The Truth Manifesto

There are a lot of people across the United States unsatisfied with the direction the country is going and rightly so. We are in the midst of a socialist regime that seeks to change the very foundations of which this nation was founded. This philosophy, when administrated as a government mandate, suppresses freedom, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

This is not the fault of one man who is just a figurehead for all that is going wrong in this nation. It is an administration that seeks to polarize and demonize those who don’t hold their views, vilifying them for their belief in God and adhering to the Judeo-Christian values and principles that this nation was founded on (see the David Barton video on the Founders).

While this is all going on, we should really be grateful.

Minority Majority

In the Bible in Luke 17:11-19, there’s a story about Jesus healing ten lepers. He told them to show themselves to the priests and in faith, they got up and went, being healed on the way. Of the ten only one went back and thanked Jesus and a foreigner at that, not a Jew. Ten were blessed but only one was grateful and this gratefulness led to an even greater blessing, the salvation of his soul.

Subtle Narcissism

I have a lot of conservative associates who have the mentality of those nine lepers. They know where their blessings come from but they’re ungrateful for them.

They cry incessantly about the state of the country yet never thanking the Lord in their rants that they’re able to speak and proclaim the truth.

They vilify liberals with some of the most horrid expressions not once thinking about how this reflects on the One who gave them a voice, life, and breath.

They look at the government as the ultimate evil and are oblivious to the true enemy behind it all.

The reason? It’s all about them. They wrap it in descriptions like truth, liberty, freedom, the Constitution. But when you look closely through the malaise of verbal gyrations, it’s really all about them.

Not One Day

This is not to say to be silent, stand down, say, and do nothing. God forbid. However, it is to say that we should be grateful for so much from the Provider of all things. We should be grateful for being chosen to stand for Truth. We should be grateful that He uses us one more day. We should be grateful that we still have the freedom that many don’t have like brothers and sisters in churches all over the world who are persecuted for their faith. We should be grateful we can walk, talk, type, breathe, and exist.

Don’t let a day go by where we don’t thank the Lord.

Preach Truth. Stand tall. Be obedient. Express gratefulness. Worship the Lord.

Three out of four Americans say they believe in God with the vast majority identifying themselves as Christian. However, the country is highly divided, the 2008 presidential election resulting in a near 50/50 split. Tempers have flared amidst a plethora of T.E.A. parties, town hall meetings, and media wrangling that’s unprecedented.

One of the main and least repeated facts concerning the ideological war between conservatism and liberalism is God’s influence in shaping each worldview.

According to Barna Research:

• Six out of ten conservatives say their faith is becoming an increasingly important moral guide compared to just three out of ten for liberals.

• Liberalism has almost six times as many atheists, agnostics, and general unbelievers than conservatives.

• 63% of conservatives believe the Bible to be accurate in the tenets it teaches to just 27% of liberals.

• 63% of conservatives were categorized as “born again” versus 32% of liberals.

• Conservatives are seven times more likely than liberals to identify themselves as evangelical Christians.

Politics is a smokescreen in the battle between conservatism and liberalism. It’s not about politics. It’s about God.

As one of those conservative Christians, this doesn’t come as a surprise since the Bible speaks specifically about this coming down the pike:

This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.  For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. (2 Timothy 3:1-5)

When we look at the ideology of liberalism which supports such positions as abortion, euthanasia, and homosexuality, only two things can happen. You have to redefine and reinterpret the Bible so that it supports your position and therefore creating God in the image you want Him to be, or get rid of the Bible and God altogether, therefore strengthening the evil positions the philosophy is steeped in. Liberals have tried to do both and continue to do so with more of the latter.

I have said this before and I will say it again: there is no way you can be a true Christian and a true liberal. Not possible. Never gonna happen. Liberalism is anathema to the Christian worldview. Always has been, always will be.

So don’t be fooled by those who profess to be a liberal and a Christian. Challenge them with the truth of the scriptures. That will always be the litmus test of where they stand in the grand scheme of things.

Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:  And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. (1 John 4:1a,2-3)

Being a conservative, I know that I’m going to get some upside down smiley faces on this one. Even so, the truth is that being a conservative doesn’t mean you’re a Christian. They are not synonymous and are exclusive of one another.

The philosophy of conservatism is in line with Christian doctrine on all kinds of levels which is why that is my political leaning. I cover this in my three part series What’s A Conservative Christian? However, the foundation I base that on supersedes the conservative philosophy which is the Bible itself.

Many conservatives get it twisted. They think that because the philosophy lines up with scripture and that they label themselves conservative, that somehow this qualifies them as being a Christian.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

CONFORMATION

The litmus test of being a Christian is a changed life in adherence to the word of God. It is a continual outworking of of love through the power of the Holy Spirit in response to someone laying down their life for Jesus Christ in affirmation and realization of their sinful condition.

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. (Romans 12:2)

I have met many conservatives throughout the past year who live lives in direct contradiction to the word of God but have deceived themselves into thinking they’re Christians. Their mouths spew all kinds of filthiness and venom and their lifestyles do not reflect the holiness of God.

I have this saying that if you have to tell someone you’re a Christian, that’s probably a clear indication that you’re not. Jesus says it like this:

This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. (Matthew 15:8)

JUDGE NOT

The response of many to these allegations is, “You can’t judge me. The Bible says don’t judge.” My response to that is, “Yes, the Bible does say that. But what is it talking about?”

Matthew 7:1 is the verse that people like to reference to prohibit all kinds of judgment, especially on them. But that’s not what this is talking about. Warren Wiersbe puts it nicely:

We must not pass judgment on others’ motives. We should examine their actions and attitudes, but we cannot judge their motives–for only God can see their hearts. It is possible for a person to do a good work with a bad motive. It is also possible to fail in a task and yet be very sincerely motivated.

In other words, a good work doesn’t make you good, and you may be sincere but sincerely wrong.

As Christians we are told to judge a plethora of things: whether someone is in the faith (Galatians 5:19-21, 2 Corinthians 6:14), whether a teacher is doctrinally sound (Matthew 7:15-20, 1 John 4:1), who’s qualified to lead in the church (1 Timothy 3:13), and a host of other things.

William McDonald puts it perfectly:

Jesus is not teaching that we are to be undiscerning Christians. He never intended that we abandon our critical faculty or discernment. The New Testament has many illustrations of legitimate judgment of the condition, conduct, and teaching of others. In addition, there are several areas in which the Christian is commanded to make a decision, to discriminate between good and bad or between good and best.

“I AGREE.” ISN’T ENOUGH

Conservatives (and people in general) miss the boat by thinking that agreeing with something is belief. But biblical belief goes beyond mental assent. It means doing.

Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? (James 2:18)

Of course, there’s no way we can do this by just a force of will. We must be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit and willingly give ourselves over to Him. This is more easily done when we realize that there is nothing good in our hearts. We’re sinful and evil.

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9)

This is what must be addressed and God is not going to judge on the basis of our political philosophy but on the conduct of our lives by relation to His Son Jesus Christ.

So, to my conservative brothers and sisters I say this: major on the Lord Jesus Christ. Minor on conservatism. That way, your conservatism is founded on something far greater that can change people’s lives.

The last couple of posts we’ve been looking at the conservative Christian and what it means to be one. We’ve taken a look at a couple of the key pillars of conservatism and explained how from a biblical perspective that the tenets agree with the Bible.

Understand that whatever we do and think that it has to line up with scripture, not the other way around. Scripture is the final authority.

Today we’re going to end it with three other pillars of conservative philosophy: pro life, free market/capitalism, and what many call traditional family values but I’m gonna call what it is which is anti-homosexuality.

Pro-Life

I have touched on this in detail in another post titled Abortion And Slavery: Peas In A Pod and I want to refer you there to read on it. But in the interest of keeping everything in one place, I’ll reiterate some points while adding some others.

The big debate today over abortion hinges on when life begins. Conservatives belief it begins at the moment of conception and science agrees wholeheartedly. But scripture says that life begins before conception when God thinks about you.

Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. (Jeremiah 1:5)

In Exodus we have a situation of infanticide being instituted by the Pharaoh and scripture testifying that this was evil (Exodus 1:15-22). Whether this was instituted by the government or by an individual, the act is what is evil. It shows a callous disdain for human life. Instead of looking at life as being precious and marvelous, agreeing with scripture that “I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well” (Psalm 139:14), we excuse this barbaric and murderous act as some right. Conservatives don’t believe that and neither does scripture.

Traditional Family Values (Anti-Homosexuality)

This one pillar is a new one because of the growth of homosexuality in this country since the late 70s. Some may argue earlier. Nevertheless, we’ve had to take a stand on this and now it’s one of the pillars of our platform.

Homosexuality is CLEARLY a disgusting, abominable act before the Lord:

Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. (Leviticus 18:22)

If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them. (Leviticus 20:13)

For this cause God gave them up unto vile passions: for their women changed the natural use into that which is against nature: and likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another, men with men working unseemliness, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was due. And even as they refused to have God in their knowledge, God gave them up unto a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not fitting; (Romans 1:26)

Or know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with men, (1 Corinthians 6:9)

On and on and on.

The reason for this is that it goes against nature itself and history has proven time and time again that once a society embraces homosexuality, that society ceases to exist. Allowing gay marriage is a stamp of approval to continue in a self- destructive lifestyle not only for those involved but for the nation’s survival.

Alarmism? Sure. Alarmism based on Truth is a warning from God we had better take heed.

Free Market/Capitalism

When we talk about free market, we’re tying to it the idea of limited government and personal responsibility and therefore the biblical reasons that apply there bleed over to this one.

I’m going to recommend a thorough analysis of biblical economics from Gary North who has done extensive research into the subject. I also recommend anything from Larry Burkett. But today, I’m going to give you the main points of why free market capitalism is biblical.

The Bible says in Galatians 6:4-5:

But let each man prove his own work, and then shall he have his glorying in regard of himself alone, and not of his neighbor. For each man shall bear his own burden.

It also says in 2 Thessolonians 3:10:

For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, If any will not work, neither let him eat.

When it comes to individual responsibility tied to free market, one of the passages that just screams at this in the area of finance is the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14 – 30). In this parable the Lord, clearly Jesus, was expecting His servants to produce a profit. He gives them all a different amount. He didn’t give them all the same amount as socialists want to do in their redistribution of wealth philosophy. He gave according to their ability and wanted results. The first two worked hard and got results. The last didn’t and what was given to him was given to the one that had produced the most. All because the servant was lazy and didn’t want to work.

The Bible always says that hard work will produce wealth and a lack of nothing (Proverbs 6:10-11, 14:23, 28:19, 1 Thessolonians 4:10b-12). Wealth is not evil as liberals love to pontificate even though they themselves are no where near poor while their constituents stay poor. You’d think that would be a hint.

It’s our attitude towards wealth that’s evil (1 Timothy 6:10), not wealth in and of itself.

Deuteronomy 28:12-13 states:

Jehovah will open unto thee his good treasure the heavens, to give the rain of thy land in its season, and to bless all the work of thy hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow. And Jehovah will make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if thou shalt hearken unto the commandments of Jehovah thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them.

One sure way to get out of poverty is to start working hard at what God has gifted you at and trust that God will be true to His word. Working hard means that. It won’t be easy. But diligence will produce no lack. To say that it’s the government’s responsibility to make sure everyone gets the same thing is ludicrous and unbilblical.

In the book of Acts 4:32-37, we have the evidence of what happens when our hearts are changed and we act as a true Christian community. This was not by force but by individual choice. When that happens in a free market full of hard working people, no one lacks a thing. It was not done by force of the governing body of the apostles for in the next chapter, we have a situation where Peter confronts two people who lied and said they had given all when they really hadn’t. Peter makes it clear:

While it remained, did it not remain thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thy power? How is it that thou hast conceived this thing in thy heart? thou has not lied unto men, but unto God. (Acts 5:4)

It was their property to do with as they chose and no one was forcing them to do otherwise. Whether they gave or not, no one was going to take it away from them or look differently at them because they hadn’t.

Socialism forces people to give what they have worked hard for to others that they do not know all in the supposed interest of equality and need. But God’s economy works in a way where people have the freedom to choose what to do with the fruit from their labor and not have it extorted from them in the guise of taxes, tariffs, and fees. Socialism likes to spread your wealth how it sees fit, not how you see fit even though you worked for it. Socialism promotes oppression while capitalism promotes freedom.

Behold, that which I have seen to be good and to be comely is for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy good in all his labor, wherein he laboreth under the sun, all the days of his life which God hath given him: for this is his portion. Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labor – this is the gift of God. (Ecclesiastes 5:18-19)

This is the laborer’s portion, not someone else’s who doesn’t work for it. Let the laborer decide how to distribute what they earn. In addition, righteous wealth is God’s gift. To tamper with that and say that it should be given to someone else is to say that God doesn’t know what He’s doing and is an affront against God. Socialism, as much as MLK wanted to support it, is anti-Bible.

So yeah, he was wrong.

So Now You Know

So know you know why I’m a conservative Christian and why many like me are. Because it lines up with the principles and tenets of the scriptures.

I could go on with the death penalty, gun control, immigration, the whole wop and I probably will touch on each of those individually at some time in the future. But I really wanted to just hit on the majors. We can do the minors at another time.

I’d be interested in hearing the views of some people and why they are Christians and a conservative. So make sure you leave comments as this is meant to be more of a detailed summary overview.

Always interested in what you have to say.

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What a difference a day makes.

In that time, Christians come to my blog and just had a hissy fit over what I’m writing and how I’m writing it. On the one hand, I find it pitiful because they can’t seem to actually read what I post and interpret it correctly. On the other hand, I find it humorous because…well...they can’t seem to read what I post and interpret it correctly.

My Conservative Christian Creed really got ‘em riled up. So I feel that I would be remiss if I didn’t finish it for them. Not to be annoying…but this may take a little longer than I thought.

Yesterday I laid out, from my own words, what being a conservative Christian meant. Today I’m going to present stance by stance, from a Biblical perspective (as always), the conservative platform and why they’re congruent with the Bible. My focus is going to be personal responsibility and limited government.

Limited Government

As a Christian, we understand that the best form of government is a theocracy where God is ruling things. However, since that’s not here and won’t be for a good minute, even if the rapture happened today, we have a government run by man.

In 1 Samuel 8, the people say they want a king. God Himself says it’s a bad idea. However, since the people rejected God, He gave them what they wanted but laid out the consequences of their decision. Their hearts were so hardened that they didn’t care.

Because the heart of man is deceitful and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9), having him rule over other men is simply not in man’s best interest as long as sin exists. This is played out so many times in the Bible that I’m not even going to go there. If you read 1 and 2 Kings, you’ll get where I’m coming from.

King David realized this in 2 Samuel 24. He had sinned against the Lord and had realized his sin, God had given him three choices as punishment.:

And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the hand of the LORD; for his mercies are great: and let me not fall into the hand of man. (1 Samuel 24:14)

This really goes to the root of why limited government is the way to go.

Personal Responsibility

Oh Mylanta. Where in the world do I begin?

Because I believe scripture says it so much better than I do, I’ll just go ahead and post a small sampling of what the Bible says on this:

The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin (Deuteronomy 24:16) .

If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself: but if thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it (Proverbs 9:12).

…the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him (Ezekiel 18:20b).

But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. For every man shall bear his own burden. (Galatians 6:4-5)

There are more. Suffice it to say that the Bible speaks plainly about personal responsibility and how we individually are held responsible for what we do and don’t do.

These two stances have ridiculously strong support from a biblical perspective and therefore I’m down like Charlie Brown. In like Flynn.

Next post: fiscal conservatism, pro-life, and anti-gay marriage or anti-homosexuality. Take your pick (yeah. I called it like it was instead of wrapping that up with the phrase ‘traditional family values’. I know…I’m just mean).

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With the way the word conservative has been demonized everywhere a liberal has the forum to give an opinion, it’s no wonder that people would get the wrong idea of what it truly means to be a conservative, especially a conservative that’s a Christian (trust me, they’re not the same). Today, I’m going to begin to define what that means.

Because I don’t want there to be any misunderstanding, I’m going to take my time with this. Even so, there may be some of you who wholly do not agree with me and you’re welcome to comment.

Though not widely popularized, there are many political parties: democrat, republican, libertarian, green , independent, constitution, falconist, on and on. Each party has it’s own philosophy. These philosophies define the foundation of the party’s core beliefs. They are liberal, moderate, and conservative.

I’ll explain in other posts why I’m not a democrat and why I’m not a republican though I’m still registered as one. I am a Christian that’s politically conservative. Or a conservative Christian. Take your pick.

What does that mean? Let me explain in my own words.

The Conservative Christian Creed

I believe in the Holy Bible, the Old and New Testaments. I believe that it testifies to who God truly is. I believe it is God’s word and the final authority for mankind and how He would want us to conduct ourselves as His creation. I believe that His word is borne out of love and, so being, works in the best interests of His creation.

I believe that the laws of man are only beneficial when they agree with the express law of God. I believe that everything should be tested by God’s law and that it is the foundation of true freedom.

I believe that God, being eternal, reflects in His law that same eternalness. That it is timeless and therefore applicable from generation to generation.

I believe that the moral foundation of a nation defines that nation and the principles by which they live. I believe that when the moral fabric of a society strays away from God and His law, that society sets itself up for God’s judgment as history has shown repeatedly.

Why Conservative?

All of that being said, you may be asking why conservative. Aren’t there Christians that are liberal? I suppose there are but I believe that they have got to have a crisis of conscious and doctrine if they kotow to an agenda that is anti-Christ.

The conservative philosophy is founded on a belief in things like limited government, encouraging industry, personal responsibility (something that is just straight from the pages of scripture), pro life, pro traditional marriage (In other words, anti-gay marriage. Hey, call an ace and ace), pro Constitution (freedom of religion, freedom of the press, personal defense). These are the main tenets of the conservative agenda and line up with the principles of scripture. Therefore I stand in that camp.

Now, how are these things biblical? We’ll look at each one through the eyes of scripture and see if each can stand up in my next post.

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