Lance Wallnau

WHAT should Christians do now?

10986499_10153459000829936_7583086874773959287_n5:55 AM a perfect time to post.
WHAT should Christians do now?
NOTE: words from Justice Samuel Alito on the Supreme Court decision that forced gay marriage on the country…
“I assume that those who cling to old beliefs will be able to whisper their thoughts in the recesses of their homes, but if they repeat those views in public, they will risk being labeled as bigots and treated as such by governments, employers, and schools. By imposing its own views on the entire country, the majority facilitates the marginalization of the many Americans who have traditional ideas.”
I like what John Hawkins wrote for Townhall.com
Here it is…
The dilemma Christians and conservatives face after the Supreme Court's made-up-from-whole-cloth-instead-of-the-Constitution ruling on gay marriage is one that Machiavelli described over 500 years ago.
“And what physicians say about disease is applicable here: that at the beginning a disease is easy to cure but difficult to diagnose; but as time passes, not having been treated or recognized at the outset, it becomes easy to diagnose but difficult to cure. The same thing occurs in affairs of state; for by recognizing from afar the diseases that are spreading in the state (which is a gift given only to a prudent ruler), they can be cured quickly; but when they are not recognized and are left to grow to the extent that everyone recognizes them, there is no longer any cure.”
Too many conservatives have REFUSED TO stand up on social issues and have thus allowed liberals to make their case in a vacuum. Too many CHURCHES have decided they’d rather keep their heads down than stand up for Christian BELIEFS. Too many Republicans have played by Marquis of Queensbury rules when it comes to Supreme Court justices while Democrats have played to win. You’ll note that liberal judges always, always, always vote liberally on key issues, regardless of the law, while some “conservative” justices like John Roberts and Anthony “Captain Coin Flip” Kennedy move to the left, even if they have to defy the Constitution to do it.
Of course, all of that is water under the bridge and the majority of states in the country, which didn’t vote for gay marriage, have had it thrust upon them unwillingly by tyrants in black robes.
As a response to this, some Republicans have called for term limits for the Supreme Court. Ted Cruz has called for justices to have to face the voters every 8 years. Scott Walker has called for a constitutional amendment to roll back the Supreme Court’s decision.
The problem with all these proposals, well-meaning though they may be, is that they’re really nothing more than futile gestures designed to send the right signals to conservatives. While there’s certainly something to be said for showing the conservative base you’re on its side, at the end of the day it doesn’t change anything for the better.
For example, the three longest serving Supreme Court Justices are Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy and Clarence Thomas. That’s two conservative originalists and a coin-flip. What if they were term-limited out now while Obama is President? How would that make the Supreme Court hew more closely to the Constitution?
As to the Supreme Court justices facing the voters, do we really want Supreme Court justices to start putting getting elected ahead of adhering to the Constitution? That might work on the local level to help get rid of judges who are soft on crime, but it seems doubtful that it would lead to a better Supreme Court.
As to the suggestion that we should put a Federal Marriage Amendment in place, that’s trying to close the barn door after the horse has already run away. Orrin Hatch is generally useless as a senator, but back in 2004 he actually had a pretty good proposal for an Amendment to Protect Traditional Marriage.
“We are therefore pleased to learn that Sen. Orrin Hatch is introducing his own constitutional amendment. His version reads as follows: ‘Civil marriage shall be defined in each state by the legislature or the citizens thereof. Nothing in this Constitution shall be construed to require that marriage or its benefits be extended to any union other than that of a man and a woman.' This amendment would not only clearly allow civil unions to be enacted by legislatures; it would even allow legislatures to enact full-fledged same-sex marriage. But it would bar federal or state courts from imposing either.”
Could that have passed in 2004 when even Democrats were pretending to oppose gay marriage? It’s entirely possible, but Republicans have grown so timid, afraid of social issues and generally scared to rock the boat that they never even tried. Today, when Democrats are as supportive of gay marriage as abortion, disarming Americans, and raising taxes, there’s not a chance.
So, if those proposals are largely posturing, what should we be doing?
We should be pushing for religious freedom acts in all 50 states. Thirty one states currently have at least SOME RELIGIOUS PROTECTIONS. That needs to become an issue in EVERY state because this ruling means the Left is about to start engaging in open warfare on Christians.
They’re going to go after the tax status of Christian churches. They’re going to try to get Christians fired from their jobs. They’re going to try to censor Christians at best and define parts of Christian doctrine as hate speech at worst. They’re going to try to use the government to put Christians who refuse to sin by working on gay marriages out of business.
Since when do Christians lose their First Amendment rights if they start a business? Since when does “freedom of religion” only apply as long as you don’t own a bakery or take wedding photos? This is a country founded on religious freedom and those rights don’t cease the moment someone walks out of the church doors.
We need these laws to keep Christians from being persecuted. The anti-Christian Left can get awfully loud, but polls consistently show that the American people agree by large margins that Christians shouldn’t be legally penalized for refusing to cater gay weddings.
The issue presents a nice contrast. We’re the people who support Christians. They’re the people who hate Christians. We believe in religious freedom. They’re the people who don’t believe in religious freedom. We’re protecting the rights of Christians. They’re the ones who want to take away the rights of Christians. They don’t have any qualms about lying to claim that we hate gay Americans; so why can’t we tell the truth about the raw hatred for Christians that’s driving so many liberals to try to crush religious freedom?
Instead of pushing pie-in-the-sky policies that aren’t ever going to accomplish anything, conservatives should embrace these popular laws that can defend the First Amendment rights of the roughly 70% of Americans who refer to themselves as Christians. We lost one battle, but unless we make this a hill to die on, we’ll lose the war and Christians will become second class citizens in our own country.

4 thoughts on “WHAT should Christians do now?”

  1. Dr Lance: Thanks for your candid comment on the recent ruling by the Supreme Court on Gay marriage. Your teachings, blogs and presentation have been very much thought provoking and illustrative to wake us up in the body of Christ
    Evangelicals no longer have to sit down idle. We have experienced what I describe as 3 major setbacks in the US the last couple of years because we have been keeping quiet: banning of Prayer in schools, Abortion issue- Roe vs Wade and now the ruling on Gay marriage. Many Christians are upset about the recent ruling now that a decision has been made by the Justices. We keep quiet and then after a decision is taken evangelicals become sad.
    We Evangelicals have kept quiet for far too long; that’s the enemy’s way of putting a spirit of containment over Christians. On the other hand, catholic bishops are more vocal, and ready to stand with boldness for their beliefs. This may be because they are trained as Jesuits. This has been the practice of catholic leaders especially in Africa where I grew up. ( I now live in the U.S.) In the midst of several “coup d’états” on the continent the catholic bishops in their respective countries were always the first to stand with boldness and discourse with military regimes of the rights of the people. Most of the time I saw a pattern of their boldness being used to rally the protestant leaders into the same posture.
    In the US Evangelicals have kept quiet over several issues. Incidentally, the US conference of catholic bishops made a comment about their stance on this ruling, and I learn was circulated among their parishes. For a long time catholic bishops have been bold to make their stand very clear on political issues.
    https://www.towleroad.com/2015/06/u-s-conference-catholic-bishops-president-calls-sex-marriage-tragic-error/
    1. Does that mean we may have to RETHINK the way we train christian leaders?
    2. Should, we the Evangelicals, not be the first to voice the mind of God on these issues since we have a mandate to disciple nations, per the Great Commission?
    While evangelicals are praying (and I am not against prayer-but when, we, most of us don’t know how to listen for answers) the other groups would meet to strategize {this is equivalent of their prayer meetings}, then put an action plan in place over a period of time and implement decisions. It is very clear from the recent issues taking place in the US that the other groups have been very alert and working actively for sometime to promote their agenda and get them established as we can see in the recent ruling.
    Most of the time what we don’t know is what the enemy uses to destroy us. Unless evangelicals begin to see the warfare from a different dimension than we have been used to we shall not make any in roads.
    We evangelicals will, I believe, make more in roads if as we pray to discern which of the 7 Mountains each of us have been called to. Dr Lance you have taught extensively about the 7 Mountains and the need for us to work together “AS ONE” in the video you showed us a couple of years ago at Christian International. To be successful on a Mountain one needs to know the structure of the organization, the ideas expressed there, how to talk their language or lingo and how to penetrate/have access to the very top in order to influence.
    For some months now I have been pondering over this:
    3. Is there a way evangelicals can be trained and equipped to operate in the Mountain an individual feels called to move to? I feel the need for this because every Mountain has its own language or lingo. All this has to be combined with the prayers and spiritual warfare we do. We may plant churches and have big congregations but without wielding influence all that one does will amount to nothing in terms of the mandates of the Kingdom of God. I believe the healings, deliverances, miracles etc are all doors God is opening for us to influence society. We need to look at the bigger picture. What do you think of this?
    THE DAY EVANGELICALS BEGIN TO TAKE A STAND FOR WHAT THEY BELIEVE IN WITH BOLDNESS AND TENACITY, OUR LEGISLATORS WILL BEGIN TO RECOGNIZE OUR PRESENCE, AND THAT WE ARE A FORCE TO RECKON WITH. BECAUSE THEY WILL NEED OUR VOTES THEY WILL START PAYING ATTENTION TO OUR OPINIONS AND BELIEFS. THE MORE WE BECOME A FORCE TO RECKON WITH, THE MORE THEY WILL BEGIN TO RESPECT OUR OPINIONS AND LISTEN TO WHAT WE CONTRIBUTE OR PROPOSE TO THEM. It is at this stage we will become Solutions Providers in our communities which is what, I believe, our Lord is expecting us to do. But this cannot take place if we do not infiltrate every aspect of our cities, counties and states. It seems like we need a Two, Three or Five Year concerted Plan among church leaders to get this established.

  2. Some people talk about culture wars and others point to the 1960s. I would say that culture began to change dramatically between 1880 and 1920 when the fashions of German higher education came into our higher education. Then, as teachers and preachers were trained in universities, change continued. Then there was a great divide by economic status, with the more upper half becoming more liberal and the lower half more traditional in values. Today there is an important divide by age. This is quite visible in the “gay marriage” /”same/sex marriage” (sorry, forgot what the latest politically correct term is) debate. The younger people are much less aware of the traditional/conservative side. School teachers are prohibited from discussing controversial issues in my state and certainly not teaching critical thinking. College instructors are steeped in the more liberal view. Critical thinking booklets are passed out, freely, to instructors, that are highly biased to the liberal — and explicitly anti-Christian — side. Moreover, whereas once the church led public opinion and formed leadership (in the colonies), now the graduate school forms leadership and media forms public opinion (not to say manipulates focus).
    Therefore, I would urge church leaders to contribute to the mountain of education and analysts would do well to pay more attention to how teachers, at all levels, are constrained.

  3. I believe also as Christians we would do well to take the words of Jesus.We are being presented a new defining of the word Love by those who do not want to obey the laws of God or Jesus who are One.Jesus said if we Love him we will keep his commandments.I believe we need to return to our first love. We are to go in and dispossess our enemies as quoted in Dueteronomy 7. The enemy is trying to Redefine the word Love to the body of Christ with deception.We need to look at our Leaders up against the word of God. I believe God has a Leader before us now that will stand also for Israel in the form of Cyrus as a candidate for 2016.I believe we need to ask the Holy Spirit to show us.We have to speak the truth in Love.l

  4. Clearly the Church has failed in its Biblically ordained mission to be a light unto the world. In its failure it is creating the environment that can result in its demise. If the Church does not rise to the challenge there will be rough days ahead. Those who understand the Call will thrive as people gather for understanding and purpose. Those who do not hear the Call and take up the challenge, those churches will be nothing more than social clubs and will continue their decline in relevance. Where there is no vision, people perish. What does the Church do that responds? It extends the hand of Love. Who are we to condemn God’s created beings? Can we address behavior and choices? Yes. However, laws will never succeed where the culture war has been lost. Did prohibition stop drinking? Have drug laws stopped the use of drugs? Perhaps laws can contain an issue to minimize the damage. In the issues of our time we, the Church, must recognize our failures, ask and receive forgiveness and move forward.
    Sometimes we get so over concerned with laws we miss our opportunities to extend Grace. For example, we as voters have elected legislators and presidents who have failed to properly maintain our borders. As a result we have several million people in the country that did not enter via the legal immigration system. A small percentage of these people are undesired as they violate our laws and hurt our people. However the large majority took advantage of the failed border protection just to have a better life. Illegal yes. Here yes. Whose fault? IMHO, it is shared. But the bigger issue is we, the Church, should be the leaders in accepting the failure and in rectifying it. We are presented an opportunity to extend the Love and Grace of God. Should we also elect legislators who will secure our borders and reform immigration? Yes.. We are not a country if we have no borders and our’s leaks like a sieve right now. The point is the separation of people and law. Should people feel rejected by the followers of Jesus because of their behavior? Then who of us should not be rejected?
    Pray and shine the light. Persecution, when responded to Biblically by New Testament Christians, will yield a great harvest.
    “Caesar hoped to reform men by changing institutions and laws; Christ wished to remake institutions and lessen laws by changing men.” Will Durant

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