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Jesus Christ Cannot Be Mocked: Take a Stand - Actions

 
1 – There is a calamity of Christian influence unfolding in Canada that begs for change within the true Body.   This tragedy is in part fuelled by a crisis of credibility among professed believers, observable both from within Canadian Christendom and from the outside by non-believers.  It is dreadfully unpersuasive for religious liberals to contend that “While believing that our faith is grounded in truth, our truth need not deny the truths of others.”  It is wrong for professed Christians to imply that by changing one’s faith from Christianity to Buddhism or to Islam, there is no longer a need for one to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour; no longer a Day of Judgment pending.  It is unbelievable, if not blasphemous, for professed Christians to assert that there are additional spirits, beyond the Holy Ghost informing the children of God’s Kingdom.  Scripture has a name for the like-minded; they are called deceivers and are to be shunned by the authentic Body (2 John 7-11). 

 
2 – The tragedy of Christian influence in Canada is exacerbated by demonstrations of low spiritual integrity among believers in authority – clergy and laity.  The manner by which Canadian Christendom has dealt with the challenge of homosexism to the Christian Worldview is best described as double-minded, if not indifferent.  On issues as pivotal as the morality of the homosexual lifestyle and the sanctity of same-sex marriage, it is irreverent to keep fellowship with both the bearers of orthodoxy and liberalism.  Can Christ be divided?  Is there any doubt as to how the Apostle Paul would handle similar religious liberalism (unorthodoxy) within the Body?  His spiritual integrity could never have allowed the determination of The Gospel Truth to be handed over to the vagaries of a parish plebiscite or entrusted to the whims of local pastors or congregational elders (1 Corinthians 15:1-2) to teach whatever doctrine they wish. This is bankrupt leadership; decision-making bereft of spiritual unction.  What is Christ to make of an association of professed believers (for example the UCC) who have some churches blessing same-sex marriage and others professing the act to defile a holy God?   What can be said of that denomination’s spiritual integrity, if a refusing congregation simply recommends that the same-sex couple attend their accepting sister church, but a few blocks away?  The clergy and laity who placed greater emphasis on temporal unity within their congregations, committees and councils, than on the purity and integrity of worship and fellowship have no doubt grieved the Holy Spirit the most (Revelation 3: 16-17).  On Judgment Day, liberal-minded souls may have to answer difficult questions regarding their unorthodox witness.  But what will be asked of the lukewarm, neutral, perplexed or indifferent believers? This ungodly condition of Canadian Christendom demands an outpouring of repentance among the faithful and cries out for the need of spiritual rebirth and revival.  Given the years of individual intercession and the number of prayer rallies held across the nation for renewal, the extended silence from God is even more ominous.  The status quo witness requires a full and honest analysis of the purity of our collective fellowship and of the righteousness of our public witness.  Christians at all levels in Canadian Christendom (individual, small group, congregation, denomination, agency and fellowship) need to determine responsibility for this ungodly condition and hold people accountable for their roles in creating and tolerating this mess.  Hoping that the matter will spontaneously fix itself or praying to God for a miraculous restoration (before a genuine outpouring of repentance) will only result in perpetuating the status quo.   

 
3 - Believers need to invest some time and effort to comprehend the picture unfolding nationally and globally.  Now is as good a time as any to break free of a parochial mindset, where the range of one’s spiritual radar is set at self or local church interest.  Too many Christians are not well engaged in the unfolding spiritual battle for the hearts, minds and souls of Canadians.  There is something wrong with our  national-level priorities, when our ecumenical councils and associations spend more time and effort researching and articulating policies on climate change, Israeli-Palestinian relations, G8 economic policy, strategic and tactical operations in Afghanistan, pondering world federalism, and the like, than on addressing the huge and festering spiritual divide (and witness controversy) caused by religious liberalism.  Too few believers place appropriate emphasis on the spiritual purity of the Body (Titus 1:15-16, I Corinthians 1:10) and on Pauline-style church discipline – i.e. the enforcement of correct doctrine (Galations 1:7-20).  Do you know of many believers who have resigned their post or quit their church rather than compromise on a fundamental Christian belief or principle?  And what should be said of national leaders who have simply filed the same-sex marriage crisis under "unresolved issues" and moved their agenda along to the more immediate temporal challenges of the day – world relief, peace-keeping, social justice, climate change and ethical use of biotechnologies etc.?  It is not that such matters are not important; however, a large part of the ineffectual witness nationally stems from the diminished importance placed within the Body on correctly evangelizing the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  And in our rush to solve the world problems ourselves, the goal of reverencing Jesus Christ in all that we do has been dropped; we have alienated our best friend and have forgotten that Jesus Christ is the author of everything.  Too many are operating more on temporal logic than spiritual insight.  Temporal judgment contends that better organizational structure, improved interfaith cooperation, more compromise of religious beliefs in public, more tolerance of sinful behaviour within pluralist societies, and the advent of global governance will bring desired peace, prosperity and happiness on a national and worldwide scale.  The bearers of this line of thinking are deceived.  In the spiritual realm, the measure of Christian effectiveness must always be the extent of glorification and exaltation of Jesus Christ.  Regrettably, for the religious liberal bent on fixing the temporal world him or herself, the Gospel of Jesus Christ goes against popular cultural and political trends like religious pluralism, inter-faith dialogue, liberal ecumenism, spiritual syncretism and religious liberalism.  Christianity is fundamentally a counter-cultural force in a post-modern society.  Believers need to take a firm stand for the authentic Gospel, always keeping organizational goals anchored to the adoration of Jesus Christ; if not, they may be very disappointed on the Day of Judgment, when crying to Jesus “Lord Lord did we not create a wondrous world government or a great global bill of rights” (Matthew 7: 21-23).