# The Church in Babylon

## Metadata
- Author: [[Erwin Lutzer]]
- Full Title: The Church in Babylon
- Category: #books
## Highlights
- Here’s my premise. Jesus loves His people and carries them in His right hand. He who has been given all authority in heaven and earth has made available to us all that we need, not merely to survive but to thrive in this hour of growing darkness.
- Salvation is free, but as the seven churches of Revelation discovered, there is a cost to living authentic lives of holiness in a godless culture. We cannot take the resources Christ offers for granted but must diligently seek Him and His Word with prayerful wisdom.
- As Francis Schaeffer used to say, “There are no little people and no big people in the true spiritual sense, but only consecrated and unconsecrated people.”1
- But there are many streams that have contributed to the climate of anti-Christian bigotry and the conscious rejection of our Judeo-Christian heritage.
- I will be critical of the church’s lack of faithfulness, but I believe there are certain inevitabilities in history and in the purposes of God that even a vibrant church cannot change
- That is why Jesus used the little word must so often! To give but one example, “And when you hear of wars and tumults, do not be terrified, for these things must first take place, but the end will not be at once” (Luke 21:9; see also passages such as Matt. 16:21; 24:6; 26:54). Certain things must come to pass.
- But—and this is critical—Jesus and His followers believed that spiritual and moral darkness was no obstacle to God; His will would be achieved not just in good times, but also in bad times when the church was most sorely oppressed.
- Sometimes God’s light is most clearly seen in times of darkness. In every era, that light is the gift of His presence in and among His people.
- We must be careful when we turn to the Old Testament for instructions for the New Testament church. I wince when I hear someone applying God’s dealings with Israel to the New Testament church without giving thought to the fact that we are in a radically different era, when many of the Old Testament practices simply do not apply.
- We no longer stone people for adultery, homosexuality, or disobeying one’s parents. We are in a different age with different relationships and expectations.
- The rebellion of Babylon has carried on throughout history. The people of those days sacrificed their children to pagan gods; we sacrifice our unborn children on the altar of convenience. We do not bow down before stone idols; we give wholehearted allegiance to the gods of money, power, and sex. Too often our devotion to God is an “add on,” something done in church once a week.
- Christians are a minority in an increasingly hostile culture. We are exiles, not geographically, but morally and spiritually. “Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation” (1 Peter 2:11–12).
- Our nation will be more stringently judged than Judah. The people of Jeremiah’s day had only a few copies of the law, and only a few people could read while others relied on what they were told. Contrast that with us. We have more translations of the Bible than we can count; we have the Bible on our iPads and smartphones. We are almost universally literate; and if we don’t care to read, we can have the Bible read to us by accessing any number of electronic devices and programs.
- The nation had drifted so far from God that He told Jeremiah to stop praying for the nation (Jer. 7:16). Judah had crossed the point of no return. Whether the United States is at that point, we cannot be sure. But our slide toward moral and spiritual rebellion is accelerating with each passing day. What a wonderful opportunity for the church to display both the power of God to keep us and the love of God to authenticate us.
- Think America. Our nation is drinking from similar poisoned wells. Like salt water that promises to satisfy but only increases a deadly thirst, so our nation plunges into a sexual wasteland that drives people to emptiness and despair. All of this has to be mentally justified no matter what our consciences tell us. The bumper stickers used to say, “If it feels good, do it.” Now the bumper sticker should say, “If it feels good, believe it.”
- It has been said, once we open the door to sin, it takes us further than we intended to go, keeps us longer than we intended to stay, and costs us more than we intended to pay.
- With their conscience deadened by unrestrained sexuality, the people of Judah ended up sacrificing their children to the god Molech. In the United States, we are sacrificing our unborn on the altar of sexual freedom, and now with one-third of America’s children born out of wedlock, they are thrown into a world of insecurity, anger, and too often, abuse. Sadly, this vicious cycle is often repeated in the next generation.
- John Calvin, the great theologian, said that the human mind is an idol factory. The human heart keeps generating one idol after another.
- The false prophets did what false prophets almost always do: they appealed to the ego of their listeners by telling them that God owes them special blessings because they are the people of God. They preached blessings without repentance, prosperity without piety. They had a theology of success, but not a theology of suffering. They preached about the good life in this present world and gave no thought to the world to come.
- This was their argument: “Sure we serve other gods, but we also continue to worship Jehovah, and so we are sons and daughters of the Most High God. There is no way that He would let us be humiliated at the hands of the Babylonians, a people far more wicked than we.” Their message was one of peace and continued prosperity, but it was like putting a bandage over a cancerous tumor. In short, their message was: we must learn to live like a King’s kid.
- God was not pleased. “They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace. Were they ashamed when they committed abomination? No, they were not at all ashamed; they did not know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; at the time that I punish them, they shall be overthrown” (Jer. 6:14–15). Yes, these false prophets healed the wounds of the people far too lightly! It was all about how to live your best life right then!
- Jeremiah wept, but they didn’t. They were prophets of hope, a false hope to be sure, but it was hope. God said, “They [the false prophets] have spoken falsely of the LORD and have said, ‘He will do nothing; no disaster will come upon us, nor shall we see sword or famine’” (Jer. 5:12). Just blessing upon blessing!
- In our day, too many are preaching a gospel that does not humble anyone. Instead, it’s presented as a means of self-exaltation and fulfillment.
- God says, “I have heard what the prophets say who prophesy lies in my name. They say, ‘I had a dream! I had a dream!’ How long will this continue in the hearts of these lying prophets, who prophesy the delusions of their own minds?” (Jer. 23:25–26 NIV). No wonder the Lord says, “Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes” (Jer. 23:16).
- Let us hear Jeremiah speak on behalf of God: “They have spoken falsely of the Lord and have said, ‘He will do nothing; no disaster will come upon us, nor shall we see sword or famine. The prophets will become wind; the word is not in them. Thus shall it be done to them!’” (Jer. 5:12–13).
- God was pleased with Jeremiah, not because he was successful but because he was faithful. And as God prepared Jeremiah for his role, so God has also prepared us. “Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations’” (Jer. 1:4–5). Please notice that Jeremiah was not called while in his mother’s womb, but before he was formed in his mother’s womb. The timing of his birth and calling were in God’s heart long before the prophet arrived on the scene. In fact, God had planned both Jeremiah’s birth and mission in eternity past.
- And He has the same plans for us. We might not have exactly the same calling as Jeremiah, but God did know us before we were born. We are also called to be alive and represent Him at this hour of our history. We could have been born in a previous era, a future era, or not born at all. God has a reason for us living now. Jesus said to His disciples, and thus to us, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit” (John 15:16). The clearer we hear our call from God, the more courage we will have to face uphill spiritual battles.
- Jeremiah did not see the revival for which he had prayed and worked. His urgent call to return back to God was received by a few, not the masses. In our day, there are thousands of us who pray for a nationwide revival. We have not yet seen it, but perhaps we shall yet see the fulfillment of our prayers. Perhaps not. Either way, we are called to faithfulness. This book is about what we should be doing even as we wait and pray for a revival. Faithfulness to our calling should be our overriding passion.
- Read about how God prequalified Jeremiah for his role.
- “But you, dress yourself for work; arise, and say to them everything that I command you. Do not be dismayed by them, lest I dismay you before them. And I, behold, I make you this day a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of the land. They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, declares the LORD.”
- (JER. 1:17–19)
- Jeremiah’s God will walk with us and will be faithful to His promises; He will stand with us during dark times. We are not expected to generate our own light and shine it into the darkness; the moon does not need to generate its own light but only reflect it.
- The title of this book is The Church in Babylon, but the subtitle is Heeding the Call to Be a Light in the Darkness. We want to be strong, courageous, and gracious, but also uncompromising as witnesses to the gospel of Jesus Christ in a culture that is becoming increasingly hostile to the Christian faith. Like Israel in Babylon, our challenge is to impact the culture without being spiritually destroyed by it.
- In brief, the purpose of this book is to answer three questions:
- First, what does faithfulness look like in a nation that has lost its way, a nation that appears to be under the judgment of God?
- Second, what are those issues that we, as a church, must confront in order to represent the God we worship? Or to put it differently, what instructions might Christ give us as we prepare ourselves for the darkness that is closing around us and the deeper darkness that’s on its way?
- Finally, Jesus told five of the seven churches of Revelation to repent. Might that not be His message to us? What might He be asking us to repent of? Where might we have lost our way?
- I believe that the time is coming, and is already here, when the church will not be able to depend on the media, the courts, our universities, or even some so-called evangelical churches to stand with us as the onslaught against Christianity comes to us from every direction. We have to learn how to conduct ourselves as a minority in a majority post-Christian world. We have to know how to engage the culture without becoming contaminated by it.
- As Leonard Ravenhill once said, “The church is waiting for the world to become regenerate, while the world is waiting for the church to become repentant.”2
- I have read that when Augustine was told about the fall of Rome to the Vandals, he felt deep sadness because he loved that city. He also believed its demise was a judgment for its sins, lamenting, “Whatever men build, men will destroy. Let’s get on with building the kingdom of God.”
- The church is to be in the world like a ship is in the ocean. But when the ocean begins to seep into the ship, the vessel is in trouble.
- Newton saw dissension within the church and commented, “When a ship is leaky, and a mutinous spirit divides the company on board, a wise man would say, ‘My good friends, while we are debating, the water is gaining on us—we had better leave the debate, and go to the pumps.’”1
- There are risks involved when Christians live in a pagan culture without proper safeguards. The culture can devour us. And yet, I believe that the mandate found in Jesus’ prayer, “I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one” (John 17:15) is still applicable today.
- Pastor Ed Stetzer put it this way: “Doing the King’s work requires us to live within the world in some ways and to rebel against it in others. God calls us to both.”
- Although it housed God’s glory, He was willing to allow this gigantic temple to be laid bare by cruel, pagan soldiers. If that’s what was needed to humble His people and lead them to repentance, it was worth it.
- In AD 70, just six years after the temple was completed, the Romans came and took the temple apart, stone by stone. It too would be standing today if an army had not destroyed it. God again says, in effect, “Your beautiful houses of worship mean nothing to me if I don’t have your hearts!”
- Think of Washington, D.C. Almost every government building has a verse of Scripture engraved on it because America was founded by those who had great respect for the Bible and the Judeo-Christian worldview. Today, of course, these scriptural references are an embarrassment to secularists who wish to scrub our country clean of its religious roots.
- More importantly, our church buildings, though dedicated to God and useful as meeting places, matter little to God. He looks elsewhere. “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him” (2 Chron. 16:9).
- Stetzer explains: “Many Christians, if they believe anything about the kingdom at all, think of it as the church itself, with its spires and steeples on top that make it almost look like a castle. But while the church is definitely inseparably involved in the work of the kingdom, the kingdom itself is not visible in the same way a church building is. You can’t see it with ordinary sight.”3
- Thank God for our church buildings, but let us never forget that our heart is Christ’s true residence. God dwells among His people, not in temples made with hands.
- In summary, in Babylon, the Jews lost three symbols of their identity: their land, their king, and their temple.4
- Unlike the Jews, we haven’t changed countries. But, in the eyes of Christians, the core values of our culture seem to have changed drastically, especially in the past couple of decades.
- What concerns me is the death of Christian America. Many of the biblical values upon which America was founded are no longer being allowed to shape our laws or our lives. In some lesser ways, Christians can identify with the Jews in Babylon. Our culture is instead being shaped by religious fragmentation, widespread disaffection with the church, changing sexual attitudes, and moral and spiritual relativism. Add to that “political correctness” and the “religion” of our political parties run amok, and it’s no wonder America—in the eyes of Christians—looks different each day.
- Too often, we as evangelicals find ourselves as a minority, out of step with the cultural currents that have been widely accepted by an ever-changing America. The future is easy to predict because many of the children raised in evangelical homes and churches are opting for a more inclusive theology along with more liberal political agendas. Some will disagree, but I believe researcher John Dickerson is right when he says the church is declining in members, in dollars, and in influence.8
- So the question before us is this: How do we share our faith in a culture that often despises our values and Christian commitment? How did the Jews, who were at the mercy of the Babylonians, maintain their identity and continue to worship Jehovah? The Jews knew they had little chance of impacting the Babylonian culture, but feared that there was a much greater chance that the Babylonians would influence them.
- As Russell Moore put it, “Our call is to an engaged alienation, a Christianity that preserves the distinctiveness of our gospel while not retreating from our callings as neighbors, and friends, and citizens.”9
- Some Christians in our culture wag their finger, pronouncing doom on offending sinners. They are angry at those who “stole their country”—the liberalism taught in the schools, the media, which too often is rife with violence and sexual depravity, and the politicians who constantly push for legislation that undermines our faith tradition and values.
- Yes, we might have “righteous anger” as we see our culture destroyed, but if our anger spills over into our Christian witness, it only fuels the stereotype that the world already has of us. Yes, we are called to expose the sins of the world, but to do so with redemption, in humility and compassion. And, yes, with courage. And tears.
- If the first option was isolation, a second extreme was assimilation. In other words, some of the Jews just drifted with the cultural flow, not making waves but living lives that were indistinguishable from the people around them.
- Spritual assimilation is always the path of least resistance; it is the most natural and cowardly way to live. It allows the culture to exploit our natural tendency to get all the world has to offer with only a nod in the direction of the God we say we love.
- God gives a third option; we could call it infiltration without contamination.
- God says He sent the Jews to Babylon (Jer. 29:7, 20). Think about this: The Jews were in Babylon as a judgment for their own depravity, but now that they were there, they were to take advantage of their plight and be witnesses of God’s grace to the evil people of Babylon! They were to see themselves as sent there as God’s ambassadors.
- Though outnumbered and experiencing the humiliation of being marginalized in our culture, the church is still sent into the world to represent Christ. We are still the best witnesses of hope this hapless planet has! We, as the church, will never be effective unless we see ourselves as sent by Christ into the world. He prayed, “As you [the Father] sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world” (John 17:18). We are pilgrims, out of step with the ever-changing culture—yet we are sent by Christ, the Head of the church. The church is the last barrier between the present moral breakdown and total chaos.
- What do we do when we are in a strange country? God gives five instructions for people who are outnumbered and struggling to know how to live in a pagan culture:
- “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.”
- (JER. 29:4–7)
- Once again, the false teachers were healing the wound of the people too lightly. God says you are not getting out of this as easily as you think. “Don’t accept cheap promises. It is going to be difficult; I want you to plant crops and build houses because there will be no quick fix.”
- Our task is to be faithful even if we can’t restore the erosion of the Judeo-Christian consensus. We must adjust to a long fight for the gospel and its implications. Change happens one person, one family, and one community at a time. And it’s not easy.
- God tells us to take the long point of view. Our task today is uncompromising integration with the people of this nation, establishing and maintaining safeguards so that we might not be absorbed by the world. We are not called to settle on a hill in North Dakota surrounded by a fence so that we can be far away from grinding human need and the danger of living in a chaotic and intoxicated world. Jesus came to live in a dangerous world, and we must follow His example.
- Remember, God calls us to obedience, not success.
- In the United States, many of our public schools indoctrinate children with the values of Babylon and can succeed in confusing them and casting doubt on the morals and beliefs parents and churches have instilled. I agree with theologian Al Mohler Jr. that parents of today need an exit strategy from those public schools that increasingly impose godless views of sexuality even in the early grades.10
- At all costs, parents should not allow a school to sexualize their children.
- I recall my friend Tony Evans, pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, saying that when his children came home from school, he and his wife, Lois, would spend some time “deprogramming” them, asking them what happened in school, what they were taught, and what values were communicated. Then they would correct inaccuracies and clarify teachings in the light of their family’s Christian worldview.
- God.” Seeking God for wisdom in parenting is always the key to raising families in a confused world.
- Churches that don’t help families grow and thrive despite the culture are failing in their God-given responsibility of strengthening the most important of all social institutions. We must help families of all kinds: the divorced, the single parents, the pregnant teenager, and the homeless. The disintegration of our families means the disintegration of society as a whole. We are called to walk alongside others with sacrificial instruction and compassion.
- Be good neighbors. “But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare” (Jer. 29:7). The Hebrew word for welfare is shalom. So what God is saying is, “Seek the shalom of the city.”
- We should invest in our cities because, “In its shalom, you will find shalom.” When the tide comes in, all boats float. So as you permeate the city with righteousness, with a sense of determination to bless the city, blessing will come back upon you. Your own welfare will be connected to the city’s welfare.
- Pray for your neighbors who worship false gods. “Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf” (Jer. 29:7).
- Many churches participate in an organization called “Pray Chicago.” Scores of members from diverse congregations gather at least three times a year to seek God on our behalf and on behalf of Chicago and its great needs. We often pray over the seventy-seven neighborhoods of the city. We pray for the city economically and racially, but we primarily pray for its great spiritual needs. We pray for the shalom of the city.
- Be optimistic.
- “For thus says the LORD: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”
- (JER. 29:10–13)
- The children of that first generation, whose parents died in Babylon, did return, but in the meantime, they had lost their ability to speak Hebrew; they now spoke Akkadian, the language of Babylon. This is why, when they returned seven decades later, the Book of the Law had to be interpreted for them (Neh. 8:1–8).
- We might not see the return of Jesus in our lifetime, but we also die in faith, “waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13).
- I learned a lesson: it is possible to be in crisis even though, for the time being, you feel quite fine.
- The evangelical church in America is in crisis but, for many people, it doesn’t feel that way. But we have to stop pretending that we are a moral majority and face the fact that we are losing the culture war. Abortion, same-sex marriage, sex slavery, pornography, transgenderism, explicit sex education in schools—the floodgates have been opened. The god of secularism and uninhibited sexual idolatry appears to have won the battle; the God of the Bible has given way to the gods of paganism. The world looks at us with neither appreciation nor respect. We represent the God of bigotry, the God of the discredited past. Secularists are celebrating our defeat.
- Rod Dreher, senior editor of The American Conservative, writes, “The cultural left—which is to say, the American mainstream—has no intention of living in post-war peace. It is pressing forward with a harsh, relentless occupation, one that is aided by the cluelessness of Christians who don’t understand what’s happening.”12
- We have lost the culture war. The winners are drooling over the spoils.
- Temporary victories and defeats do not tell the whole story. That story will only be written when Jesus returns to settle forever who the winners and losers are.
- Horrific suffering brought the Jews to a point of desperation. It took the destruction of their country to make them willing to turn from their idols. God knows, and we must agree, that only desperate people pray, only desperate people seek Him. God has humbled us as a church, exposing our weakness, compromises, and sins. Sometimes only devastation brings desperation.
- Unacknowledged pride and self-confidence birth prayerlessness. As someone once said, “Prayerlessness is our Declaration of Independence.”13 Lack of prayer signals lack of humility. No wonder we stand powerless against the onslaught of evil in the media, in our schools, and even in our homes. We have to repent of many sins, among them, perhaps first among them, is prayerlessness.
- Despite our great needs here in America, few evangelical churches have a regularly scheduled prayer meeting. When I asked a megachurch pastor if they had a prayer meeting and he replied, no, I asked a follow up question: “How bad would it have to get before you scheduled a regular prayer meeting?” He did not give me a clear answer.
- What will it take?
- Let’s face the question head-on: Is our God a loser? We cannot worship as long as we pessimistically believe our God is losing to the gods of our culture. To make my point, I must return to the conflict between God and Marduk. If you were to ask a Babylonian, “Whose God won?” they would confidently say Marduk. The evidence seemed unassailable. Just look around and see the weakened Jews cower in their subpar housing, forced to serve the Babylonians.
- God is still in charge even when His people lose.
- Martin Luther is quoted as saying, “Even the devil is God’s devil.”
- The bottom line: Confidence in God’s unassailable sovereignty fuels worship. Only those who see God even in their defeats can offer Him praise at all times just as the psalmist wrote, “I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the LORD; let the humble hear and be glad. Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together!” (Ps. 34:1–3).
- Moody used to say, “If God is your partner, make your plans big!”15
- Let us read every word of this challenge from George MacLeod, a twentieth-century Scottish clergyman, who reminds us where the cross of Christ should be planted. We can’t change the world from a distance:
- I simply argue that the Cross be raised again at the centre of the market-place as well as on the steeple of the church. I am recovering the claim that Jesus was not crucified in a cathedral between two candles, but on a cross between two thieves; on the town garbage-heap; at a crossroad so cosmopolitan that they had to write his title in Hebrew and in Latin and in Greek … at the kind of place where cynics talk smut, and thieves curse, and soldiers gamble. Because that is where churchmen should be and what churchmanship should be about.18
- The old adage is true: God won’t put you where He can’t keep you.
- There’s no way to explain Daniel and his friends except for this: they had to personally prove that the presence of God was more powerful than the presence of evil.
- Daniel and his three friends (whom we shall meet in a moment) remind us that when God judges a nation, the righteous suffer along with the wicked. These four men (I’m sure there were many others) had a heart for God and were obedient to His will. But when the Babylonians came, those devout men experienced the same earthly consequences as did all the newly arrived refugees.
- How far can we engage our culture without compromising our convictions? Where do we draw the line?
- How far can we engage our culture without compromising our convictions? Where do we draw the line?
- Devout Jews and Christians have often been lawbreakers; from midwives who refused to kill male babies in the days of Moses to the apostles who refused to obey an order against preaching the gospel, those who are godly have often faced the choice of whether to obey God or man.
- As Russell Moore put it, “A Christianity that is without friction in the culture is a Christianity that dies.”1
- The church has a responsibility to be involved in culture, but today, culture comes—often uninvited—into our homes, our bedrooms, and our hearts. And this “culture” wars against our souls; it opposes our quest for purity and personal holiness. Its influence is insidious and often evil.
- Even as I write this chapter, my fear is that many people who read it will completely agree with what I am about to say but will do nothing about the negative impact that technology is having in their personal lives and the lives of their families. They’ll deem this monster too powerful and too seductive to confront. “The demon is in too deep.” And the excuses are many.
- But we make a mistake to emphasize the benefits of technology without confronting its dark and destructive influences.
- First, we’ve accepted the lie that technology is neutral, not realizing that it is weighted against a pure mind and Christ-honoring lifestyle.
- The late Neil Postman, educator and author of Amusing Ourselves to Death, wrote a harsh rebuke to those who believe technology is neutral. “To be unaware that a technology comes equipped with a program for social change, to maintain that technology is neutral, to make the assumption that technology is always a friend to culture is, at this late hour, stupidity plain and simple.”1
- Second, there is the myth that what we watch doesn’t affect us.
- Let me put it even more strongly: we become what we enjoy looking at.
- A third myth is that we can control technology by simply telling people to hit the “off” button.
- According to psychiatrist Thomas Kersting, author of the book Disconnected: How to Reconnect Our Digitally Distracted Young People, addiction to technology is not only widespread but it rewires our brains. He sees many children in his practice and has noted that the use of technology affects their ability to flourish while also producing anxiety, depression, and attention issues.3
- First, whatever the perceived fault that is being exposed, it is often exaggerated and put into the worst possible light.
- Second, I often find very little charity, but rather anger and self-righteous rhetoric with no concern about any reconciliation or love that might “cover a multitude of sins.”
- Is there a place for exposing facts and situations for the wider Christian world? I think there is, but I suggest the following guidelines going forward.
- Why do you think that your proposed exposé is necessary to bring glory to God? What God-honoring goal do you have in mind?
- Have you gone to this person and/or institution to make sure that your facts are not only correct but also in balance and in context?
- If you are writing about a particular person, would you say these things to their face? Or do you find it safe to shoot arrows from a distance, immune from uncomfortable personal interaction?
- Do you write with the goal of bringing about restoration and/or reconciliation whenever possible? Or are you writing out of a spirit of anger and personal hurt?
- Are you under the authority of a church or Christian institution to whom you owe accountability for your own life and actions?
- Long before the rise of social media, Paul wrote, “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear” (Eph. 4:29).
- Today, young people get more of their education about sex and other issues of life from the media than they do their parents or church. The average child spends hours each day using a smartphone, computer, television, or tablet.
- Remember, the goal of much of the media is to ensnare your child (or you, for that matter) into various forms of sensuality. The goal is always to enliven the appetite for “more.” I agree with Ravi Zacharias that we are “a generation that listens with its eyes and thinks with its feelings.”5
- Technology has the power to seduce, to enslave, and to destroy human decency. Like a lighted match thrown into a can of kerosene, our sexual desires can be easily awakened, and those desires keep demanding more and more. In each of us, there’s a small voice that tells us we are about to embark on a destructive path, but we think we can control the consequences. We’re lying to ourselves—and we know it. It’s frightening to realize that one bad choice can set you spiraling down a path of destruction.
- Fighting against the negative effect of technology is an important responsibility of the church. The reason can be simply stated: walking in obedience and fellowship with God is always a communal enterprise, and when it’s necessary to help people overcome the destructive effects of repetitive sin, the church must be available, open, and ready to help.
- However, if we do not guard our hearts, a discussion of both homosexuality and the transgenderism debate can readily lead to a self-righteous attitude among those of us who have never had such aptitudes or desires. It’s easy to portray those who struggle with gender dysphoria (or identifying with the opposite gender rather than their biological sex) as somehow belonging “out there” and forgetting that we’re all members of a fallen humanity and humbly grateful for God’s undeserved mercy toward us.
- Our churches should be welcoming beacons of hope in a world that is broken. We must compassionately see people who are trying to fix themselves, trying to manage emptiness, pain, and loneliness. Like any of us, they’re looking for ways to find meaning for their lives, to find a semblance of peace. And they are going to great lengths to do it.
- We must distinguish between accepting a person and approving of his or her conduct and attitudes. Every human being is created in the image of God and deserves respect; but not every human being deserves our approval of their conduct and lifestyle.
- The purpose of this chapter is narrow in its focus. I want to clarify that in the matter of immigration, as well as the entrance of refugees into the country, the role of the church is very different from the role of the government. There are some things that the church can do that a government cannot; and there’s much that the government can do that is not within the jurisdiction of the church. In my opinion, many evangelicals are confused at this point, and this has led to disparaging comments and reactions on both sides of the immigration debate
- There was a time when we sent missionaries to the Muslim world; now God has brought more and more Muslims to our shores.
- My intention is not to create fear but to help the church understand Islam’s view of immigration and radical Islam’s long-term agenda in relation to immigration in the United States. I also want to show how Islam’s intentions can be an opportunity for the church
- Let me make clear that followers of Islam in America can be diverse, both in ethnicity and adherence. Many Muslims have integrated and have accepted the freedom of religion so valued here and practice tolerance and respect for other religions. However, there is also a vocal minority that attempts, and sometimes succeeds, to exert a great deal of influence among the Muslim population. These groups take the Quran and the Hadith (the sayings of Muhammad) literally and are committed to the supremacy of Islam in America.
- have discovered that Islam has a well-developed doctrine of migration going back to the days of Muhammad, who migrated from Medina to Mecca in AD 622 to spread his new doctrine. In fact, the Muslim calendar begins not with the birth or death of Muhammad, but with the date of his migration, which illustrates the importance of spreading Islam by moving from one geographical location to another. This event became known as the Hijrah (migration). This model of migration is not for the purpose of assimilating into a new host nation, but for colonizing and transforming host countries.
- 7 However, in 2003, the FBI uncovered the MB’s multifaceted plan to dominate America through immigration, intimidation, education, community centers, mosques, political legitimacy, and establishing “interfaith dialogue” centers in our universities and colleges. A document confiscated by the FBI outlines a twelve-point strategy to establish an Islamic government on earth that is brought about by a flexible, long-term “cultural invasion” of the West. Their own plans teach us that “the intrusion of Islam will erupt in multiple locations using multiple means.”8
- To be more specific, the first major point in their strategy states: “To expand the Muslim presence by birth rate, immigration and a refusal to assimilate.”
- assimilate.”9 This strategy transformed Indonesia from a Buddhist and Hindu country to the largest Muslim-dominated country in the world.
- In America, the Muslim Brotherhood has dozens of front organizations through which they operate. Such organizations are the troops on the ground, so to speak, that implement the Grand Jihad, as they call it.14 The hope of the Brotherhood is that people in the West will be so focused on terrorism that they’ll turn a blind eye to the inner transformation of America that is happening away from the headlines.
- Although he later denied having made the statement to a reporter, Omar Ahmad, cofounder of Council on American-Islamic Relations (speaking for the Muslim Brotherhood) was quoted as saying, “Islam isn’t in America to be equal to any other faith, but to become dominant. The Koran should be the highest authority in America, and Islam the only accepted religion on earth.”17 No wonder the Brotherhood’s London publication had as its cover page slogan, “Our Mission: World Domination.”18
- The MB is clear on this point, “The shariah cannot be amended to conform to changing human values and standards. Rather, it is the absolute norm to which all human values and conduct must conform.”20
- The eventual goal of Islam is population displacement to win Europe to the Muslim religion. Many of the refugees are women and children who are looking for somewhere—anywhere—where they can have food, shelter, and enough clothing to survive. More than half of the refugee applicants in 2017 were children, with more than 43 percent under the age of fourteen
- fourteen.22 But this very real refugee crisis can be “highjacked” for the cause of the Hijrah, which means “to emigrate in the cause of Allah,” or in other words, to move to a new land in order to bring the Muslim faith to that region. This might explain why there are so many young men among the refugees. This
- This is done in obedience to the Quran which says, “Whoever leaves his home as an emigrant to Allah and His Messenger and then death overtakes him [will be rewarded]” (4:100).23 This is jihad by immigration.
- heard one pastor say that restrictive immigration is contrary to the gospel. But the state’s overarching role is to protect its citizens both in the present and, as far as possible, for future generations. The church says, “Whosoever will may come,” but the state does not
- Today, we hear that it’s “un-American” to restrict immigration. But historically, the United States has had strict rules regarding immigration. Years ago, my family and I visited Ellis Island where more than twenty-one million immigrants landed between 1885 and 1954. All arrivals were asked twenty-nine questions, one of which was how much money they had so that they could support themselves for a time (they needed to have the equivalent of $600 in today’s funds). Doctors watched people as they disembarked the ship; those with visible health problems or diseases were sent back on the next vessel. Some unskilled workers were turned away because they were feared to become “a public charge.” In all, about 2 percent (about 120,000) were sent home, often with tearful goodbyes from family members who were allowed into the country while their relatives were not.24 Sometimes families were divided with the mother being refused entry and the father remaining with their children. Please understand that I am not agreeing with these policies, I’m simply pointing out that the United States has always had a rather high bar for entry
- Nowhere in the Bible does the idea exist that a country does not have the right to control its borders or determine who will come to live within its home. When Abraham left the Promised Land to go to Egypt, he did so with Pharaoh’s knowledge and permission; the same is true when Jacob and his extended family went to Egypt.
- The state is called to protect its citizens, preserve order, and mete out punishment
- There are several references to government in the New Testament; perhaps the best known is Romans 13:1–4. Although most of us have read it many times, we should reread it with new eyes. Paul wrote this during the rule of the cruel and ungodly Emperor Nero:
- Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad … he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.
- (ROM. 13:1–4)
- The government is an avenger; it bears the sword. It should be both respected and feared.
- nlike early European immigrants, many of the Muslims who have immigrated to America have made this country their home; they work hard, raise families, and worship freely without thought of their immigration as some kind of jihad.
- When I visited one of the mosques here in Chicago, an imam told me that only about 15 percent of the Muslim community take their faith seriously enough to attend Friday prayers, etc. In fact, some Muslims quietly disagree with the statements and ideology of Islam. In short, Christians have an opportunity to share the love of Christ with those who desire the freedoms of the West but are still bound by the chains of oppressive ideology.
- The church plays an entirely different role from the state; its symbol is the cross. Refugees, especially, are deserving of our special care and involvement. If we as Christians turn away from helping refugees from any nation or engaging with Muslim immigrants and citizens because of fear, we are denying our Lord who died unjustly on a Roman cross. Thankfully, fear did not keep Him from going into hostile territory. If we believe that God is sovereign over the nations, we must also realize that God has brought them to us. And for this, we should be grateful.
- In His parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus tells us that our neighbor is anyone who is in trouble, anyone we could help. When we encounter someone who is bleeding alongside of the road, we don’t ask how they got there or whether they’re here legally; we don’t ask them what religion they belong to. We stop and help them, even at personal sacrifice.
- In the excellent book Seeking Refuge: On the Shores of the Global Refugee Crisis, the author tells of a pastor in Jordan who opened his church to Syrian refugee children and their mothers and offered life skills training and other activities. Sadly, many in his congregation didn’t agree with the decision and left. But the pastor said by welcoming the refugees, his church changed for the better. He is quoted as saying, “For so many years we tried to share God’s love to the people in Syria, but we were stopped. Now Syria has come to us and to our church.’”28
- Perhaps it is best to have such ministries independent of any one church, but invite concerned Christians from various churches to unite for responding both strategically and with God’s guidance. I am personally acquainted with a group of Christians who have done just that. For several months they met together with earnest prayer, seeking God’s wisdom and help before blessing the Syrian refugees in their city. They have taken them food, welcomed them into their homes, and have helped them with their basic needs and services. Interestingly, the children of these refugees learn English quickly and serve as interpreters between these Christian and Muslim families. As the Christmas season approached, the Syrian families were invited to a meal and about 170 accepted. And those numbers are growing. Bridges are being built to form relationships of mutual respect and love. And caring.
- Laypeople from a number of churches involved in this ministry say that the Muslims have reciprocated with love, hospitality, and deep appreciation. The Christians are regularly invited into Muslim homes and vice versa. Now Christians are praying in the Muslim homes in the name of Jesus and are welcomed to return.
- Ministry leaders were disappointed that more area churches didn’t get involved after being invited to participate. Apparently, some at least, are so focused on their own programs and are comfortable with business as usual. As a pastor, I have found that congregations find it easier to send missionaries to foreign countries than meeting their Muslim neighbors face-to-face. On the other hand, churches, as well as individual believers, that have caught the vision and are meaningfully involved, find that they are blessed in return. Ministry to Muslims in America could be the church’s finest hour.
- One thread that runs throughout the testimony of Muslims who come to faith in Christ is this: the testimony of Christian love drew them to Christ. As one former Muslim put it, “Here I was convinced I had the right religion, but my religion taught me only to hate and to seek revenge. These people had the wrong religion and all they did was show me love.” Little wonder he came to saving faith in Christ.
- Because Islam denies the very heart of the Christian faith—namely the divinity of Jesus, His death on the cross, and His resurrection—and because Islam has been so successful in overpowering Christianity in many countries, we must recognize that it is empowered by deceptive and dark forces. But we also must see many Muslims as living in fear of apostasy and threatened by excommunication or even death if they convert to another religion.
- Let me reemphasize that Christians who have a credible ministry to Muslims are praying Christians. These are Christians who walk in humble repentance with a God-given burden for those who don’t know our heavenly Father. They are Christians who understand the spiritual battle going on. Only a loving relationship with our neighbors, empowered by the Holy Spirit, will overcome these barriers.
- The church plays an entirely different role from the state; its symbol is the cross. Refugees, especially, are deserving of our special care and involvement. If we as Christians turn away from helping refugees from any nation or engaging with Muslim immigrants and citizens because of fear, we are denying our Lord who died unjustly on a Roman cross. Thankfully, fear did not keep Him from going into hostile territory. If we believe that God is sovereign over the nations, we must also realize that God has brought them to us. And for this, we should be grateful.
- As a pastor, I have found that congregations find it easier to send missionaries to foreign countries than meeting their Muslim neighbors face-to-face. On the other hand, churches, as well as individual believers, that have caught the vision and are meaningfully involved, find that they are blessed in return. Ministry to Muslims in America could be the church’s finest hour.
- Because Islam denies the very heart of the Christian faith—namely the divinity of Jesus, His death on the cross, and His resurrection—and because Islam has been so successful in overpowering Christianity in many countries, we must recognize that it is empowered by deceptive and dark forces. But we also must see many Muslims as living in fear of apostasy and threatened by excommunication or even death if they convert to another religion.
- The government must do what the church cannot: protect its people and preserve order. Likewise, the church must do what the government cannot: be the welcoming committee for strangers in our land. We must see Jesus on our doorstep. And we must live the truth of His words: “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me” (John 13:20).
- Christianity is the only major religion to have as its central event the humiliation of its God.” So writes Bruce Shelly in the opening line of his book on church history.1
- crucifixions were always performed in the most public of places so that the victim would be dehumanized, both by the shouts of derision of passing crowds, and by being exposed naked to the delight of gawkers. The writer of Hebrews captures this when he says Jesus “endured the cross, despising the shame” (Heb. 12:2).
- No wonder Paul writes that the cross is an offense (the Greek word is skandalos, a “scandal”) to the Jews and the Greeks (1 Cor. 1:23 NLT). As for the Jews, they knew that the Old Testament affirmed that those who hung on the cross were cursed (Paul quotes this in Galatians 3:13–14). As for the Greeks and Romans, they thought of the cross as a defeat; no one would want to follow a loser.
- To carry our cross means to accept the trouble that comes along with believing and following Jesus. This means the willing acceptance of ridicule, shame, and often the persecution that comes with being identified with our Savior. In short, it means we gladly identify with Jesus at the points of tension where we conflict with popular culture and even with our friends.
- Often, the heavier our cross, the more powerful our witness. Unfortunately, we often prefer to make our cross lighter by bowing to cultural pressures.
- Ours is an offended generation. Everybody is offended by something, and they believe that they have a right to not be offended. A law in New York City that details various offenses that can be penalized includes violating the wishes of the transgender community. If a woman identifies as a man, and you have been informed of this but you deliberately and intentionally continue to use female pronouns, you can be fined. These fines can reach up to $250,000.2 As an example, if you referred to Bruce Jenner as a “he” and not as a “she” named Caitlyn, you could be fined for the offense. A Muslim said that singing the national anthem was offensive because it was a means of “mass assimilation.”
- Yet, no one gets saved unless, at least on some level, they are “offended.” Peter, alluding to Psalm 118, writes, “‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,’ and ‘A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense’” (1 Peter 2:7–8).
- Jesus is a Rock of offense!
- To empty the cross of its offense is to empty it of its power.
- We empty the cross of its offense by teaching that good works are necessary for salvation
- we empty the cross of its offense when we teach that our works are meritorious in the act of salvation. If we say that circumcision, baptism, last rites, or any other ritual is necessary for salvation, then the gospel has been compromised and the “offense is removed.”
- There is a danger here for us as evangelicals as well. We might be surprised at how many who worship in our churches believe that somehow they must make themselves worthy of God’s grace, and hence, they look to their own goodness or spiritual rituals for assurance of salvation. Salvation by works in one form or another is our natural default inclination.
- People are offended when told that they’re too sinful to cooperate with God in salvation. They’re offended when told that our only contribution in salvation is our sin; God supplies the faith and the gift of Christ’s righteousness. The cross exposes our own sinfulness by showing the lengths to which God had to go in order to redeem us.
- When we believe we have to do something to be saved rather than relying on what God has done for us, we give ourselves a bit of the credit. Blessed is the person who stands with the penitent publican and strikes his chest and says simply, “God be merciful to me the sinner!” Add works to the gospel, and the offense of the cross is removed. The hymn writer Augustus Toplady wrote: “Nothing in my hand I bring. Simply to Thy cross I cling.”
- We empty the cross of its offense when we insist that Jesus did not bear God’s righteous wrath on our behalf
- a growing number of evangelicals on this side of the ocean who are seeking for a more acceptable understanding of the atonement.
- Salvation is a plan agreed upon by all three members of the Trinity.
- “The LORD is a jealous and avenging God; the LORD is avenging and wrathful; the LORD takes vengeance on his adversaries…. Who can stand before his indignation? Who can endure the heat of his anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken into pieces by him” (Nah. 1:2, 6).
- Many evangelicals do not deny God’s anger against sin but simply ignore speaking or writing about it because that would not be “good news.” So, they concentrate on the more positive aspects of the Christian faith, believing that the love of God is more appealing. But we empty the cross of its offense when we think that the message of the love of God can be understood independently of His wrath and justice.
- John Stott said, “Before we can begin to see the cross as something done for us … we have to see it as something done by us.”7
- But if the heart of the gospel is denied, other doctrines also fall by the wayside: once you construct your theology on what you want to believe about God rather than on what He revealed, you are free to shape other doctrines according to your preference.
- Yes, we should emphasize the love of God because those who have been mistreated already know that sin exists. But we should not emphasize the love of God to the exclusion of the holiness and justice of God. We empty the cross of its offense when we think that the message of the love of God can be understood independently of His wrath and justice.
- John Piper writes, “When Christ died for our sins, Satan was disarmed and defeated. The one eternally destructive weapon that he had was stripped from his hand, namely, his accusation before God that we are guilty and should perish with him. When Christ died, that accusation was nullified.”8
- We empty the cross of its offense when we believe that other religions are able to bring us to God
- The people who live next door and our associates at work most likely believe that it doesn’t matter what god one prays to because every deity is ultimately the same deity shrouded in a different name—each religion is but one more petal of a beautiful flower.
- It is true, as some assert, that many other religions also demand a blood sacrifice for sins. But in Christianity, God becomes the sacrifice … “in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself” (2 Cor. 5:19). Only in Christianity is God alone the Redeemer. Other religions are man trying to seek God; only in Christianity has God come to seek man.
- As Ravi Zacharias likes to say, “My premise is that the popular aphorism that ‘all religions are fundamentally the same and only superficially different’ simply is not true. It is more correct to say that all religions are, at best, superficially similar but fundamentally different.”10 Christianity, is indeed radically different: it has a Savior whose death and resurrection provides a solution for the greatest of sinners. The cross, and the redemption it wrought, exists only in Christianity.
- When it comes to Jesus, all the good arguments are on our side. We must let our light shine in the hazy dusk of religious pluralism. This is not a time to hide the cross or neglect it; let us embrace the cross and resurrection and rejoice that we don’t just have a prophet but a Savior who proved His qualifications. From our standpoint, the cross was God’s finest hour.
- As for unity with other religions, J. C. Ryle said it best: “Unity without the gospel is a worthless unity; it is the very unity of hell.”11
- We carry our cross into the world by serving others
- I paraphrase the words of one theologian: “Tell me how much you have entered into the suffering of those around you, and I will tell you how much you love them.”
- We carry the cross into the world through our gospel-driven racial unity
- We must continue to stand united at the foot of the cross and invite other sinners to join us regardless of their backgrounds, race, political affiliation, or immigration status. The church is still America’s best hope.
- The cross makes us brothers and sisters with those with whom we have nothing in common, except that we have been purchased with the same blood and brought by the same Savior into the presence of the same heavenly Father. Through the cross, Christ created one new temple, “a dwelling place for God by the Spirit” (see Eph. 2:14–22).
- Reconciliation and shared ministry must be seen, believed, and preached as exhibiting the heart of the gospel. Racial reconciliation is best seen in friendships, in seeking justice for the oppressed and equality for the marginalized.
- We carry the cross into the world when we exalt it above political affiliations
- our present toxic political, moral, and racial conflicts have stirred seething tensions that are tearing us apart. The idea of a nation held together by one language, one common core of values, and respected borders is passing us by.
- I, for one, believe that politics is important; Christians should run for office at every level. Christians can also lead in recruiting support for their favorite candidate.
- Also, I believe as Christians we should work toward just laws and support legal organizations that appeal to the law to maintain our freedoms. Paul the Apostle took advantage of his Roman citizenship, saying he should not be beaten but be tried in a Roman court (see Acts 22:22–29).
- And yet, political change is best advanced under the banner of shared common grace, not the pulpit. Pastors should refrain from endorsing political parties or specific candidates, even if those parties or candidates are more closely aligned with Christian values. As Russell Moore wrote, “it would be a tragedy to get the right president, the right Congress, and the wrong Christ.”13
- I commend those pastors in Germany who preached against Hitler’s political agenda; indeed, I agree with the German theologian Helmut Thielicke, who said that Germany was judged because it substituted the swastika for the cross. It is one thing to oppose the platform of a political party, but there are dangers in alignment with an alternative party, even if it appears to be more Christian. Neither in Germany nor in America is there a distinctly “Christian political party.”
- As pastors in the West, we should preach on biblical issues that are often associated with politics such as abortion, same-sex marriage, the infringement on religious freedom, etc. But that differs from direct alignment (endorsement) with one political party or another.
- To many people, the cross stands like a bulletin board with many different agendas nailed to it. My point is, let the cross stand above politicians and their own quest for influence. At all times, we must make clear that the cross of Christ stands in judgment on all parties, no matter their political leanings. To everyone we say, “Unless you humbly receive Jesus Christ as your Savior and accept the work of the cross on your behalf, you will find yourself in hell.”
- I like what Billy Graham said: “I’m not for the left wing or the right wing—I’m for the whole bird.”14
- We carry the cross into the world by witnessing to our faith
- We carry our cross when we refuse to hide its message under the banner of “niceness.” Some Christians are so anxious to not offend anyone that they never get around to explaining both the blessings of the cross and our need for it. We are often too nice, too timid, and too quick to be “inoffensive.”
- The greatest advertisement for the gospel is Christians who listen well, who are welcoming, and who are eager to serve others. The greatest advertisement is those who have deep convictions, but act on them in redemptive ways. These Christians share their faith at great personal cost and “go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured” (Heb. 13:13). And they do it with joy.
- Many Christians are silent about their faith in Christ, because they don’t want to be known as a “Bible thumper” or to be branded as part of the religious right. But the way to dispel such a stereotype is to share our faith with deep personal conviction along with a loving caring attitude of sacrifice and helpfulness.
- Jesus had a word for those who were ashamed of being identified with Him: “For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels” (Mark 8:38).
- We carry the cross into the world by accepting rejection without retaliation
- We carry our cross into the world when we suffer well. As Americans, we have to dispense with the notion that it is fundamentally unacceptable to be persecuted for what we believe and teach. We must not become wimps, unwilling to stand for truth and revealing our convictions. Like Martin Luther, we need Christians whose consciences are “captive to the Word of God.”16
- But as much as possible, we must hold these convictions without rancor, threats, or retaliation, and without finger pointing. We must follow not only the model of Jesus but of the apostle Paul. “To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless, and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things” (1 Cor. 4:11–13).
- We forget that Jesus left us an example of how to suffer. “When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly” (1 Peter 2:23).
- We carry the cross into the world by inviting the worst of sinners—yes, evil criminals—to believe the gospel
- The fact that some of Hitler’s evil henchmen will be in heaven is offensive to us, especially when we realize that some of those whom they tormented might not join them in the heavenly city. But that is exactly a part of the scandal of the cross: grace pays no attention to the depths of our sin, it only asks that we believe the gospel.
- God says in effect, “I think so much of what Jesus Christ did when He died on that cross, I can even forgive a criminal if he believes in Jesus. But I cannot forgive a sane, decent, taxpaying American who doesn’t believe in Jesus.”
- I say it again: grace is so contrary to the way we think because it is bestowed without any reference to merit. In fact, grace is most clearly seen when there is absolutely no merit at all. Grace is unlimited to those who receive it.
- This is exactly the teaching of Paul in the New Testament, “For he was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but in dealing with you we will live with him by the power of God” (2 Cor. 13:4).
- The cross of Jesus Christ divides the world into two groups—not black and white, not by country, nationality, or age, but by those who are saved and those who aren’t. “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Cor. 1:18).
- “When the drama of history is over,” said Helmut Thielicke, “Jesus Christ will stand alone on the stage. All the great figures of history … will realize that they have been but actors in a drama produced by Another.”22
- With heavy hearts, we recognize that the church in America is in a state of spiritual emergency. Like the churches warned in Revelation, we have become lukewarm and compromised, and the light of our witness has grown dim. We confess that despite access to more resources and biblical teaching than any other group of believers in history, we are not characterized by the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit. And we acknowledge our lack of widespread impact for Christ on our lost and disintegrating culture.1
- It’s time for Christians to focus on the actual spiritual health of the church; to see it through the eyes of Jesus and His evaluation of an ancient church, which has direct relevance to us today. As it was then, so it is now.
- Years of prosperity here in America have produced a younger generation that is not as loyal as their parents to their church and Christian ministries. Many are less likely to object to degrading movies, alternate sexual lifestyles, and various doctrinal compromises. Such people have bought into the self-absorbed culture in which we live. Take a good look at American culture, and you are essentially looking at our “church culture.”
- Jesus taught that physical poverty doesn’t necessarily translate into a more spiritually vibrant relationship with God. But He did warn that it’s almost impossible to raise up true worshipers in a prosperous culture; it was difficult—though not impossible—for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven. Today, the Christian way of life is the American way of life. To put it more clearly, we are the culture.
- Our worst enemy might be ourselves.
- In his book The Great Evangelical Recession, John S. Dickerson writes, “The tree of evangelicalism in the United States is centuries old. She is a mighty oak with deep roots. So many saplings have grown up under her shade—trees of education, reform, freedom, invention, work ethic, resourcefulness, wealth and science.”1 But he reminds us that two forces kill old, strong trees: the rot within that is caused by many diseases; and then, of course, there are the storms and forest fires.
- There are plenty of diseases that create rot: the hollowing out of Bible doctrine, the strife between members, and the lack of urgency and failure to feel the weight of the momentous task we have been given. All of this is evidenced by the casualness of many Christians; their stinginess in giving; and their lack of vision beyond themselves. Add to that our self-righteousness and lack of transparency, and no wonder we are not having the impact we should.
- A pastor once said that the church reminded him of Noah’s Ark in that “you couldn’t take the stench within if it wasn’t for the storm without.”
- Let’s talk about the storm without. Many believe that we are witnessing the most rapid transformation of a culture in history. Dickerson writes: “the culture is changing faster than it typically has in world history. Ten years from now it will be changing even faster, due to accelerating technology advancements. As a result, it is impossible to anticipate just how quickly Unites States culture will quake and reshape during our lifetime.”2
- Barna agrees. “The historic foundations on which our society was developed are facing some severe challenges. It’s not easy to be the kind of Christian that Jesus longs to have as His ambassadors in this place, at this time.”3
- A surviving church must invest in people, not buildings
- The church can survive without buildings, but not without dedicated saints.
- I am not saying that we should sell our church buildings or that we should not build new ones, if warranted. What I am saying is that we had better think beyond the building and ask: what will happen if churches lose their tax exempt status? What will happen if giving for the various ministries decreases and we can no longer pay our bills? What will happen if churches have to pay hefty fines if they don’t use their facilities to wed same-sex couples? What will happen when more Christians are marginalized, lose their jobs, and support to the church plunges? We need to think outside the box and ask: how will the remnant survive when the larger majority of members judge that the price of living for Christ is just too high? And risky?
- Church crowds come and go, depending on the likes and dislikes of the music, the preaching, the programs, and the location of the building; but community binds people who are united in heart and mind, not just because they like a similar worship style or church program.
- The church that survives hard times is the church that is bound together in community, not in social media likes, but in genuine friendships and unselfish caring for others. Members stand with each other in good times and in hard times; they are together for accountability, for ministry, and for prayer. The “one anothers” of the New Testament are proof that God never expects us to navigate our way through Babylon solo. Such a commitment goes beyond attending church once a week and then going home believing that one’s duty has been done.
- We have to change our church philosophy from telling to training. This fact is illustrated in a letter a pastor wrote to me recently:
- I am coming to the conclusion that my sermons are not having as lasting an effect I thought they did. I work hard during the week, pray much, and even when I deliver my soul, people walk out of church, and within minutes their attention is diverted. I wish I could look deeply into the minds of people to see if they were in any way changed or affected by the sermon. I have heard that the average church member goes to church out of a sense of duty or pride and not necessarily to worship and be changed by God. After many years of preaching, I have ruefully come to the conclusion that although God has promised to bless the preaching of the Gospel, we cannot make disciples en masse. Jesus had twelve men with whom he traveled and lived for three years, and even they did not understand nor act on all He taught them. Jesus knew that disciples are best made by life on life interaction, living transparently, watching and observing, along with extensive times of question and answer. And we must do the same. His last words were to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.” We have to stop emphasizing an “attractional” model and adopt a training and sending model of church philosophy.
- We can structure our services to make them more appealing with every part of the service timed to the minute (or second). We can make sure that the music fits the tastes of all who attend (as if that is possible!). And we can prepare interesting sermons that speak to real life matters. Yet, the core of people’s hearts and values may remain essentially unchanged.
- The bottom line: churches that rely on a thirty-minute sermon every Sunday morning will be powerless against a torrent of media-driven content that is antithetical to Christian values and extols the pleasures of a sensually-driven lifestyle.
- There are many resources available to help us do training, but even these fall short if we do not share life-on-life and heart-to-heart. As the old adage goes, “Some things are better caught than taught.” Discipleship is not just what you know; it is a lifestyle lived. As suggested earlier in this book, our problem is that we are trying to give swimming lessons on dry ground.
- Perhaps the most telling missing ingredients in our churches today are a godly vision, the burden for prayer, and a lifestyle of daily repentance. Partly, this is because of how prayer meetings have been conducted; namely, praying the same thing in the same old way, time after time. But praying as a united body for the things on God’s heart, as the Concert of Prayer movement has done globally, exemplifies how corporate prayer that uses Scripture and emphasizes spiritual needs along with different modes of intercession, can make our time meaningful and joyful.5
- The surviving church is one that has a holistic view of the Scriptures and doesn’t simply cherry-pick themes and teachings that are more to individual likings and aptitudes.
- It is a church that is not afraid of talking about hell.
- There is a persuasive assumption that if the church in America were all that it should be, if we all were Spirit-filled and in a state of revival, then we would have favor with our politicians, our judges, the media, and our neighbors. But this assumption cannot be proven by church history, nor by the Scriptures. In fact, the opposite is often true: the more we are living lives that are a credit to Christ, the more opposition we can expect. As Paul put it, “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Tim. 3:12).
- We forget that we are called to suffer, a doctrine that is often neglected in the Western church. When Paul was converted, God called him not merely to preach, but also to suffer. When Ananias was understandably wary of believing that Saul (Paul) had actually been converted, the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name” (Acts 9:15–16).
- But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. - (HEB. 10:32–36)
- Let’s take this more slowly. These believers, upon receiving the gospel, were, (1) “publicly exposed to reproach and affliction,” and yet they (2) identified themselves with other believers who were imprisoned, which added to their persecution, and (3) they joyfully accepted the plunder of their property! They were convinced that if this was happening because of their love for Jesus, it would be worth it, and their reward would be great!
- The church that survives in Babylon is one whose members accept their lot with both sorrow but also a joy that is inexplicable. It is a church that attempts to silence its critics by its authenticity and commitment to others. It is a church that is willing to follow Jesus all the way to the cross.
- Christianity is at its best when even its critics have to admit that we are selfless, serving, and sacrificing.
- Someone has well said that farmers plant seed in a field, not a barn.
- Finally, the church that survives in Babylon is one that continually sees Christ as the head of the church, and is totally committed to His sovereignty over all things. It is a church that is radically committed to the words of Jesus: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matt. 28:18). He not only has authority over His church but over the entire world. A church like that will accept setbacks and discouragement as part of God’s eternal plan.
- A church that follows Jesus will be known for its humility, its brokenness, and its desperation to see God glorified it its community and the world. It is a church that is willing to take reasonable risks (and at times even unreasonable risks!) to advance the gospel.
- Nothing else matters, except the glory of God. A church that looks for ways to sacrifice for the sake of Christ; a church that lives for others, not itself—there will always be room for a church like that in the world.
- And what was God doing during the early days of the church when persecution was the norm? The same chapter that tells us that James was killed with sword is the one that ends, “But the word of God increased and multiplied” (Acts 12:24).
- Think back to Daniel and his three friends. They stand with a host of men and women and children who throughout history have battled against cultural currents at great sacrifice. God’s people have always been an island of righteousness in a sea of paganism.
- The question is: Do we love Christ enough to risk everything to follow Him?
- Among my heroes of the faith is Dietrich Bonhoeffer who stood against Hitler’s Nazi Germany. Bonhoeffer is famous for saying, “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.”8
- Jesus confirms that with a promise in Revelation 2:10:
- Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.
- We end with this final admonishment: “He who has an ear let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”