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The Christian Worldview

 
The following statements of belief constitute the basis for our collective unity in Jesus Christ and outline God’s design for relations with Him; His code for sex and procreation; His intent for spousal relations; His calling for mothers and fathers; His intent for the biblical family; His precepts for organizing His Church; and His intent for relations with secular society.  

We stand for God when we believe:

 
1.  Biblical Revelation 

The Bible is the inspired Word of God, the final authority in all matters of faith and practice.  There is ultimately one true theology concerning God’s revelation and design.  Life-long pursuit of understanding and obeying His divine guidance is the personal calling of every Christian.  Unorthodox and counterfeit “Christian” churches ignore application of self-selected portions of God’s Scripture; however, authentic spiritual experience never contradicts biblical revelation.

2.  Holy Trinity

God exists in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ is “Immanuel,” which means “God with us.”  Both divine and human, He is the only mediator between God and humankind.  Jesus Christ is God’s eternal Son who allowed Himself to be born of the virgin Mary.  Conceived in Mary’s womb through the Holy Spirit, Christ’s humanity comes through the human origin of His mother.  Jesus Christ wants to have a loving personal relationship with each of us.  He is “the way and the truth and the life;” no one comes to the Father except through Him; no other intermediary is authentic.  Jesus Christ lived a sinless life, atoned for our sins through His death on the cross, and bodily arose from the dead.  He is now with God the Father in heaven carrying out His mediation ministry on our behalf.  One day He will personally return to fully establish His Kingdom on earth.  When our Lord returns, we will all be raised, the just and unjust, and be judged for eternal reward or retribution. It is the deity and personality of the Holy Spirit who convinces people of sin, righteousness and judgment; who regenerates, sanctifies, illuminates and comforts those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.  The personal counsel of the Holy Spirit enables us to live obedient, creative, victorious lives. 

Mt 6:9, 28:19; Mk 1:9-11; Jn 14:6, 16:15; Ro 1:1-4; 1Co 2:7-11, 12:3; 2Co 13:14; Gal 4:6; Eph 1:13-14, 2:18, 4:1-6, 5:8; Heb 4:14-16, 9:15, 10:14; 1Pe 1:17-23; 1Jn 4:13-14; Jude 20-21;  Rev 1:10, 7:9-12, 22:17 

3.  Salvation and Sanctification 

It is the Holy Spirit’s purview, not man’s, to assure the hearts of God’s elect.  The forgiven become “children of God” and know their Lord and Saviour’s voice; each has direct access to God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit through personal prayer.  And such prayer is spiritual, not formal or empty ritual; is persistent, defining an on-going relationship, not intermittent, as a matter of need or convenience.  

Ge 3, Job 20:20; Ps 57:1-14; Mt 1:20-21, 3:1, 6, 8, 4:11, 5:17-27, 11:20-24, 12:26-29, 15:10-20, 19:16-24; Mk 1:4, 15; Lk 1:47, 71, 77, 10:17-20, 13:1-5, 14:25-35, 15:1-32, 19:9-10; Jn 3:5-8, 17, 10:27-29; Ac 3:19-20, 11:18, 15:9, 20:21, 26:20; Ro 1:18-32, 2:1-16, 3:9-18, 5:9, 6:3-11, 23, 7:4-6, 8:26, 38-39, 12:2; 1Co 3:16, 5:11-21; 2Co 5:11-21, 7:10; Eph 2:10, 4:22-24; Php 1:6, 2:12-13; Col 3:9-10; 1Ti 2:3-6, 4:10, 16; Tit 3:4-7; Heb 10:15-18; 1Jn 1:8-10, 2:29, 3:9, 5:13-15, 18

4.  Fruits of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit 

By abiding in Christ - the “vine,” all believers - “branches of the vine” produce fruit - a steadfast Christ-like life of righteous thoughts, words and deeds.  Fruit is produced in keeping with repentance.  And the fruit of the Spirit for all Christians is charity (love), joy, peace, longsuffering (patience), gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance (self-control).  As servants of God, Christians bear “fruit unto holiness.”  “For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth.” Christians are to “have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.” And of all the fruits “charity” is preeminent.   

Hos 14:8; Mt 3:8, 7:16-20, 12:33, 21:43; Jn 15:1-16; Ro 6:20-23, 7:4-6; Gal 5:22-23; Eph 5:9-11; Php 1:8-11, 22; Col 1:6, 10

5.  Gifts of the Holy Spirit

Although there is one church body, one Holy Spirit, one Lord Jesus Christ, one God and Father of all, one faith and one baptism, there are varying apportions of spiritual gifts and not everyone has the same gift or all the gifts.  Unto each Christian is “given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.”  These gifts are for perfecting and edifying the body and for the works of the ministry.  Christ gave to some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some teachers (pastors); some the ability to help others; some the gift of government (administration, ruling).  To some believers is given the word of wisdom; to others knowledge; to some faith; to others the gift of healing; to some the gift of miracles; to others prophecy; to some discerning of spirits; to others diverse kinds of tongues; and to others the interpretation of tongues.  [Caution: There are some who measure salvation assuredness against a rule of “tangible gifting,” rather than by evidence of rebirth in the heart through “tangible fruits” of Christ and the Holy Spirit.  The manifestation of any “gift” among professed believers cannot be held as ultimate proof of the infilling of the Holy Spirit.  Satan can display all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, including healing.  False apostles will teach incorrect doctrines and disrespect for the authority of Scripture.  False prophets may make accurate predictions; however, Christ warns, “Watch out for false prophets.  They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.  By their fruit you will recognize them…Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?  Then I will tell them plainly, I never knew you.  Away from me, you evildoers!”]

6.  Sanctity of Human Life 

The origin and purpose of Human life is distinct from the animal kingdom.  Human life begins at conception (fertilization): “For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb.” And every human life is a precious gift of God: “I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”  “Lo, children are a heritage of the Lord; and the fruit of the womb is His reward.”  Technologies such as human cloning, fetus and embryo farming, embryonic stem cell research, gene therapy, on-call frozen embryos, on-demand sperm donation, contract surrogate birth procedures, so-called “test-tube babies” and artificial wombs are not divinely inspired innovations but are a reflection of mankind’s irreverence for God and sinful desire to become the Creator by surmounting laws of nature.  Unchecked these scientific inventions will end in state-sanctioned baby production and in social policies that profess the zygote, embryo and fetus to be merely biologic, genetic material, bereft of personhood, and thus, functionally not worthy of protection under any notion of human rights.  Scripture declares that all human life, regardless of age and functionality, has God-given intrinsic worth and an inherent right to life.  Killing the unborn is never God’s will and the act of abortion is only tolerable in the last resort to save a mother’s life. 

Ge 1:26-31, 2:4-25, 4:1; Ex 20:13; Dt 5:17; Ru 4:13-14; 2Ki 17:17-18; Job 31:15; Ps 8:6-8, 22:10-11, 106:35, 37-38, 127:3, 139:13-15; Am 1:13; Mt 7:12, 19:18; Lk  10:37; Ac 17:25-28; Gal 1:15; Rev 22:15. 

7.  Human Sexuality and the Marriage Covenant 

Christians follow God-centered identities and the Creator has designed humans to be male or female, anatomically matched for pair bonding and heterosexual procreative union.  God intends sexual activity to be exclusively preserved for the marital partner and monogamously contained within the marriage covenant.  Marriage is meant to be the life-long union of one man and one woman.  During a wedding each spouse declares and accepts the other as God’s chosen provision for their lives.  Although marriage break-up is permitted and in some cases is justified, God hates divorce.  It only takes one hardened heart or one abusive spouse to force a divorce; therefore, in holding couples accountable for ending a marriage covenant, care and discernment are needed to properly ascertain responsibilities and spiritual consequences.  The notion that God might will a particular divorce is wrong.  Divorce defies God’s precept that in marriage the husband and the wife become one in flesh and spirit for the sake of raising Godly offspring.  Divorce disgraces the sacred marriage covenant - “what God has joined together let man not separate;” in effect, declaring that one or both marital partners were not God’s provision or that somehow God no longer has enough power and grace to restore relations between spouses.  God is able to make good out of the ashes of a broken covenant, but He may not do so.  God warns believers against marrying unbelievers.  Anyone who divorces their spouse, except for unfaithfulness (adultery or abandonment) and remarries, commits adultery.

The sexually immoral, whether heterosexual or homosexual, live in a false reality before God, falling short of God’s intent for sexual relations.  [Kate Millett, then President of the National Organization for Women (NOW) explained the link between lesbianism and feminism in 1970: “Women’s liberation and homosexual liberation are both struggling towards a common goal: a society free from defining and categorizing people by virtue of gender and/or sexual preference.  ‘Lesbian’ is a label used as a psychic weapon to keep women locked into their male-defined ‘feminine role.’  The essence of that role is that a woman is defined in terms of her relationship to men.  A woman is called a lesbian when she functions autonomously.  Women’s autonomy is what women’s liberation is all about.” [2]  And three decades later, author Dalma Heyn, described the feminist model for a liberated heterosexual woman: “The average young woman - working, assertive personally and professionally – is comfortable with independence, employment, autonomy, and multiple sexual relationships.  She began having sex, according to the newest Kinsey Institute Report, between the (median) ages of sixteen and seventeen.  If she marries at the age of twenty-seven, then, she will have been making love - with one man or several, simultaneously or serially, alone or cohabiting - for a decade.  She is used to pleasure as to pleasing, and envisions having both in equal measure in an egalitarian marital relationship.”[3]  God does not elect the sexually immoral to adopt the lifestyle they choose.  God’s judgment lies in leaving them where they want to be, giving them over - heart, body, passions and mind - to this sinful reality.  Unrepentant homosexuals and heterosexuals will not inherit the Kingdom of God.  The witness of Christian ex-gays, ex-lesbians and heterosexuals to their deliverance from sinful lifestyles by the saving grace of Jesus Christ is clear testimony to God’s will.  Jesus Christ cannot be divided in Spirit: (1) delivering men and women from homosexual lifestyles, and (2) also sanctifying same-sex marriages or blessing unrepentant sexually active homosexuals.  So-called “pro-gay, liberal or homosexual Christianity” is counterfeit theology - intended to look real, but in reality the witness is self-serving.  Same-sex marriage is not an issue that Christians can agree to disagree on.  The orthodox must confront such heresy and separate from those who are bearers of this anti-Christian theology. 

Ge 1:26-31, 2:4-25, 34:7; Lev 18:22; 1Sa 2:22-24; Pr 6:20-35, 7:1-27; Mal 2:13-16; Mt 5:31-33, 15:19, 19:4-9; Mk 10:2-13; Lk 16:18; Jn 8:1-11; Ro 1:21-32, 7:1-3; 1Co 6:9-20, 7:1-7, 10-11, 27, 10:8, 15:1-2; 2Co 6:14-17; Eph 5:3-8, 31-32; 1Th 4:3-8; 1Ti 3:1-2, 5:8; Tit 1:6; Heb 13:4; 2Pe 5:13-22; Jude 4, 18; Rev 2:14-15, 20-25

8.  Biblical Family

The family, as God designed it, is a formation center for human relationships; a domestic church for spiritual nurture, exercising covenant faith, rearing children in admonition of the Lord, and glorifying God.  The biblical family is the seedbed for Godly norms, ethics, values and law.  Children who have a warm, affectionate family relationship will adopt their parent’s views and values.  The biblical family home is a refuge, a secure sanctuary, not a war zone.  A home without sound housekeeping (sanitation, rules, chores, roles, planning, budgeting and organization) will not be a haven, a storm shelter, a nice place to go.  The family home is a place for discipline, love, instruction, trust, laughter, help, sympathy, patience, forbearance, loyalty, privacy, understanding and tenderness.  The family is the smallest collective building block of society.  Scriptural societies are made up of biblical families, which in turn depend on biblical marriages.  And only Christ makes families and marriages truly function correctly. The only institution standing in the way of a technocratic tidal wave of alternate procreative techniques, variant marriage forms, free-sex ideologies, experimental “family” models and equal rights dogma is the biblical family unit - a happy affirmed tending mother, beside whom is a loving supportive husband, and behind them, thankful respectful children; all under the armour of God

Ge 1:27-28, 18:19;  Jos 24:15;  Jer 29:4-6;  Mt 12:25;  Mk 10:28-31;  Tit 2:3-5

9.  Husband and Wife in the Biblical Family 

Husband and wife are hallowed relationships based on God-appointed “equalities” and “differences.”  Husband and wife are not interchangeable roles; the two identities are designed to unite spouses in Christian marriage.  God declares that the husband and wife become “one flesh” to: (1) facilitate procreation; (2) signify inseparable marital union; (3) raise Godly children; and (4) proclaim “equality” in love, fidelity, justice, accountability, submission to Christ and service to one another.  “Husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies.  He who loves his wife loves himself.  After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds it and cares for it, just as Christ does the church.”   “Woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman.”  God arranged gender “differences” to strengthen the marital union through complementary spousal functions.  The wife is “the help-meet” (in Hebrew: “ezer kenegdo” also meaning “a help: fit for, counterpart, corresponding to or adequate to”) and the husband is “the head” -“Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.  For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church.”  And “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her.”  God is no chauvinist in declaring marital roles; each is meant to liberate, not enslave.  “Help-meet” and “head” are of equal importance to God, but nonetheless different.  God is characterized as “helper”: “The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid.” “My father’s God was my helper.” “For He shall deliver the needy when He crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper.” God’s intended “headship” role for the male (husband in marriage; father in the family) is consistent across Old and New Testaments.  When Eve and Adam were hiding after eating the forbidden fruit, God called to the man (Adam, the first created), “Where are you?” - not to the couple, not to Eve.  And the Apostle Paul holds Adam responsible for the fall even though Eve was the first to sin: “For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.  For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.”

Destroy “headship” and the biblical family is ruined.  God’s design for gender roles in marriage intends procreation and that nurturing of infants will follow “union” and acknowledges the need for male leadership in a family.  Male headship entails the husband being the last authority; and therefore, the one holding greatest responsibility before God for the material, physical, mental and spiritual welfare of the mother and children.  Proper headship reveres the wife, the children, and Christ, and requires that the man be entirely yielded to the Holy Spirit; a husband and father who fully accepts his family responsibilities, provides security, selflessly serves, and makes needed sacrifices.  The secret for successful headship is found in Christ - “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve.”  God designed the sexes to complement each other; not compete against one another; and headship has not been overturned by secular feminist ideology - “We [feminists] must never forget that abortion is the bottom line of birth control.  Without it, women don’t have control over their bodies, and therefore over their lives.  Without it, the competitive playing field of money, power and independence is so skewed in men’s favour that women really cannot have equal opportunity.”[4]  Headship and submission are two sides of a marital coin made from humility.  And God gives grace to the humble.  Submission by the wife requires an attitude of co-operation and support, and does not imply the male makes all the decisions, nor that the husband holds some higher-level discernment of God’s will.  In biblical marriage the husband and wife must “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” The secret for successful submission is found in Christ, who did not seek to promote Himself.

Ge 2:18, 20-25, 3:9-13, 16-17; Ps 37:40, 118:7; Mt 20:25-28; 1Co 7:2-7, 3-5, 15:22; Gal 3:28; Eph 5:22-32; Col 3:18-21; 1Ti 2:13-14, 5:8; Heb 13:6; 1Pe 3:7.

10.  Children in the Biblical Family

Children have an honoured place in God’s Kingdom. “Children are a heritage of the Lord.”   “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven…And whosoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me.”  God intends marriage to be the societal foundation for bearing and rearing children.  The family model consists of responsible heterosexual parents, biologically connected to their offspring and, if children are disconnected from this model, adoption is desirable.  Parenting is a paired calling: “Listen my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.  They will be a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck.” “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.  Honour your mother and your father – which is the first commandment with a promise – that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on earth.”  Good mothering and fathering should be every child’s birthright; the goal being to raise healthy God-fearing children on a path toward salvation. 

Ex 20:12;  Ps 127:3;  Pr 1:8-9, 6:20-23;  Mt 15:4;  Jn 19:25-27;  Eph 6:1-4;  Col 3:20.

11.  Parenthood in the Biblical Family 

Motherhood and fatherhood are theological and biological-based precepts, not fickle cultural constructs.  In a special way, humanity owes its on-going existence to the gift of motherhood.  Only mothers know what it means to have conceived, carried, birthed, nursed and nurtured.  Mothers are the first and arguably the most significant influences on the next generation.  Babies and young children need nourishment and affection through cuddling, rocking, singing, bathing, stroking and being kept close to promote full character development during their formative years.  Low self-respect and profound poor self-confidence are unlikely in an attentive nurturing environment.  Mothers are central to making the house a home by managing home-making roles such as: laundress, cook, dishwasher, nurse, seamstress, dietician, baker, waitress, chambermaid, buyer-shopper, veterinarian, home economist, handyman, hostess, housekeeper, secretary, gardener, chauffeur, interior decorator, bookkeeper, ticket agent, psychiatrist, tutor, lover, intercessor, counselor, comforter, coach, teacher and religious instructor.  Fatherhood, no less noble a calling, is also key to making a successful family.  In God’s design good parenting is a prerequisite for church office.  An overseer “must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect.  If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?”  God declared He would smite the land with a curse if Elijah would not “turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers.”  Fathers are to be involved in parenting; be involved in home-making duties; and take time to be with their wives and children.  A father who has accepted the headship role and is recognized as the final authority in the family will not be inclined to make work his idol or career his first love.  He will be motivated to provide for his family through his work and will not need to use his employment to define his identity.  A disorganized home negatively impacts all family members and either weakens the father’s ability to perform at the workplace or causes him to take refuge there as an escape.  Absentee dads, whether absent physically, emotionally, spiritually or psychologically, cannot build relationships with sons and daughters.  Adolescent ills such as smoking, drinking, drugs, violence, illicit sex, rampant STDs and teen suicide are avoided when offspring experience available, committed, loving parents.

Ge 18:19; Dt 4:9-10, 6:6-9; 1Sa 2:22-25, 3:13; Pr 13:24, 19:18, 22:6, 15, 23:13-14; Mal 2:13-16; Lk 15:20-24; Eph 6:4; Col 3:21; 1Ti 3:4-5; 2Ti 1:5, 14-15; Tit 1:6, 2:4-5; Heb 12:5-11

12.  Making a Living for the Biblical Family 

Christian self-worth and personal identity are not based on work done, career followed, salary earned, items owned or diplomas achieved.  “Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom” or “the rich man boast of his riches.”  “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth…But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven.”  Significance and sense of personal worth are found in one’s relationship with God; in service for His non-temporal Kingdom.  Opposing the Christian worldview, is the cultural mindset which holds out the promise that work will give wealth, prestige, esteem, purpose, values, standards, success and happiness.  The notion further claims that the harder one works, the more one receives, the further one gets.  In this era of so-called “second wave” feminism, the materialistic ethic has combined with growth in individualism - the self-centered ethos in which mothers (and absentee fathers) “detach” themselves from traditional parenting responsibilities.  The level of acceptance of materialism and individualism in society has led to the dominant trend of two spouses working outside the home, in theory to make a living for the “family.”  However, in practice the closer women draw in social and economic status to men the more disruptive is pregnancy and childbirth; the higher the career success the greater the pressure to abandon motherhood.  [The result in Canada, on average the birth rate is 1.5 births per female, the lowest since 1921 (three years after the Great War), less than replacement rate (2.1).  The number of women giving birth aged 35 or older accounts for 17.2 percent; four times what it was a generation earlier.  And annually in Canada and the United States there are 1.5 million “terminations” of poorly timed, inconvenient, or totally unwanted pregnancies.]  In the “work-oriented” dual income family, the feminist vision of motherhood is seen as innately visionary, critical to achieving gender equality, and beneficial to the state.  This reimaged notion of motherhood claims that mothers labouring in the workforce do not destroy the joyous sense of connection to sons and daughters or diminish the all-important influence of the home environment on their children’s lives.  However, for most families the shift of both parents into the workplace has caused a time-deficit for homemaking, parenting, and indeed, spousal relationship building.  Work-oriented parents must endure the children’s resentment of their priority to employment and embrace a new psychological ideal of parenting, one that abandons pursuit of perfection in child-rearing.  The bottom line issue from a Christian perspective is not so much who works outside the home or even that both parents may choose to do so at certain stages in family life, but why so many spouses are choosing careerism, workaholism, materialism or some preferential allegiance to work over domestic responsibilities, particularly rearing their children.  God does bless both sexes with talents and callings that can only be fulfilled in the public domain.  It would be wrong, given the diversity of situations, to apply a “cookie-cutter” rule on the issue of dual careers outside the home.  It would be right to state that couples with children should be “family-oriented” in their planning and to emphasize that God does not want career or employment to threaten marriage or family success.  Parenting is a fragile art that has profound impact upon our future and the quality of home life deeply affects our communities and our witness for Christ. 

Job 20:20;  Ecc 5:8-20;  Jer 9:23-24;  Mt 6:19-20, 25-34;  1Co 1:31;  2Th 2:10.

13.  Contraception in Biblical Marriage 

Scripture declares that “righteous” sexual relations can only occur within the boundaries of marriage, between a covenant wife and her husband; other instances[5] are immoral.  Those who violate this divine dictate risk exposure to sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and so-called “out-of-wedlock” pregnancy.  The use of contraceptives during immoral sexual behavior does not mitigate the sinful nature of these acts, though a pregnancy and the spread of STDs may be averted.  The practical reality is that contraception theory and practice are two different matters.  In theory, sexually active women wishing to have two or less children will use contraception for 20 years; in practice, nearly half of all American women will have had at least one abortion by the end of that period.  And safe-sex theory purports that proper application of the “condom code” (100 percent of the time) will prevent pregnancy and STD transmission; in practice condoms are not used all of the time and even if they were used, the rate of failure would be 5-10 percent.  [Roughly 25 percent of sexually active teens in the US have been infected by a STD[6] and, in Canada, infection rates have increased every year from 1998 to 2002.[7]  In Canada, 42,162 teenage girls became pregnant in 1997 and a majority of these girls ended their pregnancy through an abortion.[8]]  The biological reality is that all sperm and ova, and all male and female sexual organs, if working as designed, function specifically toward human reproduction.

Although humankind has reached unprecedented levels of mastery over the biological conception process, little is understood about the spiritual reality of conception - how God takes a sperm, which has no soul, and an ovum, which also has no soul, and unites the two to create human life (“in-the-flesh”) with a soul; a life that has a divine purpose and an eternal destiny, known unto God before conception.  Christian couples who use contraception technologies, believing their decision is following God’s will or has His blessing, need to consider the spiritual consequences of their actions at both personal and societal levels.   

The worldview behind the advocacy of “birth control” is rabidly anti-Christian.  [Feminist icon, Margaret Sanger - free-love and population control advocate, eugenicist, founder of American Birth Control League (now Planned Parenthood), and Humanist of the year in 1957, wrote: “It {Birth Control} gives us control over one of the primordial forces of nature[9]…There is no antagonism between the good of the individual and the good of society.  The moment civilization is wise enough to remove the constraints and prohibitions which now hinder the release of inner energies, most of the larger evils of society will perish[10]…Through sex, mankind may attain the great spiritual illumination which will transform the world, which will light up the only path to an earthly paradise[11]...By knowing ourselves, by expressing ourselves, by realizing ourselves more completely then has ever before been possible, not only shall we attain the kingdom ourselves but we shall hand on the torch of life undimmed to our children and the children of our children.[12]”]  Modern birth control techniques have not heralded earthly paradise.  Instead, proliferation of contraception technologies and awareness has resulted in: (1) less morality in society; (2) more adultery; (3) less respect for the welfare of women (married or single) by men; (4) unprecedented access and exposure to pornography; (5) unprecedented levels of abortion; (6) unprecedented use of reproductive technologies to help “mature” women thwart their mal-functioning or expired so-called “biological clocks”; (7) unprecedented pandemics of STDs; and (8) ever earlier initiation and involvement of teenagers in the sexually-active lifestyle.

Indoctrination into birth control ideology is now so pervasive in society that liberal-minded Christians have coined the term “pro-life contraception.”[13]  Without scripture to substantiate their assertion, adherents claim that use of birth control technologies, which are not abortifacients, is morally righteous.  An obvious spiritual paradox arises when a Christian couple, who assert God is fine with their use of birth control technology, find themselves expecting another child.  When birth control technology fails, the result is still “fruit of the womb,” God’s “reward.”  There are no “unwanted” children in the biblical family, not “too many” children for God’s Kingdom.  Each time God creates human life, which has overcome the arsenal of pharmaceutical pills, jells, foams, injectables and prophylactics arrayed against its conception; our Creator declares His stand against contraception.  And those who answer the question “Do you wish to continue with the pregnancy?” with a “no,” declare their stand against
God’s will.   

Christians must strive for “righteous sex,” not addictive sex, not mechanistic sex.  Righteous sex is intended for pair bonding and procreation.  Key elements, if God is to bless sexual intimacy, include: (1) the couple must be married; (2) the act must be open to the transmission of life; (3) technology must not be used as a crutch to replace weak self-control; (4) abstinence must be exercised in step with fertility cycles and family planning goals - couples longing for a baby find the most fertile days of the month to have sex, couples not wishing a pregnancy conform their intimacy to infertile days; (5) the husband must respect his wife’s fertility cycle; and (6) the wife must respect her own fertility cycle; and (6) Christ’s presence must be welcomed.

Our Creator wants pregnancies to be blessings for the wife and husband, not a curse; and Christ’s witness for the woman’s place in gender relations leaves no room for “sexual oppression.”  It is possible, in the case of a wife who wants a “righteous” sexual relationship, but is married to a disrespectful (ungodly) husband, that Christ would advise her to use contraception until her husband’s behavior conforms to Christ’s image.  Similarly, Christ might advise the use of a condom to prevent transmission of a STD from an infected spouse to the other, if there is not enough grace or strength to practice abstinence.  Righteous sex has two facets: biological (between spouses) and spiritual (between spouses and God).  Righteous sex is central to a good marriage, which in turn is a key to good parenting, to sustaining a good family and to building good societies.  

Ge 9:1;  Dt 28:4;  Ps 37:11, 127:3;  Zep 3:12;  Mt 5:5

14.  Biblical Church 

The church is the living body of Jesus Christ, composed of God’s elect who have been regenerated (spiritually reborn) in Jesus Christ.  Believers are to celebrate the life of God, cultivate personal growth in Christ, disciple one another in the Spirit of Christ and communicate the Good News of the Lord Jesus Christ to the unsaved.  The Church body consists of several parts and members with many gifts of the Spirit and various apportions of grace.  Men and women in the body are meant to form a “solidarity of fellowship,” not a loose collective of the independent hearted, for there is “one body and one Spirit.”  God can use either gender with equal effect to help bring the lost to Christ.  God’s intent for male headship in marriage and family is not to be overturned in application within the Church.  In our personal relationship with Jesus Christ, there is neither male nor female; we are all equal members in the “royal priesthood” of God’s new covenant.  However, God intends male headship to also apply in the collective organizational affairs of the church.   Elders, overseers and deacons “must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, able to mange his own family well and see that his children become believers and obey him with proper respect.  Their wives are to be women worthy of respect.”  The connotation of “authority” in its everyday non-biblical usage is not helpful in describing God’s design for authoritative (headship) relationships.  The secular association with the term is a position of arbitrary power; however, all functional authority in the church is exercised under the biblical precept: “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave” and “whoever humbles himself” is the greatest in the Kingdom.  Executed properly, male headship in the church is never a threat to female members, but is a blessing.  Male headship is not a pretext to dictate, but a divine dictate to humbly serve.  The church is to be salt and light in the world, the witness of truth and life.  The decision to join a church is not a social decision; it is a spiritual decision with spiritual ramifications.  Church is a place of prayer, worship and fellowship, not a social club.  Getting the entire family out to a service in the congregational facility every Sunday may be part of attending a church; however, being conformed to the image of Christ seven days a week is part of belonging to the Church. 

Mt 14:11, 18:4, 14, 20, 20:26-28, 23:12;  Jn 10:14-16, 17:20-23;  Ac 2:42-47, 9:31;  1Co 10:16-17, 12:12-13, 27;  2Co 3:2-3, 4:1-18;  Gal 3:26-29;  Eph 1:22-23, 2:19-22, 4:3-5;  Col 3:1-17;  1Ti 3:1-16;  Jas 4:7-12;  1Pe 1:1-2, 2:9-10;  Rev 1:6, 2:7, 11, 17, 26-29, 3:4-6, 11-13, 21-22, 5:10, 20:6

15.  Christian Church in an Anti-Christian State 

The Church in Canada (so-called “Canadian Christendom”) is governed by laws and a constitution interpreted and enforced by the Supreme Court.  Since the 1960s judicial rulings and associated legislations have conformed to a secular-humanist paradigm, a demonstrably anti-Christian worldview.  In roughly one half century, Canadian governance struck down anti-sodomy laws and declared abortion on demand legal, including guaranteed access and public funding for these pregnancy terminations.  All references to Jesus Christ have been removed from the Parliamentary Prayer and Government and Canadian Forces public liturgy.  Recitation of the Lord’s Prayer in public schools has been outlawed, notwithstanding the fact that the overwhelming majority of the population claims Christianity as their religion.  The recent act of legislating same-sex “marriage” into law ends a four decade period of liberal tolerance of homosexuality.  The same-sex marriage decision in effect obliterates Canada’s founding heterosexist view of society (also a biblical view of sex, marriage and family) and imposes in its place a new homosexist worldview in the public arena. “Homosexism,” very much in harmony with secular-humanist ideology is the view that there is no “meant” relationship between anatomical sex (genitalia), sexuality and gender.  The meanings attached to male and female are seen as social constructs, and as such, they can be “deconstructed.”  Homosexism asserts that any discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is wrong.  The worldview is an umbrella ideology for all non-heterosexuals - gays, bisexuals, lesbians, transsexuals and self-labeled queers.  Gays and lesbians claim an innate orientation.  Transsexuals and queers contend sexual orientation is fluid.  Bisexuals declare alternating and simultaneous orientations.  Homosexism denies sexual reorientation and its adherents vilify ex-gays and ex-lesbians who witness otherwise.  The worldview is characterized by terms like free, liberated, inclusive, boundariless, no rules and no oppression.  Most important, the worldview does not recognize the inert nature of homosexual union as a differentiating limitation for rights to marriage and family.  In the eyes of the state, Christianity is now relegated to one of many religions, not to be given differentiated status from Gnosticism, Raelianism, or any belief system.  Indeed, so-called “orthodox Christianity” must now be silenced from the public domain.   The state declares no preference between parenting by two gay men, two lesbian women or a heterosexual couple.

Adoption by the state of a secular-humanist worldview combined with rapidly advancing biogenetic technologies does not bode well for the future.  For the first time in human history it is technically possible to change the very essence of sexuality.  [George Gilder warns that biogenetic engineering is redefining the meaning and prospects of the two sexes: “With in vitro techniques rather than artificial insemination, a much more attractive result – full genetic offspring – could be achieved by such means [surrogacy].  New, more partial and detached forms of motherhood become possible for busy or preoccupied women.  The very role of mother and the profound biological tie with her child – enacted in the women’s most intense sexual experiences in childbirth – become optional.  This development threatens to diminish further the perceived and felt authority of the basic connections of human life.[14]He claims women have the most to lose: “Ultimately the womb could become obsolete.  Not only could the female body become a strange combination of otiose spaces and appendages, not only could the man’s become the exemplary, utilitarian physique, but the power of women over men could gradually pass away.  First with time, her sexual powers would decrease.  For if we break the tie between sexual intercourse and procreation, destroy childhood memory of the nurturing and omnipotent mother, banish the mystique of the breasts and the womb and of the female curves and softness, we could remove as well the special attraction of heterosexual love.  We may liberate men to celebrate, like the ancient Spartans or the most extreme homosexuals today, a violent, misogynistic, and narcissistic eroticism.”[15]]

In sum, our society and governing state, has adopted an unprecedented level of opposition to Christianity.  The environment for public Christian witness has never been worse.  It is state policy to espouse adopted secular humanist values in all public arenas, including elementary, secondary and post-secondary educational institutions.  In the not distant future, barring a miracle, the relentless technocracy will likely force the state to adopt even more far-reaching secular-humanist goals.  In many ways today’s believers are in a similar hostile situation to that of our brethren of the First Century.  Differences (at least in Canada) are only in degree - martyrdom was the fate of ardent believers under Roman rule, while today’s ardent “orthodox” evangelist faces a fine, litigation and incarceration.  The Early Church survived in catacombs and private residences; we have our homes and church sanctuaries for now.  Looking ahead, Canadian Christendom is faced with three possible responses: (1) become more fundamental in stand for God’s Word, congregate based on orthodoxy of faith and separate from the liberal-minded “Christian;” (2) continue with the “status quo” witness; or (3) conform to the pattern of Canadian society and state, becoming apostate.  Members of StandForGod.Org choose Option (1). 

Ex 20:3-7; Lev 18:22; Ro 13:1-6; Heb 13:17.

16.  Public Education 

Some might rush to applaud the “liberal” worldview held by the state, arguing that government has no place legislating morality - the corollary of separation of church and state.  But then who will?  Not the religious.  They are silenced from public voice.  The paradox in adopting a homosexist worldview is that the state will not back away from morality, but rather will take on a major role in legislating values, particularly focusing on influencing the next generation through elementary and secondary school education.  The new state morality will no longer be rooted in traditional “religious” values, but in secular humanism.  And the homosexist worldview will underpin future governance in custody, parenting, adultery, reproduction, biogenetics, death and countless other societal areas. 

Ecc 7:19; Ps 19:1-14; 119:1-8; Mt 7:24; Lk 2:40; Eph 4:12-16; Php 4:9; Col 2:8-9; Heb 5:11-14.