As most of my readership knows, I
took exception to the
poster put up by the St. Matthew-in-the-City Anglican church in Auckland, New Zealand. And, I still do. The poster depicts Joseph and Mary in bed together with a caption that reads, "Poor Joseph. God was a hard act to follow." The church states that they committed this blasphemy to "challenge stereotypes about the way Jesus was conceived and get people talking about the Christmas story".
"This billboard is trying to lampoon and ridicule the very literal idea that God is a male and somehow this male God impregnated Mary," said Cardy, who described his church as having very liberal ideas about Christianity.
Now the church makes it plain that they are being disrespectful. The poster is contemptuous and profane. One can easily assume from their stated purpose and the poster itself, that they do not have a solid grasp of the Gospel nor do they consider the Bible the inerrant Word of God.
But why is that important?
I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith." - Romans 1:16, 17
The Gospel saves. It is the power of God for salvation. It is the Good News that God has rescued us from His Wrath! If you don't believe it, you cannot be saved. If you don't know it, you cannot be saved. If you do not believe one part or if you take one part out, then you do not believe the Gospel and cannot be saved.
Isaiah prophesied in 7:14 ...
Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.
In Matthew we read:
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins."
So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us."
Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name JESUS. - Matthew 1:18-25
So, let's just go through this real quick. If Mary was not a virgin and did not conceive of the Holy Spirit, then the child she gave birth to was not the prophesied Messiah. The Bible is a lie.
Of course, some would like to believe that. It just doesn't make sense for a church to believe that. Christians are followers of Jesus. They believe the Bible as the inerrant Word of God and that includes the biblical account of Jesus' conception, birth, life, ministry, death, resurrection and ascension to heaven. Christianity is built upon the foundation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Without the Gospel, Christianity does not exist.
So, if a church does not believe that, are they Christians? No, they aren't. They may be deluded into thinking they are. There could be a few Christians mixed among them, but honestly I am hard-pressed to believe that. As a Christian, I am disgusted by such a display and could not sit in a church that would promote such blasphemy. I don't think many Christians could.
I don't know what is being preached at St. Matthew-in-the-City Anglican, but it is not the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That is obvious by their poster and their statements. They claim they have a "liberal" view of Christianity. It seems to me that they have a contempt of Christianity and their actions and words support that.
For those who are unsure, remember the words of Paul. I think they say it all.
I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel-- which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!
Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ. - Galatians 1:6-10
As a final note: After discussing my post with a brother whom I respect very much, I can see where the tone of my initial post could have been taken as more than the righteous indignation that I do feel regarding the disrespect shown to my Lord and Savior. I have a tendency to be "snarky" as most of my regular readers are aware. But tone is hard to convey in email and blog posts. For that, I do apologize. Hopefully, this post more clearly states my opposition to the actions of this church and their leadership.
