7 Ways to Resist Conformity During Cancel Culture

Christians live for the approval of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. If we have His approval, we don’t need anyone else’s.

It’s not bad to have people’s approval; it’s a nice thing, depending on who the people are! But ultimately we’re concerned with being approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed.

Cancel Culture is the latest manifestation of the world trying to knock everyone into conformity. Conformity is their big weapon. Their world is a giant junior high lunch room.

But the Bible tells us to not be conformed to the world. Christians should resist all intimidation and Cancel Culture power trips.

Resisting conformity only happens if you don’t need the conformer’s approval. If you can get by just fine in life without being applauded, appreciated, or praised by people who can’t stand you, then Cancel Culture will affect you much less.

Who gives a rip what the world thinks?

How to Look Forward to Suffering

There’s stuff going on in our country right now that bodes for an unsettled future. I do think there are things moving in the direction of what Bible prophecy seems to indicate will happen.

Do I think The End is about to drop? I have no idea. No man knows the day or hour. What I do know is that the spirit of antichrist is already at work in the world. I think we are going through some trial runs for an antichrist system.

I personally think things need to get much worse on a global level. America going down is not the world going down, hard to believe for Americans, but it’s true. I also know things tend to swing back and forth. I will not be surprised if younger generations swing the other way and fix some of our mess.

I detailed some things I am doing to prepare for tough times coming. I don’t say these things to freak anyone out. I say these things to realistically look at the signs of the times and prepare. How can I best represent Christ in the coming turmoil?

I think of Joseph and the years of famine coming in Egypt. Before the trouble arrived, Joseph directed Pharaoh to take measures to be ready. Although I have not had any dreams or special revelation from God, I think the Bible and a brain can help a guy see the signs of the times.

I get why people would respond to warnings about preparing for trouble with fear. There will be things happening that will cause you to be afraid. Pain is real.

How to Arrange Deck Chairs Before Hitting Icebergs

I’m not an alarmist, nor am I a guy who publicly pontificates about politics and stuff going on in the larger world. In the past 20 years the alleviation or avoidance of problems in my church and family has consumed me more than the fear mongering news.

But it has become very obvious to me that we are about to enter a time of trouble in our world and it’s going to get rough.

There are two sides to the “rough” that’s coming: Great opportunity for pleasure distracting us from faith and persecution.

It seems odd these things would go together, pleasure and persecution, but they will. Materialism and entertainment are overtaking the world. It’s already overtaken the church. The Health and Wealth Gospel is not a side note anymore; it is today’s Christianity.

The materialistic entertainment around us is removing the old standards of sin and morality. Those who will oppose the decadence will be done away with. I don’t know how exactly, it probably won’t be gulags. As government and business join forces (Babylon the Great of Revelation 18), it will be more like ramped up Cancel Culture.

I think the new persecution will look like removing your ability to make money and buy things. Here’s a quote I recently read:

“The old totalitarianism conquered societies through fear of pain; the new one will conquer primarily through manipulating people’s love of pleasure and fear of discomfort.”

As Revelation tells us, without the mark of the beast you won’t be able to buy or sell. I know many people mock the rapture and tribulation take on eschatology. You are free to do so, but I’m increasingly impressed with how exactly it is  moving in that direction!

Does Taking Communion Forgive Your Sins?

Short Answer: No.

Longer Answer: Not even close.

The idea that taking Communion is a means of grace, an action we do to get sins wiped off our record, is yet another Catholic Church perversion of the Gospel.

Power is the main thing the Catholic Church wanted/wants. It invented doctrines to make sure people were dependent upon them.

Communion became a mysterious rite that required institutional guys to work a supernatural wonder to convert the elements into the literal body and blood of Christ. You can’t do that on your own, bub. You need US!

“Forget that noise” was the response of many people who really didn’t want to go to church. As people began skipping church, the Catholic Higher-Ups had to invent ways to manipulate people to come back. I mean, how else would they make money?

So they began teaching people that all the special churchy things they alone could perform were absolutely necessary for your sins to be forgiven. You don’t want to go to hell do you? Well, come to church where we alone can do special things to make sure that doesn’t happen!

Indulgences were the pinnacle of this. They came right out and just said, “Hey, give us money or you’ll suffer for your sins.” I mean, they just chopped out the middle man of ritual and went straight for the wallet. Unreal.

What was in the Cup that Jesus Drank?

I’ve heard the question asked from time to time, mostly by Calvinists, about what was in the cup that Jesus drank?

The answer you’re supposed to give is that He drank the wrath of God.

Here’s how Desiring God, John Piper’s organization, puts it:

The disciples will drink a cup, too — a cup of suffering. But Jesus’s cup of suffering is different from theirs because Jesus’s suffering is under God’s anger. Jesus drinks the cup of God’s wrath, a cup that has accumulated the fury of God against sins of all types. Heinous crimes, adultery, careless words, dishonoring thoughts, lies — all of it will be punished by God. This is the cup Jesus drinks on the cross.

Those Calvinist types who enjoy detailing God’s wrath will go on to say He drank every last drop, the dregs, sucked it dry, and God unleashed anger and wrath on His Son because you are terrible!

This is all nonsense.

Jesus is indeed drinking a cup given to Him by His Father. John 18:11 Jesus says, “Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?” In Matthew 20:22 He asks a couple disciples if they can drink the cup He is going to drink. In the Garden He asks if the cup can be taken from Him.

What is Communion for?

1 Corinthians 11:23-26 are Paul’s words to sum up what Communion is all about. They should be read when you take Communion at church. If your church never refers to these verses while doing Communion, odds are you aren’t really doing Communion.

For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

Paul states that he received these instructions from the Lord Himself. Paul isn’t making this up. This isn’t his idea. Communion has divine sanction. Also, as the Old Testament repeatedly shows, when God gives instructions about how to worship Him, He really means it!

Be careful of weird variations on worship-looking things. Do it the way God says or don’t do it at all. Israel tried many times with God’s commands about worship to do it a bit different. Typically people died right after, sometimes even during. This is Paul’s warning that follows this passage. God means what He says.

The bread is the body of Christ broken for you. The cup is not His blood; people say that all the time. The cup is “the new covenant in my blood.” People who say the cup is the literal blood of Jesus are missing Jesus’ point. The cup is the new testament in His blood.

What does that mean?

I’m sure it’s deeper than we take it, but at its simplest it means the shedding of His blood is what brought in a New Covenant. The Old Covenant had blood of animals all over it. As Hebrews says, the New Covenant is a better covenant with a better sacrifice.

Do People Really Die Because of how they take Communion?

The instructions about Communion as given by Paul in 1 Corinthians 11 contain a warning. We discussed yesterday what causes judgment to come on Communion takers—their flippancy in regards to what is going on in Communion.

Now we will look at the judgment included in the warning. Here’s the whole passage:

So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep (1 Corinthians 11:27-30).

The manner in which someone partakes of the elements is the problem, it’s not because you sinned yesterday. Examine yourself: are you understanding what’s going on? Do you partake with the proper respect for what it represents? Are you treating others well? Are you showing off? Are you doing this to look good? Are you truly remembering the Lord’s death?

Those who are not “discerning” the body and blood of Christ, are not understanding the significance of what He did and act disrespectfully, are going to be judged.

Paul says some in Corinth are weak, sick, and others have died because of how they took Communion.

Wow. Is this for real?

Paul’s Warning About Taking Communion

There are people who are afraid to take Communion. I respect that. It’s much better to be hesitant about it than to be flippant.

At the same time, when I hear some who are afraid to take Communion, I get the idea that their fear is misplaced. I don’t know their heart obviously, maybe they should be afraid.

But often their expressed fear is not based on Paul’s warning about taking Communion. So what exactly was Paul’s warning?

The context of the Corinthian church is part of the problem. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11:17, “I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good.” Oof, that aint good.

The Corinthian church service was so bad, Paul says it would be better if they didn’t even have one! I wonder how many churches he would say this to today?

We all know about the divisions in Corinth, that was a big clue that things weren’t right. These divisions led to many other abuses and the Lord’s Supper was one of those abused things.

So then, when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, for when you are eating, some of you go ahead with your own private suppers. As a result, one person remains hungry and another gets drunk. Don’t you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God by humiliating those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? Certainly not in this matter! (1 Corinthians 11:20-22)

The Lord’s Supper was extended into an actual supper. This wasn’t all bad. Based on some verses in Acts, the Last Supper, and here, it does seem as though the early church took Communion attached to an actual meal. Breaking bread together was more than a 7 minute ritual.