The Highway Forums General Discussion Open Forum The World and the Church

A friend shared something with me that I believe is worth sharing here.

“The world, the church and their moving goal posts.

The question we should be asking is why do they have this in common? Why did the church move the goal posts for the church as the civil government did for the country?

The civil leaders narrative was you must get the covid vaccine and obey mandates as it will prevent you from getting Covid and from spreading covid as this is loving your neighbour and protecting yours and their life.

When this was proven to be false they then said (moved the goal posts) you must get the covid vaccine anyways using many patently false reasons to do so and the goal posts have been moving ever since.

The church leaders narrative was you must obey the civil governments covid mandates as it will prevent you from getting Covid and from spreading covid and this is loving your neighbour and protecting yours and their life. They said the civil magistrates have the duty to protect life and as long as the covid mandates are doing that we must obey.

When this was proven to be false they then said (moved the goal posts) you must obey the civil leaders in everything unless they directly ask you to sin and the goal posts have been moving ever since to the point where they even went as far to say that if the civil government told you to wear pinwheels on your head you must obey, this is what Christian’s do.

1. But they did not say this in the beginning, when the civil government unleashed covid restriction on Christian gatherings and fellowship they did not say you must obey in everything.
3. They did not say that gathering in small groups is the same as gathering as one church.
4. They did not say that using YouTube for the preaching and singing was acceptable corporate worship.
6. This was unheard of in biblical circles before 2020, but it seems most people are completely oblivious to this now.
8. They have accepted and embraced a theology of radical civil obedience that is completely foreign in church history.
10. The early examples they employed from Richard Baxters Christian directory regarding extreme circumstances to restrict gatherings have not only morphed into not gathering for almost any reason they give, they have also morphed into all sorts of strange views on what gathering actually is in the technology age.

In the end, most churches have moved their goal posts over the last couple years to a point of a formulated theology which chapter and verse to support radical civil obedience that was developed through their covid response. They will not act any different in the future, because this is now the theology they have embraced and promoted over the last couple years.

These are dear brothers that align with the United Church of Canada and Woke churches on this issue rather than MacArthur, Founders, Steve Lawson, Voddie, Tom Aschol and so many others.

This of course has tremendous implications on the life and gathering of a local church in our current day and it’s completely reasonable to understand why many Christian’s will choose to gather with a church that doesn’t hold to a theology of radical civil obedience.

The idea that churches are completely free to gather right now doesn’t change the fact that this theology is well established and should things change it would be immediately employed as it was for two years.”

1. It is NOT just: you must obey unless it is a sin to do so.

2. Consider the following:
There are things which are adiaphora which may be expedient to do or not do but either way the choice made is not sin. There is no teaching in Scripture what gives any government carte blanche authority over men which overrules even God.

3. My counsel would be, as it has been in all such matters, avoid such individuals who are adamant in their view(s).

Pilgrim

Can you expand on what you said about number 3 ?

I am not quite sure what you said, has to do with what was said in number 3.

Simply put... when I encounter people who are insistent on some view which I believe is contrary to Scripture and their arguments are not logical, I avoid any further discussion with them. Most always it is counter productive, aka: a total waste of time.

Unfortunately, most people I run into including family and friends are proponents of the lockdowns.
They believe the pastors/theologians that I mentioned are going against Scripture.
They also believe that those who did not submit have ruined their witness to the world and dragged many with them.

This does not in all cases mean they agree with the lockdown mandates; but they believe that the government was in their right to do so.

My former Church that was the first actual Reformed Baptist Church I have ever gone to; had a Church split because of that issue.

Tom