Are you violent or passive?

Are you for real?
My teaching style has always been inductive which means I prefer interaction as opposed to lecturing. In this process, I’ve been accused of asking “trick questions”. I never single anyone out and it has never been my goal to trip anyone up or make anyone appear foolish.

Occasionally the questions are a little challenging but usually, they are simple and forthright. They are never about things like how many sons did Abraham have or how long did Adam live. They are always foundational and relevant to life.

Over the years I have consequently observed that people become embarrassed and defensive when they don’t know what they think about foundational issues. They realize that their thin veneer of religiosity has been revealed.

Are you violent or passive?
Having said that, the question in the title IS a “trick question”. A person does not need to be, and in fact, should not be one or the other. The question stems from a headline I saw: “Celebs Push Gun Control After CA School Shooting: Americans Are a Violent People.”

You’ll have to stick with me here because I am going to twist this up a bit.

The “celeb’s” say these outlandish statements because they are whores for the new world order. The reality is that, relative to the population, there are a minuscule number of shooters who commit mass shootings and there is strong evidence to believe that the majority of them have handlers.

Most Americans are passive
By looking at the social landscape, it is my view that most Americans are VERY passive. As long as their social security or government “entitlement” arrives on time and they can watch their videos or talk on their smartphone, it seems that most Americans really don’t care about much of anything other than remaining comfortable.

On these bases, I absolutely disagree with the headline above: “Americans Are a Violent People’. It is just more fodder for the gun grabbers. In fact I know that there are still millions of wonderful people in America.

The violent take it by force
Still, there is a Scripture in the Bible that the Remnant must come to grips with:

From the moment John stepped onto the scene until now, the realm of heaven’s kingdom is bursting forth, and passionate people have taken hold of its power.

Matthew 11:12 TPT

This verse in no way speaks of social violence. Rather it addresses a spiritual passion that is so strong for the kingdom of God that it almost appears violent.

However, the reality is, those who reign in the spirit realm DO reign in the physical realm, they just don’t use physical violence as their means of dominion.

The Bible is replete with passionate people passionately, and even “violently” seizing the Kingdom of God and laying hold of its power.

Noah would have had to have been passionate about following God’s instructions by building the ark and fulfilling all of the rest of his instructions. Imagine the “violent” ridicule he must have overcome for building the ark and how he would have been forced to deal with it. Remember, Noah was building the ark because he was the only righteous in the generations….. meaning everyone else wasn’t…

Abraham was obviously very passionate… Along with his other exploits, he led an army of 318 men to retrieve his nephew who had been captured and taken away.

And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of Heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.

Moses and Joshua were obviously very passionate as they served the Captain of the Host to lead Israel through several wars and millions of people to the Promised land.

All one needs to do to see the passion of David is read a few of the Psalms.

Heaven’s kingdom is bursting forth,
and passionate people have taken hold of its power.

The prophets were all very passionate and unquestionably “took a hold of the power of the Kingdom of Heaven”

The “violent passion” of those in the “New Testament” (Renewed Covenant) can also not go unnoticed. It can be seen from the many exploits of Yeshua to Apostle Paul fighting evil spirits to Apostles Peter and Andrew being crucified upside down because they felt themselves unworthy to be crucified in the same manner as Yeshua was.

Likewise, there were many others who have risked a great deal to “violently” seize the Kingdom of Heaven: Some of these include the woman with the issue of blood, the jail guard and the centurion.

And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of Heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.

The spirit of 76′
One of the war cries for the War for American Independence was “I’ll have no king but King Jesus”. Had the early colonists not ” taken the power of the Kingdom of God by force then there would have been no conviction to pursue freedom and there would be no America today.

Comfort is king in today’s churchianity
Speaking of today, American Churchianity culture says that comfort is king and (in some cases) if you are experiencing some sort of challenge, in your life, then you must be experiencing consequences for sin.

While that may be true in some specific circumstances, some who are on the front lines of the culture war believe that if a Christian is not involved in some sort of conflict then they are “lukewarm” and not doing their part to share the “Good News”. If you consider the ministry of Yeshua, He was always penetrating new paradigms. It is simply impossible for righteousness to be in the presence of evil without experiencing at least some rebuke.

Being a disciple of Yeshua is not always comfortable
Scripturally speaking, the first-century Believers felt that experiencing some sort of persecution was as a “badge of honor”.

And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to “suffer shame for His name”. 

Acts 5:41

We can expect some challenging times here in America. As a part of the Remnant of God, I encourage you to embrace the reality that the comfy-cozy Gospel that Americans have been spoon-fed for the last century or so is a faux reality that is foreign to the Bible. The Scriptures are very clear; it is to those who overcome that will see the Kingdom of Heaven.

You therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 

2 Timothy 2:3 

So while the referenced news article title is absolutely false, it is true that Christians should have a “violent” nature, but only in the spirit realm as they pursue the righteous things of God.

And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of Heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.

Blessings in Yeshua, 
Parson Rayphe
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