Denying the Greatest Event in the History of the World
The birth of Christ and His existence cannot be disputed—there is the evidence from the Bible, and also from other sources.Christianity for Skeptics, available from creation.com.”>6 Will Christmas be next? Don’t let it be so. As we approach the Advent, I encourage us all to be on the front foot in this battle. There has never been a better time to give a gift with real meaning, and which has a real basis in history unlike the modern BCE and CE attempts to deny it.
I’m not sure if you’ve noticed a quiet revolution taking place in most Western countries. For centuries, our calendar was based around the birth of Christ. The years before His birth were designated as BC (before Christ) and the years after His birth were designated AD (Latin meaning “Anno Domini” for “In the year of the Lord”).
But today, academics have adopted an alternative terminology. BC is instead BCE (before the Common Era), and AD is now CE (Common Era). The change started innocently enough. It goes back to the great creationist astronomer Johannes Kepler (1571–1650): annus aerae nostrae vulgaris (year of our vulgar [i.e. common] era) to distinguish it from the regnal year: the number of years of a monarch’s reign. Some English publications in the 18th and 19th centuries used “Vulgar Era” or “Common Era” to reinforce the fact that our calendar centered on Christ. Another reason is that Christ was likely born several years “BC”,1 so “Common Era” was used for normal dates while distinguishing it from the true year of birth.2 Then some 19th-century Jewish history books used the term, sometimes said to stand for “Current Era” or even “Christian Era”. Some non-Christians today even object to BCE/CE as colonialist imposition, because it still implies that the calendar depends on Christ’s birth.
Hypocritical Irony!
In the last half century or so, the change has been pushed in the halls of academia. Academics know that students and children are more likely to be turned away from the beliefs and traditions of the past, including their parents’ views, if they can erase Christian thinking from their teaching and make materialism look ‘scientific’. There is absolutely no question that the dropping of BC was to sideline Christian belief in the name of accommodating non-Christian views and political correctness.
Some might argue that in a ‘pluralist society’ we should accommodate all views. However, the fact that some historians are pushing this change is quite staggering because BCE and CE are used in exactly the same way that BC and AD are used—that was Kepler’s point! It is based upon the Gregorian Calendar which uses the nominated first year as being from the birth of Christ. If our modern calendars are historically based, then today’s historians who are supposed to engage in truth and present the facts of history, are in some ways denying it and even rewriting it. So much for being scholarly!
“He alone, who owns the youth, gains the future!”
You may recognize this quote. Adolf Hitler said it in a speech at a Reichsparteitag (“Reich Party Day” = Nazi rally) in 1935.3 You might think the analogy is a bit extreme, but it was a stark reminder of Hitler’s ambitions to shape the thoughts of future generations.
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When Christ is All in All
Where humility is lacking, disorder will reign; where humility is present, love, oneness of mind, and mutual agreement in the gospel will prevail. Humility is indispensable for unity. One of the implications of this is that a church marked by division and disorder is a church that, among other things, lacks humility. It is a church filled with members who have lost sight of the primacy of the gospel and the supremacy of Christ, and who are therefore left jostling for the fulfilment of their own private interests.
…complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. (Philippians 2:2–4)
Wherever divisions (1 Cor. 11:18), strife (3:3), distinctions (Js. 2:4), or disorder (3:16) exist in a church, you can be sure that something somewhere has gone awry. As any used car owner will tell you, that cacophony of screeching, scraping, clunking, and bumping noises under the hood is not a sign of automotive well-being. To the contrary, such sounds are a dreaded indication that something (and probably many somethings) is not functioning as it should. Attention is required to set the broken parts to right.
But just as the proper state of a vehicle is for everything to be in working order, operating together in harmony and cooperation, so the proper state of a church is to do the same. Despite the inevitable pull the saints will feel toward decay and fragmentation, they must, as the apostle here says, strive to be “of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind” (v. 2). This, apparently, is not only possible for gospel-believing churches, but is in fact the normative pattern for them. The apostle stakes his joy on it, after all (v. 2).
So how are we to maintain this oneness? The means are given in verse 3: “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” Selfish ambition and conceit, then, are the culprits that will disrupt and hinder unity. Humility, on the other hand — the attitude whereby you consider others and their interests more significant than your own —
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Our Response to Suffering is a Powerful Teacher
Our faith and obedience in the midst of suffering matters—a lot! It matters not just in regards to our own relationship with God, but because both unbelievers and fellow saints look on. When we respond in faith, as Mike did, we shine the light of the Gospel brightly. When we endure well in God’s grace, our example strengthens God’s people to do the same.
When someone passes into eternity it causes reflection. As people reflect on the life now departed, they are reminded about how that person influenced their lives. Often comforting surprises come to light as people begin to share their memories. When my father-in-law passed away recently, we were greatly blessed to hear of many stories of his impact for Christ in people’s lives.
Most knew my father-in-law as “Mike.” He was well-known for a life of strong faith in Jesus Christ along with much physical suffering and challenges. His testimony encouraged many. Mike served as a pastor in several churches, the last one for over thirty years in southeast Georgia. He served in the out-of-the-way places of little reputation in the wider world scene, but God used him. His faithfulness amidst severe trials served as a continual tool for both evangelism and encouragement of other believers, some who never even met him but just heard his story.
Their Deeds Follow Them
Revelation 14:12-13 speaks of many believers in Christ Jesus who remain faithful to Him in death and suffering during the horrors of the Tribulation. The apostle John says, “Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.”[1]
John then quotes a voice from heaven in his vision saying, “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” This is followed by a direct quote of the Holy Spirit’s response to these words: “Blessed indeed, that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!”
God rewards, even honors, His people who endure hard things for His name’s sake and continue to serve Him faithfully in the midst of great trial and difficulty. Faithfulness to Christ in such times leads to fruitful testimony and ministry to others in life, ongoing blessing to others in their memories, and eternal reward from God. Praise the Lord for examples of men and women who endure in obedience and faith regardless of their circumstances!
Suffering with Patience Opens a Door
After his death, we received a note from a younger pastor friend of his.
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Disciples Worship God
Worship is a response that comes when the Spirit gives our hearts an apprehension of the righteousness of Jesus provided in the gospel as we praise His glorious grace. This, according to the Apostle, characterizes a life of discipleship. To be a disciple of Jesus is to forgo all confidence in anything but Jesus and to glory in His person and work with the melody of heart and tongue.
If I can borrow (and slightly modify) a turn of phrase I once heard, I would say that discipleship exists because worship does not. The very reason Jesus has given His church the mandate to disciple the nations is because He desires a people from every tribe, language, and nation to join together in an unbroken harmonious symphony of praise to the triune God. That means, as we faithfully fulfill the mandate of discipleship, we need to endeavor to draw people to the vistas of worship.
In writing to the church at Philippi, the Apostle Paul draws a connection between discipleship and worship: “For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh” (Phil. 3:3). The reason Paul appeals to circumcision is because of the context into which he is writing. As it was given by God, circumcision was intended to be a sign in the flesh that physically marked out the people of God—it was a sign of God’s covenant. Those who were circumcised according to the promise of Abraham were followers of Jehovah.
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