They have not rejected you, they have rejected Christ

 

John 5: 44-47

44 How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?

45 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust.

46 For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me.

47 But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?

It ought not surprise us that the closer we get to revealing the truth regarding the prevailing false ideology that some posing as God’s people will give us the strongest resistance. We find an example of such when Israel rejected Samuel. For many years, Samuel had served God’s people, and even though his sons had proven themselves to be unfaithful, Samuel had remained faithful. He had served Israel by speaking the Word of God to the nation. Even though Samuel had appointed judges to govern Israel nevertheless the people eventually rejected Samuel as God’s spokesperson.

“Then all the elders of Israel gathered and came to Samuel at Ramah and there they said to him, ‘Behold, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations’” (1 Samuel 8:4-5). Samuel had appointed them judges, but now the people demanded a king just like the godless nations around them. Obviously, this displeased Samuel since the Scriptures record that, “the thing was evil in his eyes.” He knew that the people not only had rejected him, but that they were repudiating him. They were expressing discontentment with his leadership and longed not only for a new leader but also for an entirely new system of worldly government. Their rejection and Samuel’s dejection were complete.

When Samuel took his concerns to God, God spoke to the prophet to encourage him by reminding that the Israel’s rejection was not a rejection of Samuel the prophet, but of God the king. “And the LORD said to Samuel, ‘Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them’” (1 Samuel 8:7). While Samuel may have been right to be offended by the people’s demand, God had the greater right to be offended. For if Samuel had ruled imperfectly, God had ruled Israel perfectly. Although Samuel’s time as prophet had been short, God’s legacy was a long and unblemished record of loving, guiding, and protecting Israel. Still, “Obey their voice,” God said, “and make them a king” (1 Samuel 8:22).

The Prophet Samuel had acted as God’s spokesperson to the nation of Israel. He had been called and equipped by God to speak on His behalf. Therefore, those who rejected the words of Samuel had rejected the Words of the One who had called Samuel. In rejecting God’s spokesperson Israel had rejected God. Today as we are called to be God’s spokespersons to the Church, we must expect rejection from disobedient Christians too. Christians who become angered when we share the harsh reality of the nature of the false doctrines that we are warned could deceive even the elect. We can learn from Samuel that it is our task to faithfully communicate Scriptural Truths to counter Satanic false doctrines. We must understand that those who accept our words are accepting God, not us, and that those who reject these Spiritual Truths are rejecting God, not us. Mark 13:22 “For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.”

Much of what I have come to understand of WOKE ideology comes from two major sources, Stephen Hicks, and James Lindsay. Dr Lindsay is a leading expert on Critical Race Theory and a founder of New Discourses. He has written six books on religion, the philosophy of science, and postmodern theory. As a Christian he rejects Woke Marxism and supports the Rule of Law under attack from the radical left.

https://newdiscourses.com/2021/05/hegel-wokeness-and-the-dialectical-faith-of-leftism/

Hegel, Wokeness, and the Dialectical Faith of Leftism

“Is Critical Race Theory Marxist, as many insist, or is it not? What is the relationship between Marxism, neo-Marxism (Critical Theory), and Wokeness? All three criticize one another, and yet all three have a great deal obviously in common. Is there some common underlying thread between these clearly similar yet obviously different worldviews? The answer is yes, and by tracing back to one of the most influential speculative idealist philosophers of the early 19th century, namely George Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, we can gain a great deal of insight into how these decidedly leftist movements—the Marxist Old Left, the neo-Marxist New Left, and the intersectional Woke Left—share at least one deeper philosophical architecture in common. From Hegel, the Left since his time has, wittingly and not, adopted several of the pillars of Hegelian philosophy, these including his statism, historicism, and, much more importantly, his dialectical approach and metaphysical worldview. In this episode of the New Discourses Podcast, James Lindsay takes a long, deep dive into the ways that Hegel’s philosophy is at the root of the entire “Dialectical Left” since, naming the dialectic the “operating system” of all activist Leftism since the early 1800s.

In this episode, Lindsay takes considerable time explaining Hegel’s view of dialectical thought and then reveals in many examples, reaching up to the present day, how consistently the dialectic appears as the functional underpinning of Leftism ever since, at the latest, the 1830s. He makes the case that Leftism since Hegel thinks dialectically, moves dialectically, and applies dialectical thought not just to its targets but to everything, including itself and even its own dialectic. He then switches gears and explains how the dialectic is central to Hegel’s underlying Hermetic (or alchemical) worldview and explains his mystical metaphysics so that this long arc of Leftist activism can be understood as evolving denominations within a single religious faith. With this theoretical groundwork laid, he then tackles how Hegel’s historicism and statism arise as key features of his philosophy, with both of these characterizing activist Leftism up to the present day. Join him for his longest and most in-depth discussion yet, taking on how Hegel is a key progenitor of communism, liberationism, and ultimately Wokeness, how this philosophy must be understood so that it can be countered, and why it should be thought of in the same way that Hegel thought of it: as a religion in its own right, with its own notion of deity, metaphysical commitments, soteriology, and eschatology.”

Yesterday when sharing my previous podcast and blog on social media two claiming to share my hope in Christ attacked me for stating that Hegelianism has led to totalitarian tyranny, bloodshed, and anti-Semitism. They became enraged that I had shared what is certainly not merely my opinion but also that of many scholars, both Christian and secular learned academics who recognize how dangerous the influence of the Hegelian Dialectic is. The most starting aspect of their attack was revealed by the fact they refused to debate me on what I had stated and written. In fact, they appeared to totally ignore it. They felt it sufficient to engage in character assassination while stating that my premise was utterly false and then refused to state exactly what it was that I had gotten wrong despite me repeatedly asking for them to enlighten me.

So let us examine the association between Hegelian dialectical analysis and totalitarianism which admittedly is a complex issue. But here are some reasons based on various sources:

1. **Dialectical Process**: The Hegelian dialectic involves a process of thesis, antithesis, and synthesis³. This process can be manipulated by those in power to create or exploit problems, leading to a reaction from the people who ask the government for protection and help⁴. This can potentially lead to an increase in government control and a decrease in individual freedoms⁴.

2. **Interpretation of Hegel's Ideas**: Some argue that Hegel's ideas have been misinterpreted or misused by totalitarian regimes¹. For example, the Soviet Union was based on the Hegelian dialectic, as is all Marxist writing³.

3. **Hegel's Political Theory**: Some critics argue that Hegel's political theory, as expressed in his Philosophy of Right, has elements that could be interpreted as supporting a strong state¹. However, others argue for a more balanced interpretation of his political theory¹.

Source: Conversation with Bing, 2023-10-16

(1) What is The HEGELIAN DIALECTIC? - Christian Observer. https://christianobserver.net/what-is-the-hegelian-dialectic/.

(2) Hegelian Dialectic: What It Is & How Does It Apply To You?. https://areweallreallyeducated.com/hegelian-dialectic/.

(3) Hegel as a Political Theorist - JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/2128351.

(4) Hegelianism | Definition, Philosophy, Examples, & Facts. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hegelianism.

(5) Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel | SpringerLink. https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-3-030-81037-5_46-1.

And so, when we dutifully, faithfully speak the nature of sound Gospel Truth, we are calling those being deceived away from false doctrine to the Truth of Christ and Him resurrected. There will be consequences when we speak on behalf of God to His Church and to the world at large. We may face censure, we may face mockery, we may face violence, we may even face death. Yet when we have prayerfully spoken God’s own Divine Truth, we can be convinced that the hatred we encounter is first against God. It was Israel who rejected their Messiah and now a weak, worldly, and deluded Church is doing the same to their Saviour. God’s words to Samuel have become his words to us: they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me!