#the15 – An Exercise in Standing for the Truth

With all the nonsensical vote manipulation by left-wing members of the SBC and the so-called intelligensia at The Gospel Coalition (I would rather call them what they are, just plain unintelligible), I find it increasingly necessary to spend time considering everything everyone says in prayer. This is an article about that.

#The15 is a reference to something that happened about 2014 when LifeWay, the library arm of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), was caught selling outright heresy in books by prosperity preachers, by social justice warriors, and heaven tourism type books. When a book was repudiated by the author who had actually become a believer in Christ AFTER his dad wrote the book and published it, then-leader Ed Stetzer complained publicly in a blog post that it was the same 15 Calvinists that complained about these things and did all the nay-saying.

The bad news for Ed Stetzer? There were more than 15 of us – and a grassroots groundswell boycott of LifeWay and anything it sold actually caused LifeWay to fail (something that its board of directors foolishly denies to this day).

All this and the more recent nonsense going on in and out of the SBC got me thinking about what it really means to stand for Christ, His truth, and His Gospel today. I have found a well-written and concise list that sums it up in 10 points, written by fellow amans veritatis (Latin for Lover of Truth) Jordan Hall, Pastor of Sydney’s Fellowship Baptist Church in Montana. They are:

1. #the15 are those who refuse to be shamed into silence.

2. #the15 are those who are willingly sacrificing our own reputations among men for the sake of God’s holiness among the nations.

3. #the15 are those who will sacrifice our careers and denominational or organization advancement in order to continue speaking prophetic truth to false teachers and those who sell false teachings.

4. #the15 are those who do not mind being made fools for the sake of the Gospel.

5. #the15 are those who will not relent to ask tough questions until we receive truthful answers.

6. #the15 are those who will not be intimidated by power or Christian celebrity.

7. #the15 are those who know people are listening, but would speak even if no one were.

8. #the15 are those who know that God has not called us to success, but to faithfulness.

9. #the15 are those who know this Modern Day Downgrade is reality, and will warn others of its seductive appeal and destructive nature.

10. #the15 are those who, despite being ignored, ridiculed or attacked are not going away any time soon.

If you are such an individual, you can join! Change your facebook and Twitter profiles to a highway 15 reference like this:

Then add the tag #the15 to your tweets and posts. This is a serious decision, because it WILL earn the ire of people that are the enemies of Christ. Personally, it reminds me of that verse in Romans 1:16 – “…I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, for it is the power of God resulting in salvation to all those who believe…”