I’ve gone on and on about the platform I’m building from the beginning of the year through five posts. I figure it’s time for me to tie things together in case you think I’m meandering along without any real point. I started with the reason for and the need for a platform. I referenced I Corinthians 3: 9-11 that establishes Jesus Christ as the foundation.
I Corinthians 3: 9-11
For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.
According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.
For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
As I said, thankfully I don’t have to build a foundation since God the Father has already accomplished that work. Praise be to God Almighty. Notice the metaphorical reference to a building in verse 9, “ye are Gods building”. This building is of a spiritual nature. There’s no brick and mortar, there’s only the souls of the new creatures we’ve become as saved Christians and our fellowship with each other in Christ. That is God’s building. It’s invisible…
The purpose of this platform in a nutshell is reconciliation. If you recall, to be reconciled is to restore others to friendship or favor after estrangement. I’m making the case that there are both believers and nonbelievers who need reconciliation. Atheists are obviously estranged from God and at the same time, people who claim to be Christians, in truth, may not be reconciled to God despite their participation in the various forms organized religion assumes.
II Corinthians 5: 20
Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.
The word “beseech” in this passage means to plead, beg, entreat, or to encourage. Notice Paul is instructing us to receive this plea as from God himself. Let that sink in. God is begging us to be reconciled to Him.
The framework of the platform is comprised of you, the individual, as an informed member of the true church, the body of Christ. As I’ve said, this is a spiritual building. It can only consist of people who understand the responsibility put before us all to hear the testimony of God and judge for themselves if God be true or is a liar. And if you think that somehow I’m blaspheming God to put it in such terms, that’s exactly what we’re supposed to do. Like a judge presiding over a case, upon hearing the entire testimony and evidence put before us, we are responsible to render a decision. And in the case of God vs. man, with the bible presumably (speaking as a non-believer) His testimony, it requires us to judge whether he’s telling the truth or is he lying.
That’s right, I said “judge” because that’s what it is. It’s like any other circumstance we may encounter in our life that requires us to understand the particulars in order to know the truth. Now, I realize it sounds so simple and I also realize it’s not so simple. Facing God is a scary thing. I get that. After all, if he is who he says he is, all-powerful, all knowing, omniscient, omnipotent, who are we to judge? Who am I to presume to “face” God, hear his written testimony as a judge, and decide whether it is truth or a lie? If he has all the power, he can squash me like a bug. And I also realize for some, the easiest thing to do in the face of this huge responsibility is to simply dismiss it, ignore it, pretend it’s not there, etc. which lends itself to the underlying point I’m trying to make. This is a very serious responsibility and should not be taken lightly by treating it with such indifference, much less indignation.
I say all this to tie together these three things: Jesus Christ the foundation, God beseeching us to be reconciled, and our new role and interaction with the world and each other as new creatures in Christ. The line has been drawn; you are either in Christ, reconciled to God, having assumed the role of an ambassador or you are a non-believer. It’s just that simple. There’s no in-between. We can know the truth, we can judge what is right and wrong. We can be united simply as Christians, nothing more and nothing less, and tell the unbelievers that we stand united against them in their efforts to transform society to their self-serving, carnal “free- for-all” that drives them to deeper and deeper levels of depravity that is presented as the new normal for todays “modern” world. I reject the premise of “new normal” all together. There’s nothing new here at all; this is just the same old fallen man doing everything he can to silence those who want to “oppress” people into “Christian” beliefs and traditions.
These days all you have to do is look at the news and you see story after story of supposed cultural changes our society has gone through when in fact, it’s a relatively small number of people in high places sewing the seed of change by trying to “normalize” perverse behavior that is to be accepted or else.
So, let us discern right from wrong, shall we, keeping in mind as we do that we are all guilty… The only difference between us now is some of us have accepted the word of reconciliation and have changed our standing before God and some of us have not. Said another way, everything I’m about to say is not said with any malice, contempt, sanctimony, righteousness, nothing of the sort. In fact, quite the opposite, it’s said in full recognition of the place where ALL of mankind (that means me, you, everyone) comes from before accepting God’s gift of grace. All of that said to keep us humble, as we stand up against the PC culture so imposing and oppressive in various American institutions today.
Homosexuality? Wrong.
Sexual relationships out of wedlock? Wrong.
Abortions resulting from those same sexual relationships? Wrong.
Transgenderism? Wrong.
Any type of sexual deviancy like sexual assault, rape, prostitution, pornography, child pornography, etc.? Wrong.
You know what? The list just goes on and on. So, let me just put it in God’s terms…
Gal 5:19-21
Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are [these]; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told [you] in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
By now, you might be wondering how is this different than any other “platform” or church organization who understand and promote the same message.
Disclaimer: Before any of you non-believers out there react to my commentary, know this:
In no way, shape, or form, do I expect you to believe anything that I’ve put forth here. In fact, all I really expect of you is the same thing you should expect from me. I expect you to leave me alone in the judgment that I’ve made for myself. I don’t have any desire or interest in imposing ANY of my beliefs on you. At the same time though, wrong is wrong, right is right, and it’s obvious we will never agree since we are two entirely different creatures and will never be able to reconcile our differences. You’re fallen man and I and other believers are new creatures. Nor do I expect you to do anything other than mock, scoff and belittle those who believe.
A couple of examples to illustrate my point:
How about murder? Is it wrong or right? I believe it’s wrong from both a humanistic standpoint and from a God fearing standpoint. I would like to think that most non-believers would agree murder is wrong from a humanistic standpoint. So, in some since we agree when it comes to murder, but we don’t agree on why it’s wrong. Non-believers likely think it’s wrong strictly from a humanistic morality standpoint while Christians believe it’s wrong because their conscience is in tune with God’s “position”, if you will, on the matter… thou shalt not… It follows then that neither believer nor non-believer is imposing anything on each other beyond the simple recognition that taking someone’s life is wrong albeit for different reasons. So far, so good.
This is where it starts getting difficult: Is abortion murder or is it simply a woman exercising her right to choose what she wants to do with her body? Hot button issue, right? Christians not gonna impose their beliefs on non-believing women, right? If before we even get to abortion, we agree murder is wrong, who’s imposing their beliefs on who when we consider abortion? Abortion activists say it’s a woman’s “right” to choose what she wants to do with her body and obfuscate the issue in doing so. Of course, that leads to the argument of when does life begin and I don’t want to go down that rabbit hole because again, that’s something we will never agree on.
Here’s the point: Christians believe murder is wrong and that abortion is murder and therefore is wrong. Non-believers think murder is wrong except when it comes to abortion. Now, I no more want to impose my beliefs on you anymore than I want you to impose your beliefs on me. As I said, who’s imposing on who? If a woman wants an abortion sure, it’s her choice but, call it what it is; it’s murder. And while I’ve made that judgment for myself and hold that view towards women and men who have made their choice, I’m not imposing my beliefs on any one. It may bother a “Pro-abortion” woman to hear someone make that judgment but, in no way am I suggesting that she is not free to make that choice. Which is to say, women should have access to the medical procedure even though I and other believers think it’s wrong.
Moreover, because I believe it’s wrong, I also believe my tax dollars should not be used to fund abortions through organizations like “Planned Parenthood”. Talk about obfuscation. Planned Parenthood has nothing to do with “planning” for someone to become a parent. As time goes on, Planned Parenthood, which without a doubt is subsidized with taxpayer dollars, has proven to be the most disturbing organization all under the guise of looking out for “women’s rights”. Not only is it an abortion factory, it is also engaged in selling parts of the aborted fetuses.
Like I said, I’m not trying to impose my beliefs on any one. If a woman who finds herself pregnant as a result of her decision to have sex with a man out of wedlock wants an abortion, she and her boyfriend should bear the moral and financial burden themselves. Forcing Christians who think it’s wrong to pay taxes that are used to provide abortion services to those who either can’t or don’t want to incur the financial responsibility for their actions is wrong. It’s a violation of our conscience. You don’t have to agree, just don’t use my taxes to fund these services.
I can hear it now, “this Christian wants to take away the “right” of a woman to choose”. No I don’t. I just don’t want the government to provide the means for you to avoid the consequences of your actions with our tax dollars. It’s just that simple. You made the choice all by yourself, you and your boyfriend that is, and a responsible, mature person will take the necessary steps to handle it them self without bringing anyone else into it. When you expect the government to get involved with your affairs and bail you out, you’re imposing your beliefs on everyone else by taking advantage of the government subsidized services most Christians object to.
Apply this reasoning to any issue and the results will be the same. Non-believers invariably will twist and turn a Christian perspective into yet another example of quote unquote religious oppression. And these days, is manifested in the extreme views held by anti-religious, anti-God, anti-judgment, PC groups at large in our society today. They make it clear that they will not tolerate anyone who thinks or believes something different than they do all the while calling us fascists. Again, who’s imposing on who?
So, my platform is built upon the foundation of Jesus Christ and him crucified for the salvation of mankind, seeking and beseeching people to be reconciled to God, thereby increasing the body of Christ through preaching and teaching the testimony, i.e., the written word of God. And once completed, the platform will offer a view of the world and our place in it in hopes of encouraging believers and those who would be converted to stand as Christians united against those who refuse God’s grace who want to turn our society into a carnal free for all.
