Too often, we willingly disobey the command to both love our neighbor as ourselves and to speak well of our brothers and sisters in Christ. Too often, we pretend as if the encouragements toward kindness and civility in Scripture are suggestions rather than commands. Still, we suffer from the myth that we can live in a fallen world and not see our faith conflict at all with prevailing ideas of the age.
Earlier this month, David Ayers at the Institute for Family Studies found that nearly half of evangelical Protestants aged 15-22 who were not currently cohabiting or married, said that they would probably or definitely cohabit in the future.
Ethicist Russell Moore was right when he said, “The problem now is not that people think the church’s way of life is too demanding, too morally rigorous, but that they have come to think the church doesn’t believe its own moral teachings.” He adds: “We are losing a generation—not because they are secularists, but because they believe we are.”
If the Church exists to proclaim and bear witness to the rule and reign of Christ, we may find that our culture’s woes aren’t as much the result of a secular occupation as they are the result of a Christian evacuation.
I have pursued justice my entire Christian life. Yet I am about as “anti-social justice” as they come—not because I have abandoned my obligation to “strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14), but because I believe the current concept of social justice is incompatible with biblical Christianity.
America crossed a dangerous line years ago. Instead of repenting and turning back to God, we have walked further into the deep waters of ungodliness. The decadence and brutality in our streets are unparalleled in our history. Despair and depression reign in our land. But—believe it or not—I am hopeful.
Just as a plane is made to fly, a book is made to be read, and a fish is made to swim, our purpose is to image and glorify God. If we hope to thrive as individuals and as a society, we must live in alignment with that design. Otherwise, we are fighting, not just against God, but against our very natures.
Christians often say, "I've invited Jesus into my life," but the reality is that Jesus is inviting us into His life, His purpose, His restoring work in the world He created.
In recent days, I have been outlining a case for Christian optimism. Today, let’s add another component: secularism inevitably fails to keep its promises, demonstrating our need for faith in a transcendent God.
With God, we often get what we expect. Not because our faith limits God in any way, but because our faith limits our capacity to receive all that God intends to give.
