As we continue the burden of “Post America,” in the light of what President Obama desires for this country, it is evident that we are headed towards the restructuring of an America literally antithetical to what providence allowed to be born some three hundred years ago. Although there is continued debate of whether America was either a Christian nation or a God-fearing nation at its birth, our early history makes clear that the standard of reference was the Bible. …

It is that time of the year when the controversy over the celebration of Christmas arises from the ashes of history and tradition, often leaving a not-so-christmasy spirit in its wake. Sometimes the controversy is so pressed by a few individuals that it is made to be a fundamental doctrine of the Christian Faith, causing a breakage of fellowship among the brethren and engendering bitterness within the Body of Christ. It reminds us of the 1700s, when a variety of strong theological voices, which at times produced adamant and boisterous debates over theological matters, brought great animosity, hatred, and strife. …

In the last issue of Straightway, we presented the sobering reality that the Institutional Church of Western Civilization has now entered a “post” modernity having departed from the era of the “modern” church. The modern era began during seventeenth-century Rationalism and its by-product, the Enlightenment. It was an age where man looked within himself, drawing from reason and believing this was all that was necessary in order to live. Thus man, through his reason, was projected as being the measure of all things, needing no God and no revelation from God. …

Amidst the reality that Postmodernism is based upon the Existential philosophy, it is interesting to note that there are certain basics that seem to control churches that have joined this movement. To use the term “basics” or “principles” is an enigma for an existential church era that does not know where it is headed. The gurus for the Emerging Church movement have often viewed themselves as a Christopher Columbus with an unchartered course and an unknown future. They truly believe the global church must conform to the beliefs of the secular Postmodern Era. …

Callings in Scripture appear in a number of unique and specific contexts covering the lifetime of a Christian. There is the calling to God-consciousness that comes to a child early in life, gently echoing through a variety of circumstances appointed of the Lord. A definite call to “Come unto Me” is that calling which brings the soul to the threshold of the New Birth. As the Christian continues in his or her walk with God, there will be the commanding call, “For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness” (I Thessalonians 4:7). The Scriptures also declare callings to specific ministries for one’s life; these may include callings to be a pastor, preacher, teacher, missionary, or evangelist. …

During the early 1800’s as America passed from the blessings of the Second Great Awakening, a movement called Liberalism emerged out of the European Enlightenment birthing the “modern” era of Western Civilization. Born within the theological world of Protestantism in Germany, Liberalism began to pervade all of Western society’s Christianity. This openly antichrist, anti-God movement from within Christianity denounced the literality of the Scriptures and basically rejected all the cardinal doctrines of the historic Christian Faith. Not only were all the miracles of the Bible defamed as myths, but also the historicity of Jesus was strongly condemned. …

All human history is the result of what appears as tides, driftings, trends, turning points, catastrophes, and climaxes in time. Even the Bible records such tendencies. The tides and the driftings are most subtle, covering long segments of history which men do not readily discern. The trends are initiated by man with the hope to change current and contemporary history. But there are turning points, like awakenings and revivals, as well as the catastrophes and climaxes in history, which are often authored by God Himself. …

There have been certain generations in history where godliness and hunger for spirituality permeated the atmosphere of a society. This was evident when great awakenings were in their prime and revivals swept across communities. Such an atmosphere made it easier to live right, preach right, and stand for the right. Some years ago a friend showed me original newspapers from Wales printed during the Welsh revivals at the turn of the twentieth century. On the second page each day a large map of the country of Wales was published with shadings to show the spread of the revival throughout that country. By the time the move of God had made its impact in that country, all of its pubs were closed down. Yes, it would have been easy then to know a spiritual walk with God and to speak publicly and freely of His Word. …

When Christ came to earth He came through the Jewish line. The Bible emphatically declares Him to be the seed of Abraham and from David’s loins. His divine appointment by the Heavenly Father was that He would come to earth as a Jew and spend His life among the Jews of Palestine. He declared that salvation was of the Jew.

On rare occasions there were Gentiles with whom Jesus briefly associated: the Syrophenician woman, a Samaritan woman, and the Greeks who came to see Him. In John 10:16, He told the Jewish leaders, “And other sheep I have which are not of this fold: them also I must bring and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold and one shepherd.” This was a most unusual statement: “other sheep I have,” (in the present tense) though they had not come to know Him yet. …

In our previous Straightway article, we presented the historical background and philosophy of the quest for human “utopia” by men such as Cain, Nimrod, and later, Plato in his work Republic. In the last four hundred years, there has been a philosophical and ideological proclivity to sway the populace toward a dependence upon not only a state-controlled government but also, eventually, toward a global one. The twentieth century brought the powers of socialism and communism to the forefront in many countries; these countries were governed through the will of an individual or an elite, all-powerful body of rulers. Literary writings have increasingly called for all mankind to submit to its societal unit, government, or State. Several of these literary writings have become the blueprint for that which we are presently confronting today, as evidenced in our own country’s ever-escalating submission to greater Federal control of its citizens. …

There are two approaches that must be taken concerning this subject of “religious correctness.” One is from the perspective of the State and the other from the perspective of the Church. In both categories the remnant of Christ living on the earth today will find itself isolated from society and the public church unless it is willing to conform to the “religious correctness” designated by each. …

As the United States escalates into a fast lane of dissolution and destruction, there is another debt far greater than the economic one we are facing, and it too will have its day of reckoning. This debt is the overwhelming, ever-increasing, eternal debt of our national sins. Our moral debt has risen to enormous and alarming proportions surpassing the staggering sins of past nations. …

This present article in Straightway is one of several articles that will unfold the end-time movement for the rise of the State over man through the oppressive powers of “political correctness” and the growing parallel ecumenical powers of the end time in “religious correctness.” The city (political) and the tower (religious) are to be built forcing all people of the world to come under the mighty arm of the State and its counterpart in religion. …

Fundamentalism as a movement has commenced a decline away from its legacy by entering the wide river of Neo-Evangelicalism. Considering the increased falling away in recent years, only a mighty revival from God will stop the demise of Fundamentalism. The music now coming from most schools which carry the banner of Fundamentalism verifies what my father announced over twelve years ago: “The battle against CCM has already been lost in Fundamentalism.”

We have witnessed in the past fifty years the public death of true Christianity in America; we are now witnessing the public dying of historic Fundamentalism. The potential public demise of historic Fundamentalism will be the product not only of its pulpits but also of its music, both of which have been crossing over into Neo-Evangelicalism. …

I continue to plead with all Christian composers, teachers, and pastors to return to a biblical philosophy for their music. Do not be pressed into accepting the contemporary styles of music which are becoming more and more the norm of the “specials” of many church services. It is alarming to hear the recordings released from a large number of our Fundamental colleges; many of the musical selections chosen are of a sound. It is a sedative to the soul and a slow but deliberate means for the heart’s assimilating of the world and the flesh. Unless the preachers stand up and clean out the contemporary song from both choir and congregation, all will be over for the spiritual soundness of our churches. Once the contemporary taste is in the heart, the return to a more excellent way will never be desired.

Things that may be “all right” sometimes lead to things that turn out to be “all wrong.” It is imperative that we, as the church of the Living Christ, choose between “good” and “best” rather than simply “good” and “evil”; for the best way is the safer way when time makes its mark on the matter.

Luke 2:7 states, “And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.” Ancient tradition places the birthplace of our Lord in a cave, for caves were used as stables in most countries with rocky terrain. The Greek word for inn is kataluma, denoting the simplest of inns. It is similar to a Syrian khan—a refuge from thieves, a shelter from the heat and dust, a place where a man and his beasts may lodge, where a trader may sell his wares, and a pilgrim may slake his thirst. However, in such inns the visitor had to do everything for himself.

At the time of this momentous event, the census for the taxation, people had filled the little town of Bethlehem occupying even the most inexpensive of inns. Thus a cave, a stables, an outhouse where waste was disposed of became the divinely appointed place for the Christ Child to be born on earth.

The Holy Spirit led the physician Luke to use this word kataluma, a lowly place that aptly depicts the humble life and death of Christ. The Gospel is heavily freighted with the truth of this word. Why did God pick a kataluma-type birth for His Son? If one reads the Bible with a prayerful heart, he will see that God has been working in the kataluma fashion since the foundation of the world. …

It is imperative that I establish several principles and convictions before presenting the music which is presently the mark of the Fundamentalists. Unless these matters are acknowledged, the content of this article will not be read with the proper heart and spirit. I am writing to my brethren, those with whom I have cast my lot, my companions in the battle against the apostasy. It is my prayer that the Holy Spirit will enable me to write with sanctified candor on the music found among my own people. …

A basic premise today is that those who are offended by a certain kind of music should not be judgmental of those whose “diet” is that certain music. Of course, the frequently used passage of I Corinthians 8 (the eating of meat) is drawn from to prove this point. But in our day and time, with compromise, sin, and error ever beating at our church doors, we must be very careful what we categorize in the “meat” department; for some, “meat” can be infected with spores of deadly bacteria simply by its close “association” with other meat that is spoiled. We can never use these passages to cover up for error and compromise. …

I live in the most deceptive generation of church history; signs, wonders, miracles, and works are all seen as from the Lord. Am I in a time of an awakening to God or a time of apostasy? Is Christ coming for His own, or is He not? Am I anticipating the imminent coming of my Lord, or do I know I have a good bit of time? Am I in the Tribulation Period or in the prelude of it? Is Christ coming to the clouds where I will meet Him, or is His next appearance to be at the Mount of Olives coming to fight the Battle of Armageddon? These and other questions are of great importance, for they will dictate how I will live, what I will preach, and how urgent my messages and prayer life will be. …

In our last article we established the need for a Christian to discern through the Scriptures the unique, peculiar generation in which he lives. In light of overcoming this untoward generation, we presented four main characteristics that must mark the fabric of preaching for this generation. In contrast, we must now consider the unique characteristics that will mark the generation just before the coming of the Lord. One must come to know these and to candidly confront them in order to protect his soul, his family, his church, his Christian school, and his ministry from being sucked into the vortex of these increasing and permeating corruptions of Truth. …