illinois.  And here’s where it touches our subject: Duncan also endorsed establishing the Chicago social justice high schools’ Pride campus, a gay campus that promoted and reinforced the sodomite lifestyle. 

Education was also blessed with Kevin Jennings—a founder of the Gay-Lesbian-Straight Education Network.  His goal was to have Gay-Straight Alliance in every school in America.  As of right now, virtually every school district has Gay-Straight Alliances in them.  He also introduced a program called Safe Schools (SS), which supposedly has an anti-bullying curriculum.  But in reality, it is a pro-homosexual curriculum designed to indoctrinate school children toward the homosexual lifestyle. 

It so happens that Education Secretary Duncan brought Jennings to Washington to be the Safe Schools czar—to federalize (i.e., requirement for all schools) his SS, pro-homosexual curriculum. 

Dr. Baucham then considers the gay argument that “this is the way I was made; morals have nothing to do with that.”  He argues that, even if that were the case. morals would still have to be considered.  If I had a genetic predisposition for drunkenness, does that make it OK to drive drunk?  No!  You may kill someone—a moral issue. A police officer won’t let you off by playing the “genetic predisposition” card. 

The gay sympathizers claim 1 in 10, or 10%, of people are born gay.  This number only has Kinsey research to back it, but Kinsey’s research has been debunked and is known to be unreliable.  The most widely respected survey is from the National Health and Social Life.  Their numbers:  2.8% of males, and 1.4% of females, are reported as having same-sex preference.

Pro-gay activists include gay activists, black civil rights leaders, some business and political leaders, and unfortunately religious leaders.  Their leaders never fail to obey the saying, “Never let a crisis go to waste.”  In 1989 in a book, After The Ball, in outlining their strategies, they coldly sized up the AIDS epidemic and said, “As cynical though it seems, the victim strategy for AIDS worked; so it can pave our way  to establish ourselves as another victimized minority, legitimately deserving America’s special protection and care.” 

Then they asked, “How can we maximize the sympathy and minimize the fear?”  They called for “unabashed propaganda firmly grounded in long-established principles of psychology and advertising.” Shamelessly, they recognize that that propaganda relies on three things:  emotional manipulation; lies--and those are subjective and one-sided.  This is what they wanted to use on the public—and they certainly have done it, as we shall soon see.  For their media campaign, they outlined three strategies:  desensitizing, jamming, and conversion. (By the way, these are the exact steps to brainwashing.) 

For desensitizing, they would inundate us in a flood of gay-related advertising, presenting gays in the least offensive way possible.  They also want us to hear from outed movie and TV stars, and especially athletes.  In the movies, the homosexual character is always the best-dressed, or most intelligent, or wittiest, etc. 

In jamming, they are taking two contradictory images and jamming them together.  (I.e., what we think a gay person is like, vs. Michael Sam, who once was a defensive lineman in football), for instance, who appears as a  healthy, rich athlete, and happy). In doing this, they want to portray anti-gay institutions as backwards and out-of-step with the culture and with the “findings” of modern psychology.  One way gays make Christians look like bigots is portraying, with national news, when Michael Sam, “came out.” President Obama even congratulated him.  (Ed. Note: Let’s think again about how vile and blasphemous sodomy is—so we ask, where is our country’s morals that our president feels he won’t endanger his credibility by congratulating a sodomite?)  Another idea is, everyone hates the Nazis, skinheads, and KKK. They are racist, every one.  So what you do is, you portray people who are opposed to same-sex marriage as being akin to Nazis, skinheads, and KKK. Their leaders repeat this every occasion they can. After a while, Christians look bigoted and racist.  This jamming works on most of us, and we back off our opposition. Now we are more “moderate.”  We mutter or don’t speak about it.  If we get emotional, we “need” to apologize.  This is why when a pastor deals with this issue, he spends a good deal of time apologizing and choosing his words rather than stating the offense against God. 

Imagine this from a pastor on a Sunday morning: “Now, church, we are going to address the issue of adultery, but I don’t want you to be alarmed.  I’m not here to bash adulterers; I love adulterers, Jesus loves adulterers, I have friends who are adulterers, and I believe that our church needs to be open and accepting towards adulterers”…You see what I’m saying? Hopefully that basis of discussion wouldn’t fly. But every time a pastor goes to speak on homosexuality, we expect that “introduction” to be upfront. Why?  Because we’ve been jammed.  That’s why the most onerous sin we can imagine has us apologizing for repeating what God said. 

Homosexuals assert “That’s how people are born, right?”  Truth is, none of the studies has proven a genetic connection to homosexuality. The body is no different. So how do you know a person is homosexual—only if they tell you. There is no way to prove it otherwise. We just assume that it is.  We don’t even question someone who says, “I just knew, even as a little boy (or girl) that I was homosexual.”  Folks, that’s not true.  When they were that young, they
weren’t even sexualized; they didn’t know any of that.  Boys playing with dolls doesn’t mean they’re homosexual.  He can’t assert that.

On the third strategy to make us tolerate gays, namely conversion, gays want us to change our minds:  they want us to like them.  They even hate the idea Christians express:  “Hate the sin, but love the sinner.”  That’s not good enough, because you’re still calling it sin—and they can’t abide that.  They hope the media and the schools will bring us around.  But in doing so, we would be abandoning what God has explicitly told us.  One of their experts says, “Since it’s genetic, it’s not like saying, “Tomorrow morning I’m going to stop being gay,” because that’s like saying, “Tomorrow morning I’m going to stop being black.” So they say.

Listen to what Brian McLaren says about homosexuality (I covered his beliefs in my “Emerging Church” blog): “Perhaps we need a 5-year moratorium on making decrees of judgement.  In the meantime, we’ll practice prayerful Christian dialogue, listening respectfully, disagreeing agreeably…we’ll keep our ears attuned to scholars...etc ad nauseum…so we can patiently wait for the wind of the Spirit to set our course; because you know, it’s just not clear in the Bible.”  Not clear? 

Here is another element of their strategy; it’s called an ad hominem argument, that is, against the man. It’s what they do when they’re losing the debate. They can’t make a logical argument, so they make an argument against you. This is like how kids argue.  They start losing the argument, so they go “well...well…so you ugly.”  That means he’s got no logical argument left, and knows it. Listen this from Rep. Barney Frank:  “I wouldn’t want the homosexual marriage issue to go to the U.S. Supreme Court now, because that homophobe Antonin Scalia has too many votes on this current Court.”  He’s saying this about a sitting Justice! Do you notice that it’s not your opinion that’s wrong, it’s you; you are intolerant, you are a homophobe—it’s your character.  You as a person have been judged, not your opinion. They always use ad hominem attacks. “You as a person don’t deserve to be in this discussion.” 

They say homosexuality is as immutable as ethnicity.  That’s not true.  Look at I Corinthians 6:9-11:

 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, ¹⁰ nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. ¹¹ And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.

That’s 2000-year old evidence that people stopped being homosexual!

Gays argue that they are discriminated against in marriage, in having children, etc.  But the word “discriminated” has a broader meaning, some of it good.  We want our daughters to be discriminatory when she seeks a man to date, and ultimately to marry, right?  Actually, all laws are discriminatory; i.e., it treats everyone the same in a category that it favors, and equally to those categories it does not favor. Remember, that’s what we want our daughters to do, right? Take this statement from the marriage covenant, “When two people.”  Start with “when.”  That means we discriminate against all 13-year olds equally.  “When two.”  We discriminate against polygamy and polyamory, “When two people.”  We discriminate against bestiality and zooerasty (I’ll let you look that up).  And so on.  So even the premise of their argument is out the window, since we make and have laws that discriminate--as you can see above, for good reason.

All that works, at least, until the public, having been sufficiently desensitized, jammed, and been—well, partially—converted, change how we feel about homosexuals.  (Ed. note:  Now I worry about polygamy, pedophilia, or bestiality being their next goal.  God help us.)

Now to the suggestions for you to help beat back this growing immorality. Try Apologetics.  First, we need to stop being back on our heels—we have God’s Truth on our side.  We don’t need to mutter our objections, nor stick to “moderation.”  Remember, that’s lukewarmness—which God doesn’t speak kindly of in Revelation 3.  Oh, yes, prepare for the ad hominem arguments.  You’ll be slandered.  Expect persecution, but endure, the only sure way to heaven.  Make your life pleasing to God, not your fellow fallen man.  Truly hate the things of the world—including those things in you.  Fear, embarrassment.  And we also have logic on our side.  We need to understand that the other side doesn’t care about truth—but that does not stop us from making our Scriptural arguments. 

They will use the genetic fallacy argument—i.e., rejecting logic because of where it came from—that is, from Christians. They say, “You can’t bring the Bible to bear on this argument, because you can’t force your religious beliefs on other people.” Thus they believe that religion has no listenable place in our society. I reject that premise.  Secondly, while you don’t want to accept religion, you are trying to force your non-Bible religious beliefs on me, and feel that you should be listened to, while I don’t have that privilege. I reject that premise. Thirdly, you’re arguing that I should be loving and kind toward you, which you get from my Bible, which you don’t acknowledge. As you can see, that dog don’t hunt.

Last item.  They complain about how we “pick and choose” from Leviticus, especially.  We often quote Lev. 18:22 to them:

You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination.

But then there are strange things in Leviticus which we ignore, like how it’s also an abomination to eat shellfish (Ch. 11), or how it’s unlawful to clip off the edges of your beard (Ch. 19), and not to sow different seeds in a field (also Ch 19).  Well, let me help you.  First, Christians could argue that “also in Leviticus 18 is the proper way to treat your neighbor, which is what you want me to do, right?  So who’s “picking and choosing,” huh?  You like part of Leviticus 18, but not another part.  Actually, this is just like I am.  But the difference is, I know why I’m picking and choosing.  A little education: there are 3 types of laws in the Bible. There is moral law, which is forever binding on all people in all time.  We have this summarized in the Ten Commandments.  Secondly, there is civil law—they were for the nation of Israel, in the ancient Near East.  These laws expired with the nation then, but they are still of general equity because they were based on the moral law.  Thirdly  were the ceremonial laws, which were defined to do two things:  to identify Israel as God’s unique and different people, worshipping Him uniquely in their context—and also to point forward to the Person and work of Christ.  So when you talk about cutting the edge of the beard, that’s ceremonial law, and intended to show that Israel was different, and not like the nations around them. Yes, dietary and civil laws also were not like other nations.  (Actually, their civil laws were far better than most). Many of our own laws, like negligent homicide, (the ox that gores in Leviticus) were based on Jewish laws.  (We call them Judeo-Christian laws, citing their source).

So the reason I “pick and choose” from the Old Testament, is because New Testament writers did that, and because while Christ has come, and we are under the New Covenant, He has fulfilled the whole law, and He enables me to keep the moral law.  The moral law is still operable.  So if I understand how the Bible was written, and I use the Old Testament carefully, I’m not picking and choosing what I like—which is the opposite of you, friend.  Tell me why you get to pick and choose from the Bible, since you don’t know why, or how, you just pick what you like.  What’s better for our society—people who just pick what law they want, and violate laws they don’t like; or people that understand and are subject to a law that’s higher than themselves; people that are willing to obey and submit to it.   You answer that and then we can go back to our discussion on same-sex marriage.

We haven’t covered all the Biblical points on homosexuality, but I have given you tools to fight with.  God be with you.