Tag Archives: eternal

Part 2 (of 2)

All are born with an innate sense of where we came from, why we’re here, and what happens after we die.  It takes hard work to overcome our natural inclinations and intuition that God exists and that He is good.  There are many reasons people may give for rejecting their heavenly Father, but the starting point for disbelief isn’t questioning God’s existence but God’s goodness.  Therefore, the ways in which Christians should lead non-believers toward Jesus depends on why they decided God wasn’t good (or that something else was better).

Jesus produces the fruit, but we can plant seeds in more fertile soil by addressing the reason(s) they declared their independence.  Once we discover the motive for dismissing God’s authority over their lives, we can emphasize and reflect God’s goodness in that area.  Oftentimes, excuses given for rejecting God are not the authentic, underlying issue.  So it’s important to get down to the root cause for their declaration of independence because it is typically not about the Lord at all, but about “freedom” (from something or for something).  As a ministry that works extensively with the homeless, we know many don’t share the whole story when trying to get help.  Nor do the Fatherless always tell the truth when justifying how they got to the point of basing their identity on self rather than as a child of God.

Because God exists and embodies love, Selfism grasps at straws to make the case that He isn’t real or isn’t good.  For years Atheists, Agnostics, Nones and Dones have frequented this Blog’s Facebook page, replaying the same trite arguments as if they were trying to convince themselves of their validity.  Despite this Age of Decadence, there is hope because Americans are far more receptive to the Gospel on the inside than they appear to be on outside.  People are hungry for truth, coming to the realization that they can’t actually invent their own.  Drugs and depression are rampant among those living without the identity and purpose God intended.

In fact, Christians are generally more reluctant about having Gospel conversations than non-believers, not sure what to say because they haven’t been properly equipped by churches.  Our responses to secular culture may even lend credence to contentions that God is not good (if we’re not compassionate) or must not exist (if we’re not transformed, looking like everyone else).  However, Christians and churches have an incredible opportunity right now to spark revival by following Jesus’ example of addressing the issues at the heart of unbelief…

1. Disappointment

Didn’t get what they asked for when they were younger…

Those whose reaction to Christianity is visceral, not ambivalent, may be harboring anger toward God.  Despite desperate prayers, a loved one may have passed away or career ambitions were never realized, breaking their trust in God.  Antitheism emerged from what was once belief.

Prove God can be trusted…

Prayer – Only Jesus can break the resolve of entrenched animosity from bitter disappointment.

Care – Begin with a relationship, not an invitation to church, and demonstrate God’s goodness through loving acts of service to rebuild their faith in the Source of our kindness.

Share – Reset expectations, explaining that our loving Father delivers on all His promises through Jesus, but those do not include guarantees that life will turn out as we’ve planned.

2. Rules

God’s commands do not align with their desires…

When faced with a critical decision point in life – their will or God’s – many choose the former, regardless of the consequences.  That choice boils down to what they value most – someone, something or God.  It’s tempting to sacrifice the unseen and eternal for the visible and temporal.

Prove God’s laws are better than having no rules or following man’s lead…

Prayer – Only God can dispel a delusion that takes such hard work to maintain with so much evidence to the contrary.

Care – Live according to God’s laws and hold church members accountable, but don’t judge those who don’t know Jesus according to His standards.  If Christ did not come to condemn the world, we’re in much less of a position to do so.

Share – Don’t assume Americans understand much about Jesus and His commandments, so contrast Agape with the word “love” media and politicians throw around so casually.

3. Guilt

Assuage guilt the only way they know how…

To quell conscience, many become non-believers to eliminate guilt at the source.  For good measure, to ensure guilt never rears its ugly head, most adopt a (justice) cause, hang out with “safe” people (not Christians) in “safe” places (not churches), and judge no one (except Christians and churches) to avoid being judged by anyone.

Prove Christ alone can remove guilt…

Prayer – Only the Holy Spirit can convict humanity of sin and its need for forgiveness.

Care – A facade of self-righteousness is no match for the love of Jesus, but churches and Christians must convey His love in ways that reawaken America from its conscience coma.

Share – Those who push Jesus away to protect the fragile bubble they’ve constructed are apt to accept an offer of God’s grace if we have the courage to extend it to them.

4. Myopia

Live for the moment, not thinking about the future…

Youth taught they are accidents with no purpose endure too much anxiety today to worry about tomorrow.  Trends toward rooting identity in personal inclinations rather than a heavenly Father track attempts by Christianity to become more relevant by emphasizing what God does for us in this life and not the next.

Prove there’s more than meets the eye, including eternal life…

Prayer – Ask the Lord to bring His Kingdom to earth so the “lost” can get a glimpse of heaven.

Care – The world cannot give what it never had, so demonstrate the stable foundation of dual citizenship by serving sacrificially, showing the path to finding true life, not a cheap imitation.

Share – Feel a sense of urgency since eternal life hangs in the balance.  Like Jesus, boldly address repentance and eternity but deal with the current realities of a hopeless existence.

5. Logic

Arrogantly presume only what we can see and grasp exists…

Faith in intellect and science is just that – faith.  It’s betting on mankind even though our “facts” and conclusions often turn out to be wrong.  Non-believers demand proof that God exists and mock references to the supernatural not because they have absolute confidence in their assertions but to preserve in their own minds the right to live however they please.

Prove their answers to life’s most basic questions defy logic…

Prayer – God has the power to defy logic and reveal Himself, so ask Him to knock on the doors of those we love.

Care – No one wants to believe there’s no hope or meaning, but many don’t like what (they think) the alternative would entail.  Our transformation, liberated from a corrupt nature they cannot escape, may open their minds to the inexplicable.

Share – Realize the driver (of unbelief) isn’t trust in man’s capabilities or goodness, but a lack of trust in God’s.  Therefore, address that root issue and not their surface-level atheistic or agnostic contentions.

6. Hypocrisy

Blame God for the failure of Christians and churches to reflect Jesus’ love and compassion…

Some non-believers determine that God must not exist (or if He does, that He must not be good) based on their experience in the past with “Christians” who looked very little like Jesus.  Rarely is this the actual reason for disbelief, but rather a convenient excuse to ignore Scripture that did not conform to personal preferences.

Prove God is good by our love, and by our humility when we inevitably fall short…

Prayer – (Re)commit to becoming and making disciples who live and act more like Jesus.

Care – Demonstrate true “tolerance” by listening to the stories, opinions, and challenges facing those with whom we disagree to understand and respond to the root cause of their unbelief.

Share – Debunk false accusations levied against God by beating accusers to the punch, confronting believers’ sins before they’re exposed and confessing our dire need for forgiveness.

7. Control

On the surface, Christianity is the least attractive world view for “control freaks”…

Selfism, like all other religions, offers a high degree of control.  However, following Jesus places our present and future in His hands.  We trust His plan, submit to His will, and admit that it’s what He did (and not what we do) that saves us.  That’s a hard pill to swallow for most people.

Prove being under control of a loving Father beats charting our own course…

Prayer – Ask the Lord to reveal to dear friends and family that they are not actually in control.

Care – Churches train and equip members to transform workplaces and neighborhoods by demonstrating the joy and (true) freedom that comes from complete dependence on God.

Share – Explain how living under God’s authority, like being raised by good parents, is better than the illusion of “freedom” that enslaves to sin, social influencers, and the whims of culture.

It’s Your Turn

How much time and how deep of a relationship is required to uncover the real motive behind someone’s declaration of independence from God?  Is it worth that investment if it results in a more effective approach for leading them toward Jesus?

Christians anxiously await the return of Jesus.  But none want to hasten the next advent by repeating what prompted the Lord’s first two earth-shattering interventions.  Malachi, the book immediately preceding the New Testament, reveals that it was mankind’s ignorance of who God is that led to Christ’s first advent.  Jesus cleared up the confusion that had gradually pervaded all of humanity since the flood, even among God’s chosen people, about His true nature.

No one knows the Lord’s timing but seeing how rapidly our world is turning from Him, it would not be surprising if the second coming happens on our watch.  If so and if history is any guide, then many of those who profess to know Jesus intimately will discover they have been either misrepresenting or misunderstanding who He is.

Although non-believers don’t worship Jesus, they observe Christians and churches to see if our actions and behaviors align with what they have heard of Jesus and what they imagine an infinite Creator would be like.  Even avowed atheists and agnostics have a conception of who God, if He existed, would be.  Many rejected Christianity at least in part because their conclusion (based on our misalignment with their expectations) is that we must not know God.

If There Really Were a God, Then…

Persuading the world that Jesus is Lord is largely contingent on Christians living as if we truly believed God is as loving, omniscient, omnipotent, and holy as non-believers would envision Him to be.

1. If there really were a God, His interests would supersede ours – The will of a God capable of speaking the universe into existence would be much more important than the desires of those who follow Him.  Our indebtedness to a God so loving that He forgives all our offenses by paying our penalty Himself would be so overwhelming that we would pursue only His glory, not our own.  Instead, studies show non-believers don’t feel Christians are less self-interested than their non-Christian neighbors and coworkers.
2. If there really were a God, we would seek to please Him at all costs – Our thankfulness for the generosity of an unconditionally loving Savior would convince Christians to forego creature comforts to serve Him and sacrifice popularity to lead people toward Him.  However, churchgoers are generally reserved about vocalizing their beliefs in social and professional settings, careful not to offend anyone, content to be kind and well-liked by only bringing up “religion” if someone asks.
3. If there really were a God, Heaven and Hell, we would be active in sharing our faith – Ironically, although our culture say it is wrong to push personal faith on others, the fact that few Christians do convinces them we don’t actually buy what we’re (not) selling.  If we fully grasped the gravity of eternal life or damnation, it would heighten our sense of urgency to share the Gospel, not just our views on politics and morality, with friends and family.
4. If there really were a God, He would be perfect but merciful toward those who aren’t – A holy, almighty God would have a standard of performance and perfection that humans could not possibly attain.  Non-Christians cannot fathom how an omniscient God who sees the whole person, not just their sin, could be as judgmental as many of His followers appear to be.  And if Jesus had no sin, they know we have even less reason to be judgmental.  So they assume there is no God, and therefore no standard against which to disprove their presumed “goodness”, obviating their need for Jesus.
5. If there really were a God, Christians would love everyone, including one another – Existence of an everlasting God would mean humans have an everlasting soul.  Non-Christians wonder why Christ-followers focus so much on outward words and actions when they preach that those who don’t know Jesus are (inwardly) lost souls made in God’s image.  Even more so, they watch the body of Christ divide over what appears to be petty disagreements as if our God wasn’t big enough to be worth uniting around a common mission.
6. If there really were a God, we would know more about His Word – If the Bible were truly words spoken by the Creator directly to us (which it is) then how can Christians know so few Bible verses, read it so infrequently, study it so casually, and be unable to adeptly defend its authenticity?  Our biblical illiteracy has caused countless people to doubt our faith and turn elsewhere (e.g. to professors, politicians and the Internet) for “truth”.
7. If there really were a God, Christians would cling relentlessly to their beliefs – Non-believers enjoy tempting Christians to join the crowd in doing wrong, hoping we’ll give in, but secretly they admire us and are attracted to Christianity when we refuse to relent.  When Christians change their viewpoints, adopt worldly perspectives and compromise biblical truths, society breathes a sigh of relief, now having validation that the beliefs we once held must not have been true.
8. If there really were a God, He would not adapt to suit our preferences – Although modern society says Christianity has failed to keep up with the times, deep down non-believers know that a God powerful enough to form the cosmos would not evolve with the vagaries of culture.  So when they see Christians and churches influenced by culture more than they influence culture, it doesn’t pull them toward faith but pushes them away.
9. If there really were a God, He would care deeply about poverty and justice – Although non-Christians deny that Jesus was God, nearly all agree that He was caring and compassionate.  They also question whether there can be a loving God if so many bad things happen to “good” people.  A God they would consider worshipping would have a keen sense of fairness and heart for those less fortunate.  They see those qualities in Jesus but not always in Christians, who too often fail to live and love like Him.
10. If there really were a God, we would trust Him for our provision – Christians claim the Lord of all has a plan for our lives and far greater insight about the future.  Yet when challenges like a pandemic come, society sees most take matters into their own hands, choosing self-preservation over self-sacrifice for others.  We cite Scripture promising the Lord will give us all we need in this life and hope for the next one, but non-believers dismiss our faith when Christians insert their own plans in place of God’s.

None of those principles are about conforming to culture’s expectations of who God should be but aligning ourselves with the Lord’s expectations of His children.  What we say and do as Christians reflect and exhibit characteristics of God that are either true or not true of Him.  If we do not live in accordance with who God truly is, which Jesus modeled in the flesh, then we prove we do not actually know God and inhibit others from coming to know Him as well.

It’s Your Turn

Which of those 10 do you find most challenging?  How have contemporary church growth models contributed to the growing perception in America that God must not be real if most Christians are so casual about their faith? (the subject of our next blog post)

Scripture points to a pattern of world-changing interventions whenever humanity arrives at a seemingly inevitable, yet intolerable destination – that of no longer knowing, except for a remnant, who God is.  Genesis 6 says, “The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time…but Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.”  We all know what happened next.

Eventually the world once again reached the point where nearly everyone was worshipping false gods and idols.  Even God’s chosen people had adopted a distorted image of Him, despite countless demonstrations of His character throughout their history.  Malachi, the final book of the Old Testament and thought to be one of the last written before Jesus’ arrival, portrays Israel as confused and misguided…

• “’I have loved you’, says the Lord.  But you ask, ‘How have you loved us?’” (Malachi 1:2)
• “’If I am a father, where is the honor due me?  If I am a master, where is the respect due me?’ says the Lord Almighty.” (Malachi 1:6)
• “It is you priests who show contempt for my name.  But you ask, ‘How have we shown contempt for your name?’” (Malachi 1:6)
• “You have wearied the Lord with your words.  ‘How have we wearied him?’ you ask.“ (Malachi 2:17)

Malachi (3:1) prophesied what the Lord’s next extraordinary intervention would be in response to such utter confusion about who God is.  “I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me.  Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come.”  By God’s grace, rather than save only a remnant, He chose to make Himself fully known to the world and offer redemption to all mankind.  God in His infinite mercy brought torrents of love rather than water at the incarnation.  Through Jesus, the Father left no room for doubt about exactly who He is.  “No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is Himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made Him known.” (John 1:18)

Yet like the flood, our Father’s intent to clear up any misconceptions about His character still promised to be a demanding, painful process.  “But who can endure the day of his coming?  Who can stand when he appears?  For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap.  He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver.” (Malachi 3:2-3)  Jesus was unreserved in His criticism of the Pharisees who were largely responsible for leading His people astray.  Jesus refuted their self-serving teachings at every turn and put His righteous anger on full display over their misrepresentation of His Father, designed to elevate themselves and condemn others.

Ironically it was often those who the religious leaders condemned most harshly that wound up being the remnant Jesus preserved during God’s second grand intervention.  Malachi (3:16-18) prophesied, “A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the Lord and honored his name.  ‘On the day when I act,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘they will be my treasured possession.  I will spare them, just as a father has compassion and spares his son who serves him.  And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.’”  Jesus fulfilled Malachi’s prophecy by confirming, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.” (John 10:27-28)

Today, we are left to wonder whether humanity is edging closer to the precipice where once again only a remnant of authentic disciples truly know who God is and recognize how high His expectations are of Christ-followers.  If so, then perhaps the Lord’s next (and final) earth-shattering intervention, the return of Jesus, is not as far off as some imagine.  False religions are proliferating across the globe.  Atheism and agnosticism are on the rise in America and other developed, “educated” nations where faith has turned to human intellect and science.  Cultural Christians no longer subscribe to a holistic picture of God’s character and expectations because it conflicts with their personal view of who God should be and their preferred level of commitment to living out their beliefs.  Most churches fear that challenging “consumers” with the unabridged truth of who God is and the actual costs of following Jesus would send them running for the exits.  Through books, videos and trainings, America then exports its attractional church growth models, teaching pastors how to build viable institutions, not sold-out disciples.

Only the Father knows His timetable, but if history is any guide then we can be certain Jesus’ next advent will once again be difficult for many churchgoers and leaders.  Like the Pharisees, many pastors withhold the “key to knowledge”, a full depiction of God’s demands for repentance, discipleship, accountability, surrender, sanctification and compassion.  Malachi (2:7) recorded God’s disappointment with teachers who selectively conceal truths – “For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, because he is the messenger of the Lord Almighty and people seek instruction from his mouth.  But you have turned from the way and by your teaching have caused many to stumble.”  In an effort to appease “customers”, churches tend to emphasize God’s love but not His hatred of sin, offering “cheap grace” without expectation of transformation.  According to Malachi (2:17), priests in his day had wearied the Lord “by saying, ‘All who do evil are good in the eyes of the Lord, and he is pleased with them.’”  When churches today point out sin in society yet do not confront sin within the body, it wearies the Lord and fuels the popular notion that Christians are hypocrites.  That label is accurate to the extent believers choose not to accept what they do not like about God or only obey His commands that suit their lifestyles.

It’s Your Turn

Do you see the connection between the last book in the Old Testament and the first books in the New Testament – Malachi’s disappointment that God’s chosen people no longer knew who He was, and Jesus’ appearance to clear up any misunderstanding?  As our world drifts further from God every year, the day is approaching when Jesus will reappear to set the record straight about His identity and to rescue the remnant of authentic disciples who persevere until that time.

The escalating clash of sacred and secular in America is not only testing the authenticity of Christians, but exposing the logical fallacies of trying to construct a world without God.  As the voices of atheists and agnostics slowly begin to prevail, it is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the irreconcilable inconsistencies of secular humanism.  A victory in media’s campaign against Christianity will reveal for all eyes to see the entropy that ensues when we follow “one nation without God” to its logical conclusions.  Failure risks revival, a return to Jesus, when that grand experiment culminates in chaos – alienating and cannibalizing its own as the rights of one interest group tramples those of others it had originally intended to advance.

The Futility of Life Without the Lord

Expunging any vestige of Christian influence hinges largely on convincing America’s youth that secularism’s guiding principles are superior to those espoused throughout most of our nation’s history.  Indoctrinating youth also requires concealing as long as possible the inherent contradictions and inevitable pitfalls of a godless society:

Hypocrisy of…Trusting Science

Science reportedly obviates the need for belief in God, yet reliance on science ceases when it conflicts with other secular objectives, like authorization for immorality.

• Despite physician assessments at birth and the presence of reproductive organs, a person’s gender today is officially whatever “they” declare it to be
• Despite heartbeats and brainwaves, infants in the womb are not considered human beings so that inconvenient lives can be taken

Hypocrisy of…Professing Tolerance

Freedom from the shackles of religion and its public expression is the ultimate goal, yet non-Christians relentlessly evangelize Selfism, a man-deifying “religion” with a strict moral code.

• Believers no longer have the freedom to profess biblical viewpoints in conflict with prevailing standards for sex, marriage or social justice without repercussion
• In this zero-sum game, where one gains freedoms as the other loses them, Christians aren’t at liberty to tell anyone what they should (or shouldn’t) say or do, but may be told what they can (or cannot) say or do

Hypocrisy of…Redefining Decency

Reasonable standards of behavior gradually decline, seemingly innocuous at first but evolving into decadence, as society grapples with how to make sense of a world God created without acknowledging His existence.

• My son has attended the same public school for 3 years, but is now referred to as “they” in communications by teachers and administrators, sacrificing reason for rudeness
• Inclusiveness in the popular “sex positivity” movement defines prostitution and pornography as essential services that should be revered and applauded

Hypocrisy of…Proclaiming Goodness

Inherently sinful by nature, most of us privately do what we feel compelled to publicly condemn.  We post and like messages on social media conveying how disturbed we are by those who “judge” others, pretending we’re never guilty of that ourselves.

• Non-believers accuse Christians of self-righteousness but assume an air of moral superiority in this cancel culture filled with anger and hostility toward non-conformists
• Seeking utopia, secularism touts decriminalization and wide open borders but quickly calls for regulation and law enforcement when personally impacted by those policies

Hypocrisy of…Commandeering Compassion

To replace Jesus as Savior, government prints money to fund subsidies and stimulus, and portrays Christians as callous for not supporting social programs that build dependence and perpetuate poverty.

• The real question is not who cares more about the poor, but how compassion is best delivered to help them – and what motives are behind the methods (e.g. buying votes)
• It isn’t compassionate to burden future generations with excessive debt; however, believing this life is all there is encourages myopic thinking

Labeling Christians closed-minded deflects attention from the stringent requirements of Selfism, which mandates absolute adherence to its central, hypocritical tenet – the inalienable right of everyone (except for Christians) to pursue whatever makes them happy (so long as it doesn’t make anyone else, except for Christians, unhappy).  In fact, social norms are moving in the direction of considering the most civil and enlightened those who lavish the highest praise on those most decadent.

A public relations “race” is taking place among businesses, universities and politicians bent on outdoing each other in proclaiming support for issues they cared little about until it became financially and politically expedient.  In that game, points are awarded for mocking those who purportedly corrupted young minds by teaching them “arcane” views on subjects like marriage, gender and purity – namely, Christians.

Only Life with the Lord Makes Sense

Yet it’s traditional, biblical values that resolve the logical contradictions that are already surfacing in our culture as it increasingly adopts the premise that there is no God:

• Science – Beginning with the fact that God created man and woman reveals His intentions and ensures personal preferences do not overturn the science behind the definitions of gender at birth and life at conception.
• Tolerance – Jesus permitted everyone to choose belief or unbelief, offered forgiveness for offenses, practiced unconditional love, and enforced justice equitably understanding that we’re all made in God’s image.
• Morality – We need guideposts, and not of our own construction for our convenience, because doing whatever makes us happy, satisfying our desires at the moment they arise, doesn’t make them right.
• Human Nature – John Adams warned, “We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion.  Our Constitution was designed only for a moral and religious people.  It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”
• Compassion – Jesus demonstrated His love by serving those deemed least consequential with dignity, bringing glory to the Father.  Handouts glorify the giver and demean the recipient, not recognizing the eternal value of every individual.

God is not a cosmic killjoy, unnecessarily restricting freedoms.  His “arcane” rules are grounded in love because He knows defying them will harm us.  Pursuing happiness with no hope beyond tomorrow leads to depression, drugs and diseases trying to escape a road to nowhere.

Despite that hopelessness and hypocrisy, our post-Christian culture persists down the path toward self-determination because the battle is not about ideologies or logic.  It’s about Jesus, plain and simple.  Spiritual warfare is pitting God’s truth against man’s will, fueled by the same desires that prompted Adam and Eve to explore good and evil on their own terms.  Satan is dangling the apple again, tempting Americans to find out what society could look like without any constraints.  The only impediment is Christianity, so media discredits our faith by saying we are on the wrong side of every key issue today – politics, vaccines, justice, abortion and stimulus.

Responding When the Walls Cave In

Because the conflict is spiritual, reason and even religion will not prevail – but the Holy Spirit can.  Our job as believers is not to get in the Spirit’s way, working through His power to provide truth as the lies of secularism become readily apparent.

• Humility – avoid any hint of superiority that could rebuild the walls, showing that we’re in just as much need of a (true) Savior
• Love – remember that non-Christians are looking for any excuse not to believe, so don’t be one; instead be the last friend there when everyone else has ”left the building”
• Discipleship – learn how to respond to the few, rote objections non-believers always raise rather than simply inviting them to the next church service

According to studies, those three characteristics are not hallmarks of Christians in America today.

It’s Your Turn

What other logical impasses have you seen from defining personal and corporate “truth” apart from God?  Because society doesn’t work without Him, where is secular “wisdom” and professed kindness toward one group undermining years of progress in advancing the cause of another?

In past decades being a Christian was an assumption, an expectation and often a prerequisite for social standing in America.  To this day, particularly in small towns across the country, “Christian” is a label assigned at birth based on the faith of parents, a birthright inherited in turn from their parents.  Families did business and socialized with those they knew from church, not necessarily trusting those who never made an appearance or missed too many Sundays.

Those days of cultural Christianity are nearly over.  The next generation is attending high schools and colleges where “coming out of the closet” has transitioned now to trepidation about publicly identifying as a Christian.  Belief in Jesus is costing employees and candidates jobs in companies that associate Christianity with opposition to the world’s definitions of equity and justice, which corporate HR policies implicitly require workers to not only accept, but applaud.

A carefully crafted, coordinated campaign is being conducted via schools, businesses, media and government to lay the blame for all society’s ills on Christians.  A confluence of events has created the perfect storm – a pandemic, a dramatic political shift, race riots, Pride marches and abortion court cases.  Campaign organizers know this is the optimal opportunity to turn America from its Christian roots.  Their messages contend that Christians are on the wrong, “hateful” side of each of those issues – instigating slavery, denouncing vaccines, impeding gender fluidity, blocking stimulus payments, and opposing women’s rights.  Meanwhile, secular leaders position themselves as our enlightened, compassionate “saviors” – rescuing the poor, healing diseases, and liberating victims from further oppression by the blight and scourge of society…Christians.

We’re about to find out who the real Christ-followers are.  The temptations to deny Jesus and costs of discipleship have reached unprecedented levels here – and are still rising.  The Great Commission is not optional but for the first time in America, it will put most Christians in harm’s way.  Only true believers will still share their faith, regardless of the consequences.  Scripture commands us to love and pray for those who persecute us.  Only those fully surrendered to Jesus will practice what He preached.  All Christians are called to be servants, even to those who cause their suffering.  Only churches that promote godly perseverance will thrive during the coming persecution while others close their doors.

Disclosing Authentic Disciples

How many Christians are ready and willing to face those challenges?  Have churches accustomed to “good” times prepared members for hard times?  Christian conservatives relished a four-year reprieve under a church-friendly president, becoming complacent rather than arming believers to face a sudden, unbridled attack on Christianity.  Church leaders should have seen this coming, equipping disciples with the full armor of God rather than continuing attractional models that were already precipitating a decline in the Church’s growth and influence:

• Belt of Truth – Withholding inconvenient truths about dying to self, repentance, disciple-making, and dire warnings about not serving the poor
• Breastplate of Righteousness – Shirking responsibilities to hold members accountable for their actions while pointing fingers out at those who don’t subscribe to God’s laws
• Feet Fitted with Readiness – Not training churchgoers to bring the Gospel of peace to friends, family and neighbors, able to answer tough questions, but instead encouraging them to simply extend invitations to hear from a “professional”
• Shield of Faith – Preaching and praying about getting out of problems (the subject of most contemporary Christian songs), not finding joy in how suffering shapes and molds disciples
• Helmet of Salvation – Focusing on this life, not looking ahead to eternity in the next, enduring persecution by envisioning standing among the faithful in Revelation 7
• Sword of the Spirit – Rather than internalizing the central theme of God’s Word, His love for the unlovable, and paying that forward, we reserve love for those who love us

Without battle gear, few will be relentless in their resolve in the face of enormous pressure to conceal, concede or conform to culture.  Most will retain their beliefs but reserve comments and opinions for discussions with fellow Christians.  Those who have rarely mustered the courage to speak about Jesus before society launched its full-scale offensive against Christianity will be even less inclined going forward.  However, a “remnant” who’ve been boldly evangelizing and discipling for years will be less likely to cower when their livelihood and social status are threatened unless they recant biblical truths.

Importance of Perseverance

Scripture is unambiguous about how Jesus views those who relent under intense heat.  Yes, Peter denied Jesus three times, but many of the disciples still had doubts about His divinity before the resurrection.  We live post resurrection and have no such excuse.  It is impossible to lose salvation, but hiding or renouncing faith calls into question the sincerity of the initial profession.

• “But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 10:33)
• “So I will spit you out of my mouth, because you are only warm…” (Revelation 3:16)
• “I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.” (Hebrews 10:38)
• “The one who stands firm to the end will be saved.” (Matthew 24:13)

Jesus doesn’t interact with a fake self or false pretenses, only with the real person.  He dealt harshly with those pretending to be someone else, and drove away those who came to Him with selfish intent.  Jesus knows who we are and “whose” we are.  He looks beyond our past sin at future potential to know Him.  He doesn’t buy our claims to be “good”, understanding our inherent evil nature.  He sees an immortal soul (spiritual being), not just flesh and blood (human being).

For those who stay true to God at tremendous personal risk, refusing to sway in the breeze of individual and cultural “truth”, Jesus gives assurances that He will not abandon His “sheep among wolves”.  Like all great heroes of faith, the decision to sacrifice the present for the future hinges on trusting and seeking God first by understanding that our citizenship is in heaven.

Foiling the Plan to Eradicate Christianity

The intended objective of branding Christians as irrational zealots against sex positivity, gay marriage, women’s rights, poverty alleviation, drug legalization, racial justice, health care and science is clear.  In this Age of Decadence, only Christianity stands in the way of the inalienable right of Americans to uninhibited exercise of any (legal) desire without conscience or consequence.  Ironically, the Church’s foray into consumerism accelerated the transition from the Ages of Commerce, Affluence and Intellect into this Age of Decadence.  We built buildings instead of disciples, giving society ample grounds to view church as a business and churchgoers as hypocrites because they were treated like “customers”, not adequately challenged or accountable for practicing the principles they espoused.

Since most Christians are not viewed as “real” by the unchurched, it will be interesting to find out soon who the “real” Christians actually are.  You’ll recognize them easily.  They won’t be activists the media likes to associate with Christianity to fuel the perception we’re all radicals – like nationalists, politicos, and protestors.  They won’t be the CEOs (Christmas and Easter Only) or even fairly frequent (cultural) church attenders.  They won’t be the celebrity Christian leaders who profit personally or professionally from their platforms.  When the costs outweigh the benefits, most people within those groups will go radio silent or disassociate from Christianity.

The true believers in America will look like the early apostles and the courageous disciples in nations today where following Christ could cost them their careers, families or lives:

• Oozing Humility – Quiet but not bashful, drawing attention to Jesus, not themselves
• Standing Firm – Uncompromising, knowing scriptural relativism leads to moral relativism
• Loving Enemies – A genuine love that sees in everyone an eternal, possibly lost, soul
• Dying Daily – Not punching a ticket to heaven because salvation may be free but it wasn’t cheap
• Living Forward – Storing up lasting treasures, walking away from temptations to sell out
• Helping the Helpless – Getting hands dirty in compassion, shining a light in dark places

Christians with those characteristics already stand out in a crowd but will be increasingly rare and conspicuous as persecution intensifies on American soil in the coming years.  Efforts to eradicate Christianity always inevitably wind up proliferating it.  Thanks to a faithful few by the power of the Holy Spirit, this time will be no different.

It’s Your Turn

When you’re facing the loss of all you hold dear for the crime of guilt by association with Jesus, what will you do?

Part 3 (of 3)…continued from prior blog post

Maybe it was the pastor’s humility, confessing that Andrew was justified in seeing many Christians as judgmental and hypocritical, that convinced him to meet one last time.  During that conversation about “sin”, Andrew expected to be cornered and guilted, not watch a Christian fall on his sword.  Andrew’s neighbor, Bill, was just excited he was able to broker a third meeting between a pastor and an atheist!  Bill also enjoyed being a fly on the wall learning responses to the standard arguments all atheists raise against Christianity.

The pastor assumed today could be his last opportunity with Andrew, so he had a strategy…

“Thank you for hashing through a tough topic last time we met.  There’s no way around the question of whether sin exists – it’s the fundamental disconnect between the Christian and secular world views.  We’re either accountable for our actions when this life is over or we’re not.”

“Hey, I have a wife, boss and police to keep me in line.”  Andrew’s wry smile quickly disappeared.  “I don’t answer to any imaginary god, and don’t appreciate churches holding the threat of eternal punishment over my head to get me to do what they want.”

“That’s not my intent.  But since you bring it up, are you 100% confident there’s no afterlife?  You’ve asked me to prove there is a God, but can you prove there’s not?  How do you know for sure?  Are you willing to bet the ranch with absolute certainty?  There’s a lot at stake here.”

“All I know is what my eyes see and my mind tells me – proven scientific facts.   Unless you’ve got some way to validate Heaven and Hell, then they’re just figments of your imagination.  Or worse, they’re inventions intended to manipulate uneducated masses.”

“I’m just saying, given the size of your wager maybe it’s worth retracing the roots of your unbelief.  Was your decision that death is the end truly about science alone or is there any chance it stemmed from disappointment with God for not doing or being what you wanted at some point in your life?  Many atheists once presumed God’s existence but faced unmet expectations or just preferred the freedom to live without His constraints.  Motives matter.”

“My family wasn’t religious.  The only time I remember praying, maybe once or twice, was when my mother got sick.  Looking back, it was a silly thing to do – a desperate act by a confused child.  College and business confirmed what I already knew – everything Christians ascribe to God can be explained by natural phenomena and the power of self-determination.”

Bill didn’t know Andrew had lost his mom at such a young age.  “So sorry for your loss – that must have been really difficult.”

“Thanks for sharing such a painful memory, Andrew.”  The pastor decided to open up too.  “I lost my dad at a young age, and in my case, it got me thinking about my own mortality.  It’s part of what led me into ministry, realizing this life is short.  Leading people toward Christ felt like finding out seashells would be the currency next year and trading all my dollars for shells now.  Conducting business in earth’s economy seemed less important than saving in Heaven’s account.  I started living for the line and not the dot, doing now what I’ll be doing then like praising and serving God, rather than what ends when I die like maximizing income, impressing people and worrying.”

“Then you’re not living in reality.  What a waste because this life is all there is.  I’ve heard the saying, ‘if you’re too heavenly minded you’ll be of no earthly good’.  Living a heaven-centered lifestyle when heaven doesn’t exist is like being granted parole but returning to your jail cell.  How can you be effective or relevant in the here and now when you’re always looking ahead?  I live for the moment because it’s fantasy to believe there’s anything outside space and time.”

The pastor briefly revisited a prior argument.  “An external actor, or ‘uncaused first cause’, had to be present outside the space-time continuum before creation – and He won’t disappear when space and time end.  In the meantime, looking forward actually enhances the human experience because Christians willingly sacrifice short-term personal pleasure for the good of others.  Whatever we do provides greater meaning and joy knowing the returns on our investments don’t stop at death.  We have a saying, ‘aim at Heaven and you will get earth thrown in; aim at earth and you will get neither.’”

Andrew was a businessman, but spiritual ROI was a completely foreign concept.  “If you’re wrong about eternity then you’re missing out on so many chances for success and happiness.”

“Actually, if I’m wrong we’re both going to wind up in the same place, six feet under – but quite frankly if you’re wrong, you’ve got a real problem.  Yes, you’re freer to chase what we consider ‘sin’ like greed and lust, but we have forever to enjoy what God provides.  So we don’t need to milk all we can out of this life before we’re worm food.  Atheists need justice now, wealth now, and notoriety now – but we have plenty of time for all that so we leave them up to God.  We seek His approval, not man’s, and don’t demand justice since Christ is the ultimate victim.”

“So you forego the visible for the sake of the invisible.  Can you hear how crazy you sound?”

“Actually, it’s worse than that.  A disciple of Jesus Christ is called to die to self – like the soldier in the foxhole who must reckon himself already dead to muster the courage to fight.  Funny, that reminds me of the old saying that ‘there are no atheists in a foxhole’.  Anyway, according to the Bible, what’s unseen is more important than what’s seen.  Christians give up the temporary for the permanent.  We’re all one accident or diagnosis from death, so we die to worldly impulses sooner than later.  We’re already citizens of Heaven since our seat is reserved, so we have dual citizenship.  We reside in America but are citizens of a Kingdom.  This is not our home or our destination.  Our priority isn’t where we live but where we’re headed.  We receive a new birth certificate when we pledge allegiance to Jesus.  Under His authority we don’t give up freedoms but gain an ability to say no to sin and to know we’re forgiven when we screw up.”

Andrew knew there was another side to the eternity story.  “That’s great for you, but what about the billions who your religion says are bound for Hell?  What kind of God condemns non-believers to eternal torment for a single ‘crime’ – even unbelief?  Do you call that fair?”

“The question isn’t how could a good God send people to Hell.  It’s how could a just God rescue bad people from Hell?  We do so many thousands of things wrong in our lives yet professed atheists and non-Christian faiths tell God that He didn’t need to send His Son to endure torture and crucifixion to pay for their sins.  ‘Thanks, but no thanks!’  Everyone in Hell chose to be separated from Jesus.  Why would we expect to have a relationship with God after our deaths if we didn’t have one with Him during our lives?”

“Then why doesn’t He show up and prove that He’s real rather than hiding Himself from unsuspecting non-believers destined for damnation.”  Andrew’s sarcasm hid his sincerity.  “If He did exist, then He’d be on the hook for causing what I see all around me – pain, death, corruption and disease.”

“How has God revealed Himself to you, Bill?”  The pastor was testing Bill, concerned that a long-time church member didn’t appear to have responses to Andrew’s stock objections to Christianity.

“Personally, there are hundreds of ‘God-incidents’ in my life that were far too miraculous to be chalked up to ‘co-incidence’.  Maybe when you appear before God one day Andrew, you’ll understand all the invitations and evidence you missed on this side of eternity.  Even the hard times my family has gone through points us toward Jesus – we pray more and sense His love during our darkest days.  And knowing our troubles will be over in Heaven gives us strength.”

“Well, I just hear crickets and am not waiting around for a sign from above.  Meanwhile, I have all I need – family, friends, wealth and weekends – and don’t need faith as a crutch.  Plus what I see from Christians is about the same level of judgment and compassion you depict in your God.”

That familiar refrain had always bothered and convicted the pastor.  “Unfortunately, Christians aren’t always a perfect reflection of a flawless God.   Somehow many miss a key fact that you gloss over as well – that each of us is not simply the sum of our physical bodies, words and actions.  We are an eternal soul created in God’s image.  Christians often judge based on outward appearance but that’s just our candy coating – an ‘earth suit’ housing our true identity.  Our bodies can be falling apart but our souls can be in perfect health.  Yet many churches treat members like consumers, focusing on what God gives to them and not what He expects of them.  The message is they can punch a free ticket to Heaven and then live however they’d like, including looking down on non-Christians rather than looking up, seeing each individual’s eternal value in the Lord’s eyes.”

It’s Your Turn

Do you feel the conversations with Andrew at least moved him from staunch Atheism to uncertain Agnosticism?  Is questioning the wisdom of banking eternity on what can’t be proven a solid approach for making headway with professed atheists?  Or is there a better way to break down their resolve, like radically and relationally demonstrating God’s love to them?

Part 2 (of 3)…continued from prior blog post

Andrew’s anti-theistic resolve hadn’t wavered during lunch with Bill and his pastor.  He had no reservations about making good on his promise to meet again, viewing the pastor as a worthy challenger in a battle of wits.  He was armed and ready, with his only uncertainty being why the pastor had chosen, from the entire Bible, the story of the “prodigal son” as his homework assignment.  Bill was more apprehensive, realizing during the first conversation how few answers he had to Andrew’s questions.  Fortunately, given how adeptly his pastor had handled each objection, Bill saw his role as referee in today’s sparring match between two heavyweights.

“Great to see you, Andrew.  Glad I didn’t annoy you too badly when we met last month – at least that’s my assumption since you agreed to get together again today!”  Self-deprecating humor was the pastor’s go-to disarmament tactic.

“I’m a man of my word.  Plus I rarely turn down a free lunch!  Mind if I start with a question?  Why the ‘prodigal son’?  Hope the insinuation isn’t that I ran off and squandered my family’s estate?  Yes, I’ve partied, gambled and had my share of fun but I don’t see any need to apologize to anyone for anything.”

“No, the prodigal son is my story.  It’s Bill’s story.  We’ve made more mistakes and bad decisions in our lives than you could imagine.  We’re in no position to judge because we’re living in glass houses.  The only difference is that we headed home with our tails between our legs, not expecting but receiving forgiveness for all our sins.”  The pastor considered using a different last word in that sentence but knew progress in this conversation hinged on coming to agreement that sin exists.  He had tried earlier in his ministry to reshape the Gospel message to be more palatable to secular ears, but eventually realized there is never “good news” without bad news.

“Call it what you want, but the only ‘sin’ I’m aware of is calling someone else a ‘sinner’.  Atheists like me are more open-minded and less condemning than most Christians I know.  No offense, Bill.  If it were my son in the story, he wouldn’t need my forgiveness for pursuing whatever makes him happy.  I love him so I respect his right to live however he wants.”

“God is our Father and loves us unconditionally as well.  But are there no standards of behavior for your children?  Do they ever break the rules?  Love doesn’t mean that sin doesn’t exist.  Love is not forced acceptance of all beliefs, opinions of actions of another person.  These days, the world says everyone has the power to define right, wrong and ‘love’ as they see fit and anyone who disagrees with them is a ‘hater’.  You accused Christians of hypocrisy and self-righteousness yet defining morality however each person wants gives carte blanche to say, ‘I’m good and anyone who sees the world differently is bad’.  You say Christians are judgmental yet secular culture ‘cancels’ non-conformists, deeming them unfit for decent society.  Dissent suppression is what happens when ‘love’ and ‘evil’ becomes relativistic.  Therefore, I believe we both agree on the existence of sin.  We just differ on what it is and who enforces the punishment.”

Andrew was biting his tongue, fighting the urge to lash out for being labeled “self-righteous” by those he considered most self-righteous – Christians.  He went another route instead.  “But wait a minute, sin is an offense against some higher power, so if there’s no God there’s no sin.  Yes, we have rules in my house for our kids but there are no consequences for breaking laws of a god that doesn’t exist.”

“Actually, it’s the reverse.  Our awareness of sin leads us to seek God.  Jesus is a healer, but if we don’t know we’re sick, we won’t look for a doctor.  Only when we realize we’re incapable of true, undefiled goodness will we awaken to our need for forgiveness.  It’s when we’re finally humble enough to cry out for mercy that we hear His voice when He calls.  Professed atheists demand proof of God yet close their eyes and ears to His presence by ignoring their God-given consciences.  You’re not an atheist because you don’t believe in the Lord – you’re an anti-theist because you choose not to believe in sin.”

Andrew didn’t like being told what he is or isn’t, particularly by a guy who believed in fairy tales.  “Well, I don’t have any guilt or need any salvation.  My job is just to love and make the most of every day.”

“Even when it comes to what we call ‘love’, our motives are impure.  Most interactions with family, colleagues, customers, neighbors and friends are infused with facades and agendas.  Our feelings about them are conditional, based on their behaviors.  Greed messes up partnerships, infidelity breaks up marriages, and pride ruins friendships.  Repentance and forgiveness are the only ways to reconcile those relationships.  Like the prodigal son, our connection with God is broken due to sin but Jesus, the only sinless source of pure love, died to offer the path to reconciliation with our Father.  Andrew, is your life really sinless and your love totally pure?”

As referee for the main event, Bill felt obligated to step in before this conversation actually turned into a prize fight over Andrew’s objections to being accused of “sin”.  “Andrew is a nice guy and a great neighbor.  Are you really saying Pastor that there’s no good in anyone apart from God?”

The pastor was disappointed that a long-time church member like Bill didn’t understand one of the core tenets of his own faith.  He blamed himself for not building discipleship into the fabric of the church’s mission.  “Yes, but it’s the Bible that confirms what each of us already knows deep down – we’re never free from the shackles of ‘sin’ no matter how unselfish we try to be.”

That word “freedom” pushed Andrew’s button, hitting on the aspect of his “religion” he cherished most.  “I’m not a slave to anyone or anything!  I’m free to do whatever I want whenever I want.  I don’t need Jesus to liberate me.  Christians are the ones in chains.”

”So if human nature is free not to sin, why do we have so many courts, police, jails, legislators, lawyers, judges and regulators?  Why are discrimination and favoritism so rampant?  Why does crime skyrocket during natural disasters when law enforcement is nowhere in sight?  We look out for ourselves, take advantage of people, and rarely help those who can’t return the favor.  Societies without restraints don’t head toward utopia but entropy.  Power becomes control, not freedom.  Socialism becomes dependence, not liberty.”

Andrew had a far more optimistic picture of mankind.  “How can you be so negative?  I know what you’re against, but what are you for?  Look at all the world’s advancements, innovations and discoveries.  We’re making tremendous progress but are being held back by arcane religious thinking, trusting in invisible deities rather than tangible, proven scientific facts.”

Bill needed to get back to work soon and had an idea to bring the discussion around toward a conclusion.  “So does this sacred versus secular debate essentially boil down to trusting in humans or in God – either our adequacy or His provision?”

“Well said, Bill.  I became a pastor because I’ve seen the evil men are capable of and I’ve seen the goodness of God.  I don’t claim to have all the answers, nor do I think science ever will, but I’ve found far more hope in the Bible and my relationship with Jesus than the world can offer.”

“I have all I need without using faith as a crutch to avoid understanding truth in the real world.”  Andrew was still playing the same cards he’d held close to the vest in prior conversations with Christians.  “A job, family, education, health and wealth are enough for me.”

“What if you lose your health?  Do you trust medical science to heal you?  Steve Jobs’ wealth couldn’t save him.”  The pastor knew several anti-theists who never questioned their faith in atheism until they faced imminent death.

“Is God going to heal me?  Christians die too.  Am I supposed to turn to churches for answers?  Most churches I’ve seen are run like businesses, accusing the world of sin and asking for money in exchange for forgiveness.”

That accusation hit home with the pastor, who felt led to conclude the conversation with a confession.  “Yes, churches are to blame for leaving you with that impression.  We were the food bank and homeless shelter, but separated evangelism from compassion.  We started the hospitals and schools, but now complain about culture without engaging in it.  We used to transform more lives, but now treat churchgoers more like customers to be retained than disciples to be trained.  We historically confronted sin in the church, but now point fingers at those who can’t be expected to obey laws of a God they don’t acknowledge.  But the sins of church leaders are not God’s fault…”

It’s Your Turn

Is it possible to share the Gospel without talking about sin?  Jesus, Peter, Paul and John the Baptist all came out of the gates preaching repentance, but today the word “sin” is taboo in secular social circles – and even in many churches.  Has our hesitation to hold ourselves accountable for sin inside the church cost us our voice to speak about sin outside the church?

“I invited my neighbor to church yesterday but got the Heisman, again”, Bill said extending his hand like a running back giving a stiff-arm to a would-be tackler.  “Andrew claims to be an atheist but seems interested in spiritual topics.  He brings up those same questions we’ve all heard before – you know, how can a good God send anyone to hell and how can someone who never heard about Jesus be condemned for eternity?  Not sure I’m the best person to give the answers he needs.  You’re certainly more qualified than me, Pastor.  So hope you don’t mind but I volunteered you to grab lunch with us.  To my surprise, Andrew was willing if you are.  But be warned, I think he’s approaching this like that running back and you’re the next defender between him and the endzone.”

Next Sunday, Bill and his pastor met Andrew at a restaurant after church.

“Nice to meet you, Andrew.  I admire you for being willing to get together – many folks these days aren’t open to discussing matters of faith.  I’m curious to hear what you have to say.  Hopefully something I share will be helpful.”  Bill’s cautions prompted the pastor’s preemptive pleasantries, a bit anxious at the prospect of getting into a heated debate in a public setting.

“I may not have a tremendous amount to add to the conversation so at least let me pick up the tab!  I’m just glad to introduce the two of you.”  Bill was excited to watch the tennis match – wondering whether Andrew would hold his ground as the verbal volleys crossed the net.

“With all due respect, pastor, I’m not all that interested in religion per se except for how it has harmed people throughout history – and in our world today.  Not just the wars over different views of God, which really aren’t that different, but the psychological impact of holding sin and superiority over the heads of good people.”  Andrew wasn’t one to mince words.

“Hey, I don’t like religion either – but I do love God.  Religion is man-made but Jesus wasn’t just a man.  You can dig up the bones of the founders of every religion except for Christianity.  Not all faiths are the same.  Only Christians believe God had to come down to us because we couldn’t possibly reach up to Him.  We see His goodness and power in His creation, realize our relative limitations, and know we’ll never be good enough and spiritual enough to force our way into heaven.  I know it’s not a great sales pitch to say we’re sinners in need of a Savior, but there’s a huge gap between God and mankind – which Jesus came to earth to bridge.”  As a pastor, he rarely missed a chance to inject a Gospel presentation when the opportunity arose.

“Seems a little arrogant to say your religion is the only way – and to call people sinners.  You’re making my earlier point – telling me I’m not a good person.  Frankly, it all comes across as an attempt to control and oppress to keep pews and coffers filled.  I work hard to provide for my family, don’t commit crimes, give to charity, and mind my own business – how am I not good?”  Bill couldn’t wait to see how his pastor would handle that grenade.

“Actually, what I think is more arrogant is telling God we didn’t need Jesus to suffer and die for us – that we had it covered, rejecting the most expensive gift ever given.  The fact is, if we all care to admit it, is that we can’t even trust our own motives.  People hardly ever act out of genuine concern for the welfare of others.  Besides, who hasn’t lied, cheated or stolen something?  Where is the line drawn on ‘good’?”

“What’s wrong with looking out for myself, even if that involves cutting a corner every once in a while?  If it doesn’t hurt anyone, why should I worry about a cosmic scoreboard kept by an imaginary god?  That’s the thing about Christians, always heaping guilt on unsuspecting, otherwise happy people.”  Andrew was digging in his heels, confident in his long-held positions.

“I assure you Jesus isn’t about keeping score but giving people a chance to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat in a game they could never win.  Hoping your good outweighs the bad is the opposite of Christianity.  Picture a courtroom where the judge has to do his job, but in this case it’s his son who’s facing the death penalty.  So the judge steps down, takes off his robe, asks to be handcuffed, and accepts the penalty you and I should have paid.  That’s Christianity.”

“Well, I don’t buy any of it.  I’m fine the way I am and know when this life is over, it’s over.  But in the meantime, I’m enjoying every day to the fullest.  Of course, that’s not always easy when this God you say is good allows natural disasters, mass murders, and children to be born with birth defects.”

“If you’re asking, ‘how can a good God let bad things happen to good people?’, first of all like I said no one is truly good.  Second, most problems are caused by mankind, not God, but despite that the Lord can use bad for good.  Imagine if no one had any issues – would there be any need for compassion or charity?”

“Well, if you watch the news and read social media it seems Christians are the ones causing many of the problems these days.  How do you reconcile the hypocrisy of all the church scandals with judging homosexuals for getting married and women for doing what they want with their own bodies?”  Andrew clearly had an axe to grind, possibly explaining why he agreed to meet.

“What are your thoughts, Bill?”  As a pastor whose vision was to make disciples, he was disappointed that a long-time member like Bill apparently was not prepared to respond to these meat-and-potatoes objections to Christianity.

“Thanks a lot, passing that one to me!”  Bill was stalling, buying time to think.  “I’ve always heard, ‘love the sinner and hate the sin’.”

“True, but I doubt our friend here sees gay marriage or abortion as sinful.  You mentioned pastors who fall from grace – it happens too often but don’t blame God for man’s mistakes.  When imperfect people are held to perfect ideals, any failure says more about the person than it does about Jesus – who’s still worth pursuing.  As for what we do with our bodies, your assumption is that you own yours.  However, if God created us, then we’re His property.  Bill is right that no one is passing judgment.  But the Lord intentionally designed the anatomies of men and women to be complimentary and orchestrated the miraculous conception and development of infants in the womb (who also belong to Him) for a reason.”

Andrew sat up and leaned forward, having just heard what he needed to launch his primary weapon.  “What’s miraculous about a baby being born?  Science and evolution accounts for everything that Christians default to belief in a God to try to explain.  If they understood the complex processes that give and sustain life, then proven facts would supplant blind faith.”

Ironically, the pastor saw atheism as a religion, defaulting to belief in science to account for what only God could have done.  “So are you saying something came from nothing and order from disorder?  Even the world’s leading scientists can’t create matter without matter.  In the beginning, something outside space and time – an uncaused first cause – had to introduce substance into what was entirely void.  And entropy should have resulted in chaos, but God’s design brought order to solar systems and ecosystems.”

“Why do Christians always fall back on that crutch as an excuse to stick their heads in the sand rather than learning and trusting in science?”

Bill started losing hope, anticipating an impasse.

“We value science but see discoveries as uncovering God’s design.  There are still so many mysteries and failed experiments because our brains are finite.  Yet despite those limitations, some people think whatever they can’t see or wrap their minds around cannot exist.  We can’t dismiss God and miracles just because they don’t fit into our mental file cabinets.  With so much scientists still don’t know, how can you bet your life on science?  Christians bet on God’s omniscience because we can’t know everything, and therefore are ok believing some things exist that aren’t visible.”  The pastor appeared to be transitioning from defense to offense.

“’See it to believe it’ seems more rational.  In my mind, the burden of proof lies with Christians.  We have the facts on our side.  The evidence speaks for evolution, not for any God or gods.”

As a pastor, he tried to avoid the hint of sarcasm inherent in his reply.  “Applying reason, facts and evidence to prove anything is presumptuous if there is no God.  Authentic atheism, carried to its logical extreme, contends that there is no logic.  If our brains were formed by accident without planning, then our thoughts are random and our conclusions untrustworthy.  But more to your point, I’m not sure we need more proof of who Jesus was than His 12 disciples who went from cowering in fear at his death to shouting His praise in the streets (at the risk of being killed) after his resurrection.”

Unfamiliar with the reference, Andrew shifted to another patented argument.  “I don’t know much about stories like that, but the Bible is a fairy tale with tons of errors written by a bunch of men over hundreds of years.  So it’s not reliable – and yet Christians do whatever it says.”

The pastor wondered to himself how few Americans have any scriptural foundation in this post-Christian society.  “It doesn’t sound like you’ve studied the Bible, and yet you accuse Christians of not doing their homework on your positions.  The Bible is the most scrutinized book in history with skeptics trying to punch holes in it for thousands of years, but none have succeeded.”

Bill needed to get back to work and had an idea.  “Pastor, would you be willing to read a book Andrew recommends about the science behind earth’s origins?  I’ll agree to read it too.  And Andrew, would you mind reading a few chapters in the Bible that he recommends?  Maybe we could meet again to discuss what we’ve all learned.”

It’s Your Turn

Why haven’t churches trained members to respond to the same objections “atheists” always raise?  As the ground in America becomes less fertile soil for the Gospel – with fewer biblically literate and more “anti-theists” (i.e. professed atheists) – can pastors remain the only ones with solid answers?

Professed atheists don’t believe in Christianity – or that God even exists.  Well, I don’t believe in Atheism – or that an atheist even exists.  It requires more cognitive dissonance than I think anyone can authentically muster.  It takes far more faith to believe in nothing than something since something cannot come from nothing.  When a scientist manages to create even a speck of dust or maybe a bush out of thin air, it will be credible that a genuine atheist walks the earth.  When a 15 megapixel camera constructs itself, whereas the human eye is 576 megapixels, then maybe someone can reasonably deny a Creator.  When we discover that a classic novel wrote itself and the letters formed themselves into beautiful prose, like the miles of DNA strands that miraculously form each individual’s unique physiological signature, then Atheism has a leg to stand on.

Constructing the illusion that there is no God takes a tremendous amount of hard work.  It’s not easy to convince yourself that you hold a belief that, in the core of your being, you actually don’t.  The empirical and experiential evidence for God is too overwhelming – in the complexity and synchronicity of creation, the birth of a baby, the heat from the sun, feelings of love, multi-layered immune systems…and our very existence.  More importantly, just as almost everyone knows who their parents are, deep down we all know who our heavenly Father is.  Our Father instilled in us a spiritual and moral compass that points directly back to Himself.  The innate, undeniable connection we have with a parent persists even more strongly with the Lord.

The only question is the level of denial, distraction, pursuits and reeducation required to disavow our Father and designate as a spiritual orphan.  It took a two-decade coordinated campaign by politicians, media and Hollywood to sell the delusion fueling America’s demise – the untenable belief that humans are inherently good, ironically defying all we see in politics, TV and movies.  Not coincidentally, buying the lie that human nature is good in combination with pretending there is no God means we can be entrusted with unbridled autonomy to determine “truth”.  The term “atheist” is therefore also a misnomer for “Nones” (claiming no religion) and the now “enlightened” (claiming ownership of truth) because they do worship a supreme being – Self.

Why People Reject Jesus

Human nature’s desire to sin without conscience or consequence is what causes avowed atheists to cling to the impossible and to dismiss the undeniable.  When logic, observation and subconscious fail to prevail, we inevitably realize that only the spiritual can break through the spiritual.  The battle against sinful human nature is a supernatural one, won only by the power and intervention of the Holy Spirit.

Nothing in this world will sway someone resolutely determined to live without any externally imposed constraints.  Only Jesus can inject the eternal to interrupt the ultimate objective of those firmly entrenched in the temporal – the pursuit of happiness.  The great awakening for the spiritually dead is often a realization that the world can never offer what it never had – joy, peace and contentment.  We can only pray that after living their “truth”, consuming their fill or enduring enough hardship they discover before it’s too late that meaning and fulfillment are not found on this planet without Christ.  Unfortunately, instead of resignation and reform many so-called atheists turn to medication and materialism to blunt the trauma of traveling a road to nowhere.

Secular leaders stand to gain by keeping citizens, constituents and customers from Christianity.  There is a choreographed agenda driving the concurrent movements to foster the delusion of mankind’s goodness and the illusion that there is no God.  Governments have difficulty controlling those who abide by a different set of laws.  Companies find it challenging to sell products when buyers are not self-centered and greedy.  Universities cannot indoctrinate minds in their worldly philosophies if students subscribe to a faith that contradicts their “facts”.  Media has trouble generating ad revenue when potential viewers resist human nature and refuse to watch news and shows filled with sex and violence.  As we have already seen in most other nations, those influencers are conspiring today in America to discredit Christianity and applaud “atheists” for the purpose of maximizing power and profits through the following progression…

1. Pursuing Happiness – The process begins innocently enough, at least so it seems, by championing equality, justice and unity for all
2. Redirecting Faith – Rescue the oppressed, print dollars and heal diseases, positioning leaders as savior to make people forget they once cried out to God for help
3. Garnering Trust – Portray all who came before as evil, revising history to label Christians as oppressors and secular society as now free from the shackles of religion
4. Establishing Control – Human nature always betrays (undeserved) trust in human nature, but by the time an unsuspecting nation knows it has been deceived, it’s too late and the liberties promised in a post-Christian society are quickly reversed

So the powerful and prosperous do what they can to eradicate Christian faith and values, despite all the experiences and observations (of God’s handiwork) to the contrary.  Yet because God does exist, the arguments against Christianity and excuses for not believing are trite and fragile.  Those uneducated in science bet their lives on it.  Those pointing to hypocrisy in the church fully grasp their own.  Those who say they’ve tried church and it wasn’t for them blame God for man’s faults.  Those refusing to acknowledge the need for a Savior do their best to shut off their God-given consciences to hide their guilt and shame.  Those unable to wrap their finite minds around the invisible cannot prove God does not exist but require Christians to prove that He does.  Those who cannot conceive of a God who would let bad things happen to good people mistakenly see themselves as good.  Those viewing religion as a matter of personal preference forget that man cannot turn God into something He is not.

God is who God is.  Conforming Him to our image does not actually alter Him.  Nor does any degree of disbelief make God cease to be.  Denying Him does not disintegrate Him.  Ignoring Him won’t make Him ignore us.  Christianity is unique in that we have seen God.  We know exactly who the Lord is.  Jesus came to dispel any misconceptions and expose the fatal flaw in every other religion – the aspiration to ascend up to God through good works or “inner divinity” when God had to descend down to save helpless and fallen humanity.

Despite efforts to discredit Christianity, there is a desire to know God lurking below the surface of all “atheists”.  For example, many regularly attend “church” on this blog’s Facebook page, commenting passionately on topics they profess to care nothing about.  The anger apparent in their tone conveys a past, profound disappointment with something God either did or did not do for them.  Now they feel compelled to restate their patented arguments to confirm their tenuous, unfounded convictions – uncertain of their veracity yet likely certain of the severe consequences of being wrong.

How Should Christians Respond?

Armed with the knowledge that there are no atheists, what should churches and Christians do differently to reach “Nones”?  Understanding the real “lay of the land” should close the gap in our minds between “us” and “them” – and prompt us to action!  All nonbelievers stand on the verge of belief – their misplaced confidence in strawman excuses and concerted efforts to silence God’s promptings leave their resolve hanging by a thread.  They are far more receptive on the inside than they appear to be on the outside.  Many will abandon the vagaries of relativism in favor of absolute truth if Christians abandon ineffective evangelism in favor of Jesus’ methods…

1. Be Different, Not Distant – Reopen lines of communication through humble confession and accountability, preemptively dismantling the superiority complexes maintained by many Christians and supposed “atheists”
2. Be Caring, Not Critical – Through extraordinary acts of kindness and fighting on the front lines for justice, debunk secular characterizations of Christians as “oppressors”
3. Be Bold, Not Bashful – “Atheists” are more willing to listen and engage in discussion with Christians than some may think, more aware of their sin than they care to admit
4. Be Opportunistic, Not Oblivious – Don’t miss chances to fan the flames of doubt that creep in when “atheists” observe creation, wrestle with their conscience, and face mortality
5. Be Exponential, Not Expedient – Replace attractional church services with disciple-making, conceding that efforts to appeal to “atheists” alienated them, providing fodder to mock Christians rather than equipping believers to go out to those who would never step into a sanctuary
6. Be Patient, Not Panicked – Persist in prayer, care and share because the hopelessness of being a cosmic accident with no purpose may eventually open the door to the Gospel
7. Be Faithful, Not Flustered – Relax and know the outcome of dropping seeds on hard ground do not depend on us; only God can cause them to grow if that’s His will

With America in its penultimate stage, if the rise and fall of historical superpowers is any guide, then society will continue to turn away from God and toward decadence, dependence and division.  The good news is there is hope because no matter what anyone says, there’s no such thing as an atheist.

It’s Your Turn

Do you agree that in the inner recesses of our beings and in observing the outer world around us, it is impossible for an individual made in the image of God to truly believe He does not exist?

Christians may not be better, but must be different.  Everyone at birth is made in the image of God, but only Christians are reborn as a child of God.  Everyone shares the same human nature, but only Christians understand that it is inherently evil.  Everyone is sinful, but only Christians take on a new nature that cannot sin.  What do we do with those advantages?  Many hide them by trying to fit in or flaunt them by pointing fingers.  Either way, looking like the world or living in opposition to it results in having little impact on it.  Either society won’t recognize who Christians are or, when they do, won’t like what they see.

Is there some middle ground?  Can we maintain our differences but not our distances?  Is it possible to be authentic and attractive at the same time?  Can we help people identify with us without compromising our identity in Christ?  Otherwise, non-believers will find their identity where they have today – in themselves.  Can we separate from sin but not necessarily from “sinners” since we are all in that same boat?  Otherwise, the relational gap will widen as society and Christians compare and judge one another from afar – both claiming moral superiority.

Someone has to take the first step toward reconciliation – and fast.  Time is running out as our culture sprints away from the Lord and toward government dependency, religious persecution, educational indoctrination, and moral depravity.  Don’t expect secularism and Selfism to extend the olive branch.  Christians and churches will have to take the initiative to build that bridge.  Scripture provides a blueprint for bridge-building leveraging the greatest advantage we enjoy as believers – the Holy Spirit.  The fruits of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control – are that “middle ground”, being in the world but not of the world.  Each of those fruits stand in stark contrast to the fruits of America’s decadence, yet they engage society with humility, not condemnation…

• Love admits we’re not “better” while pretense requires seeing everyone as perfect just as they are
• Joy persists in crisis while panic rocks a nation with no foundation
• Peace looks for common ground but doesn’t acquiesce to moral or scriptural relativism
• Patience endures persecution by those programmed to respond to the slightest offense with victimhood or cancellation
• Kindness in the face of animosity exposes the futility of a self-centered existence
• Goodness lets God’s light shine through us to bring glory to Him, not ourselves
• Faithfulness clings to a higher truth when today’s fragile identity bubbles begin to pop
• Gentleness is authentic, admitting faults but not mistaking meekness for weakness
• Self-Control shows restraint, daring to say “no” when everyone else is screaming “yes”

Practicing these principles is the key to regaining our voice in a nation rejecting Christianity over its purported claim to moral superiority.  A newly enlightened generation is being taught revisionist history where Christians are by definition oppressors and truth can only come from the oppressed, obviating the Gospel message.  How can atheists and agnostics be convinced they need a Savior when they are conditioned to believe any reference to sin is just another attempt to manipulate and control?  Social media is selectively silencing Christians because we’re the only ones talking about sin, yet while not living out the fruits of the Spirit, choosing instead to perch on one of the opposite extremes of the association/disassociation spectrum.

Different, Not Distant

Jesus empowered His Church to gather, equip and deploy Christ-followers into their neighborhoods, communities, workplaces and foreign mission fields.  Pastors have been appointed by God to lead their flocks to the sweet spot between those two extremes – the optimal point where Christians attract despite their differences rather than conforming to minimize those differences or alienating by keeping their distances.

Jesus struck that balance perfectly, providing a model for today’s churches and Christians to follow to bear fruit even when the soil seems so infertile.  But reverting to Jesus’ model for penetrating a highly resistant culture would be a radical departure from the prevailing methods in America for planting, growing and running churches.  In fact, it was those methods that drove churchgoers to the outer edges of the continuum in the first place – either too casual (seeker-friendly) to add any truth to their grace or too cocky (legalistic) to add any grace to their truth.  The lessons of the past year, when pastors realized they hadn’t prepared members well to personify “church” when the fields were ripe but the building’s doors were closed, should convince them to seek a new normal post-pandemic that “connects” without compromise…

1. End Scriptural Relativism
   • No longer bypassing verses considered too controversial or demanding for worldly “consumers” (e.g. accountability, sanctification, and the costs of discipleship)
   • Addressing passages that may not support the church’s particular (and polarizing) political or social stance
   • Not skipping stories that don’t fit their compartmentalized view of who God is because His character comprises more than just mercy or justice
2. Embrace Vulnerability
   • Stop keeping up appearances, which stems from Scriptural Relativism, focusing on God’s promises and blessings but ignoring His demands for authenticity and humility
   • Confessing our weaknesses, which defies every fiber of our sinful human nature but is the only way to be transparent about God’s grace and everyone’s need for Jesus
   • Distributing evangelism and discipleship responsibilities to lower unreasonable expectations and standards levied on pastors, who suffer from performance anxiety and burn-out (from doing our “jobs”)
3. Enforce Accountability
   • Applying a higher moral standard to churchgoers, leveraging the Matthew 18 process, than to those who understandably disobey God’s laws because they don’t recognize the authority of the Lawgiver
   • Showing society that churches are serious about confronting and not concealing wrongdoing so that hypocrisy won’t be a leading excuse for dismissing our faith
   • Looking inward will make Christians more reluctant to point outward, appearing less self-righteous so people can see God’s goodness
4. Empower Disciples
   • Cultivating our new nature in Christ means reflecting the characteristics of Jesus like humility, servanthood, compassion, and associating with “sinners”
   • Rethinking Church as We Know It (CAWKI) because choreographed services, weekly sermons, and occasional small groups don’t provide sufficient understanding or conviction to imitate Jesus at all cost
   • Striking a balance between being countercultural yet impacting culture, which entails dying to self so we don’t think or act like the world, yet don’t affront by putting up a veil of perfection
5. Engage Lovingly
   • Demonstrating true, unconditional love to a society that has redefined “love” to mean worship of self, tolerance for sin, and acting on sexual impulses
   • Rejecting church growth models and recasting the role of churches in society around Jesus’ priorities – discipleship, compassion and evangelism – in that order
   • Earning the right to speak frankly through relational acts of humble service all year long, not occasional outreach events that perpetuate poverty and breed cynicism about a church’s intentions (#ReimagineCompassion)

If church reform and revival do not occur we will watch the Age of Decadence transition into the final stage of America’s history.  Continuing to conform to society or waging war against it will hasten America’s sunset.  Being different but not distant is critical if we are going to present an alternative to the hopeless road of secular humanism.  We’ll knock down walls, disarm a public ready to pounce, and make Jesus seem more accessible if we proactively admit we aren’t “better”, just forgiven.  But at the same time we must aggressively pursue sanctification to bear the fruits of the Spirit, otherwise we’ll be indistinguishable and conceal the road less traveled.

It’s Your Turn

Do you know a church or Christian who straddles the fine lines between love with accountability, truth with grace, evangelism with authenticity, conviction without self-righteousness, humility without weakness, and generosity without dependency?