There goes Dave Black, getting all radical again. This time he is suggesting that we should be serving the world, even our enemies, even….Islam!
Today God is calling every Christian to bondservant service to the world, even among our enemies. Please, please stop denouncing Islam. God is not interested in your demagoguery. He is looking for a lifetime of humble, behind-the-scenes service to the persecuted church -- and to its persecutors. Denounce Islam all you want, but that won't make a whit of difference unless you are willing to put your own life on the line. Today God is calling out an army of radicals who will feel His heartbeat and accept His call to live a life of Christian servanthood. (Thursday, March 10, 9:10 AM)
Praying for the persecuted church and for the persecutors of the church? How peculiar, how illogical, how….un-American! Ah, but how Christ-like it is!
I am concerned that many, many Christians view Muslims as an enemy to be feared and fought instead of a people to be loved. In the world of political conservatism where I and most other evangelical Christians dwell, there is a vocal group that sees a jihadist behind every Muslim and an enemy to be defeated with a cross around our neck and an M-16 in our hands. While we suffer through the absolutely silly “hearings” on Islamic radicalization on Capitol Hill with the approval and affirmation of many Christians, here and there throughout the world His people are taking the Gospel to Muslim lands, counting the worth of one saved soul as more valuable than their own life.
Islam is no greater a threat to the Kingdom of God than any other false belief system. Islam is no more a threat than atheism, mormonism, Hinduism, Buddhism, universalism or dare I say nominal Christianity. The Muslim imam preaching jihad is probably less of a threat than the false prophet in a suit and tie standing behind a pulpit preaching prosperity or easy-believism or hatred of our “enemies”. Ultimately none of these false belief systems are a real threat. His Kingdom is assured, His victory is already won and nothing can stand against it. Not one of His elect sheep will be lost. Why are we so eager to volunteer as soldiers to fight a war that He has not called us to? I think our real Enemy smiles when God’s people beat the drums of war and hate others because they hate us.
Are you afraid of dying in a terrorist act? If you are a Christian, you have already died. We have died to self and been made anew, born-again as a new creature. The old man, the man who clings to this life, is dead and has been replaced by a new man. The Christian has nothing to fear from a suicide bomber. What can they do to us? Take our life? It is not ours in the first place. Kill us? Kill me and I will be in the presence of Christ. Praise God!
I have no interest in defeating Islam. I am more concerned with overcoming my own pride, my own self-interest, my own notions of my “rights”. My own weakness and unfaithfulness is a greater barrier to me serving Christ than a thousand jihadists.
Showing posts with label hatred. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hatred. Show all posts
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Friday, September 17, 2010
A Florida fool
I have avoided saying anything about that fool with matches in Florida but now that the day has come and gone, I thought I would pass on some observations.
In the aftermath of the “will he/will he not” Quran burning fiasco that elevated a crackpot to the level of a prophet we rarely see outside of Punxsutawney Phil, many people are providing all manner of post-mortems on what happened (or didn’t as the case may be). A lot of these center on the idea that we (i.e. America, Christians, etc.) were afraid of offending Islam and that we were collectively bullied into calling for “pastor” Jones to cancel the Quran burning.
I can’t speak for others but I am not concerned about “offending Islam” at all. Quite the contrary, I fully expect that the Gospel will be offensive to many people and that in fact it is completely in character with faithful Gospel proclamation to expect that it will lead to offense, persecution and often even death. So it is not the offense of the Gospel I and others were concerned with but instead it was a completely different sort of offense. It was the offense to the teaching of Scripture to engage in this sort of tawdry showmanship and blatant act of ignorant hatred in the name of Christ. It was also a case where the offense of the cross that tells sinners that they stand condemned without Jesus is replaced with offensiveness of the most banal kind. Jesus responded to the hatred of those who were His enemies by dying on a cross for them, reconciling them to the Father by His love and His blood. Jesus didn’t burn Caesar in effigy, He died meekly. Burning a Quran does nothing to thwart Islam or promote the cause of America or the Gospel (two polar opposites that Mr. Jones and far too many others cannot distinguish between).
The only upside to this whole sordid affair was the near universal condemnation of it by the church. We as God’s people have suffered far too many fools for far too long but in this case we finally see the church united to condemn a man who was seeking to exalt himself and bring shame to the cross of Christ.
If Mr. Jones really wants to take a courageous stand for the Gospel against Islam, he should pack up and go where Muslims are and be a witness to them, loving them even when they hate and persecute him in return and perhaps even being willing to lay down his life for the sake of the Gospel instead of pandering to the most base emotions of fear and hatred in the misguided name of religious nationalism.
In the aftermath of the “will he/will he not” Quran burning fiasco that elevated a crackpot to the level of a prophet we rarely see outside of Punxsutawney Phil, many people are providing all manner of post-mortems on what happened (or didn’t as the case may be). A lot of these center on the idea that we (i.e. America, Christians, etc.) were afraid of offending Islam and that we were collectively bullied into calling for “pastor” Jones to cancel the Quran burning.
I can’t speak for others but I am not concerned about “offending Islam” at all. Quite the contrary, I fully expect that the Gospel will be offensive to many people and that in fact it is completely in character with faithful Gospel proclamation to expect that it will lead to offense, persecution and often even death. So it is not the offense of the Gospel I and others were concerned with but instead it was a completely different sort of offense. It was the offense to the teaching of Scripture to engage in this sort of tawdry showmanship and blatant act of ignorant hatred in the name of Christ. It was also a case where the offense of the cross that tells sinners that they stand condemned without Jesus is replaced with offensiveness of the most banal kind. Jesus responded to the hatred of those who were His enemies by dying on a cross for them, reconciling them to the Father by His love and His blood. Jesus didn’t burn Caesar in effigy, He died meekly. Burning a Quran does nothing to thwart Islam or promote the cause of America or the Gospel (two polar opposites that Mr. Jones and far too many others cannot distinguish between).
The only upside to this whole sordid affair was the near universal condemnation of it by the church. We as God’s people have suffered far too many fools for far too long but in this case we finally see the church united to condemn a man who was seeking to exalt himself and bring shame to the cross of Christ.
If Mr. Jones really wants to take a courageous stand for the Gospel against Islam, he should pack up and go where Muslims are and be a witness to them, loving them even when they hate and persecute him in return and perhaps even being willing to lay down his life for the sake of the Gospel instead of pandering to the most base emotions of fear and hatred in the misguided name of religious nationalism.
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