kingdomeducationministries

It is well-known that words have power.  However, there is something more powerful than words when it comes to the education of children and youth.  What is more powerful than words?  It is the definition that one gives to words.

I have observed that many Christians do not give careful attention to the meanings of the words that they use in everyday communication.  This is especially true when they are teaching children and youth.  When one doesn’t carefully define terms when teaching others, the hearer can then define them as he wants to.

Dr. Albert Mohler explained how important language is to our everyday lives on his March 2, 2021 The Briefing.  He stated,

…we understand that language profoundly matters, at least a part of what it means to be human is to have the capacity of language. And we believe that is not unrelated to the image of God. We, as humans, are made in the image of God. God speaks to us. We pray to God. At least a part of what is required for human beings, according to God’s plan, is the ability to communicate. Language then becomes very important. And if you control the language, you do to a considerable extent control the culture.

Several years ago, Josh McDowell was making a presentation about how to relate to teenagers.  He told the audience that adults need to understand that there are two languages being spoken when they communicate with teenagers.  What he meant by this is that a word can be used but it may have two very different meanings depending on whether one is a teen or an adult.

To make his point, he used the word “tolerance” and explained how a teen will define this word versus how most adults define it.  As adults, we see tolerance as realizing that different people have different beliefs and values.  However, McDowell pointed it out that when a teen hears the word tolerance, he/she defines it this way.  People have different beliefs and values than what we might have.   However, tolerance requires that we consider the other person’s beliefs and values as being equally valid and, therefore, true.  To be tolerant to a teen might even require one to celebrate another person’s beliefs and values as being true even if they are contrary to Scripture.

I have found many Christians frequently use biblical terms without defining the true meaning of those terms.  Such is the case for words like faith, inspired, and the kingdom of God.  We use these words thinking that everyone knows what they mean.  In reality, many of us have never accurately defined these terms for ourselves.

Defining terms is extremely important in today’s educational world.  This is because the culture is defining words to fit its ideological worldview and, therefore, is winning the battle of ideas in everyday life.  For example, PETA recently posted the following statement (emphasis mine).

Words can create a more inclusive world, or perpetuate oppression.  Calling someone an animal as an insult reinforces the myth that humans are superior to other animals and justified in violating them.

There are some very serious implications to the words found in this statement.  PETA is stating that all human beings are merely one type of animal.  This is a direct attack on the truth that man was created in God’s image, apart from the animals.

Alisa Childers was recently a guest host for the Cross Examined podcast.  On this podcast, she quoted from Hillary Morgan Ferrer’s book, Mama Bear Apologetics.  Ferrer talks about linguistic theft or redefining words to get your way & avoid reality.  Ferrer defines linguistic theft this way.

Someone who purposely hijacks words, changes their definitions, and uses those same words as tools of propaganda.

We have witnessed this taking place in every area of life over the last few years.  The fact is that linguistic theft will eventually control society.  Again, read what Dr. Mohler warns us about on The Briefing.

If you’re redefining marriage, if you’re redefining parent and family, you are redefining civilization.

With these efforts by the world to control the culture by controlling language, Christians must be intentional in defining terms.  It doesn’t matter whether one is reading a book or magazine, studying a textbook in school, listening to a podcast or watching a movie or video.  We must define the terms correctly or else the world will do it for us.

There is another phenomenon that I have witnessed over the years.  Christians sometimes add to the confusion of language by not being consistent in their use of terms.  We actually use words and then give them different meanings in the same conversation.  Here are two cases to illustrate how this happens.

Defining “truth”

Christians believe that there is absolute truth that exists.  Truth is based on God’s unchanging character.  Jesus declared that He is the truth.  For something to be true, it must be absolute.  Noah Webster defined truth as,

Conformity to fact or reality; exact accordance with that which is, or has been, or shall be.

This is in direct contrast to how truth is defined in today’s postmodern culture.  Today, truth is no longer absolute.  One definition of truth found in a dictionary today is a judgment, proposition, or idea that is true or accepted as true.  One may hear such things as your truth— meaning that each person defines truth for themselves, based on their own experiences.

Several years ago, I was asked to review the book, The Limitations of Scientific Truth: Why Science Can’t Answer Life’s Ultimate Questions.  The author was a committed Christian and scientist.  His basic premise was very strong.  He wrote how science was a process of searching for truth but it will never lead to discovering absolute truth — especially when it comes to life’s big questions.

Men like Dr. Norman Geisler endorsed the book.  As I read it, I found myself agreeing with the book’s basic tenets but, at the same time, confused by how the term “truth” was used.  I want to point out that the author makes a very sound case that science cannot lead to absolute truth.  But, consider the following statements.

If what is scientific truth today turns out to be scientific falsehoods tomorrow, then what will happen to the scientific truths of tomorrow? The truths of science are constantly being revised.

In the end, who was right—Ptolemy, Copernicus, or Newton—or did Einstein give us the final and absolute truth? Each model of the universe was created with only partial truths that were later replaced by better, more comprehensive truths—or simply different truths.

This growing flux in scientific truth is beginning to have an impact on science…Thomas Kuhn explained how scientific truth changes through time.

The primary obstacle to harmonizing religious truth with scientific truth is that scientific truth is constantly changing.

When a person reads the statements above, he/she may end up agreeing with the postmodernist who says that there is no such thing as absolute truth.  However, truth doesn’t change.  If it can, it isn’t truth.  What each of these statements is really saying is this.

Man’s perception of truth about the universe etc. has changed as science has advanced.

There is no question that scientific “theories” have changed over time.  However, truth never changes.  This is one example how Christians can cause confusion by not defining and using terms correctly.  Here is another one that is being discussed on a daily basis in our country today.

Defining “race”

I am not trying to address such topics as “racism” in this post.  There is no doubt about the fact that all men are sinners and the Bible is clear that anytime one respects one person over another it is sin.  I am only using this term to show how Christians use terms that can cause confusion.

According to Scripture, there is only one race of people—the human race.

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness…So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.  Genesis 1:26-27 (NKJV)

He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their pre-appointed times and boundaries of their dwellings.  Acts 17:26 (NKJV)

God has made every one of us from one man—Adam.  He has even predetermined when and where we would live on earth.  Bible-believing Christians claim to believe that there is only one race—the human race.  Christians also believe that every single person finds his/her value and worth in the fact that each person is created in God’s image.

Even with this common belief, we cause confusion by talking about the need for the church to be multi-racial.  There is talk about how there must be racial reconciliation within the church.  Christians are saying how we must have racial diversity in our churches, schools and neighborhoods.  If there is only one race, multi-racial, racial reconciliation, and racial diversity become contradictory terms and, therefore, confusing.

Today’s cosmic war of worldviews may be won or lost by who defines the words used in the everyday battles of ideas.  As we educate future generations, we must not allow linguistic theft to control the narrative.  It is also absolutely necessary that we define terms correctly and use common language so that we don’t confuse our children and youth.

Words are powerful BUT the definitions we give words are even more powerful!

 

I grew up outside of Buffalo, NY.  Our home was on the Erie Canal.  As many people know, that area of the country is known for its brutal winters with frigid temperatures and LOTS of snow.

As kids we would always get excited when the temperatures dropped and the canal would freeze over.  I would grab my skates and head out the door for some skating fun and possibly a little hockey.  Before the door closed behind me, I would hear my mother warn me to be careful, you may be skating on thin ice.  It was understood that if I got out on thin ice and broke through, I would sink into dangerous, frigid waters.

That warning became a colloquialism that I often heard from either my father, mother or one of my teachers.  However, this warning had nothing to do with winter and skating.  It usually was said this way.  “Young man, you better straighten up because you are skating on thin ice.”  I knew that if I didn’t change my attitude or behavior, I would fall through the ice and some serious discipline would come my way.

As I have been prayerfully preparing for this post and the next couple of articles, I have heard a little voice in my mind warning me to be careful you may be skating on some thin ice.  I am well aware that the topics that need to be addressed are controversial and could possibly cause offense.  So, I am praying that they will be read in the same spirit in which I am writing them.

Over the past several decades, I have witnessed an attempt by a segment of society to try and silence the church.  Recently, this effort has increased in its boldness and intensity.  When I say the church, I am referring to both all born again believers and all local churches.  In an effort to clearly identify the segment of society that is mounting this attack on the church, I will yield to what Dr. Erwin Lutzer wrote in his book, We Will Not Be Silenced.

We are in a firestorm for the future of America…My preference, then, is to use the term ‘radical secularist’ [referring to those who are attacking us] or, another familiar term, humanists.

These attacks on Christianity will continue to intensify as the country becomes more and more secularized.  As I have attempted to understand how this has been allowed to take place, I find that the church has brought some of this on itself.  This is because many church leaders and lay Christians have embraced a false belief system that has opened the door to this firestorm.  This belief system is called a dualistic worldview or simply referred to as dualism.

Dualism is defined as the effort to divide life into separate compartments and making decisions in each compartment by different worldviews or sets of beliefs.  The most common compartmentalizing of life is into the secular and the sacred.  In her book, Total Truth, Nancey Pearcey explains how Christianity has been marginalized in society due to dualistic thinking.

The most potent way Christianity is marginalized in modern society is through the division of life into two separate spheres: a sacred realm of prayer, worship, and personal morality against a secular realm of politics, business, academia, and so on.

I have long seen dualism manifest itself in lives of Christians when it comes to the area of education.  For more than 100 years, the vast majority of Christians have viewed the education of children and youth from a dualistic worldview perspective. Christians have embraced the belief that the home and church are responsible to provide spiritual and moral training for their children while, at the same time, the state has been given the responsibility to educate their children in the “academic” areas.

The consequences of the church trying to operate from a dualistic worldview continues to cause me great concern.  Dualism doesn’t just impact the education that our children and youth receive.  It is now causing major confusion in other areas of life.

If I made a statement that started with these words, the left’s agenda… or the progressive’s agenda…, what would you most likely think I am getting ready to talk about?   The most common reaction to statements that begin with these words is that I am going to talk about politics.  Words like “left” and “progressive” are seen as political ideologies.

When the subject of politics comes up, one may commonly hear things like this from Christians.  There are two things I never talk about with friends—religion and politics. Or, Christians shouldn’t get involved in politics.  This isn’t what the church is about. Still other Christians will make statements such as, The answer to our problems won’t be solved by who resides in the White House or who gets elected to Congress.

Now, all of these statements have some truth to them.  However, statements like these are evidence that Christians have embraced a dualistic worldview.  And by doing this, they not only apply this compartmentalization of life to education but also to government and politics.  But, there is a problem when we do this.

Government/politics is a very real part of every Christian’s life.  When we fall into the trap of believing life can be divided up into a secular and a sacred compartments, we are actually rejecting what Jesus said in Matthew 6:33.  This is a very familiar verse to most Christians and it is the foundational truth undergirding Kingdom Education™.

Jesus simply said that every Christian is to seek God’s kingdom as his/her highest priority in life.  Seeking God’s kingdom means that each one of us needs to submit to God’s kingly rule in our lives.  God did not create us as dualistic individuals where He wants to have complete rule in the spiritual compartment of our lives but isn’t concerned about how we live out our secular compartment.  He wants to be Lord of our lives—PERIOD!

Since government/politics is a part of real life, God doesn’t want us to leave it to the world.  No, He wants to reign in our lives as we make decisions about issues relating to government and politics.

You may be asking yourself, what does all of this have to do with the efforts to silence the church?  I hope I can explain myself in an understandable way.

Behind everything that takes place in history is a cosmic battle between good and evil; God and Satan.  Satan engages in this battle through his world system.  It is my contention that Satan knows that the  majority of Christians have placed politics in the secular compartment of their lives.  Over the course of many years, Satan has influenced worldly leaders to make a subtle shift or pivot in how people view certain acts.

Actions such as abortion, homosexuality, prejudice, stewardship of God’s creation, etc. have historically been viewed, and should be, as spiritual and moral issues.  Slowly but surely the enemy has moved these issues from the spiritual compartment to the secular one by making them “political” issues.

Whereas, Christians saw these actions as being sinful and, therefore, the church must stand against them.  The secularists have now put them into the political bucket.  Therefore, Christians should be silent about them and stick to things that have to do with their “religion.”  Out of fear of ridicule, being called a racist, or being labelled as a homophobic intolerant person, the church (Christians) have become strangely silent.  In his book, We Will Not Be Silenced, Erwin Lutzer says this about the church. To our shame we are afraid of the secular left.

The enemy has intensified his effort to silence the church by creating a new label for Christians.  This label is applied to all Christians who stand up for the truths of Scripture, especially on biblical moral values.  Since many of these issues are now considered to be “political” in nature, when a Christian speaks out on them from a biblical perspective, they are accused of trying to legislate their morality on others and wanting to make the country Christian.  Thus, they are now called Christian Nationalists.

The plot continues to thicken because the secularists have successfully tied “Christian nationalism” to a person, President Trump and, most recently, to the events of January 6th at the Capitol.  Since these radical secularists have effectively labelled President Trump a “racist” and “white supremacist”, then all Christians who publicly proclaim such things as marriage should only be between a man and a woman, that abortion is the murder of innocent children, and that there are only two genders—male and female are de facto “Christian nationalists” and are, therefore by default, racists, homophobic, white supremacists, and even Nazis.  Now, I am not denying that there are extremists on every side of every issue.  However, the radical secularists make these charges against all Christians who stand up and support God and His Word.

What is the result of this?  Christians feel embarrassed about defending biblical marriage, the sanctity of human life, a biblical understanding of gender, and other moral issues—we have become silent!  Lutzer explains all of this by saying,

Many Christians will not be talked out of their faith, but they will be mocked out of it.  Shame will cause many Christians to retreat into silence.

The final step in trying to silence the church is taking place at this very moment.  First, biblical moral issues became merely political issues.  Now, the radical secularists are taking these “political” issues and enacting them into laws such as The Equality Act. Once laws, such as this, are passed, biblical moral values will not be merely political issues to debate. They will be laws we will be required to obey.  Again, I quote Lutzer,

In a revolution, dissident voices must be silenced…There are two ways culture attempts to intimidate Christians. One is to criminalize what they say or do, the other is to shame them.

We are already seeing what Lutzer warns us about happening in Canada.  A pastor has been sitting in jail for more than a week. His crime was holding church in violation of Covid restrictions.  At his hearing, he was told that he would be released if he agreed to not pastor, preach or enter his church until his trial.  He would not accept those conditions and his appeal was denied.  He will remain in jail until his trial in May.  He would not be silenced.  Will we have this same boldness?

Because of the effort to silence the church, we must be prepared to obey God rather than man.  This is going to be especially true as these attacks impact education.  That is why I am asking Christian school leaders, pastors and church leaders and individuals committed to giving children a biblical worldview education to join me at this summer’s Kingdom Education™ Summit.  Don’t Delay! Register Today!

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION!

Today is March 1, 2021.  It is hard to believe that February is over.  As I sit here writing this week’s blog, I find myself reflecting back on February as one of the most challenging times of my life.  It is hard to believe all that happened in just 28 days.

February 2021 was a month when I was immersed in some of the most intense reading that I have ever embarked upon.  I read numerous articles on such topics as Critical Race Theory (CRT), Marxist philosophy, synchronism in Christianity and the Equality Act.  At the same time I read two books by Dr. Erwin Lutzer—The Church in Babylon and We Will Not Be Silenced.  I encourage you to take the time and read these books.  I also listened intently to a couple of podcasts.  One of these podcasts, Just Thinking with Darrell Harrison and Virgil ‘Omaha’ Walker, took several times listening to it in order to really digest all their research on the principles behind Critical Theory (CT) and how it evolved into CRT.

Even though I was challenged by these things, what really burdened my heart was the time I spent in God’s Word throughout the month.  I can’t remember a month when I was in God’s Word more than I was in February.  My reading for the month started in Judges and continued through the book of Nehemiah.  The history of Israel covered in these 10 books of the Bible showed me God’s justice and His loving kindness like I have never seen it before.

I was amazed to see how God’s people continued to forsake Him over and over again.  Each time that they would turn to the false gods of the world, God would bring judgment upon them.  Then, they would cry out to Him in distress and He would deliver them from their oppression.  Finally, God allowed Israel to be taken captive by Babylon and this captivity would last for 70 long years.

It is true that the United States isn’t the same as the nation of Israel.  However, since God is immutable, He doesn’t change.  This means His person doesn’t change nor His ways.  God will judge His people (today’s church) the same way He judged Israel (His nation).  When we turn to God and obey His Word with our whole heart, He will bless us and deliver us from those who want to destroy us.  At the same time, God will bring judgement on us when we embrace the false gods of this world.

Two other things took place in February that rocked my world.  The first was what one Congressman said in an interview a few weeks ago.  This interview took place immediately following the Senate’s vote on the second impeachment of President Trump.  Representative Eric Swalwell was being interviewed by a news reporter about the vote.  I was taken back when I heard Swalwell’s response (emphasis mine).

We could have called God, herself, as a witness….

I thought that it couldn’t get worse until I watched a video clip covering the House floor debate concerning The Equality Act.  Representative Greg Steube was explaining the evil of this piece of legislation.  In his remarks, he read several passages from Scripture to illustrate how God looks at human sexuality, including gender.  After his remarks, Representative Jerry Nadler went to the microphone and made this statement (emphasis mine).

…what any religious tradition ascribes as God’s will is no concern of this Congress.

All I could do was bow my head and cry out to God—have mercy on us!  Lutzer shares his concern about our country in his book, The Church in Babylon.  He stated,

What concerns me is the death of Christian America.  Many of the biblical values upon which America was founded are no longer being allowed to shape our laws and our lives.

We better be prepared to walk through some very challenging and, maybe, dangerous times in the days to come.  Lutzer explains that,

when God judges a nation, the righteous suffer along with the wicked…There is a cost to living authentic lives of holiness in a godless culture.

Over the next couple of weeks, I will be addressing some very serious and somewhat controversial topics in these weekly posts.  Whenever I speak or write, I do so with fear and trembling.  Words are powerful and they can shape culture like nothing else can.  Last week I read a post on social media.  I don’t recall the entire quote but the first half of this person’s statement caused me great alarm.

CRT provides a lens that can help us understand what the Bible says about loving our neighbor.

This person had it all backwards.  Something a human being writes should never be a lens by which we interpret God’s Word.  God’s Word is and must be the only lens that can give true meaning to any thing man writes or produces.

I learned this fact many years ago.  I had just finished producing a paper on how the relationship between the sun, moon and earth relates to God, a Christian and the world.  When I completed this, I shared it with one of my heroes in the faith, Dr. Roy Lowerie, Jr.  Dr. Lowerie reviewed it and handed it back to me.  Then, in his deep voice, he simply said, “Glen, this is good but remember only God’s Word is inspired.”

As we strive to provide future generations with a biblical worldview education, we must make sure that we use God’s Word as our lens to understand the truth about all areas of life.  Only then will we be able to do what Dr. Lutzer stated,

Like Israel in Babylon, our challenge is to impact the culture without being spiritually destroyed by it…Our task is to be faithful even if we can’t restore the erosion of the Judeo-Christian consensus.

I want to encourage every Christian school to register for this summer’s Kingdom Education Summit.  At the Summit, we will be taking a deep dive into understanding and embracing Kingdom Education™.  There is no doubt about it—education, especially schooling, is going to undergo significant challenges in the days ahead.  Christians have to know how to educate the next generation so that they will be able to survive living in Babylon.

KEM Prime Members receive a special discount for attending the Summit.  Members of the National Alliance of Christian Schools (former SBACS) can receive partial grants to help cover the cost of registration.  The early bird registration fees will expire soon. CLICK HERE to find out more about this exciting event.

We are living in a pagan culture that is dominated by political correctness.  It is a culture where males want to be females and vice versa.  Even the 117th Congress of the U.S. will no longer use words such as brother, father, mother, sister, etc.  Instead, it will use terms that are gender neutral such as parent and sibling.  Well, this post is not politically correct.

God’s Word makes it clear that there are only two genders — male and female.  The Bible also sets forth God’s ordained structure for the family.  It is a mother and a father and their children (as God provides them).  It is paramount to understand that both males and females are equal in God’s sight.  However, it must be understood that God designed different roles for men and women.

Last week, I shared how we have to build strong families while living in a Babylonian/anti-Christian world.  In his book, The Church in Babylon, Erwin Lutzer makes the point that only strong families can weather the cultural storms of Babylon.  Lutzer referenced Jeremiah 29:6 to back up his statement.  God knew that with strong families, God would have future seed through which He would advance His kingdom.

It is the parents’ responsibility to have children and raise them in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.  However, God designed the family for the father to be the spiritual leader of the home.  This is why Lutzer wrote,

The father led his family in the Passover rituals; fathers were charged with  teaching children the Word of God. And God knew that with strong fathers, grounded in the Word of God, these families could survive paganism.

There are numerous passages of Scripture that makes it clear that God holds parents accountable for the education of their children.  However, God’s Word particularly calls fathers to be accountable to Him for how children are educated.  This is clearly seen in passages such as Psalm 78:1-8, Ephesians 6:4 and Colossians 3:21.  In the book of Proverbs, Solomon gives instruction to his son. When God wanted a people to call His own, He choose Abraham.

For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.  Genesis 18:19 (NKJV)

God chose Abraham because He knew that Abraham would lead/teach his children and his entire household to keep the way of the Lord.  There is no question that Sarah would play an important role in raising Isaac but Abraham, the father, was responsible to God that this was done.

Herein lies the problem today.  Fathers are absent in their children’s lives!  The result of this is devastating.  Consider these troubling statistics from the National Center for Fathering and The Fatherless Generation.

• 85% of youths in prison come from fatherless homes.
• 71% of high school dropouts come from fatherless homes.
• 90% of all homeless and runaway children are from fatherless homes.
• Nearly 25 million children live without their biological father.
• 60% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes.

In 2001, former President George W. Bush said this about the crisis of fathers being missing from action.

Of these, five out of six do not see their fathers more than once a week.  And 40 percent of children who live in fatherless households have not seen their father in at least a year.  Some fathers are forced away by circumstances beyond their control, but many times when a couple with children splits up, the father moves away or simply drifts away.  We know that children who grow up with absent fathers can suffer lasting damage.  They are more likely to end up in poverty or drop out of school, become addicted to drugs, have a child out of wedlock, or end up in prison.  Fatherlessness is not the only cause of these things, but our Nation must recognize it is an important factor.  There is a familiar litany, but behind every statistic is a child, and a compassionate society can never forget the large place a father occupies in that child’s life.

In 2008, former President Barack Obama sounded a similar warning.

If we are honest with ourselves, we’ll admit that too many fathers also are missing — missing from too many lives and too many homes.  They have abandoned their responsibilities, acting like boys instead of men.  And the foundations of our families are weaker because of it…We know the statistics — that children who grow up without a father are five times more likely to live in poverty and commit crime; nine times more likely to drop out of schools and twenty times more likely to end up in prison.  They are more likely to have behavioral problems or run way from home or become teenage parents themselves.  And the foundations of our community are weaker because of it…We need fathers to realize that responsibility does not end at conception.  We need them to realize that what makes you a man is not the ability to have child — it’s the courage to raise one.

The key to surviving in today’s anti-Christian, postmodern culture is to have strong families and fathers must step up to plate.  The enemy knows that he cannot win if the family is strong.  This is why he has waged war on the family.  This isn’t new but it has intensified beyond description over the past 75+ years.  In his book, We Will Not Be Silenced, Erwin Lutzer explains how the family is and has been under attack.  He outlines how Margaret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood, launched a newspaper, The Woman Rebel, in 1914.  Her motto in doing so was “No Gods, No Masters.”

Her cry for “reproductive freedom” would lead to the demise of the biblically ordained home.  Lutzer wrote,

The home would no longer consist of a father, a mother and children.  Liberation meant equality of roles, equality of income, and equality of sexual freedom.  The biblical roles of marriage and faith in God were deemed obsolete and harmful…Children without family roots can be more easily directed toward secular values and state benefits.

This attack on the home, especially the lessening of the role of fathers, is also seen in organizations today.  The “organization”, Black Lives Matter, posted on its website,

We disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement by supporting each other as extended families and ‘villages’ that collectively care for one another…We foster a queer-affirming network.

The “Western-prescribed nuclear family structure” is really the God-ordained and designed home.  In order to build strong families, fathers must not only be present but must also be the driving force in raising their children.  Lutzer explains how parents (particularly fathers) are held accountable by God for the education of their children.

When living in Babylon, there will be a cost to living authentic lives of holiness.  We no longer have any support from society.  We are, in many ways, facing the same thing that Israel faced when they were taken away into captivity.  Lutzer explains that when in Babylon, God is still there and wants fathers to be fully engaged in their children’s education.

God basically said to fathers, “I’m going to entrust large families to you, and My presence will be with you in your homes.  You no longer have a temple and sacrifices, but I will be among you.  And if you adhere to me and seek my face, I’ll give you the wisdom that you need to rear your children for the glory of God.

Three of the saddest passages in the Bible explain how the next generation suffers when fathers are not fulfilling there God-given responsibilities in the home.  Every time I read these I become frightened about my failures as a father.

And your sons shall be shepherds in the wilderness for forty years, and bear the brunt of your infidelity.  Numbers 14:33 (NKJV)

And may not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that did not set its heart aright, and whose spirit was not faithful to God.  Psalm 78:9 (NKJV)

And the Lord said, “Because they have forsaken My law which I set before them, and have not obeyed My voice, nor walked according to it, but have walked according to the dictates of their own hearts and after the Baals, which their father taught them.  Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will feed them, this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink.”  Jeremiah 9:13-15 (NKJV)

What are we, as fathers, teaching our children by our words and actions?  How involved are we in their education wherever it takes place — at home, church or school?  I leave you with a quote by a dad,

 

The key to understanding that our children don’t belong to us — they belong to God.  Our goal as [fathers] must not be limited by our own vision.  I am a finite, sinful, selfish man.  Why would I want to plan out my children’s future when I can entrust them to the infinite, omnipotent, immutable, sovereign Lord of the universe?  I don’t want to tell God what to do with my children — I want Him to tell me!  Voddie Baucham

It is one thing to watch society become more and more secular.  However, it is something else to try and  keep up with how conditions are worsening by the minute.  I have even thought that I may need to do a blog daily instead of weekly in an effort to try and stay current.  How can we survive here in Babylon?

I have been reading through the book of Judges and Jeremiah.  When God’s people do not live according to His ordinances and commandments, He always disciplines them as a loving father does his earthly children.  The amount of time that Israel was under siege depended on how long it took them to repent of their sin and cry out to God for mercy.

Unfortunately, as soon as God would deliver them, it didn’t take long for them to go back to worshiping false gods.  Finally, God allowed the king of Babylon to actually take the children of Israel into captivity.  God used this captivity to get the people to understand what His priorities were.  Speaking through the prophet, Jeremiah, God explains what He wanted the people to do.

Christians need to realize that the present is the moment in which we are called to be faithful.  We can do nothing about the past.  The future is wholly in God’s hand.  Now is what we have.

It is difficult living in captivity to a secular, anti-Christian culture.  Anytime you speak truth you can expect to be criticized, mocked and marginalized.  This past week Snopes published an article titled, Why Creationism Bears All the Hallmarks of a Conspiracy Theory.  Even though the Snopes’ website said that it has not actually done any work to “fact check” the article, they were publishing it because they thought it would be something of interest to its readers.

The article states that young earth creationism can’t be ignored because it is dangerously opposed to science.  The article goes on to warn readers that if you visit websites that promote the biblical account of creation, you will find that their creationism is completely hostile to science, while paradoxically claiming to be scientific.

There is even an attempt to compare creationism to the QAnon and the stolen election conspiracy theories that led to the January 6th riots at the U.S. Capitol building.  The article is another example how the anti-Christian culture of today wants to “cancel” anything that even remotely hints of the truth of God and His Word.

We have to know how to live in Babylon and stay true to biblical Christianity.  Here are a couple of truths that we must fully grasp in order to remain faithful and steadfast.

Why are we in Babylon?

Whenever God’s people have been taken captive, either literally or figuratively, they have a tendency to blame the world for their problems.  It is easy to cast blame on today’s anti-Christian culture for the mess that we find ourselves in.  The Israelites saw the problem as the Babylonian empire.  If only they could defeat this wicked empire, everything could be brought back to normalcy.

We face the same danger today.  We can blame the moral decadence of the culture today for all of our  problems.  In reality, God’s people are taken into captivity because of their own behavior; not that of society in general.  Erwin Lutzer addresses this problem in his book, The Church in Babylon, when he writes,

The Church did not lose its position of privilege simply because of evil enemies of the faith.  We lost our position as part of God’s judgement on our pride, our hypocrisy, our love of power, our prejudice,  our bigotry and failure to hold onto the truth.  This is the way in which God gets people’s attention.

We are not living in Babylon because of the wickedness of the lost world.  We are here because of our sin and unwillingness to repent of it.

God has you and me where He wants us!

I must confess that there are times when I want to pack my bags and move to some remote island.  I just want to get out of this mess.  Other times I long for another time when my faith wasn’t constantly attacked and I could live my life in comfort.  Of course, I quickly realize that there is no utopian place where I can escape the fallen world in which we live.

There is a verse that has been quoted by quite a few people in recent months.  It is something that Paul wrote in one of his letters to the church in Corinth.  When this verse is referred to, it is usually done so in the context of the race issues of today.

He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth…  Acts 17:26 (NKJV)

This is a powerful verse that makes it clear that there is only one race of people — the human race.  However, the rest of the verse is too often overlooked.  The entire verse reads,

He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings.  Acts 17:26 (NKJV)

I am living in this country at this time because the eternal, omniscient God has predetermined this is when and where I am to live and fulfill His will for my life.  You and I are to advance God’s kingdom right here and right now.

What does God expect of me today?

God expects from me what He has always expected from His people.  Consider what Paul went on to tell the Corinthian Christians.

…they should seek the Lord…and find Him…for in Him we live and move and have our being.  1 Corinthians 17:27-28 (NKJV)

God wants you and me to be His disciples right here and right now.  However, this is where the rubber hits the road.  Being a disciple of Jesus Christ is not an easy path to take; especially in today’s hostile environment.

 

The most common passage of Scripture referred to about what it takes to be a true disciple is found in the gospel of Luke.  Jesus clearly states what is required of each of us.

Then He said to them all, “if anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow Me.  Luke 9:23 (NKJV)

Most Christians are very familiar with this verse.  However, at the same time, very few believers want to obey it.  God expects me to die to self every single day that I am alive.  This is especially challenging to do when living in a hostile, anti-Christian society.  When I am under constant attack, I want to defend myself and get even.  Instead of reacting in this manner, God expects me to die to myself.

Then, I must take up my cross each day as I follow Him.  It is noteworthy to understand that the cross I am to bear is not something that is placed on me.  I have to voluntarily pick it up and carry it.  Facing ridicule and persecution from a lost world is not the cross that I am to bear.  That is something that the world wants to put on me.

I am convinced that the cross that God wants us to bear in today’s world is standing up and boldly declaring truth to everyone around us—especially to the next generation.  In the introduction of the current issue of The Voice of the Martyrs magazine, Cole Richards writes,

…most [crosses] are optional situations in which we must choose to pay a price out of obedience to Christ.

Cole goes on to explain how the crosses that Paul bore were not those of being in prison and beaten regularly.  No, they were crosses,

…that he chose to bear many that he could have easily avoided by choosing not to boldly proclaim Christ…Most persecuted Christians can avoid suffering for Christ by simply deciding to stop bearing witness to His truth.  They face a daily temptation to avoid suffering through silence and inactivity.

Concluding thoughts

It is difficult living in Babylon.  But, we are not alone because God has promised never to leave us or forsake us.  Not only is it important that we deny ourselves and daily pick up the cross but that we become more intentional to train the next generation and prepare them for life here in Babylon.  I close with a challenge that Richards gave in his editorial.

 

As biblical disciples, we are called to deliberately and repeatedly leave the security and comfort we are tempted to design for ourselves in order to embrace the cost of bearing witness to Christ to the lost around us…The truth of Christ is incompatible with corporate America’s social agenda and so-called inclusive messaging.  All of us—especially the young generation of Christians preparing to enter the workforce—need to prepare for the increasing cost of discipleship here in the U.S.

It is no time for Christians to try and avoid suffering through silence and inactivity.  We need to deliberately and boldly declare the truth of God’s Word to a lost and dying world.

There is no doubt about it.  The United States is a secular country.  Even though the founding of this country was grounded on biblical principles, we have drifted far from them.

Secular humanism is firmly entrenched as our society’s religion.  This religion declares that man is autonomous.  Of course, whenever a society becomes completely secularized, it also must become anti-Christian.  This is because Christianity stands opposed to the very concept of man being autonomous.  Christianity makes man accountable to his Creator and that is forbidden according to the beliefs and values of secular humanism.

In its effort to be “religiously neutral”, a secular society stands opposed to any recognition of one true God; especially the name of Jesus Christ.  This was very evident in two recent prayers offered at government proceedings.  The prayer given to open the 117th Congress concluded with these words,

We ask it in the name of the monotheistic god, Brahma, and god known by many names by many different faiths. Amen and awoman.

The second prayer was given at the recent Presidential Inauguration.  This prayer closed with these words.

In the strong name of our collective faith, Amen.

Last week I shared that, unless there is a supernatural revival in the land, Christianity will come under ever-increasing attacks.  To stand for Jesus Christ publicly will bring greater and greater persecution.

The new administration has already made policy decisions that have expanded government funding of abortion and advanced the LGBTQ agenda.  If the Equality Act becomes law, as promised by this administration, it will become illegal for an organization, including Christian organizations, to discriminate when hiring individuals based on one’s sexual orientation.

In my last post, I shared that in order to survive and thrive in a secular, anti-Christian culture, every Christian must be intentional in growing in his/her knowledge of two things—God and Truth!

We must develop a strong, personal, and intimate relationship with the God of the universe.  It is not enough to know God by His love, mercy and forgiveness.  We must also know Him as One who is holy, righteous and just.  When we truly know God, we will fear Him and this, in turn, will result in us trusting Him.  In the days to come, we will not survive if we don’t put our total trust in God.

We must also grow in our knowledge of truth.  If we don’t know truth, we will very easily be taken captive by the false ideas and worldviews that today’s secular culture constantly bombards us with.  As we strive to know truth, it is important to remember that truth is a person—Jesus Christ (John 14:6).

In order to grow in our knowledge of God and truth, there are three things that I believe we must do.  These actions must be intentional and continual.  They are not optional; especially when it comes to how we educate future generations.

These actions were foundational in the life of Ezra.  Ezra lived in a day that is very similar to the one we find ourselves in today.  God’s people were in captivity to a pagan culture.  However, Ezra was able to fulfill God’s will for his life in a miraculous way.

This priest was part of the remnant that went back to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple.  Of course, when they tried to do this, they faced fierce opposition from the pagan culture that was all around them.  The opposition was able to stop the work of rebuilding God’s temple.

Then something amazing happened.  Ezra went up from Babylon to join the effort to rebuild the temple of God.  Here is where you find something that seemed impossible taking place.  Not only was Ezra allowed to go to Jerusalem but the pagan king of Babylon gave Ezra everything that he requested for the journey.  The Bible records that the reason this happened was because God’s hand was upon him (Ezra).

If there was ever a time when God’s people need God’s hand upon them, it is now.  This didn’t happen because Ezra was a special superhero or that he simply prayed and asked for God’s hand to be on him.  No, there were three things that were part of Ezra’s life that brought God’s blessing on all he did.

On the first day of the first month he began his journey from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God upon him.  For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach statues and ordinances in Israel.  Ezra 7:9-10 (NKJV)

Ezra was a man much like Daniel.  Ezra had prepared his heart to do certain things.  Daniel had purposed in his heart not to do certain things.  They both were men of conviction.  This is exactly what is needed in the church today—men and women who prepare and purpose in their hearts to do three things.

Action #1:  We must study God’s Word!

The only way to know God and truth is to study God’s Word.  This is because God reveals Himself through the pages of Holy Scripture.  Studying God’s Word is different from merely reading it from time to time.  The original meaning of the word, study, carries with it the connotation of following or pursuing something.  It means that one is seeking something and, therefore, searches for it.  Today, God’s people need to pursue His Word and search for truth like never before in our country’s history.

I can remember the challenges I had trying to discern truth during my doctoral studies at the University of Virginia.  So many times, the professor and/or the textbook presented material that seemed right—but was it true?  In order to know truth, I had to search the Scriptures.  It was difficult but necessary.  Without a conviction to know truth as found in the Bible, I would have been susceptible to being taken captive by false beliefs (Colossians 2:8)

Parents, church leaders, and school educators must prepare their hearts to pursue God’s Word every day.  It isn’t an option as the future of our children and grandchildren hangs in the balance.

Action #2:  We must obey God’s Word!

It is one thing to study God’s Word; it is something else all together to obey it.  Just knowing truth is not sufficient to surviving the challenges before us today.  We must “do” the Word!

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving ourselves.  For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.  But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.  James 1:22-25 (NKJV)

Unfortunately, we have a lot of hearers of the Word and few doers in our homes, churches and schools today.  I am convinced that if the majority of those who claim to be Christians “did” the truth they knew, they would turn the world upside down.

We go to church, say amen to the sermon and then go out and live life as if we never heard a word that was preached.  We have become like the person who defines a good sermon as one that goes over his shoulder and hits his neighbor.  Studying God’s Word will have little impact on the culture if we don’t put it into practice.

Action #3:  We must teach God’s Word!

This is where the rubber hits the road.  It is this action where Christians have failed miserably over the past several decades.  The home, church and school must be united in teaching God’s Word to the next generation.

This will require the church to teach and train parents about their God-given responsibility to biblically educate their children.  Christian schools must also help train parents in this all-important task.  Then, the home, church and school must unite to teach God’s Word to future generations.

Over the past several decades we have turned our children over to the State to educate them.  Since the State is secular, it has indoctrinated several generations of young people in its religion of secular humanism.  The result is they have become what they have been taught!

God’s hand of favor is no longer on our country and, sad to say, on us as Christians.  The only way to have His favor return to our homes, churches and schools is to follow Ezra’s example.  Kingdom Education Ministries is determined to help this become a reality.  There are a couple of things that I want to encourage you to consider.

1. Be sure to register your school at this summer’s Kingdom Education Summit.  Registration is now open.  We need Christian school leaders, pastors and other church leaders, and individuals who are committed to providing our children and grandchildren with a biblical education to attend.  Remember that KEM Prime Member schools receive a discount on their registration.
2. If you are a Christian school administrator, make sure your school is a KEM Prime Member.  If you are a teacher at a Christian school, check and see if your school is a member.  If not, encourage your administrator to consider becoming a member.  By becoming a KEM Prime Member, your staff, board and enrolled families have full access to resources that will equip them with a biblical worldview and philosophy of education.
3. To join, click here.  Use the discount coupon code, KESDISC21, to receive a $50 discount off the low annual fee.

There is no question that the nations, including my own country, are raging against God.  However, I was reminded that I am serving the Ancient of Days when I listened to these words.  I trust that they will be a blessing to you.  You can watch by clicking here.

‘Ancient of Days‘

Words and Music by Jonny Robinson, Rich Thompson, Michael Farren & Jesse Reeves © 2018 CityAlight Music

Verse 1

Though the nations rage Kingdoms rise and fall; There is still one king; Reigning over all; So I will not fear; For this truth remains; That my God is, the Ancient of Days

Chorus

None above him, none before him; All of time in His hands; For His throne it shall remain and ever stand; All the power all the glory; I will trust in His name; For my God is, the Ancient of Days

Verse 2

Though the dread of night; Overwhelms my soul; He is here with me; I am not alone; O his love is sure; And He knows my name; For my God is, the Ancient of Days

Verse 3

Though I may not see; What the future brings; I will watch and wait; For the Saviour king; Then my joy complete; Standing face to face; In the presence of the Ancient of Days

Chorus

None above him, none before him; All of time in His hands; For His throne it shall remain and ever stand; All the power all the glory; I will trust in His name; For my God is, the Ancient of Days

I think a lot of people were hoping that once 2020 ended and a new year began, life would be better.  However, having witnessed what has happened in the country in just the first week of 2021, I believe we are in for some very difficult days.  A lot of attention has been given to the events that took place in the nation’s capital this past Wednesday.

I have to admit that I did not watch or listen to the coverage of the march that took place in Washington DC, the joint session of Congress or the “news” coverage of the violent entering of the Capitol Building by a group of rioters.  I have stopped watching/listening to the “news” for some time now as reporting the news has ceased to take place and has been replaced by the spouting of one’s ideology/worldview.

When a group of rioters broke into the Capitol Building, my Twitter feed exploded.  Most of the people I follow on Twitter are Christian leaders.  There was a common theme that most of these leaders tweeted.  They all were referring to what was unfolding in Washington, DC as the saddest day in American history.

This phrase has captivated my attention ever since then.  Was Wednesday, January 6, 2021 really the saddest day in the history of our country?  Should we be shocked at what has been taking place before our very eyes over the past few years that seemed to come to a climax on that day?  Are we troubled over the censoring of free speech that has escalated since Wednesday?

As I contemplated all that was swirling around me, God reminded me of the very first creation ordinance He established by which He would govern and sustain His creation.  This creation ordinance was established whenever He created a new form of life.  This ordinance is found in these words, according to its kind.  God set in motion the principle that one harvests what one plants!

Plants reproduce only have their own kind, as do birds, fish and animals.  Of course, humans also have to obey this creation ordinance and will only reproduce other men and women.  This life principle doesn’t only apply to reproduction but also to all of life.  That is why Paul wrote,

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.  For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.  Galatians 6:7-8 (NKJV)

What we have recently witnessed and continue to watch unfold before our eyes is simply the harvest of what we have sown over the years.  As I thought of this, Erwin Lutzer’s book, When a Nation Forgets God, came to my mind.  Lutzer wrote this book warning us about what happened in Germany that led to the rise of Hitler and terrible worldwide devastation.

There is no doubt about it, our country has forgotten God.  He has been removed from public discourse and there has been a slow but constant purging of any reference to Christianity in our legislative and judicial systems.

 

Today the rule of law really doesn’t exist.  This is because there is no longer a belief in absolute moral values.  Truth is relative and the Bible is no longer the foundation our legal system.  Legislators act and judges and justices make rulings based primarily on their individual beliefs and values.  This is a far cry from what Alexis de Tocqueville saw when he visited America in 1831 to see why we were so prosperous.  He observed,

In America, religion is the road to knowledge and the observance of divine law leads man to civil freedom.

By forgetting God in our country, we have become a completely secular society.  The reality that has resulted is that even the Constitution is open to individual interpretation because its foundation, which was taken from the Scriptures, has been destroyed.  We are a nation where everyone does what is right in his/her own eyes.  In 1798, John Adams predicted that if the nation forgot God, the government that the founders had established would lose all of its power.

Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.

When contemplating this reality, I question whether January 6, 2021 was the saddest day in American history.  Even though no one can put a specific date down, the saddest day in our history may be the day when the nation forgot God.

Even though the consequences that we are reaping because the country has forgotten God are frightening, these terrible results pale in comparison to what we are reaping because the church has forgotten God.  In past blogs I have shared the statistics that show today’s Christians are the most biblically illiterate generation in modern day church history.

Os Guinness, in his book Fit Bodies, Fat Minds, gives this chilling description of today’s North American church.

We are a people with a true, sometimes a deep, experience of God.  But we are no longer people of truth.

Guinness was stating what Blamires already realized when he wrote The Christian Mind in 1963.

The mind of modern man has been secularized..the Christian mind has succumbed to the secular drift with a degree of weakness and nervelessness unmatched in Christian history…There is no longer a Christian mind.

Guinness went on to explain what happened when the Christian mind disappeared in today’s church.

Failing to think Christianly, evangelicals have been forced into the role of cultural imitators and adapters rather than originators.

Maybe this is why, throughout 2020, I heard more from church leaders about Critical Race Theory than I did about how God created one race in His image and the real problem is man’s sinful heart with the answer being the Gospel and not what the world is putting out in its theories and philosophies.

Today’s church didn’t forget God overnight as explained by Guinness.

From 1700 to the Civil War there was a long, slow retreat from the Christian mind to the creation of a “ghost mind.” A “ghost mind” has few distinctively Christian strengths left.

From the Civil War to the present there has been a long, slow rise of a mass mind and the creation of an “idiot culture.”

Many might disagree with me and say that God has not been forgotten in the church.  But listen to what John Piper observed about us.

Man is the star in our contemporary drama and his comfort, his prosperity and his health are the great goals.  Of course God is there on stage, but only as a kind of co-star or supporting actor to round out the picture for religious and cultural expectations.

I will never forget reading something that Dr. Jimmy Draper sent to all of the employees when I was at LifeWay.  Draper told us that he had read a quote that had haunted him for over 20 years and he could not refute what this person said.  More than 30 years have now passed since Anglican priest David Watson made this profound prediction.

It is widely held that the battle of the century will be between Marxism, Islam, and Third-world Christianity.  Western Christianity is considered too weak and ineffective to contribute anything significant to this universal struggle.

How did the nation and the church forget God?  How did we get to where we are today?  It has been a slow, long and deliberate journey to get us to our current condition.  The vehicle that has brought us here is the secular educational system that has shaped the hearts and minds of the current adult population.  Christian parents and church leaders have voluntarily and, in many ways, enthusiastically placed their children on this bus for several generations and we are now reaping the harvest.

I can well remember sitting and listening to Dr. Christian Smith present his findings from a massive research project he was conducting on religion and North American youth.  One of his statements that still haunts me today is,

The lives and faith of most youth closely reflect the lives, faith, culture and institutional values of the adult world they inhabit. Youth are good barometers, telltale indicators of the larger adult culture.

Smith, then, made this startling statement.  We will get what we are!  The reality is that we have educated several generations of young people to think and, therefore, act from a secular, anti-Christian worldview.  In their book, Already Compromised, Ken Ham and Greg Hall explain it this way.

It is possible to raise kids in church and subsequently turn them over to secular institutions for education without having thought through the potential outcomes of them losing faith in the process…We have turned over generation and generation of young men and women to be fully inculcated with the thoughts, ideas, and precepts that are absolutely contrary to our Christian faith…the Church systematically, seemingly without guilt, turns one generation after another of children over to a pagan, godless, secular education system that turns them from the faith.  We do it in public elementary and high schools and colleges and  universities.  And we pay the enemy to steal their souls.

Frank Gaebelein noted that this was taking place when he wrote Education in a Democracy back in 1945,

The fact is that, as both home and church have lost their grip on American youth, the people of this country have looked to education to fill the gap…With a confidence that would be touching were it not based on evasion of responsibility, [parents] have turned their youth—body, mind and spirit—over to the most extensive and highly organized system of education that the world has ever known.

What we witnessed this past Wednesday and for much of 2020 are basically the consequences of the seeds we, as Christians, have planted in the hearts and minds of past generations through secular education.  WE HAVE GOTTEN WHAT WE HAVE BEEN!

Maybe the saddest day in American history is that day when Christians turned the education of their children over to the State.  So, where do we go from here?  What does the future hold for us?  My good friend, Mark Kennedy, made a comment on last week’s blog that I believe answers these questions.  Mark has witnessed similar things that are happing here take place in his country of Canada.

It’s pretty clear that, barring a continent-wide spiritual revival, the last faint vestiges of a biblically-based society will soon disappear. It will, of course, be replaced by a new kind of society – one where our ideas about truth, morality and freedom of speech won’t be tolerated. And so we will join the multitude of believers throughout history whose version of a normal life was (and still is) a constant state of persecution.

Jesus said that those of us who name the name of Christ will suffer persecution.  Are we ready for it?

As I close this blog, I am wondering if the saddest day in American history has yet to take place.  Maybe the saddest day in our history will be every day that believers, starting with me, don’t fall on our knees before a holy, just, and righteous God, confess our sin, repent of our evil ways, throw away our idols and beg Him for forgiveness and mercy.  I am finding it hard to pray and ask God to bless our country but I am praying that God will have mercy on us!