Biblical Romans Worldview Lie

 Biblical Romans Worldview Lie

Mark 3:25 says, “And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.” Let us pray for the church in America, that it would not be divided, that it would stand strong for God and resolute on the Word.

History: 

-Romans 13 is labeled to submit to governing authorities, but never take one chapter out of the Bible to follow because it can be misrepresented. God has an overarching plotline of redemption of all mankind. The church was never meant to bow to the evil of the world which encompasses government. 

-it is used as a weapon against churches and as a reason why churches avoid politics as they want to stay in their comfort zone spreading the love of Jesus, but He will be seated at the right hand of God judging so He is a God of justice as well. He never shied away from confronting political offices. 

-separation of church and state has become a secular belief so remove God from all government entities, but that is a lie. 

-Truth is opposite, Jefferson wrote to the Baptist churches that the separation of church and state was to reassure the churches that the government would have no authority over them-freedom of religion is above any government authority because God is of ALL Authority. 

-Citizens submit to the government when their authority is aligned with God-once they reject God’s morals and commandments then it is the citizens and churches that should be speaking God’s words in the public square.

-Our founding fathers gave us an amazing gift: We the people, are the rulers and all authority in a constitutional republic-mayors, governors, legislature, senators should submit to us as We the People

-Separation of church and state is not in the Constitution. We the People are the sovereign in the constitution.

-The letter from Jefferson to Baptist convention-intent to keep state out of the church-subject to mandates should never have happened

-What is really being said by the government is Christians you stay quiet because you outnumber us. 

-Romans 13 speaks to authority but added for our good, but when they cease to do good they cease to be the authority

“Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper” (Jeremiah 29:7).

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland” (Isaiah 43: 18-19).

Proverbs 29:18 “If a nation is not guided by God the people will lose self-control, but the nation that obeys God’s law will be happy.”

***Worldview shapes the policies that our children grow up with so churches need to stand in the gap against evil politics

Rob McCoy’s words of wisdom:

-If you  just preach the gospel that just targets winning souls in one breath and then in the other say that I don’t do politics then you are missing a key point: If you want to win souls then make sure your government can’t tell you that you can’t 

-If you just stand watching the state come into the church to remove freedom of religion then your followers will become followers of the government with no need for the God of our churches. 

- Pastors are peace loving, but the misconception is that peace is the absence of conflict. Christ was in the midst of all conflict. We are to submit to authority as Romans 13 lays out, but not unlimited submission to tyranny. There is a difference.

A little more History:

-The War of Independence started because tyranny took authority over the people who are ruled by God. 

-Politicians are actors who follow a script written by the audience, obedience to tyranny or obedience to God who gave sovereignty to the people.

 Ex. The president needs council just as a  king needs counselors seen in the Bible

-Our founders in their wisdom gave the people a counselor in the 1st amendment = Freedom of press, freedom on the pulpit, freedom of speech, and peaceable assembly to address our grievances. Press is to report the truth, the pulpits are to proclaim it, people are to live it out. 

-Only moral people can govern a Constitutional Republic because it is a bottom up form of government.

-Corruption and tyranny overtakes a country when the press is bought, pulpits are silent, people are rudderless, and greed and power overrun the government and the voice of the people are no longer welcomed or followed so it is a top down form of government. Ex. covid restrictions, mandates, vaccines, green energy

-God intrinsically put on our hearts a desire for liberty, we stood on their defense—love our neighbor

-1st amendment was not to allow the government to prohibit We the People. The first 16 words prohibited congress to make no law against the establishment of religion. It prohibited the government to come between God and His people. 

-The eloquence of declaration of independence-preamble-We the people of the United States in order to perform a more perfect union-3 branches of government should compliment each not gain up on We the People in some form of socialism, Marxism, or tyranny

***Instead of kinds who wield absolute power for entire lifetimes, America was established as a nation governed by the people. The government’s ability to wrest power from the people was reined in by an ingenious system of checks and balances. But what is often missed by pundits today was the expectation of our founding fathers, all of whom held great reverence for God and Scripture, that leaders possess a moral compass, and the virtue, justice, and righteousness were essential for government not to trample on the God=given rights of people. And who chooses those leaders? We the people….through our vote

Don't be fooled:

-Biblical citizenship is understood historically  with absolute accuracy in the Bible. 

-Biblical understanding of the history points to the history of our nation

-Jesus said to always remember when he spoke during the longest running meal in history called the Festival of Thin Bread recognizing the Passover. We take communion to remember that his body was broken for us and that his blood was shed to cover our sins. 

-Many times God comes for his people to release them from slavery into freedom, so to become slaves to government control is not biblical. 

-Critical to remember who you are through a historical lens. We learn where we are going when we look where we have been. 

-Elections represent what happens when people stand up for what they believe in and go to the polls (fight against the tyranny of rigged elections-hold our elected officials accountable)

-American: believe in our way of life, constitution, Judeo-Christian values, and believe in personal responsibility you gotta get out there and vote-support people who represent your values-at every level-school board to white house, get engaged and fully involved.

-Christian: is it okay to worry about current events-they should do something about school boards, moral and biblical commandment to actually attest in the public square.

What to do:

-Fight for the next generation-count the cost-nothing more valuable than the freedom for the next generation

-Hold the Church accountable to secure and to defend the lowly

-Church is the refuge so fight to keep it a sanctuary city on the hill

-uphold these Biblical values as society’s bedrock

-Respect for marriage act: destroy traditional marriage-voters need to remember who is responsible for making these rules and laws

-Gender: society must simply conform to a boy claiming to be a girl and girl claiming to be a boy

-Christians cannot ignore or accept secular godless understanding with grace and love

“We the People”

-We pray, vote, and stand on the integrity of the Bible

-We engage in cultural conversations

-Obey God’s call to seek to elect people who glorify God

-We affect Washington when we influence those folks around us 

-Don’t sit by and watch our culture collapse

-Inform others-be light-be salt 

“God has a passion for what’s happening in government because government affect people, and he cares about people”

-Book of 1 Peter-Christians seeking to stand for Chirse in an anti-Christian culture

1 Peter 2:12

-Influence the culture rather than complain about the culture

-God can use anyone for His purposes if they are willing to shine His light in a dark world

Ex. Story of when Billy Graham turned off the lights in the darkness and lit a single candle.

“Once a single little hand-held candle penetrated the darkness. And I could see it from where I was. And I’ll never forget his point was that the darker things are, the more even a little light will make a difference.” Huckabee

-wrong: "Politics is dirty; we don’t want to get involved in that” 

-right: Mission work is dirty in God-forsaken cultures. Get dirty

-Confront a godless culture with the godly word. Engage

“Someone’s values are going to prevail. I don’t want it to be people who worship the government. I want people who worship and believe in an Almighty Creator God who gave us standards to live by” Huckabee

Examples:

-Respect for Marriage Act: Redefines marriage on the Federal level-Renamed Defense of Marriage Act (favors LGBTQ priorities)

-Equality Act: Affects all churches which includes sexual orientation and gender identity as part of civil rights law, so requires public facilities to be open to people based on gender identity rather than biological sex.

*** Prohibits use of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act as a defense against prosecution

Avoiding the world of politics:

“If we step back and say we’ll let somebody else deal with that , we’re going to increasingly see a culture that his hostile to faith, that is poisonous to our children, and we will lose our freedom,” Perkins

Proverbs 14:34 says, “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.”

Romans 2:13 says, “For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.”

Proverbs 18:15 says, “An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.”

We Must Talk About Hell!

 We Must Talk About Hell

“The Bible has much to say about Hell so we cannot ignore it, even though it makes people uncomfortable”

-the word hell is used in thousands of conversations in hundreds of different ways every day.

Ex. people use it in swearing, or to describe their daily lives like I am in a living hell, or hell on Earth

-it is such a common word that there is no belief that it is a real place so pastors gloss over its significance.

-New testament: again and again are direct references to the subject of hell and most of them are made by Jesus Christ.

-people have come to associate hell with a kind of outmoded theology in which the devil is pictured as a red creature with a fork, tail, split hoofs and horns so it is not taken seriously.

***Bible tell us us about the love of God and the beauties of Heaven also tells us about judgment and hell

-there is only one authority who is qualified to speak of our future life, and that is Jesus Christ

New Testament statements:

“Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28).

“Whoever says (to his brother), ‘you fool’ shall be in danger of the hell fire” (Matthew 5:22).

Four words  translated as hell in our Bible:

1.-Shoel: Old Testament means unseen state, sorrow, pain, and destruction

2.-Hades (Greek): New Testament used 10 times; means judgment and suffering 

3.-Tartarus: Found only once in 2 Peter 2:4; refers to disobedient angels, place of judgment, prison, dungeon where there is intense darkness

4.-Gehenna: Used 12 times in New Testament; illustration that Jesus used of the valley of Hinnom, a place outside Jerusalem where rubbish and debris burned continually

-No one can read the Bible without recognizing that there is a hell.

We should shun Hell:

1-God’s warning concerning hell is not idle chattr, so heed His tender, loving warnings,

“For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly…the Lord know how…to reserved the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment” (2 Peter 2: 4-5, 9)

“The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23)

2-Christ doesn’t mince words as he called hell an everlasting punishment in outer darkness where there will be weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth.

-Christ called hell a “furnace of fire” and “a place prepared for the devil and his angels” and “where their worm dieth not” and “fire is not quenched.”

-Christ told us that it is a place where we have consciousness and the use of our faculties.

Luke 16: 19-31 Ex.

- In the story of Lazarus, Christ said the rich man in hades lifted up his eyes-He was in agony, being in torment.

-He spoke saying “Father Abraham, have mercy on me.”

-He had memories saying “I have five brothers….testify to them, lest they come to this place of torment.”

“It is better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire” (Mark 9:47).

-Jesus used every descriptive word at His command to warn people to flee the wrath of God that will fall upon sinners who reject God’s plan of salvation

3-we should shun hell because of what it cost God to save us from it. God would not have given His only Son, and Christ would not have willingly died on the cross, if the penalty facing mankind had been a light one.

-Jesus died in our place to save us from the judgment of our sin.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3: 16).

4-God did not create man for hell. Hell was created primarily for the devil and his angels. 

-if you insist on rejecting Christ, then you are destined to spend eternity with the devil and his angels.

***Hell is the ultimate separation from God. It is the second death and banishment from the presence of all that is joyous, good, righteous, and happy.

What to do?

-prepare yourself for death. Answer the assured question of where will you spend eternity?

“It is appointed for men to die once” (Hebrews 9:27).

-people would like to ignore death, but everyone will face it. Death knows no age limit or partiality to the saint to the murderer. 

-after death, there is an appointment with God on the judgment day, and all who have deliberately ignored God during their lifetime will be banished from His presence.

-if you are out of Christ and away from God now, in many ways you are in hell, for hell is a separation from God.

-we were not made for sin or made for bondage

-we were made for life, for joy, for peace, for happiness, for love, for Heaven, and for God

“He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life” (John 3:36).

***Renounce your sin, Repent of your sins, and Receive Christ as your Lord and Savior. At this moment surrender yourself to Him. Let Jesus into your life. Give Him your heart and your devotion.

What Can the Righteous Do?

 What Can the Righteous Do? (article by Franklin Graham)

“If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (Psalm 11: 3)

“If you love somebody-truly love them-you are going to tell them the truth that saves their soul”

-the moral foundations of our nation were founded by Christians seeking freedom to take a stand and practice their faith have eroded so much we wonder what we can possibly do?

1- the righteous must pray fervently

2- know your scriptures that exhorts us to pray for our leaders

3- pray and read your Bible daily, so put it into practice every day (intercede for our nation)

-this is a watershed moment in the moral state of our rapidly depriving and godless culture.

-to satisfy the incessant, sinful cries of the incredibly powerful LGBTQ lobby, the halls of Congress gave their endorsement to an immoral and degenerate lifestyle that not so many decades ago was a criminal act. 

-the Respect for Marriage Act is a deceptive law that threatens churches, Christian institutions, and individuals who hold to the traditional, Biblical view of marriage between one man and one woman.

-sins that were unthinkable (sexualizing children) are now ever present in daily live

-the slippery slope of moral compromise that we warned about for so long has now become a free fall into debauchery and dissolution.

-the pressure on Christians from ungodly leaders and a depraved culture will only continue to increase.

“If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you” (John 15: 20).

-the world has become an acceptable place for the wicked government to oppress its people, false religions and secular cultures that don’t want to hear the truth of the Gospel.

-God answers prayers according to his will, so pray for our government to make wise decisions that are guided by and informed by Biblical principles.

-God can move kings hearts so He can do it with our leaders, for our ultimate welfare and His glory.

-pursue personal holiness and purity in our own lives and witnesses. God has called us to be holy people, whose lives will be markedly different from the culture around us.

-If there is no difference between God’s people from the culture around us, then our witness for the Gospel is dimmed.

“If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7: 14).

-Christians are called to be salt and light to a rotting and dark culture. Only God can effect the change and transformation that must happen.

-be bold witnesses of the Lord Jesus Christ whole lives clearly testify to the saving power of the God.

-Do not fear what others might think of our witness, but rather fear God and trust Him wholeheartedly, whatever may come.

-righteous people  work in God’s strength to make a difference in our communities, schools, and local governments. (ex. Run for office, get elected to the school board, help elect officials who are aligned with godly principles).

-we cannot sit on the sidelines, but do all we can to fight and stem the rising tide of godlessness-Evil must be resisted, not yielded to.

-our future may look gloomy, but our Lord has greater things in store.

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58).

Take Back the Pulpit?

“Once people enter our church doors, they might hear about God and even begin a relationship with Jesus. But they don’t know how to walk with God in a compromising culture”

“People need the Word of God that has the power of God to change hearts and lives for eternity” (Franklin Graham).

-the greatest stumbling block in church today is over the second-greatest commandment, where Jesus told us to love our neighbors as ourselves. We have sacrificed the Gospel in the name of love as defined by the world. 

-loving someone doesn't mean you avoid offending them. Love speaks truth that saves their soul.

-churches must prioritize giving people the tools they need to know how to handle the controversial situations we see today.

Barna’s 7 cornerstones of a Biblical worldview 

“Biblical worldview looks at the world and sifts all information through the lens of God’s word.”

“Scripture informs our thinking and influences our behaviors, guiding our intellect and moral determinations”

“Do not conform to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of our mind” (Romans 12: 2)

-God is the eternal, omniscient, omnipotent and just Creator.

-Humans are sinful by nature.

-Jesus Christ grants forgiveness of sin and eternal life when sinners repent and profess their faith in Him alone.

-The Bible is true, reliable and always relevant.

-Absolute moral truth exists.

-Success is defined as consistent obedience to God.

-Life’s purpose is to know, love, and serve God with all one’s heart, mind, strength and soul.

Epidemic of Biblical Illiteracy

-Barna’s research showed a correlation between a pastor’s rejections of Biblical doctrine and the failure to practice spiritual disciplines in one’s personal life.

-Barna’s research showed a correlation between possessing Biblical beliefs and a consistent regimen of Bible reading, prayer, worship, and confession.

Culture Watch

-secularism in the church

-worldview dictated by an individual’s preferences, desires, and subjective truth claims.

-worldview says you do what you believe and you are entitled to act upon those truths.

-watch if your pastor has become a leader of the movement away from God toward narcissism.

-many pastors are very tentative or hesitant to preach the full counsel of God’s Word. This leads to Christians who are hesitant to live out their faith  in the public square.

“There will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction” (2 Peter 2:1).

“To see American culture transformed”

“Will require a time of Christians and pastors devoted to repentance and the Scriptures unlike anything we have seen in more than a century”

-God will continue accomplishing His purposes, asserting the Biblical prophecy is still being fulfilled in this generation even while the times are dire.

-Paul warned about deceiving spirits and false teachers in the latter time and the last days.

-New testament is filled with such warnings, as the Old Testament often warned about false prophets.

The Darkness Does Not Win!

 The Darkness Does Not Win (article by Kevin De Young)

“We know that the darkness will not be victorious over the world, because it was not victorious over the One through whom the world has made.”

“As you immerse yourself in God’s Word, your faith and understanding of God’s perfect nature is being built up and strengthened so you can stand firm.”

What we see today:

-rising secularism in the world and in our country has brought rift within the family.

-the world has become darker and more anti-Christian, but all answers are anchored in the Bible.

-we are hearing about wars and rumors of wars, terrorism on American soil (Jan. 6th), Christian persecution all over the world, and cultural degradation.

-we see cities of homelessness gripped in addiction give safety and ability to exchange needles and heroin so sidewalks in front of businesses are overrun with feces and addicts zomby bodies lying all around with no intention by the government to help clean up the cities being affected.

-people are saddled with chronic pain (ex. Shingles nerve damage) but push for more Covid shots and booster-follow the money-which one gets the government and pharmaceuticals richer?

-people are mired in depression, futility of life, and no hope of the future-following the money-the lie of climate change puts money in the pockets of the government along with full control over how you as a citizen use energy. The Earth will not fall until Jesus is ready to return. Being good stewards of the Earth matters, but it seems that going green destroys the natural setting (ex. Hundreds of windmills inserted in the ocean in clusters destroys the fishing industry and is killing whales as it is in the path of their migration). Then the ridiculousness of actors pushing that climate change is a result of racism. Who buys into this today-follow the money!

Do not be discouraged:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God. All things were made through Him, and without was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome” (John 1: 1-5).

-the symbolism of “light” in John’s Gospel has many layers. Light refers to
Christ and that when you follow Christ you become the light as he shines through you.

“I am the light of the world” (John 8:12).

“Everyone who does wicked things hates the light” (John 3:20).

-the light can also refer to eternal life and living an abundant life that can only be found in Christ

“In him was life” (John 1:4)

“The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood” (John 1: 5)

John wrote that he knew he was not replacing Jesus and his teachings, but to reveal the only path to reach the light as His light is victorious over the entire Dark Side.

“He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe.He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world” (John 1: 7-9)

Awake Christians:

-Christian will not be swallowed up by the darkness amid lifetime struggles with sin as Jesus sanctifies believers and welcomes them into a life of eternal bliss to come.

-We belong to the One who is the Light of the World. The fallen world of sin belongs to Satan. Do not be deceived in who you represent. Satan will not prove victorious in its ong, persistent fight against the light.

-The light is more powerful even when it seems the darkness is distinguishing the light. 

-No matter how much darkness, light pierces the darkness. Look at the dark sky at night and what pierces through are the stars as a testament of “I set every star in its place, so you would remember my name” (lyrics from Dancing on the Waves).

Be Confident:

-if God can summon light into existence when there was only darkness, surely He can send His light into the world with assurance of complete success, so matter how impossible the odds.

-The Light of the world was born in the darkness of night, as the Word of God lay in the manger unable to speak a syllable. The story is true-all of it-the baby, the virgin, the shepherds, the angel in a manger, the star, the wisemen-all true.

-our confidence is rooted in history; our faith is based on fact. The Bible from the beginning of to end has an overarching plotline which is Jesus being the redemption of all people. The disciples wrote as eyewitnesses of Jesus’ life. Revelation warns of the impending defeat of Satan and his followers so be prepared as Jesus will come like a thief in the night.  

What to do? God’s word is eternally trustworthy:

1-Be transformed:

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12: 2).

-there are only two options for those who call upon Christ as Savior. Either we’re being transformed by the renewing of our mind (which comes through prayer and anchoring ourselves in Scripture), or we’re being conformed by the persistent draw of today’s culture. (Will Graham)

-Do not neglect time in the Word, or instead you are being shaped by the world. BE TRANSFORMED, NOT CONFORMED

2-Discern truth from lies:

-We live in a deceptive age, where right is called wrong, and wrong is called right.

-Do not allow the misrepresentation of the Word and leading others astray ignorance or purposeful lies. DON’T FALL FOR IT! SPEND TIME IN SCRIPTURE AND KNOW WHAT IT SAYS SO THAT YOU ARE ABLE TO DISTINGUISH TRUTH FROM LIES.

“He is a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44).

“All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16)

3-Stand:

-Apostle Paul write repeatedly to stand against the schemes of the devil and to withstand  in the evil day and to stand firm

“Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes” (Ephesians 6: 11).

“Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place” (Ephesians 6: 13-14).

-currently our days are filled with evil as we watch people all around us fall for the schemes of the devil. 

-immerse yourself in God’s Word, your faith and understanding of God’s perfect nature is being built up and strengthened so you can stand firm.

4-Be encouraged and victorious

“for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith” (1 John 5:4).

-If you only fix your eyes on the world you will find only despair where the darkness seems like it is winning.

-If you fix your eyes on the truths of Scriptures then you will see the world through a different lens which is eternal victory that overcomes the world.

-It starts with the true, inerrant, infallible Word of the Most High God. Dig into scripture and stand firm in His glory 

-Repent, Believe, Trust, obey, and choose to take up your cross and follow Jesus.

-Worship and Rejoice that you are saved by Jesus, the Savior of the world.

“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11).

The true Light, which gives light to everyone, has come into the world! And the darkness does not win.

Reclaim a God-Centered Faith in a Human-Centric World

-we tend to think of and treat the world as a place that we construct, rather than as a place designed and given to us by the hand of a loving Creator.

-sinful human nature rejects that there are givens in the world-absolutes and fixed realities to which we must adjust. Ex. redefining gender, marriage, parenting, and the family

-we can no longer rationalize that the kids are flexible so they will be just fine as an excuse for doing whatever we think is best for us. Even though we see the contrary, ex. De-transitioning young people speak out against chemical castrations and gender surgery regrets.

Human-centric lies: no absolute truths, so live your own truth, divorce is actually good for kids, gender is fluid, and children don’t really need their moms and dads.

-ideas have consequences, and bad ideas have victims

-a culture untethered from truth and its Divine Source is a culture full of bad ideas

Secularism’s source on society:

-the loss of a fixed reference point by which to orient our understandings of self, right and wrong, progress, and meaning or purpose.

-secularism shapes the culture by disproving God as an objective reality, but by dismissing Him as a matter of subjective preference.

-God has been turned into a personal and private belief, rather than concern ourselves, even in the church, with who God is, we instead concern ourselves with who God is to me.

-secularism has radically privatized faith, and in doing so, untethered our understanding of reality from our Creator. This leaves us without a fixed reference point by which to orient our lives.

-privatized understanding of God and truth has infected the church as it keeps Christians from loving God and our neighbors. It neutralizes the  power to change not only people but entire societies, and prevents Christians from understanding what it truly means to love our neighbors as ourselves.

Love of God defines Love of Neighbors:

-without God, people cease from loving our neighbors 

-Jesus summarized the entire law in the command of love as first tethered to our love of God. Only by loving God first can we love others.

“You shall over the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22: 37).

-when love or truth, law or regulation, education or leisure are untethered from God, there are victims. In today’s world, the victims of our worst ideas are most often children. We rob them of the clarity, the protection, the learning, the mother and father, the truth and the meaning they need to survive and thrive, and we simply expect them to adjust but instead they suffer. 

-to care about our kids is to care about the ideas that are poisoning their hearts, minds, and culture. 

-we risk being canceled, falsely accused of hate and violence and of losing social status, but merely being outraged by what we see is not enough.

Fixing our Eyes on Jesus brings True Fulfillment:

-Christians tend to be somewhere between angry and panicky, or both. 

-there is no way around the cultural chaos, so take it seriously, but outrage is not a strategy-truth reins

-we must be tethered fully to God and to His truth so we must look beyond ourselves, religion, traditions, and culture to keep our eyes on Christ. We need to look beyond what is within ourselves.

-there is no substitute for the truth and clarity of reorienting our lives and worldview to God. There is no substitute for loving God which moves us to love our neighbors.