The heart of the gospel of Jesus Christ is that through his sacrifice, we have peace with God and with each other. God is not at war with mankind, but is reconciling all to Himself through the blood of His Son on the cross. The time will come when God’s wrath will sweep the earth but that day, however soon to come, is not here yet. When that comes, Christians will be taken off the planet as described in numerous passages in the Bible. Until that time comes, we need to pursue peace with each other in the body fo Christ and with all men.
This post is a follow up on my previous post on the topic of freedom of speech in relation to the Mohammed cartoon contest that was held in a private gathering in Texas. Two Muslim gunmen were killed in their attempt to shoot down those who they felt were blaspheming their prophet. In that post, my emphasis was on our God-given right to freedom of speech and expression. My position is that that freedom should not be abridged under any circumstances. I stand by that position and always will. This post is to clarify my position in how we responsibly use that freedom.
The contest’s winning cartoon entry was not degrading in any way. It showed a caricature of Mohammed saying, “You cannot draw me.” A second cartoon character, in the act of drawing Mohammed said, “That’s why I’m drawing you.” It’s a clever cartoon emphasizing people’s right to say and believe what they want. This flies in the face of an event held shortly before, at the same facility, by a Muslim consortium. In that meeting, Muslims debated on how to use Sharia law to limit free speech in the United States. They want to curtain any speech in any form against Mohammed, the Koran and what they call their superior religion.
I want to point out that the cartoon contest was not held by a Christian or a Christian organization. There were Christians there, I’m sure, and the winning artist was an ex-Muslim who may have converted to Christianity. But the contest was not to promote the gospel of Jesus Christ, it was specifically held to demonstrate the human right to free speech without compromise. I think the purpose of the event was not to inflame Muslims but to reinforce the right to speak out against anyone or anything whatsoever regardless of who it might be or what the issue is.
I support free speech in any form, no matter how vile or disgusting to anyone whatever is produced may seem. That was the purpose of passing the second amendment to the Constitution of the United States. It is by the suppression of free speech that people are first enslaved and our founding fathers recognized that and prohibited any attempt to curtain it. We must keep this freedom intact no matter what the cost.
However when we are talking about reaching out to those who don’t yet embrace Christ with the gospel of peace, peace is what we are offering to people. We are to walk in love, to walk in light, and to walk circumspectly in this world. Walking circumspectly means to not take undo risks and to walk with precision. We don’t want to incite people but win them to Christ. We don’t condemn people, we invite them to believe the truth. We don’t fight people, we wrestle against spiritual forces of darkness using the rightly divided Word of God.
Let me point out that mockery is in the Bible and is an acceptable to God as a powerful form of communication.
I Kings 18:16-39
So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him, and Ahab went to meet Elijah.
When he saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, you troubler of Israel?”
“I have not made trouble for Israel,” Elijah replied. “But you and your father’s family have. You have abandoned the Lord’s commands and have followed the Baals.
Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel.
Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”
But the people said nothing.
Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only one of the Lord’s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets.
Get two bulls for us. Let Baal’s prophets choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it.
Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by fire—he is God.”
Then all the people said, “What you say is good.”
Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.”
So they took the bull given them and prepared it.
Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. “Baal, answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made.
27 At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.”
So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed.
Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.
Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the Lord, which had been torn down.
Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Your name shall be Israel.”
With the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs of seed.
He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.”
“Do it again,” he said, and they did it again.
“Do it a third time,” he ordered, and they did it the third time.
The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.
At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command.
Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”
Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.
When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!”
Did you notice the mockery in verse 27 by the true prophet of God, Elijah? Here it is again:
27 At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.”
That is pure mockery. The reason for the mockery is to show how ridiculous was the thought that Baal was the true God. Now I can’t go into detail here, but modern Muslim worship is directly related to Baal worship so long ago. Look how God dealt with it then, through Elijah. He taunted the followers of Baal to shame them so they would see the folly of their false beliefs.
Christ Died For All
II Corinthians 5:15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ
Ephesians 6:15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
So how do we reconcile the fact that God used mockery through Elijah to confront the false prophets of Baal with the fact that we are to share the gospel of peace?
It’s all about context.
The context of that cartoon contest was in direct response to Muslims planning to use Sharia law in the United States to curb free speech so nobody could talk ‘bad’ about the Muslim faith. I believe the context justified the gathering. I say this especially in light of the fact that Baal worship, condemned by God in the Bible over and over again, is related to the Muslim “faith.” We cannot let a false religious belief shape what we can or cannot say, it’s that simple and that important. The goal of the Muslim event was to stop the mouths of those who oppose their false religious system that they want to impose on the whole world by infiltration and, in the case of militant Muslims, by force. Shutting people up would serve them fine but would prohibit speaking the truth in love which is what God has commanded Christians to do.
I Love Muslims, Buddhists, Jews, Hindus and even Devil Worshipers
My heart is to invite people to share in the salvation Jesus Christ procured through his self-sacrifice on the cross. I love all people and I staunchly reject all false teachings and the systems built around them. If the context calls for it, I will speak, draw, or do whatever is necessary to convey the heart of God in that matter. But my goal is to win people not offend them.
It’s true that speaking the gospel of Christ will offend some people regardless of how “careful” you are to choose your words and gestures. However we cannot let that prevent us from speaking. Let the cards fall as they will. Perhaps this verse will clarify what I am saying.
II Corinthians 2:14-17 But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere.
For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.
To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life. And who is equal to such a task?
Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God.
Our words bring life to those who believe them and death to those who don’t. We don’t decide the outcome ourselves. We just speak.
In conclusion, consider the context in which you say and do things. Our aim is not to offend people but to win them however there are times when mockery is needed, there are times when it is more harmful than good. When you walk by the spirit of God, you will know how to handle each situation. That, my friend, is what walking circumspectly is all about.