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On Easter Sunday, former pastor of Atlanta's prominent Ebenezer Baptist Church, now "Senator" Raphael Warnock, took the opportunity to play the role of a heretic---tweeting that the "meaning of Easter" far surpasses the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the cornerstone of the Christian faith.
His and other's responses are noteworthy.
Be informed, not misled.
"Pastor" Raphael Warnock became "Senator Warnock" in the last election.
Warnock had been the senior pastor of the famous Ebeneezer Baptist Church in Atlanta---famous because Martin Luther King once served as pastor of the church---and became "senator" a few months ago.
As billions worldwide rose to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday, "pastor" Warnock went to social media to tweet: "The meaning of Easter is more transcendent than the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Whether you are a Christian or not, through a commitment to helping others we are able to save ourselves."
What?
The Resurrection is the central theme of Christianity---Jesus death, burial, and resurrection is the story of the gospel.
Jesus overcame sin and death, granting those who accept His salvation unrestrained access to God.
As you can imagine, Twitter lit up.
Army veteran Samuel Williams tweeted:
"What kind of reverend would say something like this? Jesus Christ died and rose again to take the sins of the world away. You are poisoning the minds of Christians for political purposes."
Warnock is indeed misleading many.
His comments are not only misleading, but they are heresy.
Jenna Ellis, one of President Trump's lawyers, tweeted,
"This is a false gospel and heresy. We cannot save ourselves. The absolute truth and only meaning of Easter that matters is the literal, physical resurrection of Jesus Christ and we must accept Him as Lord and Savior. Read Romans, 'Reverend' Warnock. You are a false teacher."
MSNBC's Joy Reid saw the Tweet and reacted:
"This lady is literally calling the pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church---The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's church---a heretic, This actually happened today. Madame, I'm gonna take Rev. Warnock's take, as a pastor and a scholar on the Word over yours, if you don't mind."
And therein lies the problem.
People appearing to be qualified spiritually are too often giving moral and spiritual guidance to our culture.
President Biden, a self-identified "devout Catholic" and First Lady Jill Biden shared an Easter message along with a bunny---not even mentioning the name of Jesus Christ.
While Jesus Christ was left out of the president's comments, the bunny was not. Neither was the need to get your COVID shot.
While the Pope's words were used to affirm the morality of being vaccinated, Jesus was not mentioned.
In his book titled, "How Liberals Are Waging War Against Christianity," David Limbaugh documents the Left's pattern of discrimination against Christian influences in the culture, Christian values, and Christian religious liberty.
He's right, even those leftists who claim to be Christian most always hold views that are at odds with biblical truth---and certainly with a biblical worldview.
Limbaugh writes:
"Irrespective of their "deep faith"---or lack thereof, they too often are at odds with biblical Christianity and Bible believing Christians in the media, at the universities and other schools, in our culture, and in the political sphere. And is it any coincidence that the overwhelming number of mocking atheists on Twitter...are flaming leftists? I don't think so."
He notes Barack Obama's comments of a few years ago ---that I mentioned on the radio yesterday--when he said of people who live in small mid-western towns that "they get bitter (and) cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who are not like them..."
He says Obama's statement set off alarm bells for many reasons, not the least of which was that Christians are supposed to cling to Jesus Christ. Their faith in Him is central to their religion. There is not only no shame in trusting and depending on Christ; it is essential to their salvation and their Christian living.
What's more telling than Obama's appalling statement is that he was wholly unaware of what he was revealing about himself with it.
It's equally telling what all the nonsense from the pastor of MLK's former church says about "Rev. Warnock." And those who defend his indefensible heresy.
Be Informed. Be Discerning. Be Vigilant. Be Prayerful.