The word conservative itself is defined somewhat loosely. In the Oxford Dictionary, it defines conservative as a person who is adverse to change and holds traditional values. I am not absolutely for sure that is a fair definition. Anyone that considers themselves to be conservative would definitely be in favor of flushed toilets vs. an outhouse toilet, would prefer running water over a hand pump, electricity over candles, etc. You get the point. This article is to show you why it is necessary to be conservative to stick to the Word of God for our salvation. Old and New Testament both proclaim, Be Ye Holy for I Am Holy. (Found in 1 Peter 1:16 and Leviticus 21:8 and many more.) The word holy is simply defined as reflecting the characteristics of God. In fact, God doubles down in Hebrews 12:14 and says, “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.” I don’t even see this as a conservative point of view, but as a command.

The second point is for us to obtain this holy lifestyle we must be truly and genuinely saved. 1 John 1:9 says if you confess of your sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive you of your sins and purify you from all unrighteousness. The first thing this Bible verse demands is action on our part to admit we are all sinners (Romans 3:23). In this confession, we must also have Godly sorrow (2 Corinthians 7:10) because it brings repentance. Repentance means we left our sinful lifestyle to live a holy lifestyle reflecting God. With this foundation set, let me move on to why I am a conservative Christian.

As a conservative Christian, we believe that we love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and our neighbor as ourself. I have no direct personal Gallup poll to prove this, but I would say that 50% of so-called Christians do not fulfill this Bible verse. This Bible verse is easier to do than what we think. It is hinged off of another one that says do unto others as you would have them do unto you. With that said, this is why I do not swear. It hurts God’s feelings when we use His name in vain. It hurts others when we swear and try to belittle them. I attend church services faithfully Sunday mornings, Sunday nights, and on Wednesdays because I love God more than anything else in this world. I want a relationship with Him. In Timothy, it says study to show yourself approved. I want to learn as much about my heavenly Father as possible. I do not want to become an illegitimate child again as I once was. I read my Bible because from cover to cover, it gives examples of people’s successes and failures, God’s mercy and love, and also of God’s wrath/discipline when we turn our backs on Him. By doing this, I am able to learn from these experiences and live the best successful life I can through the blessings of God. I pray daily and meditate to enhance this relationship with God. Prayer is not just a one-way street. Prayer is talking AND listening to God. We have many people talking to God but very few listening to God. I do not believe in abortion because in the Bible the Israelites started carrying out sexual immorality practices before idols, such as orgies and sleeping with male and female prostitutes. This produced an abundance of unwanted pregnancies. To get rid of these children, they would throw them into the fire of the gods (such as Molech). God was so upset He said in Jeremiah 19:5, “Nor did it ever enter My mind.” He could not believe they would burn their own babies. Jeremiah 1:5 also states, “Before I formed you, I

knew you.” In Psalm 139:13-16, it talks about God knitting us together in the womb. I do not support the LGBT movement. Do I pray for them? Absolutely. Do I love them? Absolutely. Do I have any in my family? Absolutely. But sin is still sin. Remember we are living to be holy people, not following the examples of Sodom and Gomorrah. Romans 1:18-32 gives us an example of sinful living. This includes women laying with women and men laying with men. I also believe we must abstain from sexual immorality of any nature. This includes living together, pornography, dirty jokes, etc. This is not just mentioned one time in the Bible but dozens of times in the Old and New Testaments both. The Bible also says to avoid the appearance of evil. To save time and space, I will give you a list but be sure that all of this is in the Bible. Just because it is legal in America doesn’t mean it is not a sin in God’s sight. The Bible is absolutely clear you should not get drunk, but it also says in Proverbs 23:31, “do not look upon the wine when it moves in the glass.” Many of you believe in social drinking. The problem with this is you are trying to use 100 proof Jack Daniels compared to 7% wine that was more than likely even more diluted during the time of Jesus. Overall, alcohol drinking today produces, divorce, rape, incest, and even death through abuse and vehicular accidents. Why would we help this industry? Marijuana smoking falls into this same category with the same results. It has been, and is still, safely used as medicine for some after the THC has been removed. Most use both alcohol and marijuana to catch a buzz. Let’s wrap this up with the entertainment you watch. If you are watching a movie with nudity, foul language, and drug abuse being glorified, you are doing nothing but living in your sexual flesh nature. Don’t be surprised when your children follow the same path. The problem is when you are doing any of these things mentioned above, you are no better than the ones that spit in the face of Jesus during His crucifixion. Read Romans chapter 6, which says Jesus set us free from a life of sin. Will we be tempted? Yes. Romans chapter 7 talks about this. Romans 8 tells us if we are sanctified with a new heart, we overcome this sinful nature. This is also mentioned in 1 Thessalonians, chapter 4. You can call me a conservative Christian if you want to, but I believe Peter, James, John, and Paul, writers from the Holy Bible must also have been conservative Christians because everything I wrote about they already wrote about and lived. What type of Christian are you?

Dr. Brian Brown

Lisbon Church of the Nazarene