Josh Claycamp

Christian, husband, and dad. I root for the Dallas Cowboys.

[Alisa Childers @alisa_childers]

At a bare minimum, biblically qualified church elders should have no problem marking and avoiding:

1. Prosperity Gospel Preachers
2. Progressive Christian Teachers
4. Abusive Pastors
5. False prophets who data mine on social media
6. Nazis

They should be crystal clear on:

1. Abortion
2. Sexuality and Marriage

"For an overseer, as God's steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it." Titus 1:7-9

None of this should be controversial.

[Josh Claycamp @JoshuaClaycamp]

And also:
John 6:44, 65 — No one can come unless drawn/granted
"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him."
"No one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father."
"Can" is a strong word. Coming to Christ in faith is impossible apart from a prior divine act of drawing/granting. This divine enablement precedes the coming.

[Josh Claycamp @JoshuaClaycamp]

However, consider this:
Ephesians 2:1–5 — Dead men don't believe
"And you were dead in your trespasses and sins… even when we were dead in our trespasses, [God] made us alive together with Christ."
This is the cornerstone text. Spiritual death is total inability — a corpse cannot exercise faith. God makes alive while we are dead, not in response to faith.

[Josh Claycamp @JoshuaClaycamp]

@pauldirks @richbarcellos Ephesians 1:13 — Sealed after believing
"In him you also, when you heard the word of truth… and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit."
The Spirit's sealing/indwelling follows hearing and believing in the text's grammatical sequence.

[Josh Claycamp @JoshuaClaycamp]

1 Peter 1:23 compared with 1:25 — Born again through the Word...
"You have been born again… through the living and abiding word of God… and this word is the good news that was preached to you."
The instrument of regeneration is identified as the preached Word — implying the Word is heard (and received in faith) as the means through which new birth comes. This is the classic Arminian/Traditionalist and Lutheran argument.

[Josh Claycamp @JoshuaClaycamp]

@pauldirks @richbarcellos God's creative act of regeneration and the soul's act of faith may be concurrent.

[Josh Claycamp @JoshuaClaycamp]

@pauldirks @richbarcellos @pauldirks In your view, does justification precede regeneration? Or does justification follow Regeneration?

[Joshua Stone @StonePasto92061]

@Shakespreacher The email today sounds like damage control and leadership desperately trying to control the narrative.

[Rev. Braden Campbell @Shakespreacher]

Churches were removed from FEB Pacific & Prairies not because they wouldn’t “joyfully fellowship” but because they wouldn’t shut up.

They continuously called their sister churches to adhere to a biblical ecclesiology. They were correct to do so. And they were punished for it.

[FirstBaptistKamloops @FBCKamloops]

This Easter: "My Lord and My God" What does it mean to believe without seeing? Follow along as we explore Thomas's encounter with the risen Christ. John 20:24–31S He is risen! #KamloopsBC #EasterSunday #HeIsRisen #Kamloops https://t.co/mpImiyUZaI

[Josh Claycamp @JoshuaClaycamp]

Join us this morning at 10 AM as we worship the resurrected, risen, and reigning King, the Lord Jesus, and reflect together on the finished work He accomplished on the Cross.

[FirstBaptistKamloops @FBCKamloops]

Good Friday at First Baptist Church - Tomorrow morning at 10:00 AM, we gather to remember the most central moment in all history—when the King of Truth stood trial before earthly powers.

Join us as Pastor @JoshuaClaycamp unpacks and explains the profound strangeness of Jesus' witness to the truth from John 18:28–19:16. In a moment when everything seemed to be falling apart, Christ was accomplishing everything that He had promised. His testimony before Pilate reveals the truth that turns our world upside down—about power, justice, and the Kingdom of God that can never be shaken.

Join us tomorrow, at 454 Columbia Street, Kamloops, at 10:00 AM.

This Good Friday, come encounter the One who spoke truth in the face of injustice, who reigned from the cross, and who transforms our understanding of real hope.

All are welcome. Bring your family, bring your heart.

#goodfriday #fbckamloops #WitnesstoTruth #JesusIsKing

[Josh Claycamp @JoshuaClaycamp]

The death penalty is necessary in order to uphold human rights and human dignity. Of course, it should only be applied after a thorough trial of the evidence, but it absolutely should apply to premeditated, 1st degree murder. Without the death penalty we diminish the sanctity of life.

[Megan Basham @megbasham]

So an interesting side note in this case. The woman who formally ran the Rosemead counseling center at Biola University filed an amicus brief in this case that took the same position as far left Justice Jackson. She didn’t want Christian counselors to be able to tell gender-confused kids that God fearfully and wonderfully made them male and female. She didn’t want Christian counselors to be able to help kids overcome their gender dysphoria and embrace their created identity.

After I reported on this at @realDailyWire, she was removed from her position.

This is the power of real journalism, investigating Christian institutions. It isn’t done to attack them, it’s to preserve them.

[Josh Claycamp @JoshuaClaycamp]

A Law Against God: Bill C-9 and the Criminalization of Conscience
Canada's Bill C-9, the so-called Combatting Hate Act, presents itself as a shield for vulnerable communities, but it is something far more troubling: a piece of legislation that positions the Government as the ultimate arbiter of morally acceptable religious expression, effectively placing Caesar above God. On March 25, 2026, the bill passed third reading in the House of Commons by a vote of 186 to 137 and has now been sent to the Senate for what may be its final review. Evaluated against the the first four commandments, which govern humanity's duty to God — Bill C-9 represents not merely a political miscalculation but a moral affront. It is a law that, by its own logic, could criminalize obedience to God. In what follows, we will evaluate Bill C9 against the first four Commandments. Regardless of what happens with C9, Christians and pastors should joyfully keep preaching God's truth and welcome any persecution that may come, considering it a blessing to be counted worthy of suffering for the sake of Jesus' Name.

The First Commandment: No Other Gods
The first commandment demands exclusive allegiance to the Lord: "You shall have no other gods before me" (Exodus 20:3). This is not simply a prohibition against idolatry in the ancient sense. It is a declaration that God alone is sovereign over the conscience. When a government arrogates to itself the power to determine which religious convictions may be spoken aloud and which may not, it steps into the place of God. Bill C-9 does precisely this. By removing the good-faith religious defense from Section 319(3)(b) of the Criminal Code — the longstanding protection that shielded sincere expressions of religious belief from hate-speech prosecution — the Canadian government has declared itself competent to judge whether the God of Scripture has spoken truly. A state with the power to punish theological conviction is a state that has installed itself as a god.

The Second Commandment: No Idols
The second commandment forbids the making of false images and the bowing down to them (Exodus 20:4–6). At its heart, this commandment is about worship in spirit and truth — the refusal to allow any human construction to stand in the place of the living God. Bill C-9, animated by the secular ideology of Quebec's laïcité, constructs a false image of human dignity that is deliberately evacuated of transcendence. When committee chair Marc Miller questioned witness Derek Ross about whether passages from Leviticus, Deuteronomy, and Romans constitute "clear hatred towards homosexuals," he revealed the operative assumption of the bill: that Scripture itself is a suspect text. The law, in this light, does not merely restrict religious speech — it demands that believers bow to a rival account of human identity, one from which the Creator has been systematically removed. This is the construction of an idol by legislative fiat.

The Third Commandment: Do Not Take God's Name in Vain
The third commandment prohibits the misuse of God's name (Exodus 20:7), which the Reformed tradition has consistently understood to include the suppression, dishonoring, or contemptuous treatment of God's word and worship. Bill C-9 threatens precisely this. A pastor who preaches Romans 1, a teacher who instructs students from Leviticus 18, or a parent who explains the biblical doctrine of marriage to a child could, under the amended law, face investigation or prosecution — not because they have incited violence, but because the content of their speech, drawn from Scripture, may be deemed hateful by a Crown attorney who shares Miller's reading of the text. To threaten a minister of the gospel with criminal sanction for faithfully handling God's word is to take that word in vain — to treat it as a source of shame rather than of life.

The Fourth Commandment: Remember the Sabbath
The fourth commandment calls God's people to set apart holy time for worship (Exodus 20:8–11). The freedom to gather, to hear Scripture read and preached, and to respond in obedience is not a privilege granted by the state — it is a duty owed to God. Bill C-9's chilling effect on preaching and public religious discourse strikes directly at this duty. When pastors must weigh every sermon against the possibility of criminal liability, the Sabbath assembly is poisoned at its root. The pulpit becomes not a place of freedom but of self-censorship. Cardinal Frank Leo, Metropolitan Archbishop of Toronto, recognized this danger plainly in his March 27, 2026 letter to all Canadian Senators: "the removal of the defence of religious speech will not ensure that religious speech is dutifully protected from eventual hate charges," and "it is vital that an unequivocal clarification be added to the bill making it abundantly and unmistakably clear that the reading of religious texts, as well as teaching and preaching are not in any way considered the intentional promotion of hatred of any kind."⁵ If the Senate fails to act on this appeal, the shepherd who opens his Bible on Sunday morning will do so knowing the state may be listening — and judging.

Freedom of Conscience and Religion
Canada's own Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees freedom of conscience and religion under Section 2(a). These are not gifts of the Carney government or any other; they are recognitions of rights that belong to image-bearers of God by virtue of their creation. Bill C-9 erodes both. The government did introduce a late "for greater certainty" clause intended to address religious concerns, but the National Council of Canadian Muslims — in a letter signed by over 350 signatories — stated that in their view the final text of the amendments does not match what was committed to.⁶ The Catholic Civil Rights League and Christian Legal Fellowship reached the same conclusion. Cardinal Leo framed the underlying principle with precision: "It is one thing to desire and work towards the elimination of all words and acts of hatred — and it is a laudable and just thing to do. However, this should not come at the cost of diminishing or doing away with basic, fundamental civil liberties."⁷ Verbal commitments from government ministers that "practicing one's religion can never constitute a hate crime" are no substitute for those protections being enshrined in the text of the law itself.

The Senate as Last Line of Defense
The battle has now moved to the upper chamber. Cardinal Leo's letter to the Senate is among the most forthright appeals yet made by any church leader in this legislative process. He called on senators to exercise their role of "sober second thought" and incorporate amendments that would simultaneously address hatred and clearly safeguard the freedoms Canadians hold dear, warning that "to ignore these rights and freedoms and to avoid defending them through legislation is indeed contrary to what we stand for as Canadians in a democratic society."⁸ That appeal comes from a Roman Catholic Cardinal and a coalition that, as Leo noted, represents millions of Canadians spanning many religious traditions, interest groups, and even non-religious institutions. The breadth of that coalition is itself a rebuke to those who framed opposition to C-9 as a fringe or partisan concern.

Conclusion
Bill C-9 is, at its theological root, an assertion of state supremacy over the law of God. It displaces God as sovereign over conscience, demands obedience to a secular anthropology, threatens the faithful proclamation of Scripture, and casts a shadow over the freedom of God's people to worship in spirit and truth. The Senate now holds the opportunity — and the obligation — to repair what the House has broken. Christians and pastors should joyfully keep preaching God's truth and welcome any persecution that may come, considering it a blessing to be counted worthy of suffering for the sake of Jesus' Name.

Bibliography
CBC News. "Contentious Anti-Hate Legislation Passes Final Vote in the House, Now Moves to Senate." March 25, 2026.

Catholic Saskatoon News. "Bill C-9 Advances to Senate: Combatting Hate Act Continues to Raise Concerns from Those Concerned about Religious Freedom." March 27, 2026.

Farrow, Anna. "Canada's Combatting Hate Act Hates Religious Freedom." First Things, December 24, 2025.

Leo, Frank Cardinal. "Communication regarding Bill C-9 – Combatting Hate Act: Sent to all Canadian Senators." Archdiocese of Toronto, March 27, 2026.

Marshall, Paul. "Canada's Bill C-9 and the Growing Threat to Religious Freedom." Hudson Institute, 2025.

Parliament of Canada. "C-9 (45-1) – LEGISinfo." Accessed March 29, 2026.

[Josh Claycamp @JoshuaClaycamp]

I would bet between 98-100% of @FBCKamloops convictionally holds to the sanctity of life. How? Very simple. Scripture is crystal clear on abortion and this isn't hard to put across the pulpit. The only reason a congregation stays confused is a pastor who fears man more than God.

[The Gospel Coalition @TGC]

Last year, a study found that the percentage of regular churchgoers identifying as pro-life plummeted from 63 percent (in 2023) to 43 percent (in 2025).

But wait, it gets worse.

[Josh Claycamp @JoshuaClaycamp]

Tonight, my heart turns to the Iranian people — a proud, ancient people who have suffered for decades under a dictator that silences dissent, imprisons believers, and crushes God-given human dignity.

Tonight, I am praying for the Iranian people. And I pray with hope — that God in His sovereignty might open a door for the Iranian people to know Him and His Son, Jesus, and to know true freedom: freedom of conscience, freedom of worship, speech, and self-determination.

The Iranian people are created to be free. May Iran one day be a nation where every person can worship Christ without fear.

"He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives." — Luke 4:18

#Iranian #Iran #PrayForIran #FreeIran #ReligiousFreedom #HopeForIran #FreedomForIran #Kamloops #KamloopsBC

[Josh Claycamp @JoshuaClaycamp]

Welcome to the Matrix.

[Josh Claycamp @JoshuaClaycamp]

It's hard to intellectually relate to the world that I'm living in here in British Columbia. There's an intellectual and cognitive gulf between me and my neighbors, and I puzzle, seemingly every day now, over how to bridge this divide. Please pray for the Lord Jesus to send His Spirit among us, here in BC. We need to be stirred and revived by the Holy Spirit from the spiritual death which fully entombs us.

[Mia Hughes @_CryMiaRiver]

The single most insane ruling thus far in the gender insanity came out of the BC Human Rights Commission yesterday.

The tribunal ruled that saying you do not believe in gender identities amounts to the "existential denial" of trans people and is therefore discrimination. The school board trustee, Barry Neufeld, must now pay a $750,000 penalty for his lack of belief in gender souls.

This quote from the ruling is particularly astonishing:

“A person does not need to believe in Christianity to accept that another person is Christian. However, to accept that a person is transgender, one must accept that their gender identity is different than their sex assigned at birth.”

At least they're being completely honest about what trans rights really means now, but seriously: what absolute incoherent activist gibberish!

Some people adopt the label transgender for a wide variety of reasons that are currently oversimplified into the activist-crafted concept of “gender identity.”

That’s not denying the existence of trans people. In fact, it demonstrates a much deeper understanding of people who identify as transgender than blindly accepting the existence of unfalsifiable, pseudoscientific identity claims.

So basically, in BC, you have to believe in mystical invisible gender essences or face financial ruin.

Here’s a video of me saying repeatedly, and very clearly, that I do not believe in gender identities.

And in case I wasn’t clear the first 1,000 times I’ve said it, I’ll say it one more time for the record: I do not believe in gender identities. And I won’t ever pretend that I do.

[FirstBaptistKamloops @FBCKamloops]

THIS SUNDAY: What if "repent" isn't a harsh word, but an invitation to joy?

Luke 3:1-6 | John the Baptist's message might surprise you: "Comfort, comfort my people" - Isaiah 40:1

Join us Sunday at FBC Kamloops & discover the truth about repentance.

It's not condemnation—it's coming home. 🏡

#FBCKamloops #KamloopsBC #ThisSunday

[Josh Claycamp @JoshuaClaycamp]

@Butch30586594 @tim__stephens Yes, we were.