My Dear Friend,

Our culture is reeling from the newest new thing: the idiocy of cancel culture. But centuries ago, wise Solomon had it right, "There is no new thing under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 1:9), even cancel culture! But here's my burden.

We Christians justly despise cancel culture - the overt unfairness of permanently rejecting a person, and hatefully ostracizing them in every way possible, just because they made a casual statement in an unguarded moment that doesn't suit us. And one that may not reflect their true character at all. Yet, despite our vigorous denunciations of this, we practice it ourselves. In another way.

We practice cancel culture as the Pharisaic Jews did in Jesus' day. And how did they do so?

Mark 7:1-13 illuminates this for us. The Pharisees passed judgment on Jesus because His disciples did not practice meticulous Pharisaic handwashings before eating (and first-century disciples reflected their teacher's positions). This was just one of the religious leaders' many criticisms that led them to cancel Jesus - publicly denouncing Him as a false prophet, Messianic pretender, demonically empowered magician, and, finally, an insurrectionist. Then, after cancelling Him, they crucified Him. That is cancel culture in its worst, most lethal form! What made them rage against Jesus?

Before they cancelled Jesus, He had exposed them for cancelling God's Word. "You skillfully sidestep God's law in order to hold on to your own tradition [or that which is 'handed down'] ... And so you cancel the word of God in order to hand down your own tradition" (Mark 7:9-13, NLT). Why did He object so strenuously? Nowhere did the Jewish Scriptures, the Old Testament, order handwashing before eating. Not in even one text! Yet the Pharisees ordered it as part of their cherished Oral Tradition - an elaborate collection of unwritten commandments that God purportedly gave Moses at Sinai interpreting and applying the statutes and ordinances of the written law.

Jesus continued His attack on this Oral Tradition, citing another specific objection. God's Word ordered, "Honor your father and your mother" (Mark 7:10). Yet the Pharisees permitted Jews to give to the temple as a special gift monies or materials that should have been used to support their needy, aging parents. They called these gifts "Corban," meaning simply "gift" (Mark 7:11-12).

Jesus said this replacing of God's commands with the Pharisees' commands rendered God's Word "of no effect" (Mark 7:13), or powerless and irrelevant. Cancelled! The underlying principle here is even more ominous: since the Word of God states the will of God, cancelling God's Word is cancelling, or blocking, His will - and thus excluding Him from His people's lives. So, cancelling the Word of God cancels the God of the Word. And that dishonors and angers Him!

Jesus affirmed the Pharisees, who prided themselves on honoring God, were instead cancelling Him. And not occasionally, but constantly. He said they did "many other such things" as those He described in this context (Mark 7:8, 13; see Matthew 23:13-33). Oh, my, the ancient Pharisees were so much like our Wokists today! How foolish, how blind! They make me feel so righteous, so high on myself, so thrilled that we are not like them. Right? We would never replace God's Word with our traditions. Right? Oh, we might cancel a few objectionable people now and then, especially if they don't suit our biases, but we would never cancel God! Right?

May I now burst our pride bubble? We also cancel God! And not occasionally, but constantly. Every day. And "in many other such things." But in this limited space, I can only cite a few examples:

• God's Word says we "must" be born again to be saved. Our mainline church traditions say infant baptism, confirmation, the sacraments, these will get us to heaven.

• God's Word teaches God passionately desires for Christians to seek Him privately, so they may know Him intimately. Evangelical tradition maximizes "accepting Jesus" and minimizes or omits the call to the deeper life.

• God's Word says we should put God's kingdom will and standards of righteousness "first" (Matthew 6:33). Our popular tradition says we should put ourselves first and that Christ has come to help us achieve and have what we want from life.

• God's Word says we should prepare for Jesus' appearing by obeying His spiritual readiness instructions. The emerging Evangelical tradition is that Jesus will catch away all born-again Christians regardless of how we are living.

• God's Word teaches Jesus gave His bride valuable gifts of the Spirit and says nothing about them ceasing during this church age. Our Cessationist tradition says those gifts ceased with the death of the original apostles, rendering them "of no effect" in millions of Christians' lives.

• God's Word highly recommends the Baptism with the Holy Spirit to every born-again believer. Our Evangelical tradition insists we are filled with the Spirit at conversion, or water baptism, and need no further infilling.

• God's Word says we should "forget not" the covenant benefit of divine healing, anoint the sick, and pray expectantly for their healing (Psalm 103:1-3; James 5:14-16). Our tradition asserts God now heals only our souls, not our bodies, and the age of miracles has passed.

• God's Word advocates and demonstrates believer's water baptism by immersion. Our high church traditions, however, claim we should baptize infants - and by aspersion (sprinkling) or affusion (pouring), not immersion.

• God's Word calls us to live pure and separated from this world's immorality and warns God will judge, not bless, fornicators and adulterers. Our emerging popular tradition implies God's (misunderstood) love will overlook, or even celebrate, our immorality - thus it smilingly quiets our troubled consciences with unbiblical falsehoods.

• God's Word says He loves heterosexuality and loathes homosexuality . . . period! Our new theologically liberal tradition claims He delights in heterosexuality and homosexuality - and all the other emerging sexualities.

• God's Word says He is our refuge and His wings alone are our covering (Psalm 91). Unofficial Charismatic tradition claims apostles or bishops are our spiritual coverings under whom we should seek spiritual safety.

• God's Word says congregants should not all pray aloud in the Spirit in public worship meetings and warns, if we do, unbelievers and spiritually untaught Christians will think we are irrational or even unbalanced (1 Corinthians 14:23). Longstanding Pentecostal tradition, however, completely disregards this text - yet wonders why some still consider them foolish!

• God's Word reveals Paul's glowing testimony of his grateful and frequent use of his prayer language in his private prayer and worship: "I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all" (1 Corinthians 14:18). Traditional Evangelical teaching, while boasting on Paul's inspired theology, and inspiring endurance, quietly disregards his inspired testimony.

• God's Word clearly states only two justifications for Christian divorce: sexual unfaithfulness and abandonment. Our increasingly popular tradition permits divorce for many, almost any, reasons.

• God's Word teaches believer participation in our meetings - everyone sharing an edifying psalm, insight, or testimony (1 Corinthians 14:26). Our long-standing Protestant tradition dictates that our pastor and choir do "the service" while the rest of us sit, spectate, applaud, and then go home.

My point is this: we are just as guilty as the ancient Pharisees and modern Wokists, though in a different way! What shall we do?

Stop cancelling God! Stop revering our manmade religious traditions and begin reverencing God's Word alone, realizing honoring His Word is honoring Him. If we will do so, there is no telling where this may lead. To a new Reformation? To a new Revival? To the great, final awakening of the church's sleeping bridesmaids just before Jesus appears (Matthew 25:6-7)? To the church finally becoming what God designed it to be?

Cancelling my cancellations,

Dr. Greg Hinnant

GREG HINNANT MINISTRIES