In our postmodern world, the dictionary has become a battleground. At other times and in other places an English lexicon brought precision to those who spoke the King’s English, but now this tool of learning is a place where we fight about the words we use: man, woman, or something in between. Rather than bringing clarity to the conversation, conversations have become a place of performance art and word-creation.
Indeed, those who use words today are using them to create a new reality. Singer Sam Smith envisions a world where he can be a “fisherthem”—a non-sensical word salad that projects a plural pronoun to himself because he refuses to receive the maleness given to him by God. This is our world. And for Christians, we must learn how to live amidst such confusion, without becoming confused. This is no simple task. And more, because we are called to love our neighbor, we must consider carefully the ways we love, and speak, and support, and serve. Do we affirm others in their confusion? Or do we resist? What does love do? Certainly, it rejoices in the truth (1 Cor. 13:6). But how? And when? And by how much?
How do we love our neighbor?
For the last month, Christ Over All has been answering that question and providing careful analysis of the command to “love your neighbor.” From considering how to love those who identify as transgender, to considering the way that “love of neighbor” has been weaponized against Christians, to reflecting on the ways that Vaccine Mandates bound consciences and harmed bodies, we have sought to show what love looks like in our modern world.
Instead of loving others based on the ways that others command or that our feelings demand, we showed how love must be defined by God and his word. Indeed, in our two longforms, Ardel Caneday and Andrew Walker addressed the greatest and first commandment to love God and neighbor, and to do so by means of considering Scripture and natural law, respectively. Even more, in our podcasts we saw how the love of God is refracted throughout creation and how nature reinforces the principles of Scripture—when Scripture is permitted to speak in public.
Indeed, at a time when confusion abounds, the authors for this past month provided countless definitions, correctives, and applications to true love. That is, they took the principles of Scripture and applied them to the pool deck, the wedding party, and psychology of mass formation—to name but a few. In short, if you are looking for a place to expand your understanding of love in our postmodern world, take time to read some or all of the following resources. At the same time, if you would like to support the work of Christ Over All, you can do that here.
(How to) Love Thy Neighbor: All the Articles in One Place
If you missed anything from during the month of February, here they are in one place. (The Longforms are in bold). Please share this with others. You can also help the Christ Over All podcast reach more people by giving it a five-star rating on Apple.
Lawful Love: How the Law Preserves and Propels Our Love By David Schrock
The words “Love” and “Law” make for an odd couple, but these two words together explain the fundamental nature of Christian love.
The Hostility of Loving Your Neighbor By Chase Davis
What better way to enforce obedience than to dress up a command that is not in the Bible with language that is from the Bible? “Love your neighbor” indeed.
The True Nature of Love, God’s and Ours: Love without God Becomes Wicked By Ardel Caneday
As we reject God and slouch towards Gomorrah, we find that the erotic “free love” that promised so much ultimately fails to deliver true love of neighbor.
The True Nature of Love, God’s and Ours: Love is from God and Imitates Him By Ardel Caneday
Does God love everything in the same way? The answer is a five-fold “no.”
2.6 Ardel Caneday • Podcast Reading • “The True Nature of Love, God’s and Ours” As we reject God and slouch towards Gomorrah, we find that the erotic “free love” that promised so much ultimately fails to deliver true love of neighbor. We also find that God does not love everyone in the same way.
The Counter-Cultural Nature of Love in John’s Gospel By Drake Isabell
Is it loving or unloving to go to a so-called same-sex wedding? The apostle John weighs in.
The First and Second Commandments as Fundamental to Political Philosophy By Jonathon Woodyard
Aren’t we better off closing our eyes to political involvement, saving our opinions for the private voting booth, and simply loving our neighbor? Won’t this be more evangelistically effective?
How God Turns Enemies Into Friends of Friends By Brad Green
The gospel message in Isaiah 52:7 includes the announcement, “Your God reigns.” But how is this good news? And what if you are an enemy of this God and an enemy of others?
What Wondrous Love is This? By David Christensen
At the cross, we behold a love like no other—a soul-satisfying love that reveals the very character of God himself.
2.7 Ardel Caneday, David Schrock, Stephen Wellum • Podcast Interview • “The True Nature of Love, God’s and Ours” By Ardel Caneday, David Schrock, Stephen Wellum
As we reject God and slouch towards Gomorrah, we find that the erotic “free love” that promised so much ultimately fails to deliver true love of neighbor. We also find that God does not love everyone in the same way. Listen to Ardel Caneday, David Schrock, and Stephen Wellum discuss Dr. Caneday’s longform essay, “The True Nature of Love, God’s and Ours.”
Loving Those Caught in Gender Ideology: The Ethics and Metaphysics of Sexual Identity By Ryan T. Anderson
Don’t “intersex” conditions prove that gender is non-binary? And isn’t it unloving to call a “transgender woman” a man? And why are puberty blockers such a big deal anyway?
Love, Francis Schaeffer, and Euthanasia By Christopher Talbot
“Have you nothing to contribute? Then we’re better off without you.” So says the culture of death. However, everyone—from the pre-born to the aged—has inherent dignity and worth as God’s image bearers.
The BioLogos Statement vs. The Frankfurt Declaration: Two Opposite Evangelical Responses to the State’s Power By Jacob Reaume
Commitment to Christ and commitment to government control ought not be conflated. Yet, some Evangelical responses to COVID-19 revealed the temptation to do just that.
The Moral Meaning of Loving One’s Neighbor By Andrew Walker
The world’s meager idea of love as mutual affirmation pales in comparison to the robust view of love presented in Scripture. True love of neighbor refuses to uphold tacit lies, but instead seeks human flourishing lived out in God’s ordered reality.
Thou Shalt Be Vaccinated: When “Love Thy Neighbor” Does Not Fulfill the Law By Stephen Wellum
Did “loving your neighbor” require getting vaccinated against Covid-19? What is most loving today in hindsight? And have we learned nothing from history?
2.8 Andrew Walker • Podcast Reading • “The Moral Meaning of Loving One’s Neighbor”
The world’s meager idea of love as mutual affirmation pales in comparison to the robust view of love presented in Scripture. True love of neighbor refuses to uphold tacit lies, but instead seeks human flourishing lived out in God’s ordered reality.
Into the Light: Why Two Christian Men Made a Documentary About Pornography By Jacob Valk & John-Michael Bout
Learn more about Into the Light, a new teaching documentary on pornography, and learn how this issue relates to loving one’s neighbor.
Love and Liberty Part One—Loving Your Neighbor and Your Free Christian Conscience By Ardel Caneday
Does love of neighbor compel one to receive the COVID-19 vaccination? And is such compulsion really loving if it violates your neighbor’s conscience?
Love and Liberty Part Two—Loving Your Neighbor and Your Free Christian Conscience By Ardel Caneday
When it comes to matters of conscience, Christians have two biblical options: choose freely in faith, or sin. How do these categories relate to vaccines and mask mandates?
No Boys Allowed in the Girls’ Locker Room: Why Riley Gaines’s Protest is Loving By Abby Ross
Allowing men to compete in women’s sports tells lies about the people involved and about the God who made them. Love of God and neighbor compels Christians to stand boldly for truth despite the world’s judgment.
Science and its Shortcomings: A Book Review of Mattias Desmet, The Psychology of Totalitarianism By Brad Green
Can we understand the world on the basis of science alone? And how does an inflated view of science contribute to the rise of totalitarianism?
2.9 Andrew Walker • Podcast Interview • “The Moral Meaning of Loving One’s Neighbor” By Andrew Walker, David Schrock, Stephen Wellum
The world’s meager idea of love as mutual affirmation pales in comparison to the robust view of love presented in Scripture. True love of neighbor refuses to uphold tacit lies, but instead seeks human flourishing lived out in God’s ordered reality.
Under Reconstruction: How the Egalitarian Beachball Wrecks the Household of God
While March begins a new month, with a new theme, it does not end our passion to love our neighbor with truth and grace. In fact, one of the best ways to love our neighbor is to love Christ’s church and to ensure that the bride of Christ is healthy and strong.
Because the church is the place where the love of God is made visible (John 13:31–35), it matters that churches are true to God’s Word. Indeed, countless are the counterfeit “churches” that have abandoned Scripture and by consequence have presented a false picture of love and a false picture of Christ.
Knowing that, it is our burden to see the church built up on the foundation of our Lord. Such a church is not one that just preaches a message of evangelism and congratulates itself for growing large. Rather, a true church is one that proclaims the truth of God and the whole counsel of Scripture. This whole counsel includes everything from God’s eternal plan of salvation to the promise of the Lord’s return. And this proclamation is fueled by a biblical conviction that God knows how to build his church and that he has made the blueprints of his church known.
This March, that is what we will be considering with respect to the roles of men and women in the church. As pragmatic commitments fuel twenty-first century churches to rebuild themselves around charismatic teachers and innovative approaches to ministry, and as a raft of Southern Baptist pastors continue to make space for women preaching and pastoring, we want to consider what Scripture says about who is qualified to serve in the office of pastor.
While women assuming the pastoral office is not new, it is not supported by a careful reading of Scripture. For some, the office of pastor is like a toy—a beachball that can be passed between men and women alike. But when we disobey the One who made us, we bring a wrecking ball to the household of God. Therefore, with our eyes fixed on his Word, we will take the month of March to examine God’s good design for men and women in the church and to show why the pulpit is reserved for biblically qualified men. In large part, this month will provide biblical warrant for the amendment that Mike Law (pastor of Arlington Baptist Church) is bringing to the Southern Baptist Convention in June 2023. You can find out more about his letter to the SBC Executive Committee and his hopes for seeing the SBC adopt his constitutional amendment at SBCAmendment.org.
Tomorrow, we will, as the Lord allows, introduce the Egalitarian Beachball and a slew of arguments that pastors are using to reinterpret Scripture, redefine the pastorate, and ultimately reconstruct the church. Sadly, Scripture is not defining ministry in countless churches in our country. And the reconstruction of the pastorate is but one illustration of this.
So, check back tomorrow for our opening volley of this important month.
Why Christ Over All Exists
Today, definitions of male and female, love and truth, preaching and pastors continue to be changed and rewritten. And as long as truth is in question, Christ Over All will continue to offer evergreen content that provides biblical answers and theological arguments that engage the church and the culture.
Please pray with us as we press into the culture of egalitarianism this month. As so many of you know, to speak to these issues today is perceived as hostile, hateful, and misogynistic. Yet, the fear of God and the love of Christ compel us to speak and to address the harmful ways that our neighbors are redefining love and pastors are demolishing the church.
If you share this burden for speaking God’s truth, please keep up with us at ChristOverAll.com. You can also sign up for our monthly newsletter (at the bottom of the site), a newsletter that is soon going to include a weekly update, pointing to some of our most important content.
Additionally, you can also support this work by giving to Christ Over All. As we look at this upcoming year, we are already making some plans to exhibit at some conferences and churches and to publish some materials. To assist us in all of those endeavors, please consider how you might give financially.
For now, let us not forget that loving our neighbor is not defined by the way our neighbors may or may not receive our love. Rather, love of neighbor is defined by God. And thus, as we live in a day where dictionaries are being rewritten to assist all manner of lies and half-truths, let us hold fast to this truth: Christ is the one who defines reality, for he is Lord, and all things are under his feet.
Knowing that, let us confidently speak truth and show love by means of the Spirit of Truth, who always brings glory to Christ. This is our aim. May God be pleased to assist our endeavors. We can do nothing without him.
