2 SWORD OF THE LORD February 19 , 2021
The Purge Has Begun ( Christians and Conservatives Are In for a Rough Ride )
The month of January saw a new administration take the reins of government in Washington , D . C ., and on the very first day it was evident that radical liberalism was going to be the order of the day . With dozens of left-wing executive orders signed already , it is evident that Christians and conservatives are in for a rough ride .
If you dare to post something on social media that disagrees with the radical “ woke ” culture , then the Big Tech companies will ban you and dump you off their public platforms . Never mind the freespeech guarantees of the U . S . Constitution : if you speak up , they throw you out .
Christians and conservatives are most often the targeted victims of this purging .
Hundreds of people have been fired from their jobs in the past few months because they did not tow the liberal line .
Over the past decades the universities have produced many thous ands of warped , anti-Ameri - can , anti-Christian graduates . Many of them are now embedded in the government or entrenched in power positions in the corporate world . The television media is also dominated by their ilk and kind .
In 2021 you ’ ll be hard pressed to find a newspaper that is not an instrument of liberal advocacy . There are a few who are not , but they are very rare .
I know Christians find it hard to believe that here in America they could be hated with such intensity that their freedoms could be im - periled . Sadly , however , but truly that day has come .
Mat Staver , the president of Liberty Counsel , said ( January 29 , 2021 ), “ Right now , we have two choices : remain silent and become slaves to a growing socialist agenda , or fight for freedom using peaceful means under the Constitution .”
You will remember the famous quote , “ The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing .”
Well , remaining “ silent ” and doing “ nothing ” are not in our DNA .
Remember Moses ! In defiance of Pharaoh he stood up and he spoke up ( Heb . 11:24 – 27 )!
Remember Elijah ! He stood up to Ahab and Jezebel ’ s hireling prophets ( I Kings 18 ).
Remember Daniel ! As a captive in Babylon he stood and withstood ( Dan . 1 – 5 ).
Remember John the Baptist ! He stood against the sinful behavior of the ruler ( Matt . 14:1 – 14 ).
Remember the wise men ( Matt . 2:1 – 12 )! They took a different route and circumvented the orders of the king .
Remember Jesus ! Again and again He stood and He spoke truth to power ( Matt . 15,16,19,22,23,26,27 ).
Remember Paul ! His life and ministry were first one episode then another in which the author - ities tried to silence him , even kill him ; but he continued to stand up and speak up ( Acts 13 – 26 ).
These prominent Bible heroes are classic illustrations for us . They stood up to their oppressors . They cried aloud against tyranny . They refused to be silenced .
Let there be no doubt — the rad - ical , revolutionary , Christ-hating , anti-American elements have thrown down the gauntlet . They are totalitarian in their tactics . They allow no room for dissent . They will do anything and everything with no holds barred to achieve power and then wield it without mercy .
Their mindset and their methods are the exact opposite of what we Christians believe and how we behave .
We will be persuasive in our ap - peals . We will vote our convictions . We will uphold the standards of law and order . We will , however , defend our freedom . We will not just cave in because of the adver - sarial oppression .
So let me say clearly , we are Chris - tians — fundamental , Bible-believing , Christ-honoring , Spirit-filled , holylifestyle , church-going , tithing ,
DR . SHELTON SMITH , President , Editor
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soul-winning Christians . We are also Americans — unashamedly patri - otic , flag-waving , freedom-loving , law-abiding , nonviolent , equalopportunity , red-white-and-blue Americans .
If the radicals want to destroy our country , some of us will not sit still for that .
If they want to close our churches , we will not capitulate to their demands .
If they want to silence our voices , we will all the more “ cry aloud , spare not ” ( Isa . 58:1 ).
Jesus said , “ But ye shall receive power , after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you : and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusa - lem , and in all Judæa , and in Samaria , and unto the uttermost part of the earth ” ( Acts 1:8 ). We will , therefore , be His ambassadors everywhere .
Peter said , “ Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly , that God hath made that same Jesus , whom ye have crucified , both Lord and Christ ” ( 2:36 ). We will follow his example and declare the gospel truth boldly and without apology .
Peter also said , “ Silver and gold have I none ; but such as I have give I thee : In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk ” ( 3:6 ). We , like Peter , cannot do everything ; but we can introduce people to Christ .
He further said , “ Neither is there salvation in any other : for there is none other name under heaven given among men , whereby we must be saved ” ( 4:12 ). No tipping of the hat to the emissaries of Satan . Salvation has one source and no other .
Then he and John said , “ For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard ” ( vs . 20 ). That is , we cannot and we will not be silenced even when we are threatened .
Then the apostles said , “ We ought to obey God rather than men ” ( 5:29 ). God ’ s Word must always override the whims of men . We can follow the men who follow God ; but when a man asks us to disobey God , that is where we get off the train !
Here is the game plan activated and in action : “ And daily in the temple , and in every house , they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ ” ( vs . 42 ).
The early church had struggles with both political and religious enemies . They were hated and persecuted . They were vilified , mis - represented and incarcerated ; but they would not be stopped .
Folks , these are tough times un - like anything we have seen in America in more than two hundred years . We must not be naive . We must not assume that everything will be okay . We must not wimp out when there is so much at stake .
Yes , the purge has begun , but these radical elements must not succeed . We must stand up to them and defeat their efforts .
Whatever it costs , our families are worth it , our churches are worth it and our country is worth it .
So let ’ s use our influence , take a stand and do the Lord ’ s business faithfully .
Super Conference , Madison Baptist Church , Madison , Alabama
In January each year Dr . Mike Allison conducts what they call their Super Conference at Madison Bap - tist Church in Madison , Alabama . It starts on Sunday and runs through Friday night .
Brother Allison has done a “ super ” job all this past year as they dealt
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California Churches Still Fighting Shutdown
Liberty Counsel filed the opening brief to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on behalf of Harvest Rock Church … against Governor Gavin Newsom ’ s worship restrictions . This is regarding the merits of the case on the injunction while the Ninth Circuit is yet to release its ruling on the emergency injunction pending appeal ( IPA ). The IPA was argued before the Ninth Circuit on January 4 , 2021 . A decision on the IPA could be issued any day .
Since the initial stay-at-home order of March 19 , 2020 , Governor Gavin Newsom has continued to discriminate against places of worship . On July 6 , Governor Newsom banned singing and chanting . On July 13 , Governor Newsom banned all indoor worship and on August 28 , the “ Blueprint ” continued to ban all worship in Tier 1 , which covered most of the state . Then on December 3 , Governor Newsom issued a “ temporary ” Regional Stay-at-Home Order that continues to ban all worship for 99.9 percent of California residents .
While Newsom continues to ban all worship , the Regional Stay-at- Home Order contains 29 single-spaced pages of exemptions covering 13 sectors and hundreds of subsectors of gatherings that are permitted to operate and assemble . The Supreme Court , the Second Circuit Court of Appeals and even the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals involving Nevada churches found discrimination against places of worship because the COVID orders exempted many nonreligious activities . Examples of these exemptions include : food packaging and processing , laundromats , warehouses , grocery stores , liquor stores , retail stores , malls , transportation facilities , bus stations , train stations , airports , gambling centers , acupuncture facilities , garages , plants manufacturing chemicals and microelectronics , hardware stores , repair shops , signage companies , accountants , lawyers , insurance agents , pet stores , film production facilities and more . Governor Newsom ’ s orders clearly violate the First Amendment .
Harvest Rock Church — Pastor Ché Ahn , the staff and parishioners — are under constant threat of arrest and fines . The Pasadena Criminal Prosecutor issued the following threat by letter : “ Any violations in the future will subject your Church owners , administrators , operators , staff and parishioners to the above-mentioned criminal penalties as well as the potential closure of your Church .”
Liberty Counsel founder and chairman Mat Staver said , “ Governor Gavin Newsom continues to violate the First Amendment by discriminating against houses of worship . California imposes the most severe restrictions in the nation . For nearly seven months it has been criminal for people to worship in person . The Supreme Court has issued a clear roadmap that leads to the undeniable conclusion that Governor Newsom ’ s worship ban is unconstitutional .”
— LIBERTY COUNSEL
HuffPost Blaming Christian Curriculum for Capitol Riots Is Slanderous
Recently the Huffington Post ran an article that was extremely hostile to Christian education here in the United States . The overall implication of the article was that the January 6 rioting at the Capitol Building was directly tied to the government allowing and possibly funding conservative Christian education in the US . Specific curricula were cited and quoted ( specifically , A-Beka , Bob Jones and Accelerated Christian Education ) and blame was explicitly and carelessly lobbed at these schools and curricula .
… The overwhelming majority of schools using these curricula are highly civic-minded American patriots . They love God and their country and deplore violence of any kind . Painting an entire demographic with a wide brush based on hearsay alone is slanderous . It is also disingenuous . The year 2020 was filled with leftist progressives rioting and looting all over the country in response to their own perceived inequities , yet none of that is alluded to in the Huffington Post article .…
Linking terrorism to Christian education and its biblical worldview being communicated is grossly misleading .… Conservative Christians and their churches and schools are not promoting or involved in riotous activity .… Students are taught to be contributing members of society who work for the common good of the nation around them .…
At its core this article is about a clash of worldviews . The author is a committed progressive and is defending her ideology . She feels that conservative Christian schools are seeking to undermine evolution and far-left progressive policies and therefore attempts to expose them as such .… This is the clash of worldviews that the apostle Paul so brilliantly contrasts in I Corinthians 2:14 , “ But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God : for they are foolishness unto him : neither can he know them , because they are spiritually discerned .”
— Adam Rondeau and Emory Thompson on CP VOICES
University Professor Says Heterosexuality Is “ Tragic ”
A professor at the University of California-Riverside says that heterosexuality is a “ tragic ” concept that perpetuates misogyny , funnels men into supporting toxic masculinity and breaks up relationships .
As highlighted by Campus Reform , Jane Ward , a professor of gender and sexuality studies and self-described lesbian , says that
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