I don't remember when we first began to use the term, "politically correct". These days it's commonplace to hear that something is politically correct or perhaps is not politically correct. I could give you an example of some of the issues that are politically correct or not politically correct, but if I did it wouldn't be politically correct.

We probably shouldn't be surprised by the things that the world comes up with. These days you can expect almost anything. Scripture cautions us about the world and tells us that we must be careful not to align ourselves with it, because if we do we will soon find ourselves becoming an enemy of God. It also says that if we insist on loving the world, the love of the Father is not in us (1 John 2:15). What is the Bible talking about when it admonishes us not to love the world? After all, we live in the place.

When the Bible tells us not to love the world or the things that are in the world, what is it telling us not to do? It can't mean that we have to move off the planet. That would be not only ridiculous but physically impossible.

When the Bible tells us not to love the "world," it is referring to accepting the perspective of the world or having a contemporary view of things.

Issues used to be much clearer in this regard than they are now. There was a time when it was clear as to what was "worldly" and what was not. There was a time when, if something was identified as being worldly, it was prohibited. We actually tested how we lived; how we dressed, the way we talked, and what we did in our spare time by a yardstick. Maybe it would be better to say we measured what we did in our lives with two yardsticks. One was negative and the other was positive. It didn't matter which one we used. The end result was that, yes, Christians did this or, no, they didn't do that.

By a worldly perspective of life I mean that our decisions are based on what the majority happen to be into at a particular time. Sometimes we refer to this process as peer pressure.

Does this mean that the majority are always wrong and the minority are always right? No; but one thing is certain and that is that, while the majority is usually wrong, the minority is not always right. At any given time there are always a lot of minority viewpoints, and they rarely agree. No, the minority isn't always right just because it is the minority.

Some will claim it is unfair to say that in the contemporary culture the majority is always wrong. Yet history pretty well bears that out. Jesus put it in plain Aramaic when He said that broad is the road that leads to destruction, and it is always congested with traffic (Matthew 7:13). So that you can visualize what He was talking about, He meant that the road to hell would look like one of the Los Angeles freeways at rush hour.

But Jesus also spoke of another road ( Matthew 7:14). He taught that the road that leads to eternal life doesn't have much traffic, but nevertheless one has to be very careful when one drives one's life on it because it is so narrow.

When I read what Jesus had to say about the narrow road that leads to life and how few there be that find it, it troubles me to hear some people say that it is easy to be saved and hard to be lost.

Call me a legalist, but I believe that to have salvation one has to work at it. Come to think of it, that does sound legalistic. But it really isn't. Let me put it another way that won't be misunderstood. Those who would have salvation must be intentional about it.

Though some may disagree, being lost is like belonging to a book club. Each month a book is featured and a decision card is mailed to the subscribers. If the subscriber does nothing with the card, consider the book purchased. But if the subscriber doesn't want the book, the subscriber must return the card with a negative response.

If I were to tell you that you have to choose to be lost as well as chose to be saved, it would sound as though you actually had the option of voting for "none of the above."

Unfortunately there is no such thing as a no-man's land in the life we live here on this earth. There are only two sides and one choice; and if we have not intentionally decided to live for Jesus, we are by default on the other side.

Someone might insist that, in spite of what I am saying, they are going to pick and choose. They believe they can find something good in everything.

That's probably true. There may be something good in everything. I am sure that if we really wanted to, we could identify a lot of positive points about the devil. For one thing he is persistent, he keeps on trying to cause us to fall and never seems to give up. So I guess you would even have to say that he is patient. He also seems to be accepting; that is, he sees anyone as fair game. Some people would even say that he is broad-minded.

The devil has even been known to look out for his buddies. Though it is not a rule of thumb, the Bible comments that in the short term the wicked will seem to prosper. I am sure you have observed that those who follow the devil more often seem to be rich and famous than those who are true to Jesus.

I am saying this only to show that if it is certain positive traits you are looking for, who is more loyal to their cause than the members of the Mafia or the drug lords.

I do not give the devil credit for anything good. If he were to suddenly reveal a sure cure for cancer, it would be an evil act because by his very nature whatever he does has an ulterior motive. The only reason the devil would ever heal people would be so that by healing their bodies he would make it easier for them to lose their souls.

This is why we must not allow ourselves to have the perspective of the world, which is the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. Jesus made it clear that the person who is hung up on the flesh will stand the risk of losing both body and soul. Jesus taught that a person's life is not about food, clothes, houses, nor good looks, but about the eternal things of the kingdom of heaven.

The worldly perspective of life is just the opposite. The world teaches that the more we have, the happier we will be. The world boasts that life is about food, clothes, houses, good looks, and sex.

I said at the beginning that I am not surprised by what the world does. Its leader is the devil, and you can expect anything from the devil.

What does blow my mind, however, is how in this generation the world seemingly has become the role model for the church. This is a modern tragedy; and unless we change it, it will mean the collapse of Christianity as we have known it. I have come to the conclusion that if things continue as they are, not only is our church at risk but Christianity itself.

Those of us who have been raised in this part of the world may have figured that we live on a Christian planet. Nothing could be further from the truth. Anyone who has been around a bit knows there is no room for doubt. Those who even profess to be Christians are a minority on this planet. The Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, and others outnumber us by nearly three to one.

Haven't we learned anything from history yet? Must we make our own mistakes and perish?

Have you ever considered what the Old Testament is about? Consider for a moment. The Old Testament is the history of what happened when the Children of Israel began to be culturally sensitive to the nations that surrounded them. The Old Testament is a story of what happened when Israel tried to be politically correct.

It was the plan of God that the heathen nations would collapse. But as the years went by, it was the Children of Israel who caved in and apostatized and paid the bitter price as they mixed it up with their neighbors who invited them to come and watch them sacrifice their children.

That may sound ridiculous, but that is what happened. Has it ever occurred to you that throughout history what caused the people of God to abandon the faith did not happen from one day to the next. It was always the result of a process.

The church has never gone down like the World Trade Towers-suddenly and all at once. Its fall has usually been the result of something that was going on internally and over a period of time. It was the result of being politically correct.

Not long ago when I was in Lithuania, I spent some time talking with a young minister who remembers the days of the Soviet Empire. For seventy years the Soviet Union ruled an empire that would finally reach from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific Ocean. For a period of time, one third of the population of the world was under the rule of a Marxist government.

Yet as they pursued their goal of conquering the world, they continually accused the West of being Imperialist. They said they were trying to free the nations from capitalistic imperialism, while in fact the truth was that they were enslaving the nations and holding them in the throes of atheistic dictatorships.

The Soviet Union perfected the art of lying. This should come as no surprise. We must never forget that Satan is the father of lies; and although he may wrap his lies in a thin skin of truth, his message is still a lie, and we cannot be free until we discover and obey the truth. As it is written, "You shall know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

The young minister in Lithuania explained that in the days of the Soviet Union you had to do as they said because you were afraid of what would happen to you if you didn't. There was always someone watching you or listening to you, and you were afraid to say what you really believed for fear of what might happen to you. They could send you to prison, take your children away from you, or you could even lose your life. Millions did. It has been said that during the reign of Joseph Stalin, 20 million people were executed.

In the 21st century, although we live in a free country which is the United States of America, we are beginning to be afraid to speak what we really believe. We are now being intimidated by two words, and they are the words, "politically correct."

Although there is not the threat of the Gulag or of having our children taken from us, we are nevertheless being told that there are certain things that we must not discuss because they are not politically correct.

I might be wrong, but I believe that the term "politically correct" is an expression that is being used to force the ideas and points of view of an agendized few on the rest of us.

Not only that, but the words "politically correct" also mean that it is not to be talked about anymore. It is a done deal.

If this were not bad enough, the concept of political correctness has somehow gotten into the church. This will have far-reaching implications, because it will allow error to be institutionalized while truth is being intimidated into not being able to respond or to rebut what may be going on.

Not long ago, I was sharing some of my convictions with my boss, who happens to be the conference president. I shared with him that in Washington we have two principle parties, the Republicans and the Democrats. These parties are always debating each other and disagreeing with each other. When a senator of either party stands up and disagrees with the administration, he or she is rarely accused of being a traitor to the country.

You see, a country that does not allow a free and open debate is one where freedom does not exist, or if it does, it will soon die.

I am sometimes troubled that often in the church it seems to be politically correct for the liberals to criticize the doctrines and even the way the church does business. But when the conservatives do it, it is perceived, in some quarters, as being divisive or not politically correct.

In our search for truth, I believe it is necessary that we have free and open debate. I don't believe that a minority, be it an agendized minority of the right or of the left, should try to silence debate.

It often amazes me that the great majority of people, whether in our country or even in the church, so often choose to remain silent and, in effect, cast their lot with whatever happens to be politically correct at the time.

I could only wish that, in the spirit of Christ, more people would stand up and let their voices be heard. When we do not hear the voices of many, what ends up happening is that things soon are taken over by a radicalized minority, and then the debate is stopped in the name of political correctness.

We would do well to remember that Lucifer was the radicalized minority who sought to make war against the Most High. He didn't come right out and say, at least not at the first, that he intended to overthrow the government of the Almighty. His tool was to speak of compassion, open mindedness, and allowing freedom of expression.

When my family moved to South America, Betty and I took our four children and moved to a country which was the first ever to elect a communist government through a democratic process.

The new communist government signed on the dotted line that it would respect the constitution and democratic process of the republic. It was a lie. It only used freedom of speech to begin to set in motion a process which would eventually seek to deny the freedom of speech.

I still remember the chill that went down my spine when I turned on the radio and, sweeping across the dial, discovered every frequency, AM and FM, was the same station.

I wish it weren't true, but just as in the United States there are those forces who would use the guarantee of freedom of speech to destroy the constitution of this country, so I am afraid there is something afoot in the church of God which is using the freedom that we have in Christ and the open discussion we have within the church to try to break down or greatly modify the walls that hold up our church, which walls are our 27 doctrinal beliefs.

There are even now those who are proposing that we reopen the 27 doctrinal beliefs and re-do them in such a way that they are more clearly understood within the cultural context of the world church.

While I do not believe that our 27 doctrinal beliefs constitute the last word of true faith, I am convinced that now that the Lord has led us to this level of understanding, it would be a mistake to eliminate or substantially modify our doctrines.

More and more often we are hearing people express the opinion that we have too many doctrines. This perplexes me. As I look at them, I can't discover any that should be considered too many or any that we don't need and ought to throw out. Should you be one who believes we have too many doctrines, may I ask you which ones you don't like?

You see, doctrines are not the evil that some would make them out to be. Doctrine is necessary, because it is through doctrine that the gospel is made plain. The cross of Christ, His death and resurrection and what they mean to us, are doctrines.

Someone might ask, "But which doctrines are absolutely necessary for salvation?"

I suppose that there are certain doctrines which we would describe as core doctrines. There are other doctrines which are what I would call preventive doctrines and which will become a life and death issue for those who are living at a certain time in this earth's history.

The doctrine of the Millennium is one of these. The manner of how Jesus comes in the clouds would be another. Our doctrines of last day events may not have been relevant or necessary a hundred years ago, but now, in light of the great error of the Secret Rapture, our doctrines of Last Day Events will be the information that will keep us from being deceived when the devil makes his last moves before the close of Probation.

It is probably safe to say that not all doctrines play the same role in the life of the Christian. The doctrine of the State of the Dead doesn't save anyone, but knowing the truth about the State of the Dead will keep God's people from being deceived just before Jesus comes, when the spirits of devils have gone out to deceive all who dwell upon the face of the earth.

Knowing the truth about how Jesus will come doesn't save anyone, but it keeps one from falling for the doctrine of the Secret Rapture and believing one has two chances to be saved, as well as following the anti-Christ thinking that you are supposed to be in heaven when he appears on the earth.

What we believe about something is either true or it isn't, and Jesus made it perfectly clear that in the last days the devil will use a series of lies to keep people from knowing the truth.

The doctrines held by this church, not just the principle doctrines but the supporting doctrines as well, are essential for those who will be alive just before the close of probation when the devil will make his supreme attempt to deceive if possible the very elect.

The next time people tell you they think our church has too many doctrines, ask them if there is something about God's will for their lives they wish they didn't know or that they resent.

I am convinced that we don't need less of an understanding of truth at this time in earth's history . I would even appreciate it if we knew even more, because truth sets us free.

Doing 60 miles an hour in the fog on the freeway can be fatal, not only to yourself but to many others. The truth that God has given the church for this time will be just what it takes for us not to shipwreck our lives on the rocks of error.

This is no time in the history of our church for us to allow ourselves to be intimidated by those who, for the moment, have the upper hand and would stifle debate by saying that something is or is not politically correct. Brothers and sisters, if we have a genuine concern, may it not be tested by what is political correctness but rather by whether what we have accepted or rejected is according to the will of God as revealed in His Word.

The question we must ask ourselves is not whether or not society approves. The correctness of our beliefs is to be tested by a "Thus saith the Lord" and not by those in society who would insinuate their ideas on the rest of the people in the name of political correctness.

We often hear of the importance of being open-minded. Often the same mindset that advocates being open-minded is the one that insists on political correctness. Personally, I believe we should be open-minded to that which is according to the Word of God and closed-minded to that which isn't.

There might be some who would say that these days life is too complicated and that the Bible is not adequate for all the situations of the 21st century. But we have the promise that the Word of God is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness.

The Word of God may not be politically correct, but it is definitely relevant. There has not been a situation in life, whether in A.D. 140 or in the 21st century, when a person could say, "That doesn't apply to me" or "I can't find in the Scripture something that would be relevant to my present situation."

The Word of God cuts to the chaise. Scripture refers to itself as being sharper than a two-edged sword and says that it is able to cut asunder the bones and the marrow. In today's language we would say that the Word of God is better than an MRI.

Since 9-11 the airports have been installing detection devices to prevent anyone from bringing on board something that would endanger the safety of the traveling public. Some of the newer machines can actually see right through you.

It reminds me of when I was in college. Several times a week we were required to attend chapel. When I was sleepy, I would slide down in my seat behind the person in front of me. When I couldn't see the speaker any more, I would go to sleep.

What I didn't know was, although I couldn't see the speaker because he was up on the platform, he could see me. The point is, we may try to hunker down. We may manage to get to where we can't see God, but we can never get to where He can't see us. The Psalmist declares that although we ascend to heaven, God is there; and if we descend into hell, He is also there (Psalm 139:8).

Society may think it can manipulate truth using the intimidation of political correctness. But whether we esteem something politically correct or not, we will all one day have to stand before the judgement seat of Christ to give account before Him, from whom nothing can be hid.

This is no time to become politically correct. It is the time in which we must test everything by the Word of God, which in these last days will be the only thing that will keep us safely on the road of truth.

This is no time to worry about being politically correct. It is a time in which we must be sensitive, not to offending the society around us but rather to doing the will of God in our lives.

We knew the last days were coming. Now they are here. We knew in the last days there would be persecution, but I don't think we realized that the persecution would begin with an attempt to take over our minds and force us by intimidation to reflect the popular thinking and world view that happens to be in at the moment.

We tended to think that the big test would be the Sabbath, and so it will. But the issue will not be the Sabbath per se, rather it will be whether or not we will stand firm in our convictions based on our commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ and to His Word.

Yes, the final test will be about political correctness. Those who cave in to the social pressure will accept, be it in their hand, the mark of the beast. Though they may not believe what is being taught, they will feel they must be politically correct.

When I was in college, there were the everyday quizzes, and then there was the final test. It was rare that a person would consistently fail the everyday quizzes and still get a good grade on the final exam.

And so it will be in the times in which we live. Jesus Himself declared that those who are faithful in that which is least will be those who are faithful in much. The tests of the last days will not be one big decision after another, rather a series of small decisions.

These decisions may seem to some to be insignificant, but they will add up to the final score when the Judge of all the earth declares, "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly; and My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be" (Revelation 23:11,12).

This is no time to be concerned whether or not we are politically correct. This is the time for us to respond to the call of the Holy Spirit, "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God" (Romans 12:2).

May God give us courage as individuals to stand firm. We must not be afraid of what the world can do to us. May God give us courage as the church, the body of Christ, to stand united against the fallen culture that surrounds us.

We have the promise that as individuals and united in Christ we will overcome. We will finally, by His grace, be more than conquers through Him who loves us.