What the Church Can Learn from the World?, James Cone in Heaven?, & TGC on Economics

Christmas Vacation, New Year’s Eve, and a Call to Be a Cheerful Warrior

Welcome to the conversations that matter podcast. My name is John Harris. It is early evening on New Year's Eve right now. And I'm still kind of in Christmas vacation mode. Didn't comb my hair or put on a nice shirt.

I'm actually kind of sick right now, and it was worse about a week ago. I my poor in-laws I went up to New York with my wife to celebrate Christmas and You know, I had to check out of dinner. I had to check out of Church service that night the Christmas Eve service.

I was kind of in a corner Huddled up and I won't I'll spare you the details on the symptoms. But then 1230 that night I get up and I go to the restroom and I passed out at least twice like blacked out on the floor.

Wake up that way How did this happen and just sweat pouring from my forehead and it was kind of like a mini flu for 24 hours. So I'm still recovering from that which is why You can tell my my nose is kind of stuffed up.

But I got ambitious so it's kind of my fault. I decided that I would go on a hike. I thought on Christmas Day that night. I thought I'm better now. So on Saturday I decided to go on a hike with my brother and some friends and if you're watching on On YouTube, you can see there's a picture here of this is a waterfall in Minnewaska State Park in New York.

And sometimes The ice will actually create like a cone, you know, it's a little warmer this year. So you don't see it as much but it'll go like a third of the way up that Falls but it's still pretty you can see the icicles and cold enough though to Bring some symptoms back around that I'm still dealing with all that to say we are entering the new year here and that's an exciting time.

I think of the John Wayne quote where he talks about every day comes to us as Clean and hoping we learn something from the day before and every year is like that and hopefully you have some resolutions things that you Want to change in the next year.

I know I want to be more disciplined in my devotional life. I'd like to become Whether you agree with Doug Wilson or not, I'd like to become in some ways more like Doug Wilson. I was thinking about this today and I don't have like an actual formula for What it is I'm trying to do but there's this idea of being a cheerful warrior.

And Doug Wilson seems to be this guy like nothing really gets to him. He loves his family loves where he is in life loves his church and takes a stand for the truth. That's uncompromising and I think we all need to learn to be more that way and again whether you like Doug Wilson or not.

He's just a guy that stands out to me is having In some sense mastered that and so that that's kind of that's the character that I'd like to inculcate in myself and so How to get there obviously be in the word more be in prayer but learn from men who are like that and one of the reasons that we need that is because We are at a time right now that in Christianity and evangelical institutions I'm talking about gospel coalition ERLC SBC entities PCA, etc all the publishing companies.

The World’s Categories Are Infringing on the Church

Where the world is really infringing on the church. We're adopting categories from the world personalities ideas philosophies for Christians for the church trying to get take our cues from what they think and It's dangerous.

It's really dangerous and it's been happening for a while. But I think it's become it's become worse and it just stands out to me this year I mean even you know, the social justice fight which I focus on quite a bit.

That's just one component in this. There's just a lot of ways that the world is infringing on the church. And so I want to talk about that a little bit today I thought about doing something funny just because it is kind of like a Christmas vacation time and I'm in that mode and everyone else could probably use a laugh, but And I think we will have one at the end by the way.

Someone sent me a gospel coalition video. That was just so ridiculous I I watched the first few minutes haven't watched the whole thing, but we'll do it together and it hopefully it'll be funny but but a lot of the things that I was thinking making fun of I just wanted to cry when I thought of it because It's like this is pathetic.

This is so pathetic and You know, I was driving for about three hours today. And I was thinking about what I wanted to say and and I thought you know This needs to be a little more serious. We need to identify that this is a problem because a lot of Christians don't see it and we need to know how to approach It I think and so I'm gonna hopefully give you some ideas that will help us along both of those Directions to understand what the problem is and how to approach it.

I want to talk a little bit about the term world. First of all, because look here's the thing the term world can be defined differently even in Scripture. We see God so loved the world and then in first John 2 Verse 16 wait, the world is the lust of flesh lust the eyes pride of life.

God doesn't love that right? No, he doesn't and so John is using the world in different ways, right and You think of the Amish the Amish want to be separate from the world. So what do they do? They get rid of all their technology.

At just about they try to act like they're in the 1800s and live that way and I think we would all agree. That's an overreaction. I mean the fact that you're listening to me right now probably on iTunes or on YouTube.

I mean you're using technology that isn't necessarily Christian, right? I don't think Christians developed at least they didn't develop all the components that went into creating something like YouTube.

So we we wear clothes that wasn't that weren't manufactured in the church. You know, we we engage in the world in some way right where we just naturally do that. We don't have to purposely go out and do some cultural engagement.

We're in the culture and that's how we live now. That's not wrong, right? Because I think we can recognize that in the time biblical times. They did that as well they were using parchment and You know, whatever rudimentary technologies they had.

I'm sure Jesus for carpentry wasn't using, you know, specifically Was this were these believers in the one true God who made this plane, you know. There's he was using things that came in some ways from the world, but they wouldn't come as if there's in the sense that their source was the world in the sense that They came from sinful ideas that set themselves up against the Lord.

You can have a scientist or a mathematician, right that goes out and finds truth or even you know Pick your field they can find something that's true and they're living on the borrowed capital from a Christian worldview in order to do it I believe but but they're they're doing it because they are approaching God's world and they're finding God's truth.

That's different than Allowing philosophies that undermine God's truth that contradict God's truth that are based on lies. That as I just pointed out in first John chapter 2 that Puff up pride in us that appeal to the lust of our flesh and lust of our eyes, you know, that's in a different category and You can't be a Christian and love those things.

That's what first John says and so so I think there's there's a difference between those two things between the world in the sense of the technology of the world the You know, it's it's a different world.

We're talking about material things. We're talking about Non-christians can because of common grace they can engage The the world around them and come to some truthful conclusions right by trusting their senses by using what God gave them but then there are those who start out with faulty ideas build philosophies on them and Liberation theology is an example of that.

The critical race theory we're dealing with is an example of that. Post-modernism is an example of that. These are things that that They are false their lies and their systems of belief that have set themselves up against the knowledge of God.

So we have many verses that would tell us that Christians should not engage Psalm 1 Colossians I believe chapter 2 as I just pointed out first John chapter 2 Etc, etc, etc. And so we We need to define world and and so if we define it as the lust of the flesh lust of the eyes boastful pride of Life philosophies based on that.

It's that system that I think we're off to we're off we're on a good footing to start this off because many times hiding behind and ambiguity can confuse the issue and so My question right off the bat here and I'm gonna go back to something.

I haven't talked about yet because It the news broke right as I was recording my podcast from about a week ago. And so I didn't have time to really include it. But what would cause the evangelicals? to Throw Trump Donald Trump the president of the United States under the bus like Christianity today did.

When 81 of evangelicals voted for him, that's a serious question. I want you to think about this. Because 81 of evangelicals thought how whatever their logic was whether it was just Trump is better than Hillary or they thought he's gonna be better for the pro-life cause because of the judges he'll appoint whatever their logic was 81 of them decided to pull the lever for Trump and You have a big organization big evangelical organization Christianity today Put out an article Against Trump by their chief editor Mark Galley who I believe is on his way out if I'm not mistaken.

Which is probably why he was able to do this. Trump should be removed from office is the title and I I read this and You know, I want to kind of give some Some analysis just short analysis to this in hindsight because we're past the big I mean there's been several responses that have been very good and we're kind of past the time when People have just analyzed this thing and been out just about it.

Now. We're kind of moving on. What I'd like to suggest is that Christianity today has lost their sense of proportion and it's not just them I think many organizations have lost their sense of proportion and What do I mean by that?

Well, here's some quotes. We have reserved judgment on mr. Trump for years now. So Mark Galley says they've reserved Judgment on him. They haven't talked about him. They they haven't said that he should be impeached so stop right there and think about this for just one second.

All of the things that Donald Trump has done Even before he was president, right? Even with this Scandal that the sex scandal that took place all none of that Caused them to react the way that they're reacting now.

It's important right things that were actually In opposition to Christianity. Right, and you could say here's his character and here's what the Bible says and it doesn't match and it doesn't seem like he cares.

That wasn't enough. They reserved their judgment. Okay fair enough. But now for some reason that's changed and why has it changed. Well Here's the quote from the article the president of the United States Attempted to use his political power to coerce a foreign leader to harass and discredit one of the president's political opponents.

That is not only a violation of the Constitution more importantly it is profoundly immoral. So the president should be impeached Because of this whole phone call with the president of Ukraine in which I mean I've read the transcript that was released with in which Donald Trump asked if he would work with the Attorney General to look into a situation with Joe Biden's son in which There was there was corruption going on.

There was conflict of interest and It looked like Joe Biden that previous administration Had gotten in the way of prosecution. So so so there's political corruption Donald Trump asks the president of Ukraine to look into it to work not even to look into it to just work with the Attorney General on on looking into it and Because Joe Biden is running for president this is viewed as in a horrible immoral thing.

Because it's conflict of interest and Trump is just trying to do oppo research and make his opponent potentially in The 2020 election look bad. I Haven't heard any left-wing source Question what was going on with Hunter Biden who?

Doesn't have didn't have at least any experience with oil and gasoline sitting on this company the board of this company in Ukraine. The whole thing looks like nepotism the whole thing looks like there's probably corruption that was going on and Donald Trump's comment is Less than forceful.

It's very offhanded. It's hey if you could work with the Attorney General, that would be great. That is what? Christianity today says because the Democrats have chosen that is their issue to impeach Donald Trump, which is unprecedented to be honest with you.

For that to be the reasoning Christianity today has now dogpiled with the Democrats and said this is so immoral. They're so outraged now look I'm open to the idea that there's reasons if you want to I mean, I'm so I'm very Constitutionalist, I guess I I mean, I think just about every president since Probably Abraham Lincoln.

There's some exceptions in there, but most presidents have overstepped their constitutional boundaries. I think executive orders are so abused. I mean I could go on but There are reasons I can think of constitutionally that you might want to get rid of Trump, but they would also apply to Obama.

There are reasons morally why a Christian would say his characters is has not been good in the past and why we? Should denounce it, and I don't know if you want to make an argument that that should lead to impeachment then sure, but This is flimsy and the only reason I can think of for Christianity today to go this direction is because the Democrats went this direction now.

Remember what I said before 81 of evangelicals voted for Donald Trump. I Don't think that Christianity today is doing this because they're principled if they were principled They would have chosen a different time.

So their timing in my opinion is off. They're doing this When the Democrats are impeaching for a flimsy reason. Their rationale is off that this is supposedly there's such a violation of the Constitution.

How so there's no proof there really isn't. They don't have an alternative. I mean are they just doing this because they really hope that Pence could get in there I mean it again that goes back to timing.

That would have been something that you would have picked you would have done years ago you would have called for that and You know to write on the cusp of an election to then try to hurt Donald Trump.

Well, what's your alternative was it is a peep judge? Is it you know, who's gonna be in there? Is it Biden himself that you'd rather have win? And they're taking their cue from the Democratic Party now.

Apparently Christianity today's readership has gone up as a result of this and there are an elitist Magazine, there's no doubt. You know, there was a quote from Mark Galley had said that this was making the rounds right after this article in a book Recently that he didn't know anyone no evangelicals that had voted for Trump he even called himself an elitist and You know, he's definitely living in a bubble if what he said was true because 81 voted for Donald Trump, so Christianity today though has been on this path for a long time.

I'm going to show you something. This is from a book that I was recently reading by David Wells called no place for truth. I recommend it. Here's what he says about Christianity today now, he's going back to 1989.

He's comparing 1959 to 1989 and he says 20 of the magazine was given to covering religious news 15 to reviewing books of serious scholarship and 36 to expounding the content of the Bible and meaning of biblical doctrine for the modern world.

That was in 1959 three decades later having responded to the suggestions of sophisticated marketing surveys. The editors had changed the content drastically. The news coverage was doubled from 20 to 40 percent.

The book section was cut from 15 to 9 percent and The biblical and doctrinal content was reduced from 36 to 8 percent. Listen to that biblical content reduced from 36 to 8 percent in place of the former commitment to biblically Derived truth was a whole new interest in success stories about the churches and ministries as well as personal testimonies.

He goes on to talk about there was a regular section in 1959 called a layman and his faith and by 1989 He said this column was replaced and it he titled it. He said it should have been titled the lay people look at themselves.

It was about the pains of growing up the pains of growing up as a fundamentalist kid the pains of midlife crisis problems of marriage Struggling with homosexuality, etc, etc. And and here's the quote that I really want you to you to think about.

He says in these three decades The laity had apparently moved from a doctrinally framed faith the central concern of which was truth to a therapeutically constructed Faith the central concern of which was psychological survival.

Christian truth went from being an end in itself to being merely merely the means to personal healing. Thus was biblical truth eclipsed by the self and holiness by the wholeness. So that's what David Wells has to say about Christianity today, and he wrote this in 1994 so 1994.

He's saying Christianity today has gone worldly. That's what he's saying and he's saying the reason for that is that and I'm just gonna give you as a basic argument in the book. Pastors are no longer pastors.

They are therapists they're Organizers their managers is the word he uses they are trying to seek legitimacy in a secular world by being something other than a shepherd of sheep and We are down the path farther now and now pastors are not only those two things not just therapists not just Organizers.

Managers they are now community organizers. They're they're they are trying to market themselves as having a social function and Christianity itself Now is trying to market themselves as having a social function as an end in and of itself.

Christianity has a social function. It's better for cultures when there's Christians even a cultural Christianity is better than paganism. But that was never an end in and of itself. That was just the result.

Well now it's an end in and of itself and You see this in Christianity today. You see this in gospel coalition. You see this in ERLC. They are trying to show the world. What kind of contributions they have?

To give and they're trying to take their cues from the world as far as what they should be what they think the world wants them to be and This is a good example of that now when I say the world again.

Am I talking about technology and no I'm not. I'm talking about the lust of the flesh lust of the eyes boastful pride of Life, where do you think that lives? What comes to your mind when I say that those phrases maybe the Hollywood, right?

Maybe the pornographic business the the media maybe maybe a woman who or a doctor who would kill a baby before it's born. For the sake of convenience I mean does that strike you as maybe being consistent with lust of the flesh lust of the eyes boastful pride of life sexual promiscuity.

No rules at all. You can do what you want. Moral anarchy. What political party represents those things? It's not the Republican Party. Yeah, there's people in the Republican Party that are Real birds right.

Donald Trump, especially in the past and I can't speak for him today. But in the past, yeah. He's before he was president, especially he had affairs. He even bragged about them at times. There's Republicans who is very very immoral.

But is that what the party has stood for or does the party allow evangelical Christians and their ideas? From the Bible a seat at the table. They do Democrats boo. God. They don't let those things in there's no place in the Democratic Party for those ideas and.

So you have a party that is. You just completely attached to the moral depravity that exists in places like Hollywood and Las Vegas and moral anarchy sexual anarchy and Christianity today. Knowing all this if they have even one eye opened.

They have a problem with Donald Trump having a conversation with the president of Ukraine about corruption in Hunter Biden. Do you see how we've lost our sense of proportion? Do you see how they Rather than doing something you think would make sense siding with the 81 of evangelicals who voted for Donald Trump Rather than doing that.

They want to be they will what they want to be in the good graces of I'm gonna say it the world. This world system and the world system has a political party that they love. It's called the Democratic Party.

All right, and I look at their platforms compare them. This isn't even really up for debate. So You can laugh or cry at that. I choose to cry right now because it's just so sad to see this happening. But Christianity today is not a Christian magazine in my opinion anymore.

So this is this is where we're at. And this is why I think the social justice movement is Preceding the way it is. It's based on envy. It's it's the lust of the flesh. It's the lust I want something lust of the eyes.

It's the pride of life. It's not because of I I didn't do this to myself. I didn't create the situation. You know, what? It's it's someone else did it social justice is the what first John was warning about it's part of that.

It is a system that is consistent with what first John is warning about. It is the whole thing runs off of lust of the flesh lust of the eyes boastful pride of life. I'm so good. I'm not responsible for the situation that I'm in.

It's someone else's fault. I want what they have. Right, and I want to hurt them so Christians are now Forwarding the same ideas that you hear in the secular world that have sinful ideas at their base sinful inclinations now.

Worldly Categories in Social Justice, Diversity, and Cultural Engagement

I Was listening. I think this is good to talk about here. There's actually I'm gonna talk about some articles real quick. Where I see the world coming in in pathetic ways. So here's. Here's an article that came out in the gospel coalition earlier this year.

This is from May. What Western Christians can learn from the BTS phenomenon? What Christians can learn from the BTS phenomenon? So this is like a Korean pop Group and here are the three points of the article.

The next generation Church is more open to diversity and willing to be influenced by diverse leaders and influencers. Okay, the next generation Church ought to look more diverse. Okay, and then next Billy Graham may not be white.

Fine with me. This is James Choi who wrote this. Now this is something Number one that this whole emphasis on diversity. I don't see that in the Bible. I see the emphasis in the Bible on unity not diversity.

How we can be diverse and we come together and we're unified in Christ, right. So the emphasis is just way off first of all, but secondly. Why do we have to go to Korean boys band to learn this? I Give you exhibit B.

This is an article that came out. I think in November Russell Moore put it out. It was featured on gospel coalition. I found it through the ERLC what the church can learn from Sesame Street and Here's a quote.

I wonder what would happen if our churches were to recognize our role in showing people the future not just in our teaching and in Our going but in our being. Okay, I have to laugh a little Russell Moore he can say a lot of things without saying much.

What kind of witness could be to our communities? Could we be to our communities as? Fragmented as they are by race and class and economics and politics. If the very makeup of our Congregation signaled the manifold wisdom of God in which there here is no Greek nor do circumcised or uncircumcised etc.

What if our children were accustomed to seeking to seeing black pastors a majority white churches and vice versa? What if a hotel janitor were named chairman of deacons in a wealthy suburban megachurch?

Because all recognized his spiritual maturity and nothing else mattered. What if our church has pioneered tort reform not by arbitration alone, but by Christians agreeing cheerfully to be defrauded and what?

And what if all that started to seem normal to us. All right with I don't have time to get sucked into the weeds on this one. That's what he got from Sesame Street, though. That's what he got from Sesame Street because Sesame Street was showing diversity.

Before like civil rights legislation, I guess and before Integration was happening full although I don't even know if that's true that was kind of simultaneous, but they the idea is that Sesame Street was Encouraging diversity in communities.

Can't the church do that? Can't the church encourage diversity? So it's similar to the other article, but Again emphasis in Scripture is on unity not diversity and then to make those things an end in a in and of themselves.

That's what's weird about this whole thing. If look I've been to churches where you have guys who are you do you have rich people that aren't in leadership? And you have people that aren't that rich that are in positions of leadership and I've seen churches.

I mean the church I grew up in most of the time growing up. It was mostly Caucasian. I didn't really think about it and we did have some leaders who were of different ethnicities whether it's Latino or African-american.

So I I don't really have a problem with any of those things, but we didn't pursue it. Like we're gonna you know, like Sesame Street. We're gonna like purposely make episodes. We're gonna purposely put these people in leadership.

Just to change the culture like the culture naturally changes as you just apply the gospel, right? So You could point out that hey if you're in a church that is racist and they don't allow people of certain Socioeconomic backgrounds to become leaders or certain ethnicities to become leaders then that's not consistent with what we learn in scripture.

That's fine point that out. But then don't do something like well, we're gonna figure we're gonna take those cues from Sesame Street and furthermore We're gonna make that an end in and of itself that everyone's just got to like push to make this happen.

It that's kind of what I'm talking about when I say the church is going in a worldly direction. I think that article is that well, it's a good example exhibit B. Here's exhibit C this just came out from the Seminary that I went to Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary their intersect project they put out this article uniting around a baby what baby Yoda can teach us about Christmas and Here's a quote in a time of dissension social media rage and ideological anger a baby does unite us not a tiny green force.

Sensitive toddler in a galaxy far far away, but a baby born in Bethlehem. We unite around the God who brings salvation to all at Christmas. We remember that though we are different though. We are often divided.

We have something deep and dear that draws us together a baby who is Christ the Lord. Here's what's kind of ridiculous about this. What do baby Yoda and baby Jesus have in common? Nothing other than their babies and people like them and so here's the ridiculous part of this.

Somehow the church needs the world needs needs Hollywood baby Yoda to tell them at Christmastime a time when everyone even people who are in the world who aren't Christians. Recognize who baby Jesus is.

That's the time that they need baby Yoda to tell them that babies bring people together. I mean you're you are grasping at straws. I I just this is embarrassing. This is the seminary I went to and then Danny Akin's in a controversy right now for James Cone and liberation theology.

But this this didn't create maybe because it's so ridiculous like it couldn't create a controversy because it's like where's it's not heresy. It's just weird. It's just ridiculous. So So here's what's going on?

Christians are adopting Characters in this case. Ideas from the world to forward as an end in and of itself a moral objective. Diversity in the first two we need to be more diverse. We're gonna look to the world for that in this case.

It was uniting around a baby. We're gonna attract people because babies are cute because that's why people like baby Yoda. Jesus is also cute, I guess and so You can learn from the world not the world system like first John talks about but you can learn from the world things like Where to build your church?

You know, someone does a geographic survey and there's you don't want to build it here. You want to build it here. You can learn about your community. What's the best way to communicate with them so that they'll actually see it.

Do people go on Facebook do people read the newspaper here? There's things you can learn from people who are not saved, but you cannot learn. Things that you shouldn't learn things that are directly Essentially Essential and related to your mission and your purpose as a church.

We've been given a whole book That talks about how to engage with the world on that level and We can we can become you know unified and we have a unity that's out of diversity and We do that just by doing what Christians have done for years.

And what they should be doing what the Bible recommends and tells them to do. You don't go to the world to figure those things out. And I think people from the world who look at this probably think it's just absolutely pathetic.

I mean, why become a Christian? We're not unique. Apparently we need baby Yoda to even teach us about How attractive Jesus is. Scripture is not sufficient if that's true. We need something else, which is by the way, why?

Liberation theology. Critical race theory. Intersectionality, etc. It's why it's being taught guys. It's because they have a low view of Scripture. It's not sufficient. We need something extra and it's not an extra illustration of what scriptures teaches, right?

You you can do that with some of the Roman or Greek poets, you know, Paul even does that you can quote them and oh Yeah, they discovered something that was true. That was already true. No, this is these are things that are antithetical systems built on lust the flesh lust of the of the eyes boastful pride of life.

That's literally what social justice is like it's foundationally built on that. You want stuff you want? Stuff that you don't have and you don't want to feel like it's your fault that you don't have it.

Well social justice, right? You we can create a system that will allocate those resources to you and punish those who supposedly took them from you you don't take personal responsibility you keep your pride right boastful pride of life and You get to get the things that you have the lust of the eyes than the lust of the flesh for.

And with no consequences. You don't you don't have a guilty conscience because it was morally right to do these things. Christians are getting involved in this. It's sad it really is. I was reading A book by Richard Mao.

I think it's how you pronounce his name. He was he taught at Calvin for years. He's. He's a guy who got radicalized in the 60s on a secular college campus like left-leaning. Highly, I mean he I think he signed the and campaign.

So he's he's still involved still around. Very into Abraham Kuyper's theology. And I think I would credit him as being one of the major players if not the major player to introduce Kuyper's theology to the greater evangelical world now if you may not know who he is.

But Tim Keller likes Kuyper where I went to school. Bruce Ashford provost at Southeastern loves Kuyper named his kid Kuyper one of them that's how much he loves him and there's a sense in Richard Mao's understanding of Kuyper in which sin gets flatlined because all sin gets reduced down to idolatry and I don't know if Kuyper really believed that but that's how Richard Mao portrays Kuyper and What that means is that if someone's let's say someone's a homosexual they're in sin, right?

But you could also be sinful because you idolize Bible reading let's say now is there really a moral equivalence between reading the Bible and engaging in Behavior that the Bible says is wrong. No but because it's potentially possible that anything can be an idol then sin gets flatlined and Maybe some of you are hearing this and lights are going off because you're thinking that's what I heard in Bible study.

You know, we have a Tim Keller Bible study or something and they're talking about idols. Like, you know, like racism is a big one, you know. Racism can be an idol in my heart that I don't even realize is there but you end up doing this deep dive you go So deep into your heart to try to find out what are the idols and we do have them.

We do have idols, but you come out with things like when I just like love my hobby too much, man I love my kids too much. You're making them an idol. It's possible to do that but then to On the things that God says specifically in multiple instances are absolutely wrong.

We just say well that it's the same. Somehow it's a moral flatlining sin is sin all sin is is equal in some way and Gospel coalition does this quite a bit, you know, the Democrats do something completely antithetical to Christian worldview and Bring someone kind of barbarism in and then the reaction instead of getting enraged.

And for the things that God is outraged about right? That's the prophetic voice, but that's to them. That's not a that's not having a prophetic voice. It's not winsome enough having a prophetic voice in their mind is is Going to the church and pointing a finger at the church and that's what they do.

They instead of going to the world and saying how you know thus saith the Lord you what you've done is evil. They take that opportunity when the world does something wrong and then they go to the church and say well What about the idols in your heart?

What do you think? You're so much better. And you don't see this anywhere in Scripture. I can't think of one place. You see that that's the reaction. It's like prophets doing that especially yeah prophets go to the house of Israel.

So you need to get your things in order, right? And you obviously want to keep pride from coming in there's like I'm better than someone just because they have this problem. But you see when the things that the Lord hates are done.

There's an outrage Against those things because the Lord hates them. That's the prophetic voice. Right and there are times there, you know pick another opportunity to go after the sins that your congregation has but but.

Anyway, I'm going on a tangent now, but we need to watch out for this whole like sin being flatlined concept. There's a reason that God uses the word to eva in the Old Testament abomination to talk about certain sins.

There's a reason that the towns that Jesus went to That received so much light and didn't repent it was going to be worse for them on the day of judgment than for Sodom and Gomorrah they there. Sin is not necessarily flatlined, right?

There are things that God hates more than other things doesn't mean that all sin is not equally damnable because it is. I want to I want to go through these articles real quick and I want you to ask yourself What's the church lacking in each of these circumstances?