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A Lament for the Tragic State of the Fraudulent Christian

Barronelle Stutzman
The penalty for impersonating a police officer is imprisonment up to five years, give or take a few.
The penalty for practicing medicine without a license can often range anywhere between one to eight years in prison, depending upon the severity of the offense.
The penalty for impersonating a Christian? God will make the final ruling on that one…
“And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.” Matthew 7:23
The question must be asked. Are we guilty of impersonating a Christian?
Are we faithful representatives? Are we acquainted with the whole truth and nothing but the truth? Does it compel us to resist the common wisdom of our day?
Blessed are those that stand up and speak out with charity and dignity. Barronelle Stutzman is one of those precious ones standing up before God and man.
Christians must remain mindful and vigilant, knowing the struggle and warfare against sin to be a perpetual, existential reality of true life. On the flipside, we must guard our consciences against the bondage of legalism. Righteousness lies not in us, but in the grace bestowed by the One we serve.
We can never serve Him perfectly. Like the prodigal son, we may even go astray for a season, but be certain we will come crawling back. Assuredly, we will be received in the arms of a loving Savior.
The ‘Christian’ tag is thrown around way too loosely these days. It is not something we could ever earn. It’s not something that can be blindly tainted and diluted by some liberal philosophy.
The knowing must precede the doing. The word of truth can never fill our hearts if we are unwilling to truly hear it. If the Bible remains closed so will our hearts. God’s plan is simple. It needn’t conform to the times, only to our minds…
And ultimately our hearts.
*America has stood as a beacon of liberty to the world because our Constitution protects people’s freedom to peacefully—and publicly—work and live according to their convictions.
More than 75 prominent religious and thought leaders have come together as charter signatories of “Preserve Freedom, Reject Coercion,” a statement that affirms every American’s freedom to peacefully live their lives according to their beliefs…
Daniel L. Akin
President, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
Anthony Allen
President, Hannibal-LaGrange University
Jason K. Allen
President, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
Ryan T. Anderson
William E. Simon Senior Research Fellow in American Principles and Public Policy, The Heritage Foundation
Bruce Riley Ashford
Provost, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
Mark L. Bailey
President, Dallas Theological Seminary
Robert Benne
Institute of Lutheran Theology
Gerard V. Bradley
Professor of Law, University of Notre Dame
Rick Brewer
President, Louisiana College
Michael Bryant
Executive Vice President, Charleston Southern University
Thomas Buchanan
Senior Editor, Touchstone Magazine
Rosaria Champagne Butterfield
Author and speaker
Most Rev. Charles J. Chaput
Archbishop of Philadelphia, Chairman, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth
D. A. Carson
President, The Gospel Coalition
Joshua D. Chatraw
Executive Director, Center for Apologetics and Cultural Engagement, Liberty University
Derry Connolly
President, John Paul the Great Catholic University
Barry K. Creamer
President, Criswell College
Jim Daly
President, Focus on the Family
Most Rev. Frank J. Dewane
Bishop of Venice, Chairman, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development
Kevin DeYoung
Senior Pastor, University Reformed Church (East Lansing, Mich.)
David S. Dockery
President, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
Daniel J. Egeler, EdD
President, Association of Christian Schools International
Rev. Wilbur David Ellsworth
Pastor, Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Christian Church (Warrenville, Ill.)
Anthony Esolen
Professor of English, Providence College
Tony Evans
Founder and Senior Pastor, Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship, Founder and President, The Urban Alternative
William Fahey
President, Thomas More College of Liberal Arts
Gene C. Fant, Jr.
Provost, Palm Beach Atlantic University
Thomas Farr
Professor of the Practice of Religion and International Affairs, Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University
Robert A. J. Gagnon
Associate Professor of New Testament, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary
Sister Mary Sarah Galbraith
President, Aquinas College
Robert P. George
McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence, Princeton University and Former Chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom
Timothy George
Founding Dean, Beeson Divinity School, Samford University
David Goodwin
President, Association of Classical Christian Schools
Franklin Graham
President/CEO, Samaritan’s Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association
Loren Gresham
President, Southern Nazarene University
Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison
President, The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod
Anne Hendershott
Professor of Sociology and Director of the Veritas Center for Ethics in Public Life, Franciscan University of Steubenville
James Hitchcock
Professor of History, St. Louis University
Edith M. Humphrey
William F. Orr Professor of New Testament, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary
Bishop Harry R. Jackson, Jr.
Senior Pastor, Hope Christian Church (Beltsville, Md.); Presiding Bishop, International Communion of Evangelical Churches
John Jackson
President, William Jessup University
David Lyle Jeffry
Distinguished Professor of Literature and Humanities, Honors Program, Baylor University
Philip W. Kell
President, California Baptist Foundation
Jerry A. Johnson
President and CEO, National Religious Broadcasters
Daniel R. Kempton, Ph.D.
Vice President, Academic Affairs, Franciscan University of Steubenville
James M. Kushiner
Executive Director, Fellowship of St. James/Executive Editor, Touchstone Magazine
Peter J. Leithart
President, Theopolis Institute
Stephen D. Livesay
President, Bryan College
Most Rev. William E. Lori
Archbishop of Baltimore, Chairman, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty
Fred Luter
Pastor, Franklin Avenue Baptist Church (New Orleans, LA) and Former President, Southern Baptist Convention
John MacArthur
President, The Master’s University & Seminary
Barbara C. McMillin
President, Blue Mountain College
Benjamin R. Merkle
President, New Saint Andrews University
Eric Metaxas
Author and Nationally Syndicated Radio Host
C. Ben Mitchell
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Union University
Albert Mohler
President, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Russell Moore
President, Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention
Jeff Myers
President, Summit Ministries
Most Rev. George V. Murry, S.J.
Bishop of Youngstown, Chairman, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Catholic Education
Bradley Nassiff
Professor of Biblical and Theological Studies, Northpark University
Samuel W. “Dub” Oliver
President, Union University
Paige Patterson
President, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
Everett Piper
President, Oklahoma Wesleyan University
Leon J. Podles
President, Crossland Foundation
Mary Podles
Author and Art Historian
Patrick Henry Reardon
Pastor, All Saints Antiochian Orthodox Church (Chicago)
Patrick J. Reilly
President, The Cardinal Newman Society
R. R. Reno
Editor, First Things
John Mark Reynolds
President, Saint Constantine School (Houston)
Jay Richards
Assistant Research Professor, The Busch School of Business and Economics, The Catholic University of America
Samuel Rodriguez
President, National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, Hispanic Evangelical Association
Mike Rouse
President, American Association of Christian Schools
William Saxby
Dean, School of Humanities, Colorado Christian University
Alan Sears
President, CEO, and General Counsel, Alliance Defending Freedom
Rev. Sean O. Sheridan, TOR
President, Franciscan University of Steubenville
Robert B. Sloan
President, Houston Baptist University
Kevin L. Smith
Executive Director, Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware
Robert Smith, Jr.
Charles T. Carter Professor of Divinity, Beeson Divinity School, Samford University
Timothy L. Smith
President, University of Mobile
John Stonestreet
President, Colson Center for Christian Worldview
Carol M. Swain
Professor of Law and Political Science, Vanderbilt University
Justin Taylor
Author, editor, blogger, The Gospel Coalition
Peter W. Teague
President, Lancaster Bible College/Capital Seminary and Graduate School
H. James Towey
President, Ave Maria University
Todd Wagner
Pastor of Watermark Church
Roland C. Warren
President & CEO, Care Net
George Weigel
Distinguished Senior Fellow and William E. Simon Chair in Catholic Studies, Ethics and Public Policy Center
James Emery White
Pastor, Mecklenburg Community Church (Charlotte, N.C.)
David W. Whitlock
President, Oklahoma Baptist University
Thomas White
President, Cedarville University
Carl E. Zylstra
Executive Director, Association of Reformed Colleges and Universities
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