Jesus was often misunderstood; as His followers, we should expect no less. We hear the Bible misquoted, Christians misrepresented, and yet it’s still a mystery to me that in America there can be so much Biblical illiteracy. Leftist reporters, politicians, and their followers seem to run rampant in misusing Scripture and misrepresenting Christians both as a whole and individually.
Is it on purpose? Maybe sometimes, but when looking at some Barna data about the Bible, one wonders. According to the Barna Research Group (2014): Even though 88% of American households own a Bible (on average 4.7 Bibles per household), only 37% of Americans read it once a week or more. And only 19% of people read the Bible at least four times a week and believe it’s the inspired Word of God. (Full data report here)
Whether on purpose or through ignorance, the Christian will be misquoted or misunderstood, and sometimes both, even as our Master was. You may remember back in January of this year what Kathleen Parker had to say about presidential primary runner, Senator Ted Cruz.
Parker made this televised statement: “One observation. … Ted Cruz said something that I found rather astonishing. He said, you know, “It’s time for the body of Christ to rise up and support me.” I don’t know anyone who takes their religion seriously who would think that Jesus should rise from the grave and resurrect himself to serve Ted Cruz. I know so many people who were offended by that comment. And you know if you want to talk about grandiosity and messianic self-imagery I think he makes … Donald Trump look rather sort of like a gentle little lamb.”
Wow, misquoted, misrepresented, and misunderstood. Here’s what Senator Cruz actually said, “If we awaken and energize the body of Christ– if Christians and people of faith come out and vote our values– we will win and we will turn the country around.” Perhaps the biggest mystery is the silence of the three other participants; no one corrected her…maybe they didn’t understand what Senator Cruz was saying either.
These public misrepresentations are coming more frequently from the media and political realms to further their own unconstitutional and nefarious agendas. Most recently, we’ve seen this in relation to the Orlando shooting, with Omar Mateen.
Mateen was a self-identified radical Muslim with terrorist ties. The FBI investigated him—more than once—with no results. According to his ex-wife, he was abusive. He was a registered Democrat and came from an anti-American family.
Yet what’s the take away according to the politicians and the media on the Left? An attack on those who support the Second Amendment. Never mind that this nightclub was a gun-free zone; forget the fact that just one armed citizen may have been able to stop Mateen’s murderous rampage. It doesn’t matter that the cities which have the strictest gun laws are the cities that also have the highest crime, and that nations which embrace gun rights have lower incidents of violent crime.
In the wake of this shooting, by a registered Democrat, we see the Republicans blamed and the Democrat party filibuster for 15 hours as they promote stricter gun laws. Then these same politicians stage an unruly and chaotic sit-in, making business all but impossible until they succeed in making it difficult for law-abiding citizens to purchase firearms, infringing upon our constitutional right to bear arms.
What’s the spin from our government and the Leftist media? Christianity is to blame, complete with the New York Times misquoting Scripture, stating that Romans calls for the execution of gays. Never mind that the Apostle Paul never called for the execution of homosexuals anywhere. Forget that Mateen called 9-1-1 aligning himself with radical Islamic terrorists. It doesn’t matter that according to the Washington Post, Mateen called 9-1-1 stating, “I’m the shooter. It’s me. I did it for ISIS. I did it for the Islamic State.” Even though this self-proclaimed radical Muslim takes credit for the shooting and gives the reason behind it, the media says the fault lies at the feet of Republicans, Christians, guns, those who stand for traditional marriage…anywhere but at the feet of a radical, Islamic supremacist agenda and its terrorist followers.
Sean Davis of the Federalist sums it up well: “In the fantasyland of modern progressive politics, if a boy identifies as a girl, then he’s a girl. But if a gay Muslim registered Democrat identifies as a martyr for the Islamic State, he’s still a Republican.” I would add, “…and it’s the Christians’ fault.”
Why turn these events upside down? Why make the beauty of Christ look like the beast? There’s an underlying agenda to all this, the stripping away of the First Amendment, the crown jewel of the Bill of Rights. In order to steal this precious jewel they must convince everyone that Christianity is a great danger and that it must be muted. After all, Romans does say—not misquoting or misrepresenting—“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” (10:17) And the attack on the Second Amendment is the route to go because the right to bear arms is, in part, the major defense of all our other rights guaranteed by the Constitution.
Throughout history Christians have been accused and abused for speaking and living the truth. Darkness doesn’t like to be dispelled and will cling to the corners as long as possible. It pushes against light trying its best to make itself look like merely a shadow instead of the darkness it is. Truth is seen to be evil and dark becomes gray in the minds of those who are deceived.
Michael Brown lays it on the line: “Followers of Jesus do not pick and choose what we believe. As Augustine once commented, ‘If you believe what you like in the gospels, and reject what you don't like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself.’
It’s not up to us to reinterpret a biblical truth because society doesn’t like it or because it’s considered out of fashion. It’s not up to us to tell the Creator what’s best for His creation or tell the Ruler of the universe how things on earth should go, nor is it our job to lecture the Judge of the world about justice.” (Read the article here)
As we see the illogical stance of the Left, as the media and politicians spin this world’s events against us, as this evil agenda unfolds hoping to snuff out our light, don’t stand amazed. Think upon the words of Ryle:
“The very same person who is quick and clever in worldly things will often utterly fail to comprehend the simplest thrust of Christianity. He will often be unable to take in the plainest reasonings of the gospel. He will see no meaning in the clearest statements of evangelical doctrine. They will sound to him either foolish or mysterious. He will listen to them like one listening to foreign language, catching a word here or there, but not seeing the whole (I Cor. 1:21).”
As darkness encroaches upon America, there’s no overemphasizing the need for prayer and repentance within the church and our nation. As evil is spoken against us, remember the words of Jesus, “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.”
It’s impossible to stop the false spin and the outright lies; don’t be surprised. Instead, listen to what is said, speak and live the truth in love. Repent of apathy and anything the Spirit convicts you of; and pray, seeking the face of God. Pray for our nation, its leaders, and those who “despitefully use you, and persecute you.”
Thinking of our desperate need for repentance, we encourage all to attend our summer conference on July 22 at the Harvest OPC church in Wyoming, Michigan. Our nation, the Church, and we as individuals are in need of repentance and revival; it starts from the bottom up—it starts with you and me. That’s the theme of our summer conference, “From the Bottom Up,” and it will affect each one of us. Dr. Joel Beeke from the Puritan Reformed Seminary will be speaking on National Repentance and Action Needed “From the Bottom Up”: Ezra’s Example. Curtis Bowers, the producer of the Agenda films, will be joining us as well.
Save the date—July 22 from 7:00 PM to 9:30 PM—you don’t want to miss out on this! Join us for a time of blessing at the Harvest OPC, located at 930 52nd Street SW in Wyoming MI. We’re praying for and expecting a moving of God.
To register for this event contact American Decency at 231-924-4050; or email us at kimberly@americandecency.org; or feel free to sign up online at www.americandecency.org
We look forward to seeing you there; please join with us in prayer.
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