The Same Old Threats

Isaiah and Canada Part 2

The stage is set
The last 5 years have seen an increase in both proposed and passed legislation that is quite hostile to those who would hold to a Biblical belief system. Many eyes were awakened when Bill C-4 passed, allegedly targeting what the Federal Government poorly defined as “conversion therapy.” The preamble of the bill was immediately concerning, saying that conversion therapy (but really orthodox Biblical Christianity) “causes harm to society because, among other things, it is based on and propagates myths and stereotypes about sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, including the myth that heterosexuality, cisgender gender identity, and gender expression that conforms to the sex assigned to a person at birth are to be preferred over other sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions.”

Do you see some of those words? It causes harm to society? It’s based on myths and stereotypes? Normal sexual behaviour is not to be preferred to anything and everything else? And the penalty for daring to help someone turn from sexual sin to a normal and good sexual ethic? That would be 5 years in prison.

The Online Harms Act, Bill C-63, never became law because Parliament was prorogued (though I am quite certain the Liberal Government will resurrect it under another name). This bill vaguely defined hatred and doing harm to someone online, which would include, of course, calling sexual sin out as sin, and daring to proclaim that God’s sexual ethic is the only good and right way to live. What was the maximum penalty? That would be another 5 years in prison. Moreover, if a judge thinks you might engage in online harm, they could sentence you to house arrest for up to 1 year, 2 years if you had previously committed some form of online hate.

We also have Bill C-9, which is currently in consideration in committee and awaiting the report stage and then a third reading. This Bill seeks to, among other serious things, remove religious protections for making certain claims about sexuality. For example, right now, if I were to tell someone that sodomy is a sin that should be outlawed, and if I was to be charged with a hate crime, I could appeal to the Bible and say that my beliefs are not my own idea, but are a part of my historic Christian faith, rooted in my historic religious text. That would exempt me from being found guilty of a hate crime. Bill C-9 will remove that exemption, disallowing people from pointing to their deeply held and good-faith religious beliefs as a defense for their words. It’s harrowing stuff.

Finally, we have the newly introduced Bill C-16, which has passed its first reading in the House of Commons this past December. The full title of the Bill is, “An Act to amend certain Acts in relation to criminal and correctional matters (child protection, gender-based violence, delays and other measures).” The Bill seeks to criminalize anyone who engages in, “a pattern of coercive or controlling conduct.” While we can agree with certain interpretations of this language, knowing that our Federal Government believes that Biblical truth is harmful, dangerous, and hateful, and knowing that imposing those beliefs should also be criminalized, it is fair to assume that what is vaguely called coercive and controlling conduct could simply be Biblical marriage and parenting. A conviction could see anywhere from 2 to 10 years in prison.

Canada is in quite the moment.

Just another Sennacherib
In Isaiah 36, Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, sends a messenger to taunt and terrify Hezekiah and the people of Judah. His words are worth reading in their entirely:

“Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you. Do not let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord by saying, ‘The Lord will surely deliver us. This city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’ Do not listen to Hezekiah. For thus says the king of Assyria: Make your peace with me and come out to me. Then each one of you will eat of his own vine, and each one of his own fig tree, and each one of you will drink the water of his own cistern, until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and wine, a land of bread and vineyards. Beware lest Hezekiah mislead you by saying, ‘The Lord will deliver us.’ Has any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Have they delivered Samaria out of my hand? Who among all the gods of these lands have delivered their lands out of my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?’” – Isaiah 36:14-20

So, in summary, Sennacherib tells God’s people that he is a big, scary king and he is so powerful that it is silly to trust that God will protect and deliver His people, so they might as well just bow to Sennacherib and do what he says, lest they face destruction.

I can’t help but think that our Federal Government in Canada has a bit of Sennacherib in them.

They say it’s foolish to trust in God, or at least to believe what He says. They say that will bring the full weight of their fury upon God’s people if they continue to assert God’s commands and refuse to do what the State demands. They continue to openly mock both the Lord and His Word. They offer prosperity and peace in exchange for compliance and compromise.

The same old story
What we are seeing from the State should neither surprise us nor terrify us. History is replete with kings and empires that came against God’s people, asserted themselves to be gods, and threatened to punish those who would not denounce the true and living King in order to pledge allegiance to a lesser, pagan king.

The point of this post isn’t to outline what our response should be to these petty tyrants. No, the point of this offering is to remind you that none of this should come as a surprise to you, that is, if you’ve spent any meaningful time reading the New Testament.

In Luke 6:22-23 Jesus says, “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.”

In John 15:18-20 Jesus says, “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.”

In Philippians 1:29 Paul writes, “For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in Him but also suffer for His sake.”

In 1 Peter 4:12-19 Peter writes, “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And, ‘If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?’ Therefore, let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.”

You see, the Beast always makes war with the saints (Revelation 13:7), but we will overcome by the power of Jesus and through the testimony of the Gospel (Revelation 12:11).

Martin Luther was spot on when he wrote:

“Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing,
were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing.
You ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is he;
Lord Sabaoth his name, from age to age the same;
and he must win the battle.”