Knee-Jerk Reactions

In the previous article, The Pagans Are Acting Like Pagans Again, we tackled some serious issues regarding the what God’s Word says about idolatry and balance between the First Amendment, Freedom of Speech, and Freedom of Religion with the honoring of the Lord in the midst of a temporary Baphomet statue erected at the Iowa State Capitol by the Satanic Temple of Iowa. The article ended that it is our duty and privilege as children of God to share the truth of Jesus in love (Ephesians 4:15), and quoting Atlanta, Georgia evangelist Mark Cahill, “If you do not engage the culture, trust me, the culture will engage you, be sure of that.”

But Cahill’s idea and my idea of engaging the culture does not mean beheading a statue in a fit of rage in a knee-jerk attempt of honoring and defending God as we saw in the Iowa State Capitol on December 14th by Michael Cassidy, a 35-year-old Navy Reserve Pilot Instructor from Mississippi who is now charged with 4th-degree criminal mischief and could face over $2,000 in fines and up to a year of jailtime. “The world may tell Christians to submissively accept the legitimization of Satan, but none of the founders would have considered government sanction of Satanic altars inside Capitol buildings as protected by the First Amendment,” Cassidy said, according to The Post Millennial. “Anti-Christian values have steadily been mainstreamed more and more in recent decades, and Christians have largely acted like the proverbial frog in the boiling pot of water.”

The statue should’t have been there in the first place

Looking at the preamble to the Iowa Constitution, one can only see that the statue shouldn’t have been alowed to be displayed inside, or anywhere near the State Capitol. That Supreme Being is the Creator and Sustainer of all that is, and that is God almighty; not Baphomet.

WE THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF IOWA, grateful to the Supreme Being for the blessings hitherto enjoyed, and feeling our dependence on Him for a continuation of those blessings, do ordain and establish a free and independent government, by the name of the State of Iowa…

Preamble to the Iowa Constitution:

Even if the state constitution declares this and was wrong in allowing this pagan display of wicked ideals to be erected, does this give Christians the freedom to destroy pagan idols in knee-jerk reactions to what pagans do? I don’t believe so.

Christians outraged

What is even more disheartening is when pastors and church leaders whom I respect and wear my uniform post on their personal Facebook pages like the one on the left, that Cassidy was a ‘Demon-slaying hero” by beheading the Baphomet statue. That this, “deep-chested courageous man” had the guts to tear down this evil altar of Satan.

Cassidy went on to say in The Post Millenial, “I saw this blasphemous statue and was outraged. My conscience is held captive to the Word of God, not to bureaucratic decree. And so, I acted.”

And act he did, but not according to the Word of God. Let’s look at some verses in context that Mr. Cassidy and my Facebook friends might have missed in their devotionals.

What Does the Word of God say?

Christians should expect persecution, ridicule, and scorn. Those who just for the desire to live a godly life will suffer persecution (2 Timothy 3:12). We are to defend the truth and share the gospel, however tearing down idols and statues that worship Satan or any other god is not the approach that Jesus taught His followers. Instead, Jesus taught us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44). Our focus should be sharing the gospel and demonstrating the love of God to others. Rather than tearing down physical idols, we should strive to tear down spiritual strongholds by proclaiming the truth, living according to God’s Word, and engaging in prayer. Our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual forces of evil (Ephesians 6:12). Therefore, our weapons are spiritual, such as: prayer, the Word of God, the power of the Holy Spirit, fasting and so on.

Acts 17:16-34

This was exemplified by the Apostle Paul when he entered the Areopagus in Athens and his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols (Acts 17:16). No doubt he was angry, irritated, and exasperated from what he saw. We should feel anger when we see statues erected in honor of the “Father of Lies.” I was too. But what did Paul do with that anger? The Bible says that, “He reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentile worshippers, and in the marketplace daily with those who happened to be there.” (Acts 17:17) Didn’t say he cracked skulls or smashed idols, did it? No. He reasoned with them. He piqued their interest in what he was saying, creating a bridge between Jew and Gentile. They wanted to know about this new belief that was strange to them (Acts 17:18-21). So, Paul stood in the midst of all of them, sympathized with them saying how religious they were, and used the altar to the Unknown God and declared to them Whom they worship ignorantly (Acts 17:22-33). He declared who God was, what He is to them, and warned them of the wrath to come if they did not repent.

Acts 19:1-41

In this chapter of Acts, the Apostle Paul came to Ephesus to share Jesus with the Gentiles, and throughout that time also “vigorously refuted the Jews publicly, showing from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ (Acts 18:28),” which could be interpreted as having a debate with them — a war of words.

Paul continued this preaching in the synagogues for three months reasoning and persuading concerning the things of the kingdom of God (Acts 19:8). He then preached for two years in the school of Tyrannus so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks (Acts 19:10).

Miracles followed Paul so that many were healed of sickness and disease, not to mention freed from demonic possession. Because of this, “…fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. And many who had believed came confessing and telling their deeds. Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver. So, the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.” (Acts 19:17-20 NKJV)

Did you catch that? It was the Word of the Lord that grew mightily and prevailed. Paul didn’t destroy their idols or make them repent. What did he do? He preached the Word and it fell on good soil and that seed grew because God made it grow. Read on to the end of Acts 19 and you will see that people were destroying their idols themselves and the idol makers were going out of business. Paul turned the Gentile world upside down by only proclaiming God.

Follow Jesus’ example

Just as Jesus came to seek and save those that are lost (Luke 19:10), we are called to follow His example. Christians should act towards those who are lost with love, compassion, and a desire to share the good news of Jesus Christ. We should genuinely care about the spiritual condition of those who do not know Christ and be moved with compassion for their eternal destiny — not be overcome with anger for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God (James 1:20).

“Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion. Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

Romans 12:14-21 NKJV

God does not delight in the death of the wicked, but that he turn from his evil and live (Ezekiel 33:11). God wants restoration. He wants wicked men to repent and turn to Him. That is his default desire, not vengence or wrath. It was God’s pleasure to create us to have a relationship with Him, reflect His image, fulfill His purpose in us and have eternal life with Him. Not to tear the heads off idols in His name.

The world already hates God and us; don’t give them more of a reason to. But, love them so much that when they speak against you as evildoers, that they may, by your good works on which they observe, glorify God… (1 Peter 2:12). That by doing good to those that are outside may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men (1 Peter 2:15). God deserves our best as we are ambassadors of Him (2 Corinthians 5:20); not knee-jerk reactions to what the world does. Pagans are going to act like Pagans. We Christians have the Holy Spirit — act like it.

Do you want to get back at Satan for the horrible things he has done? Share the gospel.

Do you want to change this world and make an impression for Christ? Share the gospel.

Do you want to fulfil God’s purpose for you? Share the gospel.

It really is that simple.

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