It's hard to imagine what was going on just two years ago, the United States erupted into rioting. While it seems to have calmed down for the moment, future riots are certainly on the verge. As an aside, it should be noted that the peaceful protest, the “freedom convoy” led by Canadian truckers is not to be included in this conversation. What they are doing is not rioting but purely a protest drawing attention to the inhumane covid restrictions that are being forced upon them by the Canadian government.
Understand the
wickedness of rioting still needs to be on the forefront of our minds. The difference between a protest and a riot
is simple. Riots lead to the destruction
of property, a clear breaking of the commandments on coveting, stealing, authority
and also thus about what we make our God.
The majority of the protests, setting buildings on fire, tearing down of
statues, and even the removal of Indians and Blacks off of products and even
sports teams stems from a lack of historical understanding on one hand to the
outright hatred of others and maybe more pointedly, oneself. Where as a protest draws attention without causing destruction of property nor supplanting rightly installed government.
This virtual signaling of attempting to appease the rioters benefits no one but rather empowers the woke agenda of anti-Christian Communists. Government officials and owners of businesses are afraid of losing their livelihood as well as their employees, but by empowering such hatred, they only show that violence and wickedness solve the problem. In their desire to play god companies fear the destruction of their reputations as false claims are made and do not trust in God but rather the almighty dollar.
Of course, there is the fear of the destruction of their property as these communist thugs ransack their business as happened across the United States by thieves and murderers. Luther was right in the Large Catechism to say we need the hangman because he serves as a deterrent to these ruffians. Yet on a larger stage, society has bred rioters because our culture has divorced itself from Christian morals and more pointedly, the fear of God himself.
The mobs of today are much like the peasant revolts of the 16th century seeking to intimidate and force their change and no matter if they have valid arguments, (and I would argue they have very little, if any, validity) by their malicious, hateful, revenge filled attitudes they show that they have no real love in their heart. Rather their love is shown for what it is, a natural concupiscence (inherited lust), coveting that which is not theirs. They do not seek to bring reform by loving their neighbor but rather of hatred and by creating fear, their god is clear: themselves.
Therefore, where there is no fear of God, there is no fear of God given authorities. The people have taken on the role of judge and executioner by becoming a mob, a rebellious horde of wickedness! The mob justifies their actions by means of short snippets on social or mass media. And like a dog that returns to its vomit, so does the mob, sewing discontent and hatred with their lies. So who is it that runs the show?
The experts of social or mass media make sure you hear what they want you to hear. They are spewers of disorder and discontent. Let us state the obvious; neither of these groups are Christian. Yes, Christians may use them and indeed there are God-fearing news reporters, but they are mocked for their Christian voice, they are maligned in order to silence them and thus you have difficulty know what is really the truth. Even a simple blog, by a simple pastor, is kept out of the limelight (not that I need it, but note that good orthodox writing is often hard to find. In this we need to continue to point out some of our good writers, some of whom can be found on websites like “The Federalist”)
Yet we flock to the rioters and the media as our authorities, undermining the real authorities. The authorities given to us by God are the church and parents. And in just a couple decades, and maybe even just a couple years, both have been silenced, marginalized, and now replaced by that wily deceiver, Satan. Instead we are told it takes a village to raise a child, but what they really mean is it takes the government. It takes facebook, twitter, tiktok or whatever the latest internet craze is. While the government exists by the will of the people, today politicians are afraid to lose their jobs. So whoever speaks the loudest and carries the biggest stick, and create disorder and chaos have become the defacto authorities.
The organization “Black Lives Matter” (BLM) has declared that if they don’t get their way they will take to the streets. We have seen this even in the latest “major” court case. When Kyle Rittenhouse was acquitted the National Guard was called out to keep order. In other cities, the police have been told to stand down and let the people protest! And of course don’t think that the “defund the police movement” has run out of steam, It has just gotten quieter because the communists have recognized they need to win the elections in this midterm to continue to push their agenda.
The disorder that exists today makes one wonder what the world looked like during the days of Noah when “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”! (Genesis 6:5) In the not to recent past people always sought the wisdom of their pastors, even secular leaders used to rely on godly wisdom, but that has changed. Passive Evangelism and Passive Christianity will not work because people don’t randomly darken the door of churches unless they are looking for a free handout. They have fallen into what Paul expressly warns against in 2 Timothy 4:3-4, “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.” Whereas the Church used to be the voice of reason concerning such things like: the home, sexuality, or brotherly love now she has been marginalized, abused, and silence. When the Church speaks up, she is belittled, called irrelevant, and persecuted.
This is what the pestilence and the riots have successful done in many places, by manipulating churches to capitulate in shutting doors “out of love”, churches have made themselves irrelevant. Churches once full barely hang on because they do not preach the objective truth. God-fearing members are taught to fear confessing the faith for the sake of “love” and “harmony”.
This has been made equally damaging because you, in the congregation, are being cast aside and abused, as the heathen attempts to brainwash into believing that the faith you have received and were raised in is wrong or worse bastardized into something false and yet publicly portrayed as true. We see this today as so many mainline denominations have confused their poor people into believing that the “social gospel” (to care for only a person’s physical welfare) is the true and only gospel, which is no gospel at all but a deception of the devil.
The “Social Gospel” is demanded to the point of denying or refusing to teach the one and only gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ who suffered and died for your sins and rose again on the third day, victorious over sin, death, and the power of Satan. These heretics champion Jesus as a social justice warrior who came to lift up the common man, rather than come to pay the price of our sins by being our sacrifice. You are being intimidated and made afraid of being called a racist, being persecuted, or losing your job. Too many Churches and their pastors have chosen to not stand before them as their elder, leader, authority, and shepherd ready to protect and lay down their life for the sheep in their care.
The riots started as a claim of the abuse of police. Yet it must be clear people have no right to form a mob to protest and declare the police guilty or demand to defund the police so that the rabble can cause more mayhem, terror, and destruction. Governments around our country are being sucker punched to also now yield to their demands or face disorder and devastation. Cities across the United States from Seattle to Minneapolis to Atlanta with 1000s of little towns in between are being terrorized by potential anarchy, in order that this illegitimate authority may get its way. And right now we are seeing the result of what happens when proper authority does not do its job to protect against real evil.
Mayors and Councilmen have been forced to resign when they disagreed with this rabble. And now that the cities across the country are silent, the reign of terror continues and violence and destruction continue for there is no control exerted by those whom we placed in authority to protect us because we have forgotten that the government’s authority is given, not by the people, but by God himself.
Churches have dismissed their own voice because they are no longer in the community. If our communities are to regain ourselves the Church, must buckle down and reteach, starting with our churches, our people, the children of God. Let there be an urgency to stand up for what is right as well as to confess the truth. We must not be afraid to offend people, because the Word of God does offend, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1:23-24, “but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” Preaching Christ crucified is not just about preaching the Gospel but about preaching the Law too! He is a stone of stumbling and a Rock of offense because he had to die for sin. Jesus came into this world to appease the wrath of God against our sin. The world, our country, our towns, all people must know their sin intimately, and be confronted with the consequences of sin, death. We must preach the full weight of the Law to not only illegitimate government orders but also to rioters who choose to attack you.
I began this post asking what does the flood have to do with the riots? Let us return to Genesis 6, “Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Noah spent 120 years building the ark. Why? So that repentance might be preached. The world around him knew only sin, this is clear as we learn that only eight people in all were saved on the ark! The Gospel of Mark clearly shows how Jesus began his ministry saying, “Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mark 1:14-15) Man today remains wicked and the thoughts of his heart were always evil, but now we have Christ. You know what Jesus came to do for you. He came to save you from your sin and end the separation that was created by doing what was evil. He died to set you free. Today, dear believer, we have a privilege, to confess Jesus.
The flood occurred because of the wickedness of man. Now the Lord has promised that he will never visit such an act again upon the earth but he never promised that the Christian faith will dominate the world, but rather the opposite. If the world hated Jesus Christ, you are guaranteed that it will hate you too! But do not despair! The promise of eternal life is yours, right now. You don’t need to go looking for persecution. It will find you. Rather count yourself as blessed that you have the truth that the world does not know. The rioters don’t know who Jesus is. Your community doesn’t know who Jesus is. May the Lord strengthen you for the days and years ahead to boldly confess the faith that you have received.
