The Sword Is Mightier than the Pen
By Travis K. McSherley

Change.  Change is hiding around every corner, every day.  We can't avoid it, however much we may resist.  Societies change, cultures change, attitudes change, people change.  Need proof?  Just look at yourself now, as compared to five, ten, fifteen years ago.  Look at the United States and how much change we have endured, from being a struggling group of thirteen states trying to come together, to the superpower of the world.  Change is sometimes good, sometimes bad; but one thing is for sure -- change is inevitable.

Well, almost.

One does exist who has never changed, and who will never change.  Maybe it seems like an obvious concept, but it's one that we seem to take for granted all too often: God does not change -- ever.  He makes this claim Himself in Malachi 3:6, saying, "For I am the LORD, I change not."

Hebrews 13:8 makes the point additionally clear: "Jesus Christ the same, yesterday, and to day, and for ever."

We quote the Hebrews verse all the time, but why do so many try to discredit it?  From a Christian point of view, one of the most serious problems with political correctness is that it attempts to change the unchangeable Creator of the Universe and devalue His preeminence (if not flat out denying His existence).

Do we really want a God who can "go with the flow"?  A God who changes cannot be trustworthy or reliable.  Even worse, change implies imperfection.  And if we serve an imperfect, unreliable God, what happens to our "promise" of eternal salvation?  What if He decides that Jesus' sacrifice on the cross just isn't good enough anymore?  Can we ever really be sure of our place in Heaven, if God can change at a moment's notice?

Political correctness, at its roots, is about change.  We applaud ourselves for our "acceptance" of the differences among people or their values; and we dare not say, do, or think anything that might belittle those differences, regardless of how our own ideas might conflict.  Homosexuality is to be "accepted" as simply a different form of lifestyle.  Men and women are to be "accepted" as exact equals in every area of life.  All religions are to be "accepted" as just different means to the same end.  Yet, anyone who does not conform to these "rules" is not to be "accepted."

But wait a minute -- God doesn't fit those standards.  He doesn't "tolerate" sexual sin in any form.  He created men and women equal, but each with distinct responsibilities.  He abhors all other forms of worship not focused on Him (Exodus 20:1-5).  From a sermon entitled "Is God Politically Correct?", the writer says this:

Political correctness would label GOD'S CLAIM TO UNIVERSAL SUPREMACY AS GROSS RACIAL PREJUDICE AND ETHNOCENTRICITY!  That is the logical end of these thoughts....God's people are NOT to learn the ways of the nations round about them or to dabble in their religions because those religions are WRONG!  Such bold statements go completely against the modern propoganda... (1)

Just ask the man on the cross behind Jesus's on Golgotha.

The man had probably been a career criminal.  He was a thief, and he knew it.  His counterpart on the third cross yelled at the dying carpenter/preacher from Nazareth, hoping that He would rescue all three of them from the hill of their execution.  But the other understood the penalty they were receiving.  "Don't you get it?" he yelled, with a sorrowful anger.  "We've been nailed to these crosses by our own wrong-doings.  But this Jesus guy, he hasn't done anything!"

Then he softened his voice, turned to the battered prisoner on the front cross, and humbly said, "Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom."

Jesus turned His head slightly, drops of blood coming from the thorn scratches on His head.  Perhaps now realizing the true vastness of the victory He was about to claim, He said to the man, "Today, you will be with me in paradise." (2)

James, who wrote a most relevant book for today's political correctness issues, adds this:

But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. (James 1:22-24)

Many of us claim to be against sin and immorality, but sometimes we are not nearly as eager to stand against it.  John Leo appears to acknowledge our watered down and conditional moral values:

Americans have strong principles, but they reserve the right not to apply them in difficult situations.  Subscribers to the new moral order can have it both ways -- strong principles with a built-in escape hatch.  This would explain much of the gap between polls on moral issues and actual behavior.  One L.A. Times poll, for instance, shows that 57 percent of Americans think abortion is a form of murder....Yet the prevalence of abortion points to a more relaxed moral standard when the chips are down. (3)

Unfortunately, political correctness often encourages us to change the Word of God, rather than be changed by it.  This mentality can lead to any number of problems, including (1) rejecting the Bible as "God's Word", (2) treating the Bible continually more allegorically or symbolically, and maybe worst of all (3) altering or ignoring parts of the Bible that do not "fit" with our own or our society's ideas and values.

These attitudes about God's Word are easy to acquire, especially when trying to justify our own actions or ideas.  We begin to make claims like, "That's not really what the Bible says."  Or, "Well, that's just Paul's opinion."  But when we modify or delete portions of Scripture to fit our needs, that's a big deal.  God takes His word very seriously.  In fact, He even places it above His own name (Psalm 138:2).  In John 1:14, Jesus is described as the Word made human. "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us."

Paul, in his letter to the Romans, recognized detrimental effects of not taking God at His Word:

Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.  Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.  Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. (Romans 1:21-25)

This version has undertaken the effort to replace or rephrase all gender-specific language not referring to particular historical individuals, all pejorative references to race, color, or religion, and all identifications of persons by their physical disability alone, by means of paraphrase, alternative renderings, and other acceptable means of conforming the language of the work to an inclusive idea. (4)

Gone are references to "light" as good and "dark" as evil, considered offensive to people of color.  In the Lord's Prayer, "Our Father" becomes "Our Father-Mother" (Holy hermaphrodite!).  Jesus is gender-neutral.  Where the chauvinist New Testament referred to him as the "Son of Man," in the neutered version, he is the "Human One."  Nor will he sit at the "right hand of God" -- a slight to lefties.

The changes aren't all cosmetic.  A la Benjamin Spock, children are no longer enjoined to obey their parents but merely to "heed" them (a blow to patriarchalism).

In other words, kids should listen to their parents -- the way they listen to their adolescent friends or MTV -- without giving their words more credence than the other background noise in their lives. (5)

Needless to say, none of this is very poetic.  It's also pretty pathetic to watch theologians waste their time worrying that a left-handed, blind, black woman might somehow think that the Bible excludes her, when the main message of the text teaches exactly the opposite.  Apparently the contemporary equivalent of pondering how many angels can fit on the head of a pin is to calculate the number of gender offensive words in the Bible.  The theological seminaries aren't immune to the cultural and linguistic extremism that flourishes on many university campuses these days, where words like "freshman" are verboten. (6)

The Bible (unexpurgated version) is inclusive in the most profound sense of the word.  In addressing the human condition -- that we are both spiritual and physical, beings endowed with free will, who are capable of salvation but prone to sin -- it transcends race and gender, and speaks to our essence.

Called the Good Book, it isn't intended to make readers feel good about themselves but to instruct, comfort and challenge them.

Admittedly, the Bible recognizes differences between men and women, mothers and fathers, parents and children.  Absolute equality isn't the goal.  The kingdom of heaven isn't governed by Equal Employment Opportunity Commission regs. (7)

Admittedly, the example of The New Testament and Psalms: An Inclusive Version is an extreme case, but we can find plenty of other ways to disregard or destroy parts of the Bible.

Even among those who do accept the Bible as God's Word, for instance, some are still willing to make excuses to justify their actions.  Of homosexuality, for instance, I have often seen the argument, "Well, it's not like it is as bad as other sins..."  Of course, the same reasoning could be used for any number of sins; and from our human perspective, the argument seems to be a plausible one.  However, the primary objective of this article series (and FuS, for that matter) is to help understand how God sees things.  Our Creator never tries to "soften up" a sin, and that certainly includes sexual sin.  Thankfully, His hatred of sin is no deeper than His love and no stronger than His willingness to forgive -- if we will but ask.

Another tempting pitfall used to justify actions is to pass blame onto someone or something else.  It seems to be characteristic of this generation to use other people, the government, the media, or genetics as scapegoats for our own deeds.  On the one hand, media, government, parents, and education have all had failures in various forms; and our DNA is certainly not free from defect.  But, in the end, we are still each personally responsible for our own decisions and actions.

God understands how difficult obedience can be in the midst of parents who set bad examples, teachers who do not teach moral values, preachers who do not follow His Word, or media that promotes sex and violence.  The Lord understands the challenge of living for Him in this day and age, but He also knows the horrible effects of living in sin.

That is why it is crucial not to look past the Word of God.  In Psalm 119:11, David says, "Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee."  Keeping the Word close to your heart, God can use it to speak to you in times of temptation or doubt.

Paul, in Ephesians 6, calls the Word the "sword of the Spirit."  He includes it as part of the "armor of God," which we will discuss in more detail later.  This armor, Paul says, is to help us to be "able to withstand in the evil day" (Ephesians 6:13).

When we disregard or distort Scripture, it's like a soldier putting down his sword in the midst of a battle.  By ignoring, "modernizing," or otherwise contorting bits and pieces of the Bible that we deem "offensive," we open the door to all kinds of problems, whether it be justifying our sins or becoming "tolerant" of others' wrongs.

As Christians, we should be growing day-by-day in accordance to God's Word.  The Word is extremely powerful if we will allow God to use it to change us.  However, great danger lies in attempting to change the Word to fit our lives or our worldviews.  As a society, we try so hard to eliminate any guilt or remorse for anything that we feel like doing; so if something such as the Bible tells us we're wrong, we dutifully try to change it.  But God does not hesitate to make us feel guilty -- if that's what we need.  "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness" (II Timothy 3:16).

Reproof, correction, instruction.  Dangerous words in a politically correct worldview.  They require admission of responsibility and willingness to accept that we may be wrong.  Yet that's exactly how God wants to use His Word in our lives -- to change us.

Christians, please take God's Word seriously.  God takes His Word quite seriously.  Study the Bible constantly, with an open heart, asking God to use it to help you see His truths.  If you find yourself living in habitual sin(s), be it homosexuality, pornography, alcoholism, drug addiction, gambling addiction, or whatever, lay it before the throne of God and allow Him to work change in your heart.

Non-Christians, much (if not all) of what we have been discussing may not be sinking into your heart yet.  But I hope that you can begin to see that God is not out to get you, and any true follower of Christ is not out to get you.  But if you are reading this article with an open heart, perhaps God has already begun to work.  Maybe you are searching for answers, maybe you too are fighting an addiction or temptation you feel is wrong.  I can't promise to provide all the answers, but I hope that you, as well as those who are already saved, will become more willing to look at the world through God's eyes.  Find a church with a pastor who takes the Bible seriously, or open the Book yourself and allow God to reveal Himself through it.

They received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. (Acts 17:11b)

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.  But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness....Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.  Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. (II Timothy 2:15-16,18-19)