"It is unlikely that the majority of Americans are familiar with the name Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I had forgotten the account of Mr. Bonhoeffer until a valued listener of our nightly radio program sent me Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy, a gripping book written by Eric Metaxas.
"I devoured the 592 page book in three days, reading the final page only yesterday. I find it anything but coincidental that I completed this gripping account on the very day that the 2012 U.S. presidential election was decided in favor of Barack Hussein Obama. While reading the account of Mr. Bonhoeffer, a German pastor, theologian and spy who was involved in the plot to kill Hitler, I became awestruck by the obvious and stunning parallels between 1930’s Germany and present day America, specifically in terms of the Christian church.
"Yesterday, for the second time in four years, the majority of Americans decided in favor of Obama despite the vocal and visible moral objections made by many Christians of all denominations. I have no doubt that many people who profess to be Christians cast their vote to reelect Obama, somehow justifying their vote over any moral or ethical concerns residing in their spirit. How is this possible?
"It is here that I cite the foreword written by Timothy J. Keller, friend of the author and author of the New York Times bestselling book The Reason for God. Keller writes in his Forward to Bonhoeffer:
'It is impossible to understand Bonhoeffer’s book without becoming acquainted with the shocking capitulation of the German Church to Hitler in the 1930s. How could the ‘church of Luther,’ the great teacher of the Gospel, have ever come to such a place? The answer is that the true Gospel, summed up by Bonhoeffer as Costly Grace, had been lost. On one hand, the church had become marked by formalism. That meant going to church and hearing that God just loves and forgives everyone, so it doesn’t really matter much how you live. Bonhoeffer called this Cheap Grace. On the other hand, there was Legalism, or salvation by law and good works. Legalism meant that God loves you because you have pulled yourself together and are trying to live a good, disciplined life. Both of these impulses made it possible for Hitler to come to power.” (end of Keller's Forward)
"Does that sound, or ‘feel' familiar? Thanks to the laborious research by author Eric Metaxas that is articulately detailed in his book, which also corrects over a half-century of the hijacked legacy of Dietrich Bonhoeffer by the Progressive Left, Christians in America should now fully understand exactly what is taking place within our country. We have allowed the Word of God to be diluted, perverted and turned into a convoluted platform for social justice by elected leaders whose tyranny has extended into and ripped into our spiritual fabric.
"Many Christians have collectively embraced 'Cheap Grace' and 'Legalism' promoted by leaders across the political spectrum as spiritual equivalents to the true Gospel, thereby reconciling their faith with the perversity that exists in America today. After all, it is both politically correct and socially acceptable to tolerate perversity in all forms, rather than risk being labeled as intolerant, bigoted, Islamophobic, homophobic or the mother of all derisive brandings, racist. It is precisely here, however, that tolerance of evil becomes evil itself.
"This is the exact moment in time for all Christians in America to live in the spirit of Dietrich Bonhoeffer by uniting and practicing 'Costly Grace.' As a Christian, I believe we were born for this exact moment in time, and have been selected to engage in this spiritual battle for not only our salvation, but the salvation of others. Like it or not, we have been selected as being warriors on the front lines of an epic spiritual battle.
"Some might look at the re-election of Obama and other leaders with similar agendas as a death knell for the Judeo-Christian spirit in America. I chose to view it as a real-world test of my Christian faith personally and our Christian faith collectively. It is clear that the spiritual battle lines have been distinctly drawn. We are now called to emulate the spiritual strength of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, so that we may change the course of Christianity in America. Unified in the spirit of Costly Grace, we can do it.
"We must engage the battle and not abandon the fight at this historic moment in time. Traditional marriage between a man and a woman as defined by the Holy Bible must be reinforced, not redefined. The wholesale slaughter of our nation’s unborn under the demonic perversity of women’s rights must not be accepted or further tolerated. We must not submit to a system that requires us to forsake our beliefs under the color of law. Acting in the spirit of Costly Grace, we must summon the spiritual courage of Dietrich Bonhoeffer to change the course of our nation.
"As my friend Steve Quayle has often said, there are no political solutions to our spiritual problems. Never in the course of American history has this proven to be so true. Therefore, it is up to us, the 'Bible holding bitter clingers,' to rise to the level of true Christians and engage the forces of evil that have overtaken our great nation.
"Make no mistake - this is obviously not a call for violence, but a call for leadership to every Christian living in the United States. We have been given a most important task, which is to be leaders among men. Believers of the true Gospel can no longer be silent. Together, we can make a difference. Our souls depend on it." (Copyright © Douglas Hagmann. )
There is much to reflect upon here. I hope you will do so.
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