Encountering Synthesizing
Trends in Modern Culture
by Rev. David Andrew
Holiness–God’s unique character and presence expressed in the believer–is essential to proclamation. We cannot reveal our Lord if we reflect the world. The root is holy (Romans 11:16). The Jewish Roots message is essentially a call to return to holiness; not in the sense of a mortifying legalism, but as a glad acceptance of disciplined submission to the unique and living God whose children we are by grace through faith.
Our roots began in God-ordained separation: "Leave your country, your people, and your father’s household, and go to the land I will show you" (Genesis 12:1), continued in separation by the leadership of Moses: "You must not worship the Lord your God in their way" (Deuteronomy 12:4), and produced an Olive Tree which has suffered global hostility in all ages on account of its sanctification by the Sovereign choice and call of God: "There is a certain people . . . who keep themselves separate. Their customs are different from those of all other people . . . it is not in the king’s best interests to tolerate them" (Esther 3:8, emphasis added). The Lord Yeshua and His apostles maintained the continuity of this call to holiness by teaching, example, and prayer: "Sanctify them by the truth; your word [the TaNaK] is truth" (John 17:17). "You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God" (I Peter 2:9).
The anti-Semitism of Haman is alive and well and insidiously active through the flood of New Age literature and its growing influence in our society. (I speak of Britain.) There is ample evidence here of a surging neo-paganism with an associated religious synthesis which masquerades as multi-cultural "tolerance." This mask conceals (even from its devotees) an unholy intolerance (like Haman) of absolutes and a darker commitment to rid the world of all Judaeo-Christian "resistance" to the New World Order. To this I trace some of the great disintegrating developments of the last three decades or so (gender conflict, the rejection of age in favor of youth, many kinds of societal and familial division, and aggressive religious syncretism, and the ecumenical trade-off of doctrine which I see as a counterfeit of true Christian unity). It is interesting to note that Biblical holiness produces integration whereas the deceptive "tolerance" of synthesizing movements leads to disintegration.
Far be it from us to give glory to the evil one as we assess this decline, but the context in which we now live makes the call to holiness more urgent than ever. Some of us in Scotland have noted a pattern whereby the Lord seems to protect Spirit-inspired movements by constant reference to their beginnings. In a sense, it is probably even more important that an exciting movement which seeks to reconnect God’s people with their roots should keep evaluating its progress in terms of its own "roots," e.g. "Is today’s agenda still compatible with the original vision?" The overriding issue in my spirit is the on-going need to protect the developing agenda–to ensure that the building is compatible with its God-given foundations. To what extent is His Lordship visible in our holiness?
Do we have problems reconciling the good and godly aims of dialogue with the imperative to proclaim the unique Messiah? Lordship, by definition, requires a devoted, separated people with a distinctive life-style. I believe the Jewish Roots message is fundamental to that objective and, as such, is best served by an approach which maintains an undeviating balance between the Pastor’s compassion for the lost sheep of the house of Israel and the Prophet’s unyielding insistence upon practical devotion to one Lord.
I do not believe that we are called to oppose anything (e.g. New Age influence), but to promote and proclaim our Lord. Nevertheless, when powerful synthesizing currents eddy around us, it seems wise to make certain that our swimming is strong enough to avoid the drift!