“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
― Edmund Burke
For decades now, when it comes to injustice and evil social ideologies the silence of the Christian population and specifically the organized church has been overwhelming. Instead, social injustice has been hijacked by satanically inspired groups who start with a lie, then, when they don’t get push-back… they aggressively move their agenda forward. (For example Bud Lite and Target).
The outcry and objection to abortion, transgender ideologies, gay marriage, human trafficking, and other evil social agendas have only been heard from a small remnant of concerned citizens and organizations.
Where is the church? Where is the outrage from the pulpit? Where are the declarations and pronouncements of judgement on the evil and its roots, as David did in the Psalms? (More on this in another article).
Maybe the silence is a sad reflection of the Christian population’s lack of a Biblical worldview?
In a recent survey by the Cultural Research Center out of Arizona, the study reports that 69% of America defines itself as “Christian”. This means that a solid majority of the population has the power to change things, but often goes along with or tolerates the minority’s non-Christian ideologies. Or, worse yet, many Christians don’t even vote.
In contrast, the study found that less than 9% of Christians in America have a Christian or Biblical Worldview. Even more surprising, among all Christian pastors in the United States, slightly more than one out of every three (37%) possesses a Biblical worldview.
WHAT???!!! HOW CAN THIS BE? No wonder there’s no outrage from the pulpit and at the ballot box when the largest block of voters has no Biblical basis for what they believe and act upon.
You can read more about the American Worldview Inventory 2021 Results here: https://www.arizonachristian.edu/culturalresearchcenter/research/
WAIT, THERE’S ANOTHER SIGNIFICANT REASON THE CHURCH IS SILENT.
The church has also been silent because it hasn’t had a victorious view of the future. We think if things are supposed to get worse, then Jesus is about to return. We are not overly concerned that things are deteriorating. We’ve been taught that the Biblical view is [societal decay = Jesus is coming soon].
Since the early 1970s, the current adult population has been told over and over again in Bible conferences, crusades, books, and popular movies that Jesus is coming back “at any moment”… or, the rapture could happen at any time. Insert article link (7 Conditions That Precede the Lord’s Return).
I remember a time during the 70s when there was the simultaneous phenomenon of the Jesus Revolution (as portrayed in the recent film) and the popularity of the Hal Lindsay book THE LATE GREAT PLANET EARTH, and later the LEFT BEHIND books by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins also popularized in Hollywood movies. The message was, things are getting worse. Get SAVED quickly, Jesus could arrive (secretly) and snatch Christians to Heaven at any time, leaving everyone else behind on earth to face horrible tribulation and the anti-Christ (a popular end-time view).
Paralyzing fear is a theme of the rapture message, and it worked. Millions in evangelistic crusades decided to get “saved” because it (secret rapture) could happen at any time and they didn’t want to be left behind. I’m not saying these decisions to get saved weren’t real, nor were they in-genuine… I am saying that many made the decision out of fear rather than with the motivation to become a disciple, a follower of Christ in every area of life. They got “saved” purely to escape the fires of hell and to not be left behind.
As a kid, growing up in an evangelical home, we were taught that the rapture (secret coming and resurrection) could happen at any time… and many in our generation concluded that building or planning for the future, or engaging in cultural reforms, politics, social injustice, building a God-honoring business or even starting a family was a waste of time.
Is It Too Late? Will it all go to hell?
Years ago, a popular radio Bible teacher often taught on the subject and characterized activity by those who wanted to engage and reform culture with the statement: Do you polish brass on a sinking ship? (paraphrased)
If you answered that question with “no, why bother fixing things”, then you had very little interest in reforming politics, running for a school board office to influence public school curricula, creating educational programs that train and raise up Biblical worldview leaders or developing long-term programs that would change the world. Otherwise, what’s the point in being “salt and light” in the culture? There’s not enough time to change things. And even if His return was delayed, doesn’t the Bible say we’re waiting for a one-world government and tyranny everywhere? Long-term thinking and a Kingdom advancing vision were the main things left behind.
Because of the lack of Christian cultural engagement over the decades, the void of Christian influence has been filled with the religion of secular humanism which influences our school curricula, our governmental policies which legitimized abortion (Roe v Wade), redefined marriage (gay marriage) and gender transition ideology along with the climate change religion. Today, in our culture, there is more evangelism for gender transition than for the message of the Gospel. It’s not the culture’s fault. It’s spiritual impotence, non-involvement and lack of an active Biblical worldview among the Christian population.
There’s always a remnant that takes this seriously and works hard to make a difference in the world. So, I will address the majority of Christians and churches who’ve abdicated their calling, the actual mission of the Church.
How shameful that pastors don’t want to talk about social issues from the pulpit for fear of losing donors or members. This has to change.
WE NEED TO ADDRESS THE BIG DECEPTION.
The message of being “Left Behind” or that “Jesus is coming at any moment” needs to change to… Jesus is coming back ONLY when the church has successfully completed its mission of mentoring the nations. It’s time to get to work.
We need to look deeper into the far-reaching implications of the Great Commission. We delay the return of Christ by NOT engaging the culture with Biblical truth and implementing principles that bring Godly solutions to everyday issues. It’s called mentoring, teaching everything that Christ taught about life and relationships confirmed by a demonstration of the power of the Gospel.
Satan has been deceiving us long enough with the idea that somehow engaging in culture and being salt and light in every area of life is not urgent nor worth it. We have been coerced into believing that the future will get darker, more evil and God will need to rescue us (rapture)... rather than the Biblical view of the church pushing back and crushing the ‘gates of hell’.
The ever-increasing influence of the Gospel will see the increase of His government, His Kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven.
I encourage you to re-read the Kingdom parables in Matthew 13.
The treasure in a field (Matt 13:44). All the secrets of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Him. His Kingdom solutions to earthly problems are waiting to be revealed through trusted representatives.
The pearl of great price (Matt 13:45). The foundation of His throne is justice and righteous. The value of which brings peace and prosperity to every nation.
A man’s treasure of old and new (Matt 13:52). There are gems of wisdom yet to be discovered that will bring Heaven’s solutions to earthly challenges and bring reformation to existing institutions.
The yeast (Matt 13:33. It only takes a committed, Spirit-empowered remnant who are awake to begin to change things. We need to sow into future generations.
The mustard seed (Matt 13:31-32). The kingdom environment will eventually bring great peace and justice to all nations, tongues and tribes.
The seed is scattered and sprouts (Matt 13:3-9). Seed scattered (broadcasted) and then someone will plow, another water, some will harvest the efforts made from each generation. It doesn’t happen all at once. It’s a long-term plan.
The fishermen’s net (Matt 13:47). Casting a net in the right places, at the right time will produce results that only He can bring. It can also mean that projects with a larger reach will help bring many into the Kingdom (media, arts & entertainment).
Salt and Light (Matt 5:13-16). In every area of culture, every sphere of influence, there is an assignment for every Kingdom ambassador whose job it is to bring Light into the Darkness using creative presentation with the goal of reconciliation. We must learn and seek to communicate to every generation that has no Biblical basis of the Truth.
All of Matthew 13 and specifically these parables reveal the ever increasing strategic influence of God’s government on earth before Christ returns on the last day. The church can no longer be silent or we will be trampled on, as we are beginning to experience now.
In future articles, I will take a deeper dive into these parables by offering some modern day recommendations of how we sow Biblical principles into the culture, particularly in the areas of the media, arts and entertainment.
The good news? As the church and the Christian population in general become awakened, as we awaken to the evil in our world, we have become hungry for God’s involvement, for His solutions. We cheer conservative commentators like Tucker Carlson when he speaks the truth. It penetrates the darkness. We feel a sense of optimism when we hear a prophetic word that tells us God’s justice is coming.
The hearts of Christians everywhere are longing for a victorious worldview, something we can count on to bring victory over evil and peace on earth. The proclamation of the Gospel of the Kingdom is just the beginning.
Acts 18:9 “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent.