Culture Wars

Deuteronomy 4:2 “You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.”

There is culture war going on today for the hearts, minds and souls of everyone on Earth, between believing God or believing man. The enemy (the flesh, the world, and the Devil) attempt to steal, kill and destroy our relationship with God the Father, God the Son & God the Holy Spirit with lies that range from outright rejection of the existence of God to subtly questioning His authority and willfully reinterpreting His teachings, statutes and commandments to fit our will, instead of His will. I read that the real dividing line in our modern culture is not between right wing and left wing, not between conservatives and liberals, but between the orthodox (holding, or in accordance with, established belief, especially in connection with religion) and the progressives (the people favoring changes and reform in authority or administration of God). We see this, even within the walls of some churches today. Divisions are taking place on worldly standards over the very Word of God among the people of God. John 14;23-24 Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching.” Luke 6:46 "Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?

Luke 11:28 “But Jesus said, "Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!"

Talking to a good friend, who is a Christian Marriage and Family Counselor at a major mega church in the area, he said that this is the very issue that he deals with in counseling sessions today. The thinking goes: “God wants me to be happy. Following my needs and desires make me happy, therefore God is okay with me doing them, even if it is against his statutes and commands. My God loves me and will forgive me”. But this is a classic case of “Not thy will be done, but my will be done”. In many cases, the people of God compromise the word of God for the sake of the secular world and the beliefs of people in their lives that do not know the Lord; either to live politically correct at peace with them without confrontation, to be accepted socially by them out of fear of rejection, or to deny the sorrow of the reality of their loved one’s true eternal destiny without Christ. The writer concludes that it is not the revelation of God where we must stand, but on the Word of God. There is the solid ground. There is safety and security. We need not seek to curry (with flattery) favor those who would gainsay (contract, dispute, oppose or deny) the Word of God. We need instead to call them to repentance. Matthew 28:8 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

It is not God (the Creator of Heaven & Earth, and of all that lives and breathes), that needs to change to our Will. It is us who need to change, to align our lives with His Will and Way. To be a disciple of Christ is to be a Follower, Pupil and Student of the Word (John 1:1). This is the message that this culture needs to hear. May you & I be the messenger to this culture at war.

Matthew 5;17-19 "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

In Christ, Brian