Are We Heading Down a Dangerous Path?
Dear Reader,
As you can see from the byline, this piece was written by a friend and former colleague, Julie Lane, Director of Development for Canada’s premier apologetics ministry Faith Beyond Belief. It seems to me that when religious liberty is being attacked on all sides, it is past time for Christians to stand with those brave men and women who unflinchingly declare, “Not on my watch.” Pastor James Coates of GraceLife Church in Spruce Grove is one such hero, and I’m glad I can publish Julie’s blog in order to encourage every reader to stand with him.
I suspect all Christians have a vague feeling that they/we should stand in support of religious freedom, that is until it comes to standing with an individual who, in many people’s eyes has become a criminal by breaking the law. Remember, Pastor Coates has broken no laws. He has merely challenged an edict handed down by a bureaucrat. If a real crisis does demand that Charter rights be suspended temporarily, the Charter itself contains the proper mechanism for doing so. The very first line states: “The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the rights and freedoms set out in it subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.”
In other words, in a real emergency it is up to Parliament, or possibly a provincial legislature, to pass legislation that formally suspends the Charter for the duration. But, of course, that is not going to happen. Politicians do not usually have a death wish, and they will not risk being named among those who tried to take away Canadians’ Charter Rights. In the meanwhile, we must pray for the judges and justices tasked with interpreting government behavior. Pray they will serve the people and not their paymasters.
Shafer Parker
Are We Heading Down a Dangerous Path?
By Julie Lane
I did something this past weekend that usually leaves me feeling more frustrated than fulfilled. I allowed myself to get roped into debating people on social media. But not with the usual suspects. Ordinarily, I debate non-Christians or people who openly disagree with me on issues of morality and politics. But this weekend I found myself debating other Christians, people who completely agree with me on most of the fundamentals. I suspect not one of you will be surprised when I tell you the debate was over how Christians and churches ought to respond to worship restrictions related to the COVID-19 “crisis.”
Those who know me know I am never one to turn away from a robust conversation on an important topic, but this time I engaged a little more. Why? Because of the February 17 arrest and incarceration of James Coates, pastor of GraceLife Church in Spruce Grove, Alberta. How could I not get engaged when an Alberta pastor had been jailed for the “crime” of standing on his Charter right to hold worship services in his own church.
Obviously, Pastor Coates’ arrest has gained a lot of attention. But I confess I am shocked by the number of self-confessed Christians who tell me his arrest was appropriate, and possibly necessary. Some have even suggested that Pastor Coates’ is an embarrassment to the Faith because he has refused to follow orders to limit attendance or require worshippers to wear masks. Others have told me they are ready to storm the legislature and demand Pastor Coates’ release. But wherever you are on this spectrum the topic is inescapable. And since Christians should seek to learn how to handle matters of faith in everyday conversations, I invite you to join me in thinking through the ramifications of Pastor Coates’ arrest. Current events being what they are, we will not be able to avoid talking about it for the next several months, so I will endeavor to give you a Biblical compass to help navigate said conversations.
Before I get into scripture, bear with me as I take a quick detour. I would be remiss if I did not mention that arresting a Christian pastor has huge implications, especially when the arrest was predicated upon the pastor performing his official duties, not from unethical behaviour such as dipping into the offering plate. Take note. Pastor Coates was not protesting a pipeline or claiming religious privilege to get himself out of a speeding ticket. He is a man who, whether you agree with him or not, genuinely believes he is doing God's will by not restricting the freedom of his congregation as ordered by non-elected government officials.
“Wherever you are on this spectrum the topic is inescapable. And since Christians should seek to learn how to handle matters of faith in everyday conversations, I invite you to join me in thinking through the ramifications of Pastor Coates’ arrest. ”
We cannot ignore the ramifications of granting bureaucracy this kind of authority over the Church. For the sake of argument, let us stipulate that some bureaucrat decides the book of Romans is “judgmental” and in some unacceptable way “problematic,” or that a bureaucracy feels itself empowered to send churches an LGBTQ+ person to “help interpret the bible properly.” You may find it hard to believe, but these concepts were recently discussed in Ottawa with regard to Bill C-6, a government bill designed to imbed prohibitions in the Criminal Code of Canada against any form of counselling to help a person return to their birth sex. This is the same spirit found in the Chinese Communist Party, which has rewritten the bible to make it friendly to the CCP. Regardless of your position on COVID and its associated restrictions, it should be plain to any Biblically informed Christian that Canada is going down a dangerous path, setting precedents with lasting consequences. But I have taken us on this detour long enough. Perhaps the subject of politicians hiding behind bureaucrats to enforce unpopular edicts will someday get a blog of its own.
Back to the topic at hand, how to hold conversations with people who disagree over how churches should respond to federal and provincial edicts restricting public worship. Clearly a huge divide separates many “faith leaders” on this matter, while each professes to be hearing from God. I think a spirit of charity forces us to agree that even the sincerest believers sometimes struggle with how to discern which of our thoughts come from God, which thoughts come from ourselves, and which thoughts are lies from the Master of Deception. As always, God’s Word, the Bible, provides a light to guide us through the darkness of these times in which we live. And in looking at Scripture, I have been reminded of an old reliable standard of Biblical interpretation, i.e., if it agrees with the spirit of the world or caters to the desires of the flesh, it is almost never of God.
Moreover, Scripture frequently reminds us of the danger of false prophets who predict future peace and wellbeing, not because God told them what to say, but because they prefer to speak what the people want to hear. “They have treated My people’s brokenness superficially,” God says of Judah’s false prophets, “claiming, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace’” (Jer. 6:14). And in a time of cultural collapse that encompassed both Rome and Jerusalem, Paul reminded Timothy that “the time will come when they (first-century Christians) will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear something new” (II Tim. 4:3). When I look at the disparate messaging coming from Christian leaders during our time of crisis, I must ask, are we living through a period much like those faced so long ago by Jeremiah and St. Paul?
“As always, God’s Word, the Bible, provides a light to guide us through the darkness of these times in which we live.”
Each of us should seek to answer that question for ourselves, through prayer, fasting, and diligent Bible study. We should focus on our relationship with God, asking Him to search our hearts for anything of which we need to repent. Most especially, we should ask Him to take away any worldly or fleshly fear or delusion we may cherish in order to clearly see His will.
And there is something else Christians should do. We should find those Christian authors who ministered in previous times of crisis and read them. We should ask, how did Francis Schaeffer address the crisis of his times (abortion), and what did this great Bible scholar have to say about civil disobedience in the face of governmental opposition to clear Biblical teaching? How did he address the limits of civil obedience, and how did he, and others who lived in perilous times, interpret Romans 13? Does it shock you to learn that after surveying the history of Christian response to tyranny during the Reformation, Schaeffer summarizes thusly: “In almost every place where the Reformation flourished there was not only religious noncompliance; there was civil disobedience as well.”
Each of us must ensure that we are in the will of God and not turning God into something that we want Him to be, putting him into a convenient box that fits our comfortable lives. Jesus warned us that "you will be hated as they have hated me" (John 15:18, Luke 6:22, I John 3:13). We have been warned that this life will not be easy and that there will be persecution (Matt. 5:11, Luke 21:12, John 15:20) just to mention a few verses. As western Christians we have not seen persecution for more than two centuries, and we forget that comfort never leads to strength. The western church has grown cold and weak because we have forgotten that we are to be in this world but not of this world. (I John 2:15, Romans 12:2, John 18:35).
“Each of us must ensure that we are in the will of God and not turning God into something that we want Him to be, putting him into a convenient box that fits our comfortable lives. ”
There is a Bible story found in I Kings 13:1-24 that has long been on my heart, although until recently it left me confused. Why did the young prophet have to die, I wondered? And why did the older one convince him to disobey God? But I stuck to it because I remembered that all scripture is breathed from God and for teaching (2 Tim. 3:16-17). I had to believe that this story had something to teach me. Finally, I saw it. If a servant of God hears directly from God, no other believer should tell him to disobey. If another Christian convinces him to disobey the message he received, it could cost him his life.
By the same logic, who am I, or who is anyone to tell Pastor Coates that he should obey the government and thereby crucify his own conscience? If you are convinced Pastor Coates must be counselled to stand down, then you had better be sure that you are right before God. You need to be certain that you are not of the deceived or the one who has been given a delusion, because just as Pastor Coates will have to answer for his actions, so will you (Romans 14:12, I Peter 4:5). Now please do not misunderstand me, we must call out Christians leaders when they are doing wrong. The fall of Ravi Zacharias proves the importance of maintaining an openness to accountability more than any other recent event. What I am saying is that we need to make sure we are in the will of God, that we are seeking God above all else, and that we are not taking council from our feelings or fears.
As we have conversations with our friends and family, or find ourselves dealing with perfect strangers on the internet, we must learn to show God’s love without compromising His Word. I have been through a lot in my life, and I have made a big mess of things more times than I would care to admit. But the one thing that has always brought me through is the knowledge that God does not allow anything to happen that is not part of His perfect will. Even the worst situations are all brought together as part of His perfect plan according to His perfect timing. As you go through your daily tasks this week, please seek God first and take time to sit quietly in his presence and ask him to direct your walk. Pray that He will prepare your heart and give you the words for those conversations that none of us can avoid.