Over the past 20 months, Christians from all denominations from all walks of life across Canada have been witnessing clergy not only being fined but being arrested and sometimes having their church property seized. It is clear that the current public health mandates throughout Canada, regardless of which province one may reside, there’s a usurping of authority over the Christian Church that has not been seen, I believe, anytime in recent history.
When we see men of God who faithfully preach the word of Christ and are faithfully calling people to repentance be silenced by the government, it brings great concern and even shakes many believers to the very core. It is clear, that every one of us holds to a specific doctrinal distinctive. Presbyterians, Baptists, Lutherans, and other denominations have key doctrinal positions that give them their identity. Therefore, within these positions, one can look through their theology and see if such denominations hold onto what is commonly known as sound theology or orthodox theology. But if someone does not hold to these doctrines, can we still support them? Here is why I ask.
Over the past few months, we have seen certain men [from questionable doctrine and church backgrounds] becoming charged, arrested and fined who do not necessarily hold onto sound orthodoxy. What I mean is when you review their statements of faith, when you review their ecclesiology when you examine their history, the alarm bells will start to rise, and the questions will start being asked “are these people holding to the true gospel?” and “are they indeed a Christian movement?” This is an excellent place to be because it is good to ask those questions. As believers, we must adhere and hold close to the words of the apostle Paul when he tells his young apprentice Timothy to “do your best to present yourself to God as one approved a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth”. (2 Tim 2:15).
So it is not wrong to dissect someone’s doctrine to ensure they are sound and orthodox; the question that we need to address today is, can we, as grounded believers in Christ, support those targeted by the government over their conscience of religion? I would pose quickly in this blog post that the answer is yes. I say yes because clearly, we all have doctrinal differences. Not all differences mean the opposing side is apostate or heretical. Further, there is a time and place for careful examination and determining if a movement really is truly Christian or not. That is part of our Christian discipleship, but as Canadians, as individuals living in a free and democratic society, we also live as citizens under the banner of freedom. As such, legislation has been passed that states all people, regardless of whether they are Protestant Christian, Catholic, Buddhist, Muslim, or any other faith, can exercise their faith conscience without being targeted. Every Canadian has a right to have a conscience of a belief, thought of association, and assembly. So when we see injustices taking place, we must speak up.
Let me use this as an example; when we (Christians) hear of abortions taking place, we will speak up and declare that murder is wrong. When we learn of individuals who are stealing and causing great harm because of their theft, we will speak up because it is wrong. As Christians, when we see injustices on a larger scale, we have a duty to speak, provide hope and this is what needs to take place across Canada right now.
We see individuals from all walks of life having their lives destroyed and targeted because they hold onto conscience and convictions, which are supposed to be protected under Canadian legislation. And so, this is why the believer speaks out; the faithful Christian speaks out because if we do not stand up for those rights, those rights will be quickly quashed. So when we see people targeted, we support them because we know that they’re going through a crisis. We reach out to them in love and try to tell them that they are not alone in this struggle.
Does this mean we agree with them fully? Of course not. Does this mean we have aligned ourselves doctrinally to their positions? I would say absolutely not. We can fight injustice, even alongside those with whom we do not fully agree with.
I hope that this pandemic will slow down in time, and in time we will be able to once again focus on the doctrinal concerns with some of these men. Furthermore, to speak with these individuals and call them out on their potential apostasy and potential heresy and even discuss that some movements are pretty cultish. But right now, we stand and can say what is taking place is wrong. Right now, we can say this needs to stop. Right now, we, as believers and as pastors, can say enough is enough.
In closing, may I say, I in no way endorse cultish ideologies, nor do I tolerate apostate and heretical teachings. I believe it is my responsibility as a pastor to protect the flock from such dangerous doctrines entering the church and to ensure our people can refute those when they are presented with them. Therefore, I am not saying that we must support every movement out there claiming to be Christian when they are arrested. I am simply saying we need to have a voice and speak up when we see injustices take place across Canada. I hope this helps you in your decision-making process as you see more and more pastors being arrested, more so specifically when those men who are called pastors do not line up to what we would deem orthodox Christianity.
In His Grace,
Pastor Steve
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