CHURCH REPENT
What does a Christian look like in a culture that practices heinous atrocities?
Fifty-one percent of people from the United States are professing Christians.
Fifty-two percent of people from Texas are professing Christians.
Fifty-one percent of people from Fort Worth are professing Christians.
Six-tenths of a percent of people in the First Century were professing Christians.
Fifty-one percent of people from the United States are professing Christians.
Fifty-two percent of people from Texas are professing Christians.
Fifty-one percent of people from Fort Worth are professing Christians.
Six-tenths of a percent of people in the First Century were professing Christians.
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This 0.6% of First Century Rome answered the Scriptural commands to: ‘Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil, Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless, Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow.’ (Isaiah 1:16-17), amongst others. Thus they actively opposed the legally sanctioned child-sacrifice of their day, which included active abortion guilds, outright infanticide, and abandoning newborns on public trash dumps to die of exposure. These Christians, in a consistent acting out of their faith, set up the world’s first hospitals and orphanages, while simultaneously spreading the Gospel, in direct obedience to the Great Commission. According to the World Christian Encyclopedia (1982), it is estimated that by A.D. 100 there were 1 million Christians in the Roman Empire out of a population of 181 million. This minority, by simply viewing their convictions as inspiration for their actions, affected great change in their culture. |
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By the 18th and 19th Centuries, the English and American cultures were replete with professing Christians and churches despite the observation that 'narrow is the way...' In fulfillment of this observation, many of these church-goers, clergymen, and hearers of the Word were slave-owners and hypocritically in opposition to the laws of God that they professed with their mouths, but ignored in their hearts. In the midst of this widespread atrocity, unabashed sin, and abominable mistreatment of those made in the image of God, the First and Second Great Awakenings were raised up by the Hand of Providence to set the world right-side up. The abolitionists of slavery, in the spirit of vital Christianity, and in obedience to the Great Commission, went out into their hypocritical cultures, and called the people to repentance of their man-stealing and apathy towards the wicked practices of exploitation. They sought out professing Christians and implored that they join the fight against the works of the Devil and called congregations to reject fellowship with slave-owners. This small percentage of the European and American populations believed that actively opposing the world in its sin, especially the most heinous sin of their age, was the obligation of the Bride of Christ as per explicit imperatives expressed in Scripture.
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We live in a culture that is largely similar in appearance to that of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries. The majority of the population are professing Christians, and there are churches on every street corner. There is also a great evil that is largely unmet by those who are called to actively be salt in light in their culture, and are commanded to obey Isaiah 1:16-17 as the First Century Christians did, as well as many other scriptural mandates:
‘Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.’ (James 1:27) ‘Hate evil, love good, and establish justice in the gate! Perhaps the Lord God of hosts may be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.’ (Amos 5:15) ‘Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.’ (Ephesians 5:11-17) And just like the atmosphere present in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries, there are just as many professing believers participating in their society’s evils than those who are professing unbelievers. There were just as many ‘Christians’ who owned slaves as those who were unchristian. There are just as many ‘Christians’ getting abortions as those who are unchristian. What greater example is there of how our faith has lost its salt and light? |
Dear Christian,
The opposition to pre-natal infanticide is something in which you and fellow believers, our brothers and sisters, can participate, with as much of the tenacity and obedience as the Christians who opposed societal injustice in their days maintained. Abortion will be abolished once we members of the Bride and Body of Christ have repented of our apathy and velleity toward our pre-born neighbors. Once we have committed to expressing works that are fruits of our salvation; once we have repented of our hitherto condonation of this holocaust with our inaction and our forsaking of the Great Commission, then our city, our state, our nation, our culture can shrug off this atrocious behavior. We are called to ‘consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds’ (Hebrews 10:24) and we should keep in mind that ‘so also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead’ (James 2:17).
In an expression of exhorting one another to be obedient to Scripture, we plead with believers to join us in this fight against oppression, to do justice and love mercy. We plead with believers to repent of their apathy towards, and of their participation in, this worldly foolishness that declares it permissible and glamorous to murder children. This is why we openly engage congregations that are satiating their consciences and outsourcing their action, in that they merely donate to crisis pregnancy centers or vote once every four years (these are expressions of being pro-life; these are not expressions of being Christian.) This is also why we openly rebuke congregations who permit and help to facilitate their members to have abortions and parrot the idea that child sacrifice is a woman’s right.
This is why we go to churches and engage Christians on the subject of abortion and abortion apathy. For the Bible tells us so.
Please visit Church Repent for more information.
Sincerely,
The Abolitionist Society of Fort Worth
The opposition to pre-natal infanticide is something in which you and fellow believers, our brothers and sisters, can participate, with as much of the tenacity and obedience as the Christians who opposed societal injustice in their days maintained. Abortion will be abolished once we members of the Bride and Body of Christ have repented of our apathy and velleity toward our pre-born neighbors. Once we have committed to expressing works that are fruits of our salvation; once we have repented of our hitherto condonation of this holocaust with our inaction and our forsaking of the Great Commission, then our city, our state, our nation, our culture can shrug off this atrocious behavior. We are called to ‘consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds’ (Hebrews 10:24) and we should keep in mind that ‘so also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead’ (James 2:17).
In an expression of exhorting one another to be obedient to Scripture, we plead with believers to join us in this fight against oppression, to do justice and love mercy. We plead with believers to repent of their apathy towards, and of their participation in, this worldly foolishness that declares it permissible and glamorous to murder children. This is why we openly engage congregations that are satiating their consciences and outsourcing their action, in that they merely donate to crisis pregnancy centers or vote once every four years (these are expressions of being pro-life; these are not expressions of being Christian.) This is also why we openly rebuke congregations who permit and help to facilitate their members to have abortions and parrot the idea that child sacrifice is a woman’s right.
This is why we go to churches and engage Christians on the subject of abortion and abortion apathy. For the Bible tells us so.
Please visit Church Repent for more information.
Sincerely,
The Abolitionist Society of Fort Worth
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