Who Are You Following?

There are many expressions of religion in our world today, and even many expressions of Christianity - while there are many denominations and churches who believe a variety of principles and doctrines, it is our responsibility as Christians to be discerning, to make sure that our practice of following Christ is consistent with the teachings of Scripture.  Because there are a variety of spiritual voices in the world today.  The Bible says in Isaiah 30 (ESV):
18 Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.
19 For a people shall dwell in Zion, in Jerusalem; you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. As soon as he hears it, he answers you.
20 And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher.
21 And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it, ” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.

So, an important question is: Who is your Teacher?  If you are a Christ-follower, certainly His teachings should be at the center of our practice.  But, who are the examples that you allow God to use in your life to draw you closer to Him?   I can recommend a few: just look at our programming lineup on Faith Radio, and you'll find solid Bible teachers, with impeccable reputations, who bring the Word to you on-air, online, and through our new Faith Radio On-Demand feature.

In culture at large, we have to be careful, because there are many today who claim to be Christians, or Christian teachers or leaders, whose lives and ideology don't exactly line up with the Bible.  

In the U.K. currently, church leaders and individual Christians are trying to figure out what to make of a conversion experience of a leader whose perceived nationalistic beliefs have made him a lightning rod.  He uses the name Tommy Robinson (real name: Stephen Yaxley-Lennon).  He reportedly embraced Christianity while in prison.

A BBC article explored some aspects of this man's influence.  He was the organizer of a big rally in London a few months ago called, "Unite the Kingdom," which drew over 100,000, perhaps as many as 150,000 people.  There were Christian symbols that were visible at this event.  The story highlighted one of the attendees; stating:

Gareth talks about the church in England being under "threat", as he sees it, mainly from Islam. He says his concern is about the extreme elements of Islam, not the religion as a whole.

He also makes claims about all the Christmas markets in London being renamed "festive markets" and about some areas of the country becoming "fully Muslim", as other reasons for feeling a need to engage more with Christianity.

Having now returned to the church he used to attend as a child with his grandmother in Little Horton, Bradford, Gareth says he wants to take more of an interest in what is going on there.

"It's not that I've found God," he says. "I've never felt you need to go to church to be a Christian, but it's always been the Christian religion that's kept our values and freedoms, and that's why I need to support it now."

Gareth's church is with the Church of England, and its vicar, like apparently many in the British Church, is struggling to accept followers of Robinson and the teaching that they view with skepticism.  While some Church of England leaders, along with leaders from other denominations, met to discuss what they seem to perceive as a crisis, Bishop Ceirion Dewar, of the Confessing Anglican Church, who led off the "Unite the Kingdom" rally with a prayer, according to the BBC, "says he saw thousands there who sincerely felt that Great Britain was 'founded on Christian principles and from the Christian faith' and that this was being 'eroded.'"

Former Chaplain to the late Queen Elizabeth II, Gavin Ashenden, writing for the Anglican.Ink website, explored the carol service sponsored by "Unite the Kingdom" just before Christmas this year.   He writes:

If you needed any evidence that there are two entirely different religions both claiming to be Christianity in Britain at this juncture, the London Carol Service crisis has made it plain that that is the case.

A carol service has been organised under the banner ‘Unite the Kingdom’ for Saturday the 13th of December, celebrating the intention of putting the Christ back into Christmas, scheduled to take place in central London. One of the effects of this has been to produce repudiation and protest from other churches.

I don’t think ever before in my life I have seen a notice of a Carol service being advertised in the public square the effect of which has been to produce a response by other churches, expressed with denunciation and vituperation.

There are a number of reasons for this and no doubt the primary one is that the main organiser is Tommy Robinson.

Ashenden, in his piece, explored the professed, yet largely unexplored, Christian faith of Tommy Robinson and the opposition of others, including higher-ups in the Church of England.  He says: "What this crisis reveals is not a dispute about a carol service, but a collision between two religious movements with the same name, wearing the same clothes, but embodying opposing values. One proclaims Christ as Lord; the other proclaims liberalism as lord and tolerates Christ only as a metaphor for its political programme. The fury directed at a man singing carols tells us far more about the new liberal religion behind the Christian mask than it does about Tommy Robinson."

But, he's not done in drawing the distinction between the traditional Church and those who seem to be embracing a more robust, and even political vein of Christianity; he writes, "when the established Church denounces Scripture readings as 'nationalist,' it is not Christianity that has changed, but a Church that has converted—to a secular creed masquerading as faith. The line between the two religions has finally become visible.

And, therein lies the rub - in the U.K., as well as America.  A Church that is attempting to regain its voice and a country that is attempting to revisit its Christian origins is in a position to upend the status quo.  This seems to be a regurgitation of what we hear in America by some that call out people in the Church who are standing on Biblical values, saying the Church should not be political.  All too often, those speaking out in this way have a political agenda themselves and are intent to demonize those with whom they disagree.

There is too much at stake today for the Church to back off in its passionate defense of the Word of God.  We should speak boldly, but always make sure that what we speak, how we speak it, and how we behave, are reflective of the presence of Jesus in us.  Is Tommy Robinson the best example of someone Christians should follow?  After all, he has allegedly professed Christ, but he would be considered a new Christian.  So, that would be a cause for concern.  On the other hand, he, like Charlie Kirk, is someone with enormous cultural influence who can inspire people to consider spiritual practices.  I certainly believe the Lord can use those coming into the Christian faith from the secular realm, but discernment is needed.