Tag: church

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News Updates: DeSantis, COVID, and More

1) There are many people like David Brooks and David French who want a “conservatism of manners” and not a “conservatism based on eternal truths.” This distinction made by Al Mohler is a fine one to explain the current movement of many who were once stalwart conservative voices moving ever so slowly, or in the case of some, above the speed limit, towards leftist ideology.

I am reminded of a section in my little book “The Trinitarian Father” where I observed that parenting is a covenantal thing. So too is politics. The grown man with kids who thinks it’s cute to flirt with Bidenism will discover a few years down the road that sweet manners–however good and noble–is not the crown of policy, nor is it the principal thing in politics. His children sitting under his teaching will discover that Biden didn’t go far enough and that they need to bring back the spirit of Bern. Your politics follow your religion, and your religion will be slowly turning towards David Brooks if you view niceties as the prime virtue.

For additional information, my piece over at kuyperian.com has been gaining lots of attraction. I wrote yesterday about how changes towards wokism occur. I argue that these changes are perspectival. If we break them down to existential (experiences), situational (cultural-historical), and normative (the authority of the Bible), we can arrive at a more accurate interpretive model for how these stalwarts move incrementally towards woke and BLM rhetoric.

2) Jeff Childers, who writes a daily update on COVIDness, observed that Middlebury College in Vermont has a 99% vaccination rate. Still, they have suspended “live classes, sports, and performing arts — again — after fifty students and employees tested positive for the virus.” $60K of tuition a year, and they are back to April of 2020 again. Can I get a refund? P.S. Oh, and Gavin Newsom is reimposing a statewide mask mandate.

3) Governor Ron DeSantis–also known as St. DeSantis–just gave state workers “an end-of-the-year holiday surprise: A couple of four-day weekends to celebrate Christmas and the New Year.” With the housing market in Florida booming with New Yorkers and Dave Rubin (by the way, welcome Dave!), those employees better rest for the work ahead. As a side note, I am pushing for a DeSantis 2022 re-election campaign in Florida. Stay local, Goburnator!

4) Dr. Joe Boot notes that “conversion therapy” is now prohibited in Canada. Technically, this means that pastoral counseling aimed at exhorting men and women to believe the Gospel and follow God’s creation order for man and woman in sex and marriage is now illegal. But don’t worry, the MP’s voted unanimously to adopt such measures.

5) Jesus is Lord! And this means that the central reality of postmillennial eschatology reigns supreme. Don’t believe the versions of peace the world offers. Christ is Lord, and the volume of peace belongs to him. In this world, Christians hear his voice loud and clear (John 10). Keep listening!

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Ten Feasting Propositions

I begin with the assumption that the church has been powerfully de-ritualized this season. Habits die quickly or become rusty when not exercised. As Dru Johnson notes in his book “Human Rites,” we need to know our rites. The more we understand our rituals the more meaningful they become. And we have forgotten those rites and/or meaningfully ceased to practice them. I offer ten brief notes on recovering the ritual of feasting in this age:

First, we eat without thanksgiving. Gluttony exists because thanksgiving does not. Eating is not a neutral exercise. Christians eat as acts of triumph over the world.

Second, the ritual of eating is undervalued in America. In this country, food is consumption. We eat because we want to, therefore we eat without intentionality. When rites become trite, our experiences become trivial, and the doors for abuse open wider.

Third, corporate eating is de-valued because we allow teenagers to rule over the table. Parents must re-assert their authority over the table, and keep food at the table and not on laps in front of laptops.

Fourth, feasting suffers when worship looks like a funeral. If every head is bowed and eyes are closed, we cannot see the feast or hear the feasters. Feasting is diminished when worship is feast-less in character.

Fifth, feasting is best formalized and appointed. When it is that way, it can be adorned with fancy napkins and plates. It allows family members to long for something better. We are gnostics to think that immediacy is best. Christians understand that better feasts mean preparing more to enjoy better.

Sixth, feasts are more meaningful when we incorporate singing. Feasts in the Bible are celebrations of our freedom from bondage. Singing to Yahweh a new song is declaring Pharaoh will never rule over our appetites again.

Seventh, there is no friendship without Christ. There are shared experiences and stories, but friendship is rooted in a shared Christ. Feasts are accentuated when brothers dwell together.

Eighth, relationships change and are re-directed. Someone who was a friend in eighth grade may not be a friend now. God gives us a rotation of friends through life because He knows that our changes will require new people to speak into our particular phases of life. Feasts restore friendships and renew friendships and are the genesis of new friendships.

Ninth, many of us are worse friends than we think, but we have better friends than we deserve. Feasts create the environment for friendship rituals to be exercised in service and communion.

Tenth, all rituals require meaning. All good things require work. Therefore, all feasting is meaningful work. It provides true health for the Christian.

Real health is grounded in a proper relationship with God, and since this relationship is in part sacramental, it involves physical things. The purpose of these physical aspects is not, however, to provide mechanical health to the “human biological machine.” Rather, the purpose of these physical aspects is to communicate to us, in a mystery, the grace of God (JBJ, See “Studies in Food and Faith”).

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John Frame on Seeing our Sins

So much of my pastoral theology can be summarized by John Frame’s theology, but the example below is the kind of synopsis that needs highlighting and underlining. It offers the uniqueness of the Spirit’s role in the application of the Bible. Frame walks us through the simple but yet overlooked task of “seeing” as more than “observing facts,” but “seeing” as acknowledging and being transformed by biblical knowledge. Theology is the application of Scriptures to every area of life. To remove that is to undermine the Spirit’s role.

~~~

-The following is an excerpt from John M. Frame, Doctrine of the Knowledge of God, 157, 158.

The Spirit’s work also helps us to use and to apply the word. Obviously, the Spirit cannot assure us of the truth of Scripture unless He also teaches us its meaning. And meaning, as we have seen, includes the applications. We can see this in 2 Samuel 11, and 12 for David sinned against God by committing adultery with Bathsheba and by sending her husband, Uriah, to his death. Here, David, the “man after God’s own heart,” seemed trapped in a particular spiritual blindness. What happened to David? In one sense, he knew Scripture perfectly well; he meditated on God’s law day and night. And he was not ignorant about the facts of the case. Yet he was not convicted of sin. But Nathan the prophet came to him and spoke God’s word. He did not immediately rebuke David directly; he told a parable – a story that made David angry at someone else. Then Nathan told David, “you are the man.” At that point, David repented of his sin.

What had David learned from that point? He already knew God’s law, and, in a sense, he already knew the facts. What he learned was an application – what the law said about him. Previously, he may have rationalized something like this: “Kings of the earth have a right to take whatever women they want; and the commander-in-chief has the right to decide who fights on the front line. Therefore my relation with Bathsheba was not really adultery, and my order to Uriah was not really murder.” We all know how that works; we’ve done it ourselves. But what the Spirit did, through Nathan, was to take that rationalization away.

Thus David came to call his actions by the right names: sin, adultery, murder. He came to read his own life in terms of the biblical concepts. He came to see his “relationship” as adultery and his “executive order” as murder…Much of the Spirit’s work in our lives is of this nature – assuring us that Scripture applies to our lives in particular ways. The Spirit does not add to the canon, but His work is really a work of teaching, of revelation. Without that revelation, we could make no use of Scripture at all; it would be a dead letter to us.T

Thus in one sense, the Spirit adds nothing; in another sense, He adds everything.

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New Commentary on Jonah Available!

I have been gone this past week and am beginning to catch up on several little items. Among them is the joyous news of the publication of the second Brito/Lusk commentary. Our commentary on Jonah is now available for pre-order through Athanasius Press. Rumors are that the printed books should be available on December 6th, and furthermore, that there is a 30% discount on all pre-orders. Oh, and if you would like to buy 25+copies of it for a book study or for your congregation, there is a 50% discount.

The Book of Jonah has captured the imagination of God’s people for centuries, and its unique context and content provide one of the richest stories of God’s mercy to the Gentiles through a reluctant prophet.

This commentary is not like the others. While many commentaries on Jonah focus on the disobedience and woes of the prophet–arguing for a sort of prophetic impiety– this work argues for an overarching narrative that sees God’s mercy transcending the reluctance of the prophet and opening the gates to a missiological reformation. Indeed Jonah is a lovely introduction to the Advent season as hope begins to permeate the Old Testament texts awaiting for a greater prophet than Jonah who will come and proclaim justice and righteousness to all the nations of the earth.

On a personal note, this would make a wonderful Christmas gift as a theological and devotional introduction to one of the most read books of the Scriptures. I’d be really honored if you would share the link with your friends and family.

Pastor Lusk and I are incredibly grateful for the opportunity to make this short but meaningful commentary available to the public.

“I will say, ‘Salvation comes from the Lord.’”-Jonah

Jonah Through New Eyes: The Reluctant Prophet
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Fauci, Tyranny, and Beth Moore

Watching Australia, Austria, Netherlands, and other sundry places makes me realize that the roots of paganism were deeply embedded before COVID, which means the seeds of tyrannical governments were ready to burst with violent colors. And so they have. Aaron Ginn has been heroic over on Twitter (https://twitter.com/aginnt) pointing these things out since the very beginning. He revealed the COVID-hysteria in the days when it was still not cool to doubt the science. He’s been vindicated a thousand times.

Compulsory vaccination and lockdowns in Germany, police brutality toward the non-vaccinated in Australia, Netherlands’ police officers going out and about on the streets checking vax passports, and other such things are par for the course. On the other hand, Ginn has also revealed drone footage of wide protests all around the globe from people who will not accept such impositions. Good on them! Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit freedom, and stupid are they that let things carry on, for they shall receive the approval of the left.

Kuyper once wrote that when our convictions are challenged, peace has become a sin and battle our calling. And these days, if you are not fighting or at least pushing back, you idolize peace like the people in Jeremiah’s day (Jer. 6:14). Even if you have fallen for the trap of nice Christianity–as Lewis puts it–you have to at least see that something is not right. Right? Because peace is non-sensical if it is predicated on baseless assertions. Because peace is non-sensical if it is predicated on baseless assertions. The option they offer us is, “Find peace or die!” Anyone should be able to see right through this mercenary strategy.

As for me and my house, we unequivocally affirm that the Church can’t be at peace in any way when her vision and mission are dictated by the mandates of the state. If you tell me to sit back and relax and let the state have its piece of the pie, I am going to stop you mid-sentence and walk out. If you tell me to just play it cool when it comes to the centrality of worship, I am going to theonomy even harder on Sundays.

Nah. Peace schmeesh!

It was one thing when the church stood her ground in the early days, but it’s another thing altogether when the church is the one now saying, “Please, what can I do to help the state’s cause?” This Thanksgiving, we are going to be extra cautious and require every family member to be vaccinated in order to be around them. Let’s show some gratitude for mother Newsom in California.

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On a similar note, a few of my friends in Brazil sent me a note about a congregation–among many–who was recommending everyone to seek out the unvaccinated and convince them to be vaccinated and furthermore, to determine whether such unvaxxed were worthy to be officers in the church. Now, if you think the qualifications for officers (I Tim. 3) are serious business, wait until the state begins to set their qualifications! Man, that presbytery examination will be brutal!

This kind of thing allows me as an immigrant to say to my fellow Americans that we are exceptional in the sense that what I say makes sense to so many of you, whereas in many other places what I say sounds like fumigating incense from the caves of Mordor. So, thanks for listening and I trust you will approve this message.

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What we have before us is an ever-moving goal post that commander Fauci has no interest in ever stopping. I have argued elsewhere that controlling time is the technique of tyrants, and for Fauci, controlling boundaries is his art. When you think you have fenced everything, he adds five more acres to your work. There is no end in sight because boosters x 20 is just fine math for the religion of scientism.

~~~

Let me add a translation for those who are watching this thing unravel in other ways in the Christian community. You may have seen that there is now an attempt to talk about how we can deconstruct the faith to build it back again. Inerrancy and the historical Adam are such things that need to be reconstructed because it has fallen into the hands of fundamentalists like yours truly. But when they come for Adam and Revelation, they necessarily come for Jesus and inspiration.

I am actually one of those who think all these things come together, and I am actually one of those who believe the entire deconstructionist tables need to be overthrown. Why is it that everyone who falls in the affirmations above also falls for the affirmations below? “Correlation for $1000, Alex!”

I firmly believe that not one square inch should be given to Jonathan Merrit, Peter Enns, and Beth Moore. If you stand with me in the first two but hit the pause button on the third name, I can understand your frustration. But I have been around this theological block give or take 20 years, and I can see from my vantage point when certain things lead to Rome, and when certain things lead to Fauci.

There is no going back to normal. But again, the old normal stinketh and needed to be replaced/reformed with God’s normal. Pastors need a healthy dose of courage, parishioners need to encourage their pastors and one another in realizing that power resides in heaven. The Church needs to proclaim that the time for gentility ended when Jesus sat at the right hand of the Father, and our call is absolute dominion. Anything else is accepting the premise of neutrality.

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Pursuing Wisdom in Covid-hysteria

In the Bible, the pursuit of wisdom is a tree of life (Prov. 3:18). It’s a tree that keeps giving. It does not dry up because it is an unending gift from above (James 1:5). When we ask for it, God offers it fully and unadulterated for the taking. The tree is ours, but yet our hunger for another tempts us to despise wisdom. We would rather chase after the wisdom of scientism and expertise-ism rather than rely solely on the wisdom from above.

When the COVID-esteria began, leaders in our church and many other churches prayed that God would give us wisdom; that we would not take the most desirable tree. We prayed that God would give us the wisdom to see the problems of today (Matt. 6:34), rather than concern ourselves with tomorrow. We prayed that our hermeneutical lens would not be fear, but faith and fortitude. Thus, we carefully thought-through decisions about closing our doors to worship for a temporary time, or whether we could navigate one Sunday at a time with open doors. We decided on the latter and never once shut down our doors.

This decision does not entitle us to some divine peek into celestial rivers, but it does grant us a healthy dose of wisdom for dealing with hard times in the future and just how much we can handle. We are grateful for God’s good gifts and for how he answered us during that season and our congregation has seen very closely what a loving neighbor actually looks like.

Not to minimize the season. In fact, there were sick saints, set-up adjustments, hospital visits, and even the death of loved ones related to congregational members. We give thanks to God that he sustained our people through these 22 months. There is no pride, but sheer gratitude. We know that many things could have been different whether we had kept our gates open or not.

This is all good and gooder and full of glad-tidings, but it does lead to one overarching principle that I touched upon in the beginning. As an illustration, there is a video making the rounds about a United Methodist pastor who sits down in contentment and professionalism and explains why his congregation will now start requiring vaccine passports or a negative result in the last 72 hours as a way of having access to the sanctuary of God on Sunday morning. To this display of Adamic naivete, I argued that the United Methodist Church should stop ordaining women because most of their male pastors do just fine playing the role of a weak woman from the pulpit. That’s my subtle argument for male-priesthood only in case you were wondering. The strong women know that their role is a different one in the body, but these cowardly voices playing the role of men continue to add more barriers to the house of God. Since I know a couple of faithful Methodist ministers, I leave a modicum of decency in their bodies.

If you are following the score so far, it’s Tree of Life -73 and the pursuit of immaturity far ahead in our day. But there are still those lingering voices out there–like mine and many others–whose congregations are living quiet and peaceable lives doing our cultural, theological, and liturgical thing outside of the scope of visibility. But, I suspect we are content with this and gladly will stay away from any spotlight unless we are driven to opine, and opine we will should we be forced.

Eating from the Tree of Life is not a very attractive, applaud-seeking technique, but it is the way of wisdom, and those who get a taste of it, develop an appetite for it when it is popular or when it is not. Pursuing the Tree of Life gives us an insight into the times, and it allows us to see the times for what it is. Time-tyrants wish to take our capacity to eat from this tree, and they will tempt us with serpentine pleasure to skip the tree and eat from the shiny one down the road. The Church should refuse such offers and crush a few ideological heads when it creeps in our territory enticing us to more scientific ways of looking at the world.

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Why should the Lord’s Supper be Joyful?

If you were to ask me what the most common observation people make when they visit Providence Church (CREC) in Pensacola,FL, there would be several candidate observations, but undoubtedly in the top Nobel Prize option would be that our “Lord’s Supper is joyful.” Of course, this is not something we came up with, though I do confess it is uncommon in most traditions.

Most theological eucharistic practices ranging from Roman Catholic to the local megachurch treat the Lord’s Supper through the lens of the death of Jesus. Christ died, therefore, we bow our heads and meditate on his death Whether, through a classic Memorialist view or the Transubstantiation view, there is an element of sadness that pervades these services.

Now, in our congregation, we don’t make the death of Jesus secondary, which is why we confess his death and his atonement for our sins when we confess our sins together at the beginning of the service. If we were to confess our sins again at the Lord’s Supper, it would be a kind of insult to Jesus. After all, he has forgiven us already. The Lord’s Supper should not be treated as a recapitulation of our sins, but a pointer beyond our sins to the blessings of Christ’s resurrection. In other words, the Lord’s Supper is bread and cup of blessing (I Cor. 11:24), not of sorrow. It is a full blessing; a total blessing; an exuberant blessing. We partake in it, precisely because Christ is no longer dead, but risen from the dead and vindicated.

The Supper embraces the joy of the disciples who ate with Jesus after the resurrection (Jn. 21). It’s loud, talkative, and festive. It’s a moment of glory for people who are rooted in the Word of God and who allow the Word to bear fruit in us. Behold, the fruit of the vine is here (Jn. 15), offered at this table, Jesus himself. We are fruitful ones eating of the great fruitful Christ, who became the first fruits of all those who trust in him (I Cor. 15). We eat and drink together not as those who weep, but as those who are blessed by the fruitful Word. Rejoice, pass the peace, and trust in the vindicated Word made flesh.

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“Once more, the joyful character of the eucharistic gathering must be stressed. The medieval emphasis on the cross, while not a wrong one, is certainly one-sided. The liturgy is, before everything else, the joyous gathering of those who are to meet the risen Lord and to enter with him into the bridal chamber. And it is this joy of expectation and this expectation of joy that is expressed in singing and ritual….in that whole ‘beauty’ of the liturgy which has so often been denounced as unnecessary and even sinful.”~Alexander Schmemann

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Why Old Leftist Men Go Insane?

Biden’s cognitive decline is rather evident these days. It’s not the snoozing at a tedious gathering in Europe; the best of us do such noble deeds at one time or another in our 40’s and from what I recall growing up in my father’s congregation, some happily do it in their teens. So, far from me to criticize a 78-year-old man for taking a quick power-10 during a meeting spoken in different languages.

My point has more to do with the fruit of one’s work. I confess I don’t know how to prove such assertions with dogmatism, but there is ample evidence that conservatives are happier than liberals and therefore age with much more grace and sanity:

“Years of psychological research have suggested that people who are politically conservative are happier than their liberal counterparts. This so-called “ideological happiness gap” has inspired elaborate theories for why conservatives enjoy life more than liberals do.”

This is not the time to speculate too much on the ideological happiness gap, except through the via negative. And the lesson here is, “Don’t be like Biden, kids!” And age has nothing to do with it. If our psalmic lifespan is threescore and ten, and by reason of strength add ten more (Psalm 90:10), let’s say Uncle Joe is getting rather close to that happy limit. But again, age does not have much to do with this. In fact, I have a couple of dear saints in my congregation in their 80’s walking 3-6 miles every day and functioning with normalcy. But the Biden crisis is rather unique, isn’t it?

What happens when your entire political career has been the cumulative effect of policies that destroyed the economy, discouraged virtue as central to the oikos and the polis, and over-taxed everything and everyone, and put animals’ rights above ordinary babies in wombs? The accumulation of these leftist ideologies can only lead to misery and pain.

Now, some may say that conservatives can be quite a nuisance as well and provide their share of crankyTrumpers at home. Yes, I grant that premise pastorally, but to quote sociologist Brad Wilcox “conservatives marry more and divorce less,” and this should not be a shock to society. Conservative marriages can still lead to madness, but when policies are built on the foundation of destroying civilization at the point of birth and then at the point of all existential questions (money, marriage, and morēs), the end result is a kind of insanity. As my old friend, James Jordan used to say, “The result of insane policies is insane lawmakers.”Biden’s decline may have something to do with his age and health, but it seems the deeper element has to do with the imbibing of ideas that ultimately lead you to madness. Leftism leads to incurable sadness of life and loss of sanity. Nietzsche knew it well and I think the Maxine Waters of this world do as well.

You may think these assertions are rather preposterous, and I have added enough variables to avoid any major statistical stupidity, but the central premise can’t be challenged: God gives distraught and deceitful old men over to dreary sleepiness.

Biden should rest assured that while we pray for him (I Tim. 2:2), our prayer is not some generic silliness; it’s filled with sobering cries for his sanity and strength to return while there is time.

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In Praise of the CREC

Around 23 years ago, three independent churches decided to join forces. The autonomous status did not suit these good fellas, so they formed a little band of happy trouble-makers. Twenty-three years later, we gathered in Monroe, LA, for a Council that included over 100 churches and a famine around the globe for the kind of thing we offer abundantly: courage and creed.

I have just returned from four days of meetings and a few other meetings intertwined with happy meetings and superb fellowship and fine dining. The whole thing was an experience in renewed mercies. First, we deliberated over presbytery matters, and then we debated and deliberated on a host of documents and sundry issues as Council delegates. There was hearty back and forth and then a combo of laughter and decision-making. We are a young denomination, and as my friend, Jerry Owen, says, young denominations need to be quick to repent and quick to be humble lest we fall. That’s a good word. But in our momentum, we don’t want to let our supremely cheerful state go to waste. We are not over here cheering out of hubris for the incredible growth God has provided our tribe during Covidsterya, but because the signs of unity keep showing up from hobbit holes and theopolitan taverns. And if two or three brothers walking in unity is a good thing, a couple of hundred pastors and elders walking together is a whole different level of goodness.

It is hard to express my appreciation for a communion that has given me more than I expected but ultimately has taught me that my expectations for God’s goodness should be greater than I imagined. The CREC has been a home to me for almost 13 full years, and I genuinely pray these guys find my Latin presence fruitful for 33 more.

So, let me conclude this brief praise-worthy effort by sharing three thanksgiving elements of the CREC:

First, let’s put the cards on the table: Doug Wilson is the man! You may not like his beard or from whence his cigars cometh, but this fella has successfully irritated the right people for too many years to count. His joyful disposition and his plodding mammothness come with too many blessings to count. May his tribe increase and may his labors make Peter Enns lose his sleep at night.

Second, I had the joy of addressing the Council, but the more incredible thrill was sitting and listening to faithful pastors exhort and encourage us; many are quietly laboring in unknown towns doing the good work and providing the faithful word shepherding the sheep. They do this in Montana and Maine, and Missouri and their labors are not in vain. My gratitude for these faithful laborers increased a hundred-fold after our time together.

Finally, it is hard to define the joy CREC pastors have when they are together. It’s the sort of elation I never had in any other tradition and have never seen replicated. We don’t just get together to talk business; we get together to sing, share, and cherish one another. The like-mindedness of our communion adds a special touch to our fellowship. There is a rhythm to the things we do that keeps us all marching to the same beat year after year. But beyond the drinks and devil-crushing strategies, there is also a firm reliance on the Triune God to bless our efforts. This commitment and trust mean that when we gather, we are sons of God going forth to war with the Son of God. And that means that our efforts these last 23 years have been one toast after the other.

May the Lord guide and bless our strategies, and may he see fit to strengthen our young tribe!#creccouncil

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Three Virtues of Lion-Hearted People

We were doing our Brito dance this morning to the melody of a contemporary song written in 1712 called “Rise Again, Ye Lion-Hearted.” The boys joined for all stanzas ’cause they’re lion-hearted and all and they have sung it enough that it flows through their blood.

Singing it again this morning reminded me of the forcefulness and necessity of this song for our day. Following are three needed virtues for our day.

Hear ye:

“Honor, gold, they laugh to scorn…”

Lion-hearted men and women scorn the world’s riches. When the naked emperor offers wine, women, and song to any who would forsake Messiah Jesus, the saints mock their offers. He knows that there is no earthly wealth that can surpass the glories and abundance of heaven. When elites offer us a seat at the table with their six-course meals and galas and flatter us with empty words, and “honor” us with prestigious job offers if only we would leave out one of our convictions at the table, lion-hearted children laugh at their contracts. We refuse to be Peter Enns for a chance at notoriety.

2. “Songs of praise outpouring…”

When you put several naked Christians in the arena, taunt them, ridicule their God, and open the gates for ferocious lions, there is only one logical thing to do: we sing.

Our age is completely ripe for the kind of singing I have been advocating for a long time. You cannot face the arena with songs about a secret and a quiet place; that kind of pious gush may scare away kitties, but not hungry beasts. Arenas are made for Athanasius figures, Elizabeth Elliot, and bold singers. The arena is the place for practicing warriors who have been trained to use their voices to fight demons. From the lips of children, God uses our music to frighten foe and avenger; lions and leftists.

3. “Loyal, staunch, and true to Thee.”

This glorious hymn closes with a vocal call to faithfulness; this hearty theology of perseverance that grabs us by our baptisms and releases us at death. If we have learned anything, it is that the greatest threat to the Church today is the allures of the world, the flesh and the devil. And these temptations come in all shapes and sizes.

Christians, however, ought to be masters of repentance and turning their heads away from enslaving rituals. These enslaving rituals keep us away from the battle, and we need to be so daring that the battle is always coming to us, which means that we must keep the devil and his nephews fully aware of the threat we pose to them.

~~~

We take our stand joyously because our scorning of evil, our songs of praise, and our vibrant loyalty will determine whether we will rise again, or whether we shall be content in our slumber.”Joyously they take their stand on the arena’s bloody sand.”