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You A Culture Warrior? Jesus said you are to be just that!
- aka “Why Every Preacher & Believer MUST FIGHT In America’s Present Culture War!”
- aka “Called To Christian Arms!”
- aka “Drafted Into The Lord’s Army!”
By Dr. Dan Cheatham
Who says PASTORS AND PREACHERS may not speak to current issues from a Biblical perspective?
Who says PASTORS AND PREACHERS, as God-called and sent men from the very Throne of God, the Oval Office of the Universe, may not speak about sin and righteousness to the governments of the nations in which they live? Who says churches cannot endorse godly candidates and discourage voting for candidates with immoral or ungodly agendas? Who says churches cannot speak to current issues? Who cares what a godless president named LBJ said churches could do and couldn’t do back in the 1950’s? Who is LBJ to God the Father? A mere man! A nobody! Bad laws that contradict the Bible must be resisted!
Who says Christians should NOT be involved in politics?
Who, tell me who, is going to expose the lies, deceit, corruption, evil agendas, and deception about current issues other than God’s PASTORS, PREACHERS, and CHRISTIAN CONGREGATIONS?
Who, tell me who, other than the CHURCH AT LARGE knows what the scripture says about every topic that humans face?
Who, tell me who, other than the CHURCH AT LARGE will stand for what God stands for despite the fickle trends of men, governments and societies?
Martin Luther King Jr. stated that “THE CHURCH IS NEITHER THE LORD OF THE STATE NOR THE SERVANT OF THE STATE, but rather THE CONSCIENCE OF THE STATE!”
Martin Luther King Jr. stated that “INJUSTICE ANYWHERE IS A THREAT TO JUSTICE EVERYWHERE!”
If Christians don’t speak up against sin and evil, tell me who will? Who did Jesus make the keepers of the keys of the Kingdom? Who else but Christians know right from wrong? Politics should not be in the church, but the church should be in politics!
The links below are great examples WHY every pastor and preacher should be involved in the present CULTURE WAR in America.
http://caapus.org/
http://brr.wallbuilders.com/
http://nationalblackroberegiment.com/take-the-pledge/
https://www.theoakinitiative.org/
http://www.charismanews.com/
http://onenewsnow.com/
http://www.frc.org/
http://watchmenpastors.org/
http://www.KeepMarriageHoly.Com
http://www.KeepChildrenAlive.Com
http://www.ResistTheGaystapo.Com
http://www.massresistance.org/
http://abortionno.org/
http://blackgenocide.org/
I thought Jesus commanded that believers are to be both LIGHT… AND SALT! Not just LIGHT, but also SALT! SALT may burn while being applied, but in the end it HEALS and PRESERVES! Sharing the love of God is our LIGHT ministry, but this must also be balanced with our SALT ministry which is confronting society with truth as necessary.
John the Baptist, who Jesus named as another Elijah in his generation, REBUKED, EXPOSED and CONFRONTED the evil King Herod for taking his brother’s wife in ADULTERY! For that very rebuke, John was eventually imprisoned and finally his head was chopped off. The Bible reveals that the end-time CHURCH OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST is to be the FOURTH ELIJAH during this age. (And of course the final spirit of Elijah shall be manifested during the great tribulation when God’s two witnesses, the first literal Elijah and Enoch prophesy on the earth, are slain and on the third day are raised from the dead in the sight of the entire world. There are 5 Elijah’s: Elijah, Elisha, John The Baptist, The Church, Elijah as one of the Two Witnesses during the great tribulation.)
The Bible declares in Ephesians chapter 4, that ALL FIVE CATEGORIES OF GOD-CALLED LEADERS: apostles, prophets, evangelist, pastors and teacher, are all five supposed to “SPEAK THE TRUTH IN LOVE.” Jamie Buckingham, a much revered leader of the Charismatic revival of the 1960’s and 1970’s once said: “THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE, BUT FIRST IT MIGHT MAKE YOU MISERABLE!” (Been there, done that, got the T-shirt myself!)
Tell me who, but who, CAN PRICK THE CONSCIENCE OF SOCIETY AND SHINE FORTH LIKE LIGHTS in a corrupt generation, holding forth the Word of God other than GOD’S BORN AGAIN PEOPLE?
Many politicians and judges are ignorant and arrogant, yet INTRUDE into holy matters of God such as morality, marriage, sanctity of life, and much more. All these kinds of issues are NOT POLITICAL, but SPIRITUAL! When politicians and judges INTRUDE into HOLY MATTERS, the CHURCH of the Lord Jesus Christ MUST RESIST and NOT BOW, BEND or BURN! Shadrach, Meshech and Abednegoo refused the orders of the evil politicians of their day. So did Daniel. They submitted to the ruling authorities on matters that did not contradict their conscience and the scriptures, but they REBUKED and REFUSED to obey EVIL ORDERS!
The early saints did the same and were burned at the stake, torn asunder by lions and tigers in the arena, and crucified upside down.
All laws in all nations are DERIVED FROM SOME VALUE SYSTEM AND WRITTEN (OR UNWRITTEN) CODE OF CONDUCT and/or VALUES. America’s laws have their roots in the Judeo-Christian core values of the written Word of God, the Bible, both the Old Testament and the New Testament. Anyone who states otherwise is UNEDUCATED and UNSCHOOLED in true American history, Library of Congress documents, founders’ quotes, and simple facts. I know the liberal think tanks and organizations have tried to rewrite American history to justify their agendas of socialism and atheism in America, but TRUTH and FACTS immunize the EDUCATED from such nonsense that is commonly circulated by godless or naïve citizens in the USA. Armed with FACTS about the birth of our nation and its earliest value systems and armed with BIBLICAL TRUTHs about marriage, morality, sin, righteousness, judgment, mercy, the family unit, sanctity of life, the ten commandments, and more, RENEWS THE MINDS OF BELIEVERS as to their God-given mission to influence their societies for the good!
I am amazed at how most Christians still can’t follow the basic three laws of Bible interpretation: 1) Scripture must be kept in context. 2) Scripture must balance scripture. And 3) Scripture must interpret scripture. Because many believers are NOT MATURE ENOUGH in these matters, they often misquote or misapply certain passages of scripture to the exclusion of other passages to justify why they think CHRISTIANS SHOULD NOT SPEAK UP OR OUT AGAINST EVIL POLITICAL AGENDAS. They will quote SNIPPETS of verses that seem to justify some kind of UTOPIA LACK OF INVOLVEMENT in the issues of their present day culture. Case in point: Judge not lest ye be judged.” Another case in point: “The powers which be are ordained of God.” (Of course they are, but does that mean EVERY PERSON or EVERY DECISION or EVERY POLICY of the same is to be obeyed without question or conscience?) What about Daniel disobeying Nebuchadnezzar? And Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? What about the Apostles disobeying the Sanhedrin and the Roman Government? What about Chinese and Korean and Sudanese believers refusing to obey their corrupt governments’ commands not to assemble, but in obedience to a Higher Power they worship together in secret out of respect for God’s Word over man’s words.
Then I hear from naïve and immature Christians that say we as believers are supposed to LOVE EVERYONE WITHOUT EXCEPTION! I think not! Do I have to love Hitler? Do I have to love Saddam Hussein? Do I have to love Lenin or Stalin? Do I have to love a mass murderer? Do I have to love a pedophile? There are some scriptures in the Bible that BALANCE the love message that we all need to consider. I know our basic philosophy should be to “LOVE THE SINNER BUT TO HATE THE SIN,” but even God himself does state some exceptions throughout the scripture that we at least need to be aware of… a study I will not take the time here to delineate. Suffice it to say that in Proverbs the Lord hates certain things and behaviors, and even hates the PERSON who stirs up division and strife (not just the behavior). Most of the church world doesn’t even acknowledge that there is such a thing as imprecatory prayer, even though there is a place for it under certain conditions and leadership oversight.
Jesus tells us to FORGIVE OUR OWN PERSONAL ENEMIES, and to DO GOD TO THOSE WHO PERSONALLY AND DIRECTLY DO EVIL TO US. But one cannot take the sermon on the mount or many teachings of Jesus OUT OF CONTEXT and out of balance with the rest of Jesus’ teachings and the rest of scripture. Jesus never taught that we HAVE TO LOVE THE ENEMIES OF SOCIETY! That is taking a few scriptures TOO FAR and out of balance with the whole of Bible revelation. Those who shed innocent blood on a mass scale must be brought to justice!
If American Christians had not REVOLTED and REBELLED in CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE against the tyranny of the English monarchy of their time, there would be no United States of America today!
If American blacks led by the Christian leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had not REVOLTED and REBELLED in CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE against the tyranny of the Jim Crow laws and discrimination of the 50’ and 60’s there would be no equal opportunity in America. Thank God for MLK Jr., whom God raised up to PRICK THE CONSCIENCE of racial inequality and injustice in America. And because enough black Amercians, and particularly Black and White CHRISTIAN AMERICANS spoke the truth, many issues in America were solved and healed! But without SPEAKING UP AND SPEAKING THE TRUTH IN LOVE and without PEACEFUL BUT FIRM CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE, the Civil Rights Movement would have never happened!
The Gospel must INFLUENCE EVERY STRATA OF SOCIETY: Education, Military, Government, Family and Home, Commerce, the Arts and Entertainment, Media, and much more. There is NO SUCH THING AS “SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE” as the liberal left has so effectively SOLD Americans this false bill of goods. NO SUCH BEAST! When Thomas Jefferson wrote back to a preacher and used this terminology (that naïve Americans have made into a HOLY GRAIL, Jefferson was reassuring the preacher who wrote him that American government would NOT interfere with denominations or force a NATIONAL BRAND OF RELIGION on Americans for universal acceptance like Constantine tried to do centuries ago or like many Islamic governments today want to institute Sharia law. This is the context of Jefferson’s famous letter where he used the terminology “SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE.” Jefferson by no means was trying to say that Judeo-Christian values could not influence politics, governments, and states. Jefferson never said that prayer was banned in any school or political event. Furthermore, the terminology of “separation of church and state” was just contained in a letter, NOT the Constitution, NOT the Declaration, NOT the Bill of Rights, and NOT in any law.
Besides, Jesus never taught that His followers were supposed to INSULATE themselves from their cultures, societies and people-groups! Far from it! Jesus never said that Christians were supposed to get into a HOLY HUDDLE, shut up, and leave their societies to rot on the vine! Jesus never taught CHRISTIAN EXCLUSIVISM whereby the Christian should retreat into some kind of monastery or religious commune and let the world around them rot and go to hell! Jesus never taught that silence was a remedy for evil. NEVER!
Deitrich Bonhoeffer, a pastor & author in Germany during the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party said, “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.” For his speaking out against the atrocities and evil agendas of the Nazi regime, he was eventually executed and martyred for Christ!
One thing many Christians are unaware of that results in confusion is a lack of teaching on the spirit of antichrist. The book of 1 John is copiously replete with teaching on the spirit of error and the spirit of truth, and the spirit of antichrist. John clearly lays out God’s case that there are many lowercase “antichrists” that are in this world as a lead-up or precursor to the final person of the Antichrist in the last days. The word “anti” not only means “against” but also means “instead of” or “in place of.” Jesus warned that in the last days, many would rise up INSTEAD OF or IN PLACE OF the true Messiah (Jesus Himself). And what most Christians don’t realize is that there exists numerous KINDS or TYPES of lowercase antichrists in our society and in societies past.
There are RELIGIOUS ANTICHRISTS.
There are POLITICAL ANTICHRISTS.
There are EDUCATIONAL ANTICHRISTS.
There are FINANCIAL ANTICHRISTS.
There are MILITARY ANTICHRISTS.
There are CORPORATE AND COMPANY ANTICHRISTS.
There are REGIONAL AND GEOGRAPHIC ANTICHRISTS.
There are CITY ANTICHRISTS.
John clearly defines lowercase antichrist as CERTAIN PEOPLE whom Christians must beware by comparing what these antichrist leaders do and say to the truths of God’s Word. 1 John teaches we should call a spade a spade, that we should LABEL EVIL FOR WHAT AND WHO IT REALLY IS!
The assignment of God for the Old Testament Church, the Israelites was to DEFEAT ALL THE “ITES” OF THEIR GENERATION… Amorites, Moabites, Canaanites and more! However, the assignment of God for the New Testament Church is to DEFEAT ALL THE “ISMS” OF OUR DAY THAT DAMN MEN TO HELL AND DAMN SOCIETIES TO EXTINCTION! Spirits of error, or teaching demons, have spun a myriad of philosophies and worldviews that KEEP PEOPLE FROM KNOWING CHRIST AND UNLEASH HELL ON EARTH TOO! (i.g. Consider the worldview of JIHAD and how that error has produced such terror in our own generation.) Many of these philosophies and worldviews hide under the guise of SOPHISTICATION, or PERSONAL PREFERENCE, or “THAT’S JUST POLITICS.” But all of these WORLDVIEWS and PHILOSOPHIES damn and curse people, disintegrating families and fracturing society. Many of these worldviews have spawned wars and world wars over the centuries. Some are more subtle and beneath the radar... BUT GOD WANTS TO EXPOSE AND EXPEL EVERY WORLDVIEW THAT HURTS PEOPLE IN ANY WAY AND HINDERS THEM FROM KNOWING CHRIST AND ENJOYING THIS LIFE AND ETERNITY TO COME!
As Christians we all quote 1 John 4:4 all the time, “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” Indeed the GREATER ONE is in us. I thank the Father and the Lord Jesus for the indwelling Holy Spirit! Indeed He causes us to overcome anything and everything! Greater is He, smarter is He, Wiser is He, Stronger is He, Brighter is He, Gentler is He, Calmer is He, Healthier is He, Wealthier is He… THAT IS IN ME, than ANYTHING I FACE or ANY WEAPON SATAN CONJURES AGAINST ME! But… do we not realize that the FIRST CONTEXT of this verse (with the scriptures surrounding it) is in relation to PEOPLE THAT ARE ANTICHRISTS!
In Paul’s teachings, he warns us of DEMONS THAT TEACH, DEMONS THAT SEDUCE… and in these verses he is not discussing sexual sin or mere sins of the flesh. He is talking about TEACHING DEMONS that PHILOSOPHIZE through men. DEMONS TEACH VARIOUS PHILOSOPHIES, or what we commonly coin today as WORLDVIEWS. For example, the founder of Planned Parenthood, that abortion mill and sinkhole of federal funding, was a EUGENICIST who hated the black race as she considered it inferior to other races. Margaret Sanger grew up in a broken home that was horribly dysfunctional and she carried the bitterness of the same into her adult philosophy. As a result, her worldview of abortion and selective breeding was warped as she felt babies should not be born into this world of injustice and pain (like her own experiences). And the rest is history, as godless citizens, ignorant judges, and postmodern culture INSTITUTIONALIZED and CODIFIED and FINANCED Margaret Sanger’s worldview into American Society in a series of multiple acts or rebellion and distorted logic. So much so that our present sitting President, Barack Hussein Obama, has bought into this culture of death and has the blood of millions on his hands as I write!
Many Christians say, “I’m not interested in politics!” And they actually think they are being spiritual by stating such. But the problem, my fellow brother or sister is this: “You may not be interested in politics, BUT… politics is ALREADY interested in YOU!” If you don’t get involved by speaking up and also voting your Christian values, YOU WILL HAVE ZERO CONTROL over your future and your children’s future. YOUR RELIGIOUS LIBERTY WILL BE STOLEN FROM YOU like in so many societies, nations, and generations past. By COPPING OUT and trying to separate your FAITH from SO-CALLED POLITICS, you’re also CONDEMNING FUTURE GENERATIONS to horrible injustices and living conditions. The German Christians didn’t stand HARD and FAST against the Nazi regime in the 1930’s and thus paid a horrible price in the 1940’s. Believers’ prayers against the rise of Hitler were not MILITANT enough. Enough believers did not SPEAK UP against the warped philosophies being propagated at the time. Believers SHOULD HAVE INSERTED THEIR JUDEO-CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE AND VALUES into the equation of all the conversations that were taking place in Germany and Eastern Europe at the time. Christians should have been a LOUDER VOICE… the LOUDEST VOICE! But they weren’t… hence WWII and over 10 Million Souls killed between the two world wars, many of them who never heard the Gospel or received Christ before slipping into eternal damnation.
When Christians CLAM UP, people DIE! Life is NOT a political issue though it has been made into one in America! Sanctity of Life is a NON-NEGOTIABLE! Marriage and morality is NOT a political issue though it has been made into one! The definition of MARRIAGE and definitions of MORALITY are CLEARLY delineated by GOD HIMSELF and thousands of years of history of even heathen societies. MARRIAGE and THE FAMILY UNIT and MORALITY are issues that belong to THE CHURCH! We are the stewards of these HOLY INSTITUTIONS! But Government has INTRUDED into areas and issues that God has never delegated to them! Such is the tendency of all governments over the centuries after a season of time. YOU AND I DID NOT PICK THIS FIGHT! But we are IN THE FIGHT NEVERTHELESS, whether we like it or not, acknowledge it or not! The Christians of Russia and the Ukraine were in the fight with Lenin, Stalin, and the Bolsheviks whether they liked it or not!
Anyone TODAY that tries to say ABORTION is OK is an ANTICHRIST.
Anyone TODAY that tries to say GAY MARRIAGE is OK is an ANTICHRIST.
Anyone TODAY that tries to say Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender activity is OK is an ANTICHRIST.
Anyone TODAY that tries to STEAL God-given inalienable rights that our wise Christian founders inserted into the Constitution and Bill of Rights for our protection is an ANTICHRIST.
One can even be a Christian and have the spirit of antichrist influencing his or her value system and worldview. One can be born again but not allow God to deal thoroughly with his or her rebellion. One can be in love with Jesus but be deluded and deceived by all the worldly values and philosophies they grew up in or were educated in at schools or universities. One may be godly in their own personal life, but vomit out ungodly counsel to others because of their mind having not been renewed in the things of God. One can LOVE GOD but VOTE EVIL because of a lack of integrating their faith into EVERY decision they make in life. THIS IS A TRAGEDY!
So I urge EVERY CHRISTIAN and especially EVERY preacher, pastor and Christian leader to dive into the culture war in our nation! We need to, as Isaiah stated, “RAISE UP THE FOUNDATIONS OF MANY GENERATIONS.” We need to “root out, pull down, and then build back up!” We are the ELIJAH GENERATION! We are the SALT OF THE EARTH! We are the LIGHT OF THE WORLD! Let it shine!
Much Love & Respect, Pastor Dan
Dan Cheatham
Lead Pastor, Life International Church
www.LifeInternationalChurch.Com
www.devotional.net
www.KeepMarriageHoly.Com
www.KeepChildrenAlive.Com
www.ResistTheGaystapo.Com
DrDan@devotional.net
C: 256-604-3034
Jesus is Lord over Huntsville, Nashville, and the Nations!
"Give yourself to God and your nation, and guard yourself from all evil."
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