Let me go ahead and speak my mind because I have been somewhat shy lately, so here it goes a day after 46 took office. What we are witnessing now is the demise of evangelical culture and the solutions to resurrecting this culture has to come from the remnants within.
There is no way around it, and here are some things we ought to expect in the days and months ahead. First and foremost, churches that uphold orthodoxy on Sundays will have to uphold it throughout the week. And that means that you cannot subscribe to Leftist ideologies, which are the exact opposite of the conservation of classic traditional principles of morality. You simply cannot affirm the legitimacy of “gay Christians” or Leftist causes and remain soberly faithful to the Gospel. It’s historically and logically impossible.
My suspicion is that what we will see in the months ahead is a coalition of forces from conservative churches that do not want to see this country collapse under the weight of inglorious bastards. They may even share differing theological perspectives, but they are united in desiring a nation that understands reality. Conservatives need to see that if we have transgender activists in the White House, we need to have godly men and women in our little houses, which means it’s time to start punching the right things, rather than wasting time on foolish causes. In my estimation, the University of Woke City is out of the equation for my children, even if it means losing a prestigious medal made out of kale products.
Secondly, I also believe that such churches that hold firm to conservative causes and who speak truth to high towers will likely grow numerically in the months to come. If these same churches do not cower to the voices of illogical leaders, and if they continue to do those same sacred duties, they will actually be on firm standing as their local bodies will begin to attract the presence of people who are simply fed up with the liberalizing approach of their own churches. If your current congregation seems to be headed towards their fourth sermon series on critical race theory and begins to denigrate the conservative agenda because we don’t uphold “Love Thy Neighbor” as they deem best, you need to begin thinking carefully about your priorities. I have written about how to leave a church wisely, which does not mean you wait until this or that passes before having a conversation. Move speedily and find out where in the world your church is headed in 2021.
Let me also stress the need to pick up Machen’s “Christianity and Liberalism” as a guide through these trying times. He noted a long time ago that “The type of religion which rejoices in the pious sound of traditional phrases, regardless of their meanings, or shrinks from “controversial” matters, will never stand amid the shocks of life.” This is not the time to act as if the other side is going to standby silently while you parade your radical free speech proclaiming “Jesus is Lord!” They will not! They are eager to change your vocabulary. And, following Machen’s logic, this is certainly no longer the time for gnostic subtleties like “We are not of this world” or “We look to another country.” A quick read will tell you definitively that this world is ours (Rom. 4:13), and that God’s world has come down. As the hymn states unequivocally, “This is my Father’s world!”
The Great Commission is given to the Church, and now it’s time to let it be known that our agenda is to baptize millions of disciples young and old who will bring holy disarray to any living body that rejects Messiah Jesus. You can expect us to be civil and lucid in our presentation, but we will not tickle your ears.
The reason liberalism is so enticing is that it allows you to make friends everywhere under the guise of sweet orthodoxy. But the fragrance of orthodoxy is foul to the world. Further, you have noticed by now that liberalism is deeply religious. Just take yesterday’s prayer where the Right Reverend of Theological Drunkenness ended by saying, “In the strong name of our collective faith;” that stunt was a symbol of a new body of politics that has absolutely no interest in the grammar of orthodoxy. The religiosity of the Left is good in the sense that it encourages us to know where God’s revelation is found and where it isn’t and also to clarify that atheism doesn’t exist; what does exist are religious people who either love the truth or willingly suppress it.
My deep and sincere hope is that this entire season revealed those who prefer the allotment of Job’s wife rather than the oil of Aaron’s beard. The more the Church proceeds with truth in this season, the more she will be united in the kingdom and the more little churches will grow in numbers and wisdom. But the more she acts as a collective faith, she will shrink into oblivion and her children’s children will have no inheritance.
