A.W. Pink’s incisive commentary speaks to the ‘
pious heresy’ of the ‘
polish brass’ turn of phrase above.
“It needs to be clearly insisted upon that the exercise of faith does not preclude the use of all legitimate means, though we are not to rest in the means alone, but rather count upon God’s blessing the same. To decline the locking of my doors and the fastening of my windows when there is an epidemic of burglary in the neighborhood, or to retire for the night and leave a roaring fire in the grate, under the pretext of counting upon God’s protecting my property, is not trusting but tempting Him. Faith in God does not preclude the discharge of my performance of duty, both in taking precautions against danger or using proper means for success.”
2
Two distinct religions are vying for control of the public square in America: Secularism versus Christianity. Unable to coexist, one will ultimately go under due to the rise of the other.
Pertinent countermeasures include the following:
- “First-century Ekklesia introduced a radical and revolutionary social agenda that launched a process that literally changed the world. With the subsequent institutionalization of the Church, however, what was a lifestyle that implemented Jesus’ agenda became programs of good deeds that fall short of transforming society.
- “Jesus did not state, ‘I will build My temple’ or ‘I will build My synagogue’, the two most prominent Jewish religious institutions at the time. Instead, He chose a secular entity first developed by the Greeks when He said, ‘I will build my Ekklesia’ [Gr. ekklesia – called-out ones] ‘and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against [them].’ Matthew 16:18
- “The teachings of Jesus that the first-century Ekklesia modeled, constitute what is now known as Christian ethics. No other philosophy has come close to matching it. In fact, [Western Civilization was] built on it because Christian values and ethics have no rival in either the secular or the religious arena.
- “Jesus’ Ekklesia was never meant to be so heavenly minded as to become earthly irrelevant.”3
The essence of the battle facing 21st-century America for that reason lies in reestablishing the authority of Scripture in the (earthly) culture. Religious secularism, a pagan religion and Christianity’s chief competitor, can only thrive in the
absence of a biblically literate (or well-informed) populace. Thus, one will easily perceive the baneful effect of the secularized 1963 Warren Supreme Court’s removal of the Bible from culture, public education, and higher learning.
Regarding the power of the Word, Martin Luther translated the Bible from Greek to German in 1522, and next from Hebrew to German in 1534. Those efforts alone launched the Protestant Reformation, establishing the Bible as
“the fixed point in order to judge.”
4 Thereby transforming “
traditional Western moral and legal philosophy by making not reason but the Bible, and more particularly the Ten Commandments, the basic source and summary of natural law.”
5
Western civilization is at stake, unless Secularism gets vanquished from America. It’s time for Gideons and Rahabs to stand.
David Lane
American Renewal Project
1-2. A.W. Pink, Gleanings From Joshua.
4. Blaise Pascal, “We must have a fixed point in order to judge.”
5. Harold J. Berman, Law and Revolution, II: The Impact of the Protestant Reformations on the Western Legal Tradition.