Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. - Colossians 4:5-6 (ESV)
I am so sick of watching those who claim to lead the church act as if the bible is meaningless. As if the only thing that matters is their personal political preferences. Their idolatry is staggering and not missed by the lost. You must understand that while the things of God are foolishness to those who are perishing, they have no problem spotting utter carnality. It is time for the church to stop being the stupid people. To stop being the easily duped people. To stop denying science, history and inescapable facts. That person you follow on Facebook is not an expert. That meme you reposted was not created by an authority. Even those you may follow in politics are not expert in what they claim. Rand Paul is an eye doctor, not an epidemiologist. I just do not understand why those who are saved by the truth of Jesus Christ would discard truth for the exchange of political expediency. Do we get that today? The truth matters! If you follow people who believe Jewish space lasers cause the California wildfires what message do you think you send the unsaved? If you believe Hillary Clinton secretly ran a pedophile ring out of a Washington DC pizzeria, why would anyone want to listen to you about Jesus Christ? It was all fun and games for some until someone showed up at that pizzeria with a gun. How do you think the world sees these petulant pastors with their childlike responses to authority declaring mass gatherings as being suspended to prevent the spread of COVID. Do not attempt to lecture anyone about COVID, the rates of death, or the spread of the disease because you are not an expert! You do not know what you are talking about! If you wish, go back to school and show yourself approved for that subject matter! Until then, stay in your lane and your lane is supposed to be representing Jesus Christ and His gospel.
That starts with understanding the key verses today. God tells us how to behave towards those who do not share the salvation we have been blessed with. As we read through the account today of a pastor from Tennessee, we need to ask ourselves if he is seasoning his words with salt? Is his speech gracious? When the verses speak about making the best use of the time, it refers to the fact that time is running out for those unsaved. So, between now and the Day of the Lord, what will we do with the gospel that saved us? Will we share it unreservedly for all or will we waste our days fighting unending political wars and defending people and positions that contain no more righteousness than those we oppose. Will we make the best use of the time? Let's look at a recent statement made by a Tennessee pastor during a sermon, mind you:
"If they go through round two and you start showing up (with) all these masks and all this nonsense, I will ask you to leave, I will ask you to leave. I am not playing these Democrat games up in this church." - Pastor Greg Locke
Many will not say it, but I will. This man has no business being a pastor. He is a hireling at best because he shows absolutely no concern for the sheep entrusted to him. He is making his decisions based upon his politics, as we can tell by his moronic conclusion that the consideration of new mask mandates are a "Democrat game." The cold hard facts are that COVID is on the rise again driven on by a new dangerous variant and 41% of the population who refuse to get vaccinated because of people like Mr. Locke. That is because Greg Locke has already cautioned his sheep to not take the vaccine and that if you believed the political elites actually took the vaccine then you must be "smoking meth in your momma's basement." This is a someone claiming to be a pastor, threatening his sheep if they have the temerity to wear a face mask. Locke doubled down in a Facebook video:
"I ain't playing these stupid games, A bunch of pastors talking about how much they want to see people heal and they're afraid to baptize people because of a delta variant I'm sick of it." - Greg Locke
Do you know what is even better than someone being healed? Someone never getting sick. Yet what more can we expect from a man who told his congregation that Donald Trump is really president and that Joe Biden is demon possessed. Or that Kamala Harris is Jezebel. During the same "sermon", Locke said that Biden and Harris oversee "child trafficking tunnels beneath Washington DC" and that Biden's son was a "crack smoking pervert." Yes, that was actually said from a pulpit claiming allegiance to Jesus Christ. Again, making the best use of time towards outsiders? Not even close.
Instead, this does irreparable damage to the gospel and the cause of Christ. In California this past week a different church gave a gift of an AR-15 to disgraced General Michael Flynn, who has admitted to lying to the FBI, twice! Flynn remarked casually about possibly using it in Washington DC. A casual joke about assassinating elected officials and the crowd of would be-Christians laughed and clapped approval. They laughed and applauded the notion of killing other people who they disagreed with politically. Now, they are responsible for their reaction but what kind of pastor is inviting criminals as guests of the church and giving them a gun as a present in front of the congregation? Hirelings, that's who. That pastor and Greg Locke could care less about the sheep of the Lord. They have abused their position to pursue their own idolatry and are teaching that sinful idolatry to their sheep. Make no mistake, they will answer for every soul led astray. Every one.
Beloved, these matters are not debatable. As believers we believe in absolute truth. The world believes in shades of grey to better hide their sins. We are citizens of heaven and not this world. God does not give us dual citizenship. The bible says we are pilgrims and sojourners, passing through this world. Hear me very clearly. Neither political party cares one whit about the cause of Jesus Christ. When asked about the kingdom of God, Jesus said His kingdom was not of this world. His disciples hoped He would deliver them from the oppression of Rome, which was real oppression. Yet in the gospel accounts you find zero involvement by Jesus in the politics of His world. It did not matter because He came to deliver the people from a greater oppression. The oppression of sin and the enemy. That message remains the same today. The gospel is the only thing that matters. I view the world as the Titanic after it has already struck the iceberg. I've seen the movie. The ship is going down and we have a limited amount of time to direct people to Christ, the lifeboat. He is the only way off the ship yet hirelings across this country like Greg Locke want to argue which unsaved politician is best suited to drive the ship into its icy grave. It has to stop. In this world people will die because of Greg Locke. More importantly, many will never be reconciled to God before the sands in the hourglass run out.
Rev. Anthony.
