Trophies of Grace - An Opinion

During the 1960’s, Southern Baptists were alerted to a movement in our seminaries that sought to reinterpret the Bible in the context of present-day cultural trends, rather than according to the original meaning intended by the divinely-inspired Biblical writers.  The result was a battle between ‘moderates’ and ‘conservatives’ during the 1970’s for denominational control.  Bucking the trend toward liberalism in most mainline denominations (Methodist, Episcopalian, Presbyterian, etc.), Southern Baptists elected conservatives who upheld our traditional belief in interpreting the Bible based on original intent, rather than on individual activism – believing an individual can give his own meaning to Scripture based on what he thinks it should mean. The danger of this individual activism is that it elevates human reasoning above divine inspiration with the effect that the Scripture itself is no longer our ultimate authority.

While not infallible, our U.S. Constitution has witnessed a similar debate during the past 100 years on how it should be interpreted.  Supreme Court ‘originalists’ such as the newer justices Barrett, Kavanaugh, and Gorsuch, seek to apply the Constitution as intended by the original framers.  Supreme Court ‘activists’ such as Sotomayer and Kagan, permit themselves to interpret the Constitution based on how they think it should be applied in today’s society.  The result of judicial activism is that it dilutes the original meaning of our Constitutional articles and amendments to the effect that the opinion of the judge becomes the higher authority.

Our founding fathers were fearful of a pure democratic form of government by the unpredictable will of the majority, and instead gave us a Constitutional Republic, where statesmen were elected who respected and governed under the authority of the Constitution, which brilliantly gave us a system of checks and balances against the possibility of any democratic tyranny.  Such a form of government can only work when our Constitution is interpreted as it was originally intended. 

What we have seen in the past 100 years is a gradual transition from a Constitutional Republic to a pure democratic form of government.  Today’s Democratic Party is committed to judicial activism and to the Progressive Movement.  Progressives take liberal ideology and forms it into an agenda of greater government control through higher taxes, stricter regulations, cultural ‘reform’, and suppression of opposition.  The result, as seen in other countries, is fewer individual freedoms, government corruption, economic decline, and moral decay.

The 2020 elections demonstrated that Progressives are now firmly in control of our country’s future.  States can continue to change their election laws to favor Progressive candidates and increase the potential for voter fraud, without fear of accountability by the courts.  Social media like Twitter, Facebook, and Google have learned that they can, with impunity, promote liberal ideology while suppressing conservative thought.  Over 90% of the liberal news media (CNN, NBC, CBS, ABC, New York Times, Washington Post, etc.) are owned and operated by Progressives who increasingly defend Progressive candidates/officials while frequently vilifying Conservative candidates/officials.  The overwhelming majority of our educational institutions, sports programs, as well as the entertainment industry are firmly committed to the Progressive Movement.

Now that Progressives are in control of our government, the only remaining major institution that’s not in the Progressive camp is the evangelical Church.  Therefore, I believe we Christians can expect, during the coming years, to be increasingly ridiculed in our schools, lambasted by Hollywood, censored by social media, misrepresented by news media, and excluded from government.  I believe that Christian schools will come under burdensome government regulations that will force conservative ones to close.  Empowered teacher unions will work to ban home schooling.  Churches and businesses that support traditional marriage and are pro-life will be heavily fined by the government and forced to close.  I suspect that the Bible itself will eventually either be banned as ‘hate speech’, or be condensed/censored into an official government version.  It’s unclear how a militarily dominant China or nuclear emboldened Iran will shape the future.

What is clear is that our American Republic is dying a slow death and the influencers of our society hate conservative Christians.   But this is precisely the context in which the Bible tells us we have always been in.   “This world is under the power of the evil one” (1 John 5:19).  It is part of Satan’s kingdom of darkness (Eph. 6:12) that he uses to blind people to the light of Christ (2 Cor. 4:4).  God tells us not to love this world (1 John 2:15-17), it is full of evil (John 7:7), it doesn’t know God (1 Cor. 1:21), it rejects Him (John 14:17), and it is under His curse (John 12:31).  Because Satan is “the ruler of this world” (John 14:30) and he hates Christians, it is certain that those of us “who live for Christ in this world will suffer” (2 Tim. 3:12). 

The coming years will make it more obvious who belongs to the Lord and who doesn’t.  The darker the night, the brighter even small lights can shine.  Committed Christians will have more opportunities to demonstrate to a skeptical world what spirit-led love, joy, and peace really look like.  We will speak with respect and gentleness, rather than with insults and harshness.  We will act with kindness and integrity, rather than with hate and violence.  I believe God will grant added grace upon those willing to stand alone, if need be, in order to glorify God through a demonstration of unwavering faith and godly character.  As experienced in other oppressed countries, persecution can purify God’s church and bring forth champions of faith and trophies of grace.  I pray that all members of my family will be so honored in God’s kingdom.