The biggest lie in the modern church is that “you can't talk about politics in church.” Many modern pastors believe the enemy's bait-and-switch lie that they can't address biblical issues because they have been politicized. Issues like abortion, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, and marriage are rarely mentioned from the pulpit because they are too “political.”
But isn't that a lie from the enemy to us? How can we as Christians be salt and light to a dark culture if we are not prepared for the battle that lies before us?
Simply put, we have believed the lie that the church cannot preach the truth in love in relation to our culture.
The church has not become more political; politics has become more religious. To say otherwise is a lie intended to silence Christians whom God has commanded to speak out.
A Christian friend recently told me that cashiers didn't know how to respond to a young child who asked, “Boy or girl?” Another Christian friend said that while it's biologically wrong, she believes using someone's preferred pronouns is a sign of respect. “Oh, I don't know what to say,” echoed another Christian friend, who didn't know how to respond to her young daughter who asked about gay couples. Another friend said she didn't want to drive around town in June because she was scared her kids would see rainbow flags, but wasn't ready to discuss the topic.
This is just the tip of the iceberg.
How did we get to this point, and why has the Church not equipped us to answer these situations and questions related to the “controversial” issues of our time?
Simply put, we have believed the lie that the church cannot preach the truth in love in relation to our culture.
But I would argue that this is a lame excuse for reluctant pastors who don't want to address cultural issues in order to rock the boat, “anger” their congregations, or, worse, lose members, but I believe pastors have a lot to gain from doing so.
My point here is that Jesus called us to be “salt and light” in a dark time. We must not shy away from speaking the truth in love. We must teach Christians how to raise their children and speak about any cultural issue from a biblical perspective.
As my friend Nate Glass said, “Choosing what's popular is political. Choosing what's right is biblical.”
Jesus was no stranger to conflict. In righteous anger, he overturned tables and drove out those who bought and sold in the house of God. He used strong words when he called the Pharisees “brood of vipers.” It was a serious rebuke. Jesus preached the gospel and convicted people of sin, but he did not ignore it. Meat sacrificed to idols was a very controversial issue, but Jesus did not shy away from it.
He said to the woman he had committed adultery with John 8 After the scribes and Pharisees were eager to stone her to death for her sinful lifestyle, Jesus said, “Go, and sin no more from now on.” Culturally speaking, it was highly controversial for a Jewish man to speak to a Samaritan, much less a Samaritan woman, yet Jesus began a conversation with the woman at the well. Although the woman was living with another man who was not her husband, Jesus did not avoid the topic or criticize her. He spoke the truth in love and told her about the true living water.
We should too.
Throughout the Bible we find examples of courageous men and women who engaged in culture and politics and continued to use them in impactful ways.
Today's threats to families and churches are not “on the horizon” but at our gates, inside.
Esther risked her life and her honor when she bravely went before King Xerxes to plead for his people to be saved from Haman, who was to execute the Jews. Joseph went from being a prisoner to second in command of the mighty Egyptian nation, saving his people from starvation. Daniel rose to political power, influenced the kings of his time, and interpreted dreams. Rahab risked her life to save God's servants. Many prophets of old stood bravely against kings and their sins.
The Hebrew midwives Shiphrah and Puah were ordered to kill all newborn Hebrew babies, but they ignored Pharaoh's orders and saved the babies. God's law always takes precedence over human law. We must always fight to protect the most innocent, especially those most defenseless in the womb.
So why do the majority of American churches refuse to address the topics of life and other urgent moral issues? God clearly calls us to do so.
Gary Hamrick, pastor of Cornerstone Chapel in Leesburg, Virginia, delivered a sermon full of conviction and truth on a recent Election Day. He said, “The culture has taken over the stories that the Bible already covers on social and moral issues, and it has twisted and distorted and corrupted those social and moral issues into political issues. And it's telling pastors like me and Christians like you to stop getting political.”
Hamrick also noted that God had the first say on every moral issue, even before they became “political.” The Bible speaks about borders, immigration, the economy, life, justice, prosperity, biological sex, marriage, parental authority, Israel, and even the environment.
Our country is in crisis and in a moral downward spiral.
“Silence in the face of evil is evil in itself. God does not hold us innocent. Not speaking is speaking. Not acting is acting.”
In Biblical times, sentinels were stationed on city walls to watch for threats from afar and, if they detected a threat, would blow a trumpet to warn the residents below.
Today's threats to families and churches are not “on the horizon” but at our gates, coming in. Now is the time to speak up and take action.
Pastors and Christians alike should be vocal about the fact that children are being mutilated, babies are being killed, children are being bought and shipped overseas, and all of these things are legal in many states. God commands us to fight for justice and righteousness, and therefore we have a moral obligation to get involved, to speak the truth in love, and to be salt and light. After all, we are God's ambassadors, and ambassadors do not sit back and watch in silence on moral issues. It is our right and our duty to vote, to get involved in national decisions, and to be active in our churches.
Slavery was a highly controversial issue, but British politician William Wilberforce courageously led the movement to end the scourge of the slave trade in England. His moral and religious beliefs drove him to stand up to the most powerful men in Parliament to stop a great evil. He said, “Let it be said that I was silent in their hour of need.”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the famous German Lutheran pastor and theologian, who called on Christians to stand up against the actions of the Nazi regime, wisely said, “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil. God will not acquit us. To not speak is to speak, to not act is to act.”
Instead of being told that we lived in lies and fear, let us be told that we lived and acted in truth and refused to be silenced.
