The Rainbow Letters

IMMORALITY: THE CHURCH’S ACHILLES’ HEEL

IN THE TWENTY FIRST CENTURY

Rev. Pieter Hendriks

April, 2022

Introduction

The six Pastoral Letters linked above have been written in response to developing propaganda surrounding this issue of homosexuality as part of the larger issue of the LGBTQI community.

The first Pastoral Letter (PL1) was written in response to the general development of homosexuality in Canada and the US and the growing support it began to receive within society at large, as well as in some churches. It was only after the writing of PL1 that it became clear how serious this issue had reached the Church in North America at large, including the Christian Reformed Church.

The writing of the second Pastoral Letter (PL2) came in response to the fact that a Christian university, namely Calvin University (CU) in Grand Rapids, MI, had endorsed the LGBTQI movement. The PL2 only saw the light of day after realizing that my own local CRC church had endorsed CU’s opposition to the Christian Reformed Church Synod’s report which firmly opposes homosexuality and thus immorality at large.

The third Pastoral letter (PL3) was written as a response to an article in the May issue of the CHRISTIAN COURIER, a Reformed Monthly, written by the same person who had earlier written an endorsement of CU’s receptive stand regarding LGBTQI people. That endorsement was supported by four of the seven local CRC churches in the Calgary area.

Reflection

The following brief reflection is on the biblical context within which the issue of immorality ought to be considered. Any decision on this particular issue should not be based on one’s personal feelings, opinion or desire, but only on the truth revealed in God’s Word. This reflection comes at the end of writing these three Pastoral Letters and a recent meeting with a group of well-informed politically minded Christians from various denominations. As the invited speaker I opened that meeting with the reading of the following Bible passage:

   “I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me, so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its   setting men may know there is none besides me. I am the LORD, and there is no other. I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the LORD, do all these things.”

…………………………………………..Isaiah 45:5-7; NIV.

In this reflection I wish to add the following two Bible passages:

   “He (Christ) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or   powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” 

…………………………………………..Colossians 1:15-17; NIV.  

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For your struggle is not against flesh and   blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

…………………………………………..Ephesians 6:10-12; NIV.

All three above-quoted Bible passages remind us who is in complete control of what is happening on earth. He is the One who controls all the affairs taking place in the world and in the heavenly realms. We also understand that He completely controls all Satan’s activities in the past, present and future. That includes Satan’s act of trying to dethrone God which resulted in him being thrown out of heaven unto the earth, an event Jesus referred to when he spoke to those seventy-two evangelists, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” (Luke 10:18; NIV).

The earth became Satan’s domain, and it was precisely in that environment of evil influence in which God not only placed all of mankind, but also used it to prepare the Church for everlasting life on a totally renewed earth. In God’s Plan of Salvation Satan was going to play an important role according to God’s will and sovereign control. All this started with Adam and Eve, followed by one generation after another until our days, and will continue during coming generations.

In the meantime, after Satan had failed to dethrone God the Father in the heavenly realm, he then tried to dethrone God the Son, Jesus Christ on earth. He tried to be successful in such efforts when Jesus was still a baby (Matthew 2), then when Jesus became exhausted resulting from a forty-day stay in the desert (Matthew 4) and finally during Jesus’ crucifixion (Matthew 27). He failed to be successful each of those three times.

After all those failures Satan had only one thing left to undermine God’s desire to prepare a Bride for His Son, Jesus Christ (Revelation 21:1-2). There was only one thing left for Satan to disrupt God’s Plan to prepare the Bride for His Son for the everlasting life to come.

This Bride would be the Church of Jesus Christ. Throughout the entire history of mankind, Satan has tried and continues to try to disrupt God’s Plan of Salvation in preparing the Church for eternal life on a brand new earth surrounded by renewed heavens.

Here we are, after approx. 6000 years during which Satan has been trying to masterfully disrupt God’s eternal Plan of Salvation to prepare the Bride for His only Son, Jesus Christ. Without going into details, it may seem that Satan has still been successful in drawing people away from God. However, God has indeed given Satan space and time to operate according to his evil plans. But then, is it not true that Satan can only be successful according to the leverage given him by God, the Creator of all things?

While God has always known what Satan was up to, Satan had no insight into, nor influence on how God was creating His Church out of the many denominations, also including the many Christians suffering from persecutions throughout the world. Satan has been and continues to be an instrument in God’s hands to accomplish God’s vision for the coming everlasting life in which he and his demons, will have no place.

In general we may speak of two main groups of people in the world according to the Scriptures: Jews and Gentiles (Romans 9-11). All Jewish people are God’s covenant people on the basis of circumcision, and the Gentiles have many covenant people among them on the basis of baptism.  However, we find in both main groups of covenant people those who become covenant breakers and many others who remain covenant keepers. Only the latter group, covenant keepers, will become the Bride of Christ, and it is only God who knows who those covenant keepers are.

We may wish to know who those covenant keepers are. But what we know is that the one and only rule God will use to determine who will belong to the one, everlasting Church, the Bride of Christ, is the rule of those who follow God’s Word as the rule of life. One signal we get from the Bible is that covenant breakers are the ones drawn to the lifestyles of those failing to live according to all God’s guidelines concerning how we are to live. These guidelines are explained in both the Old and New Testaments.

One significant guideline in both Testaments is the standard of morality. Both Testaments therefore warn faithful covenant people to stay away from the often desirable, glamorous immoral lifestyles of a world that wants to be free from God-instructed moral lifestyle. God uses Satan to test the faith of Christians and their determination to hold on to God-given guidelines for living. 

Today, Christians all over the world, including on the North-American continent, are engulfed by the very enticing world in which immoral lifestyles are the drawing card. I dare to say that Satan is succeeding in drawing Christians into that kind of world. Does that mean that Satan is the victor after all? Well, again, God is in complete command of all He has created.

Please read all three Pastoral letters before drawing your final conclusion based on the information God’s Word provides on issues of morality and immorality. These three letters will lead the reader to understand that God’s (final, lasting) Word is absolutely clear on those issues.  The reader also must come to realize what kind of human reason(s) there are to circumvent Scripture by accepting the entire LGTBQI phenomenon Satan uses to break up many local churches and denominations.  

Ending this reflection we may turn to a Bible passage found in Pauls’ second letter:

   “I (Paul) will keep on doing what I am doing in order to cut the ground from under those who want an opportunity to be considered equal with us in the things they boast about. For such   men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his   servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions    deserve.”

……………………………………..2 Corinthians 11:12-15; NIV.