Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Dr. David M. Berman

Luke 6:26  “Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.”

Of all the things most desired universally by people, it is to be thought of with affection. What person is there that truly has no concern whatsoever about what others may think of them? Although there are some who may sincerely have a high conviction to walk above human feelings when attacked, the vast majority are to the contrary. What people think of us is of great concern to most people no matter how many times we attempt to pretend that it has no effect.

Modern culture has placed the highest price of self esteem and therefore every public institution has been influenced to make sure that no one’s feelings are hurt. There seems to be an insatiable desire to be accepted for everything and anything. Political correctness is the embodiment of this idea, so great pains are taken to watch every word as to make sure that all are spoken well of (except Christians of course). This culture simply will not tolerate any free speech that is not in lock step with political correctness.

Matthew 10:32-33 “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.”

The Lord’s word to us however is the opposite of political correctness. It is not that God wants us to try to be spoken badly of, it is instead the realization that it is impossible to stand for Christ and have everyone love us. If you are going to stand for the true gospel of Jesus Christ there will be many who simply hate you because you stand for the cause of Christ. What is the main factor concerning the fear Christians have in America relating to sharing their faith? It is fear of what will be thought of them by unbelievers. The fixation for those is on what is spoken of them on earth rather than what is spoken of them in the halls of heaven. Christians have allowed themselves to be more concerned with what the world and “liberal Christians” think than they are with what God says. This leads to timid Christianity. It is a direct attack aimed at stopping the only weapon we have. Do all men speak well of you? Have you never offended anyone by your stand for the gospel or speaking of Biblical standards? Jesus says “woe unto you.” When speaking of sharing the gospel the Apostle Paul wrote the following;

2 Timothy 1:7-8 “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;”

For us who are Christians there is only one weapon to fight the spiritual battle. It is the weapon of truth in the form of words spoken. We are not to be ashamed of the testimony of the Lord or of the teachings of his Apostles. We are not as the Muslims who use the natural sword to convert. We use the sword of the Lord; The Bible. Political correctness brings us to a place we‘re we are silenced from using what God has given us to fight with. Those that wish to silence us understand the power of making us feel bad and shunned by society. That is what political correctness is. It is society coming to a consensus based on liberal cultural indoctrination that puts forth a shunning of anyone who does not tow the liberal line. It is liberal McCarthyism. Due to the culture becoming hostile to biblical Christian values, it is now simply unacceptable to speak anything Biblical that contradicts the established cultural liberal political correctness. With that being said, it takes much more guts now to speak truth than it did 40, 20, 10, or even 5 years ago. Today you will step in line or you may lose your position and be a marginalized outcast. Persecution is now in the form of shunning but it will get much worse.

Persecution is motivated by insecurity of conviction concerning one’s own position. When people are persecuted simply for the dictates of their lawful conscience, it says more about the persecutor than it does about the persecuted. Philosophical positions that are shown to be worthy always prove themselves in the market place of ideas when given the opportunity of equal access. It is only positions that are required by force that prove themselves to be hostile to prosperity of life and culture. Political correctness will not allow anything to be given equal access in the market place of ideas that does not walk in lock step with its suppositions. From public/higher education to the media/entertainment elitists, and liberal political establishment, true biblical principles are not allowed.

The false prophets of old always told the people what the people wanted to hear. This placed them in the popularity club among many. It has always been that the true prophets had both people who loved, esteemed, and listen to them, as well as many who spoke evil of them. The Bible teaches us that the very name of Jesus is an offence. If you as a Christian have never offended anyone, you most likely have been more concerned with the praise of men rather than the praise of God. Look at the following again;

Luke 6:26 “Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.”

When God says the words “woe unto you”, it is a strong rebuke with a sense of grieving the Holy Spirit. God has not called us to attempt to get people mad, but the servant is not greater than the master. If they spoke evil of Christ, they will speak evil of those who are Christ’s followers.  We must not allow worry to shut our mouths for fear of not being thought of with affection.

What has happened to the preachers in America? What has made so many afraid? I believe that many have bought the lie that they must be seeker sensitive and make the Bible more palatable to the human sinful condition. Many worry about losing their job if they really preach the Bible with conviction. The “Christian sub culture” in America is more concerned with Christian self help books and the false prosperity gospel that makes man the center of the universe. It is like a “little god” theology that seeks to get Christian people to replace their understanding that Christianity includes persecution and revilement from those who are hostile to it. The Apostle Paul would have been looked at as a man with no faith by many today who preach the prosperity gospel when he said; “I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. (Philippians 4:12).” “Suffer need?” The prosperity gospel folks would say “Where is your faith Apostle Paul, don’t you know how to speak faith? “Suffer need” is a negative confession.” It is utterly absurd what American “theology” has become. No wonder the  American Church has embraced Joel Osteen, Paula White, and the rest of the have it all now, stand for nothing, offend no one crowd.

I will not tell you that I do not care about what anyone thinks of me. That would be an untrue statement. Here is what I care about. I care about what men of God who sincerely care about me may think. For I know what they think is biblical and out of concern for my relationship with God. I listen to those who have proved to me that they are my brothers in Christ. Most of all I care what God thinks and that drives me to repentance daily as I comprehend my own desperate human heart’s desire to follow my human nature rather than God. It is in this repentance that I am able to commit myself to His grace which enables me to withstand the pain of false accusations, and attacks against me for standing up for truth. As the Apostle Paul said in part of Romans 7:18 “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing:” So it is not that I do not feel the pain, it is rather that I endure it for the cause of Christ by the grace He gives me to endure. I choose not to allow myself to become so concerned about what is thought of me by the world as to affect my desire to speak truth. I simply choose to preach the Biblical, non-politically correct gospel, along with the truth of Biblical principles in every area of human life, and culture. I am not saying it is easy or that I am never tempted to give up.

The question comes to us every day when we wake up. Who are we really living for? For personal gain only, for personal compliments, for popularity, for the praise of men, or for the approval of God? That is a question we must often ask ourselves in order to ascertain our motivations. The truth is when speaking for myself, It would have been a lot easier to stay in the business I owned, and just pretended I cared by going to church once a week. When God called me to study, give up my business, serve Him full time, and put up with the intense hassles that come in our culture to those who dare to preach the gospel and hold up Biblical standards, I made the only choice my Christian conviction allowed me to. It has not been easy and in fact it is often just plain emotionally tiring. The words of Jesus motivate me as I contemplate his desire for people to know the only way to heaven is found in Him.

What is this Christian conviction all about anyway? We do not serve Christ only to receive peace when we leave this life. There are benefits to being a follower of Jesus here on earth. It is not that I do not believe that God prospers and blesses his followers. I believe he blesses abundantly. I am in no way saying that God is not interested in our joy here on earth or that everything is a trial. What I am saying is that the life of a Christian contains sacrifice for the advancement of God’s spiritual kingdom in the hearts of those who would receive Jesus by their own free will. When the mind set becomes man centered as opposed to God centered, there is a balance problem. When concern for popularity trumps principle, something is wrong. Having the knowledge of Love, and seeing so many families healed after coming to Christ and applying the principles of the Bible to their family, has been a great blessing to me as a Pastor. The Bible contains much wisdom concerning many topics that result is personal gain when followed. However, the Bible’s central message is not what I can get but rather the central message of the Bible is Jesus Christ. I serve as a minister because God called me to proclaim Jesus Christ, and to hold up the standard of truth found in His Word.

Christian, I leave you to again to consider His words so that you may not be more concerned with the praise of men rather than the approval of God;

Matthew 10:32-33 “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.”

May all of us including myself endeavor to always desire God’s approval above all others.