As often is the case, many Evangelicals fail to grasp the true meaning of certain biblical passages, and as a result, Satan uses this failure to control the narrative to his own deceptive ends.
Of course, Satan tried the same approach with Jesus Christ, but since Christ is the veritable Word of God, Satan was easily foiled in his vain attempt to have Christ take a shortcut to Calvary’s Cross.
I have personally sat under pastors who used touch not his anointed ones as a billyclub to stifle dissent from the congregation when that often misapplied passage is a warning to unbelievers attempting to harm God’s ordained prophets, not to internal members attempting to hold their leadership accountable.
Social Media is awash with people spewing judge not let thy judge as a battering ram when people assess their immoral conduct as they seek to hold them accountable. All the time, any reliable Bible commentary reveals the passage to be instead a warning against hypocrisy and not judging because society could never function if people did not judge ubiquitously. Not to mention, a prohibition against judging would expressly contradict clear judging passages like 1 Corinthians 5 and 1 Corinthians 11:32.
Evangelicals are routinely labelled as unloving, intolerant or holier than thou when they push back against the moral revolution. While competing my twenty-mile training run this fine Saturday morning for the upcoming 2025 Chicago Marathon I listened to a YouTube video where Dr. Voddie Baucham admonished fellow believers at an Answers in Genesis event Evangelicals do not have the luxury to keep their heads down and resign themselves to worshipping in private as if we can remain neutral from the larger culture.
Which brings me to the another one of the commonly misunderstood passages I want to consider today:
And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (Matt 16:18)
Contrary to the popular understanding, the posture in view for the original audience is not defensive but offensive. Christ does not here promise His followers they will find solace and ultimate victory from the enemy's attacks. While divine protection, as God so sovereignty decrees, is undoubtedly true, that is not the intent of this passage. Christ promised Peter specifically and by extension, all Christ-followers, would be victorious when His bride spoke boldly into the culture. One can see that truth on full display as the early Church turned the world upside down (Acts 17:6)” as the early Church faithfully and boldly took the Gospel to the uttermost parts of the world as Christ had commanded they do.
Of course, not victory in human terms where we would see our worldview win sway in the public square, but that the Church, as empowered and commissioned by Jesus Christ, would defeat Satan precious soul by precious soul as Christ used the Gospel to bring many previously helped captive and blinded by the god of this age to rescue from the bondage of sin.
Even though it may never be large numerically, relatively speaking, we are seeing more and more African Americans leave the Democratic Party as they come to faith in Jesus Christ. For that fact alone, I draw comfort and profound joy.
Lest we be bedeviled by the Adversary’s wiles the Church must recognize the cultural elites will never be satisfied with our mere acceptance. Who knew how Hillary Morgan Ferrer was prescient when she said,
What you tolerate today, you accept tomorrow.
What you accept today, you embrace tomorrow.
That, my dear brothers and sisters, is how a moral and sexual revolution happens in a surprisingly short span of time. How swiftly did our culture move from civil unions to full-on same-sex marriage becoming the law of the land?
What once took centuries now happens in mere months. Why? Well, of course, there is never one singular reason, but we cannot have an honest discussion without focusing our gazes on the visible Church.
Instead of understanding our marching orders from our Sovereign Pontante is to bring every thought captive to make it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5), Evangelicals have, by and large, cowardly taken a posture of neutrality with the enemies of Christ.
As Voddie repeatedly says, the Church acts as if there is an Eleventh Commandment: Thy Shall Be Nice. Those who do their father's bidding will never be satisfied with Christ-followers' neutrality. They want their worldview lived out to the fullest in the culture.
They have cultural elites like Oprah Winfrey lamenting the American Dream will never be realized until every woman has the right to decide whether to kill the life growing in their womb without governmental interference.
The Evangelical Church continues to engage in a defensive posture by allowing those trapped in utter darkness to frame their abortion position as Pro-Choice when, in reality, it is truly Pro-Death.
Ask yourself, with what other moral issue do we allow the conversation to be framed as Pro-Choice? Do we let people take a Pro-choice position with other equally immoral actions like theft or stealing? Thankfully, at least not yet; we don't allow people to brazenly adopt a Pro-Pedophilia position, so shame on the Church for allowing the Purveyors of Death to control the narrative with little to no opposition.
The Evangelical Church does so because we naively assume our best strategy is to keep our heads down and not engage the culture. All the while, those we supposedly dearly love travel on the broad road heading directly to an eternal hellfire.
We continue to allow Satan’s agents to take the political position they are personally opposed to abortion but do not want to force thief moral convictions upon someone else.
Many do not understand the Kennedy brothers crafted this illogical position after huddling with Roman Catholic bishops at the Kennedy compound as JFK was strategizing his justification for embracing the immoral position of governmental sanctioning of killing life in the womb.
We would never allow a politician to advocate he is personally opposed to treason, but would never force his worldview upon someone. While I know my interlocutor will accused me of using an outrageous example like treason, I challenge anyone to name another moral action that the logic of “I am personally opposed but do not want to force my views on someone else” would be accepted on its face without close scrutiny and suspicion.
Because the Church, in the main, has failed to be Light and Salt, we see exactly what Jesus Christ said would happen. We have lost our saltiness, and it [salt] is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet (Matthew 5:13).”
Almost without exception, we have allowed every Democratic presidential candidate to postulate they are personally against abortion but don't want to force their view upon their fellow Americans.
Pure moral insanity, but where is the Church speaking loudly and boldly against such moral insanity? Sadly and regrettably, we see the very people who should be at the front of the line pushing back against this moral darkness instead standing proudly and publicly with these very forces of darkness.
Led by alleged ordained pastors and scores and scores of lay members we see 200k professing Evangelicals politically aligning with Kamala Harris. The visible Church has sunk so low that a coalition of “Female Pastors” for Harris have emerged on the scene, bragging their first “prayer meeting” reached capacity in mere seconds after being offered to the public.
Now, I will just mention in passing that the Bible would know nothing of an entity as female pastors, but to have a collection of females who claim Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior politically align with Kamala Harris is nothing more than pure heresy that finds its source the very pit of Hell.
I know such a polemic statement leaves me open to charges of being unloving and misogynistic, but the dire situation we find ourselves leaves me no choice but to match force with force. People are literally dying and perishing, so that leaves no time for niceties and political correction.
As Jude wrote, we have to snatch people from the fires when warranted. We are playing checkers while the other side is playing chess. Well, it is getting late in the evening, and the Sun is going down.
I will use my platform, as meager as it might be, to speak the Gospel into the public square until there is no air left in these old lungs and until there is no blood left pumping in these old veins.
I will not be content to be part of the Frozen Chosen or hold my views only in private worship. I understand what Jesus Christ intended when He told Peter,
And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this
rock, I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Jesus Christ issued a divine command, not a mere suggestion, to Peter and, by application, to you and me. One day, every Christ-follower will stand before Christ, and it is going to be really simple:
Were we obedient or not?
Did we shrink back or not?
Did we die to self or not?
Did we take up our cross daily or not?
Did we speak when it was our time to speak or not?
Did we warn our brother when we saw them drifting or not?
Were we ashamed of the name of Christ or not?
Did we fight for those who could not fight for themselves or not?
Well, let there be no question about what my nays or yays are. I will not politically align with anyone who does not advocate for a federal law abolishing abortion. It may never happen, at least not in my lifetime, but there will never be an acceptable time when the government should give legal sanction to slaughtering life created in the Imago Dei.
There are other issues, to be sure, but none more pressing than how our country governs all of life, from the moment of fertilization to natural death.
I will not be satisfied until the mere thought of abortion is unthinkable. You know, how it once was in our culture.
If no one else thinks such as this, it should be one who claims to be regenerated by the New Birth from above.
As usual, let me know what you think. Until then, keep your hands to the plow and seek to serve for an Audience of One.
With fear & trembling,
Ricky V. Kyles Sr. DEd.Min
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