A man whose life has been transformed by Christ cannot help but have his worldview show through.
—C. S. Lewis—
If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ. Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved, and to be steady on all the battlefield besides, is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point.
—attributed to Martin Luther—
Key point: The ongoing war between lies and the truth, between good and evil, will have both long-lasting earthly as well as eternal ramifications. Christians who are making an authentic difference for God’s kingdom will be willing to contend for the truth in all the arenas where it is being most fiercely attacked. This post highlights nine of those arenas.
Last time we emphasized Francis Schaeffer’s contention that when they advocate biblical teachings, Christians have the authority to stand up and declare that the majority is wrong.
As long as Christians faithfully are recommending what the Bible teaches, what Schaeffer said is true whether or not in framing their points believers emphasize that
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- the majority is wrong, or whether or not in a given situation they state that
- the Bible is their source of their authority.
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In some settings it would be appropriate to say these things; in others it would not. For a few moments, let’s take the last item and consider it by itself. Christians must never be ashamed to affirm that the Bible is true or that the Scripture is the best source for principles that make for strong and free societies. Nevertheless, in a culture that has rejected God, it is wise to strategically time one’s public affirmation of God as the ultimate source of truth. Political “hatchet-man” turned Christian statesman Chuck Colson was an extremely effective advocate for biblical teachings in the public arena. In 2006 he declared,
Just think of the various ways that biblical truth impacts our lives. One of our ministries at Prison Fellowship is dedicated to what we call restorative justice: this is an eminently biblical principle. Rather than just seeking retribution for crime, and rather than just building more prisons, restorative justice holds that we should be working to restore those who have committed crimes people back into their communities as changed and productive members of society. We should be able to work with the victims of crime. We should be able to restore what the ancient Jews called the “shalom” of the community.
It is a magnificent concept built around restitution––making it right with the victim and those who have been offended. I go to state legislatures all over America and speak about restitution. I say, “Pay back the victims. Instead of locking up non-violent offenders in cells that cost the taxpayers $30,000 a year, make them work and pay back their victims.” I love it when the legislators come up to me afterwards and say, “That’s such a great idea, Mr. Colson. Where did it come from?” And I say, “Have you got a Bible at home? Well, dust it off! It’s a biblical answer—straight out of the earliest times.” This was the first law handed down by Moses to the Jews. It has been carried on for centuries through the biblical traditions.
How tragic that we have forgotten so much about our heritage. The Bible has answers for every area of life! Human rights. My heavens! What other nation has ever taken as its creed, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” What an extraordinary statement! It’s revolutionary. But it is profoundly Christian, and deeply consistent with the Judeo-Christian tradition it’s premised upon.
Today, American society has gotten off the rails — and it has done so because it has abandoned biblical teachings in the most basic arenas of life. Here are eight. Toward the end of this post, we’ll add a ninth.
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- The nature of truth
- Marriage, family, and sexuality
- Life
- Race
- The true meaning of justice
- Religious liberty
- American values and American history
- The environment
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America has gotten off the rails.
To truly be salt and light in the culture, American Christians must do more than share the gospel — as important as it is to share it. We will emphasize the imperative of evangelism in just a bit, but for now, consider this reality: Christ’s followers also must confidently uphold and advocate biblical teachings in the public square — in a variety of areas of life. One does not have to be a Christian to recognize that truth is absolute and fixed, is not subject to opinion or majority vote, and does not change.
Let’s take each one of these eight areas of life and briefly explore its importance. For readers’ convenience and information, for each topic, I’m providing one or more links to articles at Word Foundations where I’ve previously addressed that particular issue.
First, the Nature of Truth Itself
Truth is that which aligns with reality. Like gravity, it exists outside of ourselves and is pre-determined. It is not based on personal feelings or opinions, and it is not subject to change as a result of majority opinion or vote. It is our friend if we cooperate with it; but if we resist or fight it, it will come back to bite us — not because it is mean, but simply because it is. Significantly, the more people’s worldview aligns with reality, the more frequently they are likely to be right in their observations and correct in the actions they take. Christians, of all people, need to make sure their worldview, their perspective on what is, is consistent with the world as it is. Christian philosopher J. Budziszewski contends, “Your worldview has to have the same shape that reality does.” See
Second, Marriage, Family, and Sexuality
Nature, or we might say God through nature, teaches with clarity what marriage is, and how important the family is to society. As I heard someone explain some time ago, a healthy man or woman has a complete circulatory system, respiratory system, skeletal system, and several other complete biological systems in his or her body. But he or she has only half of a reproductive system. Therefore, to reproduce, a man or woman must unite sexually with a member of the opposite sex. Marriage is the best and most stable context for this union, the resulting pregnancy, and the provision of everything the newly born boy or girl needs to grow up to become a healthy man or woman. Strong and stable families are the “building blocks” for strong and stable societies. See
Third, Life
Life begins at conception. Human life is sacred and should be protected from conception until natural death. It is no coincidence the Founders of American declared in the Declaration of Independence that “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men….” See
Fourth, Race
Racism — the practice of judging people’s character based on external characteristics like skin color and ethnicity — is wrong and should be condemned as inherently unjust. However, in the name of combatting racism, leftists and social justice crusaders actually are promoting both racism and division in society as they seek to advance manipulative ideologies like critical race theory, wokeism, and intersectionality. These are Marxist ideologies, and they that must be exposed. See
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- “Some Things You Need to Know About Critical Race Theory“
- “White Christians Need, Among Other Things, Generous Doses of Self-Respect and Confidence.”
- “Social Justice and Biblical Christianity Are Incompatible: Here’s Why, Parts 1 and 2.”
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Fifth, the True Meaning of Justice
The social justice movement has redefined the term justice to mean redistributing wealth and power to those deemed to have been oppressed by an unfair system that has, through the centuries, held them back. Practicing authentic, biblical, justice, however, actually means rendering “impartially and proportionally to everyone his due in accord with the righteous standard of God’s moral law.” See
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- “Justice Doesn’t Mean What Your Neighbor Thinks It Means (or Perhaps Even What You Think It Means, Either)
- “Five Ways Social Justice Stands in Opposition to Authentic, Biblical Justice“
- As we have indicated, the social justice movement promotes redistribution of wealth, or socialism. Socialism is promoted as a just system, and capitalism (free enterprise) as an unjust system. However, the opposite is true. Scripture actually upholds free enterprise (also go here).
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Sixth, Religious Liberty
James Madison, the fourth president of the United States, believed strongly in property rights. Yet, significantly, he believed the most sacred of all personal property was something intangible — one’s conscience and the right to align his or her private and public actions with it. This is authentic religious liberty, and government has a God-given duty to protect it. See
Seventh, American Ideals and American History
As Chuck Colson noted in the quote we cited earlier, the ideal that a nation exists to protect God-given rights is both revolutionary and thoroughly biblical. In fact, numerous biblical tenets were critical to America’s founding. These tenets have become the bull’s eye for leftists who want to bring America down. Leftists therefore are rewriting history and attacking the biblical foundation of American liberty relentlessly. These lies must be refuted and the liberating truth about America’s existence declared. See
Eighth, the Environment
When the people of a nation reject their Creator, they profess to be wise, but become fools. They change “the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things,” and they worship and serve “the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever.” We see all of this in the environmental movement. While Christians should be the first to step forward and act as responsible stewards of the earth and of the natural resources God has entrusted to humanity, they also should be the first to push back against deifying nature and treating humanity as an ultimate threat to nature. See
Ninth, the Gospel
These eight items represent the front lines of spiritual warfare today, along with a ninth item — the gospel itself. We will continue to talk about how we as believers can contend for the truth in each of these areas, areas where the truth is especially offensive to most in our culture. Meanwhile, this post affords you numerous opportunities to explore some of the things we’ve already said.
The gospel is foundational to all aspects of reality, and it is offensive because it condemns humanity, and every individual who is a part of it, as sinful and without hope apart from the saving work of Jesus Christ.
It goes against every natural human inclination to acknowledge one’s helplessness apart from Christ, but God has ordained that salvation belongs only to those who acknowledge Christ as Lord and God, believe He rose from the dead, and trust Him as their Savior.
Believers must engage in evangelism, but we also must remember that Jesus did not commission His followers to “go and make” converts, but to “go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you.” Discipleship involves teaching all of God’s truth, especially the truth in those areas where the truth is under the fiercest attack.
The gospel is of paramount importance. Even so, we cannot afford to preach only the gospel, win souls to Christ, and then neglect our duty to make disciples.
See
Prepare for Battle!
As we seek to contend for the truth in each of these areas, let’s remember the Lord’s words to Joshua just before he led the Israelites into the promised land:
Joshua 1:8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
Let’s also be encouraged by the Lord’s words through Paul to the Ephesians Christians about spiritual warfare:
Ephesians 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—
Trusting in God and relying on His power, stand!
The bottom line is this: Trusting in God and relying on His power, stand! You won’t be standing alone, but with like-minded brothers and sisters in Christ, and with others who love liberty! Yet, even if you must stand alone, the cause right. This cause is as precious as truth itself —
because it is truth we seek to uphold.
Copyright © 2022 by B. Nathaniel Sullivan. All rights reserved.
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture has been taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
top image credit: Lightstock
Dr. Sullivan:
As usually, you are right on target! Congratulations for this needed post!
May our God bless you in a very special way.
Oscar
Thank you, Dr. Fernandez! You encourage and inspire me! Blessings!