“The culture wars are being fought in virtually every sphere of life—government, business, law, politics, commerce, education, the sciences, media, the arts, entertainment, religion, marriage, family, health care, and popular culture to name just a few. Each of these spheres produces seemingly unrelated instances of cultural conflict. Yet, it is in the accumulation of such present-day moments of conflict that we gain an understanding and direction of the cultural drift. The purpose of these posts and the books I have written is to participate in the redemption of culture in all institutions of American life through sharing the truth of the biblical worldview which was at the heart of the nation’s founding and formed the central cultural vision by which it is to be governed.
Over the last 15 years I have written and posted many articles about American culture from the perspective of the biblical worldview. Therefore, I have selected a few of the posts that continue to offer time-tested answers to the questions of life and the turmoil found in modern society that we encounter every day.”
Larry G. Johnson
Church, Inc. – Part IV
Series on the Modern Lukewarm Evangelical Church – No. 9 In Part IV we shall look at the fifth (Sardisean) period of the seven periods of history in the Church Age. The Reformation era (1517-1720) is described as similar to the church at Sardis (the dead church) in the first century. In this period the Bible’s doctrines, leadership gifts, and the gifts of the Spirit continued to be substantially ignored, compromised, corrupted, or abandoned altogether. • Sardis – The dead church (AD 1517-1720). It was representative of the church that is dead or at the point of death even though it still had a minority of godly men and women. The great charge against this church was hypocrisy. It was not what it appeared to […]
Church, Inc. – Part III
Series on the Modern Lukewarm Evangelical Church – No. 8 In Part III we shall examine the third and fourth periods (Pergamum and Thyatira) of the seven periods of history in the Church Age and how the Bible doctrines, leadership gifts, and the gifts of the Spirit were substantially compromised, corrupted, or abandoned altogether. These periods encompass the rise of the Roman Catholic Church in the fourth century (300s) to the Reformation era beginning in 1517. The Church enters the era of compromise • Pergamum – Church of compromise (AD 312-590). It was labeled as the “throne of Satan” and the church where Satan dwelled. This church mixed with the world. They were faithful in spirit but filthy in flesh. They communed with persons of […]
Church, Inc. – Part II
Series on the Modern Lukewarm Evangelical Church – No. 7 To summarize, Satan has continually sought to compromise and corrupt God’s design, organization, and operation of the church (i.e., “church government and operation”) during the seven periods of the Church Age. This church government and operation is portrayed by and rests upon the leadership gifts given to the elders of the church and the gifts of the Spirit given to all members of the body of Christ. When Satan corrupts the operation of the leadership gifts as well as the gifts of the Spirit, he has successfully corrupted the organization and operation of the church. When the local members of the body of Christ abandon, misuse, compromise, or corrupt these gifts, it creates disarray and […]
Church, Inc. – Part I
Series on the Modern Lukewarm Evangelical Church – No. 6 Satan hates God but has no power to strike directly at Him. Satan’s arrogant pride caused him to attempt to raise himself to the level of God. Perhaps this was the first time any being ever chose to sin against God. As a result, Satan and one-third of all the angels who cast their lot with Satan were cast out of Heaven to earth. The only means left for Satan to strike back at God was to separate mankind from God by causing men to sin and thus destroying mankind’s eternal relationship with their Creator. Satan’s attack on mankind began in the Garden when he deceived our first ancestors and caused them to be cast […]
Church, Inc. – Introduction
Series on the Modern Lukewarm Evangelical Church – No. 5 The God of the Bible is the God of order, and this order can be readily seen and understood. The Bible tells us in Genesis 1:1 that “In the beginning God created…” What did he create? He created the heaven and the earth and much more. In all of His creative efforts he had a purpose. He revealed to humanity that He was a glorious God and that He was their creator. 1 The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. 2 Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. 3 They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard. 4 Yet […]