Taking the bait

It is disheartening... watching Christians take the bait again and again – raging against the results of sin instead – instead of focusing their energy on healing the sinner. I understand the temptation. The headlines impact my family professionally as well as personally. However, this week, I am finding myself significantly less upset about bathroom confusion than I am with the idea of gender confusion.

Am I worried about safety? Sure. Am I weary of gender neutrality and moral relativism? Without a doubt. Am I angry that our religious freedoms are being threatened daily? Of course!! But our strategy in these battles are not only exhausting, they have been ineffective.

We will not win this fight in our courtrooms or by boycotting corporations. We may get a voice – but I am not sure the voices are communicating the message God wants us to spread. We will not win hearts and minds through righteous indignation or through fears based on hypothetical atrocities.
However, that is also not to say that we do nothing. We just must employ the weapons God has given us for His purpose, not for ours.

First, God has given us the power of prayer. I will be the first to admit that prayer often feels inadequate. I prefer to have control and usually want immediate answers. God doesn’t work that way. Folks, we may not see His answer in our lifetime! Remember the Hebrews lost an entire generation for their lack of faith. Until we focus on eternity rather than making America our Promise Land, we will likely keep wandering.

Secondly, God has given us the Holy Spirit to help spread His Gospel. Again, it is much easier for me to construct a political argument for today’s issues than to defend my position Biblically. That is because I am often inadequately prepared to stand boldly for Christ. It is hard work to study the Bible regularly and memorize Scripture. But, we must if we are to be effective. Not only will we accurately represent God’s position, we can avoid the mire of personal opinions and character assignations. His Word has saving power that can lead to transformational results in people.

So, back to the issue….

I am not surprised where we are today. We have destroyed the definition of “life” and “marriage.” Why is “gender” suddenly the most offensive topic? Bathrooms? Are we really going to have a spiritual dialogue on that level?

  God carved out physical beings to be different for unique purposes. He also created our inner beings with identities, not to align to a gender, but to align with Him. Satan will never run out of tactics to use God’s creation against him; to rebel against his design and purpose. It is a human tragedy that so many have been robbed of their self-worth, lied to, and led astray. We are talking about people going through their lives completely LOST.

Why are people confused? Because Satan is the Author of Confusion! We have failed our children in this country because we have denied them from knowing their Maker and understanding his design. They have not learned that their identity and their worth is found in Christ alone. We have not taught them to resist sin, but have coddled them in their confusion.

Each of us must do what our conscience dictates. But ultimately, we cannot continue to expect non-Christians to be accountable for our values, we need to do battle with Satan ourselves.

Is Christianity Inclusive?

We live in complicated times for the Christian.  Beyond the obvious and ageless hostility toward any moral authority in this country, it has become very difficult to articulate the exclusivity of truth with loving inclusiveness.

 

Inclusiveness is the buzz of this generation.  Since we have made celebrated achievements in racial and gender equality, virtually all segments of society have been empowered to demand moral legitimacy, through the indigent outcry of civil liberties.

Here are a few examples, where old issues have changed in their discourse:

• Demanding valid identification as a means to vote, in order to prevent fraudulent election practices has moved from a question of legal standing to a claim of voter “disenfranchisement”
• Denying minorities the “space” to violently riot what they perceive to be racial injustices, in order to maintain safety and civil order has moved beyond the merits of the First Amendment to the emotional outcry of “discrimination"
• Defending the unborn and protecting children from sexual predators, has moved beyond the spectrum of criminality to debate the definitions of personhood and gender

Some of these are legally controversial, but others have real spiritual consequences.  In those cases, Christians are generally unprepared to take on these issues using traditional means.  The liberal education and media have met great success in claiming the moral high ground with one word: Inclusivity.

Corporations, schools and government institutions have put policies in place reinforcing that everyone and everything is equal.  Where no laws were needed in the past to simply treat people with mutual respect, we are now redefining what love means and enacting laws penalizing those who love and obey God's Word.  Not only do Christians need new boldness to stand against this cultural battle cry, they must come armed with new tactics.  Not new truth – new tactics.

How to do we witness in a culture of inclusiveness?

I would argue first that inclusiveness is elusive, because it, in itself, excludes believe that all things are not equal (and acceptable).  The concept of inclusiveness doesn't stop at "separate but equal" but demands more from us: Acceptance.  It is a new name to an old philosophy – moral relativity.  Unfortunately, the Bible teaches us that there are absolutes. 
Christianity is exclusive in many ways:

• God’s laws are absolute. 
• God hates all sin.
• We are all sinners.
• We are only to serve one God. 
• There is only one way to Heaven.

So, I admit to being confused as to what to do… How can I witness in today’s “inclusive” world? Scripture tells us clearly that God is not author of confusion, but of peace… (1 Cor. 14:33)  God doesn’t want us to be frustrated by the truth in Scripture.  The Bible also tells Christians to avoid a spirit of divisiveness.

Unfortunately, we live in a world of tweets and media soundbites. People are more interested in the headline, than the story. Personally, I rarely get beyond a “gotcha” question, unable to provide the reason behind my position.  It is frustrating that so many do not ask in order to understand, but to judge. It is equally discouraging to be denied explaining the intent and purpose behind God’s perfect law, knowing that he has created everything for our good.  When I am unable to fully articulate his motives, I am limited in sharing the depth of his love. 

It is tempting to jump into the political fray or debate today's headline based on a selected scripture. But, I have met neither with much success.  I find that my humanity gets in the way and my arguments become circumstantial.  But when I communicate the foundation of my faith – I find not only peace, but victory. 

Here is a sample of spiritual reasoning, where inclusiveness is central and exclusiveness is honored.

• We are all Sinners and we All need Jesus.  All sin is equal and All sin can be forgiven.
• Jesus was born for All so that All might know him.  He loved Everyone and died for All.
• Eternal life is available to All who confess theirs sin, believe in Jesus Christ and accept Him as Lord and Savior.

We serve an inclusive Savior!

These truths are not only the foundation of our faith, but should be the frames of our conversations.  We can debate interpretations and cultural application until we are crying out to the Lord in mercy – but if we cannot demonstrate the inclusiveness of God’s love and motivation, then the real power of scripture cannot be realized. We must first win he soul to Christ before we can apply His law to their lives.