As Christmas approaches and we straddle the familiar threshold between years, as we take stock of our lives and “frisk our souls,” we must remember that there is no neutrality when it comes to Christ. The Doobie Brothers were wrong: Jesus will not be “just alright” with you. You’ll either love him or hate him. You will either bow to him as King of Kings and Lord of Lords or you will buck him as a rival who threatens your autonomy. 

Have you ever spread Marmite on toast? It’s a British condiment made from yeast left over from beer brewing. It is dark, thick, and sticky, like a savory molasses. Marmite is hailed as the superhero of sandwich spreads because it’s bursting with vitamin B. Over the past century, it has come to the rescue of soldiers in the trenches of WWI, anemic mill workers in India, and malaria sufferers in Sri Lanka. But Marmite’s flavor is so powerful that it is polarizing, winning as many friends as foes. This little jar of food paste has inspired some strong opinions. For years, the company’s slogan was “Marmite: Love it or Hate it.”
The birth of Jesus has a Marmite effect, inspiring equally passionate, polar responses. In a sense, the gospel’s catchphrase could be: “Jesus: Love him or Hate him.” This contrast is evident when we consider the opposite reactions of the wise men and Herod to the Messiah’s birth in Matthew’s gospel.
The Response of the Magi
Everything about these mysterious Magi exudes a radiant love for their newborn King. First, they sought him. Matthew says they traveled “from the East” (Matthew 2:1), or literally, “from the rising of the sun.” The terrain they traversed is some of the most treacherous on earth. How many months did they chase after that prophetic star? How many rivers and deserts did they cross? How many mountains did they scale? How many dangers did they face? But they were driven by their love for Christ.
Second, their love for Jesus is seen in their trust. Though we don’t know the nation from which the wise men came, we know their radical journey of faith began with open bibles: “a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel,” (Numbers 24:17), and “from [Bethlehem] shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days” (Micah 5:2). Indeed, the wisest thing about these wise men was that they read and believed the word of Christ in the Scriptures! It is a radical faith that clings to the Bible as the soul’s compass, crying “Lord, wherever you call me I’ll go. Whatever you ask of me, I’ll give. All to Jesus, I surrender.”
Third, the wise men’s love for Christ crescendos in exuberant worship. Contrary to your mom’s mantle nativity, the visits of Matthew’s wise men and Luke’s shepherds were not concurrent.
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The Church is imploding. The faithful masses have stopped turning up on Sundays. We are seeing the most rapid decline of Christianity in this country that we may have ever seen. Do not accelerate this with heresy. You do not have the authority to bless sin! When I hear the bishop of London on record saying these new prayers will mean priests can bless same-sex relationships, some of which will be sexual in nature, I hear the devil at work. Bishops are promoting the idea of sacramental sodomy. Let them be anathema! Repent!

I hate to break it to you, but the time when Christians play games is over. The time for trivial pursuits is long over. The time for just trying to be ‘nice’ and ‘winsome’ and not rock the boat is well past its use-by date. Instead, we are in desperate need of committed disciples of Jesus Christ to affirm truth – regardless of the reaction.
Of course, the overwhelming need for courageous truth-tellers has always been with us, since lies are everywhere and at all times found. Plenty of champions for truth could be mentioned here. Let me feature just some. The Psalmist put it this way: “I have chosen the way of truth” (Psalm 119:30).
Plenty of proverbs speak to this, such as Proverbs 13:5: “The righteous hates falsehood,” and Proverbs 29:27: “The righteous detest the dishonest.” So too Jesus: “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32).
And again: “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44).
A long line of more recent truth proponents could also be mentioned, such as:
“Fallacies do not cease to be fallacies because they become fashions.” G. K. Chesterton
“Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.” Aldous Huxley
“People do not believe lies because they have to, but because they want to.” Malcolm Muggeridge
“The further a society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those that speak it.” George Orwell
But fear of telling truth is an ever-present danger. One example of a spineless wonder who is so utterly fearful and paralysed by the woke mobs can be mentioned. Recently the uber-woke New Zealand Prime Minister Ardern stepped down. That was great news, but many of us wondered if her replacement would be any better. Well, now we know. Consider this short news item:
New Zealand’s new prime minister was left struggling for words at a news conference after a reporter asked him to define the term “woman”. Chris Hipkins, who took over after Jacinda Ardern’s resignation, was asked to explain how he and his government define the word. The politician appeared to need some time to think before giving his answer.
“Um… to be honest that question has come slightly out of left field for me,” Mr Hipkins replied. “Well biology, sex, gender. Um.” He then paused again before saying: “People define themselves, people define their own genders.” When pressed further Mr Hipkins said “people identify for themselves”.
He actually said this when the question was repeated: “It is not something that I have a preformulated answer on”. Good grief, what a useless wonder. If that is too hard for him to figure out, he should not be trying to run an entire nation. He needs to go back to kindergarten and learn a few basics about life.
Talk about being a mindless woke zombie. This is the madness of living a life of lies. BTW, Hipkins was married (to a WOMAN) for two years (but is now separated), and has two children. But he is totally clueless as to what a woman is. Maybe that is why they are separated! And maybe that is why the world is going to hell so fast with utter nincompoops like him running things.
Perhaps I can offer one more example. Someone commented on my site recently that as Christians we might be “rude” if we call people by their actual pronouns. I replied:
I and others just spent some time here trying to make the case that the most loving thing we can do for others is tell them the truth, and that allowing people to live in delusion, lies and deception is not only unloving, but sinful. So I am not at all worried about being “rude” in this case. I AM worried about people destroying themselves because we might be too afraid to speak much-needed truth to them.
So many have had to stand for truth even though it has been so very costly. Consider Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. Writing from Moscow on February 12, 1974, just before he was exiled, he penned a short piece called “Live Not By Lies.” If that sounds vaguely familiar, it should. Rod Dreher used it as the title of his exceptionally important 2020 book. See my review of it here.
The entire essay by Solzhenitsyn is well worth reading, but here are a few choice quotes:
Things have almost reached rock-bottom. A universal spiritual death has already touched us all and physical death will soon flare up and consume us and our children. But, as before, we still smile in a cowardly fashion and mumble with our tongues tied.
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The mere natural sight of Jesus, however dear and beloved, did not bring the grace of faith during His days on earth. So, why do we seek instruction or edification through images made centuries later? Mere reflections, however true or faithful, cannot produce a more significant effect than the original. 

Images of Jesus Christ are easy to find. They can be found on everything from Christmas cards to children’s bibles to screen adaptations like The Passion of the Christ, The Gospel of John, and The Chosen. We also see depictions of Christ in historical masterpieces of painting or sculpture. Some of those in Reformed churches encourage the use of images. However, the confessions of the Reformed churches are unanimous in condemning images not only of God the Father or the Holy Spirit, but also of the incarnate Christ. These provisions are often subject to debate, and in the Presbyterian Church in America, many officers declare exceptions to portions of the standards which forbid such images. Despite their current unpopularity, we should rediscover the truths and helpfulness of the confessions concerning the use of images. They are supported by many arguments from many sources, including the Scriptures, and essential teachings of Reformed Christology.
Peter’s confession of faith illustrates a strong, yet under-appreciated case. While Jesus and the disciples were near Caesarea Philippi, Jesus questioned his disciples. Then as now, the crowds called Jesus many different things, such as a prophet or a mere teacher. Then Jesus asked them directly, “But who do you say that I am” (Matt 16:15)? Peter rightly answered, calling Jesus the Christ and the Son of God.
Despite his many foibles, it should not surprise us that Peter knew the answer. He was already prominent among the disciples, traveling with Jesus from the beginning of the Galilean ministry. His failings were notable, as were his eagerness and persistence. That is why Jesus’s reply is remarkable. “Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven’” (Matt 16:17). “Flesh and blood” did not teach Peter this crucial fact about the great person whom he followed! Peter, who was chief among those who learned about Jesus through flesh and blood! He saw Jesus. He walked, bivouacked, ate with Jesus, and even accepted fishing advice from Jesus. Even Before this questioning near Caesarea Philippi, he strode upon the water toward Jesus!
Nevertheless, flesh and blood did not avail. Peter’s eyes did not perceive Christ until the Father gave him eyes to see and ears to hear. The sight of the eyes does not open the eyes of the heart, only the Spirit of God. Throughout the New Testament, tangible things were means of gaining faith in Jesus. But with one exception, it was not the natural sight of Jesus that brought many to faith in him.
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