Author: Tim Cantrell

by Tim Cantrell, Sr. Pastor,
Antioch Bible Church
(Johannesburg, South Africa)

We do not practice conversion therapy; we practice conversion ministry.  We preach true conversion and God’s transforming power:  “The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul” (Ps 19:7).  “Repent you therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out” (Acts 3:19).  We convert no one; God alone does it.

We affirm that no one was ever saved by becoming heterosexual.  Hell is populated by both heterosexuals and homosexuals, by all who would not repent and be converted to Christ.

We deny that we are homophobes or transphobes; we are Theo-phobes, we fear God, not man.  We affirm that we love all people, because they are made in God’s image; and because they are fellow sinners in need of God’s saving grace, including all homosexuals and transexuals.

We deny that we practice hate-speech; it is love-speech, “speaking the truth in love” (Eph. 4:15).  We affirm that what God says about human sexuality is life-giving and liberating for society, and has transformed civilisations (Matt. 5:13-16).  We are following Jesus’ Golden rule, ‘treating others the way we would want to be treated’ (Matt. 7:12).

We affirm that real hate and true love are not defined by society, but by Scripture, which tells us, “Love…does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth” (1 Cor. 13).  Lying to people is hatred not love.

We deny that biblical sexuality is “myth” (a).  Homosexuality and transgenderism are myths destroying society.  God defines what is true and false; myths are measured against the standard of His Word.

We deny that homosexuals are truly “gay”; sin brings misery and ruin.  Real joy is found in obeying God’s Law and in knowing His Son.  We deny that the rainbow belongs to the LGBTQ community; God gave the rainbow as His sign to all the earth of His faithfulness. 

We deny that homosexuals should have pride in their perversity; they should be ashamed of their rebellion against nature and against the Creator (Rom. 1:18-32).  Only Christ can forgive sin, remove shame, and give a clear conscience.

We deny that LGBTQ inclinations are God-given or natural, or that such a lifestyle is an inalienable human/civil right.

We deny that people can define their own gender, identity, or pronouns.  God made us, He decides our gender and we submit to His pronouns.  Gender cannot be re-assigned or transitioned out of; it is not fluid or subjective; it is fixed and objective – defined by the Creator, not the creatures.  Your gender is never an accident; it is always by divine assignment.

We affirm that God’s grace in the gospel gives both pardon and power for the follower of Christ to put sinful desires to death and live a transformed, Spirit-filled new life (b) (1 Cor. 6:9-11; 2 Cor. 5:17).

(a) As stated in Canada’s recent C-4 Bill:  https://www.libertycoalitioncanada.com/biblical-sexuality-sermon-sunday

(b) See helpful Nashville Statement:  https://cbmw.org/nashville-statement

Why You Need Song of Solomon

(or, How Monogamy Could Save Africa)

By Tim Cantrell[i]

There has never been a time when the family faced so severe a crisis as the time in which we are now living. Many are not satisfied with remodeling; they want to tear things down to the foundation. …Imagine there were no marriage and family, and humanity would . . . turn into a pigsty.  Therefore, let a vigorous protest be sounded against all those who…violate the honour of marriage and undermine the foundations of the family. [ii]

Sound like a recent Christian headline?  Not so; these are words from the great Dutch theologian, Herman Bavinck, written over a 100 years ago in his classic book, The Christian Family. In every age, ever since the Garden of Eden, marriage has been a chief target of Satan.  As goes marriage, so goes the home, church, nation and continent.[iii]

In a recent study of the percentage of homes where children live with two parents, done in 41 major countries around the world, South Africa landed last – rock bottom on the list.[iv]  All four of the worst countries were here in Africa, with Ghana at only 58% of homes with two parents, and Kenya and Uganda at 56%.  But here in South Africa, only 36% of homes have two parents, a shocking 20% lower than the next lowest country.  And we wonder why we have skyrocketing crime, a plummeting economy, soaring unemployment, and rampant immorality?  The Word of God is our only hope!

Nowhere in Scripture is an entire book dedicated to parenting, education, business, medicine, economics, or even a church’s music or youth ministry.  Yet in Song of Solomon, God has given us a whole eight chapters of His canonical scriptures devoted to marriage – to marital preparation, purity and delight.  As Pastor Conrad Mbewe writes:

It seems that the very first reason why many single people fall into sexual sin is because they allow themselves to develop a worldview that makes them think that issues of love, romance, courtship, marriage and sex are issues that God is not interested in.[v]

Recall that we’re looking at seven reasons why the whole church needs Song of Solomon.  This is an urgent call for God’s people to sing Solomon’s best song in our marriages and parenting, with our singles and dating couples, and as entire congregations:

1) God’s Word – See Part 1 last time.

For today, the next 3 reasons:

2) Sin’s War
3) Love’s Beauty
4) Youth’s Impatience

(2) We Need Song of Solomon because of Sin’s War.

For centuries, theologians have spoken of ‘The Church Militant’ in this age for a reason (compared to ‘The Church Triumphant’ once home in glory).  From Genesis 3 to Revelation 20, the entire Bible is a bloody battlefield, and so are our Christian lives this side of glory.

1 Pet. 2:11 warns, “Beloved, I urge you, as aliens and strangers, to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul.”  It’s not merely our temporal bodies; it’s our eternal souls at stake.  We are not in combat with natural, earthly, or passive foes; we are the target of an extremely active, unseen, strategic and supernatural foe.  Rightly do we sing Luther’s sobering words:

For still our ancient foe,

Doth seek to work us woe,

His craft and power are great,

And armed with cruel hate;

On earth is not his equal.

Getting saved is not a cease-fire; the battle of progressive sanctification only begins at justification.  It’s what the Puritans called the doctrine of mortification: “if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live” (Rom. 8:13).[vi]  “Be killing sin, or sin will be killing you,” as John Owen taught.

In the hands of Satan, and this world system, our indwelling sin (remaining corruption) tugs at us relentlessly (Eph. 4:22-32; Col. 3:5-11).  Selfish cravings and sensual desires are not easily mortified, but require lifelong, Spirit-empowered warfare (Matt. 5:27-30; Eph. 5:18; Gal. 5:16-26).  In the fight for sexual purity and marital joy, our Captain, the Lord of Hosts, has given us a very potent and proven weapon in Song of Solomon.

As Hamilton writes:

The people of God need the Word of God, and we desperately need the Song of Songs today.  Our time is notable for massive sexual confusion, distortion, and perversion.  Pornography is pervasive.  Adultery is celebrated…the devastation of divorce normalized, the fiction of same-sex marriage legalized  all [of these are] satanic attempts to make immorality [look] moral.[vii]

E.J. Young wrote, “So long as there is impurity in this world we need, and need badly, the Song of Solomon.”  Garret warns:

Song of Songs is perhaps the most desperately needed of all the wisdom books.  At a time when scarcely an evangelical church is untouched by scandal, when promiscuity and infidelity are so common that society despairs of the idea that a young man or woman may maintain personal chastity, when homosexuality is all but accepted as an alternative lifestyle, Song of Solomon, with its presentation of love between man and woman in all its joy, holiness and richness, teaches [us] the true meaning of [our] sexuality.  If we miss its message, we do so to our own peril.

Soldiers of Christ, our victorious Captain has modelled for us in the desert, against all odds, how to defeat the devil.  Where the first Adam failed, the last Adam prevailed – and He did so with three sharp sword-thrusts, each declaring, “It is written” (Matt. 4:1-11).  Likewise, the Apostle John told young men the key to victory: “I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one” (1 Jn. 2:13-14).

Why then would we neglect the very portion of God’s Word, His sharpest weapon, given to equip us against sexual temptation?  The risen Christ is the Lord of Hosts, the divine Warrior-King, and the battle belongs to Him, for all who use the sword He has supplied (Eph. 6:17)!

(3) We Need Song of Solomon because of Love’s Beauty.

Listen to Chapter 1, verse 1, in the original Hebrew so you can appreciate already the poetic flavor and rhyme of it:  Shear hashirim asher lishlomo!  It is deliberately playful:  i.e., ‘The Song of Songs’, a common Hebrew idiom for what is best and most superlative, like “the holy of holies, the king of kings”.  This was King Solomon’s Number One hit, top of the charts, unrivalled!  Through the pen of David’s son, the Holy Spirit has given us what has been rightly called, ‘the most beautiful song on the most beautiful theme in all the world’.

The Jews would read Solomon’s famed lyric every year publicly, at Passover, calling it the “Holy of Holies”.  Rabbi Aqiba once proclaimed, “In the entire world, there is nothing to equal the day on which the Song of Solomon was given to Israel.  All the writings are holy, but the Song of Songs is most Holy….”

Marriage done the world’s way malfunctions and fails, sooner or later; but as we love to say in our church, “Marriage done God’s way works, every time, without fail!”

‘Yes, but how?!,’ you might ask.  In our world of broken homes and failed marriages, with all its bitter pain and ugly fruits, Song of Solomon is the Creator’s answer for marital success.  This book skilfully maps out godly romance for us like no other book of the Bible, or in all the world’s literature!

‘Boy meets girl’ is a song that all of Scripture sings, not just Song of Solomon.  There’s nothing here off-key, or out of tune, with the rest of Scripture, from the very beginning.  Genesis 1-2 show us that Adam and Eve’s joining together was part of what God called, “very good” (Gen. 1:31).  Marriage was God’s solution to the only “not good” thing in an otherwise perfectly good Paradise:  Adam being alone, unaccompanied.

Song of Solomon is a long, eight-chapter commentary on one of Moses’ most famous lines of all time, that a man shall “be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh” (Gen. 2:24).  Song of Solomon portrays sexuality as a good thing protected by marriage, not an evil thing made permissible by marriage.

How do you cultivate and maintain deep oneness and lasting intimacy in a marriage?  Read and obey Song of Solomon.  Ever noticed that in the entire book, there is not a single mention of procreation (though Scripture is clear that is one of God’s purposes for marriage)?  Because wise loving means learning that God’s primary goal for marital intimacy is companionship, not childbearing; it’s more about bonding than about babies.  While Western and urban culture under-emphasise procreation, African and other traditional cultures over-emphasise it at the expense of friendship being most foundational and primary in marriage.[viii]

E.J. Young again writes:

Song of Solomon celebrates the dignity and purity of human love.  …It comes to us in this world of sin, where lust and passion are on every hand, where fierce temptations assail us and try to turn us aside from the God-given standard of marriage.  Song of Solomon reminds us, in particularly beautiful fashion, how pure and noble true love is.

Or as another scholar well states:

This book presents a strong warning against an unbiblical dualism which holds the physical and material in lower regard than the spiritual, and which exalts the unmarried state as more virtuous than the state of matrimony.

…The reading of this book, far from raising sensuous thoughts in our minds, should lead us to praise the Creator who created man in His own image, who made the human body beautiful, who awoke in Adam the longing for a companion like himself yet different, and who led the first bride – the very climax of the works of creation – to her admiring bridegroom.[ix]

This is why Scripture so often affirms the goodness of marriage as a creation ordinance (Gen. 2:18-25; Mal. 2:14-16; Matt. 19:3-9; 1 Tim. 4:1-5, etc.).  Song of Solomon only turns up the volume on what all the Bible says about marriage.  It shows us how to keep singing marriage’s song, making sure this twisted, grumpy old world never drowns it out.  When we reach the book’s climax we’ll all join in the bride’s crescendo to her groom:

“Put me like a seal over your heart,

Like a seal on your arm.

For love is as strong as death,

Jealousy is as severe as Sheol;

Its flames are flames of fire,

The flame of the LORD.”

“Many waters cannot quench love,

Nor will rivers flood over it;

If a man were to give all the riches of his house for love,

It would be utterly despised.” (8:6-7)

As Martin Luther once wrote, “There is no more lovely, friendly, and charming relationship, communion, or company than a good marriage.”[x]  As my parents often say after nearly 55 years of Christian marriage, “You don’t marry a soulmate; you become soulmates.”  Solomon’s inspired serenade will teach us how. 

(4) We Need Song of Solomon because of Youth’s Impatience.

Has there ever been an age as addicted as ours to instant gratification and instant-everything?  We live in a culture of ‘Now!’, from advanced technologies in medicine and travel, to our information age of internet, perpetual wi-fi, smartphones and smart watches, and microwaves and takeaway foods galore – you almost never have to wait for anything.  Into this frenzied and impulsive age, the call of Christ rings out in the starkest contrast – calling for self-denial, delayed gratification, and Spirit-filled self-control (Mk 8:34-38; Tit. 2:11-14; Gal. 5:22-23).

This is exactly where Song of Solomon speaks with greatest force and power. Amidst all its interpretive challenges, the purpose of Solomon’s book is crystal clear.  With triple emphasis, we hear the main chorus and central refrain:  “Do not arouse or awaken love until it pleases” (2:7; 3:5; 8:4; as rightly translated in the KJV, ESV, and NIV).  In other words, ‘Keep romantic love asleep until it’s time.  Stay a virgin until marriage.  Flee temptation.  Save yourself for your spouse.  True love waits!’  Song of Solomon is primarily aimed at singles.  Why then are the unmarried in our churches often deprived of the very book the Holy Spirit has tailor-made for them?

Solomon illustrates in each of his eight chapters this biblical principle:  The greater the passion, the greater the need for patience.  It is a loud call to premarital chastity for all unmarried and married alike.  Here is how our sons and daughters can “come out from their midst and be separate” from this debauched world (2 Cor. 6:17).  When society mocks at virginity and celebrates unchastity, our youth must be galvinised by the Word of God.  They must learn that uncompromising purity now brings unquenchable passion then, on your wedding night.  Ask any happily married couple.

This commentator captures well why marital intimacy is worth the wait:

…[Song of Solomon is] a linked chain of lyrics depicting love in all its spontaneity, beauty, power and exclusiveness – experienced in its varied moments of separation and intimacy, anguish and ecstasy, tension and contentment. …God intends that such love, grossly distorted and abused by both ancient and modern people, be a normal part of marital life in his good creation.[xi]

Conclusion & Hope for the Fallen

Next time, we’ll learn more reasons why today’s Church must rediscover the riches of Solomon’s best song.  Praise God that His Word not only warns us but woos us.  He tells us what to ‘flee’ and ‘put off’, but also what to replace it with – what we must ‘put on’ and follow after.  Without Song of Solomon, our Bible would have a gaping hole when it comes to a positive, detailed portrayal of human sexuality and marital bliss.

In the meantime, what about those who’ve fallen?  What if you’ve blown it – lost your virginity, fallen into immorality, or even ruined your marriage?  Is there any hope?

If that is you, dear friend, I plead with you to lift your eyes upward to “the God of all hope”, the “Father of mercies and God of all comfort”, and a “God of all grace” (Rom. 15:13; 2 Cor. 1:3; 1 Pet. 5:10).  We proclaim a risen Lord – whose tomb is empty and whose throne is occupied, reigning in Heaven as sovereign over all evil for His wise and good purposes (Matt. 28:18; Rom. 8:28-39; Eph. 1:15-33).  There is no pit so deep that His grace cannot go deeper.  “Where sin abounds, His grace super abounds” (Rom. 5:12-21).

This is where you need a good local church more than ever!  Find a Bible-teaching congregation that will care for your soul, and seek truly biblical counselling that can heal the deepest wounds and break the most stubborn habits.  Here are also some helpful and hope-filled biblical resources:

– R.T Chindongo offers much wise counsel and hope in his book, Rethinking Guy/Girl Relationships.

– Puritan pastor, Thomas Watson, wrote the classic work on biblical repentance and restoration: https://www.monergism.com/doctrine-repentance-ebook

– Here’s a 3-part sermon series I preached from Psalm 51 on the doctrine of repentance:

https://www.antiochbiblechurch.org.za/multimedia-archive/how-to-get-up-when-you-have-fallen-psalm-51-part-1/

https://www.antiochbiblechurch.org.za/multimedia-archive/how-to-get-up-when-youve-fallen-part-2-psalm-51/

https://www.antiochbiblechurch.org.za/multimedia-archive/how-to-get-up-when-you-have-fallen-psalm-51-part-3/

– See also David Powlison, Making All Things New: Restoring Joy to the Sexually Broken.  Here is the original text and audio of his sermon:

https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/making-all-things-new-restoring-pure-joy-to-the-sexually-broken

Here is the full book that it became:

https://www.goodneighbours.org.za/shop/christian-living/christian-living-relationships/making-all-things-new/

https://www.amazon.com/Making-All-Things-New-Restoring/dp/1433556146/

[i] Tim serves as Sr. Pastor of Antioch Bible Church, and President & Lecturer at Shepherds’ Seminary, both based in Johannesburg, South Africa.

[ii] https://cbmw.org/2020/03/09/is-the-nuclear-family-a-mistake/

[iii] As illustrated here by a S. African scholar, H. Zandman, biblically assessing the influence of the 1960s on today’s ethics, morality and sexuality:  https://indieskriflig.org.za/index.php/skriflig/article/view/215

[iv] https://ifstudies.org/blog/children-are-most-likely-to-live-with-two-parents-in-these-countries/

[v] p. 19, Maintaining Sexual Purity.

[vi] https://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/sdg/owen/Mortification%20of%20Sin%20-%20John%20Owen.pdf; https://www.antiochbiblechurch.org.za/multimedia-archive/killing-sin-rom-812-13/ (sermon I preached on this doctrine); http://gracefellowshipdataprod.s3-website-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/TC1%20How%20to%20kill%20sin.mp3 (seminar I did at a pastor’s conference)

[vii] p. 16, ibid.

[viii] p. 51, A Biblical Approach to Marriage & Family in Africa (by Theological Advisory Group, Scott Theological College, Kenya).

[ix] pp. 595-96, Wycliffe Bible Commentary

[x] https://jimdaly.focusonthefamily.com/three-things-martin-luther-teaches-us-marriage/

[xi] p. 997, NIV Study Bible (1995)

Why You Need Song of Solomon

(or, How Monogamy Could Save Africa)

By Tim Cantrell[i]

“Sexual sin is an ancient problem.  Throughout the ages, the godly…have not been spared by the claws of this marauding lion,” writes Zambian pastor, Ronald Kalifungwa.[1]  As Mbewe adds:

We are convinced that many young people fall into sexual sin unintentionally, mostly because of carelessness on their part.  They allow themselves to get too close to the cliff-edge and just a little push tips them over.  They fail to realise that playing with matchsticks when your clothes are drenched with petrol is suicide.

As Solomon warned, “Can a man take fire in his bosom and his clothes not be burned?  Or can a man walk on hot coals and his feet not be scorched?” (Prov. 6:27-28).

Imagine if God gave us an entire book that spelled out exactly when, how and where to light this raging fire of romantic love and human sexuality – so that it can be enjoyable, not destructive?  Guess what – that’s precisely what Song of Solomon does for us!  Our Creator has given us an entire 8-chapter book of the Bible as His antidote for an immoral, porn-saturated world enslaved to lust and drowning in sexual perversion.

We have neglected Song of Solomon and misused it for far too long and it is time to rediscover it.  Has there ever been an age where society was more confused about marriage, sexuality, and even gender itself?  Just look at what is happening this very week in Canada, the next Western nation to outlaw biblical morality, the preaching of monogamy, and the entire Christian faith.[ii]

A Hidden Treasure

Our faithful Lord has given us His entire Word for defining and defending marriage, from Genesis to Revelation, yielding a rich, whole-Bible theology of human sexuality.[iii]  And there’s more – He has given us a whole book that helps us stand still to gaze, celebrate, and sing about marital bliss!  Our Creator, in whose image we’re made, knows we need both the light and the heat, the science and the art, the lyrics and the music for a happy marriage.

We all need both theory and practice.  So the Author of marriage has given us Solomon’s rapturous song – in order that singles will see that it is worth the wait, dating/courting couples will know how to wait, and married couples will stop waiting!

Yet almost all the Christian dating and marriage books I’ve seen give little or no attention to Song of Solomon, ignoring this treasure chest of divine wisdom for godly romance.  Thirty years ago, Pastor Tommy Nelson at Denton Bible Church in Texas, dared to tackle this book next in his regular, expository pulpit ministry, trusting God’s Word to do God’s work in people’s lives.

Nelson’s sermons went viral across the nation and around the world, impacting tens of thousands with the purifying power of God’s all-sufficient, ever-relevant, living Word (Heb. 4:12-13)!  This series was given to my wife and I and we were greatly helped by it on our honeymoon and ever since in our 25 years of marriage, and have shared it with many others.  Nelson writes:

For many people, Song of Solomon is the mystery book of the Bible…the only book of the Bible that seems to have been edited and censured by the Christian church.  Most Christians don’t read it, don’t understand it, and have never heard a sermon from it.  Yet no message could be more needed today.  Solomon’s song is the book for this generation.

…[It is] a song about a holy love, one that is distinct and exclusive from all others in the lives of the two people involved.  It is a song about a young woman from a lowly place who fell in love with a prince, and he in turn with her.  It is a song about the very essence of a passionate and committed relationship.  There is no other book like it.  And there is no more important book for you to read and understand if you have any interest whatsoever in what God thinks about love, sex and intimacy![iv]

The Urgency of Monogamy

Next to the gospel itself (and as the fruit of it), what could bring greater good to this African continent than biblical monogamy?  ‘One man with one woman for life’ would transform our society unrecognisably!  And imagine how a Spirit-empowered, repentant return to sexual purity and marital permanence could revive our churches, transforming our praying, preaching, singing, fellowship, and our outreach through the joy of clear consciences and happy homes.

Our Lord had given us Song of Solomon for this purpose – to map out for us God’s path of purity in an impure, “crooked and perverse generation” (Php. 2:14).  This is how God sets captives free, purifies worldly homes and churches, and sanctifies His people (Jn. 17:17).

Rightly was it said, “Nowhere in Scripture does the unspiritual mind tread upon ground so mysterious and incomprehensible as in this book; while the saintliest men and women of the ages have found Song of Solomon a source of pure and exquisite delight”.[v]

A Disclaimer

The influential ‘Mark Driscoll’ approach to Song of Solomon of the previous decade, with all its crass crudeness and graphic vulgarity, has shown us how not to teach this book.  Here in Johannesburg we saw prominent churches jumping on this pragmatic bandwagon, using sexy preaching as a church-growth tactic, even being shamed by secular authorities requiring them to remove provocative billboards.  What a stark contrast to Solomon’s own approach, as Dr. Macarthur writes:

…the language Scripture employs when dealing with the physical relationship between husband and wife is always careful—often plain, sometimes poetic, usually delicate, frequently muted by euphemisms, and never fully explicit. 

…In fact, Solomon’s love-poem epitomizes the exact opposite approach. It is, of course, a lengthy poem about courtship and marital love. …Its whole point is gently, subtly, and elegantly to express the emotional and physical intimacy of marital love—in language suitable for any audience.

…Song of Solomon is incredibly beautiful precisely because it is so carefully veiled. It is a perfect description of the wonderful, tender, intimate discovery that God designed to take place between a young man and his bride in a place of secrecy. 

May we handle with care Solomon’s sensitive song.  May we never approach the Holy Bible with unholy hands or impure words and unsound speech (Tit. 2:8).

Dear Christian reader, my aim in this 4-part blog is to persuade you with seven reasons why you need Song of Solomon.  This is an urgent call for God’s people to sing Solomon’s best song in our marriages and parenting, with our singles and dating couples, and as entire congregations.  Today we start with Reason #1:

(1) We Need Song of Solomon because it is God’s Word.

If this were the only reason, it should be enough.  Church history and modern Christianity are strewn with the wreckage of those who professed the Bible’s authority and sufficiency on paper yet denied it in practice.  Song of Solomon tests whether we really believe 2 Timothy 3:16-17: “All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”

Do we merely say God’s Word is all we need, or do we show it where the ‘tacky hits the tar’?  In the nitty-gritty of romance, in the pursuit of sexual purity, in the quest for a happy marriage, is Scripture truly sufficient?  Is biblical authority only notional and theoretical for us, or functional and operational?

Song of Solomon has always been recognized as part of the Hebrew Bible, the Jewish canon of the Old Testament.  In other words, this was the very Bible of our Lord Jesus, His apostles, and the Christian Church ever since.  Solomon’s best song was not man’s idea, but God’s.  We dare not then be dismissive, ashamed, or apologetic, about a book that the divine Author handpicked to be included in His inspired, inerrant, perfect Word.

‘But wait,’ you exclaim, ‘what business does Solomon have telling us about marriage, when he had 700 wives and 300 concubines (1 Kgs 11:3)?!  We might as well have Lance Armstrong teach us about honesty, or Tiger Woods about sexual purity?  Great question!

For starters, Solomon might have written this early in his life, with his Shulammite bride as his 1^st wife before he messed things up with 699 others.  Or perhaps he wrote it later in life as his public repentance, for the next generation to avoid his folly?  As Nelson states:

It is very often the person who has been on the opposite side of good who knows the most about good.  …If you want a person who knows the most about purity of love, sacrificial love, and lasting love, who better to consult than a guy like Solomon?[vi]

Does not our God often strike a straight blow with a crooked stick?  What about the Law, given through Moses, a man disqualified from ever entering the Promised Land?  What about all the psalms written by King David, a former adulterer and murderer?  What about all the epistles written by Paul, a former Christian-killer and hater of the Church? Indeed, Solomon’s words put his deeds to shame.  But that does not disqualify his words. We must remember that it’s not the writers but the writings of Scripture that are inspired and infallible (2 Tim. 3:16).

1 Kings 4 records that, because of the great wisdom God granted Solomon, he “spoke 3,000 proverbs, and his songs were 1,005” (vv. 29-34).  He was the wisest man and most brilliant, poetic mind of his day!  In Song of Solomon, we see the king’s God-given wisdom also in science, nature and geography:  In a mere 117 total verses, he mentions 21 species of plants, 15 species of animals, and 15 different locations on the map!  Talk about the original renaissance man! This fascinating book is a lively, colourful, visual ballad to be read with all five senses wide awake.

Where would God’s people be without the Wisdom Literature of the Old Testament?  Praise God for giving us these priceless books for skillful living, like a four-stroke engine to drive us away from folly and toward godly wisdom.  We’ve got the Book of Proverbs for how to live well, the Book of Job for how to suffer well, and the Book of Ecclesiastes for handling life’s frustrations well.  Then, as the delicious icing atop this many-layered wisdom ‘wedding cake’, God has given us Song of Solomon for how to marry well.  Wise living yields wise loving.  No book of the Bible demonstrates this better than Song of Solomon.

G. Lloyd Carr remarks:

The believing Christian comes to the Bible with the faith that it is God’s word to mankind.  But we are more than merely spiritual beings; we are human.  If God is concerned about our human condition – and the incarnation makes it plain that he is – his revelation will be concerned with every aspect of that condition.  And that includes human sexuality.

Hamilton encourages us:

Solomon’s Song calls us to a better life, and we hear the music through God’s life-changing Word. …it sings us right into reality.  The mesmerizing Song captivates our attention, wooing our hearts and winning our minds, demonstrating that the way of life depicted in its poetry is more real than the world’s version of the good life.

…Song of Solomon is inviting, exciting, and daunting, and God will use it to make us love Him, to make us long for Christ, and to make us better single people and better spouses, better youth and better adults, better children and better parents.[vii]

My fellow believers, when Jesus prayed for us, “Sanctify them by the truth; Your Word is truth”, that included Song of Solomon (Jn. 17:17).  May God help us to rediscover its sanctifying, purifying power!

[1] p. 5 in Maintaining Sexual Purity, by Conrad Mbewe.

[i] Tim serves as Sr. Pastor of Antioch Bible Church, and President & Lecturer at Shepherds’ Seminary, both based in Johannesburg, South Africa.

[ii] See here, “A Stand on Biblical Sexual Morality”: https://www.gracechurch.org/news/posts/2307

[iii] See here theologically, by A. Kostenberger:  https://www.amazon.com/Marriage-Family-Essentials-Andreas-Kostenberger/dp/1433528568/; https://www.amazon.com/God-Marriage-Family-Second-Rebuilding/dp/1433503646/.  See here pastorally/practically for counselling, by J. Street, Passions of the Heart: Biblical Counsel for Stubborn Sins, https://www.amazon.com/dp/1629954020/.”

[iv] pp. xii, xv, The Book of Romance.

[v]p. 171,  J. Sidlow Baxter, Explore the Book, Vol. 3.

[vi] p. xv, ibid.

[vii] pp. 15-17, Hamilton, Song of Songs.

By Tim Cantrell, Antioch Bible Church, Sr. Pastor
Johannesburg, South Africa
July 2021

When lawless thieves roam the land, we need the voice of righteousness crying out in the wilderness, heralding the Law of God.  How will a nation learn to fear God if they are not hearing His mighty voice thundering out from His mouthpiece, the Church (1 Tim. 3:15)?

While the cries of looters are heard in the streets, have the pulpits gone silent?  While shouts of hatred and revolt go up, are the men of God on mute, or hiding behind a screen?  Do we believe in preaching anymore?  Real preaching as it has always been – the man of God standing before the people of God, assembled in the very presence of God (uniquely & especially promised when we gather[i]), proclaiming the living Word of God – with all its comfort and conviction (Ezra 7:10; Neh. 8; 1 Tim 4:6-16; 2 Tim. 4:1-5).[ii]

Especially in times of national crisis and calamity, the most urgent need of the hour is to hear, “Thus saith the Lord!”  When other voices clamour loudly for our attention, we sit down together in a holy hush, trembling before the voice of God alone (Ps. 29; Ps. 46; Hab. 2:20).  What child of God cannot testify that there is no comfort like gathering with your church family to sing the Word, pray the Word, hear the Word read and preached, and see the Word enacted through baptism and the Lord’s supper (Acts 2:41-47)?

O that Amos’ dreadful curse would be lifted from our land, “a famine of hearing the words of the LORD” (Amos 8:11).  O that we not let the world dupe us with inferior, digital substitutes for the real thing.  Who would have thought, even 18 months ago, that we would be debating something as basic as whether Christians should go to church or not?

Though painful, we praise God for how He has used Covid to purify and strengthen Christ’s Body, to expose our fears, our shockingly low views of the Church and of Christ’s lordship, and our idols of safetyism and statism, so that we will worship Him alone.  “Speak O Lord”, your servants are listening (1 Sam. 3:10).  Teach us all You would have us to learn through these fiery trials – help us wherever we need to repent and obey Your holy Word.  O jealous and pure Husband, do whatever it takes to make us Your pure and spotless Bride, ready for Your return!

In Part 1, we sought biblical answers to these three questions:

(1) Why meet ‘illegally’?

(2) Why no livestream, ‘on-line’ church?

(3) Should we meet publicly or not?

Now let’s round the back half of this journey with the remaining three questions:

4. Does it matter if lockdowns are persecuting/targeting Christians or not?

Let’s answer again with another question, ‘How does that make any difference in whether we obey the highest Government and most supreme Court of Christ our Lord and King when He commands us to gather in worship?’  Whether churches are banned by indiscriminate tyranny or discriminate persecution, we “must obey God rather than man” in either case.  Since when did Christians wait until it was obvious persecution before obeying Christ?  The Church is usually persecuted because she is already obeying Christ.

In fact, that’s the definition of persecution: “if anyone suffers as a Christian” (1 Pet. 414-16), i.e., any time that obeying Jesus gets you in trouble with the authorities.  Is going to church not obeying Jesus?  “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness” (Matt. 5:10).  Isn’t it right that I “not forsake the assembling together” (Heb. 10:25)?  If the state criminalises that, how is it not persecution, regardless of how they treat other religions?  Make sure your definition of persecution is not more narrow than God’s definition, when His Word clearly broadens it to “all kinds” of persecution (Matt. 5:11).

Here in South Africa, government has hardly been playing fair, with a total ban on churches while crowded airplanes, taxis, buses, mines, malls, shops and businesses, restaurants and gyms carry on (as we believe they should); not to mention mass political rallies and protests.[iii]  Caesar’s theology is again obvious – making money is essential, not caring for souls or worshipping God.  Secularism says “this age” is all that matters (seculum, in Latin, where “secular” comes from); there is no unseen, spiritual or eternal realm, because there is no God (Ps. 14:1; Prov. 1:7).  The world deems many other risks acceptable for personal, temporal benefit; but it is unacceptable risk to gather for the worship of Almighty God, Maker of heaven and earth?  If you can go to work and/or to the shops, why not to church?  Christians dare not conform to “the spirit of this age” (Rom. 12:1-2).

Consider also:  we hate all forms of evil and tyranny, not just against churches (Prov. 8:13; Ps. 97:10; Rom. 12:9; Amos 5:15).  Since when did this become a Sunday-only debate?  We should also support business owners on Monday-Saturday who believe that God’s Word requires civil disobedience of them too, defying unconstitutional lockdowns for the sake of putting bread on the table for their family and employees (1 Tim. 5:8).  Lockdowns are a gross human rights violation; they are super-spreaders of oppression, death, despair, economic collapse, delayed immunity and prolonged health risk.[iv] More and more evidence is proving that lockdowns don’t work, they destroy.[v]  Are we then surprised at resulting riots and protests of angry, desperate people?

Yet we have become complacent about all the liberties we’ve enjoyed in the West.  We’ve raised Christians who will not resist tyranny because they cannot even recognise or define it.  Scripture speaks about the tyranny, or “cruel dominion”, of sin (Rom. 6:18,22).[vi]  The Bible and history tell the bloody tale of both individuals, groups, and the masses abusing power over others.  In the words of James Madison (one of America’s founding fathers): “The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands…may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny.”[vii]  And our Protestant forefather and the reformer, John Knox of Scotland, famously declared, “Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God.”[viii]

We know that behind all worship bans is our archenemy himself, Satan, the supreme tyrant.  Regardless of whatever reasons the state gives for lockdowns, we know that any obstacle to the gathering of God’s people originates in the Devil himself (1 Thess. 2:18; 3:5).  As Spurgeon stated, “Satan always hates Christian fellowship; it is his policy to keep Christians apart.  Anything which can divide saints from one another he delights in.”[ix]  Or in the words of R.C. Sproul:

The church is the most important organization in the world. It is the target of every demonic, hostile attack in the universe. Jesus personally guaranteed that the gates of hell will never prevail against the church. He made no guarantee that the gates of hell would not be unleashed against it, however.[x]

Tell me Satan does not have the church in his crosshairs when our government Health Department recently sent out this notice to health workers:  “…unrepentant behavioural patterns such as social gatherings remain a recipe for disaster and should be discouraged at all costs”.  To which God says, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil” (Isa. 5:20).  Don’t you see it?  Government is rebuking worshippers for not repenting of their churchgoing!  But how do I repent for obeying God’s Law instead of breaking it?  May Christ our Captain strengthen us to stand against every demonic scheme to use an anti-church virus to scatter Jesus’ blood-bought sheep.

5. By gathering are we denying the reality & risk of Covid and minimizing all the pain & loss (and harming our Christian witness)?

Right now, in our province of South Africa, everybody knows someone who has died of Covid in the last month.  No one is debating the deadliness of this virus, or the terrible way its victims die, or the immense strain on hospitals and healthcare workers.  Every church has had a funeral, every workplace a tragedy, every family affected, some severely.

I recently attended a gut-wrenching funeral for a dear brother in Christ in the prime of life and ministry, leaving behind a wife and two young children.  As we buried him at West Park cemetery, I noticed many other fresh graves – a sobering reminder of our mortality and of the ravages of Covid.  The question is not the grim reality of Covid; it is only about the best solutions and right response.[xi]

But here’s a common question:  ‘Are we being a bad example of the gospel by putting lives at risk in our church gatherings?’  But in light of our answers to questions #1-2 above, it should be clear that we believe not assembling would be disobedience to Christ.  When does He ask us to reach a lost world by disobeying Him?  And His “first and greatest commandment” is not loving our neighbour; that is second to loving our God wholeheartedly (Matt. 22:34-40), by obeying His commands and doing what pleases Him.

How does the world know that we are Christ’s disciples?  By our “love for one another”, even more than our love for outsiders (Jn. 13:35).  We should not expect that the world will understand that our highest good is not physical safety, that we are not paralysed by the fear of death, and that we are fervent in our love for one another (1 Pet. 1:22; 1 Jn. 3:1; 1 Cor. 2:14; Heb. 2:15).  The world will always accuse and slander believers; but we can have a clear conscience if we are doing what is right in God’s eyes – whether it be Sunday worship or any Christian fellowship, hospitality, or good works (1 Pet. 2:18-20; 4:14-16,19; Acts 2:42-47; 1 Pet. 4:9; Tit. 2:14; 3:14).

Since when did compassion for the sick equal isolation from other believers, when prayer, worship, comfort and the human touch are most needed?  Only a post-Christian, godless society could invent such cruel therapy.  We have two whole chapters in the Bible calling for a quarantine of the sick, but never of the healthy (Lev. 13-14).  The more burdens, the more need to “bear one another’s burdens, and thus fulfil the law of Christ” (Gal. 6:2).

It is slanderous to falsely accuse anyone of being ‘a Covid denier’ or ‘Covidiot’ or ‘conspiracy theorist’ simply when they don’t agree with the exalted experts, mainstream solutions, and government responses.  Open debate and constructive disagreement over lockdowns and protocols is one thing; denouncing others as heartless ‘Grandma-killers’ is another.[xii]

Christians are welcome to defend state lockdowns, protocols, and church shutdowns, if they believe there are good and godly reasons to do so.  Their church will answer to God for how they’ve handled this crisis, and so will we.  Out of Christian love and conviction, we may try and zealously (and graciously) persuade one another of our position, when so much is at stake.

Speaking of which, here are a few sources that our own church elders have found proven and credible over the past 16 months, in bringing us to an anti-lockdown position of focused protection for the vulnerable, instead of shutting down society.  (Note, these are helpful medically, scientifically, economically & politically; see above for theological sources already recommended.):

https://www.pandata.org/time-to-reopen-society/

https://www.pandata.org/covid-and-the-clash-of-ideologies/

https://gbdeclaration.org/

https://swprs.org/

https://www.aier.org/

https://sovereignnations.com/

As God’s people, we serve a “God of truth”, and are followers of Truth incarnate, and are led by His “Spirit of truth” (Ps. 31:5; Jn. 14:6; 16:13).  Only His Word is perfect, infallible truth.  But we then measure all things by this biblical standard of truth, we stand for truth in every realm, and we oppose all lies, wherever we find them – theologically, scientifically, politically or anywhere.

Churches should surely allow for a wide range of consciences and convictions on matters of personal healthcare (Rom. 14-15; 1 Cor. 8,10).  Who cannot sympathise with older folk who fear gathering when at the peak of another Covid wave?  Yet such isolation from worship and fellowship should not be indefinite.  And often, when vulnerable people are weaned off of the mainstream panic narrative and taught further facts about the virus, they may find ways to return to church sooner rather than later.

6. Should I get the vaccine; or is it the mark of the beast?

This question may not be as decisive in whether a church gathers or not; but it is a volatile issue dividing churches, and all of society.  In our church for many months we’ve taught about the three biblical spheres of God-given authority:  the family, church, and state, each with their own assigned jurisdiction.[xiii]  We’ve held that mask-wearing and social distancing is a personal health decision, outside of both state and church authority.  The vaccine choice then falls under this same family sphere.  You don’t need Caesar, or the pastor, to decide what vitamins you take, or how warmly to dress in the winter or how cool in the summer.

At the same time, since it is widely known that the vaccines are a rushed, new technology, not yet undergoing the same rigorous trials as previous vaccines, we recommend these three crucial steps:

1. Consult your doctor as to the potential pros and cons for your particular health profile. Consider also seeking a 2^nd opinion.[xiv]

2. Do your homework and research to ensure best stewardship of your bodily “temple” the Lord has entrusted to you (1 Cor. 6:19). Examine also the adverse outcomes of the vaccine being reported around the world, and the benefits of natural immunity.[xv]

3. As with all the Christian life, examine your motive for taking or not taking the vaccines (Prov. 4:23): Is it only medical?  Is it caving into social pressure?  Is it job security?  Coercion by government, employers or social memberships of any kind is wrong and tyrannical.[xvi]  As with masks, the vaccine has become another pillar of the new moralism and virtue-signalling, all in the name of the public good: ‘I didn’t get the jab for myself, but to protect others.’  In every age, the Church must be vigilant against all manmade forms of self-righteousness and extra-biblical spirituality (Matt. 15:1-20; Col. 2:16-23; Gal. 3:3; 4:8-11; 5:1-26; 6:12-15).

No, the vaccine is not the “mark of the beast” (666) in Revelation 13, that sign of loyalty to Antichrist’s kingdom.[xvii]  Christians should not fear that “666” will be some accidental allegiance they are tricked into accepting, without knowing it or being able to reverse it.  Satan and his antichrist empire will be very deceitful, and many false converts and pretend believers will fall; but God’s faithful will “endure to the end” and not be overcome (Mk 13:13; Rev. 12:11; 13:10,18).

Getting the ‘Covid jab’ is not the beast’s mark; but it could become the beast’s tool.[xviii]  The Church must stay alert against tyrannical coercion and persecution, and never compromise.[xix]  It is no virtue to be blindly naïve about evil agendas and destructive ideologies.[xx]  But we must also be “diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace”, and guard against any violation of Christian liberty and the freedom of each believer to act according to his/her own conscience in these grey areas (Eph. 4:1-6; Rom. 14-15:13; 1 Cor. 8-10).  Disagreement over non-essentials is a great opportunity to manifest the Holy Spirit’s supernatural fruit of Christian love and tolerance toward one another (Gal. 5:22-23; Col. 3:12-15).

Conclusion

No one loves His Church more than her Head who gave His life to save us, whose Father sent Him to redeem us, and whose Holy Spirit indwells us.  May our faithful Lord use these six answers to exalt His name, preserve His Church, and advance His gospel.  If ever there was a time our dying world needs to hear God’s life-giving Word proclaimed by His Church, it is now.  We must not be silenced!

Aren’t you grateful that our God can always be trusted, no matter what?  He is the ‘Christ of the Crises’, the Lord of the wind and the waves (Mk. 4:35-41; 6:47-50).  Beneath all of the above questions about whether we should go to church or not lurks a deeper, underlying question:  ‘Can I trust God with my doubts and fears?’

As we stand for truth and continue in the clear path of biblical duty, we can be assured that He will prove faithful to provide for us and our loved ones, as He always has.  Our God does not need my scheming or my anxieties to plan for every contingency before I take any risks in obeying Him.  Our Lord Jesus truly declared:

If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.  For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. (Mk. 8:34-35)

As Mary Moffat of Kuruman once testified, after all the dangers they faced serving the Lord for 52 years in the Northern Cape (of South Africa): ‘My Lord was better to me than all my fears.’  His absolute promise still stands: “My God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Php. 4:19).

O Church arise and put your armour on
Hear the call of Christ our Captain;
For now the weak can say that they are strong
In the strength that God has given. (Getty)

[i] Matt. 18:15-20; 1 Cor. 5:4; Psalm 84

[ii] Yesterday’s news gave this honest example of the world crying out for the hope found only in Christ and His Church:  “I have spent the last 22 days in a Covid quagmire. My 17 year old daughter was in and out fairly quickly, I had it fairly mildly, but my husband has been slaying the Covid pneumonia dragon and only emerged today. He still has a long road to go. I feel we are asking the wrong questions and paying attention to the wrong things. Arguments about ivermectin, prednisone, vaccines seem less important when you’re fighting for your life. Covid is calling us to account: how we live, how we spend our time, what’s important. That is a question that must be asked by each person on the planet. As my husband’s breathing eased this morning, I sank to my knees and wept and searched my heart so that this terrifying experience does not go to waste. What did I want to let go? What is important and deserves attention? …let’s not waste the opportunity.” (https://us5.campaign-archive.com/?e=0e9e4f933e&u=1eb94755813093b86cb8f73be&id=4a7d51c86f)

[iii] https://joynews.co.za/churches-remain-shut-while-anc-eff-defy-lockdown-rules/.  Yet as of last night, it appears some of our religious freedoms are being restored for now, thankfully:  https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2021-07-14-government-lifts-ban-on-large-gatherings-in-bid-to-quell-unrest/

[iv] https://www.amazon.com/UNREPORTED-TRUTHS-ABOUT-COVID-19-LOCKDOWNS/dp/1953039103/ ; https://www.amazon.com/Liberty-Lockdown-Jeffrey-Tucker/dp/1630692123/; https://www.amazon.com/Price-Panic-Tyranny-Pandemic-Catastrophe/dp/B08G1Y764G/; https://www.amazon.com/State-Fear-government-weaponised-Covid-19-ebook/dp/B08ZSYN14J/; https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/08/new-zealand-children-falling-ill-in-high-numbers-due-to-covid-immunity-debt

[v] A recent study looking at 43 countries plus all 50 states in the USA concluded:  “We failed to find that countries/states that implemented SIP (shelter-in-place) policies earlier, and in which SIP policies had longer to operate, had lower excess deaths than countries/states that were slower to implement SIP policies. We also failed to observe differences in excess death trends before and after the implementation of SIP policies based on pre-SIP COVID-19 death rates.” (https://www.nber.org/papers/w28930) See also: https://www.pandata.org/lockdowns-dont-work-why/; https://www.biznews.com/undictated/2021/03/30/covid-19-lockdown-panda; https://www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m4263

https://www.conservativewoman.co.uk/covid-start-at-the-beginning-and-question-everything/

[vi] https://biblehub.com/topical/t/tyranny.htm

[vii] https://www.pbs.org/tpt/constitution-usa-peter-sagal/we-the-people/separation-of-powers/

[viii] https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/135100-resistance-to-tyranny-is-obedience-to-god.  “Tyrants seek control, but apathetic citizenries allow it. Tyranny is only the victor when the citizenry abdicates the freedom they fail to cherish. Or perhaps they do cherish their freedom but are simply too naïve to see the preface of tyranny right in front of them.” (https://www.standingforfreedom.com/2021/07/05/proclaiming-liberty-with-the-reverberating-courage-of-our-founders/)

[ix] https://www.spurgeon.org/resource-library/sermons/satanic-hindrances/#flipbook/

[x] https://www.ligonier.org/blog/great-quotes-renewing-your-mind/

[xi] https://www.pandata.org/south-african-er-and-third-wave/

[xii] God’s Word forbids us from “bearing false witness” against others (Exod. 20:16; 23:1,7).  This sin of slander should not be named among God’s people (Lev. 19:16; Ps. 101:5; Prov. 10:18; Col. 3:8; Eph. 4:31; Jam. 4:11).

[xiii] For further explanation, see here:  https://www.gracechurch.org/cantrell/posts/2127

[xiv] For the vaccine: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/covid-vaccine-christian-unity/; Against the vaccine:  https://www.deconstructingconventional.com/post/18-reason-i-won-t-be-getting-a-covid-vaccine

[xv] “The human immune system is one of the most sophisticated achievements…. The survival of our species has depended on it for millennia. And today, we are still very much relying on it. For the record, 99% of people infected with SARS-CoV-2 recover without treatment. Only 1% of SARS-CoV-2 patients, who did not receive early home-based treatment, end up hospitalised. In other words, the immune system overwhelmingly protects. Even vaccines depend entirely on the immune system: vaccines essentially teach our immune systems what viral markers to be prepared for, they are not cures per se. Without a functional immune system, there can be no effective vaccine.”

(https://www.pandata.org/should-covid-recovered-take-vaccine/)

See also:  https://www.biznews.com/health/2021/06/28/covid-19-vaccine-immunity

https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-to-end-lockdowns-next-month-11608230214?reflink=desktopwebshare_twitter

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.04.20.21255670v1

https://gbdeclaration.org/frequently-asked-questions/

https://www.pandata.org/you-asked-we-answered/ (see helpful section on vaccines)

https://swprs.org/covid-vaccines-deaths/

[xvi] Benjamin Franklin said, “Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”(https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/140634-those-who-would-give-up-essential-liberty-to-purchase-a).  We face the potential for gross abuses of authority and violation of human rights and civil liberties through vaccine passports, medical apartheid, etc. See also:  https://www.newsafrica.net/world/vaccine-passports-a-ticket-to-apartheid-and-racism; https://www.wsj.com/articles/declining-a-covid-19-vaccine-risks-penalties-in-some-countries-11613998997

[xvii] https://www.gty.org/library/bibleqnas-library/QA0174/what-is-the-mark-of-the-beast

https://www.crossway.org/articles/what-is-the-mark-of-the-beast-revelation-13/

[xviii] From a Bulgarian living under a communist regime:  “You cannot understand and you cannot know that the most terrible instrument of persecution ever devised is an innocent ration card. You cannot buy and you cannot sell except according to that little, innocent card. If they please, you can be starved to death, and if they please, you can be dispossessed of everything you have; for you cannot trade, and you cannot buy and you cannot sell, without permission.” (W. A. Criswell, Expository Sermons on Revelation, 4:120–21).

Just announced in France two days ago by their president (12 July 2021):  “The unvaccinated will bear the brunt of the restrictions rather than everyone…from the beginning of August, the vax pass will be needed for coffee shops, restaurants, supermarkets, hospitals, trains, buses etc…” (https://twitter.com/EmmanuelMacron). See this point-by-point, medical refutation of the French’s president’s unfounded claims:  https://www.francesoir.fr/videos-les-debriefings/analyse-des-assertions-scientifiques-macron-mccullough#.YO_T0DzPNU4.twitter

In the USA, see trends here:  https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2021/07/13/sebelius-unvaccinated-americans-should-not-be-allowed-to-work-have-access-to-children/

[xix] “So is there something special about Covid-19 that justifies the unusual authoritarian step of making vaccination mandatory? No….” (https://www.aier.org/article/externality-is-no-good-excuse-for-mandatory-vaccination/)

[xx] As the GCC elders state:  “Scripture says, ‘the whole world lies in the power of the evil one’ (1 John 5:19). That refers, of course, to Satan. John 12:31 and 16:11 call him ‘the ruler of this world,’ meaning he wields power and influence through this world’s political systems (cf. Luke 4:6; Ephesians 2:2; 6:12). Jesus said of him, ‘he is a liar and the father of lies’ (John 8:44). History is full of painful reminders that government power is easily and frequently abused for evil purposes. Politicians may manipulate statistics and the media can cover up or camouflage inconvenient truths. So a discerning church cannot passively or automatically comply if the government orders a shutdown of congregational meetings—even if the reason given is a concern for public health and safety.” (https://www.gty.org/library/blog/B200723) See also:

https://sovereignnations.com/2020/10/20/great-reset-world-leaders-harness-covid-pursue-sinister-climate-agenda/

https://intelligence.weforum.org/

https://www.aier.org/article/whats-up-with-the-great-reset/

By Tim Cantrell, Antioch Bible Church, Sr. Pastor
Johannesburg, South Africa
July 2021

More waves and variants of Covid, more lockdowns, and more bans on churches – all of these beg for more biblical teaching and wise counsel for confused saints.  Our country is in flames, and yet churches are shut down?  When our nation most needs prayer, houses of prayer are bolted shut?  As the darkness deepens and the light of Christ is most needed, church lampstands are snuffed out (Rev. 1:20)?!  What happened to not hiding our light under a bushel (Matt. 5:14-16)?

One of our seminary faculty and a fellow pastor, David de Bruyn, back in January predicted well our current situation:

…The difficulty we are going to face in the coming months, and maybe even years, is that as wave after wave of the virus comes our way, the government may keep banning religious gatherings….  We cannot live through another year where we are tossed to and fro by every announcement coming from Pretoria. At least one thing needs to remain certain in our lives, and that is our covenant with Christ and His people. We need the rock-solid pillar of the church, the pillar and ground of the truth (1 Tim. 3:15), not the shifting sands of whatever happens with Covid-19.[i]

From a pastor’s heart, here are biblical answers to six burning questions so that we don’t disassemble what God has assembled (over a two-part series):

(1) Why meet ‘illegally’?

(2) Why no livestream, ‘on-line’ church?

(3) Should we meet publicly or not?

(4) Does it matter if lockdowns are persecuting/targeting Christians or not?

(5) By meeting, are we denying the reality & risk of Covid and minimizing all the pain & loss (and harming our Christian witness)?

(6) Should I get the vaccine? Or is it the ‘mark of the beast’?

1. Why meet ‘illegally’?

Like our Lord, let’s answer that question with another question, from Christ Himself to Peter and to us all, “But who do you say that I am?” (Mk 8:29).  Here’s a clear answer from the opening lines of Grace Community Church’s elders 2020 statement (in Sun Valley, California):

Christ is Lord of all. He is the one true head of the church (Eph.1:22; 5:23; Col. 1:18). He is also King of kings—sovereign over every earthly authority (1 Tim. 6:15; Rev. 17:14; 19:16). GCC has always stood immovably on those biblical principles. As His people, we are subject to His will and commands as revealed in Scripture. Therefore we cannot and will not acquiesce to a government-imposed moratorium on our weekly congregational worship or other regular corporate gatherings. Compliance would be disobedience to our Lord’s clear commands.[ii]

The Church cannot have two sovereigns.  What does our Lord command as Head of His Church?  From Mt. Sinai to Pentecost and the early church, God made it very clear that He requires His people to gather and worship Him at least once a week. (See: Exod. 20:1-11; Heb. 10:24-25; Acts 2:42-47).  When our government contradicts this command by forbidding gathering, it is stepping out of its jurisdiction.

Thankfully, we live in a constitutional democracy here in South Africa.  We still have the chance to prove in court that the temporary public health orders (or martial law, emergency regulations, etc.) are actually illegal according to our Constitution, and Christians who are practicing their religion are upholding the highest law of the land, which recognizes our basic human right to freedom of religion (see Section 15 in our Bill of Rights, and Section 31 in our Constitution).  But whether gathering is legal or illegal, it is essential.

As Owen Strachan writes:

We need church. Embodied congregational worship of Christ is essential–in all seasons. Should we be wise, and thoughtful, and even careful? Yes we should. Wisdom is not the enemy of divine commands, however. We modern Christians may have many “options” regarding whether we go to church or not, but outside of serious health concerns (and even possibly including them on a case-by-case basis), we do not have the “option” of skipping congregational worship.

There have been times in history when churches have been unable to meet because of a plague.  But to this day, there is still no scientific proof that the pandemic is driven by asymptomatic spread and super-spreader events.[iii]  There is no evidence that church services cannot be held without effective safety measures.  Love compels us to care for the whole person, body and soul; but the first duty of the Church is to rescue souls from the worst dangers of all, which are of eternal consequence – the world, the flesh, and the devil (1 Jn. 2:15-17; Eph. 2:1-3; 6:10-12, etc.).  The job of the shepherd is to gather, not to scatter the sheep (Jer. 23; Jn. 10; Acts 20:18-35; 1 Pet. 5:1-4).

As the GCC elder’s statement goes on to say:

          The church by definition is an assembly. …A non-assembling assembly is a contradiction in terms. Christians are therefore commanded not to forsake the practice of meeting together (Heb. 10:25)—and no earthly state has a right to restrict, delimit, or forbid the assembling of believers. We have always supported the underground church in nations where Christian congregational worship is deemed illegal by the state.

Christians should indeed be the best citizens of the state, true “salt” and “light” in the most dark and decaying cultures (Matt. 5:13-16).  That means our default position is one of submitting to God by our civil obedience to government (Rom. 13:1-7; 1 Pet. 2:13-17).  But when the state asks us to do what Scripture forbids, or forbids from doing what Scripture requires, we must “obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).

Covid lockdowns have converted modern Christians to the age-old lie of statism, with its slogan: ‘The State gives, the State takes away, blessed be the name of the State’ (contra Job 1:21).  For more on this subject, and the correct use of Romans 13, see my essay here: https://www.gracechurch.org/cantrell/posts/2127  (“When to Disobey: A Theology of Resistance for Reluctant Protestants”).

Praise God for the brave examples of our brothers (and sisters) in Canada. May their tribe increase!  Watch their story here; your church or mine could be next: https://www.jccf.ca/the-government-war-on-worship/.[iv]

2. Why no livestream, ‘on-line church’?

Answer:  Because there is no such thing, despite all of today’s digital delusions, ‘technopoly’, and Big Tech takeover. [v]  It is an oxymoron (as stated above) to speak of a separated gathering, an isolated assembly.  How about a virtual honeymoon for the newlyweds?  That’s why our church cannot offer ‘virtual communion’; because in 1 Cor. 11, four times Paul states that the Lord’s Supper is a church ordinance for “when you come together”, not for private participation.  And in 1 Thess. 2-3, Paul is emphatic about the need for “face to face” fellowship.[vi]

Biblical Christianity is incarnational; all else is false religion.  We worship an incarnate Lord, the eternal Word who “became flesh and dwelt among us” (Jn 1:14).  And so His means of grace to us are also incarnational and ‘enfleshed’, not pixelated.  God has uniquely made His image-bearers to be body-and-soul creatures.  As de Bruyn warns:

Screens have colonized us.  And it appears that Christianity…has likewise been screenified.  It is primarily a debate over what a fully human Christianity is.  It is the Christian view of the body that is behind these debates. …does ‘virtual’ presence still constitute a true, human presence? …the images might be ‘live’, but they are not living. …worship is more than communication; it is the communion of living persons with one another.[vii]

Many of us as pastors/elders had to learn this lesson the hard way last year, seeing how on-line ministry (despite the best motives) becomes a dangerous crutch and convenient excuse.  Saints form bad spiritual habits that are hard to break, depriving them of the love, care and accountability they need, and that their church family needs from them.

We have also seen the benefits of the flock not having the livestream option, bringing greater incentive and a warm invitation to return to in-person fellowship.  What a joyful reunion it has been each time to welcome our dear brothers and sisters back!  No wonder the New Testament puts such a high premium on affectionate Christian greetings (Rom. 16; 1 Cor. 16:19-20, etc.).

3. Should we meet publicly or not?

I wish this were the bigger debate among Christians – not about if we should obey Christ, but where and how.  Here is a genuine area of Christian freedom and godly wisdom in how we apply biblical principle, as summed up in Jesus’ command:  “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves” (Matt. 10:16).

We must carefully weigh up many factors, such as:  the legal recourse and avenues available (e.g., a constitutional democracy vs. a communist state); the visibility of a church’s location; the extent of police threat; the spiritual needs and maturity of a church flock at that time; the godly consensus of a church’s elders; number of people gathering; other available venues, and their location, capacity and ventilation, etc.

In God’s Word, there are times we are told to “flee to the mountains”, to avoid danger, to find safe refuge from physical harm (Mk. 13:14; Prov. 22:3; 27:12).  But there are other times we are called to “stand”, to face the enemy head on, to lay down our lives (Mk. 8:34-38; Jn. 15:18-20; Acts 5:41; 1 Pet. 4:12-19; 2 Tim. 3:12; Heb. 10:32-34; 13:13; Rev. 12:11).

Rightly do we admire the open defiance of Daniel and his three friends against the self-worship and idolatry of Nebuchadnezzar, with Daniel deliberately praying by his open window (Dan. 3, 6).  Yet the early church often hid in the Roman catacombs so that their meetings would not be interrupted, to preach the gospel, expound Scripture, practice the ordinances, bring comfort, love one another, and prepare Christ’s soldiers for persecution.  Church history is also full of accounts of underground weddings and funerals amidst state persecution.  This was one reason that churches owned their own graveyards for centuries.

In a country like South Africa, if more churches would unite together to stand up for our religious liberties and against government overreach, it would be impossible for the police to arrest all the worshippers or even disburse all the services.  However, those committed to meeting are a tiny minority, so we have no such strength in numbers.

The Scottish Covenanters would meet secretly out in the moors and highlands.  When these underground meetings were found out, Christians courageously faced their persecutors, like our Lord in Gethsemane when He prayed to be spared yet rose to meet His betrayer and the police (Mk. 12:43ff).  Our Lord especially promises to give us wisdom for such decisions, and the words to speak as we bear witness for Him before our foes (Jm. 1:5-8; Matt. 10:16-20).

Join me next time as we tackle the three remaining questions.

[i] https://www.gracechurch.org/cantrell/posts/2127

[ii] https://www.gty.org/library/blog/B200723

[iii] https://www.pandata.org/are-asymptomatics-sick-until-proven-healthy/  https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2774102   https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/02/paper-non-symptomatic-patient-transmitting-coronavirus-wrong ; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7219423/#

[iv] Another Canadian pastor warns: “Based upon the logic I’ve heard from other pastors over the past 15 months, if experts & elected officials declare Climate Change a global emergency, pastors will close their churches again.” https://twitter.com/DrAaronRock

[v] As Neil Postman warned way back in 1993, in his book, Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology: “The uncontrolled growth of technology destroys the vital sources of our humanity. It creates a culture without a moral foundation. It undermines certain mental processes and social relations that make human life worth living.”

[vi] See my sermon here:  https://youtu.be/fzQ5Pf45Lsc (“Face to Face:  Against Disembodied Christianity”)

[vii] See de Bruyn’s helpful three-part series here:  https://religiousaffections.org/articles/articles-on-church/let-us-break-bread-together-on-our-screens/; https://religiousaffections.org/articles/articles-on-church/disembodied-christianity/; https://religiousaffections.org/articles/articles-on-church/live-images-are-not-living-persons/

Here is the article that I referred to at the Shepherds’ Conference this past weekend.

https://lukefourteenthirtythree.wordpress.com/2009/04/21/the-almost-inevitable-ruin-of-every-minister-and-how-to-avoid-it-by-don-whitney/