Seldom does a day go by that I don’t have something cross my desk that disturbs me. Many times these things are sent to me by friends and coworkers, for which I am very thankful. As I read and study various articles, quotes, tweets, etc. that I receive, God begins to pull them together and they end up being the subject of one of my blog posts. Such is the case today.
This past week was bizarre to say the least. As I read various articles, I was literally shocked and amazed at where the culture has taken us. Here are some of the few things that took place last week.
- Students at a seminary chapel confessed to plants. Students took turns sitting in front of a group of plants and asking the plants to forgive them for various wrongs they had done against them. The seminary tweeted, “Today in chapel, we confessed to plants. Together, we held our grief, joy, regret, hope, guilt, and sorrow in prayer; offering them to the beings who sustain us but whose gift we too often fail to honor. What do you confess to the plants in your life?” (emphasis mine)
- It was announced on a radio show that in the UK they have now identified 100 different genders.
- Authorities are investigating the finding of over 2,200 aborted babies that an abortion doctor had stored in his garage.
- Two psychologists were highlighted in a Newsweek article who claimed that human cannibalism should be considered normal since humans are simply one of many animals in nature. The article mentioned how another person tried to argue that if human meat was a part of our diet, it would help the global warming crisis we are facing.
When I tried to make sense out of all of this, my first thought was something I had heard quite some time ago. It went something like this. If there is no God, anything is okay! Of course, these types of things can only be understood through the lens of a biblical worldview. Because of the Fall, we live in a world that is marred by sin. The depravity of man is real and the only answer to these startling realities is redemption through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ — the Gospel.
However, the most troubling thing I read this week wasn’t one of the things I have mentioned above. It was something that John Stonestreet wrote about in one of his Breakpoint Commentaries. Stonestreet pointed out that Pete Buttigieg, one of the US presidential hopefuls, is getting a lot of coverage because he refers to the Bible to support his positions for abortion, same-sex marriage and socialistic economic policies. The alarming thing about this is not Buttigieg’s misuse of the Bible, but the eerie silence from Christians refuting his claims with biblical truth. Stonestreet suggests that there is a void in Christianity because church leaders are not presenting biblical truth related to these culture issues to their members.
That brings me to another statement that came across my desk this week. It basically said that there is a battle going on in Christianity today related to God’s Word. But it isn’t about inerrancy. Even though the inerrancy of Scripture is always under attack, the major battle that needs to be fought is on the authority of Scripture. I am hearing more and more Christians claim that they believe the Bible is God’s Word and it is true. However, I am seeing fewer and fewer Christians actually living their lives as if God’s Word is true. The question that must be asked and answered by each and every Christian is this. Am I willing to put myself under the authority of God’s Word? This is where I see the disconnect in so many Christians’ lives when it comes to some of the startling things that are taking place in society all around them.
Dr. Tony Evans challenged his congregation about this very matter recently. He said that too many Christians come to church and are only “milk” Christians. They want to hear things that make them feel good. They don’t want to be “meat” Christians where they have to chew and wrestle with God’s Word and actually apply it to real life.
My friend, Pastor James McMenis, recently said that whatever principles you follow, determines what prince rules your life. If you follow the principles of the world, the prince of this world is really your god. He went on to explain that the same word is used in Scripture when it refers to princes, principles and principalities. It carries the connotation of high rank or fundamental beliefs. We need to hold the principles found in God’s Word as our highest authority in all of life.
I have found this to be true when it comes to my book, Kingdom Education. Many Christians have read the biblical principles that are presented in the book. After reading them, they will say amen to them. I hear them say that they believe them. However, when it comes to making a decision where their children go to school, they basically ignore them and send them to a secular school where few, if any, of these principles are practiced.
If Christian parents, church leaders and educators don’t want our children to be taken captive by the prince of this world, we must teach them to follow biblical principles in every area of their lives. However, to do this we must submit ourselves to the authority of God’s Word. This means we must read it! We must study it! We must live it! If not, our children may grow up and one day be confessing to plants in a chapel service.
Glen,
It is increasingly evident to me that we are seeing Romans 1 played out before our eyes. People are “suppressing the truth in unrighteousness,” and professing themselves to be wise, they are actually becoming fools. Greater fools than we ever dreamed possible. Three times in Romans 1 it says, God “gave them up” or “gave them over.” To what? Among other things, to a “debased mind.” Since the mid-1960s, our culture has been pushing God out of the public schools and the public square. After 70 years of this, I believe God is saying, “You want me out? OK. I hear you.” He is giving us “over.” He is giving us “up.” To delusional thinking. We are now seeing such a degree of delusional thinking that our biblically-informed heads are spinning. When nation has a House of Representatives that votes (as ours did) to allow young men who self-identify as females to compete against females in athletic events you know we’ve lost our mind, but apologizing to plants in a “seminary” and the suggestion that we normalize cannibalism takes it to a whole new level. Short of a major turn back to God and His Word, we are witnessing the collapse of a once great nation. I do not believe I am overstating this. What is most troublesome to me is that our pastors, for the most part, seem to be oblivious. They are quiet. Are they scared? Scared of what? Scared of being disliked by the community? Scared of being called “intolerant,” “divisive,” or “offensive?” I look forward to the day when our pastors will embrace being intolerant, divisive, offensive and disliked! As intolerant, divisive, offensive and disliked as Jesus was. This does not mean they are unloving. Quite the contrary. It just means they know what authentic love really is. Sometimes it’s tough. We need a lot of tough-love pastors right now. Judgement begins at the House of God. God help us.
Christian Overman
As more and more irrational and immoral new ‘realities’ assail us, we ought to no longer be surprised.
G.K. Chesterton had it right, “When men choose not to believe in God” (he meant the God of Scripture), “they do not thereafter believe in nothing, they then become capable of believing in anything.” – even the current transgender madness.
Tragically, that’s just what happens to a society that intentionally rejects God and His principles for living.The greater tragedy is when people who say they acknowledge the Lordship of Christ, live as functional atheists – where their choices and actions are based upon popular trends and personal feelings, rather than the clear teachings of Scripture.
Is it any surprise that people who know the Lord and live according to a Christian worldview are hated? As George Orwell said, “The further a society drifts from the truth the more it will hate those who speak it.”
This alarming news should remind us daily how important it is to preach the Gospel to the next generation (1 Cor. 1:18-31). But then it is so urgent that we disciple them to be doers of the word and not hearers only (James 1:22-25). It seems like so many of our evangelistic churches preach the word, but so many members come to a couple of services a month and fill like they have “checked a box”. Then they go on with their compartmentalized life and seldom use the Word of God to guide life decisions. We must be building disciple that live out their faith in a way that allow them to be salt and light for the coming generations.