"Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. - Matthew 10:34-39 (ESV)
Dr. Michael Brown is on the warpath to drive home his belief that his NAR dominionist ways are really Christian at heart. That the bible actually supports this notion of cultural takeover and societal influence. Now, he rarely says it that plainly because he is smarter than that. Brown loves riding the fence while clearly being on one side. He merely pays lip service to the other side while pretending to distance himself from the extremes his point of view garners. Recently a speaker at a MAGA rally said preachers should preach from the Constitution as much as the bible and that was thankfully a bridge too far for Brown. He of course relayed that in an article with the exact same mentality and theology that led that speaker to his conclusion. Brown just never sees where he is responsible. I say this as a backdrop to a post he made today on Facebook, which we will dissect below using correct theology and the word of God. It is a frightening look into how false teaching can warp what might otherwise be a brilliant mind for Christ. So, let us reason once more together beloved.
"God's people are called to rock the boat. We are not called to coexist with this sinful society. We are called to confront it. We are not called to a life of comfort. We are called to a life of conflict. Following Jesus does not mean catering to our selfish desires. It means crucifying them. Are we ready to walk in the Savior's footsteps?" - Dr. Michael Brown
Brown starts by pretending we only have two choices - rock the boat or coexist with sin. This is of course an oversimplification which if we must make, we should come down on the side of coexistence. We are supposed to be in this world while not being of this world. Comfort is in the eye of those who claim to be in comfort. We are called to be content in every situation according to Philippians. The underlying premise Brown claims is that Christians are called to rock the boat and confront the world with conflict! What a pile of theological garbage that sets the entire ministry and teachings of Christ on their ear. Turning the other cheek? Give your oppressor your tunic? We will be judged by those that are hard to love? Any of this ringing a bell? Pray for your enemies! While crucifying our flesh is indeed part of following Christ that has nothing to do with slapping the unsaved.
"Remember, the world hated Jesus. He made people uncomfortable. He exposed sin. He rebuked unrighteousness. He would not compromise. He would not hold back. And He was nailed to a Cross by a godless world. Why should it be any different for us?" - Dr. Michael Brown
Brown continues to mix and match to make his argument sound biblical when it is not. Jesus rebuked the unrighteousness of those who claimed righteousness, namely the religious leaders of his day. For example, if Jesus was walking the earth today, He would rebuke Dr. Michael Brown for this nonsense. He overturned the tables in the temple, not on Main Street. He viewed those who were lost as sheep without a shepherd. He was actually upset in the temple because the religious leaders would routinely price gouge foreigners who came long distances to worship but had inferior offerings! Sure, he exposed the sin of the woman at the well but that was hardly a rebuke. Sure, he dealt with the woman caught in adultery, but He did so by embarrassing those who wanted to stone her as it appears Brown would probably view as being confrontational. By the way, He did not rail against that woman but merely said that He would not judge her either and to go and sin no more. What Brown keeps confusing is that He is not Jesus. He is not the Holy Spirit. It is not his job to convict others of their sins. The things that divides is not Jesus but His gospel. Why? Because His gospel makes you decide what side you are on. Because none come to the father except through Him and the world hates the exclusivity of Christianity. Why? Because they love their sin and the gospel, not Dr. Michael Brown, exposes their state as a sinner. Jesus does not need our help beloved, for anything. Look at the key verses and you see Jesus speaking about the division His gospel brings. This is not what Dr. Brown is speaking about. His division seeks to publicly shame sinners through legislation and the creation of a theocratic state. He will deny this of course but his actions speak so much louder than his words. Also, has Brown forgotten the core teachings of the gospel? This world did not nail Christ to the cross. He laid down His life on purpose to fulfill the Father's plan. Who turned Him over by the way? Was it the sinful world or the sinful religious leaders?
"He was rejected; we want to be respected. He was regarded as radical; we want to be recognized as reasonable. He was accused of having demons; we are acclaimed for having degrees. He was put out; we long to be taken in. He put no stock in the praise of man; we thrive on it. Is it any wonder we make so little impact here for Him?" - Dr. Michael Brown
The reason why you make such little impact for the cause of Christ is you do not fight for it. Instead you fight for the cause of the Republican Party and pretend it is always the cause of Christ. Spoiler alert! It isn't! You make little impact for Him because you think the equivalent to rocking the boat through preaching the gospel is passing legislation and appointing judges. You view these carnal, political gains as merit badges you think Jesus will be interested in when you stand before Him for judgment. Spoiler alert! He won't be interested! It is always astonishing to see how close Brown gets to the truth but then lets it walk right on by him! He is describing carnal desires as blocking our ability to get things done for the kingdom but he cannot see how that applies directly to him! Mercifully, this small rant ends now:
"Why was John the Baptist beheaded? Why was Stephen stoned? Why was Paul persecuted? Was it because they shared the four spiritual laws with their friends? Was it because they told those friends that they could have a better life if they would only ask Jesus in? Was it because they promised prosperity and plenty to those who would tithe to their ministries? No. It was because they preached a confrontational Gospel. That is the only Gospel there is!" - Dr. Michael Brown
Clever but transparent. John the Baptist was not beheaded because he was trying to change the laws of Rome, as Brown wants to do in the United States. He was beheaded because he gave an oath and Herodias mother had her daughter ask for his head. This was retribution because John had spoken against Herod marrying his brother's wife. This is the point Brown always misses though. If in response to Herod. John sought to change the Roman law so that it would be illegal for Herod to marry his brother's wife THEN Brown could offer this comparison. Brown's goal is not the individual repentance of the Herod's of the world but instead to force them to adhere to Mosaic Law through the manipulation of the political system of this country. So, was Stephen stoned due to political involvement? Nope. Was it because he was confrontational with this sinful world? Nope. Stephen confronted the religious leaders, specifically the Sanhedrin. He told them the truth, including their murdering of Jesus Christ, their savior. They were none to pleased so they Jewish people seized him and killed him. Paul tells us why he was persecuted in Galatians 5, when he says it is because he speaks against the Mosaic Law (circumcision). So once again we have someone not rocking the boat of the sinful world but rather of the religious establishment. It has absolutely nothing to do with preaching a confrontational gospel. Nothing. Brown actually admits at the end here that this is actually an excerpt from a 1993 book he wrote entitled, "It's Time to Rock the Boat: A Call to God's People to Rise Up and Preach a Confrontational Gospel."
So, Brown has been peddling this nonsense for decades as an excuse to continue to support societal change by force. Christianity did this once and we called it the crusades. History does not look favorably upon those days. Not so ironically, maniac Mario Murillo calls his efforts to convert everyone to Republicanism as crusades as well. History will judge him just as harshly. Beloved, we do not need to make the gospel confrontational because it already is for the right reasons. It will divide mother against daughter and father against son because of the nature and exclusivity of our faith in Christ. All Brown seeks is behavior modification of the lost which will result in not one salvation. Not one. Jesus Christ upset the apple cart for the false religions of His day. He did not seek to influence culture, win society, or alter laws. We would be wise to take notice and focus on things that are of His kingdom, not of this earth.
Reverend Anthony Wade - September 20, 2022
