The Injustice of Social Justice

Evil does not always make its appearance wearing a red suit and having a forked tail. Sometimes evil comes dressed up as the opposite of what it really is. This is what the prophet Isaiah is referring to in Isaiah 5:18-24. God’s Word warns us often that evil will come disguised as good. The Apostle Paul said that about false teachers.

“¹⁸ Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope: ¹⁹ That say, Let him make speed, and hasten his work, that we may see it: and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come, that we may know it! ²⁰ Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! ²¹ Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! ²² Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink: ²³ Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him! ²⁴ Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel” (Isaiah 5:18-24).

Evil comes to us in many disguises. It often wears the mask of good and cloaks itself with noble disguises. This is true of the evil called Social Justice. Social Justice is just another phrase to mask the evil of Socialism. What is Socialism? Socialism is stealing. Socialism within a Democracy is stealing from the rich and giving what is stolen to those who have not worked for what was stolen. It comes in the disguise of Economic Equity, but it is not equitable. It is evil. It twists the truth around and justifies injustice.

Social Justice is the present expression of Liberation Theology that began in the 1950’s and 60’s through the influence of a few Marxist revolutionary Catholic priests in Latin America and South America. It arose out of the oppressive injustices of the wealthy ruling classes over the impoverished; almost slave classes of working poor who barely maintain a sustenance lifestyle. These Roman Catholic priests saw Marxism as a way to correct these economic injustices. Social Justice was the term coined to represent the correction of these economic injustices through forced redistribution of wealth.

The term Liberation Theology was established by a Peruvian priest named Gustavo Gutierrez in a book entitled A Theology of Liberation written in 1971. Gutierrez, Leonardo Boff of Brazil, Jon Sobrino of El Salvador, and Juan Luis Segundo of Uruguay can be credited with Christianizing Marxism, which otherwise is atheistic. Therefore the very idea of Marxist Christianity is an oxymoron (contradiction in terms).

The theological premise for Liberation Theology and its Marxist birth-child called Social Justice is the misrepresentation of a number of specific Bible texts interpreted according to the presupposition that economic inequality must be corrected through political activism in the form of Socialist Redistribution. These Bible texts are Isaiah 61:1, Matthew 10:34, Matthew 26: 51-52, and Matthew 25:31-46. These texts are misrepresented as issuing a political mandate of political activism in the application of Marx’s economic evolution theory of redistribution of wealth through progressive social engineering or Marxist Reconstructionism (Fabian Socialism in England, the New Dealism in the U.S.A, and Federalism in Europe).

Evil is never more evil than when it comes to us in garb of the clergy. Gustavo Gutierrez, the Peruvian Catholic priest coined the phrase, “preferential option for the poor.” This statement is simply theologically false and misrepresents both the character and nature of God! In Acts 10:34-35 Peter said, “³⁴ . . . Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: ³⁵ But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.” The Apostle Paul makes similar statements regarding both the poor and the rich.

“For there is no respect of persons with God” (Romans 2:11).

“⁵ Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; ⁶ Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; ⁷ With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men: ⁸ Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free. ⁹ And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him” (Ephesians 6:5-9).

Although the voices of spiritual leaders should be trustworthy, they can also easily lead thousands away with logical arguments, doctrines of men, and simple distortions. Christ Himself warned of these false teachers just as did the Apostle Paul and the Apostle Peter. In God’s Word they are called “false prophets” and “false teachers.” These are people who are really filled with inner darkness, but who present themselves as having the “light” of Truth. They do not. Such misrepresentations of the Word of God simply manifest their spiritual blindness.

“¹⁴ And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. ¹⁵ Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works” (II Corinthians 11:14-15).

Liberation Theology paints Jesus Christ as a revolutionary Whose mission on earth was social reformation, not redemption. For the Liberation Theologian there is no doubt in their minds that Jesus was a Socialist and the mission of the Church in the world today is to usher in a utopian world where everyone is not only equal, but everyone’s possessions are made equal through the forced redistribution of wealth. For them, justice is defined by equitable redistribution of wealth on a global scale.

The simple reality is that forced charity is not charity at all. Charity is an act of love that comes through the willingness to make self-sacrifices. Socialism is forced charity that takes away the love and offers another’s goods as a sacrifice and then takes credit for the gift. Something forced is not willing, and when a gift is against the will, it is no longer a gift. That is a theft, not a gift.

Matthew 25:31-46 is a Bible text that is used by Socialists, Social Gospel proponents, and proponents of Social Justice to present a totally distorted interpretation and misrepresentation of Christ’s intent in the text. Matthew 25:31-46 is a remarkable portion of Scripture detailing a prophecy by Christ of a future event. It is a prophecy with great detail, yet it is a prophecy that is greatly misunderstood.

“³¹ When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: ³² And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: ³³ And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. ³⁴ Then shall the King say unto them {the sheep} on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: ³⁵ For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: ³⁶ Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. ³⁷ Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? ³⁸ When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? ³⁹ Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? ⁴⁰ And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren {the Jews}, ye have done it unto me. ⁴¹ Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand {goats; the lost}, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: ⁴² For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: ⁴³ I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. ⁴⁴ Then shall they {goats; the lost} also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? ⁴⁵ Then shall he answer them {goats; the lost}, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. ⁴⁶ And these {goats; the lost} shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal” (Matthew 25:31-46).

Matthew 25:31-46 details an event that will take place at the second coming of Christ at the end of the seven year Tribulation period just before the establishment of Christ’s Kingdom on Earth. The substance of the text has to do with the final act of Christ judgment of the nations at the end of the “times of the Gentiles” (Luke 21:24). The basis of the judgment is determined by how Gentiles, living during the Tribulation period, treat the Jewish people under persecution by the forces of the Antichrist. It does not refer to or promote a Social Gospel!

The meaning of this text has been misrepresented, either by ignorance or because of purposeful deception, to establish what has come to be known as the Social Gospel. The Social Gospel is a movement within Protestant Christianity (primarily led by liberal Presbyterianism, but followed by most denominations later, including Catholicism) that began to develop in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. It is more of a political movement than it is theological. It might be better called Christian Socialism (again, another oxymoron). The Social Gospel then evolved into Liberation Theology, which then evolved today into what is called Social Justice. Christ warned about such twisting of Scripture to deceive those with little understanding of the Word of God in Matthew 7:15-20.

“¹⁵ Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. ¹⁶ Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? ¹⁷ Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. ²⁰ Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them” (Matthew 7:15-20).

There is a simple solution to avoid being deceived by such postulations and distortions of Truth that come to us disguised as righteousness while teaching that stealing from someone is somehow justifiable. The solution is simply God’s Word; “Thou shalt not steal” (Exodus 20:15). The word of God does not say “thou shalt not steal” except when someone else acquires more wealth than you have. Neither does the Word of God tell us that it is justifiable to steal from someone even if they unjustly acquired their wealth. The fact is that, in the U.S. of A., the vast majority of the people are wealthy compared to the rest of the world. The vast majority of those wealthy people did not acquire their wealth by being unjust. They acquired their wealth by getting a good education, by hard work, by ingenuity, and by saving what they earned over a life time. It is an injustice to steal what they earned from them through oppressive taxation and then falsely calling it Social Justice. That is calling “evil good and good evil.”

Amazingly, this deception is being promoted by wolves in sheep’s clothing who are actually propagating evil. The Apostle Peter tells us they “wrest” the Scriptures “unto their own destruction.” In doing so they are leading thousands of others following them down the same pathway towards the same destiny.

“¹⁴ Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. ¹⁵ And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; ¹⁶ As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction. ¹⁷ Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness” (II Peter 3:14-18).

Black Liberation Theology quickly began to develop out of Liberation Theology. Although this is still an extreme form of theological liberalism and an offshoot of Progressive Socialism (Marist Reconstructionism through Social Engineering), this form of Liberation Theology is directed specifically and primarily to African Americans as the descendants of slaves.

In the 1950’s a man name Malcolm Little converted to Islam while serving an 8-10 year prison sentence and began the Black Power Movement. He became a Sunni Muslim in 1964. He became known as Malcolm X. During that time, Malcolm X declared Christianity to “a white man’s religion.”[1] Another African American, James Cone, struggling with his liberal Christianity and trying to reconcile it with his political views, tried to reconcile the non-violent views of Martin Luther King with the “any means possible” view of Malcolm X began to apply Liberation Theology to the racism that existed in the U.S.A. Originally Black Theology simply wanted “freedom and justice.” This “justice” quickly evolved into varying forms of Social Justice in the forms of what might better be called Retribution Justice. “Authentic love is not ‘help,’” Cone writes[2], “not giving Christmas baskets, but working for political, social, and economic justice, which always means a redistribution of power. It is the kind of power which enables blacks to fight their own battles and thus keep their dignity.” “Redistribution of power” would later come to mean redistribution of wealth.

Under Liberation Theology, salvation takes on an aberrant distortion of its biblical definition. Under Liberation Theology, salvation is not the salvation of the soul from eternal damnation, but the liberation of the socially and economically oppressed by the redistribution of wealth as retribution for injustices against them.

In Liberation Theology, individuals are not saved from God’s condemnation to an eternal Hell. In Liberation Theology, societies are liberated from their guilt of injustices towards the oppressed by punitive retribution in the redistribution of wealth. All wealthy people (very subjective in nature and usually racist in that it really means all wealthy white people) are viewed as criminals that need to be punished by oppressing them the way they oppressed the slave (working) classes in a society. This is Liberal Theology at its worst!

In the context of an Amillennial world view, Liberal Theology began to adopt Karl Marx’s philosophies of Social Economics and Social Engineering as its main emphasis in ushering in a utopian kingdom (thereby birthing the Social Gospel). Marx viewed the means of sociological progression in the implementation of his economic theory through two eyes; sociological revolution and sociological evolution (this is what the word PROGRESSIVE means to a political liberal). Marx viewed society (the Social Economy) in two categories:

1. Proletariat is the lower class of producers; laborers or wage earners

2. Bourgeoisie is the upper/middle class of consumers that take capital or profit from what is produced by the labor class thereby exploiting the labor class for personal gain

Marx’s economic theory was primarily intent on equalizing the distribution of capital (Product or Profit) between all classes and thereby eliminating those classes (or equalizing them). Therefore, any form of Socialism is essentially anti-Capitalism. In Capitalism all wealth or property is privately owned and controlled. In Communism all wealth or property is owned and controlled by the corporate collective. This latter outcome is the ultimate goal of Progressive Socialism.

Religious Liberals took up Marx’s PROGRESSIVE evolutionary economic theory and adapted it to their Amillennial view. They saw the scientific advances in the world as the means to end all poverty and sickness; a utopian Kingdom on earth advanced by humanity (Humanism). A Liberal, Socialist Baptist pastor, named Harry Emerson Fosdick in the Cole Lectures for 1922 delivered before Vanderbilt University (Christianity And Progress; a series of six lectures) said, “When, then, we find the minds of men first throwing off their intellectual vassalage to antiquity and beginning to believe in themselves, their present powers and their future prospects, it is this new found mastery over nature’s latent resources which is the spring and fountain of their confidence.”

Marx’s REVOLUTION View for social change or Social Engineering is known as Communism. His EVOLUTION View of social change or Social Engineering is known as Socialism. The Revolution View proposed the radical and violent overthrow of the structure of a society in order to force the institution of this economic theory through a totalitarian governance of that society. His Evolution View (that later came to be known as Marxist Reconstructionism) proposed the gradual institution of this economic theory through the Democratic process (Progressive; this is what is going on in Political Liberalism).

From this revelation, the Marxist Revisionism (Reconstructionism) of the late 1800’s began to develop. In the 1890’s Sidney and Beatrice Webb founded the Fabian Socialist Society. This was known as Federalism in Europe and New Dealism in the United States of America. Notice the key terms in their agenda:

“They avowed a NON-REVOLUTIONARY, GRADUALIST policy to attain a highly organized DEMOCRATIC state socialism by way of SCHOLARLY demonstration, brilliant PROPAGANDA, and PERMEATION of established political and influential organization.” (caps added)

In Religious/Political Liberalism, Secular Humanism (Non-theism) married Marxist Reconstructionism (the evolution of Marx’s progressive socialist economic theory). These two have been made “one flesh.” Religious Liberalism (Socialism) invented the Social Gospel as its means to achieve Marx’s evolutionary view for social change (Reconstructionism and Redistribution). This became a major part of what Religious Liberalism and Secular Humanism have come to refer to as Social Planning. This is progressively (gradually) moving societies toward Marx’s redistribution economic philosophy.

Matthew 25:31-46 has been singled out by theological liberals and misinterpreted to try to give Biblical credibility to this redistribution economic philosophy. Of course, they take this portion of Scripture completely out of its eschatological context in its primary reference to the Jews during the seven year Tribulation on earth.

In order to understand Matthew 25:31-46, we must see it in its proper timetable of future events. Then, we must identify the characters in the word portrait that Christ paints before us. Matthew 25:31 tells us when and where this prophecy will be fulfilled. The timetable for the fulfillment of this prophecy is the second coming of Christ to establish His Kingdom. Therefore, this is not the Great White Throne and there is no resurrection of the dead involved. This is on earth just prior to the beginning of the 1,000 year reign of Christ on Earth. There are five phrases used to define the characters in the scene before us.

1. The Son of Man (referring to Jesus Christ, the incarnate, glorified Son of God)

2. The Holy Angels (the executioners of God’s wrath; II Thessalonians 1:7-10)

3. The Sheep

4. The Goats

5. The Brethren

The subject of the text centers around dividing the Sheep from the Goats by what they have done for the Brethren just prior to Christ’s return to establish His Kingdom on Earth. The world events just prior to the second coming of Christ are the events surrounding the rise of the Antichrist after the rapture of the Church Age saints. This is the seven year Tribulation that begins right after the rapture of the Church Age saints. Therefore, the first thing we must understand is who the Brethren are.

The Brethren could possibly refer to all Jews living during the Tribulation. The Antichrist, as the leader of the New Babylon (Muslim nations), will seek to annihilate the nation of Israel. The Brethren may refer more specifically to the 144,000 Jews sealed by Christ at about the middle of the seven year Tribulation. These 144,000 Jews, along with Christ’s “two witnesses,” will preach the gospel of the Kingdom primarily to the nation of Israel and the vast majority of the Jews will accept Jesus as their Messiah and will be “born again.” The Antichrist will make every effort to have them killed.

“¹ And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. ² And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, ³ Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. ⁴ And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel” (Revelation 7:1-4).

The Antichrist will seek to kill them by keeping them from being able to buy or sell. He will initiate an international identification system where anyone wanting to buy or sell must take a number in their hands or in their foreheads. Those unwilling to take the “mark” of the Beast will not be able to buy food, water, medical care, clothing, or housing/shelter. Those that will not take the mark of the Beast will be sought out to be imprisoned and, eventually, murdered. Many believers from all nations of the world will give their lives to protect these Jews from the Antichrist’s executioners. (Which nations execute people by cutting off their heads?)

“And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years” (Revelation 20:4).

This text refers to the believers who died during the Tribulation. There will be many Gentile believers during the Tribulation who will somehow survive the last three and a half years when the Antichrist’s numerical system of identification will be instituted. These are the individuals Christ refers to as the Sheep in Matthew 25:33. They somehow will be able to develop some kind of underground networking to get food, water, shelter, clothing and medical care. Yet, even in this extreme situation, they will extend the love of God to the Jews (Christ’s Brethren) by providing them with food, water, shelter, clothing and medical care. Christ spoke of uniting Gentile believers with Jewish believers into “one fold” one day.

“¹⁴ I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. ¹⁵ As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶ And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd” (John 10:14-16).

At the second coming of Christ, Jesus will establish His Millennial Throne in Jerusalem. The first event of His Sovereignty on Earth will be the final judgment of the nations. This refers to those who survive the seven year tribulation. During this seven year period of time, God will release His restraint upon the forces of evil in the world thereby releasing God’s wrath through this means. The “prince of power of the air” (Ephesians 2:2) will use this opportunity to try to annihilate mankind from the face of the Earth. Apparently, God will put His hand of protection around many of both Gentile and Jewish believers. For sure we know that everyone of the 144,000 Jews sealed earlier during the Tribulation are protected because we find them on Mt. Zion with Christ at His second coming.

“And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads” (Revelation 14:1).

In all of this horror, we are reminded of Habakkuk’s prayer in chapter 3:2, “O LORD, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy.” In God’s protection and restoration of the nation of Israel, He certainly does “remember mercy.” Yet, this mercy is magnified by the horrors of His wrath in Revelation 19:11-16 where we find those who have rejected God’s love and grace extended to them in the Gospel of Jesus and who “after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.” The “day of wrath” has come for those on the earth who rejected Christ during the Tribulation and who refused to give aid to His Brethren.

“¹¹ And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. ¹² His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. ¹³ And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. ¹⁴ And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. ¹⁵ And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. ¹⁶ And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS” (Revelation 19:11-16).

The Goats will be separated from the Sheep and they will finally taste the wine of God’s wrath. God will separate the Goats from the Sheep and will slay the Goats with the “sharp sword” that goes “out of His mouth.” The Goats will be killed by the spoken Word of God coming from the mouth of Jesus Christ. The “beast and the false prophet” will be cast alive into the “lake of fire.” The Goats will be slain by the “sword” that “proceeded out of his mouth.”

“²⁰ And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. ²¹ And the remnant {the Goats} were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh” (Revelation 19:20-21).

Liberal Theology’s perverted Social Gospel evolved into even a greater perversion in Liberation Theology’s Social Justice. These perversions of the Gospel are antichrist in that they aberrantly redefine the missional purpose of the Messiah (Christ) in humanistic sociological terms rather than Soteriological terms. Christ did not enter into humanity to establish a New World Order of Socialism in order to redeem societies from social injustices against the poor.

---

[1] This Far By Faith, PBS; http://www.pbs.org/thisfarbyfaith/people/james_cone.html

[2] http://www.wfu.edu/~matthetl/perspectives/twentyseven.html

Anonymous comments will not be allowed.Numerous studies and series are available free of charge for local churches at:http://www.disciplemakerministries.org/Dr. Lance Ketchum serves the Lord as a Church Planter, Evangelist/Revivalist.He has served the Lord for over 40 years.

Census, Consensus, and Censorship

“¹ I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, ² With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; ³ Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:1-3).

“³⁰ And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. ³¹ Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: ³² And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:30-32).

Over the last 40 years I have been involved in many fellowships of churches or pastors. I won’t list them all, but each provided some blessings to me and much encouragement from other fellow Christians. I have never been part of a Convention of Churches because I believe that joining such an organization creates something larger than the local church and I believe that would be unscriptural. The associations or fellowships that I participated with, whether they were of local churches or pastors, never had any authority over the local church I pastored or any say in the decisions of those churches. We were bonded together merely by a chain of sand in like precious faith and in our missional purposes.

Although there are great blessings in being part of a fellowship/association of local churches or pastors, I have also discovered some things that I think can be very dangerous to both individuals and to local churches. I believe any individual or local church involved with these kinds or organizations needs to guard against three things that I see that develop and grow within these organizations:

1. Census

2. Consensus

3. Censorship

CENSUS

The central meaning of the word census is the counting of people and the accounting of their property holdings and wealth for the purpose of taxation. Census is about numbers. There is nothing wrong with counting things. The problems begin with what we do with those numbers.

Often, when I go to fellowship meetings, the first question other pastors ask me is, “How many are you running now?” In most cases, they do not really care how many people are attending church services where I pastor. They are keeping score. The mentality of this thinking is that a person’s importance is measured by the number of people that come to hear him preach, the size of the church’s budget and missions giving, and the size of the church’s facilities. Those with larger ministries are looked up to by those with lesser sized ministries. When I have pastored larger sized churches and had this happen to me, I was offended by it. I was especially offended by the fact that I was promoted in the eyes of others simply because of this, when there were many more noble, spiritually mature, and gifted men who were seldom given the opportunity to speak before the fellowship, or chosen for leadership positions.

One state fellowship of churches I participated in was an especially sweet fellowship because the leadership carefully guarded against this kind of nonsense. It was often said that this state fellowship of churches was superior because it did not have any big shots in it. Of course, it did have men who had large churches and most of those men were deeply spiritual men and very gifted. They were also very humble men. Perhaps that was the very reason their ministries were very successful in bringing glory to God and seeing much fruit.

State and nation wide Bible conferences often choose their speakers on the basis of the size and the success of their ministries as well. In an attempt to attract large numbers of pastors and people to these conferences, big name preachers are brought in to fill the platform. In a success oriented society we tend to gravitate to people who we view to have achieved what we are working toward. We think they will have a key that we have not discovered or some new program that was successful that we might implement to be our own springboard to similar results. All of this generates, or perhaps is generated from, very humanistic thinking that is separated from the true supernatural spiritual dynamic involved in true church growth.

It is important to interject here that in pointing out theses dangers that must be guarded against, we should not throw out the baby with the bath water. The vast majority of these big name preachers are humble, spiritual men who have amassed enormous wisdom over their years in the ministry. They have a great deal to offer to the masses that attend these conferences. However, we must constantly be on guard against hero worship and glory theft. Genuinely humble people manifest humility in very practical ways. They will refuse to receive glory for what God has done through them. There is a great danger in ego worship within pastoral circles and it tends to generate pride. The truly great men of God have always guarded against these things from within their peer groups and carefully guarded their own hearts from being pierced by the deadly arrows of pride and self-promotion, to which all men are susceptible.

Consensus

The word consensus simply means general agreement or concord; harmony. Within most pastor’s fellowships or local church fellowships consensus is the basis for the existence of the fellowship in the first place. These people gather together because they share communion in doctrine and purpose. The central focus in these gatherings is upon edification and encouragement in the “work of the ministry.” These are very good and noble purposes that deserve to be promoted. Many pastors are discouraged and need encouragement. Many are struggling with finances, personal and family issues, and just the everyday difficulties of trying to teach sheep to fly. I do not want to criticize these very precious necessities of edification and encouragement within these fellowships of pastors or local churches. Holding up one another’s arms is often one of the most important things one Christian can do for another. When I attend these gatherings, I try to be sensitive to the other men around me and try to provide some encouragement if possible.

However, there is also a great danger within most fellowships that promotes Centrism. Centrism is a political word. It is the very reason many men refuse to be part of fellowships of pastors and local churches; they hate political maneuvering in that they view it as manipulative. Centrism purposefully adopts a middle of the road position, or course of action, that controls everything that happens within the fellowship. Centrism promotes Moderatism, which is just another word for progressive lukewarmness. The danger is in the promotion of unity in purpose above unity in doctrine. This forms a pseudo-consensus that tends towards inclusivism.

The very nature of true consensus is exclusivistic. In other words, to create a pseudo-unity with pseudo-consensus destroys the very nature of true consensus. Theological consensus in doctrine and purpose must be actual, not merely philosophical. Consensus that is manufactured by avoiding areas of disagreement in doctrine or purpose is artificial and false. Creating a pseudo-unity with pseudo-consensus removes the necessity for separation by individuals from the fellowship by avoiding the discussion of anything that might challenge the pseudo-unity. I believe this is why almost all fellowships eventually become New Evangelical. It is because they want to maintain a wide base of theological positions. Over the years this wide base grows wider and wider. They create a pseudo-unity with pseudo-consensus and then criticize those who leave the fellowship and label them as extreme because they refuse to be partners in the pseudo-unity and pseudo-consensus. Evil is inherent in these kinds of practices.

Bible colleges and seminaries are not immune to this kind of Group Think. In many cases they create the Group Think and write its syllabus. They understand that they draw their students from a wide stream of churches and they want to keep that stream as wide as possible. Many pastors, who are alumni of a college they once attended, falsely assume that the same things they were taught when they attended are still being taught. Alumni tend to have a loyalty to their Alma Mater that is above their loyalty to the Truth. This is a great evil. Pastors need to spend a day or, even better, a number of days in the classrooms of colleges and seminaries they recommend so they can actually hear and see what is being taught. They should personally question professors and teachers regarding their theological beliefs before they recommend a school. They should question school leaders about their views about certain theological positions and how things deemed as aberrations are dealt with in the student body and amongst the faculty. Inclusivism always breeds broader Inclusivism.

These kinds of fellowships and schools want to avoid being labeled. They will often avoid using a label that takes on negative connotations and narrows the base from which they draw their support. Many times they simply invent a new label that they define and then apply it to themselves. I believe this is what is happening in the use of the new label: Conservative Evangelicals. These individuals want to separate themselves from narrower and more exclusivistic labels in order to maintain a wider and more inclusivistic base within their constituency. This is why these types or organizations do not simply abandon the fundamentalism that they so adamantly and regularly criticize. They still want to be influential within fundamentalism in transitioning people away from that which they criticize to their kumbaya Conservative Evangelicalism. This is Rodney King Evangelicalism; “can’t we, can’t we just all get along!” Therefore, the critics keep one foot in Fundamentalism as they seek to destroy it and lead as many out of Fundamentalism as possible before they will finally and ultimately be abandoned by those they criticize.

Secondly, these kinds of fellowships and schools seek to redefine theological positions by changing emphasis and direction within theological positions. This can be seen in the following quote from Dr. Kevin Bauder from Central Baptist Theological Seminary in Plymouth, MN in an article from a few years ago:

“It has been suggested that we practice ecclesiastical separation because we are concerned about the purity of the church. Strictly speaking, that is not true. We practice ecclesiastical separation because we are concerned about the purity of the gospel.”[1]

CENSORSHIP

When certain areas of theological discussion are purposefully eliminated from theological dialogue within a fellowship in order to create a pseudo-consensus, there usually develops a strong sense of covert censorship within fellowships. Certain voices cannot be allowed to be heard if the pseudo-consensus is to be maintained. The fact that this censorship is covert is especially evil.

This covert censorship is usually done through private assassination by innuendo. Another word for this is gossip. Covert censorship takes place when any person poses a threat to the pseudo-consensus of the Group Think. Such a person’s influence must be limited or eliminated in order to maintain the pseudo-consensus. This person then becomes a sacrificial lamb sacrificed to the pseudo-consensus. The wickedness of this all is that the person’s position that is being censored is often (usually) misrepresented.

This covert censorship is manifested in the another article by Dr. Bauder under the guise of presenting individuals or local churches with certain positions as abnormal, and like some kind of infection that needs to be removed from a fellowship.

“Much of what transpires under the name of fundamentalism is not the idea, but rather appurtenances. If fundamentalism is going to be made healthy, it needs a good expectorant. A few boils need to be lanced. Perhaps some tumors will require surgery. These procedures may cause discomfort, but they are done for the health of the body.

Someone who criticizes the phlegm and pus may not hate the body, but rather desire its health. Someone may lay a tumor bare because the tumor disfigures and threatens the body. The body is healthier without it.”[2]

The “phlegm and pus” in the “body of Christ” referred to in this article is anyone who believes that ecclesiastical separation is mainly about “purity of the church,” rather than just the “purity of the gospel.” This is a dangerous change and reduction in the historical position of Baptist separatism. In other words, there is no longer any need to separate from other religious organizations over errors in Pneumatology, Christology, Eschatology, Ecclesiology, Anthropology, or any other area that does not affect the “purity of the gospel.”

Covert censorship is certainly seen today in fellowships and schools in the discussion of textual preservation, Bible translations, and in the rise of Calvinism, Reformed Theology, and Covenant Theology within Baptist circles. In order to maintain a pseudo-consensus, there is covert censorship that just will not allow discussion of these issues. The influence of those who think these issues need to be exposed as heretical are covertly censored by taking away the credibility of their voice by labeling them as extreme. They certainly will never be allowed to be addressed from any platform or pulpit provided by the fellowship or school. These issues are divisive and therefore cannot be allowed to challenge the pseudo-consensus. The very fact that the discussion and preaching on these kinds of issues is covertly eliminated manifests a promotion of Inclusivism over orthodoxy. This too is a great evil. The consensus to allow this evil is in every way that which generates the pseudo-consensus.

I have no objection to censorship. Every pastor I know protects what is taught from his pulpit by censorship. However, it is unethical to do so covertly. If I disagree with what a man believes, I tell him so personally. He will not be allowed to preach from the pulpit the Lord has put under my guardianship, even if he agrees not to speak on the area we disagree on. A man who holds to heresy is a heretic. I have a responsibility to tell another man that I believe his beliefs will lead people astray if they are allowed to be preached. I may have friends who I believe are heretics, but I do not partner (“fellowship”) with them in the “work of the ministry.” They should do the same with me if they believe my beliefs are heretical. I will not be offended by that. However, I will be offended by the unethical practice of covert censorship in order to maintain a pseudo-consensus. I view this as extremely wicked.

Another aspect of this dynamic is self-censorship by the individuals within a fellowship in order to be able to hold leadership positions within the fellowship. I know of many men who strongly disagree with the acceptable and unacceptable norms (the pseudo-consensus), but who refuse to publicly address things they think will not be acceptable because of political reasons. They think they will not be asked to hold a position, speak at the fellowship gatherings, or be given recommendations to another pastorate should they need one. These men will totally avoid talking publicly or privately about divisive issues lest they be labeled divisive. This is an aberration in that Christ said, “³⁴ Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. ³⁵ For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. ³⁶ And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household. ³⁷ He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:34-37). Neutrality is a position that is equal to unfaithfulness. To self-censor is to be silenced by selfishness and self-protection. Self-censorship because of fear of the consequences of speaking out is an act of cowardice.

I have often wondered how the Apostle Paul would have fared in many of these fellowships. I think we can be confident that he would never self-censor. I think we can also be confident that he would never minimize any doctrine to generate a pseudo-unity. In fact, I think we can be confident that this is exactly the substance of his warning to Timothy and all future generations of preachers.

“¹ I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; ² Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. ³ For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; ⁴ And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. ⁵ But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry. ⁶ For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. ⁷ I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: ⁸ Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing” (II Timothy 4:1-8).

What does it really mean when a person says, “We agree to disagree”? In my experience, that means two disagreeing people agree that they will not discuss those things they disagree about so as to have a pseudo-unity built upon a pseudo-consensus. I think God has a word for that; ABOMINATION! It can also be spelled C-O-M-P-R-O-M-I-S-E! Those willing to enter into such alliances based on this pseudo-consensus have sacrificed their spiritual integrity for pseudo-unity. This too is a great evil. When the voice of dissent is silenced by self-censorship, it becomes a voice of consent.

---

[1] Dr. Kevin T. Bauder, “Thinking about the Gospel, Part 5: The Gospel and Christian Fellowship,” In the Nick of Time, July 13, 2007

[2] Dr. Kevin T. Bauder, “Now about Thoses Differences, Part One: Why This Discussion?” In the Nick of Time, May 28, 2010

A PDF of this article is available upon request along with a Power Point presentation. Send request to: LanceKetchum@msn.com

Anonymous comments will not be allowed.Numerous studies and series are available free of charge for local churches at:http://www.disciplemakerministries.org/Dr. Lance Ketchum serves the Lord as a Church Planter, Evangelist/Revivalist.He has served the Lord for over 40 years.

THE CHARACTERISTICS OF GENUINE REPENTANCE

“¹ To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. ² Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. ³ For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. ⁴ Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. ⁵ Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. ⁶ Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. ⁷ Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. ⁸ Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. ⁹ Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. ¹⁰ Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. ¹¹ Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. ¹² Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. ¹³ Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee. ¹⁴ Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. ¹⁵ O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise. ¹⁶ For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. ¹⁷ The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. ¹⁸ Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem. ¹⁹ Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar” (Psalm 51:1-19).

The introduction to this Psalm tells us that it is written “To the chief Musician.” This is important in that this Psalm of confession and repentance was to be sung by the priests before the congregation of Israel. There is an absolute kind of acceptance of accountability and transparency in this introductory instruction. This is what is meant by verse 3, “For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.” The eternal consequences of this particular chain of sins in David’s life would be a continual testimony of his transgression to all generations of mankind and into eternity. We will never know the impact of one moment of selfishness upon the lives of those we hurt, and those we lead astray by sin, until we see those results at the Judgment Seat of Christ. No one will possess genuine repentance until he can genuinely reflect upon the hurt caused to so many and the all encompassing eternal consequences.

“Have mercy upon me, O God”

David is not pleading his case before God or trying to justify his actions in any way. There is no blame-shifting or the devil made me do it cop-out. This is a defining characteristic of genuine repentance. There is no plea bargaining or talk of Bathsheba should not have been on that roof naked. David accepts the full responsibility for his sin and throws himself upon the mercy of God.

The request for “mercy” is asking for something not deserved. The plea of David for mercy goes beyond this in that he is asking for mercy in the place of what is deserved due to his monstrous chain of sin. David deserved to lose his position as king and he deserved to be stoned to death for his crime. His plea for mercy acknowledges his guilt and what he deserved. Sin under the Law is always viewed as a criminal offense deserving justice. David’s plea for mercy does not demand forgiveness. It is a plea that God be merciful toward him regarding his crimes and the administration of justice.

We should remember the circumstances surrounding David’s sin. God had rejected Saul as king of Israel. Saul was not God’s choice. Saul was the people’s choice. David was God chosen king. Yet, in the chain of event surrounding David’s sin, David has become a despotic monarch setting in his royal palace while his friends fight his battles. He had accepted a life of leisure. What is apparent in the account, and amazing, is that David has allowed himself to come to a place where he acts without any real cognizance of God. It is that man of injustice and self-centeredness that Nathan the prophet addresses in II Samuel 12:1-14. As we read Nathan’s confrontation of David in II Samuel 12:1-14, we notice that God does give David mercy in that his life is spared (II Samuel 12:13) and David is allowed to remain as king. Although David was forgiven, what God said He would allow to happen in David’s life in II Samuel 12:10-12 still happened.

“¹ And the LORD sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor. ² The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds: ³ But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter. ⁴ And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man’s lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him. ⁵ And David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the LORD liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die: ⁶ And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity. ⁷ And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul; ⁸ And I gave thee thy master’s house, and thy master’s wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things. ⁹ Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. ¹⁰ Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. ¹¹ Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun. ¹² For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun. ¹³ And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die. ¹⁴ Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die” (II Samuel 12:1-14).

God’s chastisement happens when He merely removes His providential hand of protective care and allows evil to run its natural course from its birth fountain. David’s chain of sin was the birth fountain of five outcomes that would impact his children and his household for generations.

1. “The sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me;” Amnon rapes his half sister Tamar and she is defiled before Israel. Her full brother is Absalom, who has his half brother, Amnon, killed (II Samuel 13)

2. “I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house;” Absalom would seek to overthrow his father’s throne through insurrection (II Samuel 15).

3. “I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun” (public ridicule and shame because ‘thou didst it secretly;” this was fulfilled by his own son Absalom who took his father’s concubines, II Samuel 16:21-22)

4. The sin “hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme”

5. “The child also that is born unto thee shall surely die”

“For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me” (Psalm 51:3).

The emphasis of the statement is that of complete confession of his chain of sins. The word “transgressions” reveals this to refer to the specific chain of sin that began with David’s transgression in becoming a despotic monarch whose first failure was when he stayed at Jerusalem when the rest of the men of Israel went to war. The word “transgressions” refers to public confession and acknowledgement of the whole chain of sins involved in this matter and remorse for all levels of the impact of his moral turpitude.

The statement “my sin is ever before me” reveals that David could not escape the vision of the impact of his chain of sins upon the nation of Israel as a whole, thousands of people connected to the lives of those he had murdered to cover up his sin, and the generations of his own children that would be impacted by his terrible testimony. On top of all of this was the fact that the pagan nations were given opportunity to speak against the Name of God and blaspheme His character.

This conviction of sin literally weighed David down to the place he could do nothing else or think of nothing else. He just could not get away from the depth of the corrupting influence of his failures. His life was immersed in the agony of the sorrow in the lives that surrounded him, which sorrow was a flood caused by his chain of sins and God’s chastisement upon his life. His sins were like arrows that never stopped wounding souls. They would pass through one person’s life only to continue until they hit another, and another, and another, ad infinitum. Although David’s sin was forgiven by God, the consequences of that sin continued before David’s eyes for the rest of his life and into eternity.

The statement “my sin is ever before me” reflect more that remorse and tears for the trouble that had come into David’s life because of his selfishness. These words reflect a mourning that comes from the very depth of his soul. David was mourning for all the hurt he had caused in the lives of so many people and all the hurt that the river of consequences would carry forward into future generations.

The depth of David’s repentance is conditioned upon his understanding of the overwhelming spiritual corruption that his own failures had injected into the lives of all those even remotely connected to his life. This chain of sins was not an accident. This chain of sins was on purpose, but without any consideration of anything beyond the moment of the sin. That is the very nature of selfishness. Therefore, genuine repentance is no longer about the person who committed the sin and started the chain of catastrophic events that would hurt, maimed, and destroy thousands of lives. Genuine repentance is the overwhelming burden that understands all of that hurt and destruction and mourns for those that are injured. There is a loathing of sin and the selfishness of that sin in this kind of repentance. It is not just tears of remorse. Genuine repentance looks into the eyes of those injured by the sin and sees the pain and spiritual anguish caused by the sin and take the full load of the ongoing corruption onto one’s own shoulders acknowledging one’s self as the fountain of that corruption.

The concept of mourning in genuine repentance is not mourning regarding the sin itself. Mourning has to do with the losses regarding the consequences of sin. For instance, when a loved one dies, the more we love that person and the more intimate our relationship was with him, the deeper we mourn over the loss. The more we love someone the more we mourn over the hurt we cause him by our sin. The deeper we love someone generates a depth of mourning and the length of time of that mourning. The sense of loss is always with us. Selfish people reflect a repentance that is more about them than about those they have hurt. This is not genuine repentance.

“Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest” (Psalm 51:4).

Every “born again” believer is an artistic masterpiece of God in process. Sin is only against the Master Creator. Sin is like graffiti on God’s masterpieces. Sin defaces God’s masterpieces. However, spiritually shallow people see their sin like a smudge upon the glass that covers and protects the masterpiece. They think that forgiveness simply wipes away the smudge and it is never seen again. The fact is that sin mars the masterpiece. Yes, God can rework the masterpiece so the mar is fixed. However, that is the wonder of God’s masterpieces. The mars become part of the masterpiece in process. The mars are an eternal reminder of our selfishness and carelessness. Sadly, the mars of our sin do not merely impact our own lives, but thousands of other lives directly and indirectly touched by our influences. Genuine repentance mourns over those mars on the lives of all others.

Genuine repentance does not want the sin to be forgotten. Yes, it wants the penalty to be removed and the consequences to be minimal, but genuine repentance wants a monument of remembrance erected to the infamy as a warning to all those that follow. Genuine repentance erects this monument of remembrance saying “do not travel this pathway.” That is the purpose of David in Psalm 51. False repentance demands that the offenses of the sin are never brought up or remembered again. That is not the nature of forgiveness. Forgiveness GIVES the sinner a new beginning, but does not necessarily restore the trust that existed in the relationship prior to the sin. The genuinely repentant sinner wants the forgiveness and the new beginning in the process of restoring trust, but he purposely establishes a monument of remembrance to protect those he loves and to remind himself of his own spiritual frailties.

When David says, “Against thee, thee only, have I sinned,” he is not saying that the consequences of his sin did not affect thousands of others for many generations. He is acknowledging that all of the consequences of his sin were conceived in the womb of wickedness when he began to take God’s grace for granted. His sin took place the moment he forgot God and it blossomed into almost unimaginable destruction from that moment in time.

“¹³ Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: ¹⁴ But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. ¹⁵ Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death” (James 1:13-15).

When David says “and done this evil in thy sight,” he is speaking in judicial terms. He had committed his sins in the presence of God and before God’s eyes. This reflects his understanding of the degree to which his mind had sunk in the view of himself as a despotic monarch. In this view, there was no one above him or to which he needed to be accountable. In this view, his personal choices were above and beyond questioning. In this statement, David acknowledges a Sovereignty above his own and accepts accountability to that Sovereign One. He offers no defense or excuse. God saw, knows, and understands absolutely. Therefore, genuine repentance accepts whatever justice the Sovereign One administers for the punishment of the crime. Yes, David had requested mercy, but he accepts God’s judgment as just regardless of what that judgment might be. The gift of forgiveness does not necessarily mean there will be no consequences for the transgression that was committed. People with disingenuous repentance want forgiveness without providing any kind of accountability or retribution for the damages they have caused. This kind of attitude creates contempt towards the sinner by those he has offended with his moral turpitude. That is because his counterfeit repentance is actually ridiculous. Genuine repentance appeals to those offended and injured for forgiveness and restoration receiving as just any form of continued relationship and taking upon himself the complete responsibility for the restoration of broken fellowship.

“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise” (Psalm 51:17).

The emphasis here is the inward realities that must precede outward expressions of desire for restoration. There are two broken necessities to genuine repentance.

1. A broken into many pieces or crushed spirit; the idea seems to be that of disassembly. God has taken this person apart. A person with a broken spirit sees himself as having been broken down at the very core of his essence regarding ambitions, desires, and will. In this condition, his only hope is in complete dependence upon God.

2. A broken (or shattered) and contrite (collapsed) heart; this implies a sense of sorrow and remorse that is so deep that the flow of life seems to almost stop. Whatever flows is just more bitterness and sorrow. The person with a broken heart is bleeding to death spiritually and nothing can stop the flow but genuine repentance and humility. That is the picture before us in the “contrite” or collapsed heart. There is nothing of one’s selfishness left. All the putrid vileness of selfishness has been emptied through the broken heart. Until this becomes apparent in the sinner’s speech, emotions, and thoughts, genuine repentance is not yet present.

If you would like this study in PDF or Word, send e-mail to: LanceKetchum@msn.com
There is a question sheet with the file.

Anonymous comments will not be allowed.Numerous studies and series are available free of charge for local churches at:http://www.disciplemakerministries.org/Dr. Lance Ketchum serves the Lord as a Church Planter, Evangelist/Revivalist.He has served the Lord for over 40 years.

The Priesthood of the Home and Reproducing a Godly Seed

Since the fall of some angels and all of mankind into sin, world history is the record of the never ending battles of wants and wills. It all began when one fallen angel put his will above the Will of God and, through deception, led the father of all mankind down the same pathway of corruption. Since then, every conflict between individuals, groups of individuals, and nations of individuals has been the product of putting someone-else's want or will above that of another.

In the battle of the ages, those who battle for Truth, or “the faith,” do not battle directly with fallen angels. We battle against those deceived by them and who are being led by them through ongoing deception, false doctrines about God, and in varying degrees of unbelief regarding the Person and work of God. The Christian should not lose this perspective of the battle between good and evil. Although satanic opposition comes to us in the bodies of human beings, the human beings are only instruments in their power controlled and manipulated through demonic deception. The spiritual struggle is that of innumerable individual battles fought against false philosophies, mythologies, distortions and perversions of Truth, lies, manipulations, selfishness, greed, lusts, and a million other battle fronts of variations and combinations of corruption.

“10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand” (Ephesians 6:10-13).

The primary focus of this onslaught of evil is directed against the home and especially against the God appointed spiritual guardian of the home; i.e., the FATHER. To somehow think that a man can win this never ending and unrelenting onslaught, by supernatural beings with powers beyond our imagination, against the home and family is certainly an operation in human vanity. The spiritual man lives each moment in an ongoing declaration of dependence upon God and in his understanding of the absolute necessity of living in unbroken fellowship with God.

There is only one Will in existence that deserves such levels of conflict; the Will of God. It is this to this seemingly never ending struggle that the Word of God directs us in the short epistle of Jude, the half brother of our Lord, Jesus Christ centering around the statement in verse 3, “that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” The Word of God reveals the Will of God, which defines “the faith.”

“1 Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called: 2 Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied. 3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. 4 For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. 5 I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not. 6 And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. 7 Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. 8 Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities. 9 Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. 10 But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves. 11 Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core. 12 These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; 13 Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever. 14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, 15 To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. 16 These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage. 17 But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; 18 How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. 19 These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit. 20 But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, 21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. 22 And of some have compassion, making a difference: 23 And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. 24 Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, 25 To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen” (Jude 1:1-25).

Defining what is meant by the words “the faith,” that we are commanded to “contend for,” is a critical aspect of what defines the struggle of the Christian life and the primary ministry of the father as the guardian of his home. No man will take the responsibilities of the spiritual guardianship of his home seriously until he understands the wicked purposes of the enemy and the cost of failure. Men have difficulty in dealing with intangible probabilities. Men tend to deal only with things they can see, touch, and smell. However, if a man knew there was an invader coming who would steal all that he had worked for, rape his wife and daughters, and then sell them with his sons into slavery, he would do everything in his power and intellect to provide for their protection. Why then is it that most men are apathetic about spiritual things, about church going, about Bible study, and about prayer? They are apathetic because they do not really believe there is any real danger to them or their families.

We also find the phrase “the common salvation” in the verse 2. The soteriological reductionism modern evangelicalism defines this “common salvation” as merely the salvation of the soul from condemnation and deliverance from Hell. The salvation of the Bible has three levels of deliverance of the body, soul, and spirit of a person (I Thessalonians 5:23). There are times when the word salvation is used to refer to all three of these aspects of salvation (such as in the case of Jude 1:3). There are also times when the context determines to which aspect of salvation the text is referring. The three aspects of a person’s salvation are:

1. The salvation of the soul through propitiation and justification
2. The salvation of the spirit (one’s life) through practical sanctification
3. The salvation of the body through glorification

The phrase “common salvation” in Jude 1:3 refers to all three aspects of a person’s salvation. In fact, perhaps we can go so far as to say that the words “common salvation” embody all that defines Christianity as a whole. Although any phase of a person’s ongoing salvation (he has been saved, is being saved, and will be saved) is an operation of God, He has numerous human partners in this “work of the ministry.” God has commanded all believers to preach the gospel and make disciples. God has called all believers to work together through the local church towards spiritual growth (practical sanctification). However, God has but one person that He has put in charge of the home and with whom He wants to work in a formal partnership so as to protect the family members of that home against the unrelenting onslaught of satanic deception and corruption. God calls him the father. Wives call him honey. Children call him dad. That man’s primary line of defense is to maintain unbroken fellowship with God so that His family is never left unguarded against the supernatural onslaught of evil that only God can protect against.

Secondly, understanding the numerous levels of personalities, individuals, and forces we contend against is also critical. The primary enemy is the corrupting influence of demonic forces. In defining that corrupting influence, we must include our own corrupted nature with its corrupted, selfish desires and all of our idols of the heart. Because each of us, including fathers, has a corrupted nature, we are a potential danger to our own families from within the home. In most cases, corrupted individuals become the tools with which demonic corruption is advanced in families, cultures, and nations. Warning about these corrupted individuals is what the epistle of Jude is all about and the primary focus of the command to “earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.”

There is no escaping this warfare in this life. A new battle is always looming on the horizon of the next moment. The army of enemy is constantly being refreshed with new deceived souls willing to evangelize the world with their deceptions and mock all that contradict their heresies. There is nothing sacred to them. The most difficult aspect of “contending for the faith” is that those individuals we contend with are also those to who we are trying to evangelize. At that level, our enemies become our ministry.

False doctrine is an attack against “the faith.” False doctrine is the most significant enemy of the family in the arsenal of satanic opposition to the will of God. Right doctrine determines right practice. Fathers who do not make learning doctrine a priority of their lives will never be able to transfer right doctrine into the practice of the lives of their families.

According to Jude 1:4, not all of the enemies of the family are demons. Some of them are false teachers who have been deceived and corrupted by demons. These people enter the local church under the guise of orthodoxy with a covert agenda to take control. Once they have gained positions of favor, they begin to sow their seeds of corruption.

We might ask why this is so easily accomplished. There is a simple reason. When a genuine man of God labors “in word and doctrine” (I Tim. 5:17), his work is often resisted by degrees. Some people resist his teaching/preaching because they think it is too restrictive on their lifestyles and practices and they quickly shut their ears to anything he says regarding these issues. Others may resist the laborious detail in which truth is presented. Others simply resist because they really do not want to labor in learning and they allow their minds to wonder towards more interesting things of the world. These individuals will welcome someone who will remove the restrictions, make church going fun, entertaining, and not require any effort of their parts to learn and live the Truth. Another dynamic is that a pastor eventually just gets so discouraged in trying to get a dead horse to run, he just gives up and starts bringing cotton candy sermons.

For those individuals who would so easily follow one of these teachers of false doctrine, they are admonished to remember where those false teachers are headed, because when they follow them, they follow them to the same destiny. Jude 1:5-7 details three instances of God’s predetermined judgment upon similar circumstances.

1. When God delivered Israel out of Egyptian bondage, but everyone over the age of 20 that followed the advice of the 10 spies who gave a discouraging report regarding being able to conquer the Promised Land died in the next 38 years in the wilderness because of their unfaithfulness in unbelief.
2. The fallen angels who followed Satan in his insurrection and rebellion against God’s divine order in giving mankind “dominion” over the creation, including angels.
3. The cities of “Sodom and Gomorrha” as they gave themselves permission against God’s will to live in sexual licentiousness and homosexuality. God’s judgment on the people and cities of “Sodom and Gomorrha” is “set forth for an example” (Jude 1:7).

Do we think that we can minimize the importance of doctrine and not suffer similar consequences at the hand of God? Do we somehow think that we are excluded from this for ordained judgment warning of which we have hundreds of similar examples in the Scriptures? Doctrine is what defines the Church as the “pillar and ground {foundation} of the truth” (I Tim. 3:15). Take away doctrine from the Church and you remove its foundations. Take away doctrine from the home and you remove its foundations. If false doctrine is Satan’s main weapon in his arsenal against the family, right doctrine is the primary weapon of opposition against him. Show me a father who does not think that learning doctrine and teaching doctrine to his family is not a priority and I will show you a household destined for destruction in one way or another. That is the warning of Jude 1:3 in the command to “earnestly contend for the faith.” Christ gave a similar warning.

“46 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? 47 Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: 48 He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. 49 But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great” (Luke 6:46-49).

The words “earnestly contend” in Jude 1:3 are from one Greek word; epagonizomai (ep-ag-o-nid'-zom-ahee). The epi prefix raises the issue of the struggle to its highest level. In other words, contending “for the faith” must be at the highest level of priorities. We are to use everything at our disposal in contending “for the faith.”

A central aspect of contending “for the faith” is teaching doctrine to our children so as to transpose it to another generation who will do the same. This has been the responsibility of fathers since the beginning of time and God has never removed that responsibility from the shoulders of the fathers. A father who is successful in everything else in life, but who fails to definitively teach his children about the character and attributes of God and how He wants us to live is a failure. However, as Christ said in Luke 6:47; “Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them;” living the truths that are learned intellectually is the primary way those truths will be transfer into the lives, not just the heads, of our children.

“1 Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it: 2 That thou mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged. 3 Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey. 4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: 5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. 6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. 8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. 9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates. 10 And it shall be, when the LORD thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not, 11 And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full; 12 Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage” (Deuteronomy 6:1-12).

Read Deuteronomy 6:5. The Shema of the Old Testament was repeated twice daily, every morning and every evening. The expectation of God is the total commitment of all that we are to Him, body (might or physical strength), soul (will and personality), and spirit (desires and attitudes). Loving God (sacrificially putting Him first) involves this kind of commitment.

Read Deuteronomy 6:6. Truth must be in the heart, not just in the head. Imprinting absolutes on the psyche refers to convictions of truth that stimulate our conscience to act upon what we believe to be right and wrong. This means we accept that there is reality to what we claim to believe. That reality is evident by our moment by moment attitude about truth. Our love for God is also evident by our work at integrating God’s truth into our lives and into our relationships with others. We cannot honestly claim to love others if we fail to work at integrating God’s truths into our lives and into theirs. We cannot love others and at the same time sacrifice truth, or compromise truth.

Read Deuteronomy 6:7-9. These three verses detail the transfer of our love for God into the three other areas of relationships (husband/wife relationship, family relationship, and career or non-intimate relationships). God’s emphasis regarding loving Him seems to be centrally concerned with our attitude and actions in obeying truth. God’s emphasis in loving others seems to be centrally concerned with the integration and implementation of truth into their lives.

Deuteronomy 6:7 shows the integration of truth into our children's lives (Action+Attitude=Loving God). The emphasis is upon the INCREMENTAL IMPLEMENTATION of truth as it is INTEGRATED into every aspect of living (not just memorization). Incremental means piece by piece by piece by piece - a little here, a little there. A fortress of Biblical convictions is built one brick at a time. Each brick of truth must be carefully laid in place so that when the next truth is built upon it, the underlying structure is solid enough to support the additional stress of that new truth.

“For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little” (Isaiah 28:10).

Building truth into the lives of our children is the predominant factor in their education. Like the weaving of a basket, Biblical truth must be interwoven into the everyday education of our children. It is not something that can be done as an add-on to their education. Neither is it something that can be done separately from their education. It must be integrated with their education.

We must learn to use every opportunity in life (successes and failures) to incrementally integrate truth in the lives of our children. The surest way to accomplish this is through the continual application of truth in our own lives and in the lives of our children. There must be consistency. The surest way to destroy this is through duplicity in our lives. Duplicity is the erasure of absolutes imprinted upon the psyche.

Read Deuteronomy 6:8. The best way to incrementally integrate truth into the lives of our children is to live truth before them (by example). Can we honestly, or even intelligently, expect our children to love the Lord anymore than we do? If God’s truth is not important enough to you for you to work at translating it into the language of living, do not expect your children to make the attempt. The spiritual REALITY that is evident in your life will become evident in theirs.

Deuteronomy 6:8 is referring to being a living testimony to a reality that God’s truths are important enough to you that you will make every effort to live those truths (not just an exhibition of spiritual piety). When our lives are a living testimony of God’s truths, it brings glory to God. When our lives are just an exhibition of personal piety, it only brings glory to us. Our goal is to have our children’s lives bring glory to God by restoring God’s image in their lives.

Read Deuteronomy 6:9. God’s truths need to be integrated into our external relationships. There is a lesser degree of influence and control in external relationships. Again the emphasis is about a testimony of a living example. The intent of living truth as a public testimony is to show a testimony to what you hold valuable by what you are willing to stand for, with, or against. Your whole world is watching your attitude and actions. You are a living testimony to the reality of Christianity. Our public testimony is what we have established as a public standard. It is defined by the priorities of our lives and the truths we have determined to live by.

1. Do you love the Lord? This is measured by your attitude (God’s commands are not a burden) and actions (you obey God’s commands)?
2. What is your level of commitment to keeping God first in everything you do?
3. What efforts are you making to incrementally integrate God’s truths into your own life and the lives of others (especially your children)?

The Audio of this Message is available at the links below:
I. The Priesthood of the Home

Anonymous comments will not be allowed.Numerous studies and series are available free of charge for local churches at:http://www.disciplemakerministries.org/Dr. Lance Ketchum serves the Lord as a Church Planter, Evangelist/Revivalist.He has served the Lord for over 40 years.