Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German theologian famous for his stand against Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party. His beliefs and convictions ultimately cost him his life in a Nazi concentration camp. It was Dietrich Bonhoeffer who said: "Silence in the face of evil is itself evil. God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak IS to speak. Not to act IS to act."
With that in mind, I have sensed the Lord asking this question:
Just how far will EVIL progress within the Church before those who claim the term “Christian” will WAKE UP and RISE UP…ending the silence which has been deemed “loving”…when, in truth, that silence ITSELF is EVIL??
And here is what I feel the Lord leading me to write:
With an out-of-context use of “Judge not!”, the Church has traveled the path of SILENCE. Increasingly, with every passing day, any statement which takes a Biblical stance against sin is being deemed “intolerant” and “judgmental.” The GRIEVING truth in all of this? It is the CHURCH which now CHAMPIONS the use of Scripture as it attempts to SILENCE the TRUTH of Scripture itself!
When will we remember “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:32)
The Church HAS been infiltrated…and DENIAL is the equivalent of the proverbial “head buried in the sand.” And, slowly but surely, Satan sold the Church on SILENCE! Christians everywhere are now asked about SIN…and their answer is “Who am I to judge?” Under the “Hate the sin, but love the sinner.” mantra, the Church marches on…never realizing the “weapons of our warfare” have been forsaken, and they now lay in a pile on the spiritual SIDELINES of the CONTEST. So…now weaponless…the Church marches forward in hopes that they will not “offend” anyone. And no wonder! Who wants to OFFEND an OPPOSING ARMY when the Church is marching forward WEAPONLESS!?!
(Note: Let me be clear: there is DEFINITE Scriptural truth in saying “Hate the sin, but love the sinner.” Jesus died for SINNERS…of which we are ALL included! Jesus loves EVERYONE…whether good or bad, obedient or disobedient, holy or hateful, saint or sinner. The same Jesus Who gave His life as a sacrifice for YOUR sins also gave His life as a sacrifice for HITLER’S sins. God’s love for us is never in question! The problem with the motto “Hate the sin, but love the sinner.” is not one of TRUTH…it is a problem of APPLICATION.) (I wrote the words noted here in another blog...but want any thoughts that I do not believe the PRINCIPLE of "Hate the sin, but love the sinner." to be nullified from the outset here.)
I recently read these words from a Christian: “When did God call us to determine what is sin?” That was accompanied by “Who are we to judge?” in a more wordy form.
You see…in those words we see the present mentality of many today. Yet, it seems people are OBLIVIOUS to the fact that we have the Word of God by which we are ABLE to “determine what is sin.” I was raised in the Church of God (Cleveland, TN)…and there was a time when that denomination…as well as others…declared things as SIN which were NOT established in Scripture. Now…I will not ARGUE the specifics here…for that is not the issue. The point here is this: We do not have to QUESTION what things are sin when they are FIRMLY ESTABLISHED within the Word of God! Yet…much of the Church today is actually REBUKING those who DARE to call sin SIN! When a prominent “minister of the Gospel” steps onto a very prominent stage and…with the world watching…is asked if homosexuality is a sin…and his answer is a simplistic variation of “Who am I to judge?”…then something is SERIOUSLY WRONG in the CHURCH! And sadly…many in the Church DEFENDED that prominent minister’s answer!!
Church…I say this KNOWING God is speaking it: That is NOT how God EVER intended for things to be in His Church!
Here is a saying I saw recently which sums up the modern “theology” which NEGATES any mention of SIN: “The message of the Church seems to be all about sin…but it is supposed to be about the Savior.”
Now many will NEVER see the problem with that statement!
What is a SAVIOR? In simplistic terms, a SAVIOR is “One who saves or delivers.” So…imagine you knew NOTHING of Jesus and the Bible. I approach you and ask you something like “Are you saved?” Most likely, you would at least WONDER…if not ask…”Saved from WHAT?” Do you get it?! There is NO POSSIBILITY to separate the SAVIOR from our SIN! It is our SINFULNESS which necessitates a SAVIOR!
Imagine a beautiful yacht on the ocean. As its wealthy owner and his guests enjoy a beautiful day on the water, a Coast Guard vessel suddenly appears. As it nears, those on the yacht hear the voice of the Captain of the Coast Guard vessel as he speaks through a bull horn. Alas…they realize that the Captain is telling them that he has come to rescue them! The Coast Guard vessel pulls along side the yacht, and the Captain says, “Climb aboard! We are here to save you!” The owner of the yacht, having not a CLUE as to what the
Captain is there for, simply asks…perplexed, “Save us from WHAT?! There is NOTHING wrong here! We are FINE! So what on earth are you talking about?!”
The Bible tells us that God is NOT “the author of confusion.” (1 Corinthians 14:33) And yet, in its SINless presentation, the Church is CAUSING confusion! Any search of YouTube will EASILY reveal a “gospel” presentation TOTALLY ABSENT of ANY mention of sin. And telling someone that they are a SINNER…or that they are living in SIN…or that their lifestyle is SINFUL…has become the big “NO-NO” of the modern Church! The Church is actually beginning to tell people that they need a SAVIOR…but it no longer wants to ADMIT that there are SINS that people need to be saved FROM! It is actually helping sinners DENY their SIN…instead of offering the BIBLICAL position which CLEARLY establishes that sins must be ADMITTED in order for there to be ANY POSSIBILITY of a CONFESSION of those sins…which then allows REPENTANCE (the “turning away from” sin…ceasing to continue on in sin).
So…what does SCRIPTURE reveal to us on this issue?
1. We must confess our SINS. With the doctrines of “positive confession” running rampant, we are to confess our SINS before we can confess a SAVIOR.
- 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
- James 5:16 “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”
2. We must feel SORROW for our sinfulness. It is a simple “I am so sorry for what I have done!”…which is even evidenced as the Word of God tells us to do the same when we hurt OTHERS.
- 2 Corinthians 7:10 “For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.”
- Ecclesiastes 1:18 “For in much wisdom is much grief, And he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.”
- Ecclesiastes 7:3 “Sorrow is better than laughter, For by a sad countenance the heart is made better.”
- 2 Corinthians 7:9 “Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing.”
3. We must KNOW we are SINNERS before we can be set FREE from SIN.
- John 8:32 “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
4. We cannot KNOW we are SINNERS unless we are TOLD we are sinners (whether directly by the Word or by a person).
- Romans 10:13-17 “For ‘whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!" But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed our report?" So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
Here is how I hear God speaking these truths in summation:
You cannot preach a SAVIOR if you do not preach a SINNER! The truth of the Gospel is the existence of BOTH!
Ask yourself this question: If the CHURCH ceases to point out (and preach on) SIN…do you TRULY think that the WORLD will pick up that MANTLE and carry it faithfully?!?
It is NOT God who seeks the voice of His Prophets and Pastors to go SILENT on the subject of SIN. But…more importantly…the “bill of goods” we have been sold regarding “Hate the sin…love the sinner.” has brought the spreading of TRUTH to a virtual standstill! Many Christians will readily ADMIT that HOMOSEXUALITY is a SIN…UNTIL…they put a FACE and a NAME to that HOMOSEXUAL. Why? Because many people are only COMFORTABLE dealing with the SIN…but they do not actually want to deal with SINNERS!
Go study JESUS. I was AMAZED when I realized this truth: Jesus dealt with NOUNS…and He seldom dealt with VERBS. We find in Scripture that Jesus DIRECTLY ADDRESSED the SINNER…whether in LOVE or REBUKE. But NEVER did Jesus ignore the mention of a SINNER being a SINNER. Jesus would most often directly CONFRONT a person…and most often Jesus would not say “You are lying.” or “You are being hypocritical.” (which both place the emphasis on the action). Jesus would, instead, say “Liar.” and “Hypocrite.” And…we find the same pattern being followed THROUGHOUT Scripture…and the Apostles continued with that practice.
How clear does it have to be…as we witness professing “Christians” readily ADMIT that HOMOSEXUALITY is a SIN…yet, those same “Christians” never even DARE discuss the issue with their homosexual friends! Further…they hurl charges of “Bigot!” and “You are being judgmental!” at any Christian who DARES speak out with CLARITY and TRUTH on the issue! To the HORROR of those who bother to even notice, many in the Church today are actually CHAMPIONING the cause of homosexuals throughout America and around the world: GAY MARRIAGE!
SATAN has SO DARKENED the path before the Church that it CANNOT SEE that it is quickly hurtling down the RAGING RIVER of DECEPTION only MINUTES from the NIAGARA FALLS of JUDGMENT!!
So…the Church now faces a CRISIS!
Satan’s lies have SILENCED the Church on the issue of SIN! Satan seems to have known Scripture better than the Church…as he realized the TRUTH in this verse: “And you shall know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” (John 8:32)
So…Satan’s plan was simple: SILENCE TRUTH!
I always KNEW that the attack on TRUTH would one day come in a HUGE wave of HATRED for all that is HOLY and GOOD and DECENT…and that the WORLD was already too prone to REJECT the TRUTH as the Word of God tells us. I must admit, though…I had NO REAL UNDERSTANDING of just how APOSTATE the Church would become as many (actually MOST) within the Church join forces with the army of SATAN as it seeks to ERADICATE any mention of SIN and SINFULNESS to ANYONE in ANY FORM OR FASHION. And Satan has done this under an AMAZING banner: the banner of “LOVE!”
As I have ALREADY written on this deception and “Love perversion”, as I call it…I will only include here a LINK to that particular writing.
http://journeyinsightandlife-truths.blogspot.com/2012/06/love-perversion-satans-secret-heresy.html
Church…it is NOT God Who is shouting “Shhhhhh!” when it comes to those seeking to keep the Church QUIET on the issues of SIN! It is nothing more than a DECEPTION of SATAN as he realizes that the ONLY way that people can be FREE FROM SIN is for them to KNOW OF THEIR SIN AND SINFULNESS! I…nor YOU…can honestly say we have EVER witnessed ANYONE come to Christ without CONFESSION and REPENTANCE…and neither of those are possible without the recognition that their SIN is WRONG…that it is SIN!
Nobody REPENTS of what they did NOT do WRONG! And do not be so naïve as to say “Well, people ALREADY know their sin!” Really?!?
If you would like, I can take you to websites and WebPages of DENOMINATIONS and MINISTRIES and CHURCHES which are DENYING that sin is SIN…and these sites and pages are RENOUNCING truth in ways that would bring you to tears!
At every turn, SINNERS who DENY their SIN are proclaiming themselves “Christians!” And they seem to TRULY believe that they ARE Christians! I have witnessed “Christians” as they proclaimed that the Bible is “not the Word of God”…that “The Bible is NOT inerrant! It is FULL of ERRORS!”…that “Homosexuality is NOT a sin!”…that “There is no hell! That is made up theology by those who want to SCARE people!”: the list could go on and on.
So, Church…tell me: Where do we go from here?
Will we sink deeper into SILENCE as we simply CEDE the battle to SATAN? Will we let PERSECUTION cause us to grow weary in our Biblical stance? Will we let “Christians” who label us as “Judgmental!“ shame us into submission?
OR…WILL WE REGAIN OUR VOICE AGAIN?
"Silence in the face of evil is itself evil. God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak IS to speak. Not to act IS to act."
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