By Rolaant McKenzie
June 4, 2023
Sometime after the Day of Pentecost in Jerusalem in 33 AD, Peter and John were going up to the temple during the 3 pm hour of prayer. They encountered a beggar who had been lame from birth seeking charity from those entering the temple. Peter told the beggar that they did not have money to give but offered something better.
In the name of Jesus, Peter commanded the lame man to walk. Pulling him to his feet, the man realized he was healed and for the first time in his life he could walk. Overjoyed, he entered the temple with Peter and John, walking, leaping, and praising God.
This captured the attention of the people in the temple who were amazed at the miracle they had just witnessed. Peter took the opportunity to urge his hearers to repent of their sins and believe in the Lord Jesus, whom they had previously rejected and condemned to death. About 5,000 of those in the temple who heard this message believed.
As Peter and the apostles continued to proclaim the resurrection of Jesus from the dead and forgiveness of sin only through faith in Him, the Jewish religious authorities sought to silence them with threats, prison, flogging, and death. But this did not dissuade them, for they said:
“We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross. He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.” (Acts 5:29-32)
“And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)
The impact of the apostles’ message so convicted and offended the religious rulers that they sought to kill them. But Gamaliel, an esteemed elder of the Sanhedrin, just managed to persuade them to take a wait-and-see stance for the present.
The high priest, elders, and scribes considered the gospel message to be hate speech because it told the truth about Jesus and their involvement in His death. They saw it as a threat to their monopoly of religious power over the people of Israel.
However, the apostles continued undaunted preaching the way, the truth, and the life, Jesus Christ (John 14:6). They did so with joy because they were considered worthy of suffering for His name. Efforts by the religious authorities to censor and cancel the proclamation of the gospel notwithstanding, the Holy Spirit-inspired courage and persistence of the apostles resulted in the salvation of many, to the glory of God.
There are many examples in society today where narratives are promoted by very powerful people and organizations that invert reality in the pursuit of certain agendas. These powerful entities work in conjunction with government, big tech, big media, the largest banks, international institutions, and multinational corporations to label anything that goes against their current propaganda as misinformation, disinformation, or hate speech.
Once these global collaborators declare something to be hate speech, intimidation tactics and threats are made to silence those who persist in speaking things of which they disapprove. This often includes censoring or canceling social media accounts, attacks from big media outlets, disrupting financial activity, and using government power to bankrupt or jail. This eventually leads to eliminating people, just as the religious leaders in Israel did with Stephen when he proclaimed the gospel to them (Acts 6-7).
Because of his hatred of God and His creation, especially human beings that are made in His image, the father of lies, Satan, seeks the destruction of humanity through the demolition of the nuclear family, promotion of moral relativism, societal division, infanticide (abortion), infertility, euthanasia, and depopulation.
He does this to prevent as many people as he can from being reconciled to God through Jesus Christ so that they can join him in his ultimate destination in the lake of fire (Revelation 20:7-10). Through his rulers, powers, and principalities (Ephesians 6:12), he controls some of the most powerful people and organizations in the world to aid in this effort.
One of the tools the devil uses is the promotion of transgenderism through the medical and education industry, entertainment, and other mass media outlets. This sexual grooming targeting children is meant to confuse them regarding their immutable biological and binary nature and get them to undergo permanent genital mutilation and hormone treatments to supposedly change their sex, the end result being sterility, mental instability, depression, and too often, death.
Anyone telling the truth about this in order to protect children from this evil agenda often face censorship, deplatforming, and other sanctions. Schools, the media, and the medical industry indoctrinate children to turn them away from God, hate themselves, and hate those who do not go along with their unreality.
Just as the residents of Sodom were enraged with Lot to the point of seeking to physically harm him because his righteousness was a rebuke to their gross immorality (Genesis 18-19; 2 Peter 2:4-9; Jude 1:7), many involved in transgenderism and other deviant lifestyles have exhibited violence against themselves or others when confronted with the truth that they are in rebellion against God. One example was the woman pretending to be a man who had such hatred in her heart that on March 27, 2023, she entered a Christian school in Nashville, Tennessee heavily armed and murdered six people, including three nine-year-old children.
On May 22, 2023, Franklin Graham gave the keynote address at the National Religious Broadcasters convention in Orlando, Florida. He said that as we continue to live in an increasing cancel culture, big corporations will erect barriers for Christian organizations in business, insurance, banking, and technology to silence their voices. He challenged them to take steps to defend themselves but continue proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ in the face of increasingly difficult circumstances.
Regardless of the cultural revolution of the LGBTQ agenda (sodomy combined with Marxism), we should love those involved in this sinful lifestyle enough to plainly tell them the truth of freedom and salvation in Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 6:9-11). Graham urged his listeners:
“If you’re going to try to proclaim the gospel, they’re going to try to shut you up. Preach — don’t back up, don’t make excuses. Just tell it the way it is.”
Do not fear the seemingly overwhelming power of the rulers of society and their efforts to suppress the truth. Their plans will crumble before God’s power.
“The LORD nullifies the counsel of the nations; He frustrates the plans of the peoples. The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of His heart from generation to generation.” (Psalm 33:10-11)
God gave the apostles of Christ the faithfulness and boldness to preach the gospel in the cancel culture of their day. Whether it was the Jewish religious authorities or the Roman government, the gospel could not be canceled or imprisoned. We who have received eternal life through believing the gospel are the beneficiaries of the work of God through them.
Let that encourage us to proclaim the gospel no matter the obstacles placed before us, so that many today and the days to come will receive the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ.
“Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descendant of David, according to my gospel, for which I suffer hardship even to imprisonment as a criminal; but the word of God is not imprisoned. For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory.” (2 Timothy 2:8-10)
© 2023 Rolaant McKenzie – All Rights Reserved
E-Mail Rolaant McKenzie: rolaant@gospeloutreach.net
Website: http://www.gospeloutreach.net/
