The following is a sermon delivered on the Lord's Day, May 24, 2020, at First Southern Baptist Church in Junction City, KS. The text was from Matthew 6:5-6 on the subject of how not to pray

5 "And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

7 "And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. 9 Pray then like this:

"Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever, Amen."

We are going to spend the next several weeks studying on how to pray. And it's interesting here that as Jesus begins His instructions to His disciples, He starts off by telling them how not to pray. As we go over this passage, we're going to divide this up into twos. We have how not to pray, followed by how to pray. And within how not to pray, we have this divided up into hypocrites and Gentiles. Under how to pray, we have the Lord's Prayer divided up into divine exaltation and personal petition.

We will spend most of our time today regarding Jesus' instructions on how not to pray like the hypocrites. Next week, we're going to consider how not to pray like the Gentiles. And then for the weeks that follow, we will concentrate on the parts of the Lord's prayer. What we want to glean from this as believers is a healthy practice of right, biblical, God-pleasing prayer.

When it comes to spiritual disciplines, you may be like me—prayer is just not one of those things that comes to you naturally. Of course it doesn't come to any one of us naturally—it is a supernatural enterprise to converse with the Almighty God, maker of heaven and earth. But when I say it doesn't come to you naturally, I mean that even as a Christian, as someone who is to be spiritually minded, prayer is just not the first thing you think about. You're not the kind of person who says, "I need to stop what I'm doing and pray. I need to get away from everyone for a little while and pray. I need to turn off the TV and the video games, and I need to pray. Kids, leave daddy alone for a little while. I'm praying."

Maybe it surprises some of you to hear me say I just don't believe I'm very good at praying. Recently our local radio station here in JC called me up and asked me to record daily prayers which they prayed every day for a month. All I did was pray the Scriptures. I opened up to the Psalms or a few places in the New Testament, and I would just pray what was on the page. The guy at the radio station who recognized what I was doing texted me back and said, "I think you plagiarized these prayers."

I was involved in a community production, and before we went out on stage, the director would ask me to pray. It was a privilege that I got to pray before every performance. Now, I knew that most of the cast were not believers, so I would put Scripture in my prayers without references, or I would just put the gospel in my prayer.

One night the director came up to me, and I thought she was going to tell me to tone it down a little bit. Maybe I was getting a little too preachy. But instead, she said, "Can we just have you come and pray before every show we do, even if you're not in it?"
   
I've been privileged to have been asked to pray before military funerals. Brother Dave asked me to pray at a couple of the Veterans motorcycle gatherings. I prayed at the governor's mansion a few years ago, when Sam Brownback was governor (I highly doubt Governor Kelly would ever ask me to come and pray). Prisoners at the jail and patients at the hospital have requested that I come and pray with them. You've probably asked me to come pray with you.

Yet I've just never thought of myself as someone who was very good at prayer. In fact, even when it comes to the act of prayer itself, I'm ashamed to say that more often than not, I hesitate to pray. Now, that's pride. I would certainly never pat myself on the back for that. When we refuse to pray or when we think we don't need to pray, that's prideful.

Perhaps you know 1 Peter 5:7 which says, "Cast all your cares upon Him because He cares for you." That's a pretty popular verse. You might have that as a magnet on your fridge. But consider what is said right before that: "Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your cares [your anxieties] upon Him, because He cares for you."

Humble yourself and take your concerns before the Lord. If you think that prayer is a last ditch effort—it's only a thing you do when all else fails—you have a wrong attitude about prayer. Prayer should actually be the first thing we do, not the last.

There's a famous quote attributed to Martin Luther who said, "I have so much to do today, I shall spend the first three hours in prayer." Yet for many of us—for most of us, I should say—the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. In the most distressing time of prayer in His life, in which Jesus shed drops of blood, He came and found His disciples sleeping, and said to them, "Could you not pray with me for one hour?"

I'd have been that disciple. Like I said, most of the time, I hesitate to make prayer a priority. As a husband and as a father, I'm confessing to you that I've done a poor job leading my family in prayer. So you really have a poor prayer teacher standing in front of you today about to teach you about prayer. This is as pressing upon me as it might be to you. But we have a teacher who is even greater than I am. May the Holy Spirit guide us into all truth as we look into the word of God and ask the Lord to teach us how to pray.

In keeping with Jesus' instructions here, we're going to begin by learning how not to pray, and this is just as important as learning how to pray—so important, that Jesus decided to mention this first.


Do Not Be Like the Hypocrites

Notice that verse 5 begins, "And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites." Remember that I said to you last week that everything we read in chapter 6 flows from verse 1: "Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven." Taking that theme, Jesus applies that to prayer: don't pray as to be seen by others. Pray to your Father in heaven. That's who you're talking to. Talk to Him, not everyone else around you.

A friend of mine told me about a church he grew up in, and he talked about how funny that pastor's prayers were. It sounded like he was talking to God, but he was using the pastoral prayer to talk to people in the congregation without mentioning their names.

It would be something like, "Oh, God, we know you don't like it when a woman comes into your church, O Lord, and her skirt just doesn't come down over her knees."

And my friend said, "Some of us younger ones, we'd start looking around trying to figure out which of the women came in today with a skirt that wasn't low enough."

Then the pastor would pray, "Lord, please forgive some of us when we think we can start cutting back on our tithe, and we think that no one will notice. You notice, O Lord. Can a man rob from God? Maybe we don't need to buy that 70 inch television. Maybe we can settle with the 50 inch, and give the rest to the building fund."

And my friend said, "Brother Bill had just been boasting the week before about his new TV, so we knew exactly who the pastor was talking about."

That's not praying to God. That's using prayer as gossip time. Many will use the promise of prayer to fish for gossip: "Hey, is there anything that I can be praying for you about?" Which, by the way, that's a fine question. We should pray for one another. I'm saying check your heart and be sure you're not using that question to treat yourself to some personal information.

Avoid using prayer to spread gossip. "Hey, Philip. Pray for Jack and Gretchen, they're having marriage problems." When it's something personal, whether it's a medical issue or a death in the family or a disagreement or someone's just going through a difficult time—make sure you check with the person first before you start sharing their prayer needs. Be able to say, "I've checked with so-and-so, and they told me they were okay with me telling you this." Especially check the intentions of your heart. Do you have a genuine concern for people? Do you desire that your church is a praying church? Or do you just want to be the guy or gal that everyone thinks is in the know? Do you want to impress people?

Are you using prayer to complain about others? You get some people together and you say, "Me and so-and-so are not getting along right now. I'm having a really difficult time with this. Can you pray for us right now?" It might look like a genuine request for prayer, but what you're actually doing is poisoning the well. You're trying to get people on your side of a conflict. If that's your heart, then in your prayer, you are blaspheming God and taking His name in vain.

Now, I want to reiterate—there's nothing wrong with asking people to pray for you, even if you're in a difficult trial with someone else. The point I'm making is the point Jesus is making: examine yourself and check your heart. What is your motivation? Is this about the Lord, or is this about yourself? Do you want the name of God to be exalted? Do you want the person you're praying for to excel? Or do you just want other people to think you're the exceptional one?

Once again, "When you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites." May your heart's desire be for God. He should be the very focus of our prayers. If you want to have a healthy practice of prayer, desire God. Don't be like the hypocrites who look to themselves in prayer. If your endgame in prayer is to glorify yourself rather than glorify God, that is going to become evident outwardly as well.

Do Not Pray to Be Seen By Others

Consider the next part of verse 5: "For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others." Now, the key part here is that they do this in order to "be seen by others." Jesus is not condemning public prayer. In 1 Timothy 2:8, the Apostle Paul says, "I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands." The men in the church are to set an example for prayer, and they do this by leading prayers openly. The keep their hands holy, meaning that they way they live is consistent with the way they pray. When a man leads an open, public prayer, people hear a man who is consistent in his speech and in his actions.

Public prayer, praying aloud in the church, leading prayer at prayer gatherings or in Bible study, leading prayer for your family—these are all good things. So Jesus is not prohibiting public prayer. Once again, he's confronting a heart issue. The hypocrites pray in the synagogues and at the street corners not to glorify God, but so they may be seen by others.

Prayer was a very common practice among the Jews. Twice a day, at sunrise and at sunset, the Jews would pray the Shema, which is Deuteronomy 6:4-9. This is the passage that begins, "Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might." They prayed that section of Scripture twice a day.

Then there were public prayers in the synagogue and at the temple using a liturgy—meaning that these prayers were written out, they were traditional prayers, everyone knew them, and everyone recited them. Then there was the tefillah, a series of benedictions recited two or three times a day. Then there were the offering prayers, which were at 9am, noon, and 3pm. This practiced was derived from a legalistic rendering of Psalm 55:17, "Evening and morning and at noon, I utter my complaint and moan, and He hears my voice." We see in Daniel 6:10 that Daniel prayed three times a day.

In Acts 3, Peter and John went into the temple for the hour of prayer at the ninth hour, when everyone else was going to pray. It was during one of those offering prayers when they healed the lame beggar at the Beautiful Gate. There was also a prayer called the minhah that coincided with the time of the daily burnt offering in the temple. You had mealtime prayers, and then there were spontaneous prayers after the meal was over. So as you can see, prayer was a regular practice for the Jew.

The problem was that it had all become very mechanical. The people did it, but they didn't mean it. This was the very issue that Isaiah warned about in Isaiah 29:13: "This people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me." Jesus quotes this passage in Matthew 15:8. The Jews were a ridiculously religious people, but it wasn't real. Prayer for the sake of prayer is not good.

In 2006, the New York Times published an article entitled, "Long Awaited Medical Study Questions the Power of Prayer." The study was conducted over a period of 10 years and involved more than 1,800 patients. And the basic conclusion to the story was this: prayer doesn't work. According to the study, prayer by strangers had no effect on the recovery time of patients undergoing heart surgery, whether they knew they were being prayed for or not.

I remember when the results of the study were released, I was in Christian radio at the time. Just about every atheist on the internet fell all over themselves, touting what they claimed was scientific proof that prayer doesn't work. If atheists had a bible, they'd have entered the study as canon. I mean, it was the greatest pseudo-science since Darwinism. I still get this bunk study thrown in my face 14 years later.

There was an internet atheist who made me a hobby-horse at the time. He went by the name Zero (we actually met in person once). On his blog, he wrote an entire article calling me out, saying that this study concluded once and for all just how foolish Christians like Gabe can be, praying to their non-existent sky-fairy. He even turned my name into an acronym—GABE: Grasping at Any Biblical Excuse.

Well, I responded to him and said, "Did you read who was actually involved in this study?"

And he said, "Yes, and everything was verified. But you Christians are so anti-science and anti-data, it wouldn't matter if Einstein conducted the study, you still wouldn't accept it."

I replied, "No, I'm not talking about the organization who conducted the study or even if it was peer-reviewed. I mean did you look and see who in the study was actually praying for these patients?" Those who were praying consisted of a contemplative Catholic order called the Teresian Carmelites, and a Catholic monastery and convent, both of whom deny the gospel, that we are justified by grace through faith in Christ alone. There was also a New Thought organization called Unity, who denies the Trinity of God, and that Jesus is God incarnate.

He said to me, "I suppose you're going to say those groups don't count."

And I simply told him this: "John 14:6, Jesus said, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one gets to the Father but by me.' If anyone prays by any other means than through faith in Jesus, or if anyone thinks that by virtue of their own merit they have earned a place before the Father, God does not listen to their prayers."

How do we know God does not hear a Muslim's prayer? Because they reject that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. It's even written in the Koran 4:171, "Exalted is [Allah] above having a son." How do we know that God does not hear the prayer of an orthodox Jew? Because they likewise reject that Jesus Christ is the Messiah.

How do we know that God does not listen to the prayer of a Jehovah's Witness? Because they believe that Jesus is not God but the archangel Michael. How do we know that God does not listen to the prayer of a Mormon? Because they believe in a completely different Jesus who is the literal brother of Satan and not the Creator of all things. God does not receive every prayer, no matter how solemn or religious the ceremony the prayer came from.

I went on to tell Zero the Atheist, "Even if study had concluded that the patients who were prayed for recovered faster than those who received no prayer, I still would not have received the study as legitimate." In Matthew 4:7 Jesus said, "You shall not put the Lord your God to the test," and here, He says do not pray to be seen by others or you have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. So if you don't mind, I'm going to continue believing what the Bible says about prayer and not the New York Times.

I think you and I would agree that the Apostle Paul was more righteous, more humble a man than anyone in this room. He said in 2 Corinthians 12 that a messenger of Satan was sent to torment him, and three times he prayed to be relieved of it. How did the Lord answer him? "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in your weakness."

Now, you might look at that and say, "Why didn't God answer Paul's prayer?" But He did answer his prayer! He answered Paul with the greatest answer—Himself. Jesus answered Paul's prayer with Himself. And Paul said, "Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me."

My friends, if you think God does not answer prayer, because you did not get the answer that you wanted, could it be that the answer you rejected was Christ Himself? As we read from Psalm 34 this morning, "Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him! Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints, for those who fear Him have no lack! The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing."

The Bible tells us that there are other conditions for prayer. In Isaiah 1:15, the Lord said to wayward Israel, "When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen." Unless what? Isaiah 66:2, "But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word."

Psalm 66:18 says, "If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened." In 1 Peter 3:7, we are told strife in a marriage hinders our prayers. James 1:6 says that one who doubts will not receive from the Lord. James 4:3 says, "You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions."

Just consider 2 Chronicles 7:14, which says, "If my people who are called by my name." Brothers and sisters in the Lord, followers of Jesus Christ, that's you and me. That's not the United States of America, as this verse is often applied to. That's anyone who bears the name of a son or a daughter of God, adopted into His family by faith in Christ.

"If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways." So what do we have in our prayers? We have being humble before God, seeking God, turning from anything that is against God. He says, "Then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal—only then will I heal their land."

The hypocrites are not humble, they do not seek God's glory but they're own, and they do not turn from their wicked ways because they think they are righteous. That's the whole reason they put on the show that they do when they pray—because they want everyone else to see how righteous they are. "Truly, I say to you," Jesus says, "they have received their reward."

Instead of the public places to be seen by others, Jesus tells you where you should go to discipline yourself that your prayer habits would be about God and not yourself.

Pray to Your Father Who is In Secret

Look finally at verse 6: "But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you."
Now, don't let these warnings about hypocritical prayer, praying to be seen by others, or even the conditions for genuine prayer hinder you from praying at all. You might be thinking, "Goodness, there's just so much here. All those qualifications. How can I be certain that I'm doing it right?"

My friend, it's very simple—seek God. Do you want to be with God? Then talk to Him. "But God is so holy and I am not!" You're right, you're not. But as I said to you when we were going through our study in Galatians, what God demands of you, He gives to you. Jesus said in the previous chapter that your righteousness must exceed that of the Scribes and the Pharisees. He said, "Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect." If you are a follower of Jesus, then you have that righteousness He's demanded of you. You have the righteousness of Christ.

If you still ask, "But how can I be certain that He is listening to me?" Because Jesus said that He would. John 14:13 says, "Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son." Now, that doesn't mean you ask for a Ferrari in Jesus' name and it will be given to you, because remember, our request in the prayer that Jesus taught us to pray is "Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." If we ask God that His will be done in our lives to the praise of His glorious grace, it will be done. Jesus has promised us this.

We read in 1 John 2:1 that "we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one." An advocate is a representative who speaks favorably on behalf of another. So think about that—Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is speaking favorably of you before the Father.

We read in 1 Timothy 2:5-6, "For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time." Romans 8:26-27 says that the Spirit of God "helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And He who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God."

So we have the Son of God mediating for us. We have the Spirit of God interceding for us. Even when we don't know what to pray for as we ought, we haven't lost touch with God. He's still holding on to us. He is a loving Father. Pray to Him.

James 1:5-8 says, "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord. He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways."

Last week, I wrote an open letter to Jon Steingard, [former?] lead singer of the Christian rock band Hawk Nelson, who announced through a letter he posted on Instagram that he no longer believed in God. The band made a public statement a couple days ago, also via Instagram. (This seems to be the chosen medium to proclaim apostasy. Last year, evangelical celebrities Joshua Harris and Marty Sampson both announced on Instagram they were no longer Christians.)

In Jon's letter, he admitted he'd been faking it for some time. He presented various questions about Christianity he said no one could answer for him. They were very basic ideas, like, "Why does a loving God allow evil?" and, "Why did Jesus have to die?" The answers are very easy to find, and Jon, who grew up in church and was raised a preacher's kid, has no excuse for his ignorance.

The Bible answers these questions, of course, and the answers I gave Jon were backed with Scripture. But admittedly, the Bible is a big book and many deep doctrines can be complicated. Thankfully, we have great historic church confessions as helpful guides, like the Westminster Confession or the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith. Just a simple reading of a basic catechism (click here) answers what Jon claimed to be insurmountable quandaries.

But Jon is not interested in those answers. Otherwise, he would seek the Lord instead of making a public spectacle of himself on Instagram. The attention his letter received also brought a lot of traffic to my blog since I responded so early. I did tag Jon in my letter, and he replied a little over an hour after I published it. Via Twitter, he said the following:

"Hey, man. You seem really angry. I’m sorry—I clearly offended you deeply. Christian or not, I suspect we would have always seen things differently. I wish you the best man."—Jon Steingard

Let me make three points about this reply. First, notice what he did not say. He did not say, "Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions," because Steingard doesn't actually want answers to his questions. His questions about Christianity were more like implications than inquiries. He's pointing a finger at God to say, "You are the reason I don't believe!" But as I cited from Romans 9:20, "Who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, 'Why have you made me like this'?"

Secondly, I did not express anger, and if that was Jon's takeaway, I find it difficult to believe he actually read the letter. I clearly qualified my comments as stern yet affectionate and loving. He responded by poisoning the well, making it look like I'm full of bitterness whereas he wants "the best" for me. On the contrary, the bitterness is Steingard's. His letter was dripping with it.

Third, while I was not angry, I was most certainly offended. Steingard, by his own admission, lied to people (though he did not use the word "lied," nor did he confess to any wrongdoing). He used Christianity to make money though he himself did not believe it. He also admitted there are other false teachers just like him who are scared to "come out" as unbelievers. So of course I'm offended, and so should any Christian be regarding those who malign the faith (see Jude 1:4).

But even worse than you or me being offended, God is offended. He is not sitting on His throne over heaven and earth patting Steingard on the back and saying, "Oh, Jon, it's okay." Scripture says, "If a man does not repent, God will whet His sword" (Psalm 7:12). He will judge the godless, and Jon Steingard, by his own admission, is godless. "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Hebrews 10:31). Those who truly love Jon will warn him and tell him to repent.

But that's not what has been happening. According to the numerous news sources that have picked up the story of Jon Steingard's "deconversion," he has received mountains of support across the music landscape—including artists Jeremy Camp, Tenth Avenue North, and Sanctus Real. They aren't rebuking his apostasy. There's been no public call to repentance. He has renounced God, and professing-Christians are supporting him for it.

Jon has even responded to this "outpouring of support" by saying, "Thank you all for the love. I feel it more than ever."

Imagine that. A bunch of "likes" on Instagram is more meaningful than the love of Christ. Lord, have mercy.

Jon's supporters include his bandmates, the other members of Hawk Nelson. Just a couple days ago, they released a statement expressing approval for their lead singer. The following is that letter in bold. My comments will follow. (I also responded to this letter on today's podcast, which you can listen to here.)

"One of our best friends, one with whom we have walked, worked and lived alongside for 20+ years revealed some of his innermost feelings on his faith journey this past week.

"Our mission as Hawk Nelson has always been to inspire and encourage all people with the truth that God is FOR them and not against them. In that message's most simple and purest form, that THEY matter."

I would think that the mission of any Christian band would be first to exalt Christ and make Him known, wouldn't you agree? Jesus' mission on earth was not to "encourage all people" and tell them, "God is for you, not against you." On the contrary, Jesus told them they were under condemnation, and only He is the way of salvation.

In John 6:38-40, Jesus said, "For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of Him who sent me. And this is the will of Him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that He has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day."

Jesus' mission was to do the will of His Father. Likewise, the Father's will should also be our greatest desire. His will, according to Jesus, is that we look upon Christ and believe in Him, and that we live according to the word He has spoken. Jesus said, "Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother" (Matthew 12:50).

But that's not Hawk Nelson's primary objective. In fact, they're primary purpose is a lie. Did you not see that in what they said? Again, they say, "Our mission as Hawk Nelson has always been to inspire and encourage all people with the truth that God is FOR them and not against them." Is that true? Is God for everyone and against no one?

God has said, "This is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word" (Isaiah 66:2). We read in Psalm 34:15-16, "The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and His ears toward their cry. The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth."

As I stated in my letter to Jon Steingard, on the day of judgment, there are many who will say, "Lord, Lord, didn't we do many mighty works in your name?" And Jesus will reply, "Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. I never knew you" (Matthew 7:21-23). Only those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ have received the favor of God. But Romans 8:9 says, "Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him."

I care for you too much to tell you otherwise. But that is not the heart of Hawk Nelson. Their letter continues:

"So now we turn that truth towards one of our own. That God is still FOR Jon and he still matters. Why? Because that truth doesn't change just because we question it.

"How we treat one another when they are at a different stage in their journey based on their life experiences is part of a bigger conversation. We are called to love one another unconditionally, as God loves us. We should also encourage and challenge one another in our Faith, seeking truth."

Where does it say in the Bible, "We are called to love one another unconditionally, as God loves us"? The Bible does not say that God loves everyone unconditionally. In fact, that is a lie from the pit of hell.

"Whoa, what did you just say?"

I know. I'm aware this lie goes deep. Bear with me. This really is a life or death issue.

The term "unconditional love" comes not from the Bible. It was coined by a 20th century German psychologist, socialist, and atheist named Erich Fromm. In his 1956 book The Art of Loving, Fromm suggested that a father's love is conditional (contingent upon success, good behavior, etc.), but a mother's love is unconditional (not forfeited by failure or bad behavior). You may have heard this argument before. Now you know where it comes Fromm.

I agree that dad is often the disciplinarian and mom is the nurturer, but I disagree that this translates into "conditional" and "unconditional" love. Whether one accepts Fromm's categories, anyone should realize that just as a child needs both a father and a mother, love must be both tough and nurturing. But far be it from our world to have some common sense. Instead, our soft-men and feminist-dominated culture has gone the way of deciding discipline is harsh and unloving, and we're all supposed to be effeminate saps. The cultural theology has also come to demand this of God.

This is why my rebuke of Jon Steingard is seen largely as unloving, but a response like Hawk Nelson's is considered loving. However, it's Hawk Nelson's that is steeped in a secular cultural ideal, not biblical truth.



Now someone might say, "But wait, doesn't the Greek word agape literally mean 'unconditional love'?" I believe that view comes from C.S. Lewis in his book The Four Loves. It's true that agape is one of several Greek words for love, but it simply means to esteem or take pleasure in. It doesn't mean "unconditional love."

In Luke 11:43, Jesus said, "Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces!" Well, the Greek word there for "love" is agape. I think we would all agree that the love the Pharisees have was not unconditional. The reason they loved the best seats in the synagogues was precisely because of they wanted the benefits.

God's love is not unconditional. To point out the obvious, does God love birds the same way He loves people? Of course not. Jesus even said so: "Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?" (Matthew 6:26). If God's love was unconditional, He'd love birds and people the same.

But God's love for people is also not unconditional. The whole need for preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ "presupposes a condition of estrangement between God and man,"said Dr. R.C. Sproul. "The Bible says we are God's enemies by nature. This enmity is expressed in our sinful rebellion against Him. The common contemporary view of this is that we are estranged from God, but He is not estranged from us. The enmity is all one-sided. The picture we get is that God goes on loving us with an unconditional love while we remain hateful toward Him."

But the cross of Christ contradicts this understanding. "Yes, the cross occurred because God loves us. His love stands behind His plan of salvation," said Dr. Sproul. However, Christ did not sacrifice Himself on the cross to placate us. He sacrificed Himself as a propitiation to satisfy the wrath of God. "The effect of the cross was to remove the divine estrangement from us, not our estrangement from Him. If we deny God's estrangement from us, the cross is reduced to a pathetic and anemic moral influence with no substitutionary satisfaction of God."

God receives you on the condition that Christ has atoned for your sin. The Bible is clear that you receive this justification before God on the condition of faith (Romans 3:21-25). Again, "Whoever believes in Him is not condemned. But whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed int he name of the only Son of God" (John 3:18). Not everyone is under the love of God. Whoever does not follow Jesus remains under His wrath (John 3:36).

As Dr. Sproul has also said, "People aren't afraid of the wrath of God anymore because 'preachers' are out there telling people God loves them unconditionally." That is what Hawk Nelson has presented to Jon Steingard and to the millions of they're adoring fans. The letter continues:

"Are we the authors of our own salvation and eternity? Has God provided a way to salvation for us through Jesus? These are the questions that we each must ask and explore."

The answer to the first question is "No." The answer to the second question is "Yes." Hawk Nelson doesn't give even simple answers to questions they present. It does not even appear to me that they even presuppose those answers. They're so ambiguous and so vague, how can they claim their mission is to "inspire and encourage all people with the truth" when they don't speak truth?

Ephesians 4:15 instructs us to "speak the truth in love." If you love people truly, then you will tell them the truth. If you withhold the truth, that's not loving. Proverbs 13:24 says, "Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him." But Hawk Nelson continues to pedel a universal love of God that includes everyone:

"In the Bible (Romans 8:38) Paul writes, '…I am convinced that nothing can separate us from God's love… Neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.'"

That is the New Living Translation, which is one of the softer translations of the Bible (I recommend the ESV or NASB). That aside, who was Romans 8:38 written to? It was written to Christians. So the promise in Romans 8:38 is only true of believers. It is not true of unbelievers, like Jon Steingard. As I quoted earlier from this chapter, "Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him" (verse 9). Hawk Nelson concludes their letter this way:

"The same Lord is Lord of all, and gives richly to all who call on Him, for, 'Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.' Ever thankful and grateful for how God has used this band, the music and the relationships and how He continues to do so."

The verse they quoted but didn't reference is from Acts 2:21 and Romans 10:13. Yes, everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. But the whole point of Jon Steingard's letter is that he doesn't even believe God exists! Therefore, he is not saved.

Did Hawk Nelson not actually listen to to their friend? I typed out his entire letter and responded to him word-for-word. Yet some accused me of not listening at all. The following are some of the responses I received to my open letter:

"Don't be like this. Listen to people when they give reasons for their de-conversion. Don't be presumptuous... You accused Jon Steingard of lying, not just of having been formerly mistaken. You're assuming that you know his former intentions and experiences better than he did (or my intentions and experiences when I was a Christian for 20 years of my life)."—Chad (Arlington, VA)

Chad, I believe I read Jon's letter more intently than you did. He not only admitted that he was faking his Christianity and making money off of it though he didn't truly believe, he also said, "I am stunned by the number of people in visible positions within Christian circles that feel the same way as I do." For what his word is worth, many others are lying about their faith and making money from it.

Furthermore, do not neglect understanding who my audience is. I was not writing to a teenage kid in a youth group who is teetering between belief and unbelief, or to a mother whose child just died and she is struggling to see God in her circumstance. I was addressing an adult man who is almost my age, who is a famous Christian, who grew up in church, who is a preacher's kid married to a preacher's kid, and yet he does not know even basic Christian truths like why there's evil in the world or why Jesus had to die. That's inexcusable. How could he ever have called himself a Christian?

Jon Steingard never knew Jesus Christ. I know that because of what his letter said and because of what Jesus said. You were never truly a Christian either. You must repent of your sin and put your faith in Christ, or you will be judged with the godless at the final judgment (Revelation 21:8).

"[Jon] finds scripture to be fallible, so quoting verses at him won't work. I'm a believer, but I too take issue with scripture. The Bible may have 'divine inspiration' but it was ultimately written/rewritten by imperfect man. His concerns are valid and enforced by many modern Christians."—Kelcey (Dallas, TX)

His concerns are valid and enforced by many unbelievers pretending to be Christians, just like you. I will not stop sharing the gospel, the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes (Romans 1:16). Unfortunately, you think God is so puny, man's will is more powerful than God's, and God has been unable to preserve His word. But what does the Scripture say? "For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:21).

"Gabriel, there is more then one way to God, and maybe Jon Steingard has found another way. God seeks you where ever you are regardless of religious ideals and doctrine. Instead of judgement you should be giving him support."—Kaelyn

You might be shocked to hear me say that I agree every road leads to God. But only one way leads to eternal life with God. Every other way leads to the judgment of God. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes unto the Father, but by me" (John 14:6). Jesus also said, "The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day" (John 12:48).

"You were very up-front about your 'stern' tone. I’m curious why you chose to use that tone rather than one of understanding. Your tone implies that you cannot fathom the idea that someone may have questions about God and our relationship to Him, which I’m sure you disagree with."—Bob (Atlanta, GA)

How does a "stern" tone lack understanding? First, understand first what is being said; then, respond in the appropriate tone. What tone are you suggesting I take? In Matthew 23, Jesus called the Pharisees sons of hell producing more sons of hell and white-washed tombs full of dead men's bones. Both of those labels fit Jon Steingard. So I agree, a tone that is more like Jesus would be the right approach.

"Your letter wasn't bad. There was a ton of biblical truth in there. However, you mentioned he could lead others astray. This as you know is impossible in light of God's sovereignty. As you rightly mentioned, what can he as a man do?"—Sean (Louisianna)

If it's impossible for a false teacher to lead others astray, what's the point of warning about false teachers? Even Jesus warned against false teachers. In Mark 8:15, He said, "Beware the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod." The sovereignty of God is not fatalism. I as a pastor have a responsibility to identify wolves, call them out, and defend the flock of God (Acts 20:29-30, Titus 1:9). I know that God is sovereign, and He works all things to the council of His will. And His will, as revealed in His word, is that pastors warn the flock against false teachers.

Again, I cannot reiterate passionately enough that the state of Jon Steingard's heart grieves me. I am frustrated by the words of Hawk Nelson who seem more concerned with their public image than saving dying souls. I write these things not to thump my own chest and proclaim my own goodness. I have no righteousness of my own but the righteousness of Christ He has graciously given to me. I am a sinner saved by grace through faith in Jesus. I write this so that you also may know Jesus truly, and you will be saved.

As I quoted from the beginning, if you lack wisdom, ask of God. He will give it to you. But ask in faith with no doubting. Know what God has said in His word and believe it. As Hebrews 11:6 says, "And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists, and that He rewards those who seek Him."

The following is a sermon delivered on the Lord's Day, May 31, 2020, at First Southern Baptist Church in Junction City, KS. The text was from Matthew 6:7-8 on the subject of not praying like a pagan.

5 "And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

7 "And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. 9 Pray then like this:

"Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever, Amen."

In case you haven't been watching the news lately, our culture is currently in chaos. That is an evergreen observation. Really, is there ever a time in our world where it could not be said that everything is a mess? Someone ten years from now may hear a recording of this sermon and think, "Wow, did he record this just yesterday?"

Perhaps you woke up this morning, you got ready to come to church, and you asked yourself, "I wonder if Gabe is going to preach a sermon related to all the crazy stuff that's going on." The answer is yes. No matter what the current events may be, I can think of nothing better to preach on than the power of prayer.

Jesus begins His lesson on prayer by teaching us how not to pray, which we considered last week in verses 5 and 6. He said, "When you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites," once again confronting matters of the heart. Don't behave one way in view of others and in your heart be far from God. You may fool others, but you cannot fool God. He knows the mind and heart of every man, and He will render to each person according to his ways (Jeremiah 17:10). So take heart that the Lord is near.

Jesus says, "But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret." Do not pray wanting man to see you. Pray knowing that God sees you.

Notice that Jesus describes our Father as being in secret. Why is God in secret? Because He is holy and we are not. Because man has sinned against God, we are separated from God. Part of the curse upon mankind is that God would be more difficult for us to see. And yet as Paul preached at the Areopagus in Acts 17:27, "He is actually not far from each one of us." He said in Romans 1:20, "His invisible attributes, namely, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made."

So it may be difficult to see God, but we can certainly know that He is there—most especially because Jesus reveals the Father to us. John 1:18 says, "No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side," that is Christ, "He has made Him known." Colossians 1:15 says that Jesus "is the image of the invisible God." Verse 19 says, "For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell." In Matthew 11:27, Jesus said, "No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him."

We know the Father in heaven through Jesus Christ the Son. And when I say know, I don't simply mean we know of the Father. I mean we know the Father as intimately as anyone may know their own earthly father. We have a relationship with the Father through the Son. We have been adopted as sons and daughters of God through Christ the Son of God. For now, we see God by faith. But as Horatio Spafford so famously penned, "Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight."

The rest of verse 6 says, "And your Father who sees in secret will reward you." There's some interesting phraseology there in the Greek. The King James Bible and the Young's Literal Translation both say that the Father will reward you openly. "Your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly." The point being that you pray to the Father in secret not to be seen by others, and the Father will reward you in such a way as to be seen by others. Now, that doesn't mean God is going to heap open reward on you so that you will become the envy of all your friends.

Remember again 1 Peter 5:6 which says, "Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you." There's a proper time when the Father will reward you, and that time may be in heaven among the saints, who will see the reward your Father gives you, and we will all glorify God because of it. So do not pray to be known by men. Pray as you are known by your Father who is in heaven.

Don't pray like the hypocrites—that's the instruction in verses 5 and 6. But then we get to verses 7 and 8, and Jesus says, "Don't pray like the Gentiles either." I want you to notice something before you continue on. Notice that in verse 6, Jesus says, "When you pray, go into your room and shut the door."

Many pious Jews loved to pray near open windows so that they could be heard by others. You might pass by someone's house and hear them praying even from their own dwelling, so you will think, "Wow, that guy must be really godly. Listen to how often he prays, even in his own home."

That's why Jesus says, "Go to an inner place in the house and shut the door." You're probably familiar with the King James Version that says, "But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet." This was the part of the house where extra garments and vessels and sleeping mats were stored. Jesus was basically saying, "Don't pray to be heard by others. Go pray where only the mats will hear you."

Now notice that in verse 7, Jesus says, "And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do." So here's the flow of Jesus' instructions. First, He says don't pray like the hypocrites. Don't stand up in the synagogues or out on the street corners with your arms in the air so that others will see you.

(By the way, if you have ever wondered why a standard posture of prayer is to bow your head and close your eyes, this is why. It's a posture contrary to the way the hypocrites prayed. They lifted the head and their hands, standing out in public so they might be seen by others. But you close your eyes and bow your head. Pray to the Father in secret. Now, even bowing your head and closing your eyes can be hypocritical, but anyway—I'm just sharing with you a fun fact as to why we pray with heads bowed and eyes closed.)

The point remains, don't pray out in the open to be seen by others. "Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward," Jesus says. If the recognition of man is what they want, then that's all they're going to get. "But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door."

So a disciple of Jesus has followed Jesus' instructions, they go into their room to pray, and how do they pray? Well first of all, Jesus says, "Do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words." This instruction is in the context of private prayer. Assuming you've gone into your room and closed the door, don't start praying like a pagan. There is a way to pray to your heavenly Father, and it's not the way the pagans pray to their gods.

Yes, we have the word Gentiles here, but pagan is synonymous with Gentile. The Greek word is ethnikos, and in addition to Gentile, it also means pagan or heathen. This is anyone who is a non-Jew. If you were not of the people of God descended from Abraham, you were a pagan. The same is true today in this way—if you are not of the people of God through Christ, you are a pagan.

What is a pagan? Basically a pagan is someone who worships the created rather than the Creator. Even those who claim to worship God may still actually be pagans. For example, a Mormon may claim to worship the Creator, but they worship a created Jesus. Literally, their Jesus is created. He is the literal offspring of God the father. A Muslim may claim to worship the Creator, but they worship a version of god created by Muhammad.

Other gods are obviously the creations of men—gods like Zeus, Hera, and Poseidon among the Greeks; Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva among Hindus; Yama, Mahakala, and Yamantaka among the Buddhists. These are not creators, they are created. They are idols wrought by man to do man's bidding.

Even atheists, agnostics, and other secular humanists worship gods. He worships the god of self. He worships the god of naturalism. He worships the god of materialism. His moral standard is whatever he wants it to be.

I have never met an atheist who wasn't spiritual. I've known atheists who were into various forms of Buddhism or Taoism or finding inner peace or getting in touch with nature or new ageism or reading horoscopes or communicating with the dead or dabbling in witchcraft or the occult. Atheists are some of the most spiritual people I've ever met. They just hate the God of the Bible.

The late atheist Carl Sagan was really into searching for extraterrestrial life. Now, you may have never thought of this before, but the search for extraterrestrial life is pagan. It is attempting to communicate with or hear from intelligences on a plain of existence beyond our own. Does that not also sound like the definition of a séance—in which the participants attempt to channel ghosts or evil spirits?

A few weeks ago, the Pentagon declassified several videos that show UAPs: Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon. (This is the new term they're using to replace UFO, which is an Unidentified Flying Object. I've always said, "Yeah, I've seen a UFO. I saw a flying object I couldn't identify—hence, a UFO." But saying that is totally different than saying, "I believe in aliens from another planet.")

Anyway, I've watched these videos that were released by the Pentagon, and what they show are flying objects that cannot be identified, and what they do in the air defies physics. No one knows what they are, where they came from, or where they go. These are not video tricks. It's not a bug on the lens of a camera or anything like that. They are verified by our own military intelligence as airborne objects defying what we know of natural law.

A documentary film recently came out entitled Close Encounters of the Fifth Kind: Contact Has Begun. This documentary is not another one of those films interviewing people who are speculating what's inside Area 51 or talking about a UFO they might have seen. This documentary includes real-life prestigious scientists who say we have already made contact with these extra-terrestrials, and they tell you how you can communicate with them, too.

One of the things that is stated in the documentary is that these extra-terrestrials—not aliens, but ETs, who exist and communicate on a whole other level—they are not a threat to our national security, they are not a threat to our planet, but they are a threat to how we view ourselves, theologically and philosophically. That doesn't mean we should fear these entities, the filmmakers say. It means we should want to learn more about them. As Carl Sagan said decades ago, "When we learn who they are, we will learn who we are."

Building a certain narrative, the documentary pushes the viewer to believe that we need more people to make contact with these entities. The film even uses the word "relationship." We need to have a "relationship" with them. Since these beings travel and communicate on a whole other quantum level, we also need to communicate with them on their level. How do we do that if their technology is so much more advanced than ours? We communicate with them—no kidding—through thought and meditation. The documentary tells the viewer how to make contact with extra-terrestrials using meditative practices and shares the testimonies of people, including educated scientists, who have accomplished this.

Friends, this is the occult. It's a satanic ritual. These are the same practices pagans have employed for centuries to communicate with their spirits. It doesn't matter that you now want to call your séance science. It's still demonic. I don't deny that they're making contact with something. I absolutely believe they are. But they're communicating with demons, not ALF. You might be able to reach across the void and communicate with these intelligences, too, and you may not like what you find there.

In Deuteronomy 18:10-14, the Lord says to His people, "There shall not be found among you… anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord. And because of these abominations the Lord your God is driving them out before you. You shall be blameless before the Lord your God, for these nations, which you are about to dispossess listen to fortune-tellers and to diviners. But as for you, the Lord your God has not allowed you to do this."

A pagan priest can even look like a scientist. What we call sorcery might be modern medicine, and what we call divination might be an attempt to communicate with an extra-terrestrial intelligence. The point being: even secular naturalists pray. They pray like pagans. And what does Jesus say here? Don't pray like pagans.

Prayer is not a mindless, thoughtless enterprise. We're not trying to empty our thinking and become one with everything around us. Our union is with the Father. He is a person. Yes, He is God, but He is a person—the first person of the Trinity. And like any conversation you have with any person, prayer is talking to God.

Though God is invisible, He is not absent. He is with us when we pray. There must be substance to our prayers. Furthermore, there must be sense in the words that we pray. You don't utter nonsense when you're talking with a friend—at least I hope you don't. Maybe I need to ask your friends. Likewise, don't speak nonsense when you talk to God.

Jesus says here, "And when you pray, do no heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do," or in the King James, "as the heathen do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words." What are these many words that we are talking about? When we read "empty phrases" or "vain repetitions" or "mindless speech," the Greek word here is battalogeo. This is the only place in the New Testament the word appears. It's actually a composite of two words: batta and logos, meaning "to speak." Literally, the word is "batta-speak."

The pagans would pray these prayers that were long on noise but short on meaning. They might pick one word or sound and repeat it over and over and over again, to remain in a state of prayer but not actually saying anything. The standard way of describing such prayers was "batta-speak." It's as if they were reciting "batta" over and over, and it just sounded like "batta-batta-batta-batta-batta-batta." (When I learned this, it reminded me of being at a baseball game, and saying, "Hey, batta batta batta batta batta, swing batta!") It's like the way we use the word "yadda." So this kind of prayer would be like saying, "Dear God, yadda yadda yadda."

Is there any kind of prayer in the church today that might resemble this kind of prayer that Jesus is telling us not to pray? Perhaps you thought of the practice we call "speaking in tongues." But what the Assemblies of God church or the Pentecostal church down the street calls "speaking in tongues" is not what the Bible calls "speaking in tongues." In the Bible, speaking in tongues is speaking other human languages. But the charismatic notion of speaking in tongues is nonsensical gibberish.

In his book Strange Fire, John MacArthur points out that the Pentecostal charismatic movement "radically changed their interpretation of the New Testament, manipulating the text in order to justify and preserve a counterfeit. Thus, the clear teaching of Scripture about languages was twisted in order to redefine tongues as nonsensical gibberish and thereby fit the modern phenomenon" (pg. 72).

My friends, if praying in gibberish is really how you want to pray, I can teach you how to do that. You will be able to pray with the best of the nonsensical preachers, like Kenneth Copeland, Benny Hinn, and Joyce Meyer. Are you interested? Here is a prayer following the charismatic practice of praying in tongues:

"She came in on a Honda. O my shin, O my knee. See my bow tie. Tie my bow tie."

And now I will interpret this prayer for you: "She came in on a Honda. O my shin, O my knee. See my bow tie. Tie my bow tie." There you have it. Praying in tongues.

Perhaps you saw the video that went viral a few months ago featuring televangelist Perry Stone, praying in tongues while he was playing on his cell phone. At first he prayed the gibberish I just demonstrated for you. Then he started going, "Yes, Lord, have your way, have your way, have your way." Then it looks like he gets a text message or something, for he starts playing on his phone, but he's still trying to speak in tongues, and he can't do two things at the same time. So what comes out of him is just obnoxious groaning. Then he goes back to mindless repetition again saying, "By the anointing, by the anointing, by the anointing, by the anointing."

Jesus called this kind of prayer pagan because that's what it is. The pagans pray just like this: batta batta batta batta batta. It's nonsense. No where in the Bible do you find any instruction to pray this way. Every prayer in the Bible—from Moses to Joshua, from David to Solomon, from Elijah to Elisha, from Isaiah to Ezekiel, from Jesus to Paul—every prayer makes sense. When Jesus teaches us how to pray, He teaches us a clear, articulate prayer. This gibberish that is called "speaking in tongues" is pagan. Don't pray like a pagan.

Verse 7 again: "And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words." Ecclesiastes 10:14 says, "A fool multiplies words." Jesus goes on to say, "Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him."

In other words, there's no need to drone on and on believing as the pagans do that the longer you're in a state of prayer, the greater the likelihood that God will hear you. If you are a Christian, God is with you. Of course He hears you. You are His child. And if you know that God knows all, then you know that God knows your needs even better than you know your needs. He who searches mind and heart knows what you're going to say before you say it.

Read Psalm 139.

That's a prayer we just read. All one hundred and fifty Psalms are prayers. If you need more examples on what to pray, there's literally a whole book of the Bible filled with them. Here David has said, "Before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether." Your thoughts aren't nonsense, are they? (Again, I might have to ask your friends about that.) If your thoughts aren't nonsense, don't let your words be nonsense. Pray clear prayers to the Lord as He has taught us to pray.

Now, just because God knows what we are going to pray before we pray it, that's no excuse not to pray. Don't say to yourself, "Well if God knows what I'm going to ask for, then why do I even need to bother asking?" That's prideful. That's like saying, "Well, my wife is supposed to love me no matter what, so why do I need to talk to her?" You talk to her because you want to—because you love her.

Likewise, pray to God because you want to. Just like you should talk to your spouse because you want to, because you love your spouse, pray to God because you love Him. You cannot have a relationship with someone you never talk to, and so it is the same with God. To neglect to pray to God is selfish. It's prideful. It's to say you've got this whole thing figured out and you don't need God.

Read Isaiah 7.

Call me narrow-minded, but I still believe the sins that divide people—any and all hatred whether it be racism, sexism, or otherwise—can be conquered by the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that produces godliness. The Bible says that when we deviate from the gospel, we will fight and quarrel.

In his sermon at the Areopagus, the Apostle Paul said that God "made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place" (Acts 17:26).

Every single human being on earth is descended from one man, Adam. There is only one race—the human race. What we call racism, prejudice against another on the basis of their skin tone, is absurd (as all sin is) since fundamentally there's no such thing as races. There's also no such thing as "red and yellow, black and white," as the Sunday school song goes. Essentially, we're all the same color—just varying shades of brown, depending on how much melanin you have. To pass judgment on another for the tones of our skin is to pass judgment on yourself.

What divides people—from each other and most especially from God—is sin. We are all sinners. The problem of sin will persist until God comes to judge the world in righteousness. But in love He sent a Savior, Jesus Christ the Righteous One, who died on the cross for our sins and rose again from the grave. For those who believe in Jesus, He cleanses us of all unrighteousness, pours His love into our hearts, and reconciles us to God and to each other, "making peace by the blood of His cross" (Colossians 1:20). The only true unity is found in Christ. Believe in Him, and you will be saved.

Now, that sounds like a biblical way to begin a discussion about race, doesn't it? I'd have thought a well-known Christian teacher like Phil Vischer would think so, too. But his recent 18-minute video "Holy Post—Race in America," delivered while sitting in the same studio from which he emcees his What's in the Bible? video series, is strangely without Bible.

The Story

Vischer's video is supposed to be a no-nonsense history lesson on race in America to explain why black Americans continue to face injustice today. But while he may have good intentions, he falls into the same Critical Race Theory methodology a few teachers (and it feels like fewer and fewer teachers) in the church have been warning against. The first time I watched the video, I went, "Wow!" But the second time I watched it, I went, "Wha?" The cultural Marxist nuance became more apparent.

But before I talk about that, even with the most gracious viewing of Vischer's video, you might walk away seeing a problem, but you're given no solutions. He even says, "I'm not here to tell you what the right solutions are, because I don't know." That is astonishing! The creator of VeggieTales and JellyTelly, who did an entire video series for kids called What's in the Bible?, doesn't know any solutions to the ills of society? Not even, say, the gospel of Jesus Christ? Is the gospel so powerless to heal that our Bible teachers now think they have to be Social Justice Warriors in order to accomplish anything?

Back in 1980, Andre Crouch was leading congregations singing, "Jesus is the answer for the world today." Forty years later, too many minsters are bowing to the culture and saying, "I don't know the answer for the world today." We have a whole book full of answers. It's called the Bible. And in the Bible, our Savior delivered quite the indictment when He asked the Pharisees, "Have you not read?"

You cannot fix racism without the gospel. You can tear down all the confederate statues, you can change the names on your buildings, you can change your bottles of syrup and your rice boxes and your tubs of butter, and you would still have the problem of sin in the human heart. Nothing can fix that but God. Vischer should know as well as anyone that even a tomato can quote John 3:16.

This is the most scathing criticism of Vischer's video that I can make, and it's really the only one I need to make. But I've been on social media for about as long as it's been around, and I know someone is saying, "Sure, Gabe. Whatever. You just don't want to deal with the issues. What about the data Phil Vischer presented? You can't argue with the facts!" Alright, let's consider the substance of his video.

The Substance

At the start of Vischer's video, he says, "We need to talk about race." But what drives the video is actually to respond to his second question: "Why are people angry?" After taking the next 16 minutes to present his case, he concludes by saying, "And that is why people are angry." Between these two statements, Vischer believes he has proven, beyond a reasonable doubt, the problem of systemic racism in our society.

According to Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice, the leading university textbook on this issue, systemic or institutional racism is defined as, "The network of institutional structures, policies, and practices that create advantages and benefits for Whites, and discrimination, oppression, and disadvantage for people from targeted racial groups. The advantages created for Whites are often invisible to them. Or are considered 'rights' available to everyone as opposed to 'privileges' awarded to only some individuals and groups" (pg. 93).

Vischer proceeds to untangle that "network of institutional structures, policies, and practices" to show that it favors whites and discriminates against or even oppresses blacks. Some of the problems that Vischer highlights are legitimate problems for everyone, like our over-reliance on incarceration. But there are other things Vischer made problems that aren't problems, like "militarized police" or income inequality (both the highest standard of living and the greatest income inequality is among Asians).

Nothing he presented means all white people are at fault (an accusation he makes at 15:34) or that black people are systemically oppressed. He did not point to a single current law that discriminates against a particular group of people. The laws of yester-year and random bits of regionally-based out-of-context not-sourced data do not prove systemic or institutional racism.

Of course, none of that matters to the worldview of systemic racism (also known as being "woke"). It doesn't matter that everyone already has equal rights, or that the same laws apply to everyone. According to the woke, those laws aren't being applied equally to everyone. Now, that's going to be the case under any system of law. Injustice happens. When we see someone being treated unjustly, we should do something about that. I wholeheartedly agree.

But the thinkers behind the idea of institutional racism want you to believe entire groups are being treated unjustly, and white people are solely to blame. Look again at the definition institutional racism. That definition has been gamed to make you think whites are oppressing every other minority group. That's the worldview Vischer is looking through. Everything he presents is with the objective to make you "woke" to systemic racism and that white people are to blame.

I want you to think for a moment about the recent death of George Floyd. I'm sure you have an opinion about it. Did Floyd die because he was black? If you said yes, then you've been affected by the systemic racism narrative. It's based on assumption, not facts. We don't know that the death of Floyd had anything to do with race. It was a horrible injustice, but it would have been no matter whom it happened to. We don't know that Derrek Chauvin, the officer who killed him, was racially motivated. In fact, four officers were charged in Floyd's death, and they weren't four white men.

There's an idea infecting our society that black men are being hunted by cops. It is a vicious lie. According to a recent article in The Wall Street Journal by Heather MacDonald, police officers in America fatally shot just over 1,000 people last year. Of those thousand persons, 235 were black, and 9 of those black men were unarmed. Without knowing any other specifics, does that sound like America's police force is exterminating black men? Statistically a police officer is 18.5 times more likely to be killed by a black man than a black man is to be killed by a police officer. (Here's the information on police officers killed in the line of duty last year.)

So far in 2020, it seems like we have only been hearing about the bad things police officers do. Even during the pandemic, we were watching videos of cops arresting people going to church or the beach. These images affect our perceptions. Where are the stories about the great things police officers do? How many lives did they save last year? America's police officers have over 375 million encounters with civilians annually. Don't let yourself be so emotionally triggered by the occasional viral video and automatically assume a short out-of-context clip is indicative of a major problem.

Back to my point, Vischer's info isn't fair. In addition to not wanting to take a balanced look at the data, there are problems he didn't want to touch on at all—like personal responsibility; rampant fatherlessness among blacks; the difficulties in coming from a broken family; the rise in black on black crime; how the welfare system keeps black people poor; the disproportionate number of black babies being aborted compared to other ethnicities; and the fact that 4 out of 5 Planned Parenthood clinics are built in minority neighborhoods.

Do not think Vischer presented cold data and hard facts with no bias. Aside from his lack of citations, the problem is not with his info as much as with the way he presents it. He's been influenced by a particular worldview, looking at the world through a certain lens. I'm going to give you another example of this, then I want to show you something about Vischer's sources, and then I'm going to offer some solutions. At the tail end, I will provide additional resources for you to look at for yourself. You need to do some research on your own.

The Sources

In the last portion of his presentation, Vischer talks about something called "unconscious bias." Now, everyone has biases they're not aware of. Everyone. But no two people's biases are the same. Yet Vischer argues that while white people aren't racist, they are biased, showing favor toward other white people more often than they show favor to blacks. Black people, on the other hand, do not have this kind of bias. They're actually more fair than white people.

This is not only wrong, it's divisive—especially considering Vischer is just pointing at perceived problems with no solutions. Vischer may think he's being charitable by avoiding tropes like "white privilege" or saying "all white people are racists." But he's sowing dissension and evil suspicion by making judgments based on assumptions. The Bible strictly tells teachers to avoid doing what he's doing (1 Timothy 6:3-16 and 2 Timothy 2:14-26).

Even without knowing what Scripture says, the people who attempt to measure unconscious bias know it's impossible to determine with accuracy or fairness. Canadian clinical psychologist Jordan Peterson is one of the foremost critics of testing for unconscious bias, which never yields the same result twice. He points out that unconscious bias "only accounts for a fraction of your behavior. There's all sorts of other things at work as well." The experts who test for unconscious bias "know it's not reliable," and they know "you can't train people out of their unconscious biases."

Vischer doesn't talk about unconscious bias until the end of the video, but the idea underscores the entire presentation. Again, he says, "We, the majority culture," meaning whites, have caused all the problems for blacks. Friends, this is satanic. The name Satan means "the accuser" or "the adversary," and that's what this kind of thinking turns us into. We're constantly suspecting one another of evil intentions and becoming adversaries to each other. Such Christless thinking has no place among God's people. Perhaps Vischer is not doing this on purpose, but that's no less problematic. Bad company corrupts good morals (1 Corinthians 15:33), and Vischer's influences aren't good.

If you manage to make it through his awkward "Care Stare" at the end, past the on-screen reference to Isaiah 1:17, past the on-screen quote from Mr. Rogers, and past the on-screen quote from Bob Pierce, you'll arrive at a single white credit screen. On the left are the creators of the video: "Written by Phil and Rob Vischer; Produced by Phil Vischer." On the right are Vischer's sources: Michelle Alexander, Erin Blakemore, and Malcolm Gladwell. These persons—all three of Phil Vischer's sources—are pro-LGBTQ, and include "gay rights" under the banner of Social Justice.

I point this out for three reasons. First, if Phil Vischer's video sounds like your typical liberal talk on racial inequality, that's because it is. Second, worldview matters, and Vischer's views on race appear to be influenced by a mostly liberal worldview—worse than liberal, a worldview that is actively hostile against a Christian standard of ethics. (Note: Gladwell claims he's a Christian, but in addition to calling "gay marriage"beautiful and good, he thinks of Jesus as a revolutionary figure, not the incarnate Son of God.)

Third, and perhaps most concerning, the Social Justice movement and the LGBTQ agenda are inextricably linked. Too many Christians don't understand this. The Black Lives Matter movement was started by three liberal feminists who want to "disrupt the Western-prescribed [traditional] family structure,""foster a queer-affirming network," and "dismantle [straight] privilege" for their "transgender brothers and sisters." Black Lives Matter is being used by its founders to advance LGBTQ causes.

That textbook I mentioned earlier, Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice, was edited by Maurianne Adams, Lee Anne Bell, and Pat Griffin—all liberal feminists and pro-LGBTQ. According to this book, the struggle for LGBTQ equality is every bit the same as the struggle for racial equality. The Civil Rights movement in the 20th century has been hijacked by the Social Justice movement in the 21st century in order to dismantle capitalism and usher in socialism, disrupt the traditional family in favor of a collective, and destroy religious freedom for sexual liberty.

Do you think I'm reaching? Look again at Phil Vischer's video. He criticized the nation's economic, legal, and political structures as unjust; mentioned nothing about abortion, personal responsibility, or rampant fatherlessness among blacks; and though he is a Bible teacher, he said not a word about Christ or His gospel. Why? Because his video was more influenced by a socialist, anti-family, irreligious worldview than by his Christian worldview.

Am I saying Phil Vischer isn't a Christian? Not at all. What I'm saying is that he doesn't have to openly align himself with the Social Justice narrative to demonstrate he's been affected by it. He's not the only one. This week alone, I heard a pastor I once admired yell at other pastors for saying, "Just preach the gospel." Another once reformed pastor is teaching his people, "Black solidarity before Christian." And in case you haven't seen, I was criticized by "Christian Twitter" for sharing the gospel with a foul-mouthed rapper instead of bowing the knee to his critical race theory.

Now the creator of VeggieTales and What's in the Bible? can't think of any solutions to society's ills. To many of our Christian leaders, the gospel is not enough, and the Bible is insufficient. They're becoming priests of the Social Justice movement whether they signed up to be ordained or not. I'm not trying to win an argument here. I'm trying to warn the church not to be suckered into this. All I want is for the name of Christ to be proclaimed.

The Solution

If you want to change the world, preach the gospel: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners (1 Timothy 1:15). We are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone to the glory of God alone. Get back to the basics of the Great Commission: go into all the world and make disciples of all nations, baptizing in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that Christ has commanded (Matthew 28:18-20).

Among those commandments are to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. Husband, love your wife as Christ loves the church. Wife, submit to your husband as is fitting in the Lord. Children, obey your parents in the Lord for this is right. Raise godly churches and families. If you don't think the gospel and these imperatives when lived in the Spirit of Christ will drastically change a community, no matter the "color" of that community, you don't know the power of God.

Teach Christians to put to death sexual immorality and covetousness. Put away anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Take off the old self and its practices, and put on the new self, which is being renewed after the image of its Creator. "Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.

"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must also forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."

That was Colossians 3:11-17. (Eventually, I just have to shut up and let the word of God preach.) I recommend that you also read Romans 12, Galatians 5, and Ephesians 4-5 today. If people repented of sin and followed Jesus Christ, if they did what the word of God says, if even our laws were shaped by God's Law, don't you think our society would be in a much better place than it is now? Then why aren't you preaching that?

Will the world hate you if you don't bow the knee to their BLM and SJW and LGBTQ idols? Of course they will. Jesus said, "If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you." The church has been speaking out for equality and justice for centuries. We don't need Black Lives Matter and Social Justice to accomplish that labor. These worldly movements are antithetical to biblical Christianity. They keep people divided and solve nothing. Have nothing to do with them.

Don't let society drive the narrative. Let the Bible be your guide. We all are made in the image of God, we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, we all need the gospel and reconciliation with God. Not one single cause on this cursed earth is more important than preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. As Romans 1:16 says, "I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes."

Special thanks to Thiago Cavalcanti, who forced me to do my homework.


Additional Links (more may be added later)

Dr. Voddie Baucham: Irreconcilable Views of Reconciliation (Ephesians 2:11-22)
https://youtu.be/1qZdIseCkZc

Dr. Voddie Baucham: Ethnic Gnosticsm
https://youtu.be/Ip3nV6S_fYU

D.B. Harrison and Virgil Walker: George Floyd and the Gospel
https://thebarpodcast.com/JT/index.php/2020/06/01/george-floyd-and-the-gospel/

Phil Johnson: Wokeism is a Hateful Religion
http://teampyro.blogspot.com/2020/06/wokeness-is-hateful-religion.html

Dr. Thomas Sowell: The Myths of Economic Inequality
https://youtu.be/mS5WYp5xmvI

Dr. Thomas Sowell: Fallacies of Race
https://youtu.be/g6IJV_0p64s

Ben Shapiro: "It has nothing to do with race and everything to do with culture."
https://youtu.be/qSmiZCQP58o

Ben Shapiro: The Myth of Systemic Police Racism
https://youtu.be/DJ4rLmVnVxc

Denzel Washington: "Don't blame the system for black incarceration. It starts at home."
https://youtu.be/O0dCvQdt5XI

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