Canceled

I was reading an article a few weeks ago about Chris Pratt and his fear over being canceled in today’s cancel culture. This fear apparently stems from him being rather conservative and possibly having ties to the Hillsong church and it got me thinking.

Never has there ever been a time where what you stand for means so much to everyone around you. I know people have always been removed from spot lights and such for various reasons, but I don’t remember a time where it came down to who you supported during the presidential election, who you have ties to, or where you got to church.

This is also the first time I can recall that a culture was so fixated on shutting people down that it received the title: Cancel Culture.

We are at time where we either have to receive the truth and be exiled from culture or Twist the truth so that we can fit into the culture. There hasn’t been a time in my history where it’s been so important to understand what we believe and why we believe it. There have been arguements where people believe if you get a tattoo you’re going to hell. If you listen to rock music you’re going to hell. If Ol’ Hank, Willie, and Twitty aren’t what you’re playing your going to hell. But never a time, that I can remember in the last couple decades that we stand in a place where the fundamentals of what we believe is being so furiously attacked.

The foundation of Men and women and marriage- the fact that there are only two genders and homosexuality is sin.

The foundation of life and abortion- murder is sin and abortion is murder

Whose life matters more- every life matters no matter your skin color or age.

Physician assisted suicide and what is being deemed as the suicide pill given to the elderly and sick.

What do you believe?

Is the most important question you can ask.

Second is

Why do you believe it?

If you cannot tangibly and biblically understand and explain why you believe what you believe you are in the highest danger of canceling your faith.

I want to open with this Scripture

Matthew 10:33 ESV

but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

we are going to get into the entire chunk of this scripture, but I want this part to sink in.

Are we more worried about being canceled by culture or Or canceled by Christ?

What does it mean to deny Christ?

1 John 2:22–23 ESV

Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also.

Showing this verse because it reiterates the foundation of What we believe and should testify too. First denying Christ is Denying the idea that there is God. This one most of us can grasp.

The issue is this: Many believe in Jesus and God, but lump him in with other dieties or beliefs and then we say we are Spiritual.

Knowing that Christ and God exist are extremely important, but the bible tells us that demons understand this and yet they still are bound to hell.

So it’s isn’t enough to just confess, it but rather if we confess Jesus is Lord and Savior he must receive and apply biblical truth to our lives no matter the cost.

This comes down to faith and works. Faith by itself is dead and works alone is dead. It’s only when we have faith and works together that produces life. If we are a moral person without Faith we still do not enter heaven.

John 14:6 ESV

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

There is only 1 way to heaven. There aren’t many or there aren’t different paths. There is 1. Only 1. And we must be willing to confess that and live out that reality in the world around us.

2. They deny Jesus was human

2 John 7 ESV

For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist.

Denying Christ came in the flesh is denying Christ. It’s one of the core beliefs in our Christian faith. To toss it aside is to remove the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins. If we deny the cross we believe we have no avenue in which we can be forgiven for the sins we commit.

If you cancel any part of the truth that God puts forward than the truth you claim you believe is a lie.

My son and I got into this conversation. I was climbing a ladder, a very steep climb as there wasn’t much room. To which I had to step onto a very steep roof the base of which was about 30ft the peak about 40ft.

As I am coming down the ladder my child tells me I should get life insurance because of my job. My first though is: This kid should NEVER become a motivational speaker. But I told him that most insurance companies either won’t insure me or want to much money due to the job I do. He told me I shouldn’t tell them about said job.

I began to explain to him what it means to lie through omission. Lie-through leaving out important information.

If we remove parts of the bible because they hard to believe or narrow in thought then we are simply believing a lie because of omission. Leaving out any part of the truth turns truth into a lie.

It’s why when we are sworn into court we are told to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. You can be thrown in jail if it is found out that you left out important and relevant information in your testimony.

why? Because part truth is a lie.

2 Timothy 2:11–12 ESV

The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us;

Enduring hardship keeps us from being canceled—giving in Cancels us.

Now I’m not telling anyone what do with vaccine. Get it, don’t get it that’s completely up to you, but the worst reason I have heard for getting the vaccine is:

I just don’t want to wear a mask anymore.

If that’s your only reason you may want to re-evalute your thought process. But sadly it’s the same reason people leave the faith.

People don’t want to endure short term discomfort for long term gain.

Paul is telling Timothy that if we endure that which may be hard now we can successfully rest in Heaven, but if we give into what is easy now we will endure hell of eternity.

Chris Pratt has come out and denied his conservative nature which I give him credit for, but he also hasn’t come out in support of it either. He has stated in the article I read that he is worried that his beliefs will cause him to lose his career. As I know of he has yet to deny his beliefs for his career which I give him much credit for.

We must endure today’s hardships to recieve heaven’s blessings. It is better to endure singleness than to live in sin. It is better to be an outcast to your family because you represent Jesus than being an outcast to Jesus because you represent your family.

It is better to be attacked for the truth that you stand on than to be recieved because you profess lies.

I don’t know what the future brings for Christianity, but it’s only going to get harder to stand in your faith. It’s why we are told to exercise our faith—grow the muscle of faith so that we can endure the hardships to come.