Christ's Directive

Before the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to heaven, he gave his disciples a clear commission:

“…that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” (Luke 24:47)

The word repentance is the Greek word metanoia and is defined by Thayer’s Lexicon of the New Testament as:

 “a change of mind, as it appears to one who repents, of a purpose he has formed or of something he has done, especially the change of mind of those who have begun to abhor their errors and misdeeds, and have determined to enter upon a better course of life, so that it embraces both a recognition of sin and sorrow for it and hearty amendment, the tokens and effects of which are good deeds.”

The meaning of repentance is seen in passages like Romans where Paul exhorts the disciples:

“Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey the lusts thereof. Neither yield your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield ourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.” (Romans 6:12-13)

This was a changing of their ways, denying lusts and instead of indulging, doing good works. Man’s ways and thoughts are not Gods as Isaiah clearly states:

“Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call yea upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteousness man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, smith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and m y thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:6-9)

What God is looking for, and what Jesus taught was a need to change from our own ways, and embrace Gods.

The disciples took this message and spread it throughout the world. When those in Jerusalem recognized their error, they asked what they should do, which they received a clear answer:

“Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38)

It was not just to the Jews, this was the commandment of the Apostle Paul to the Greeks in Athens:

“And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: 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.” (Acts 17:30–31)

The apostles went forward preaching a gospel of repentance and forgiveness through baptism into the name of the Lord Jesus Christ as he gave them commandment:

“And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.” (Mark 16:15–16)

That is the simple gospel message, believed throughout the ages, protected by a Western civilization that was built on the principles of the Reformation… until today.

Canada’s Road to Perdition

Most western governments had their laws rooted in the moral fabric of the Bible, with slogans such as “in God we trust”, and “God keep our land”. Many of us grew up learning the 10 commandments at public school, doing Bible readings in school assemblies, and being taught a moral code to live by. Those days are completely gone.

What was identified by the Bible as immoral behaviour and deemed illegal years ago is celebrated today. What was moral and upstanding belief and behavior years ago is now considered to be criminal.

According to the Canadian Encyclopedia:

From the earliest days of colonization to 1969, sodomy laws made sex between men illegal in Canada. In addition, a law enacted in 1892 made “gross indecency” between men illegal. The law was extended to women in 1953.

In 1969 Canada’s Prime Minister, Pierre Elliot Trudeau, brought in laws that changed the criminal code of Canada. At the time he stated:

“It’s bringing the laws of the land up to contemporary society, I think. Take this thing on homosexuality. I think the view we take here is that there’s no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation, what’s done in private between adults doesn’t concern the Criminal Code, when it becomes public this a different matter.”

Again, according to the Canadian Encyclopedia:

“It was not until 1987 that the Criminal Code repealed the offence of gross indecency.”

Trudeau’s father decriminalized “homosexuality” in 1969. This month the Canadian government passed a bill to make the preaching of repentance illegal.

On December 1, 2021 the Canadian House of Parliament unanimously voted in favor of Bill C-4, The Ban of Conversion Therapy, making the preaching of repentance a criminal act.  Speaker of the House Anthony Rota

rose to address the assembly:

This being a hybrid sitting of the house, for the sake of clarity, I will only ask those who are opposed to the request to express their disagreement. Accordingly, all those opposed to honourable member moving the motion will please say “nay”.  (Pause).

Agreed.

The house has heard the terms of the motion, all those opposed to the motion will please say “Nay”. (Pause).

There being no dissenting voice, I declare the motion carried.

On December 7, the Canadian Senate gave approval of Bill C-4 making it law in Canada. Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau tweeted on December 8, 2021:

It’s official: Our government’s legislation banning the despicable and degrading practice of conversion therapy has received Royal Assent - meaning it is now law. LGBTQ2 Canadians, we’ll always stand up for you and your rights.

Many Conservative members of the Canadian Parliament, who had previously opposed the bill, caved into the militant liberal agenda. They are afraid of persecution at the hands of the media-manipulated mob who would call for their “cancelation” if they opposed the bill. Not one MP dared stand against the militant liberalist’s agenda.

This aggressive liberal lobby uses tactics akin to what we will term “social terrorism” to achieve its objectives.  The atmosphere is akin to the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution. Instead of being guillotined, people are cut off from society, discredited, dismissed, or “cancelled” by the mob possessed with what they think is “social justice.” Without trial or an opportunity to defend, an accusation is equivalent to a conviction.  The liberal left is bloodthirsty for victims and go on the hunt feed their appetite and spill blood. The words of Peter are fitting:

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil (which simply means false accuser), as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.” (1 Peter 5:8–9)

Conversion Therapy

Canada is not the only nation to adopt these draconian measures.  The move began with Brazil in 1999, extended to Norway in 2000, Samona in 2007, Argentina and Fiji in 2010, Equador in 2014, Malta and Switzerland in 2016, Uruguay and Albania in 2017, Taiwan in 2018, Germany in 2019, and now Canada in 2021. Several states in Australia have joined suit. The United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, Israel, Norway, Denmark and Finland and France are also considering bringing in laws at this time. According to the Washington Post, “France’s Senate also voted to outlaw “conversion therapy” this week, after the lower house of Parliament approved a draft proposal led by members of President Emmanuel Macron’s party.”

Some countries, such as Canada have made it an offence punishable by fines and jail time.

In Canada, Conversion Therapy is defined in bill C-4 as something that:

“causes harm to society because, among other things, it is based on and propagates myths and stereotypes about sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, including the myth that heterosexuality, cisgender gender identity, and gender expression that conforms to the sex assigned to a person at birth are to be preferred over other sexual orientations, gender identities and gender expressions;

Consequently, the bill states:

“and whereas, in light of those harms, it is important to discourage and denounce the provision of conversion therapy in order to protect the human dignity and equality of all Canadians”

In the bill, “Conversion Therapy” is put on a par with child pornography.  It is defined as:

… a practice, treatment or service designed to

(a) change a person’s sexual orientation to heterosexual;

(b) change a person’s gender identity to cisgender;

(c) change a person’s gender expression so that it conforms to the sex assigned to the person at birth;

(d) repress or reduce non-heterosexual attraction or sexual behaviour;

(e) repress a person’s non-cisgender gender identity; or

(f) repress or reduce a person’s gender expression that does not conform to the sex assigned to the person at birth.

It adds to this:

Advertisement for conversion therapy means any material — including a photographic, film, video, audio or other recording, made by any means, a visual representation or any written material — that is used to promote or advertise conversion therapy

Anybody involved in “Conversion Therapy,” or “Advertising Conversion Therapy” is:

(a) guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than five years; or

(b) guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction.

The Preaching of Repentance Illegal

If Jesus Christ roamed the streets of any Canada in 2021 calling on people to “repent” he would be arrested and sent to jail for a term not exceeding five years.

The issue comes down to whether Homosexuality is wrong, or in biblical terms, “a sin”. The Apostle John puts it quite simply:

“Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.” (1 John 3:4)

Sin is the transgression of God’s law, not man’s. God is the authority on what is right and wrong, not man, but man cannot abide this concept.

The Apostle Paul who wrote, (and written material is included), of those who advocated and practiced ‘alternate lifestyles’:

“Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.” (Romans 1:24–32)

This Bible ‘text’ we have just read would be considered hate or ‘conversion therapy’ in written form, and the Apostle Paul would be arrested and jailed for penning it.  Canada has given approval to those who practice what God has deemed as “dishonorable passions”  in the ESV or “vial affections” in the KJV, both describing them as “contrary to nature.” Yes, the Bible states these ‘practices’ are contrary to nature, and God would know as he is the “creator.”

The world’s perspective, devoid of a biblical moral compass, is a little different as Frances equality minister, Elisabeth Moreno, stated this week:

“Being yourself is not a crime, homosexuality and trans identity are not diseases that can be cured. There is nothing to cure.”

Now, either there is no God at all, or the Bible is a ‘dead letter’ as the Catholic Church would claim, or He is wrong, and therefore not God. This is a seminal decision point for those who call themselves Christians. As we drove around our home city during “pride month” it was astounding to see the number of Churches displaying signs reading “Love is Love” or “Love Lives Here” celebrating ‘pride month’. The very phrase itself reminds one of the Proverb:

“The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: Pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, And the froward mouth, do I hate.” (Proverbs 8:13)

God’s view on this should not come as a shock to anyone who reads their Bible. The Apostle Paul made it very clear:

“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9–10 ESV)

These are very instructive verses. They teach us that we born “man” or “woman.” Creation is binary. There is no third option.  Anything other than this is a corruption of what God created. Even Christ pointed out this fact:

“Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?” (Matthew 19:4–5)

This is the only Biblical definition. When a child is born as a boy or a girl, that is their gender, regardless of what lifestyle they might choose later. Any Christian has to understand that to argue otherwise, would be to argue with the creator himself…

“Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?” (Romans 9:20)

Now, contrary to the rhetoric of the world today, this is not a gospel of hate, it is a gospel of truth. It is sin that is repudiated, not the sinner, as Paul continued in the next verse in Corinthians:

“And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:11)

Through baptism and repentance (turning around or conversion), mankind can be forgiven, washed clean, and sanctified or made holy.  They can change their ways and become acceptable to God.

It is God who is calling people to convert from their wicked ways through the power of his word. Many of the first century congregations had come from a debauched lifestyle:

“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—” (Ephesians 2:1–5)

The first century world was no different from today. We are not ‘progressive’ in society today, but regressive, like a dog returning to the vomit of human nature (Proverbs 26:11). The call is for those who call themselves “Christians” to separate from an ungodly hedonistic world that does nothing more than worship its own lusts:

“Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ!—” (Ephesians 4:17–20 ESV)

This is a command from the father made in mercy:

“And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: 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.” (Acts 17:30–31)

These are words of absolute heresy to the world we live in today, a world that would “gnash with their teeth” on anyone who spoke such things, “crying out with a loud voice, stopping their ears, running upon them with one accord, casting them out of the city and stoning them” (Acts 7:54,57-58). They might not kill them, but they would hurl the hardest penalties the law would afford against them.

Jesus warned of this:

“If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.” (John 15:18–20)

Mankind and the Canadian government, in their wisdom, have decided that God, His son Jesus Christ, the Apostles, and the Holy Scriptures of Truth have all got it wrong. They know better. Paul comments on this attitude:

“For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.” (1 Corinthians 3:19–20)

Man has re-written, revised, ‘updated,’ and as Trudeau put it ‘brought the laws of the land up to contemporary society.” They have made the Word of God of none effect, and therefore are in contempt of the heavenly court.

The words of Isaiah are very applicable to this government and the spirit of the age:

“Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; That put darkness for light, and light for darkness; That put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, And prudent in their own sight!” (Isaiah 5:20–21)

Canada has picked a fight with the creator. That has never worked out well in the past, ask Goliath, or Jezebel, or Nebuchadnezzar. God has a way of dealing with those who distain him.

Right now, God allows the government of Canada to rule, but there will come a time when He will remove all governments that disavow His son, as the Canadian government does right now:

“And he changeth the times and the seasons: He removeth kings, and setteth up king…” (Daniel 2:21)

Totalitarian Precedent

COVID has presented the governments of this world with unprecedented powers in the modern era. No matter what your position on vaccination, one has to concede that governments all over this planet have seized a massive amount of power governments in the name of the public good. Nowhere has it been more astounding than in Austria, where vaccination has become compulsory. Those not vaccinated are in permanent lockdown. Come February those who refuse vaccination will face fines of 3,600 euros.  The opposition has called the government “a dictatorship.” The Guardian reported,

“Those refusing to be vaccinated are likely to face administrative fines, which can be converted into a prison sentence if the fine cannot be recovered.”

In countries like Canada, Australia and New Zealand thousands of people have lost their jobs, or been forced to leave university and college because they are not vaccinated. In the time of this pandemic, when the world is short of nurses and public health support workers, it is bewildering to read of hospital employees, the front-line workers, being fired for non-compliance after putting their lives on the line for the past two years.

However, it is not the measures some countries have adopted with regards to COVID that are of concern, it is the totalitarian power governments are taking to themselves.  These powers, taken in the name of addressing the pandemic, could easily be transformed into tools used against other perceived ‘evils to the public good’ such as preaching a gospel of repentance.  If refusal to “get the jab” is deemed harmful to society, and measures such as job loss, restriction from schools or services, being denied the right to assemble or to speak, are employed for this issue, how long will it take until these same measures are applied to preaching repentance? After all, according to the definition provided by Canadian law, it “causes harm to society” in suggestion someone should ‘repent’ or ‘turn around’ from a lifestyle deemed “dishonourable” by the Creator Himself.

Grant Boldness Unto Your Servants

Today is a grave day for Bible believers in Canada and around the world. It is also a day of hope, because it places us in the time described by the Lord Jesus Christ:

“…as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.” (Luke 17:28–30)

We are not going to change society today any more than Lot was able to change the society of Sodom. What we can do is what the Lord did, and preach repentance:

“From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17)

The vast majority will reject it, being blinded by the spirit of the age around us:

“But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” (2 Corinthians 4:3–4)

Though the world may reject the word of God, we cannot be ashamed by it, nor let the world shame us for believing it as Paul stated:

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” (Romans 1:16)

The gospel of repentance has the power to save life. The gospel of acceptance has the power to indulge for the moment, but will ultimately result in death:

“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)

The signs of the times cry out to us that the Kingdom of God is at the door. There is little time left. Our commission is clear, as Paul charge Timothy:

“I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick (living) and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove (convince), rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.” (2 Timothy 4:1–5)

If we are called before the authorities, and “threatened not speak to anyone in the name of Jesus” we must draw on the example of the Apostles who faced the same challenge from their rulers in the first century:

“So they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”” (Acts 4:18–20)

We need to prepare ourselves for the battle as soldiers of Christ as Paul exhorts us:

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (Ephesians 6:10-12)

For us, the “principalities and powers, the rulers of the darkness of this world” are the governments of today that forbid us to preach Christ’s gospel of repentance.

“For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.” (2 Corinthians 10:3–6 ESV)

Let us pray as the Apostles did under the face of such threats:

“…Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word…” (Acts 4:24–30)

May we be as David, as he faced Goliath, “Strong in the Lord of Hosts and in His mighty power.”  We cannot fear the social terrorism that may be unleashed by the militant liberal left. We must put our trust in God and pray these last days be shortened for the very elect’s sake. May God give us strength to hold fast until the end when God will give the saints power over the nations:

“But that which ye have already hold fast till I come. And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.” (Revelation 2:25–27)

As we stand back and watch many nations being swept by this “spirit of demons” we cannot but think of the words of James:

“This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish (or demonic).” (James 3:15)

It is the result of the spirit of madness that has its roots in the frog spirits of the sixth vial which began with the teachings that came from the French Revolution:

“And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.” (Revelation 16:13–14)

This is where we stand today, on the brink of the destruction of mankind, saving that God will intervene and save mankind from himself.   Until Christ returns, our position is clear as Paul charges us:

“that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.” (Philippians 2:15–16 ESV)

 For the Bible in the News, this has been Jonathan Bowen joining you.