Our Life and Times : Biblical Reasoning for a Modern Age
BLOGGER · THEOLOGIAN · APOLOGIST
Norman Harold Patterson Jr.
The Most Terrifying Words
A fascinating phenomenon is happening. We are living in a time when, if you question the government’s narrative, you are accused of either denying the seriousness of the virus (stupidity) or you are accused of not caring about other people (selfishness). It’s a script the herd has swallowed; hook, line, and sinker.
It all leads to the same end: faith in the government and suspicion of all those who question the narrative. It is brilliant! The government doesn’t even need to suppress dissent, our fellow citizens do it for them.
How ironic that Ronald Reagan, the most powerful government official of his time, said, “The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help.”
God’s Law or Humanistic Law: Which Do Prefer?
Ten Commandments for Tens of Thousands of Statutes
Current estimates on the number of Federal laws in America range anywhere between 15,000 and 50,000. Nobody knows for sure. It is said the average American breaks the law at least 3 times per day.
God's Law has only 10 Laws that are clear, easily understood, and reasonable.
1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me
2. Honor thy father and thy mother
3. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy
4. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image
5. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain
6. Thou shalt not kill
7. Thou shalt not commit adultery
8. Thou shalt not steal
9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor
10. Thou shalt not covet
In fact, Jesus summarized these 10 Laws into Two:
Matthew 22:36-40
𝐺𝑜𝑑'𝑠 𝐿𝑎𝑤 𝑣𝑠. 𝐻𝑢𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑐 𝐿𝑎𝑤 (𝐿𝑎𝑤𝑠 𝑀𝑎𝑑𝑒 𝑈𝑝 𝐵𝑦 𝐺𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡): 𝑊ℎ𝑖𝑐ℎ 𝐿𝑎𝑤 “𝑇𝑒𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑟, 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑐ℎ 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐿𝑎𝑤?” 𝐴𝑛𝑑 ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑎𝑖𝑑 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑖𝑚, “𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐿𝑜𝑟𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝐺𝑜𝑑 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑠𝑜𝑢𝑙 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑑. 𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡. 𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑎 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑠 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑖𝑡: 𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑛𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑏𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑠 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓. 𝑂𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑡𝑤𝑜 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐿𝑎𝑤 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑝ℎ𝑒𝑡𝑠."
Sadly, the USA is transitioning from the rule of law to Public Policy. As this happens, more and more people will become snitches, tattletales, and general pain the asses as they seek to police others on whatever the current Public Policy happens to be.
Presumed Guilty
In a free society, individuals must be presumed innocent until proven guilty while at the same time, those in government must be presumed guilty until proven innocent. This is the only way to challenge the corrupting influence of political power.
Sword, Famine, and Pestilence
The way I see it, we have three main fears circulating in the United States and throughout the entire world right now; the fear of tyranny, the fear of a collapsed economy, and the fear of COVID-19. For many people, these fears overlap one another.
Generally speaking, I think the heart of most disagreements lies in emphasis. Those who fear tyranny are more likely to downplay the seriousness of the virus. Those who fear the illness support more government control and are willing to put off economic worries, at least for now. And those who’s businesses are going under or are feeling real hunger pains are ready to take more health risks to stay alive. Who is right? I think each of these concerns has validity.
What bothers me is how Christians are responding to this present crisis. I’m writing this as a Christian to Christians. If you do not share my faith, you might as well stop reading. It will have little value to you unless you are curious about the present-day failure of modern Christians and the Church. If you are a Christian, I implore you to set your pride aside and heed what follows.
Whether it’s tyranny, the destruction of the economy, or COVID-19, it all adds up to one thing - God is trying to get our attention. When you read the Bible, you discover time after time, God acting in and through disasters. In fact, God even says He is the Author of calamity. He says in Isaiah 45:7:
𝐼 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚 𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑘𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠; 𝐼 𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑤𝑒𝑙𝑙-𝑏𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑡𝑦; 𝐼 𝑎𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐿𝑜𝑟𝑑, 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑑𝑜𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠.
You can’t read the Bible long before you see, there is more behind disasters and difficulties than just random natural acts. God uses things to call sinful people back to Him.
Jeremiah 14:12 speaks specifically about God using tyranny, a collapsed economy, and COVID-19. He said to His people:
𝑇ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑓𝑎𝑠𝑡, 𝐼 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑛𝑜𝑡 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑐𝑟𝑦, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑜𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟 𝑏𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛 𝑜𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝐼 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑝𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚. 𝐵𝑢𝑡 𝐼 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚 𝑏𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑑, 𝑏𝑦 𝑓𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑒, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑝𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒.”
The sword is tyranny. Famine is the sign of economic collapse, and pestilence is a fatal epidemic disease such as COVID-19. The context is about Christians in the Old Testament who paid lip service to God, but their hearts were far from Him. They participated in the sins of the culture with no fear of God or His retribution.
If this verse isn’t a wake-up call, I don’t know what is. I implore my brothers and sisters in Christ to take these words seriously. Let’s stop arguing and use our time and energy for something far more profitable - prayer and preaching the gospel. The world is in crisis, and we are fighting about who is right and who is wrong? About whether Donald Trump is the Messiah or the Devil? Whether we should wear a mask or not?
A while ago, I put out a plea for Christians to pray. I even made a simple outline on how to pray during this time. I don’t know why, but I got more responses about memes on tyranny than on my call to prayer. I admit, I get distracted too, but isn’t it time we put our pride away and get serious? It doesn’t matter if a call to prayer comes from someone you don’t like or someone you disagree with. Let’s put away our differences and unite in Christ. Let’s call our nation and our world to Jesus Christ. Let’s use our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to proclaim the only Way that will save this lost and dying world. That Way is faith in Jesus Christ and obedience to His Law.
The Ultimate Precaution
There’s something affecting humanity that is far deadlier than COVID-19 and yet so few pay it any mind. I think people fear the coronavirus because they ultimately fear death. It’s interesting to me to see how few people fear sin. The Bible says, “The wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23) What if we feared sin as much as the coronavirus? Sin has caused more death and destruction and devastation than any virus the world has ever seen, yet so many of us are as comfortable with sin as we are with an old familiar pair of bluejeans.
Look at all the precautions people are taking to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Governments have closed much of the world. People wear masks and keep at least 6 feet apart. We are even willing to tank the economy and all the devastation that will cause in order to flatten the curve.
Imagine if we took sin as seriously as we are taking COVID-19? Imagine if we feared God more than we feared sickness and death? Jesus said, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew 10:28)
Please don’t misread me. Take precautions against real threats. Yet, I’m amazed and saddened by a world that puts so much energy into battling a virus while giving so little attention to sin and God.
There’s no cure for COVID-19, but there is a cure for sin. The cure is faith in Jesus Christ and His atoning blood that was poured out when He died on the cross. Take precautions against coronavirus, but shouldn't we take the greater precaution of where we will spend eternity? In Christ, we do not need to fear death or disease or destruction. Take the ultimate precaution by trusting in Jesus Christ today.
A Call to Prayer
April 10, 2020
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14
If God’s own People aren’t willing to do this, then what hope is there for our State, our Nation, or our World.
Wake Up Believers and Pray!
A Call to Prayer
God is calling His people to pray. Whether you are worried about COVID-19, the economy, the expansion of government, how you’re going to pay the rent, or for the safety of your friends and family, the best thing we can do is pray. Prayer is not just something we can do to pass the time. It is the work that Christians are called to do especially during times of crisis.
I invite you to join me in prayer for all that is happening in our world right now. You can pray at any time, but I am inviting you to pray particularly when you wake up in the middle of the night or during a time when you are quiet and free from distraction.
For those of you who like some help in how to pray, I came up with a way to have Christ-centered prayer. Each letter in the name of C.H.R.I.S.T. stands for an important aspect of prayer. Whether you use this Christ-centered guideline or something else, the most important thing is that you pray.
Here is a brief explanation of each letter with one supporting Bible verse. I plan on expanding and explaining each aspect of prayer on my blog on the www.the100thsheepministries.com website. Check there in the next coming days if you want a deeper explanation of each letter.
C - Confession
Start with confessing your own personal sins. (1 John 1:9)
Continue with confessing our corporate sins as a nation. There are plenty of sins we can confess such as the sin of pornography, sex trafficking, child abuse, racism, greed, etc. The list is long. (Nehemiah 1:4-11)
H - Hallejuja (Praise)
Take time to worship God and realize who He is and how great He is. (Psalm 103:1)
R - Requests
It’s important to ask God for what you want and what you need. (Philippians 4:6)
I - Intersession
Take time to intercede for our world, for our nation, for our government, doctors, for the sick, for friends and family, for God to have mercy on us, for God to move on those who don’t know Jesus Christ. This is the heart of the work of prayer.(1 Timothy 2:1-2)
S - Scripture
Take some time and meditate on a verse or passage of Scripture. (Joshua 1:8)
T - Thanksgiving
Finally, take time to give God thanks for the many blessings He has given you. It is vitally important that you have a grateful heart. 1 Thessalonians 5:18)
Please share this with fellow believers and ask them to share it as well. Together we can and will make a difference. Our prayers will turn things around.
We find the Dominion Mandate for Bible-believing Christians in Genesis 1:26-28:
Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."
For Christians, this means that God has given us the responsibility to take dominion over the entire world. We have God's approval and authority to "fill the earth and subdue it." Add to this Christ's call in Matthew 28:19+20 to:
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
And 2 Corinthians 10:3-6:
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.
While God called Christians to be separate from the world in holiness, He doesn't give us the option to isolate ourselves from the world physically. As Jesus said:
I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. John 17:14-15
Because of false piety and a lack of understanding of these and other Dominion affirming Biblical texts, Christians far too often vacate the world, leaving an "influence vacuum." As the old saying goes, "nature abhors a vacuum." Because of this, instead of taking Dominion over the arts, sciences, court systems, political offices, universities, and so on, Christians withdraw into isolated communities only to leave the world unoccupied.
As a result, anti-Christ people and philosophies have readily taken over virtually every facet of life. The greatest antithesis to Biblical Christianity has understood and intentionally implemented the Dominion Mandate for their own sinister ends.
The most dangerous of all are those espousing Cultural Marxism. Briefly, Cultural Marxism is an expansion of Classical Marxism, which focuses primarily on the economic philosophy of Karl Marx. Cultural Marxism is much more all-encompassing than Classical Marxism.
Ultimately, Cultural Marxism is about liberating humanity from the moral constraints of Biblical Christianity. The Bible prohibits same-sex intimacy, adultery in all forms, polygamy, bigamy, bestiality, pedophilia, and so on. God created man and woman in His image and commanded them to be fruitful and multiply; the Dominion Mandate!
The method Cultural Marxism employs to propagate its insidious agenda is through applying the Biblical Mandate. The plan has been and continues to be for those who oppose Biblical Christianity to infiltrate and dominate every known sphere of influence. As Voddie Bachem pointed out, their strategy is to take over the "robes" of society; professors, pastors, and judges, for example.
R.J. Rushdoony and the Christian Reconstructionists proposed the same tactic, taking over the "robes" of society. However, instead of a great "Amen" from the rest of the Church, Christian Reconstructionism has been vilified as patriarchal, extreme, and misguided.
In the meantime, Cultural Marxism is dominating the universities, media, churches, courts, arts, etc. They are putting Christians and Christianity to shame by their ardent intentionality to dominate the world for Self.
As the degeneration of our culture continues, so will the hostility toward Biblical Christianity. And just as Marxism tried to destroy Biblical Christianity through the reign of terror in anti-Christ regimes like the Soviet Union and Communist China, modern Marxists will not rest until Biblical Christianity is destroyed.
The good news, however, is the promise of Jesus Christ. He said that the "gates of hell" will not prevail against the Church. (Matthew 16:18) The image Christ was giving was not a Church that was cowering in the corner, battening down the hatches until the storm of hell subsided. Just the opposite. Hell is under attack, and its filthy gates are no match for the power and glory of the Risen Christ and His Bride.
Christians can no longer cower in corners. It is time for us to take up the battle cry and assault Cultural Marxism and any other "high place" (2 Corinthians 10:3-6) that dares to raise itself against the knowledge of God. Our weapons are not of the flesh (Ephesians 6), but they are weapons nonetheless and are worthless if left unused.
It is time for Christians to take back our country, our world for Christ. We must do it according to the means and methods of Jesus Christ and His Kingdom, which means we must take Dominion and occupy all walks of life for the glory of the crown rights of Jesus Christ.
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