Christians! Vote For Trump–Three Reasons (out of many)
If you are reading this post, you should vote for Donald Trump for President of the United States. Do not vote for Joe Biden. Do not vote for the Constitution Party candidate. Do not abstain from voting. Vote for Donald Trump. Here are three reasons.
1.) If you pray 1 Timothy 2:1-4, you should vote for Donald Trump, since he will defend religious liberty.
The New Testament specifically tells us to pray as follows:
I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. (1 Timothy 2:1-4)
When you pray for something, you should put “feet” to your prayers. When you pray for daily bread and are trusting in God (Matthew 6), you then go to work, because God provides through the ordinary use of means the vast majority of the time. Donald Trump as President will allow you to live a quiet and peaceable Christian life in peace. Trump will appoint judges who believe that the First Amendment means what it says. His justice department will not force you to violate your conscience to keep your job. He will not force Christian adoption agencies to place children in the “families” of filthy sodomites. He will not try to shut down and destroy Christian schools and colleges. He will stand with business owners who are unwilling to violate their consciences and call good evil and evil good.
Joe Biden and Democrat leaders have promised to pass the Orwellianly-named “Equality Act,” which would add sexual orientation and gender identity as protected categories in federal law. You want to have a counselor help your son, who is getting brainwashed into thinking he is a girl in public school? Even if he wants to be normal and not a pervert, it would be against the law to help him. You realize you have made a big mistake in putting your child in a public school and so you put him in a Christian school? Biden would try to destroy your Christian school by forcing it to hire teachers that are sodomites. You have a business that offers health insurance? You will be forced to pay for employees if they want to mutilate their bodies and pretend to be the other sex. You don’t want a grown and morally twisted man taking off his clothes with your daughter alone in a locker room? Too bad, so sad. Sodom and Gomorrah, here we come!
You don’t want to pay for the murder of little baby boys and girls in the womb? Joe Biden will not only force you to pay for abortion with your tax dollars, you will be forced to pay for bloody murder with your own dollars–your conscience does not matter. Even without the abomination of the “Equality Act,” Joe Biden has fully endorsed the Obama administration’s policies when it tried to destroy Wheaton College because the school would not pay for abortion. Obama wanted to destroy the Little Sisters of the Poor because they would not pay for health insurance that included abortion and contraception for nuns. Forget helping the poor–destroying nuns unless they were willing to pay for abortion was more important, even to the point of making celibate nuns pay for abortion. Biden will appoint judges to the Supreme Court who will through judicial tyranny destroy the First Amendment in favor of the sexual revolution.
2.) If you sigh and cry over the abomination of abortion, you must vote for Donald Trump.
Donald Trump has enacted many pro-life policies, and it is very possible that his judicial appointments will finally result in Roe v. Wade being overturned. Joe Biden is extremely pro-abortion. He is committed to making sure that children can be murdered all the way up to birth. He is part of a Democrat party that opposed the Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act–even infanticide is acceptable. Babies do not even get the painkillers given to dogs and cats before the children are ripped limb from limb in excruciating pain and thrown in the garbage. A vote for Biden, or a vote for the Constitution party candidate or any other person who has 0% chance to actually win, is failing to do what you can to help stop this continued mass murder.
3.) If you value free speech and oppose communist Antifa thugs Burning, Looting, and Murdering (BLM), then you must vote for Donald Trump.
Donald Trump stands against Antifa and all other violent criminals who burn, loot, and plunder, whether anarchists, white supremacists, black supremacists, etc. Joe Biden has been very weak and wobbly on condemning left-wing political violence as it rages unchecked through Democrat-controlled parts of the country. Kamala Harris, Biden’s Vice President who, in light of Biden’s age, is very likely to seize power if Biden wins, has made ridiculous statements in support of the anarchists in Portland–oh, and by the way, she would confiscate your firearms too, and do so even without Congress solely by executive branch tyranny, so you can’t even defend yourself when the bad boys come for you.
Right here in San Francisco, last Saturday (as I write this) when I was driving home from work, I saw a lot of police in riot gear. I did not stop to find out what was going on–when you see a lot of police in riot gear, keep going. I found out later that they were there because of a protest in favor of free speech organized by a black conservative man, Philip Anderson (pictured below):
Mr. Anderson and other supporters of free speech had peacefully gathered to petition in favor of free speech. (It wasn’t even a rally in favor of Trump–just in favor of free speech.) They were greeted by mobs of Antifa thugs holding BLM signs. One of the BLM /Antifa thugs punched Mr. Anderson in the face twice, bloodying him up and causing him to lose several teeth:
Mr. Anderson had done absolutely nothing to justify this vicious assault. The Antifa crowds helped to protect the thug who battered Mr. Anderson while they shouted “nig-r” and various four-letter words at Mr. Anderson while holding their Black Lives Matter signs. Another one of the supporters of free speech was taken away in an ambulance because of Antifa violence, and several police officers were injured–and that was all in about 15 minutes before the police ended the free speech rally and whisked away the conservatives before the rest of them were bloodied, beaten, or killed.
The mayor of San Francisco condemned Antifa and said that free speech must be defended. (Sorry, just kidding.)
Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House, and representative from San Francisco, condemned the violence against Mr. Anderson and others. (Sorry, just kidding again).
What actually happened is that the San Francisco Chronicle and other leftist news outlets reported that there were “clashes between pro and anti Trump groups” that resulted in “six injured.” rather than the truth, that communist Antifa criminals had with no provocation violently assaulted defenders of free speech and the police.
This is just one of the countless examples of violence that leftist radicals and criminals have perpetrated all around the country, aided and abetted by leftist politicians like Joe Biden who want their votes. Can you imagine what would be happening if one person wearing a MAGA hat punched and knocked the teeth out of a leftist black man? Would it not be inconceivably more coverage than the thousands of acts of illegal violence orchestrated by Antifa have received?
There are many other reasons to vote for Donald Trump, but the three above should be far, far more than enough.
Please note that one reason to vote for Donald Trump is not because of his character, because he is a great moral example, or because he is constitutionally fit to be President. (Joe Biden has extreme character problems as well.) Trump is very frequently embarrassing and he was far, far from my first choice in the Republican primary. I am not for Donald Trump the way that I am actually for Mike Pence. But by voting for Trump I will be able to cringe at his crazy tweets from my home in peace, or shake my head at what he says from my church in peace, instead of having to do it from prison for standing against the homosexual agenda, or from a soup kitchen line because Biden and Harris have destroyed my business for not paying for abortion, or from a hospital because an Antifa thug has burned my house down and smashed a bottle over my head, or from a morgue–no, excuse me, they don’t bury the babies murdered by abortion, so more correctly–or from a garbage bin filled with little bloodied hands and legs and ribs and eyes that, instead of being able to look up at a smiling mother and father caressing and kissing them, are ripped in pieces and covered with gore–knowing that I am being forced to support this mass murder under a Biden-Harris administration.
Learn more about the Biblical role of government here.
–TDR
Mandatory Vaccination: Stop it Only One Way
Mandatory / Compulsory Vaccination?
With COVID-19, there is a renewed call for compulsory or mandatory vaccination. Should vaccines be compelled?
I do not believe that the government should force parents to vaccinate their children against their will. In the Bible, parental authority over children is so vast that parents could even bring rebellious children to trial and, if found guilty of consistent, persistent, and willful rebellion and wickedness, have their children executed (Deuteronomy 21:18-21; note that there is no record of parents actually following through on this with their children, as very, very few parents would want to do it, but it still shows the Biblical position on parental authority in relationship to the State). Similarly, children who cursed their parents or hit their parents would “surely be put to death” (Exodus 21:15-17) if there were multiple witnesses who were willing to testify to the fact (no Biblical indication specifies that the parents were required to testify against their children or, for that matter, that anyone at any time was compelled to testify against anyone else).
When Romans 13 outlines the role of the government, Biblically speaking, it is a “night watchman” sort of system with very limited authority. The government is to punish evil but is not even supposed to actively do good–that is the realm of individuals and groups in society such as churches–but only to “praise” the good without financial support (Romans 13:3-4). Biblical government is, in many ways, very libertarian on the spectrum of political ideology (learn more about the role of the government according to God’s Word here). Therefore, based on God’s revelation, a strong support for parental authority and a strong view on a very limited role for government leads me to oppose mandatory / compulsory vaccination. Furthermore, requiring parents who have religious objections to vaccinate is a very dangerous restriction of religious freedom.
Furthermore, in American history compulsory vaccination has led to many other restrictions on civil liberties. A 1902 mandatory vaccination law passed in Massachusetts in response to a smallpox epidemic was appealed all the way to the Supreme Court, which concluded that compulsory vaccination was constitutional in Jacobson v. Massachusetts (1905) by a 7 to 2 margin. For the benefit of the collective or group, individual liberty could be repressed. The precedent set by this decision allowed for the promotion of eugenics; for example, in 1927 the case Buck v. Bell upheld the mandatory sterilization of a person considered “feeble-minded,” arguing that “The principle that sustains
compulsory vaccination is broad enough to cover cutting the Fallopian
tubes.” The only precedent cited in case law was Jacobson v. Massachusetts. The (alleged) collective good from forcibly sterilizing undesirable people overrode the individual liberty not to be–to describe it Biblically–eunuchized. The expanded state powers that justified compulsory vaccination were used to uphold eugenic sterilization (learn more in the article here). The power given to the State over parents that is involved in allowing compulsory vaccination also justifies the elimination of many other civil liberties.
Thus, I am against compulsory vaccination, and I believe you should be against it as well.
What is not a reason I oppose compulsory vaccination
I am against mandatory vaccination because of parental rights. I am not against mandatory vaccination because vaccines do not work, are dangerous, or are ineffective. Vaccines are safe, are effective, and are a great blessing to mankind in this fallen world that God has allowed scientists to discover utilizing the Biblically-based scientific method. Thanks to vaccines, diseases such as polio, typhoid, smallpox, yellow fever, and rabies no longer kill, cripple, and cause terrible suffering to millions and millions of people. Anti-vax propaganda simply does not reflect scientific reality in the world God has made. Common ideas, such as the lie that vaccines cause autism, was spread in order to make its author a lot of money. If you do not vaccinate your children, you are increasing the likelihood that they will die or suffer because you believed scientifically inaccurate propaganda. You are also not loving your neighbor as yourself, for you are increasing the likelihood that other children or adults will get sick or die. Furthermore, you endanger the children of responsible parents who vaccinate their children, as their children, when too young to get vaccinated, may still be infected and get sick or die because you have refused to protect your own children from disease. (Learn more about vaccine safety here.) You may say that you don’t need to vaccinate because others do, and so there is herd immunity–but you had better keep your kids away from the airport, then, and had better not teach them to evangelize in an area that has a lot of immigrants. You definitely would want to keep them away from the mission field.
In other words, I believe that the government should allow parents to make foolish decisions, because allowing them to make foolish decisions–like not getting vaccinated themselves or having their children vaccinated, which is very foolish–is not as bad as the consequences are of the increased governmental power involved in compulsory vaccination. In Israel drunkenness was a sin, but it was not illegal. Failing to help the poor was wicked, but it was not illegal. God hated divorce, but it was legal. Failure to love one’s neighbor as oneself was a horrible crime, but it was legal. It should be legal for people to make all kinds of bad, foolish decisions, because increased government power is even worse than the bad, foolish decisions.
The only way to stop mandatory vaccination
While I believe that the position above is Biblically and practically correct, it is also one that is a loser politically. If enough people believe anti-vax propaganda and stop vaccinating, it is certain that there will be more outbreaks in the United States of easily preventable diseases, and children will die for no good reason. Enough angry parents showing pictures of happy babies and healthy children that are now dead or handicapped from diseases because of anti-vaccination lies will create an unstoppable wave of public support for mandatory vaccination.
Without mandatory vaccination, more children will get sick, suffer life-long hurt, and die. I believe that the less-easy-to-see consequences of mandatory vaccination are worse than this awful and very visible consequence of not mandating vaccines. But is that going to win in a room full of angry parents holding pictures of their now dead children and demanding their congressman support mandatory vaccination? Nope. Not a chance. Vaccines will become compulsory if enough people stop vaccinating.
So how can mandatory vaccination be stopped? The only way to stop it is by vaccinating voluntarily. If only a small enough percentage of the population doesn’t vaccinate, the people who are putting their children’s lives and the lives of other children at risk can fly under the radar, believe their misinformation, and not cause too much damage. But as their number grows big enough to compromise or eliminate herd immunity, public pressure from the death, disease, and carnage caused by their irresponsible actions will lead to mandatory vaccination.
So do you want to stop mandatory vaccination? Have your children vaccinated, encourage others to vaccinate, and fight inaccurate and unscientific anti-vaccination propaganda.
There is no other long-term way to stop mandatory vaccination.
–TDR
“Come as you are” or “sanctify yourselves”?
Today we hear a great deal about how we should come to church just as we are. I recall a life-size ad that was posted for many weeks at a local mall in Wisconsin. It had a picture of a guy in a T-shirt holding a Bible, a big tattoo visible on his arm, wearing jeans. The ad asked, “Would Jesus wear jeans to church?” There was no gospel on the ad anywhere, although the religious organization claims to be evangelical. Even if someone were to (wrongly) think that the answer to that question is, “Yes,” unless wearing the jeans and the tattoo were an idol, one could answer “Yes, but who cares? Why aren’t you giving these lost people the gospel instead of asking them a silly question about clothing?” On the other hand, if the casual clothes are an idol that one is not willing to forsake to take up the cross and follow Christ, then the ad makes sense; we can “put down the cross and serve ourselves,” can keep everything in the world that the jeans and tattoo represent, instead of taking up the cross and following Christ.
But is the answer really “yes”? Are we supposed to come to church as we are?
Scripture regularly contains the following phrase when people were entering the presence of the infinitely holy Jehovah (in each case the Hithpael of the verb qds, “holy”):
Ex. 19:22 And let the priests also, which come near to the LORD, sanctify themselves, lest the LORD break forth upon them.
Lev. 11:44 For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
Lev. 20:7 Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God.
Num. 11:18 And say thou unto the people, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow, and ye shall eat flesh: for ye have wept in the ears of the LORD, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for it was well with us in Egypt: therefore the LORD will give you flesh, and ye shall eat.
Josh. 3:5 And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for to morrow the LORD will do wonders among you.
Josh. 7:13 Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow: for thus saith the LORD God of Israel, There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you.
1Sam. 16:5 And he said, Peaceably: I am come to sacrifice unto the LORD: sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice.
1Chr. 15:12 And said unto them, Ye are the chief of the fathers of the Levites: sanctify yourselves, both ye and your brethren, that ye may bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel unto the place that I have prepared for it.
1Chr. 15:14 So the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves to bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel.
2Chr. 29:5 And said unto them, Hear me, ye Levites, sanctify now yourselves, and sanctify the house of the LORD God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place.
2Chr. 29:15 And they gathered their brethren, and sanctified themselves, and came, according to the commandment of the king, by the words of the LORD, to cleanse the house of the LORD.
2Chr. 29:34 But the priests were too few, so that they could not flay all the burnt offerings: wherefore their brethren the Levites did help them, till the work was ended, and until the other priests had sanctified themselves: for the Levites were more upright in heart to sanctify themselves than the priests.
2Chr. 30:3 For they could not keep it at that time, because the priests had not sanctified themselves sufficiently, neither had the people gathered themselves together to Jerusalem.
2Chr. 30:15 Then they killed the passover on the fourteenth day of the second month: and the priests and the Levites were ashamed, and sanctified themselves, and brought in the burnt offerings into the house of the LORD.
2Chr. 30:24 For Hezekiah king of Judah did give to the congregation a thousand bullocks and seven thousand sheep; and the princes gave to the congregation a thousand bullocks and ten thousand sheep: and a great number of priests sanctified themselves.
2Chr. 31:18 And to the genealogy of all their little ones, their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, through all the congregation: for in their set office they sanctified themselves in holiness:
2Chr. 35:6 So kill the passover, and sanctify yourselves, and prepare your brethren, that they may do according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses.
So the world, and most of evangelicalism, says to come to church just as you are, the same way you come to any worldly event. Indeed, making no difference between the common or profane and the holy temple of God in this age is important enough to many evangelicals that they will refrain from giving people the gospel to instead focus upon the importance of coming to church in your T-shirt and jeans sporting your tattoo with your modern Bible version. Come as you are, sing to God the tunes of the world, and add a little religion to your life–your life which is all about you. By contrast, Scripture affirms, over and over again, that one is to sanctify himself before coming into the presence of the holy, holy, holy God.
So, in a true church, where the special presence of God is found in a manner comparable to the holy of holies in the Old Testament tabernacle (Gk. naos), you should not come just as you are. You should sanctify yourself–you should come in a way that is distinctly different, that is not common, not profane, but set apart to the righteous Lord and God who dwells in a special way in His true church. Jesus Christ walks in the midst of His churches, and He still hates any profanation of God’s worship the way He did when he took a whip and drove out the moneychangers and merchants from the Temple (John 2) and when He sent fire from heaven to burn up those who failed to sanctify Him in their worship (Leviticus 10).
Nor should true churches set up special meetings where the people of God specifically fail to sanctify themselves in their appearance and come into the presence of God in an informal, casual, common way so that lost people who visit feel more comfortable. There is no model for this in Scripture, and when in the New Testament a lost person comes under conviction after visiting church, it is because of the truth of the Word he has heard from the godly example and speech of the church members, not because they decided not to sanctify themselves. That is not the way to get the lost to confess “God is in you of a truth” (1 Corinthians 14:25), but to get them to confess: “There is nothing special here.” Much less should church services be turned into carnivals with give-aways to attract children who would not come for Christ but will come for candy.
On the other hand, if you are going to a religious organization that does not fit the Biblical criteria for one of Christ’s true churches, you might as well come as you are and make no difference between the holy and the common, since Christ is not there anyway. Go for it! But don’t deceive yourself and think that you are doing anything that is for the glory and honor of God when you are there. It’s about you. Be honest.
So, considered Biblically, a religious organization with a “seeker-sensitive, come as you are” philosophy of ministry is saying “God is not here. This is about us and what we want. No to Immanuel, yes to ourselves. The Bible says ‘sanctify yourselves’ before coming into God’s presence–but we say exactly the opposite.”
On a side note, the Keswick / Higher Life idea that “You cannot sanctify yourself” is the opposite of what the passages of Scripture above teach. The sons of God, enabled by grace, do indeed sanctify themselves; that is one of the ways that God sanctifies them.
Please do not draw the conclusion from this article that the lost need to make themselves worthy before they can come to Christ. This post is about God’s people and how they should come into the presence of God in His church, not about how the lost should come to Christ as empty-handed sinners with nothing but their sin. Please also do not conclude that we should discourage lost people who know nothing about God’s Word from hearing preaching or attending services if they do not dress nicely enough. That is not what the post is about either. Nor did the post say anything to the effect that the outside is more important than the inside; that is not the case. God does care about sanctifying all of who we are, inside and outside. Do not take the post for what it does not say, but what it does say.
Let’s just be honest with these passages of Scripture and recognize that the saints should sanctify themselves in their hearts, minds, and appearance before they come into the special presence of the God who commanded, “Be ye holy, for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16; Leviticus 11:44). Not soli mihi gloria, but soli Deo gloria.
–TDR
The “harvest is plenteous”: A Promise People Will Always be Saved in Matthew 9:35-38?
“The harvest truly is plenteous,” Matthew 9:37. Is this a promise that there will always be people who will be converted when the gospel is preached? Such a view is common among advocates of Keswick theology. For example, John VanGelderen on the Revival Focus blog wrote:
Jesus said, “The harvest truly is plenteous.” The harvest is plentiful. Not will be, but is—right
now. Since this is so, Jesus continued, “Pray ye therefore the Lord of
the harvest that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.” The
sending is not just into His fields, but into His harvest! If
words have meaning and if language has integrity, then within the sphere
of your life and mine, there are people ready to be harvested right
now. The Lord of the harvest—the Holy Spirit—has already done His
preparatory work to help people become aware of their need. Now they
just need the answer—Jesus. They just need to hear the message of the
Gospel in power. … The harvest truly is plentiful. This is
more than a promised environment that someday “will be.” This is a
present fact. It “is.” Amazing! When you embrace the fact of a ready
harvest, it changes everything. … One of my favorite stories of living
according to the ready harvest comes from the life of a good friend of
mine … [a] missionary[.] … When he began deputation he
attended a Netcasters seminar, a course on the Spirit-filled
life applied to evangelizing. God brought two truths home to [this person’s] heart: the power of the Holy Spirit though faith and the fact of a ready
harvest—a particularly explosive combination. Quickly, he went from
ineffective duty-witnessing to effective delight-witnessing.
This particular person who caught the Keswick doctrine now sees huge numbers of people pray the “sinner’s prayer” all over the mission field. While only a small percentage of them manifest a changed life comparable to the people in Acts 2:41-47–as is overwhelmingly the case when the Netcasters techniques are used instead of more careful methods of evangelism that plainly explain repentance–the fact that such large numbers of people can be led to repeat the sinner’s prayer is proof that Matthew 9:35-38 is a guarantee that people will always be saved. Other testimonials from various places similarly validate the Keswick explanation of the “harvest” being “plenteous.” Don’t worry about the fact that this view of Matthew 10 would mean that the Lord Jesus Himself and His Apostles lacked the Keswick power since Christ was crucified with the consent of the large majority, while only a small number were truly converted.
Clearly, then, as is regularly preached in Keswick circles taking this view of the passage, if you are not “regularly” seeing people pray the sinner’s prayer there is something wrong with you. You can’t be right with God if there are not enough people making professions. Even if you search your conscience, ask God to show you your secret faults, and as far as you can tell, you have an upright heart before Him, you must really not be pleasing God because there are not enough people making professions. You clearly don’t have enough faith, or you have not received the special Keswick power that you have read about others receiving in easy-to-read and interesting but too often historically inaccurate books on those who got the secret and obtained the special power. There must be something wrong with you, because the phrase “the harvest truly is plenteous” guarantees lots of professions.
Or does it?
The “white harvest” in context
Matthew 10 is what Christ does and teaches based on Matthew 9:35-38. Christ teaches His disciples Matthew 10, and then He sends them forth to preach in Matthew 11:1. Matthew 10:1-11:1 records the following (please read the chapter carefully):
10:1 And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease. 2 Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3 Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him. 5 These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: 6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. 8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give. 9 Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses, 10 Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat. 11 And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, enquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence. 12 And when ye come into an house, salute it. 13 And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. 15 Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city. 16 Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. 17 But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; 18 And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. 19 But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. 20 For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you. 21 And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. 22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. 23 But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come. 24 The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. 25 It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household? 26 Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known. 27 What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops. 28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. 30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows. 32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. 33 But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. 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. 38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. 39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. 40 He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. 41 He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. 42 And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.
11:1 And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities.
So what does the Lord Jesus Himself indicate in Matthew 10 about Matthew 9:35-38’s teaching concerning a white harvest? He sends people out to preach–so we should go out and preach (10:1ff.). He teaches that God takes care of His people (10:8-10), so we should trust in His care. He tells the Apostles to find a single place to stay for as long as one is in a location instead of floating from house to house (10:11), a good pattern. He commands the Apostles to greet people when they approach a house, and share the peaceful truth with them if they are open, but to shake off the dust from their feet as a sign of horrible coming judgment if they do not listen (10:12-14). Not only individual houses, but whole cities will be full of people who do not listen (10:14), and their judgment will be worse than that of Sodom (10:15). He teaches His people to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves because they will receive severe persecution (10:16ff.). In fact, all men will hate them and even family members will deliver them up to death; however, if they persevere in faithfulness to Christ they will be saved (10:21-22). When persecution arises in one city, flee and go to another one because the work will not be done before the return of Christ (10:22-23). Since Christ Himself is slandered and persecuted, they should expect slander and persecution (10:24-25), but they should not be afraid because in the coming day of judgment all will be made right (10:26), so boldly preach the truth, and do not be afraid, for the Father cares for them (10:27-31). Fearlessly confess Christ before men and He will confess them instead of denying them (10:32-33). The gospel will divide families, but do not forget that at conversion they took up the cross and must continue to follow Christ despite opposition (10:34-39). If people receive them or help them, God will reward those people (10:40-41). Now go out and preach (11:1)!
Notice Christ never states, hints, or implies in Matthew 10 that the fact that He had spoken of a “white harvest” in chapter 9:35-38 means that there will always be people who will be converted. On the contrary, Christ’s explanation includes the warning that in entire cities everyone will reject them and they will need to flee. He does not tell them, or breathe the slightest hint, that if every single person in a city does not listen it was their fault for not entering into the Higher Life or for not having the special power that makes people listen, or that it was their fault for not believing His (alleged) promise of a “white harvest” that means many people will always believe. Rather than explaining the Higher Life secret, Christ just tells the Apostles to run away and go to the next city; it was the fault of the people who did not listen, not their fault, that they did receive the gospel. The Lord Jesus tells them over and over again, not “lots of people will always listen,” but “persecution, persecution, persecution, persecution.” He tells them to keep going because the Father cares for them and because He will reward them in the last day, but never tells them to keep going because there are always people who are going to listen.
In the parallel passage in Luke 10 Christ also speaks of a “great … harvest,” and then immediately afterwards speaks of entire cities where nobody will listen. Nobody who read the entire passage honestly would conclude that lots of people will always be saved based on the “white/great harvest” language of Matthew 10 and Luke 10.
So should we tell people what Christ told them is involved in going into a “white harvest,” or should we tell them what Keswick theology teaches about the “white harvest,” even if that means ignoring the immediate context of the passage?
What about the Old Testament harvest imagery that Christ was alluding to when He spoke of a great or white harvest? The strong emphasis of the Old Testament harvest imagery in passages such as Micah 4:11-13 is coming judgment. “The harvest is white/great” means “the harvest is ready to be reaped–judgment is coming!” according to the Old Testament, and according to Matthew’s gospel just a few chapters later: “the harvest is the end of the world” (Matthew 13:39). The judgment of the last days involves both the destruction of the wicked and the deliverance of the righteous, but the nearness of judgment justifying urgency in preaching is the point in Matthew 9:35-38, not that a large number will always respond to the gospel positively. To ignore the Old Testament imagery of the harvest, and the use of the image elsewhere in Matthew, is to rip the harvest metaphor from its broader context, just as to ignore the verses immediately surrounding the passage rip the metaphor from its immediate context.
The book context of Matthew is also ignored in order to make the “white harvest” language into a promise that people will always listen to the gospel in large numbers:
9:35 and 4:23 mark an inclusion which underlines the importance of reading chaps. 5–7 and 8–9 together and, when linked with the emphasis on the mission of the disciples in what precedes 4:23 (vv. 18–22) and what follows 9:35 (9:36–11:1), provide a chiasmic structure which enhances the significance of the mission perspective for the whole body of the encompassed materials. 9:35–37 function as an introductory piece for the section that runs to 10:42 (11:1), which consists mainly of the second major discourse by Jesus in Matthew, in a set of five marked by a shared concluding formula (here in 11:1[)] … Mt. 9:35 closely echoes 4:23 … this time Jesus is explicitly named; ‘all the towns and the villages’ replaces ‘in the whole of Galilee’ (probably with the intention of being more general) … Jesus’ ministry is freshly summarised/characterised after the expansiveness that has marked chaps. 5–9.
John Nolland, The Gospel of Matthew: A Commentary on the Greek Text, New International Greek Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Carlisle: W.B. Eerdmans; Paternoster Press, 2005), 406–407.
In chapter 4:23ff. Christ never says that many people will always repent and believe. He did have large crowds that wanted to be healed, but He never said that the number who were spiritually saved would always be large–on the contrary, He said: “strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:14).
So what?
So why does this all matter? First, it matters because taking out of context Christ’s language about a “white harvest” and telling others that many people will always believe the gospel is telling them a lie. It is telling them what God did not say and claiming His authority for it. Even if done in sincerity, whenever God’s Word is distorted a great evil is perpetrated. Don’t lie to people. Tell them God’s truth.
Second, it is important because whether someone expects what Keswick theology tells him to expect, or what Christ told him to expect, has a huge impact on how he does ministry. If an evangelist or church-planter believes the Keswick wresting of Scripture instead of Christ’s actual promises he will become very discouraged if he finds out that what Christ said is actually true instead of what he wrongly thought Christ promised in Keswick theology. He will conclude that something must be wrong with him and he is not pleasing God if there are not lots of people who are born again. Instead of confiding in the Father’s care in the face of virulent opposition, like Christ commanded in Matthew 10, he will pour over his Higher Life literature and try to find out how he is missing the secret power that will finally make many people listen all the time. He may quit the ministry altogether, concluding that he is a failure when he sees the persecution Christ promised instead of the big crowds Christ never promised. He will probably water down the gospel message and start practicing man-made promotion and marketing techniques in order to get the crowds and numbers of professions he wrongly thinks are promised in Matthew 9:35-38. He will not evaluate other churches based on whether they are trusting in the Father and boldly preaching the way Christ commanded in Matthew 10, but on whether they are seeing the numbers of professions promised by the Higher Life. A church that is obeying Matthew 10 but seeing fewer professions will be rejected as a model for ministry or for fellowship in favor of one that is using marketing techniques and seeing more professions, or has “secrets to success” which cannot be discovered by careful exegesis of Scripture. In short, he will displease God. Whenever Scripture is twisted lots of problems come about.
So you need to believe what Christ taught about the white harvest–it means judgment is coming. It means you need to boldly preach what He said from the housetops even when persecution comes–and it will come. When it comes, trust in the Father’s care, and remember that if you confess Christ before men He will confess you before your heavenly Father. If you are not trusting in the Lord and are not consequently boldly preaching, and as a result you experience no persecution, there is something wrong with you. If lots of people are not listening, that does not prove that something is wrong with you.
Now certainly it is possible that if you are evangelizing to see a church established but people are not listening to you it may be that you are a bad example–if you are soon angry, or are not ruling your family well, or are a drunkard, or are not apt to teach, etc. (1 Timothy 3) then it is true that you are the problem. But if you have an upright heart before God and are qualified, if you can say “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23-24), then don’t worry about missing out on a secret Higher Life power that supposedly guarantees lots of visible results. Keep boldly preaching, expect opposition, and trust in the Father’s care. Do not change your practices one iota from what you can prove from Scripture based on anything invented by mere men. Do not model your ministry after people who claim to have special powers but who distort Scripture to teach Keswick and are really just good at man-made marketing. Fellowship with churches that derive their beliefs and practices from the Bible alone, and get the sweet encouragement that is truly offered in the Word instead of the false expectations and hopes offered by distorted theological errors.
It could please God in His grace to allow much of the seed of the Word to land on good soil, and you could have a big church like the one in Jerusalem shortly after Christ’s ascension (Acts 2, 5). Alternatively, you could have a small church like the one in Philadelphia that highly pleased Christ (Revelation 3:7ff.) with not the slightest hint that they were doing something wrong because they were small. Reject the Keswick distortion of the “white harvest” and instead keep boldly preaching and obeying all Scripture in faith and love, in light of the fact that the harvest–judgment–is coming: “Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown” (Revelation 3:11).
–TDR
Protests and Preaching / Prayer Unequal in California: You Can’t Go to Church, But You Can Violate the Law in Leftist Protests
Yesterday I took the following short video in downtown San Francisco of radical leftist protesters blocking a street–it is slightly over a minute long, and can be seen on YouTube, or you can watch the embedded version below:
People illegally blocking the street for a long time in their cars is fine; there were no fines, no tickets, no penalties of any kind. The “Poor People’s Campaign,” a radical left-wing organization whose platform “demands” crazy things like “establish[ing] 100% debt forgiveness for all borrowers earning less than $50,000; up to $50,000 of debt forgiveness for borrowers earning less than $100,000 … waiv[ing] all interest payments,” enabling illegal immigrants to “work and live without fear of arrest, deportation, or detention,” “ban[ning] the use of force” by police “against people who are unarmed,” so that if a policeman is getting punched in the face by a thug over and over again he just needs to deal with it, and if somehow the criminal is arrested, to “end cash bail” so that he can get back out again and never show up to court, and gobs of other nutty nonsense.
Were there any fines issued for blocking the street and tying up
traffic for a substantial period of time?
No.
Were there any tickets issued? No.
Were the vehicles towed away? No.
Blocking the street to bash Mitch McConnell, to demand a
leftist and activist Supreme Court, to demand trillions of dollars in
spending, to destroy the free market, to scream leftist slogans, to
support socialism, radical Democrats, oppose Republicans, limited
government, and the U. S. Constitution, and so on, is perfectly
acceptable in the California. Certainly if the protestors are not wearing masks or are not socially distanced it is also not a problem.
What about going to church in California? Fines–punishment–threats of
jail time–the whole force of the law bearing down on law-abiding,
peaceful Christians, who do not block streets, scream at people, cause
traffic jams, or demand the confiscation of the property of others in
the name of socialism–all they want is to be left alone to worship God
and obey the Bible. Is that acceptable in California? Nope. No way!
Just ask North Valley Baptist Church pastor Jack Trieber; Grace Community Church pastor John MacArthur; and the many other churches
suffering persecution in California.
No double standard here. Just move on.
Oh wait–you can’t move
on–the leftist crazies are blocking the busy street in downtown, demanding
the end of the American republic.
–TDR
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The King James Bible: Too Hard to Understand?
“The King James Version is too hard for people to understand! It is written in Old English. Therefore, we need to use a modern Bible version that is easier to understand.”
Is this true?
Before dealing with the most important question–what Scripture says on the subject–a few brief words on a secondary but related question.
The King James Version: Is it Old English?
First, the King James Version is not in Old English. Old English is the language of Beowulf. If you want to hear Old English, watch this:
Is the King James Bible easier to understand than that?
Maybe the King James is Middle English if it isn’t Old English. Here is someone reading from Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, which was written in Middle English:
Here you can probably make out something here and there, but it is clear that the King James Version is not in Old English, nor is it in Middle English. It is much easier to read than the Canterbury Tales. (Side note: I enjoyed my college class on Chaucer’s classic at U. C. Berkeley.) The King James Bible is in early modern English. English has changed less between 1611 and today than it did from the days of Chaucer in the 1400s to the KJV.
So the King James Bible is not in Old English, nor in Middle English, but in modern English–early modern English. That does not mean, however, that it is necessarily easy to understand. Perhaps it really is “too hard,” and we should overlook the fact that the New King James Version is soft on sodomy, removes “hell” from 22 verses in the Bible, replacing it with easier words to understand, and ones that are in common use, like “Sheol” and “Hades” (2 Samuel 22:6; Psalm 18:5; Matthew 11:23, etc.), is not actually translated from the same underlying language text, and contains other problems. Maybe since the King James Bible is “too hard” to understand we need to just deal with these sorts of problems in the NKJV.
“Too hard”: What is it?
Biblically, what does it mean that language is “too hard” to understand? In the New Testament, the Greek of the book of Hebrews is much harder to read than the Greek of the Gospel of John. The Gospel of Luke and Acts are harder to read than 1 John. Sometimes the New Testament contains really long sentences, like Ephesians 1:3-14, which is all just one sentence in Greek. Why did the Holy Ghost dictate such long sentences? Wouldn’t they be too hard to understand?
The vast majority of people in the first century were simple rural people; farmers, shepherds, and the like, not highly educated urbanites. Literacy was sketchy in many places. What was Paul doing when he wrote Hebrews under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit? What was Luke thinking? Didn’t they know that their Greek would be too hard to understand?
What about the Old Testament? Significant portions of the Hebrew prophetic and poetical books are much more challenging Hebrew than many of the narrative sections of the Hebrew Bible. Why did the Holy Spirit write hard Hebrew and hard Greek in some parts of the Bible? Shouldn’t it all have been easy to understand?
Is there more literacy in the English speaking world now than there was in the first century world of the New Testament, or in the world where God gave the Hebrew Old Testament? When was learning to read–or improving one’s reading level–easier? Surely now.
The question, then, should be: “Is the English of the King James Version significantly more complex and harder to understand English than the Greek of the New Testament was to the New Testament people of God or the Hebrew of the Old Testament was to Israel”? The King James seeks to replicate the syntax of the original language texts as much as possible. That is why every verse from Genesis 1:3 to Genesis 1:26 begins with the word “And”–we may not write that way in non-translation English, but the KJV accurately represents what the Hebrew given by the Holy Spirit says here. We can’t simplify the syntax of the King James Bible without moving it further away from the original language text. If we have to leave the syntax alone, does the King James Version have more archaic words than the Greek of the New Testament or the Hebrew of the Old Testament? There are over 680 hapax legomena or words that occur only one time in the Greek New Testament and close to 1,500 hapax legomena in the Hebrew Old Testament. While not all of those hapaxes would have been rare or archaic words to first century readers, many of them would have been. By way of contrast, there are nowhere near that many archaic words in the King James Version.
Evaluated by the standard of Scripture itself–by the standard of the Greek and Hebrew text God gave to His people–the English of the Authorized, King James Version is indubitably not “too hard.” People who claim that it is too difficult to read should be enthusiastically promoting the Defined King James Bible, which leaves the actual King James Version text unchanged but defines the few archaic words at the bottom of its pages for readers, or works such as David Cloud’s Way of Life Encylopedia of the Bible and Christianity, where all the rare KJV words are defined, instead of encouraging readers to reject the KJB’s fantastic translation of the perfectly preserved Hebrew and Greek Textus Receptus for corrupt modern Bible versions.
So is the King James Bible too hard to understand? If we employ the only objective standard–Scripture itself–the answer is “no.”
Learn more about Bibliology here.
–TDR
Greek Names of the Books of the New Testament
How would you write the names of the New Testament books in Greek–and how would you pronounce them? The names of the books of the New Testament in Greek are as follows:
Μαθθαῖον
Μᾶρκον
Λουκᾶν
Ἰωάννην
Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων
Ῥωμαίους
Κορινθίους ά
Κορινθίους β´
Γαλάτας
Ἐφεσίους
Φιλιππησίους
Κολοσσαεῖς
Θεσσαλονικεῖς ά
Θεσσαλονικεῖς β´
Τιμόθεον ά
Τιμόθεον β´
Τίτον
Φιλήμονα
Ἑβραίους
Ἰακώβου
Πέτρου ά
Πέτρου β´
Ἰωάννου ά
Ἰωάννου β´
Ἰωάννου γ´
Ἰούδα
Ἀποκάλυψις Ἰωάννου
If you would like to hear them pronunced, please click here to have your desire fulfilled at 2:12:30 into this video from my 1st year Greek class.
Professors of Greek might want to consider having their students learn the Greek names and refer to the books of the New Testament by their original language names instead of their English ones in class, as well as, in general, adding spoken Greek to their communication as much as possible. After all, the more senses one employs in learning a language the better he tends to learn it.
Besides, knowing the books in Greek is just ψῦχος, ἄνθρωπε; –TDR
Christian Piano Teacher Offering Internet Lessons
My wife, Heather Ross, has availability to take some new piano students. She has taught piano for many years with many students successfully using their skills for the glory of God. When we were in Wisconsin, she was already teaching students over the Internet for students from Bethel Baptist Church in El Sobrante, CA, and Carson River Baptist Church, in Carson City, Nevada. Please note her description (very slightly edited) of her music ministry below:
earned my Masters in Education in 2014 and partnering with a local
music academy between 2015 and 2018, I continue to add new skills,
implement tested methodology, and discover students’ individual
strengths as I work to help them become the best musicians and
individuals they can be. Throughout my years of teaching, I have
experimented with various methods and have discarded those which have
not proven to be a positive focus of energy in the lesson time.
believe children learn by doing and, when given clearly laid out plans
and directed down a productive path, every child will be successful no
matter what his / her natural ability. I invite parents to sit in on any
lesson. You will find that instruction time is used efficiently;
specific objectives are used to maximize instruction; students are
encouraged multiple times during each lesson and individuals leave
feeling encouraged to do their best as they create beautiful music with
their hands and hearts.
I have been taking lessons with Heather
for almost 3 years and it has significantly improved my piano playing. I
started as an adult learner and was stuck “in a groove” when I started
lessons with Heather. She has helped me to learn more technical skills
to play piano more efficiently and with more ease. She is extremely
experienced and knowledgeable, so if you’re looking for the best, look
no further. I have recommended her to my niece, sister-in-law, and
mother-in-law. If you are looking for classical and/or hymns piano
teacher, Heather is an excellent choice.
Heather is a very patient and
encouraging teacher who seeks to bring out the best in your child. She
is always finding ways to better herself as a teacher and to help your
child reach their full potential. My child was challenged through her
teaching and made great progress. Highly recommend her.
Heather teaches my daughter via Google
Hangouts. It always amazes me the technicality she can see over the
internet. She knows if my daughter is tense, bending her knuckle wrong
or doesn’t have her fingers on the right part of the keys. Heather is a
patient and talented teacher and we are grateful to have her at our
disposal.
Her solid musical training and education, coupled with her years
of experience have proven to be a great help for numerous piano
students. Heather Is well capable of helping students of all different
levels in their musical skills.
I have received help from Heather for
specific pieces that are “beyond me” and she has always been able to
communicate the best way to learn the piece. I have also observed her
teaching young piano students and have been impressed with her ability
to help each student improve and strive for their very best!
I really enjoyed taking lessons from
Heather. She provided many fun incentives to reward practicing and help
me reach goals. I appreciated that before she pointed out something I
needed to correct that week, she first gave positive words about what I
had accomplished that week in my practicing. I also appreciated her
emphasis on theory–(learning chords, cadences, scales, arpeggios),
playing by ear, and improvising. She provided me with a great classical
foundation and helped me develop into an advanced pianist before
entering college and furthering my pianistic development.
If you are looking for a teacher who
cares about her students and wants there best, Heather is a wonderful
option! She is very experienced, knowledge, and a phenomenal piano
player! I had several piano teachers as a little girl, but I had the
privilege of taking piano lessons from Heather during my high school
years. None of my prior teachers developed me in piano at the rate that
Heather did. She knows how to motivate students to not just “get by” but
encourages them to achieve their best. Definitely recommend her!
My son has been taking piano lessons
from Heather for several years now. I am so pleased with how much I have
seen him progress in his skill as a result of her teaching. She
challenges and encourages him to do his best and master each new piece. I
also like how she takes the time to plan recitals at local senior
living facilities so that her students can learn to use their talents to
be a blessing an encouragement to others. I would recommend her to
anyone looking for a quality piano teacher who will really invest the
time into your child to see him or her become a the best piano player
that they can be!
Micah
Heather is a very dedicated, loving, and experienced teacher. I
know I learned so much through her piano teaching. She doesn’t simply
teach for a pay check, but to see each of her students fully developed
in piano And all other areas of life!!
Christians and Labor Unions: An Unequal Yoke
or 
?
1.) The Bible teaches that employees are to submit to their employers with “fear and trembling, in singleness of [their] heart, as unto Christ; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; with good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men” (Ephesians 6:5-7).
It likewise teaches:
“Let as many servants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honour, that the name of God and his doctrine be not blasphemed.” (1 Timothy 6:1)
“Exhort servants to be obedient unto their own masters, and to please them well in all things; not answering again.” (Titus 2:9)
“Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward.” (1 Peter 2:18)
Since believers are commanded to submit to their employers as to Jesus Christ, to strike, walk out on, speak evil of, disobey, undermine, or provoke discontent against their employers is to rebel against Jesus Christ. These commands apply not just to godly employers but to evil ones as well (1 Peter 2:18). You do not bargain with Jesus Christ. You submit to Jesus Christ. The Bible requires a similar sort of obedience to your employer. Employees who are treated poorly are to cry to God (James 5:4), who will give wicked employers eternal punishment (James 5) as well as being able to apply righteous punishments even in this life, but as an individual employee the command is: “He [the employee] doth not resist you [the employer]” (James 5:6). This command to cry to God and show sacrificial love and non-resistance to employers, even wicked ones, is diametrically opposed to the beliefs of labor unions.
2.) Furthermore, the Lord Jesus Christ taught in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) that love to all should be the basis for the Christian’s actions, rejecting the union idea of the class-struggle; Christ likewise rejected the materialism that is involved in union membership, instead teaching that the saints must seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness first; and Christ rejected the principle of force and coercion that is too often involved in union membership.
3.) Christ also specifically taught individual bargaining rather than collective bargaining for laborers (Matthew 20:2, 15).
4.) The Bible teaches that those who are part of the kingdom of God and those who are part of the kingdom of this age (cf. John 1:12; 8:44; Ephesians 2:1-10) are radically different. When the Christian recognized his status as a hell-worthy sinner, repented of his sin and any confidence in religious rituals or good deeds, and trusted in the saving work of Christ on the cross alone, he was born again (John 3:3). Those who have experienced this miraculous change have different aspirations, ways of thinking, paths in this life, and eternal destinies from those who have not, and Scripture forbids the born again from assuming an unequal yoke with those who are not in the path of God’s kingdom (2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1). These facts require Christians to refrain from joining or financially supporting labor unions.
5.) Finally, Christians must not be part of an organization that supports, lobbies for, donates to, or promotes causes that the Bible condemns. Unions spend millions and millions of dollars advocating for the legal murder of preborn children. When you give money to the union, you are supporting ripping helpless infants limb from limb while they face excruciating pain without the pain killers given to dogs and cats. You are supporting sodomy, although God says it is an abomination and He rained fire and brimstone on those practicing it (Genesis 19). You are supporting the persecution of Christian and other religious business owners and attempting to force them to violate their consciences and their duties to God. You are contributing to them having to choose to bow to the rainbow Mafia or to lose their businesses (Matthew 25:40, 45). You are violating huge numbers of Biblical principles about civil government.
Even secular people in the United States, whether in right-to-work states or states that limit one’s freedom to work, cannot be forced to join unions to keep their jobs, nor can they be forced to pay full union dues. In non-right-to-work states, those with religious objections to union membership can opt out of the union and not pay the union a single penny, based on Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and principles affirmed in the First Amendment and reaffirmed in Janus v. AFSCME. (Please note that I am not a lawyer and I am not giving legal advice.)
If Jesus Christ is your Lord, then you must not bow the knee to a labor union. Do not join one, and if you are part of one, get out. If you need help in leaving, contact the National Right to Work Foundation.
–TDR
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