When Israel rejected the Messiah, they did so having been thoroughly warned of the consequences. God sent that locust-eating man out in the wilderness. He prepared the way. Some paid attention. But, many did not. Likewise, warning bells are ringing all over America. Signs abound. And we really do need ears to hear.
Such an alarm has come from just over our northern border. Canada has gone full Orwell, whole-hog 1984. Canada has gone plain mad. Now, I’m a fan of measured manuevers. We shouldn’t over do it. So now would be a good time for the balanced response of every pastor in America setting his hair on fire and running down the main street of his given town crying, “Repent, the axe is laid at the root of the tree!”
I refer to Bill C-4, which has passed the Canadian House and Senate. It received Royal Assent last week, which means Bill C-4 will be law in about three weeks. Here’s the details.
Bill C-4
The bill outlaws conversion therapy. If anyone tells you that the law is only about banning extreme procedures, then you need only look to the text of the bill. It reads, “Conversion therapy means a practice, treatment or service designed to (a) change a person’s sexual orientation to heterosexual; (b) change a person’s gender identity to cisgender; (c) change a person’s gender expression so that it conforms to the sex assigned to the person at birth; (d) repress or reduce non-heterosexual attraction or sexual behavior; (e) repress a person’s non-cisgender gender identity; or (f) repress or reduce a person’s gender expression that does not conform to the sex assigned to the person at birth.”
Now that’s a mouthful. But here’s the point. Christians make a practice of doing all of those things. We follow God’s command to be fruitful and multiply, teaching others to do the same. You simply cannot fulfill that directive from the Creator without transgressing the heterosexual orientation standard (a) and (d) above. Likewise, we engage in all sorts of practices (prayer, preaching, worship, evangelism, discipleship, and the like) with the intention of helping others come to grips with reality. And you cannot do that sort of thing without transgressing the cisgender standard (b) and (e) above. Moreover, the whole world must love God soul and body. Men must live like men and women like women, which wasn’t a shocking proposal back in ancient times, back in the first term of Barrack Obama’s presidency. But, now you can’t teach the like without transgressing the gender expression standard (c) and (f) above. We believers are guilty on all counts.
Making Sense of the Nonsense
The bill states that you can face up to five years in prison for violating this new legislation. That’s right, five years in the clink for teaching boys to be boys and girls to be girls. But, here’s the catch, and it is at this point that the idols of Canada show their hand. You are absolutely free to teach the boys to be girls and the girls to be boys. No penalty there. The illegal conversion only runs in one direction.
In the Bill, they use the following fancy qualifier, “For greater certainty, [conversion therapy] does not include a practice, treatment or service that relates to the exploration or development of an integrated personal identity — such as a practice, treatment or service that relates to a person’s gender transition.” I asked a sharp lawyer friend about this qualifier. He’s been trained by the best and really knows his stuff. His reponse was along the lines of, “What in tarnation is an integrated personal identity?” He followed with, “We’re a sick society.” You don’t need a Harvard Law degree to get what is going on here. Canada lawmakers say you can help in the direction of perversion all you want. But, if you provide any assistance in the direction of truth, goodness, and beauty, then you may get hauled off to the correctional institute for reformation.
Someone might point out at this juncture that the difference between the directions is that Johnny wants to convert to Jill. The reasoning goes, if Johnny wants to be Jill, then love helps him do so. Truth, goodness, and beauty are no longer defined by an external standard in this brave new world. They have been subjectivized. Johnny has become god and his will has become law. This is nothing other than the debased mind that Paul told us comes in the wake of creature worship. He speaks of those, “Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever . . . And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient” (Romans 1:25, 28).
King Johnny or King Jesus
Bill C-4 is a vivid reminder that there is always a god of the system. And this is why pastors in the United States need to find their inner John the Baptist right about now. Even the good guys in the states are muddy on this point. Many will think that Bill C-4 has gone too far. But, they are not sure why and they do not know how to rectify the situation. They are starting to see that Johnny cannot be king of the nation, but they are not sure that they want Jesus to be King of the nation.
If we keep downplaying the fact that Jesus is King of Kings, then the police force will soon be hauling off the sweet old church ladies who meet down at the local diner for their Tuesday morning bible study. Mrs. Margaret opened by reading Ephesians 5 and then went to talking to the lesbian waitress about how great marriage and kids were. The waitress felt she was being converted and phoned in the violation. The sheriff reassured the pastor that Mrs. Margaret would not be thrown in the slammer. Just a warning this time. But, if they could keep their mythical religious sentiments inside the four walls of their church, where Jesus has jurisdiction you see, then that would really aid the common good of their town.
The god of the system will define truth and justice for the system. The preamble of the bill actually claims that it is a myth to say that men thinking they are men is preferable to men thinking they are women. Such a notion harms society, the preamble claims. When you find such language in the text of your nation’s legisltation, then there is no denying that your nation has reached the end of the line.
America must look north to this case study. Doctrine drives culture, and culture drives politics. Bill C-4 is a matter of politics and the paganism is sitting right there on the surface for everyone to see. If the paganism hangs so bright and bold out there on the branches of the tree, then how long has it been in the roots? We see similar developments in our own land, which means it is high time we discover that we are not God.
You’re Not God
The message of the day is straightforward: There is a God and you are not Him. We are creature, finite, and fallen. God is Creator, infinite, and upright. He is the standard, not us. That message goes for those who are deeply confused about their sexuality and it also goes to those wicked lawmakers who would frame mischeif by statute.
To corrupt legislators, we Christians simply will not obey you rather than God. If you make a law like Bill C-4 which puts us in the position of following Christ or you, then we choose Christ. We have been told to rescue those who are being taken away to death. Our charge is to hold back those stumbling to the slaughter. Christians will not cease doing so simply because you threaten up to five years in prison for such a practice. You have our prayers. And you will find no people more eager to show honor where honor is due. You are indeed a minister of God and we love and respect Him and you far too much to obey legislation that frames michief (Psalm 94:20).
To those given to various sexual pervsions, Bill C-4 is no legislation of liberty. It is a declaration of captivity. But, the Spirit of God has come upon One who proclaims liberty to the captives. He opens the prison to those who are bound, binds up the brokenhearted, and announces the year of the LORD’s favor. His name is Jesus Christ and He came to save sinners. He lived righteously, died willingly for sinners, and has risen from the dead. You may be greatly confused about who and what you are. He is not. You may have walked many miles down the road of sexual perversion. He has not. The way to life is to look outside of yourself to Christ. You must start with Him, the Truth. So call upon the name of the LORD, and you will be saved.