OUR PRESENT APOCALYPSE
The Gospel of
the Lord Jesus Christ:
The True Victim of Legalized Abortion
OUR PRESENT APOCALYPSE
"Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel..." Philippians 1:27
"I'm a homosexual man and I'm also a Christian," the caller told Alan Colmes, of Fox News Hannity and Colmes. Alan Colmes had been interviewing me on his national radio program so the audience could hear me when I erupted in mocking laughter at the caller's idea that he was a homosexual Christian. The "homosexual Christian" responded to my disgust by saying, "I believe that Jesus is the son of God; I believe God sent Jesus to earth; I believe the words Jesus spoke were the words of God; and I believe the only sin is to reject Jesus." His meaning was clear. Because he did not reject Jesus, the "homosexual Christian" was certain that he was no longer a sinner in danger of hell fire even though he fornicated other men. He believed he had every right to expect all the promises God gave to those who trust in Jesus Christ would be made available by God to himself, the homosexual "Christian." This man believed a gospel. His gospel ran something like this: God so loved the world that anyone who did not reject Jesus was saved from the wrath of God even if that person engaged in homosexual activities after "not rejecting" Jesus. Do you understand that the "homosexual Christian" believed in a gospel that is different from the gospel preached by Paul and Peter and James and John and all the other Apostles? If you understand that, then you should want to understand how the homosexual "Christian" became so certain of his "gospel" that he was willing to defend it before a national radio audience.
THE DESTRUCTION OF THE GOSPEL
This article proves that no matter what might be truthfully said about all the other victims of legalized abortion--the unborn babies, the mothers who kill their unborn babies, the abortionists who make their living killing those babies, the nation that sanctions the killing of unborn babies--nothing has been more devastating to all that is Holy, Good and True than the destruction of the gospel created by the response to legalized abortion from the vast majority of Christians in this nation.
The idea that the response of Christians to legalized abortion has caused the gospel to be destroyed so that homosexual "Christians" will parade themselves before the nation is a shocking idea, an idea that to some will appear preposterous on its face. But this article provides documentation proving how, with the exception of a tiny number of Christians who are now actively resisting the destruction of the gospel, the members of every congregation of Christians in this nation have through word and deed created a gospel that is different from the one handed down to them by the Apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ and by their Christian forefathers who lived and died to defend that gospel. Through creating another gospel, the Christians in this generation have destroyed the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
When we talk about the destruction of the gospel, we must be very careful to define what we mean because there is a sense in which the gospel cannot be destroyed. The work of the Lord Jesus Christ is done: He is risen; the gospel is complete. But there is another sense in which the gospel can be easily destroyed. For the gospel is more than the actual events accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ, the events which cannot be destroyed because they are finished works of history. The gospel is also the story of those events as that story is conveyed to people who have no knowledge of those events. That version of the gospel can be easily destroyed. All that is required is for the story of the events accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ to be altered so that the true events created by and through and in Christ Jesus cease to be visible to the world.
Because the gospel story can be destroyed, the Apostle Paul erected a terrible sanction against those who destroyed the gospel, "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed." Galatians 1:8
Strong's Greek dictionary defines the word the King James Version of the Bible translated as "accursed": PíÜèåìá anathema an-ath'-em-ah From G394; a (religious) ban or (concretely) excommunicated (thing or person):—accursed, anathema, curse, X great.
Based on that definition, it should be clear that, at a minimum, Paul is telling every person who has been saved by hearing the gospel delivered by the Apostle Paul to get away from, and stop listening to, anybody who brings another gospel...even if it is Paul himself. (I said "at a minimum." There is a very real possibility that once such gospel destroyers have done their work that many more terrible consequences will occur than simply finding themselves excommunicated by those who are in Christ Jesus).
Paul delivered a hard saying. In those words the Apostle Paul admitted that it was possible that even he might become undone and lose his mind and come back to those he had ministered to and try to change the story about the Lord Jesus Christ that the Apostle Paul had delivered to the gentiles. His words were clear: should he do such a thing, everyone was to get away from him and listen to him no more.
What a horrible message that was! Not only was the Apostle Paul admitting that horrible things could happen on this earth but he was also admitting that even he could not be seen to be exempt from possibly being overcome by sin so grave as to lead him to bring another gospel.
But there was a test he was telling everyone had to be administered to those who came talking and preaching and teaching as if they were sent by the Lord Jesus Christ. And the test was the same for every person. Did they bring the gospel that Paul originally delivered to the world, or did they bring another gospel? One test. Pure and simple. If they brought the same gospel Paul originally delivered they were to be seen to be of the Lord; a different gospel, they were to be seen to be accursed.
So all we have to do to see if the gospel is being destroyed in our generation today is examine what is being taught in word and deed as the gospel and compare it to the gospel originally brought to the world by the Apostle Paul.
The Gospel According to the Apostle Paul
You can begin to see that the gospel being presented by Christians in the USA is different than the one brought by the Apostle Paul by examining the gospel according to Paul.
That gospel begins with a message about God the Father. In Acts 17 we are given a picture of how the Apostle Paul went about explaining the gospel to people. Read those passages and you will see how the Apostle Paul made his presentation of the gospel begin with an explanation of the relationship God the Father has with every person who has ever been created on earth.
In Acts 17:24ff, Paul explains it this way: "24God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; 25Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; 26And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; 27That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: 28For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.29Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device. 30And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: 31Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead."
The Gospel Is Not the Gospel Without the Message About The Father
Can you see that the good news about the Lord Jesus Christ does not, and cannot, make sense unless we also understand the good news about God the Father that Paul defines at the beginning of his gospel sermon. See for yourself.
The gospel, the good news, begins with a message about God the Father. And the good news is this: "And [God] hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; 27That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: 28For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring."
So the good news that is the actual beginning of the gospel sermon that Paul brings is a message not about God the Son but about God the Father. That message about God the Father is clear if we break down each section of Paul's statement:
1. Each person on earth has the same parents (Adam and Eve) from whom all people spring: "([God] hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth..."
2. Each and every person on earth, including Adam and Eve, is God's offspring. He is the Father of all people: "(...For we are also his offspring)."
2. God chooses the time and place where each and every person is to be born and where they are to live: "([God] hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation.)"
3. God wanted every person to know this about Him so that they would know He was their Father and this knowledge would move them to reach out to get to know Him: "(That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him...)."
4. God makes it so that people can get to know Him as He is because He locates people as close to Himself as it is possible to be: "(...though he be not far from every one of us: 28For in him we live, and move, and have our being)."
5. And finally God raised Jesus of Nazareth from the grave to provide people with a way to know the love God has for all those who are in Him. (Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.)
Every Christian knows who Paul is referring to when he talks about the "that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead." "That man" is the Lord Jesus Christ.
Just as Paul's message began with the good news that God the Father was the One who created each person and chose the time and place they would be born alive, so, too, the end of the good news was that there is a way that God has given assurance unto all men that they are all right with God...if they will believe the good news about the Lord Jesus Christ being raised from the dead and follow Him as Lord all the days of their lives.
Do You Know The Creator?
At some level, even people who do not believe there is such a Being out there as the One Paul described, if they were honest with themselves, would confess that in theory at least it would be very helpful to have access to such a Being. Who could deny that it would be great to be the child of One who has the power to create every person who has ever lived, and who has the power to decide the moment they are to be born and where they are to be born? A relationship with such a Being would mean access to literally infinite power. Who could deny that, in theory at least, such access would be a great thing?
Of course if it is understood that such a Being does not exist, theory and speculation about such a relationship would be a waste of time.
But to Paul, there was no theory involved in the message he brought to the people of Athens. He knew for a fact that he had a relationship with such a Being, and he knew it because that Being had shown Paul that Jesus Christ was raised from the grave, was in fact, with Paul as the Spirit of Christ. And it was all those things added together that Paul understood to be the good news, the gospel, that he was supposed to try to tell every person on earth.
And that was the gospel that Paul brought not only to the people of Athens but to every person he ever talked to. The Acts 17 passage shows us a picture that is a model for every gospel message that Paul ever brought. In other places in the Bible where Paul talks about the gospel, he might have expanded or amplified the message he brought in Athens, but there is no basis for thinking that Paul ever omitted any of the points he made there in the Aereopagus when he talked to all the rest of the people he taught as the Apostle Paul, the Apostle of the gentiles.
Matthew Henry, whose unfailing good sense permeated all his commentaries on Holy Scripture, explained in his commentary on Acts 17:21ff why the people of Athens required a more complete gospel summary than Paul gave to the Jews he normally preached to. Matthew Henry said, "Here we have a sermon to heathens, who worshipped false gods, and were without the true God in the world; and to them the scope of the discourse was different from what the apostle preached to the Jews. In the latter case, his business was to lead his hearers by prophecies and miracles to the knowledge of the Redeemer, and faith in him; in the former, it was to lead them, by the common works of providence, to know the Creator, and worship Him. The apostle spoke of an altar he had seen, with the inscription, 'TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.' This fact is stated by many writers. After multiplying their idols to the utmost, some at Athens thought there was another god of whom they had no knowledge. And are there not many now called Christians, who are zealous in their devotions, yet the great object of their worship is to them an unknown God? Observe what glorious things Paul here says of that God whom he served, and would have them to serve. The Lord had long borne with idolatry, but the times of this ignorance were now ending, and by his servants he now commanded all men every where to repent of their idolatry. Each sect of the learned men would feel themselves powerfully affected by the apostle's discourse, which tended to show the emptiness or falsity of their doctrines."
HOW WE PARTICIPATE IN DESTROYING THE GOSPEL
If you will look at the message Paul brought there in Athens, you will see that the good news he delivered there hinged on the fact that each and every person, whether Jew of Gentile, male or female, young or old, was the offspring of a God who chose the time and place where they were to be born, a God who chose whether they were to be born dead or alive. Paul clearly stated that no other god had that power. The Apostle Paul also clearly stated that God wanted people to know this about Him so that people would reach out to Him and get to know Him. And the Apostle Paul clearly stated that God wanted people to get to know Him because God had done something in raising Christ Jesus from the grave that would cause people to become sure that the God who was their Father in the beginning, the God who made them His offspring, had a way for them to live forever in His Presence.
In what they call a "post-Christian" world where a neo-pagan denial of God the Father is the order of the day, nothing is more important to the gospel than helping people understand the validity of God the Creator Father of all people.
But look at what this generation of Christians has been doing through the pro-life movement. Think what happens when it is made to appear to the world that the God who chooses the time and place where every person is to be born has delegated to another power, namely, the government of the United States of America, the decision about whether that person is to be born dead or alive.
If you've been paying attention, you can anticipate where all this is headed. For over 33 years virtually every Christian in this nation has given the federal government of the United States of America the idea it has the right to decide who is to be born alive and who is to be born dead.
How did we give the government that idea? By acting like the federal government was authorized to decree whether a person was to be born dead or alive, that's how.
How do Christians act that way?
Two ways: Christians either do not resist at all when the federal government usurps God's Right to be the One who decides who is born alive or who is born dead; or Christians resist in such a way as to concede the government has the right to decree who is to be born alive or dead.
PRETEND RESISTANCE IS WORSE THAN NO RESISTANCE AT ALL
Wait a minute! If one is resisting, isn't that evidence the person is doing the will of God?
Not really. There is such a thing as resistance in name only: Let's call it "pretend resistance."
Pretend resistance is worse than no resistance at all. Here's why. Pretend resistance gives people the "feeling" that they are obeying God when they are, in fact, doing nothing that actually stops the thing they are pretending to resist. People engaged in pretend resistance are doubly difficult to move to real resistance because they "feel" like they are resisting when in fact they are doing nothing that has the power to stop the thing they are pretend resisting. Until such people stop pretend resisting, it is virtually impossible to get them to do the things that actually have the power to defend the gospel.
But what makes pretend resistance really deadly to Christians is this: Pretend resistance Christians are in grave danger of being cut off from God because God does not allow half-way measures. C. H. Spurgeon looked at the following verse: "I will cut off them that worship and that swear by the Lord, and that swear by Malcham." Zephaniah 1:5, and had this to say: "Such persons thought themselves safe because they were with both parties: they went with the followers of Jehovah, and bowed at the same time to Malcham. But duplicity is abominable with God, and hypocrisy his soul hateth. The idolater who distinctly gives himself to his false god, has one sin less than he who brings his polluted and detestable sacrifice unto the temple of the Lord, while his heart is with the world and the sins thereof. To hold with the hare and run with the hounds, is a dastard’s policy. In the common matters of daily life, a double-minded man is despised, but in religion he is loathsome to the last degree. The penalty pronounced in the verse before us is terrible, but it is well deserved; for how should divine justice spare the sinner, who knows the right, approves it, and professes to follow it, and all the while loves the evil, and gives it dominion in his heart?"
Specific Example of How the Pro-Life Movement Pretends to Resist but Resists "In Name Only"
Recently pro-lifers in the State of South Dakota managed to get a law passed which abolished legalized abortion in that State. Now on the surface that would look like indisputable evidence that the pro-life Christians in that State were resisting legalized abortion. But on closer examination, what happened in South Dakota is a perfect example of what "pretend" resistance, resistance in name only, looks like. As you survey what happened in South Dakota, you will see an example of what pro-life Christians have been doing in the USA for 33 years. And you will be able to see how pro-life Christians have been destroying the gospel.
THE SOUTH DAKOTA LAW DESTROYS THE GOSPEL BY MAKING IT APPEAR GOD IS WILLING TO GRANT TO THE COURTS OF MAN THE RIGHT TO DECIDE WHO IS BORN DEAD OR ALIVE
To see how the South Dakota abortion law creates another gospel, it is necessary to listen to the words in the law and see what those words say about God the Father. (The law is only four pages long and you can read it in PDF format here).
The South Dakota abortion law (it's called the Women's Health and Human Life Protection Act) states, "...that life begins at the time of conception...that to fully protect the rights, interests, and health of the pregnant mother, the rights, interest, and life of her unborn child, and the mother's fundamental natural intrinsic right to a relationship with her child, abortions in South Dakota should be prohibited. Moreover, the Legislature finds that the guarantee of due process of law under the Constitution of South Dakota applies equally to born and unborn human beings, and that under the Constitution of South Dakota, a pregnant mother and her unborn child, each possess a natural and inalienable right to life."
The law continues, "No person may knowingly administer to, prescribe for, or procure for, or sell to any pregnant woman any medicine, drug, or other substance with the specific intent of causing or abetting the termination of the life of an unborn human being. No person may knowingly use or employ any instrument or procedure upon a pregnant woman with the specific intent of causing or abetting the termination of the life of an unborn human being."
And finally the law prescribes the penalty for those who break the law, "Any violation of this section is a Class 5 felony."
As you can see, the South Dakota law looks at first glance like it is designed to uphold the idea that God the Father is the only one with the right to decide who is to be born dead or alive. The law seems to be designed to defend that idea that each person at the moment of conception is to be understood to be under the protection of God the Father, and Him alone.
But when you read the rest of the law, you can see that the South Dakota law actually has another meaning, actually sends a different message entirely.
Section 10 and 11 of the law demonstrate this point:
"Section 10. If any court of law enjoins, suspends, or delays
the implementation of a provision of this Act, the provisions of sections 6 to
9, inclusive, of this Act are similarly enjoined, suspended, or delayed during
such injunction, suspension, or delayed implementation."
"Section 11. If any court of law finds any provision of this Act to be
unconstitutional, the other provisions of this Act are severable. If any court
of law finds the provisions of this Act to be entirely or substantially
unconstitutional, the provisions of §§ 34-23A-2, 34-23A-3, 34-23A-4, and
34-23A-5, as of June 30, 2006, are immediately reeffective."
Do you see what the law actually does? While on the surface the words in the law appear to be designed to proclaim the beginning of the gospel, that God the Father conceives all human beings and from the moment of conception has a plan for that individual that involves being the only One with the Right to decide whether that person is born dead or alive, lives or dies. But when you read section 10 and 11, you see that the law is actually saying that everything the law proclaims is contingent upon approval by the Court system in the United States of America.
In other words, the South Dakota law says that each person has the right to due process of the law from the moment of conception and any person who violates that law is guilty of a crime unless the courts of the United States of America rule otherwise.
It is right there that we can see how the South Dakota law destroys the gospel. The gospel does not begin with the message that God the Father intends for each person to know that God is the One who decides when and where they are born and whether or not they are born alive if the people on this planet agree to let Him have that power.
The gospel proclaims that God so loved the people he conceives that He guarantees their right to live with Him as long as they treat Him like God the Father deserves to be treated. That is the beginning of the gospel.
Now obviously there is a lot more that has to be said before anyone can have enough information to see the whole gospel message.
But the point being examined here is whether or not the gospel can exist in the form the Apostles delivered it if the beginning of the gospel is changed to a different message than the one taught by the Apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The South Dakota law clearly states that the message about the rights of unborn babies can be nullified and made of absolutely no effect if any court in the nation refuses to allow the law to stand. That is what is clearly and precisely stated in Sections 10 and 11.
Do you see that this message not only contradicts what the Apostle Paul said about God the Father but it also directly contradicts what the founding fathers of the USA said in the Declaration of Independence (DOI) when they stated that The Creator endowed all men with the "unalienable" Right to Life? (A lien is an instrument created by a government whereby government creates a restraint on a property. The DOI said God gave some Rights that could not have a lien placed on them by government.)
THREE DECADES OF ACTING LIKE THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS GOD
Think about it and you will see that the South Dakota abortion law is simply the latest example of what pro-life Christians have been doing since the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade usurped God The Father's Right to be seen to be the only One with the Right to decide who is born alive and who is born dead. For 33 years and more, each and every day that passed, the vast majority of Christians went about their business of protecting and defending the federal government of the USA while that same government did everything in its power to act like God The Father had no Rights that any person in the United States of America was obligated to respect and obey. Just as ancient Caesar rose up and told everyone in the Roman Empire that they could believe anything they wanted to believe about any of the various alternative gods as long as they did exactly what Caesar told them to do, so too the federal government of the United States of America has done exactly the same thing. And what have the vast majority of Christians done? Acted exactly like the vast majority of Christians in the Roman Empire did: bowed down before Caesar and proclaimed him Lord in deed. In this craven obsequious obedience, the vast majority of American Christians have turned the federal government of the USA into an idol.
THE PRESENT PRO-LIFE LEADERS' ERROR IS A MIRROR IMAGE OF THE ANCIENT CHURCH LAPSI
The cost to this nation in the loss of millions of aborted citizens is literally nothing when compared to the cost to this nation in people's ability to hear, understand and believe the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. The shame that should be upon all Christians is beyond measure when Christians look at what preceding generations of Christians have been willing to pay to defend the gospel. All you have to do is look at the history of the Church and you will see what Christians have been willing to pay in the past to avoid confusing people about God the Father's desire to be seen to be the only One on earth with the right to decide who is born dead or alive.
Specifically, look at the Lapsi and, by comparing their treason against the gospel to the actions of faithful Christians in the ancient Church, you will see how true Christians responded to government idols. Lapsi was the common name for Christians who relapsed into heathenism, especially for those who during the persecutions displayed weakness in the face of torture, and denied the Faith by sacrificing to the heathen gods or by any other acts. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, "Many of the lapsi, indeed the majority of the very numerous cases in the great persecutions after the middle of the third century, certainly did not return to paganism out of conviction: they simply had not the courage to confess the Faith steadfastly when threatened with temporal losses and severe punishments...and their sole desire was to preserve themselves from persecution by an external act of apostasy, and to save their property, freedom, and life."
The Lapsi are a perfect example for the pro-life movement today because in most respects, the pro-life movement's decision to allow the courts of this nation to think they have the right to overrule the rights of unborn babies exactly parallels the decision of Christians in the ancient Church who, when confronted by a choice of whether to treat Caesar like he was god or to deny Caesar that message, chose to bow before Caesar and proclaim him lord.
It is no exaggeration to make this comparison. Christians in Caesar's day were forced to decide whether Caesar had the right to be seen to be the only power on earth who was authorized to decide who lived or who died, and the conditions under which life and death would occur. Some Christians understood that to bow before Caesar was to deny what they understood about God the Father; namely, that all power and all authority came from Him and it was only as earthly powers like Caesar operated in harmony with the will of God that they were authorized to be obeyed by those who are in Christ Jesus.
Of course, there were other Christians--the Lapsi--who decided that it was necessary to compromise with Caesar under the conditions extant in the ancient Church. And the conditions were certainly those that reasonable people would seriously consider compromising with.
If Christians did not proclaim Caesar as Lord, they would be killed. But not just killed; they would be tortured with torture unspeakable and obscene to the utmost degree imaginable by evil minds utterly surrendered to the spirit of murder.
As history records, many, perhaps even the vast majority of Christians, proclaimed Caesar to be Lord.
History has a name for those Christians. Lapsi. The Lapsed.
History records that the Christians who bowed to Caesar lapsed from the defense of the faith that was their clearly stated duty, lapsed from preaching the gospel, and became agents of another gospel.
THE OTHER GOSPEL BEING CREATED BY CHRISTIANS IN THE USA TODAY
What was the other gospel the Lapsi began to demonstrate? That those Christians who cooperated with Caesar would be able to enjoy all the benefits and virtues of those who are in Christ Jesus and, at the same time, enjoy all the multitude of blessings of peace and prosperity that came to those who were loyal and obedient citizens of the Roman Empire. And, according to this other gospel, all that was required to enjoy all these blessings was to proclaim Caesar Lord, giving him the authority to believe he was the only one on earth authorized to be responsible for deciding who has the right to live, and who must be the one to die. THAT IS EXACTLY THE SAME FALSE GOSPEL THAT IS BEING COMMUNICATED BY PRO-LIFE CHRISTIANS IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA TODAY!
Can you see that every day that passes while we allow the federal government to act like it has the Right to decide who is born alive and who is born dead that we allow one more day to pass in which the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is being destroyed? Can you not see what that is doing to each and every Christian in the United States of America today who cooperates with this false gospel?
History tells us the Lapsi were accursed. In fact as the loyal followers of the Lord Jesus Christ who defended the gospel by refusing to act like Caesar was Lord were forced to go underground, even to the point of worshipping in caves and subterranean complexes, the Lapsi grew in prosperity and peace. Only problem was they had no more access to the power of the Holy Spirit than the most common mass murderer. They received the rain God gave to the just and unjust alike, but that was all. They had no access to the peace of God, the love of God. All they had was the counterfeit of those blessings that the world, the flesh and the devil provided. In the end those Lapsi Christians grieved and quenched the Holy Spirit so that their state was worse off than if they had never thought about being Christians at all. It was worse because they were surrounded by teachers who pretended to be true Christians but were actually Lapsi charlatans preaching another gospel than the one handed down by the Apostles. It was worse because they had quenched the Holy Spirit of God in their lives.
Generation after generation the Lapsi raised their children to bow to Caesar. Generation after generation the Lapsi confused the world about the gospel, leaving it up to an oppressed and often martyred minority to hold on to the gospel handed down by the Apostles through the power of the Holy Spirit. Until, finally, Caesar became a Christian himself. And he allowed all the underground Christians to come out in the open. And the people saw that those Christians had the power of the Holy Spirit because they had preserved the true gospel that began with a wonderful message about God the Father. How He had ways to protect His children even when they died the most horrible deaths imaginable, even when thousands of them had taken up their cross and followed the Lord Jesus Christ to their own personal Golgotha.
And the world realized that all those Christians who had been going to all those Caesar approved Christian churches had not had the gospel at all but had been teaching another gospel all along.
Do you see the parallel between the ancient Church Lapsi and the pro-life Christians who have cooperated with the federal government of the USA for the last 33 years?
The pro-life leaders boldly proclaimed that the unborn child has rights from the moment of conception, rights that are exactly like the rights every born citizen of the USA is endowed with. Then, after issuing that bold proclamation, the Lapsi pro-lifer says in effect, "that is, unless you the courts say otherwise. In that case, we will accept your word as the word of Truth, your will as the will that guides us on earth."
That is exactly what the ancient church Lapsi were saying to Caesar when they bowed before him and proclaimed him as lord. They were saying we will boldly proclaim the gospel handed down to us as loyal servants of the Lord Jesus Christ, "that is, unless, you, Caesar, disagree. Then we will do what you tell us to do, say what you tell us to say."
For three decades Christians in the USA have been walking the road once tread by the people in the ancient church. We have been surrounded by a federal government that has usurped what once was proclaimed in this nation to be the exclusive right of God the Father; namely the right to define murder and the other laws and the punishment that was to be meted to those who broke God's laws. In this generation, the federal government has usurped the role of God in this nation to the extent that the government is now teaching all the citizens of this nation that they have the right to believe anything they want to believe about God. This insurrection against God has even gone to the extent that the federal government has delegated its power to decide who lives and who dies to individual mothers who have been given the right to kill their own unborn child if the child is seen to be a source of inconvenience sufficient to require the death penalty.
And what have most Christians decided to do?
The South Dakota abortion law is the latest example in a train of examples going back 33 years that demonstrates exactly what this generation of Christians has decided to do. We have decided to defend the idea that God the Father gives the right to life to all people He conceives as long as the federal government, through the agency of the courts, does not tell us to do otherwise. The South Dakota law ostensibly outlawing abortion was created with its own poison pill: "If any court of law finds any provision of this Act to be unconstitutional, the other provisions of this Act are severable. If any court of law finds the provisions of this Act to be entirely or substantially unconstitutional, the provisions of §§ 34-23A-2, 34-23A-3, 34-23A-4, and 34-23A-5, as of June 30, 2006, are immediately reeffective." In other words, the people of South Dakota outlawed abortion...unless the federal government told them otherwise.
In other words, if the Court disagrees, we roll over and act like everything we were saying about the rights of the unborn was simply not true, or if true, not important enough to get in trouble with the courts over. And right there we see the reaction of the Lapsi. Right there we see the decision to allow the courts of this nation to define the model of God that we Christians will bow down and treat as true.
TODAY'S CHRISTIAN ORTHODOXY IS DESTROYING THE GOSPEL
The pattern of behavior described in this article has become today's Christian orthodoxy. We, the present generation of Christians in the USA, have become the New Lapsi. And just as the Lapsi of the Roman Empire enjoyed all the benefits of peace and prosperity that came from bowing down and acting like Caesar was god, so too this generation of American Christian pro-lifers have enjoyed all the fruits of peace and prosperity provided by the American Empire of this world. Furthermore, the Lapsi literally control the vast majority of Christian congregations in this nation so that each day that passes the Lapsi teach the upcoming generation that being a Lapsi is God's will for this generation.
Now do you see why homosexual "Christians" think they can come up with their own gospel? The fact is the gospel they are making up that is the antithesis of the gospel proclaimed by the Apostles is no different in its error than the gospel being promulgated by the vast majority of non-homosexual Christians. If non-homosexual Christians can make up their gospel to suit themselves, even if it is the antithesis of the gospel taught by the Apostles, then why can't homosexual Christians do the same thing?
No reason why not. If non-homosexual Christians can abandon the gospel taught by the Apostles and still believe they are going to inherit eternal life and the fruit of the Spirit and all the other benefits of Christ Jesus, then why shouldn't homosexual Christians do the same?
If you've got any contact with the Holy Spirit of God, you can see where all this is headed. The end result will be the destruction of the gospel story unless it is stopped. But there will be other consequences as well. In the process of enjoying our relationship with the federal government of the USA, we have been willing to tolerate the sacrifice of so many millions of God's children that if we actually reaped what we have sown in dead human beings we would see perhaps 30% of the people in this nation alive today destroyed before the eyes of the remaining 70%.
Do you want to wait around and see that happen? Then all you have to do is ignore the fact that our present collaboration with the federal government of the USA is destroying the gospel.
It is one thing to be the Lapsi out of ignorance; it is quite another to learn about the Lapsi, then decide to be one anyway. If you decide to ignore the evidence presented here, you will prove that you are a fully self-conscious version of the Lapsi of old. As the Apostle Paul foretold, those people were accursed of God and became anathema to the Christians who lived and died to defend the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Expect the same from the Christians around you who will, as true followers of the Lord Jesus Christ have always done and will always do, die before they will knowingly continue to participate in destroying the gospel.
COME OUT FROM AMONG THEM
It is to such Christians that we appeal today. Come out from among the Lapsi Christians who surround you and infect you with their confusion and their cowardice and their lies. Find those who are willing to defend the gospel rather than destroy it. Contact us so that we can organize a real resistance to the evil in our midst. If you care about the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, you have no other choice. Either come with us as we trust the Holy Spirit to combine us into an effective resistance with power to defend the gospel, or live with the Lapsi Christians around you who, with their pretend resistance, will continue to destroy the gospel each day that passes.
Click Here To See the Brochure We Are Trying to Put Out at Christian Churches Across the Nation.
We are compiling a list of churches in your area who are organizing to resist the continuing destruction of the gospel. If you belong to such a congregation, contact us and tell us where you are located so others might come worship with you and help to restore the gospel. In addition, we are launching a gospel outreach to college campuses that is designed to defend the gospel by helping people both understand the gospel, how it is being destroyed today, and how they can go about helping defend the gospel themselves. If you will help us with this outreach, please contact us.
Neal Horsley, (Christian Gallery News Service November 14, 2006)