We are living in a post-Christian culture. That means the Church is no longer the dominant voice in the culture and the values and views of Christianity are no longer the driving force in the environment we live in. This is hard and getting harder, but it does not mean the Bible or the Church are losing validation. We are just as true and viable as we’ve always been, but that needs to be explained.
The world has been post-Christian before. (We’ve also been pre-Christian!) Many times we’ve witnessed the supposed destruction of the Church and her members only to see it rise again. That does not mean we are like the annoying moth ball smell that won’t go away no matter how much freshener is sprayed in the room.
We see the survival of the Church as one of the proofs of her vitality. Each time the culture begins to win, specific challenges arise. In the past the culture has tried to kill Christianity by making it illegal. This was the case in ancient Rome and more recently with the advent of Communism. “Kill all the Christians you can and eventually there won’t be any left to speak.”
But that is not the angle this generation is taking. They are working to make Christianity irrelevant. Their message is not one of death but denial. “Ignore the Church long enough and she’ll just go away.” I believe this is why we see Christians bending to the new rules the culture establishes. More and more we see believers acquiescing to the LGBTQ+ agenda, I believe, to continue in a position of influence and acceptance. But the exact opposite occurs. Instead of gaining influence, the Church loses it. When you blend in, you can no longer be seen. When you sound like everyone else, you are no longer heard.
Christians have always thrived on the fringe. We enjoyed mass acceptance for a few decades in this country and others, but the times they are a changing. The mass numbers, it seems, were more because of cultural alignment than real heart change. As soon as it stopped being cool to follow Jesus, a group disappears. And they will keep leaving as long as we stand against the culture.
Let me remind you, as if you need it, of the battle we are facing all around us. Did you know an Indiana couple was challenged in court for not allowing their son to remain as a girl? Writing in World Magazine, Josh Hershberger tells us their son was removed from their home and despite every effort to get him back, he was not returned. He aged out of the foster system.
Did you know the Orlando “Come Out With Pride” parade is expecting 200k people and has chosen a 12- year-old trans boy as its Grand Marshall? Dempsey Jara, the boy, told reporters “Being transgender is not about a choice. It’s about being true to myself.” Did you see the Drag dress at the Dove Awards this year? There is a number one Christian hit on Itunes called “Good Days” by Flamy Grant. Flamy, who is a man dressed as a woman, Derek Webb, the former singer from Caedmon’s Call who dresses as a woman, and an artist named Selmer, a woman living in a gay relationship, attended the Dove Awards.
Why? To make a statement about gay Christians. Really, why? To pick a fight. Have you seen the Twix commercial with the little boy dressed in the princess outfit and the witch nanny? When asked why he dresses that way, he says “It makes me feel good.” and the witch blows the boy who asks the question off the playground.
The logical procession of these agendas will not end up in a place any person is proud of. The LGBTQ+ movement is quickly heading toward legalizing child pornography and normalizing pedophiles. It turns out the end result for the pro-choice block is not the woman’s right to choose, but the undoing of traditional marriage.
HOWEVER, we are not facing the undoing of Christianity. The Church will always stand. We may be small, but we will always be here. God always preserves a remnant. What we are facing is the erosion of basic moral and ethical boundaries in the first-world culture. America is not alone. Europe has led the way for us. Second and third-world countries are following fast.
But here’s the deal. The Church MUST be pro Jesus before we are anything else. You can be a gay or straight Arkansan. You can be a trans engineer or a pro-life mom. You can add any adjective you want to your nouns. But there is no such thing as a straight, Republican, conservative Christian. That person doesn’t exist. For Christians Jesus is first. Not politics or gender diversity or soap box ideologies. Christ followers are just Christian. Anything else added to the front of that word lessens the truth we represent.
When people ask who you are, how do you respond? What comes to your mind first. I can guarantee you the enemy would like for you to think of any descriptor possible other than Christ follower. I don’t know if you’ve realized it, but Republicans will die. This government will never be in Heaven. The LGBTQ+ movement will die. You will not see any rainbow flags in Heaven. But Christ followers will never die. The enemy knows this. If he can distract you—hopefully for a lifetime—convincing you to take up the charge of anyone other than Jesus, he wins. A silent Christian is the next best thing to a raving non Christian. The latter turns people off. The former just fades into the background while he gets his way with the rest of society.
When all is said and done, we will have to face Jesus and answer for our choices. And our answers better not be based on our best opinions or our own bright ideas. They’d better be based on His Word. Jesus is the WAY, the TRUTH and the LIFE. Second best options need not apply.