You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, "He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us"? - James 4: 4-5 (ESV)
The modern American church just can't help herself in these last days. She thinks the world is cute. She views the world like a schoolgirl views her crush. You know, the bad boy. The one you don't bring home to mom and dad. The one in the leather jacket you just can't take your eyes off. Flirting with danger. The church knows it is supposed to be the good girl. That was how she was raised. But every good girl wants to ride away on the back of the motorcycle casting off restraint and tradition.
I use this analogy because it fits so well. Whenever the bad boy looks the way of the church it seems we just can't control ourselves. We giggle in our social awkwardness. We bat our eyelashes right back at the world, just happy that he finally noticed us. This seems such a fitting picture as we look at the dynamic we see playing out with the new heretical miniseries AD - The Bible Continues. Just like the church fawned over the Bible Miniseries and the Son of God movie, regardless of how wildly heretical they were too. It is like we lose all sense of biblical reason and sanity when the world looks at us. Does it matter to us that the couple that made this miniseries are not even born again Christians? Does it matter that they are avowed mystics with a heavy Roman Catholic influence? Does it even bother us that Roma Downey has her Masters Degree in "Spiritual Psychology" from a renowned new age school? Do we even flinch when we hear that she is close with the necromancer John Edward who once channeled Downey's dead mother for her on his show in 2002? Apparently not. A crush is a very powerful thing.
Does it remotely concern us that in her previous miniseries she turned the angels that destroyed Sodom into ninjas while avoiding the reason God destroyed Sodom? How about the fact that to avoid the controversy involved in contradicting evolution, the Bible miniseries started with the story of Noah; thus avoiding the messy creation account. Or the fact that they did not want to deal with the exclusivity of Christ so they allowed the Pantene Commercial Jesus to say that He was the way the truth and the life but omitted the second half of the verse where He unequivocally declares that no one comes to the Father except through Him. How can it not bother the bride of Christ to see His holy Word cast aside for the myths these shows provide in its place? The world leers in our direction and suddenly we think God does not take his Word seriously?
I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel-- not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. - Galatians 1: 6-9 (ESV)
I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness. Do bear with me! For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough. - 2Corinthians 11: 1-4 (ESV)
I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book. - Revelation 22: 18-19 (ESV)
Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar. - Proverbs 30: 5-6 (ESV)
A crush is indeed a powerful thing if it can make us treat the awesome Word of God so casually. That we would allow it to be prostituted to us and that we would actually buy it and partake in it. We should have known better when we saw people like Mark Batterson and Christine Cain were involved. Or when we saw it endorsed by people like Rick Warren and TD Jakes. If that was not bad enough we should have turned it off after week one when the Apostle John falsely declares that Jesus died because He loved our weaknesses. No real discussion of sin and holiness. We should have tuned out in week two when it is Mary who rebukes the weak male disciples and convinces them to at least wait the three days to see if Jesus will indeed be raised from the dead. But we see this pattern emerging. The emasculation of all the make characters that are Christian. The only strong male characters are crazy. Pontius Pilate is turned into a stark raving lunatic who pursued the crucifixion instead of one who tried to wash his hands of it. Saul of Tarsus is presented as a foaming at the mouth psychotic. Who are the strong characters amidst this blather? Nearly every female character. The wife of Caiaphas is portrayed as stronger than him and the true brains in the family. The wife of Pontius Pilate is presented as an equal, often challenging the ruler. Mary as mentioned apparently had no problem openly chastising Peter and John while Mary Magdalene is presented as one of the Apostles! That was clear in episode three when she is presented in the upper room praying with the Apostles when the Holy Spirit falls at Pentecost.
So what's the big deal right? That is what so many Christians seem to be saying as they flirt with their crush. Who cares if everything I just represented is actually unbiblical? What is the harm? First of all, we need to go back and read the four sets of verses just cited because it sure seems to matter to God. But also consider the unsaved. The lost. What does this series do? Does it bring them a real picture of Christ and His Gospel? Or does it create a false Christ? We have to stop looking at things from our saved perspective. Of course we know that the centurion on Golgotha exclaimed that "truly this man was the Son of God" even if Downey conveniently left it out. The point is not us beloved. We do not need to hear it as much as the lost viewer needs to hear it. Just like they needed to hear that none come to the Father except through Him. They do not need to see a female dominated cast verbally castrating the very men who the Bible says turned the world upside down. They needed to see Gethsemane but were denied that precious moment between the Father and Christ. They needed to see Jesus saying Father forgive them but they did not. Instead they were entertained by a storyline that seems largely political in nature with a clear objective to present a less offensive, more culturally relevant Gospel. The problem is the Gospel was meant to offend. It was meant to divide. When you sanitize it you strip out of it the power to save. No one will be saved because of AD. Many however stand to be deceived. All while the church sheepishly giggles because it cannot believe the world has asked it to dance once again.
Consider the key verses today from James. Remember we are the bride of Christ. We are supposed to be already committed to Him! Mere friendship with the world is on par with adultery to God! Do not listen to the false hucksters who sell you a plush and fluffy God. The key verses remind us that He is a jealous God! He has placed His Holy Spirit inside of us and we want to dance with the world? We must stop flirting with a world that thinks we are fools. Because at the end of the day the crush just uses us. The crush does not really have any true feeling for us. In the end, the crush always breaks our heart.
Rev. Anthony.
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