November 2, 2003

The Persecuted Church...In America

There is much emphasis today on the Persecuted Church around the world--as well there should be. We must be constantly in prayer for those who are sacrificing all--wealth, family, even their lives--for Jesus Christ. They are today's true heroes of the faith.

Yet in our focus on their plight, we run the risk of minimizing the attacks of Satan against Gods church in our own culture. I get the impression that we feel that Satan has agreed to "leave us alone" here in America. Nothing could be farther from the truth. In fact, the dangers we face pose more of a threat--I believe--to the Church than those faced by believers in other lands.

The Dangers of Saturation

During the Battle of Gettysburg, the Confederate forces launched a fearsome artilliery bombardment on the Union line before Pickets charge. The same tactic was used by Allied forces before D-day, and most recently by the Coalition forces--remember Shock and Awe?--before ground opperations in Iraq. One military term for this kind of thing is saturation bombing.

Today our culture is recieving this same kind of saturation bombardment. We are confronted every day, everywhere we go, with worldly philosophy. It is in the music we listen to, the tv we watch (programs, news, and adds), and the magazines we read. It is on the radio in your car, the Muzak playing over the speakers in Wal Mart, the billboards you see on the highway, and the poppups on your computer screen.

No matter how much you try to shelter yourself, you will not be successful. Efforts to completely protect yourself from these anti-biblical points of view are futile. The Church today is running the risk of a borgesque assimilation into worldliness. It is in your best interest to thoroghly saturate yourself with God's Word. Take seriously the injunction in Psalm 1, to meditate on it "day and night." Only then will modern American believers be successful in maintaining a biblical world view.

The Dangers of Tolerance

Tolerance is the mantra of our society. The greatest sin is that of intolerance. Surely the Scriptures teach us to be tolerant--nay to go a step further and love--those who are different from us, those who disagree with us, even those who would seek to harm us.

Yet tolerance, by todays definition, means that we must accept the beliefs of others as being equally valid as our own. This cannot be. Jesus Christ proclaimed Himself as the Truth. There is no room for others in this proclamation. Either we believe it or we don't--there is no halfway point.

Of course, this absolutist view is not tolerated by our uber-tolerant society. We must constantly appologize for and water down the unplesently exclusive portions of the scripture.

It is a mistake for us to do this. We must reaffirm our commitment to the Truth, and--in a sweet and Christlike manner--proclaim it wherever we go. We may not win popularity contests, but then again, popularity contests were never part of the great commission to begin with.

Posted by Andrew on November 2, 2003 1:00 PM.