From the TeachingtheWord Bible Knowledgebase

We must recognize that the Bible lost its rightful place in society because it first lost its rightful place in the church. The new hate crime law is a downstream effect of that long-standing sin. First of all, the church must repent of its own sin against God and His Word. Secondly, we cannot be silent in the face of evil.

On October 28, 2009, President Barack Hussein Obama signed legislation that could well lead to the arrest and imprisonment of ministers and other church leaders who do nothing more than preach the Bible's teachings against sexual immorality. The new law broadens the definition of federal hate crimes to include attacks based on so-called sexual orientation and gender identity. It is a clear threat to the freedom to preach Biblical truth generally, and to the preaching of the Gospel, which is rooted in God's moral law, specifically.

The new law makes it a federal crime to "attack" someone because of the person's "sexual orientation" or "gender identity." In other words, the legislation makes homosexuals and other sexual perverts a specially-protected class of citizens in the United States. The House of Representatives rejected an amendment specifically exempting pedophiles from protection under the new statute. Legal experts who have evaluated this legislation say that an "attack" would not need to be physical, but only "psychological" - reading and expositing the Bible's declarations against sexual immorality from the pulpit, for example - to be considered a violation of the newly-signed law.

Furthermore, if a person charged with a crime under this law can assert that he was "induced" to commit his "crime" by the speech of someone else - such as a pastor, an elder, a deacon, or a Sunday school teacher; or by literature published or used by a church or religious organization - that church leader or organization could be prosecuted as a criminal co-conspirator alongside the alleged "perpetrator."

Violations of this law are punishable by criminal fines as well as imprisonment. These federal penalties are in addition to those imposed by state "hate crime" laws - and individuals and organizations could be prosecuted under both.

These things may alarm Scripture-driven Christians, but they should not surprise us. Our nation has been on the road to this kind of insanity for decades. Our Lord told His disciples that the rulers of this world "will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and �??�?�¯�??�?�»�??�?�¿prisons. �??�?�¯�??�?�»�??�?�¿You will be brought before kings and rulers �??�?�¯�??�?�»�??�?�¿�??�?�¯�??�?�»�??�?�¿for My name's sake. �??�?�¯�??�?�»�??�?�¿But �??�?�¯�??�?�»�??�?�¿�??�?�¯�??�?�»�??�?�¿it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony" (Luke 21:12-13). The time may soon be at hand when Christ's true disciples in this nation will experience the same thing.

Jesus said, "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you" (Matthew 5:10-12). The Apostle Paul told Timothy that "all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution" (2 Timothy 3:12). But the persecutions of the American church over the last 400 years have been mild in comparison to what may be coming very soon.

Christians, what must we do?

First of all, we need to repent of our sins and beg God's mercy upon us. �??�?�¯�??�?�»�??�?�¿"The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry. �??�?�¯�??�?�»�??�?�¿The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. The righteous cry out, and �??�?�¯�??�?�»�??�?�¿the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles. �??�?�¯�??�?�»�??�?�¿The Lord is near �??�?�¯�??�?�»�??�?�¿to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as �??�?�¯�??�?�»�??�?�¿�??�?�¯�??�?�»�??�?�¿have a contrite spirit. �??�?�¯�??�?�»�??�?�¿Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all" (Psalm 34:15-19). The principal sin of the church is that it has marginalized the Bible. The Bible lost its rightful place in society because it first lost its rightful place in the church. The new hate crime law is a downstream effect of that long-standing sin. The church of Jesus Christ must once again become the Scripture-driven church. God's inspired, inerrant Word must be our sole authority, and our infallible critic, in every area of life and ministry.

Secondly, we cannot keep silent. Christ's true ministers and Christ's true Church cannot and must not shrink from preaching the Gospel in its fullness, and that means preaching against sin in every form, and pointing all men to the path of righteousness. To become silent in the face of the threats of men would be an offense against Christ and a denial of the Gospel. The rulers of Israel commanded the apostles not to preach Christ's doctrine in the days after Pentecost. But we read in Acts chapter 5 that "Peter and the other apostles answered and said, 'We ought to obey God rather than men'. . . And [after they had been beaten by their rulers] they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ" (Acts 5:29, 41-42).

Thirdly, as Christian citizens, even in a nation whose government has gone mad, it is our privilege and duty to contact our representatives and senators and make sure they know that we oppose what they are doing. We urge you to fulfill that responsibility. And pray that God will raise up men who can be elected to our national, state, and local governments to help reverse the tide of moral insanity. Perhaps God would have some who are reading this to be among those men.

Finally, please pray for TeachingTheWord, and for other churches, pastors, and ministries that are continuing to proclaim the whole counsel of God without compromise or apology. Pray that we shall remain faithful, that we shall continue to proclaim the truth no matter what the cost. Pray also that you as an individual will remain faithful to the truth. The Lord has called us, as He called Jeremiah, to "Declare among the nations, proclaim, and set up a standard; proclaim - do not conceal it" (Jeremiah 50:2).

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