Christ Our Truth-Giver

We are called and empowered to raise a standard of truth - Jesus demonstrated that during His earthly ministry, and even during the final hours prior to His death, He was engaging with the religious leaders of His day. Throughout several chapters of the book of Matthew, it is recorded how Jesus engaged with those religious leaders, pronouncing "woes" upon them, calling them out for the hypocrisy. So, we come to Matthew 26:
1 Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, that He said to His disciples,
2 "You know that after two days is the Passover, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified."
3 Then the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders of the people assembled at the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas,
4 and plotted to take Jesus by trickery and kill Him.
5 But they said, "Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people."

Later in the chapter, though, Judas came to the chief priests and offered to betray our Savior. 

There will likely be consequences for standing on the truth of God, yet we are placed by Him to do just that.  

As I have reported to you this week, lawmakers in Colorado have begun to consider legislation that stands contrary to Biblical standards - when we see this, Christians should rise up in opposition.  The Center for Baptist Leadership, whose founder, William Wolfe, was on The Meeting House yesterday, reported that members of the Legislature "are advancing a slate of bills that would, among other things, provide taxpayer funding for abortions, empower the state to persecute Christians who refuse to bend the knee to radical gender ideology and compelled speech codes, and go so far as to steal children from parents who won’t affirm the “transgender” delusions of their kids."  A bill to do that latter item has already passed the House of Representatives in that state.

The CBL article went on to say:

Southern Baptist pastor Chase Davis worked to sound the alarm on the “transgender protections” bill at the Center for Baptist Leadership last week, warning that:

“If enacted, this bill would criminalize ‘deadnaming’ and ‘misgendering’ for any business. It would criminalize dress codes conforming to gender standards for schools. It threatens to strip parents of their parental rights who do not go along with the delusion that boys can become girls. It also broadly criminalizes any “coercion” by parents who, whether from their religious beliefs or just common sense, refuse to allow their confused children to “transition.” It would also empower the state to take children away from parents who refer to their kids by their given name and biological sex.”

And, a group of pastors has sent a letter to pastors of larger churches, encouraging them to speak out.  The article goes on to report: "...a group of pastors sent a letter to many of the larger churches in Colorado, hoping to rally the pastors of bigger churches to use their platform, reach, and resources to protect parental rights, freedom of speech, and the well-being of children in their state."

Chris Goble, the Lead Pastor of Ridgeline Community Church in Castle Rock, CO, explains that they “wrote and then sent this letter to the Pastors and Elders of the largest churches and faith organizations in Colorado, calling them to action and bring their sizable resources and platforms to bear for the sake of God’s Truth and His people.”

The Center also relates that it detailed this aggressive and dangerous agenda and implored pastors to "1) Post, 2) Preach, 3) Petition, and 4) Push others to do the same."

The letter lays out the legislative agenda that Christians are being asked to fight against - you can see it at the website, Fight1312.com:

For years, our state has been steadily undermined by liberal ideologies that erode our freedoms, threaten our families’ livelihoods, and reject the truth of God’s Word. As Psalm 11:3 warns, “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” We recognize that faithful people may differ on these issues, and many of you have chosen silence or neutrality to preserve unity. That time is over.

A barrage of legislation—House Bill 25-1312, Senate Bill 183, House Bill 1309, and Senate Bill 129—marks a brazen assault on our God-given rights and biblical values. HB 25-1312 redefines misgendering as child abuse and discrimination, stripping parents of their authority (Ephesians 6:4) and exposing businesses, schools, and even churches to legal peril. SB 183 forces taxpayers to fund abortions, defying the sanctity of life knit together in the womb (Psalm 139:13). HB 1309 mandates “gender-affirming care” in all health plans, and SB 129 expands access to out-of-state telehealth abortion pills. These bills are a direct attack on the created order—“male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:27)—and the sanctity of life.

You can find more information, including rolling updates on the fight against the legislation by going to the website. Also, on X, the CBL has announced that tomorrow, there will be a prayer walk in Denver at the State Capitol, followed by a pastors' press conference.

What you have here is a masterclass of how the body of Christ should operate when there are threats to the moral fiber of the areas where we live, over which I believe we have been given responsibility by God.  I witnessed last year how Christian and like-minded organizations stood together in unity against yet another threat to the state of Alabama by the expansion of gambling.  We are seeing citizens of Colorado mobilize and motivate others because they believe in the authority of God's Word and take their responsibility seriously.  And, this has begun to attract national attention. 

Before He died, Jesus taught, in what you might call firm and even provocative ways about the departure from truth that the religious leaders of the day had undertaken.  And, even now, there are churches in Colorado - and around the nation - who do not wish to take up the fight against attempts to impose an anti-Christian agenda on our citizens.  We must be bold to stand on truth and allow God to speak though us for the advancement of the Kingdom of God rather than the principles of darkness.

And, one further thing - in Alabama in the gambling fight and in Colorado in this particular battle, we find ourselves playing defense all too often.  But, we can also seek ways to go on offense.  That involves electing leaders who respect the Word of God and are willing to sponsor good legislation that is consistent with Biblical truth and benefits our citizens.  I spotlighted bills in the Alabama Legislature that have been introduced, but sadly, in looking over ALCAP's latest update, there are several bills that would provide for greater religious expression in our state that are labeled "No Movement."  We need to pray for our leaders - and pray for leaders who will boldly fight for truth.