Sooner or later, every sincere Christian will have to re-evaluate their commitment, and relationship to God, and the teachings of His word, because we are living in an age that is increasingly hostile, or averse to righteousness, and the great principles laid down in the scriptures. The majority opinion has taken the place of the Bible in most instances, and legislators, religious leaders, and politicians alike are motivated more by applause and popularity than, those truths God has given to guide the human family to greater peace and happiness.
The word “Mainstream” refers to ideas, attitudes, perspectives, or activities that are regarded as being conventional; it also refers to the dominant trend in opinion, fashion, etc. Synonyms of the word include expressions such as generally accepted, prevailing thought, popular majority, or conformist. Therefore, whenever national polls are done on any particular issue, the emphasis is usually placed on what most Americans think, not on what the Bible, or God has to say on the matter.
And because of this, it will become impossible for us to straddle both sides of the fence, for we must give our allegiance entirely to the God of heaven, or we must serve the gods of this world, but to say we are middle of the road on matters of eternal import is a non-starter for both God and satan. In other words, the true soldiers of the cross should not be seeking to hide their candle under a bushel, so as to avoid criticism, or ostracization. Instead, we should all be ready to stand boldly in defense of truth and duty, as God leads, and strengthens us. Let’s read:
Matthew 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
1st Kings 18:21 And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.
Pop-culture is the current standard by which many people draw their conclusions, pertaining to right, and wrong, good, and evil. But whenever our ideas and opinions are allowed to be driven by polls we will inevitably be pitted against the scripture, which makes no provisions for political correctness, polls, or what the popular majority may think. In fact, true Christians will allow the word of God to shape their thinking, decisions, and actions, even when it does not harmonize with what is considered mainstream. Several passages of scripture bear this out. Let’s read:
1st Peter 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
John 15:19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
James 4:4 Know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
Therefore, the great controversy will culminate in the principles, laws, and institutions of the scripture being pitted against mainstream beliefs, concepts philosophies, and vice-versa. It has already begun, and is scheduled to accelerate at an alarming pace in the near future. The following stark differences bear this out.
[1] It is now generally acceptable, for individuals of the same sex to marry, for most folks now believe that the sacred institution needed to be modified, to accommodate pop-culture. God says the exact opposite, for His word is not one opinion amongst many; instead it is the only gold standard by which we are to live, and by which we will be judged. Let’s read:
Genesis 2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
Matthew 19:4 And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,
5 And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?
6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
[2] Pop-culture believes in evolution, and the theory has become a mainstay of our educational system, to the point where even some Christians have been seduced into believing it’s true. If anyone now dares to question Darwin, they are immediately accosted by the media, and mocked at, for what’s considered archaic, irrelevant, and unscientific. But the Bible is very clear on the issue of origin of species, because it declares the world was created in six literal days, by the Omnipotent God. And Christians should not be afraid of saying so. Let’s read:
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
2 And the earth was without form, and void; and
darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
4 And God divided the light from the darkness.
5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 The same was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.
4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
Hebrews 11:3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
The Biblical and mainstream modes of thought have also affected the Christian church, for even though some may not know it, there is Biblical Christianity, and there is mainstream Christianity. Mainstream Christianity makes the word of God subjective, and will change, modify, or add to it for convenience, or for tradition purposes.
Biblical Christianity is that creed whereby adherents believe God’s word must not be tampered with, or abridged to accommodate majority opinions, and contemporary modes of thought and philosophy. All who espouse Biblical Christianity believe that God’s word has the final say, regardless of what personal ideas of feelings may suggest. And because of this, we will discover that some conventional modes of thought have converged irreverently on the first day of the week, in spite of what God has declared, in both the old and new testaments.
To put it plainly, Sunday keeping is mainstream, a day of convenience. Sabbath keeping is Biblical, and requires sacrifice, and the two opposing views will continue to butt heads, until the issue comes to a national confrontation, and culminates in the mark of the beast. Therefore, every Christian will have to decide whether God’s word will be their standard, or whether mainstream philosophies and concepts will ultimately bear sway over their decision-making processes.
Whenever God is worshiped out of convenience, His sacred and unique nature is dishonored, for He is treated as One amongst many, not being given any special consideration for who He is. But proper Sabbath keeping requires sacrifice, and is not to be made subject to feelings, or opinions. For instance, with mainstream Christianity, Sunday worship is to be observed regularly, unless the Super-Bowl comes to town on that day. Then, the worship of God may be put on hold, to make allowance for what many may deem more important.
Biblical Sabbath worship makes no allowance for the Super-Bowl, if it was to fall on a Saturday, and if it does, the true Christian will be found in church, happy, contented, and not chomping at the bits for the pastor to hurry up his sermon before the game begins. There’s a very huge difference between that subjective, mainstream form of Christianity, and the Biblical brand, the one which requires sacrifice, and which puts God first in all situations. Here is what God has to say about the latter. Let’s read:
Psalms 50:5 Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.
6 And the heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God is judge himself.
[The Great Controversy. pp 639] The starry heavens are seen, unspeakably glorious in contrast with the black firmament on either side. Then there appears against the sky a hand holding two tables of stone folded together. Says the prophet: “The heavens shall declare His righteousness: for God is judge Himself.” That holy law, God's righteousness, that amid thunder and flame was proclaimed from Sinai as the guide of life, is now revealed to men as the rule of judgment.
The hand opens the tables, and there are seen the precepts of the Decalogue, traced as with a pen of fire. The words are so plain that all can read them. Memory is aroused, the darkness of superstition and heresy is swept from every mind, and God's ten words, brief, comprehensive, and authoritative, are presented to the view of all the inhabitants of the earth.
When God gave to the human family the Sabbath as the official, and only day of rest, He designed that it should be kept worldwide, and even though there have been concerted efforts over the years to make it obsolete, yet there is nothing man can do to make Sunday holy. Even if we were to sit in a church from dawn till dusk on Sunday, and even if we fasted and prayed for the entire day, Sunday will never ever be a holy day, even when it is enforced, and becomes the law of the land.
When gave His sacred law at Sinai, he prefaced the fourth commandment with the word, “Remember”, thus placing emphasis on this particular command. So, if for some reason He has changed it to the first day of the week, we must expect Him to make such a change with the corresponding emphasis, which means that somewhere in the Bible we must expect to find, “Remember The 1st day to keep it holy”. But when diligent search is made from cover to cover, it is seen that such a change is nowhere to be found. That’s because Sunday keeping is mainstream, and Sabbath keeping is still Biblical and valid. Let’s read:
Exodus 20:8 Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9 Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work.
10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates.
11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Genesis 2:1 Thus, the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
This brings us to an important period in our history, for we are overwhelmed with various controversies which have engrossed the minds of the people, and which may at times irk us at the very core. There is the Kaepernick controversy, the Puerto Rico, and the Russian interference controversy. Then there is the gay marriage controversy, in which mainstream ideas are pitted against scriptural principles. And as if these were not enough The Lord also has ongoing controversies with the nations of the earth. Let’s read:
Hosea 4:1 Hear the word of the Lord, for the Lord hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.
2 By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood.
Thus, whenever there is a controversy in the public square, the tendency is for mainstream opinions to prevail, and fringe elements to be shut down. Just this past week, a white nationalist who spoke at the university of Florida was almost denied the freedom of speech, because his nationalist views are seen as objectionable to the majority. That is all well and good until we begin to dictate what is objectionable and what is not.
The freedom of speech, with all of its pros and cons, is one of the fundamental institutions which makes America the great nation it is. But inevitably, this freedom will make allowance for speech that may be objectionable to some. However, Christ wants us to look at the bigger picture, for it is very important not to begin clamping down on what the majority may deem "Objectionable" since this will inevitably lead to restrictions on religious liberty.
Many of the Biblical truths we espouse and teach, as Seventh day Adventists, will no doubt be placed in the "Objectionable" column, and thus, it may be best for us to be patient and tolerant with both the good, and the evil. Therefore, whilst we still have the opportunity to do so, we are encouraged, and instructed in God’s word to preach present truth, in season, and also when it is inconvenient, because the eternal destiny of millions of people depend on it. Let’s read:
2nd Timothy 4:2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
In closing, there is a passage of scripture which must be explained, so we may understand what it means and refers to. Let’s read:
Micah 6:8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
Walking humbly with God means choosing, and acknowledging His wise instructions and laws to us, as being superior, and being willing to surrender all preconceived ideas in favor of what God designates as best for us. Thus, if for some reason we may have inadvertently adopted mainstream Christianity, God is now calling us to adopt the Biblical brand, which leads us to our final passages for today. Let’s read:
Revelation 14:6 And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,
7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
Revelation 18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
May God add His blessing to the study and practice of His word.
God bless!