I saw a Bible tie-in today I hadn’t noticed before. When studying the Scripture, it is interesting to know what Moses or Jesus or Paul did, but it is more valuable to know how their actions tie into our present lives as believers. When I read through Acts seventeen this morning, I noticed that the unbelieving Jews in Thessalonica used the Roman law to accuse Paul. In verses seven and thirteen, they said Paul was teaching what was contrary to the decrees of Caesar.
It is ironic that the Jews would use that approach since God’s
first commandment was to have no other gods before Him. That would seem to
put them in a position contrary to the decrees of Caesar as well. It is true
that there were times in Roman/Jewish relations that Rome allowed the Jews to
practice their religion, but it is disingenuous to try to use the Roman law to
indict someone with whom they disagreed. The Jews in Corinth tried
the same tactic, and the authority there saw through their hypocrisy and
summarily dismissed them.
Here's the tie-in. There is a cult of secular humanism in
America that is trying to use the law to squelch Christian beliefs and
practices. Sometimes they twist an existing law to serve their purpose. They
did this years ago when they banned Bible reading and prayer in public schools.
They claimed such activities violated the establishment clause of the First
Amendment. Ironically, their actions violated the free expression clause of the
same Amendment. At our country’s beginning, the freedom to practice one’s
religion in public or in private was one of the pillars of the Founding
Fathers' beliefs. They were rebelling against the state sponsored religions in
the countries many of them had fled. Allowing free expression is not the same
as establishing a state religion.
When the secular humanists cannot use an existing law to
promote their agenda, they write new ones. Much of the cancel culture we are
forced to live under today is based on regulations that were invented to
protect imaginary victims – victims who are practicing things that the
Scripture forbids. For example, same sex marriage, transgenderism, and all
sorts of sexual perversion is now protected by law. Worse, these things are
being promoted in popular media and in the public schools at ridiculously young
ages.
Sadly, secular humanists are not the only people using their
brand of religion to promote an unbiblical agenda. Entire denominations of
formerly orthodox Christians have come under the spell of the secular humanist
teachings. They have chosen to abandon Scripture and ordain homosexual
ministers and bless same sex marriages. Individuals from these apostate
churches openly support politicians who lobby for free access to abortion and
attack conservatives who attempt to limit or eliminate it.
Unbelievers everywhere are dictating what Christians can and
cannot do by twisting or enacting laws that support their views. The media is
full of stories of Christians being dragged to court just like the Jews did to
Paul. Sometimes we get a judge who, like the proconsul in Athens, sees through
their schemes. More often, Christians are forbidden to practice biblical
behavior because of some new “offended” class of citizens. This is especially
egregious when those who call themselves Christians support that kind of
travesty.
We will find ourselves in disobedience to the Word if when
in Rome we do as the Romans do. We need to adopt the stance of the Bereans in
Acts 17. They listened to Paul, and despite the accusations of the unbelieving
Jews, they searched the Scriptures to see what was true. When the Islamic
radicals attacked in 2001, many Christians wondered if it was an act of
judgment by God. I wondered similarly when I wrote “Today’s
Chaldean Chastisement” about the COVID 19 pandemic. At the very least, we
must keep our own behavior in line with Scripture. Whenever possible, I believe
we do our fellow citizens a favor by attempting to stay true to the principles
on which our country was founded. Remember: everyone in Judah suffered when God
exiled them to Babylon. We could use a few people like Moses’ friend Phinehas.
If we keep acting like Romans instead of Bereans, we will not escape the potential
judgment that may be coming sooner rather than later.
Related posts: Today’s Chaldean Chastisement; The Winnowing Fork of God; Paging Phinehas Eleazar
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