The Alex McFarland Show-Standing for Truth-3

The spiritual condition of America, politics, culture, and current events, analyzed through the lens of Scripture. Welcome to the Alex McFarland Show. George Washington, our very first President and the founder of our country, when he was installed as the first President, his very first official words after having taken the oath of office were these words, quote, The sacred fire of liberty has been entrusted to the hands of the American people. The sacred fire of liberty entrusted to the hands of the American people. Hi, Alex McFarland here.

Welcome to the program. I want to talk about why we must speak truth even in an age when truth is very often unpopular. I am going to share a scripture in a moment from Matthew chapter 11. As I record this broadcast the news is abuzz with the leaked memo that the U.S. Supreme Court might overturn the 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision. While this is good news, if indeed it does happen, if there is a majority that can vote for the overturning of the Roe vs. Wade decision, which as you probably know, Roe vs. Wade gives a woman a right constitutionally, although not justly, certainly not in the eyes of God, but in the eyes of the U.S. Constitution, a woman can legally have an abortion. Now, in January of 2020, it was my privilege on Sanctity of Human Life Sunday to speak in the Roe vs. Wade courtroom in Dallas, Texas at the very desk and lectern where legal protection for the unborn was removed. It was my extreme honor at the invitation of First Baptist Dallas and thanks to my friend, Pastor Robert Jeffers, and others, but I was invited to speak and I got to speak on what does our Constitution really say about humanity, about morality, God, and as you know my pet subject, natural law. And so one of the reasons that I have said in many an interview and at many a university campus that I am pro-life, yes because I am a Christian obviously, but I am pro-life because I believe in what the founders believed in called natural law, or as Jefferson would say self-evident truth, that there is a law of God, a knowledge of right and wrong written on every heart.

Every person has a moral compass. So while I am thrilled that we, for the first time in my life, and certainly for the first time in the lives of many believers, we are on the eve of the striking down of that abhorrent law from 1973, Roe vs. Wade. But let's temper our enthusiasm, at least in this regard, because I happen to know that most of the justices are not doing it because of the reason they should do it. They should do it because of natural law, that our Declaration Constitution, 27 Bill of Rights, our whole government was predicated on the belief that there is a knowledge of right and wrong and all people know it.

That's called natural law. So probably Clarence Thomas, maybe Gorsuch and Kavanaugh, and certainly Amy Coney Barrett, because they are natural law jurists, they might be granting legal protection for the unborn because of their belief in natural law, which was the philosophy of the founders. But largely, they've talked about striking down Roe vs. Wade because it's a state's rights issue. And they would say, well the federal government shouldn't make this broad sweeping decision when really any powers not enumerated by the US Constitution are given to the states or in the hands of the states. So while I wish that all of America and certainly our elected officials would stand for life because they understand the philosophy that gave us the United States, which is natural law, at the same time I'm happy that Roe vs. Wade would be struck down because that's a great step. But now, speaking of the unpopularity of this, believe it or not, there are voices, many outside of the church, that disagree and they want Roe vs. Wade to stand. And even some poor misguided uninformed souls within the church that want women to have the option for abortion.

It's easy. In typical form, major Democrat leaders get reality 180 degrees out of phase. I mean, sometimes I just scratch my head and I think, goodness, if you said water is wet, Democrats would disagree with that. Chuck Schumer said that it is an abomination. I mean, can you imagine for nearly 50 years, 49 years, 62 to 65 million human beings have been murdered and no legal protection for the unborn and only in America would a leftist say that restoring protection for the unborn is an abomination.

Isn't that something? Now please listen carefully to this, I've quoted this several times, but my friend, the late Christopher Hitchens, he was an atheist and we have no inkling that he had returned from his atheism, but he was a brilliant man and he was a constitutionalist and he loved America and Christopher Hitchens was pro-life. And Christopher Hitchens said this, he said that the unborn is a human being.

It is nonsense to say otherwise. And since life begins at conception, said Hitchens, he was a brilliant man, he really was, I'm sorry he was an atheist, but hey, truth is truth even when truth comes from an unexpected source. But Christopher Hitchens said, because the unborn is a human being, the unborn person is entitled to all the rights of any other member of the community. And he said this, because the Constitution promises that the government will guard the rights of all the citizens and the unborn is without argument a human being, then Hitchens said, listen, the fate of the unborn should not rest only in the hands of the expectant mother. And as you probably know, Roe vs. Wade was sold to us by Sue Weddington, she's passed away now, a Methodist pastor's daughter who had an out-of-wedlock pregnancy and those who knew her said she was quote, enraged that she couldn't get an abortion. And so she argued for the legitimacy of abortion based on a woman's right to privacy. And of course, we ask, okay, so is a crime legitimate as long as we do it in private?

If I rob a bank, it's okay as long as I do it under the cover of privacy and we know that's ludicrous. So what we've got to do if we want to preserve our nation is be able to speak and understand, defend, and yes, live by moral truth. Well, with the hopeful striking down of Roe vs. Wade, we might be getting back onto the solid ground of moral truth. But when we come back, Alex McFarland here, we're going to talk about why the church must speak truth even in an age when truth is unpopular. Stay tuned. We're back after this. Fox News and CNN call Alex McFarland a religion and culture expert.

Stay tuned for more of his teaching and commentary after this. Are you tired of liberal agendas ruining our country, but you don't know what to do about it? That's why Truth and Liberty Coalition was founded. We want to equip you to take back our country and impact the world. As Christians, we are called to make disciples of nations. Together, we can change the course of our country for good.

Join Truth and Liberty to connect with believers and organizations who not only want to see a change in our nation, but a community that is actually doing something about it. Picture a stormy sea. The waves are rolling viciously and the sky is darker than night. The crack of thunder can be heard over the roaring wind.

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To read this article, visit engagemagazine.net. He's been called trusted, truthful, and timely. Welcome back to the Alex McFarland Show. Welcome back.

Alex McFarland here. So glad you're listening. Very honored that you'd be listening. I want to talk about why the church must speak truth, even at times when truth seems unpopular. I began with a quote from George Washington where he said the sacred fire of liberty has been entrusted to the hands of the American people. Do you know our freedom, our liberty, is such a precious thing from God, and it's such a rare thing.

Honestly, it really is in terms of world history. One writer said that we the American people have been intoxicated by liberty, at least in the sense of we don't realize what a precious thing it is and how rare it is, the freedoms that we've gotten. Now the founders, most of whom were Bible believing Christians, many of the founders like Patrick Henry and others, George Washington himself, believed that the emergence of self-government and freedom based around moral boundaries, that it would be used by God for the Great Commission, for the taking of the name of Jesus to the very farthest flung parts of the world. And indeed for 240 plus years, America has been at the absolute forefront of the gospel enterprise. Now I want to read a scripture and then talk about why obviously the church should stand for truth, but if you're a born again believer in America, oh my goodness, what a double blessing. Not only to be a Christian, but to be an American Christian.

My goodness, what a blessing this is. Now in Matthew 11 and 12, a verse about the Kingdom of God entering history. Very interesting words, it says the Kingdom has suffered violence and the violent take it by force. Now what does that mean?

Well let me say what it doesn't mean. Matthew 11 and 12, it does not mean that we Christians are to be violent people. We're not to be violent people, we're not to be malicious people, obviously. But what we've got here is, okay, the Kingdom has suffered violence. The Kingdom of God, whether it's Abraham on his way to the Promised Land and the nation of Israel being built, and as you all know in the Old Testament, as the Israelites were possessing their land, there were repeated attacks by the people of the land, the Bible talks about, quote, the people of the land, the Amorites, the Amalekites, the Canaanites, the Philistines, which in the modern vernacular we would call the Palestinians, and anti-Semitism exists to this day. But God was calling forth his people through whom he would send the Messiah Jesus. The Church was born, and as I'm sure you know, for nearly 2,000 years the Church has suffered persecution. The Church has thrived, the Church at times has been in places where it had to struggle to survive. So the Kingdom of God has suffered violence.

Why? Because the one the Bible calls the prince of this world, the one who the Bible calls the father of lies. Satan has done his utmost to exterminate God's people because he comes to steal, kill, and destroy, John 10-10, and Satan wants the Church to go out of business because he wants people to die lost and be irrevocably separated from God for eternity. But then it says in Matthew 11-12, the violent take it by force. Now the wording there in the English translations is rendered violent. We are not to be violent people. God does give to nations and individuals the right to self-defense.

You can read Romans 13 1-7 and learn about that. But it really means in the original language to be energetic. In one study Bible it says this, Jesus may have meant that entering God's Kingdom takes courage, unwavering faith, determination, and endurance because of the growing opposition level that Jesus' followers. That's true. So here's the deal. Darkness fights against light, but light overcomes darkness. Truth overcomes error. Persistence and determination can overcome the struggles and the battles of the day. I've often said this, you can get anything in life if you're willing to be patient.

Honestly. And by God's grace I've seen that and I give God the glory not only in terms of musicians that I wanted to play with, ministry goals that I wanted to achieve for the glory of God, getting books published, getting on the radio, things like that. Look, that dream that you've got on your heart, as long as it's a godly dream and it's appropriate, you can do it. Psalm 37 4 says if you commit your way to the Lord He'll give you the desires of your heart.

So don't be a quitter. But know that the Kingdom of God has suffered violence and we're not to be quitters, we are to hang in there, we are to be people of persistence, tenacity, and God will bless you and God will use you. And so we've got to speak truth.

I've shared the illustration many times in 2015. I was interviewed by Geraldo Rivera the day that the Supreme Court in rank defiant opposition to natural law, the Supreme Court went against 6,000 years plus of human history and redefined marriage and legalized gay marriage. And Geraldo Rivera said it's over brother, turn out the light and go home. Geraldo, we were talking, he said look we've lived in the age of Reagan, Charles Colson, James Dobson, D. James Kennedy, Bill Bright, Adrian Rogers, look all those culture warriors, they were standing for marriage and hey you've been defeated. The Supreme Court passed a law and I said Geraldo look there's ink on paper just like the Nazi war criminals drafted the final solution but merely because man passes a law that doesn't make it right. Augustine said the laws of man are just only to the degree to which they harmonize with the laws of God. And you know who repeated that? Dr. Luther King Jr. in his masterful 1963 Pulitzer Prize winning book, Why We Can't Wait.

Look, if gay marriage is right then Dr. King was wrong because Dr. King predicated the entire validity of the civil rights movement on there being a law of God recognizing all humans, there are moral boundaries, and a law of man is just right appropriate only to the degree that it squares with the laws of God. And so when Geraldo Rivera said look you Christians have lost, turn out the light and go home, I said not so fast. I said I will admit there are momentary defeats and certain battles but truth will win the war. And when we come back I am going to talk about why the church must speak truth even in an age when truth is not only unpopular but truth is often legally opposed. Stay tuned, we are going to talk about truth and why we are going to stand for it after this. Fox News and CNN call Alex McFarland a religion and culture expert.

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He's been called trusted, truthful and timely. Welcome back to the Alex McFarland Show. Welcome back to the program Alex McFarland here. I want to give you very briefly but clearly 10 reasons to stand for truth and to be encouraged. Before we do though I want to remind everybody that I will be at the Cove, the Billy Graham Training Center at the Cove July 8-10, 2022. We'll be doing the book of 1 Peter.

We'll be going over a lot of content like this, talking about how you can know truth and stand for truth so you don't want to miss it. It's filling up fast. It will be full. There are a few slots left if you go to thecove.org.

The Cove is amazing. I look forward to seeing you there. And then our summer camp which is July 17-22 is for middle school and high schoolers. I want to say a big thank you. We are almost filled up. We've got space for just maybe a dozen or more teens, middle school, high school. The theme this year is unashamed building your biblical world view. And I want to say a big thank you because we have great speakers like Will and Miki Addison and Andy Lawrence, one of the nation's greatest youth speakers. And then I'll be there. We'll have music, just all the wonderful camp stuff.

But we're talking to kids about God and country. And I made an appeal a couple of weeks ago. I said look it costs our ministry $91 a day to take a child to camp. And that's insurance, food, t-shirt, workbook, horseback ride, the whole from soup to nuts. And we needed several people to sponsor. Many of you have risen to the challenge.

I want to say thank you so much. We've gotten some contributions in. And do you know every day of the week, seven days a week, whether it's radio, television, podcasts, conferences, events, I give God the glory.

We're a small ministry with just half a dozen employees. And yet God is allowing us literally to take the message of Jesus to 50 states and the entire globe. I thank God. I give God the glory. And I thank all of you for praying, for supporting, for standing with us, especially in this all important work of restoring the foundations of our democracy, our representative Judeo-Christian republic. And it all hangs on our proclamation of truth. So why stand for truth?

Listen to this. We should stand for truth. I'm going to give you these reasons and I'll elaborate. Number one, because the Bible instructs us to do so. Number two, because God's Word doesn't come with an expiration date. Number three, because selective obedience is not an option. Number four, because we are to follow the example of Christ. Number five, because believers, especially Christian citizens, are accountable. Number six, because challenges are really opportunities to identify with Christ.

I'll come back to that. Number seven, because listen, for the church, standing and suffering go hand in hand very often. Number eight, stand for truth because our testings are opportunities to silence the accusations of Satan. Number nine, because our faithfulness will be rewarded in heaven.

And number ten, because history is changed incrementally. Now listen to this folks. We must stand for truth. And pastors, I call on you, in fact I beg you pastors, to stand for truth. Look, you've got to preach against sexual sin. We cannot let the darkness of culture, whether it's homosexuality, transgenderism, abortion, betrayal of the nation of Israel, open borders, Marxism. My goodness there are so many insanities and delusions that threaten the future of the world right now. We must stand for truth, lovingly but boldly.

Alright, let's talk about these things. For one thing the Bible tells us to do it. 2 Timothy 4.2, be instant in season and out of season. Isaiah 58.1 says, cry aloud and spare not. The Bible tells us to stand for truth.

And truth is still true. God's word does not come with an expiration date. You know, John 10.35, Jesus said the scripture cannot be broken. And thirdly, I said, you know, selective obedience is not an option. Matthew 10.24, the Lord said, Jesus said, the servant is not above his master. So we cannot be selective in our obedience. We must proclaim truth.

In John 17, when Jesus is on his way to the cross, he said, Father, I finished the work you gave me to do. See, we are to follow the example of Christ and he obeyed the Father's call. We've got to do the same. We are accountable. Believers are accountable to God. We are accountable for others. And we are accountable to our loved ones and to the lost ones. Ezekiel 33. We are accountable for the lost souls of the unsaved, gay, lesbian, transgenders.

Listen, we should not let our neighbors go to hell on our watch. We've got to build bridges and relationships through which we can share truth and tell people about the deliverance and the Savior. And do you know what? All of these challenges, you say, well, people will misunderstand and, you know, people won't like me. Look, in Philippians 3.10, it says, that I may know him and the power of his resurrection. Now we love that verse.

Yea, I will know him and the power of his resurrection. But it also says, and the fellowship of his sufferings. See, because challenges are really an opportunity to identify with Christ. Now, do you know, in John 16.33, Jesus said, in this world, you will have tribulation. We Christians, we aim a series of truth. Hey, we're going to be persecuted. And that's just part of the occupational hazard that comes with being a disciple. And do you know what?

Let me just say this. One of the reasons that we Christians must stand for truth, it might be an opportunity to silence the mouth of the accuser. In Job, you read Job chapter 1, Job, in the Old Testament, went through 17 types of sufferings.

I counted. And he didn't really know why, but part of it was to silence the accusations of Satan. Satan said, Yea, Job serves you because you've blessed him. If you take away those blessings, he'll curse you to your face.

God said, I don't think so. And so, I wonder if, in the heavenly realm, Satan has said, oh those American Evangelical Christians, oh sure, they have church and they sing their praise music, but they're living in the opulent, affluent America. You know, if I persecute them, they'll get quiet really quick. Maybe, friends, our calling to zealously, faithfully proclaim truth, popular or not, to obediently live out the Gospel, it might be a chance to silence the accusations of our enemy. Do you know, history has changed incrementally. William Wilberforce, slavery ended after years of him standing firm, facing many many defeats.

And so, let's remember that this might be a long battle, but history has changed incrementally. Final thought about our call to stand for truth. Dr. Peter Lilback, a brilliant professor, he said, quote, the logic of our founders went like this, do you want to be free? Then you need a republic. To have a republic, you need to have a moral people.

To have a moral people, you need to have religious teaching. Friend, if we're going to enjoy what we've had, which is liberty, stability, prosperity. You want those things? Liberty, stability, prosperity? We can have those things. We've had them for 240 years plus, but to secure these blessings, we have to be moral and godly. Our nation depends on it.

In fact, our futures depend on it. Stand for truth. Alex McFarland Ministries are made possible through the prayers and financial support of partners like you. For over 20 years, this ministry has been bringing individuals into a personal relationship with Christ and has been equipping people to stand strong for truth. Learn more and donate securely online at alexmcfarland.com. You may also reach us at alexmcfarland.com, P.O. Box 10231, Greensboro, North Carolina 27404, or by calling 1-877-YES-GOD-1. Thanks for joining us. We'll see you again on the next edition of The Alex McFarland Show.