New Jersey’s “Banned” Pastor, Rev. Vincent Fields, Points the Way Back for America

By Peter LaBarbera In case you hadn’t noticed, there is a war between good and evil going on in this country, between those who agree with God and those who fight for worldly and immoral agendas — homosexuality, abortion, pornography — that He opposes. On Monday, the Rev. Vincent Fields (pictured above), having been invited to give the honorary invocation for the New Jersey State Senate, acted on a prompting from the God he serves. For that reason, this preacher will not be invited back to pray in an official capacity for New Jersey lawmakers. Rev. Fields, (pictured above), pastor of Greater Works Ministries in Pleasantville, N.J., said that when he arrived Monday, he didn’t plan on praying against “gay marriage,” but “the Holy Spirit took over, and I had to pray what He said.” Here is Rev. Fields’ prayer: “We curse the spirit that would come to bring about same-sex marriage … We ask you to just look over this place today, cause them to be shaken in their very heart in uprightness, Lord, to do [what] is right before you.” After offense was taken at Rev. Fields’ too-truthful prayer, New Jersey’s Senate President Richard Codey (D) told the Newark Star-Ledger that Rev. Fields will “not be back” to pray in the Senate. The reverend needn’t fret; he is in good company: I doubt that the real, holy God of the Bible has been welcome in that chamber for quite some time. Yesterday was a case in point, as the New Jersey legislature passed a bill legalizing “civil unions” — counterfeit “same-sex marriage” in everything but the name — with an ease that makes one wonder if the Church in the Garden State is in hibernation. Blue state New Jersey has become a bastion of officially-sanctioned secular immorality: you may recall that the state’s highest court voted 4-3 to mandate that the legislature pass either “gay marriage” or “gay marriage lite” (civil unions) — and the three dissenters were upset only that the court didn’t go all the way and require FULL “gay marriage.” In other words, not a single justice on the New Jersey Supreme Court — including several appointed by Republican governor Christine Todd Whitman — had a problem with giving marital-type rights and privileges to homosexuals. Getting back our passion Too often in the cultural debate over homosexuality, the debate is reduced to secular studies and research (e.g., how studies show that it’s better for children to have a mom and a dad). These are worthy pursuits because secular research validates divine truth, and many Americans have closed their minds to the Bible. That said, appeals to God, the Bible and morality are the most powerful motivators in this struggle because they cut to the heart — at least for Christians. The less often Scripture is spoken in public debates, the less relevant it becomes to society. Surely the vast majority of serious Christians and religious people in the United States would agree with Rev. Fields’ prayer: there IS an ungodly spirit that surrounds the promotion of homosexuality. It is manifested in all aspects of the movement — from the hyper-promiscuity in the “gay” male world to the latest in “queer” theology, which twists the holy Scriptures to claim that homosexuality is a “gift from God.” And, yes, this ungodly spirit is also found in the quest for domesticated, monogamous homosexuality that merely “regularizes sin,” to quote Rob Gagnon, while still mocking and radically redefining God’s perfect design for marriage and family. Many of us are intimidated against speaking out on God’s behalf, but the “gay” lobby is quite willing to fill the void — “preaching” at us with its slick but morally bankrupt message that “being gay” is naturally “who they are,” and demonizing Christians as “haters.” They can redefine words all they want, but homosexual behavior will always be wrong, and “gay pride” is direct rebellion against God. Truth is, homosexual sin is so egregious that the Bible calls it an “abomination” — crying out for judgment by all those who agree with God. If it is not wrong for men to commit sodomitic perversions with other men, and women with women — what Noah Webster termed a “crime against nature” in a wiser age — then nothing is wrong. Sterile public policy debates often fail to convey the moral outrage of legitimizing this destructive lifestyle, as do religious compromisers like Peggy Campolo who seek to make an accommodation with homosexuality, often out of pity for friends or relatives trapped in this lifestyle. An America where you can’t judge anything as wrong — except Bible-believing Christians and “intolerant” religious people — is a banal and spiritually lifeless America, its moral energy sapped out of it. This is liberalism today. Behold how quickly social liberals like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D) moved from considering homosexual “domestic partnership” (and eschewing “gay marriage”) to now embracing homosexual “marriage” as a civil right. And why not? They have no moral absolutes, or at least they don’t share God’s: if you can rationalize the legalized slaughter of innocent unborn life and call it a “choice,” why not let two guys or two ladies “playing house,” to quote ex-homosexual Stephen Bennett, call their arrangement a “marriage”? Most Americans still call themselves Christian in this country, but when Christianity tolerates everything, it means nothing. There IS such a thing as “God’s side” of some core issues, and those who embrace homosexuality, abortion and pornography ain’t on it. This is the season to remind ourselves that Jesus Christ came to save men from their sins. The Bible says that those who reject Christ stand condemned (John 3:16-18), but that He offers forgiveness and spiritual rebirth to all, including repentant homosexuals (1 Corinthians 6:9-11). (Yes, there were “ex-gays,” so to speak, in Bible times.) If there is no sin, then there is no need for Christ. Pro-family advocates are often accused of arrogance for “judging” homosexuality as wrong, but the real arrogance comes from those who would effectively pronounce God (and His Word) a liar, because they — frail, created humans on this earth but a moment in the vast scope of time — know better than He does about what’s right and wrong. In New Jersey, it’s easy to despair as homosexual activists claim yet another court-assisted victory, and all we have for inspiration is Rev. Fields’ Holy Spirit-led prayer. But the faithful pastor actually points the way back for our nation. Secular studies and catchy sound-bites will not bring a return of God’s blessing, but spiritual revival and repentance will — by bringing about godly humility and a desire to obey His moral laws, and creating a newfound wonder at His marvelous creation, including marriage and the family. To bring about that repentance we need many more like Vincent Fields, men and women who are willing to cast off the shackles of Political Correctness and speak God’s truth to a dying culture. Some will say that Rev. Fields is only the latest casualty in America’s Culture Wars. To me, he is a loyal soldier who refused to squelch the voice of God to please men.

Peter LaBarbera is the president of Americans For Truth.http://americansfortruth.com/news/new-jerseys-banned-pastor-rev-fields-points-the-way-back-for-america.html