Dave’s Monday Blast – September 19, 2022

Civility is vital to a healthy society and an attribute that should especially be evident among Christians. Unfortunately, there is a growing tide of secularists who consider “religion” not just outdated and irrelevant but dangerous to society. During endless hearings on the so-called Respect for Marriage Act HR 8404, for example, some senators compared those opposing the Act on Religious grounds to the Ku Klux Klan’s burning crosses and the Confederacy’s biblical justifications for slavery. If you have not studied this horrendous piece of legislation you need to educate yourself.

Secularists, progressives, globalists, and agnostics (nothing is new under the sun) understand that a culture war means discrediting their opponents and weakening or destroying their institutions by any and all means. They see civility and decency as secondary values. Their approach to the culture war is clearly winning hearts and minds: a majority of second-year college students in a recent survey said they would not date someone who supported a different presidential candidate then they did in 2020. Almost half said they would not room with someone who voted differently; nearly two-thirds said would not marry someone who backed a different political candidate two years ago. Politics aside, these same secular culture warriors are even more militant about the conversations concerning sexuality, gender identity, bodily autonomy, and the beginnings of life and its value.

Cultural issues are at the heart of the culture wars we are engaged in. The Denison Forum comments: “In a democracy, (of course America is a Constitutional Republic – which is different) these cultural issues are more binary and more divisive than ever before in my lifetime. Is abortion the death of a child, or is it the healthcare right of a woman? However, abortion and same-sex marriage were settled by unelected Supreme Court justices, then the former was overturned by unelected Supreme Court justices. In addition, many see those on the other side as deeply immoral and thus undeserving of representation by the media and the protection of our governance. Secular commercial media amplifies our differences for audience share; social media amplifies them through personal megaphones. We curate our news into echo chambers that reinforce our biases. Our mobile society and workforce allow us to live and work with those who share our opinions while avoiding those who do not.”

It seems that the game is stacked against us and we CAN NOT WIN! How do we engage in this war when we simply cannot battle as they battle? INTENTIONAL men of God know what others don’t! We know what makes us different and the Lord teaches us how to battle.

Here’s what we know that secularists don’t; here’s how we battle as people of God:

1. We are each made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27), so we should treat every person we encounter with dignity and respect…not as our opponents.
2. We are all fallen (Romans 3:23), so we should treat each other with humility and grace…not as our enemies.
3. Jesus loves each of us unconditionally (Romans 5:8), and commands that we do the same (Matthew 22:39). Only by responding to hate and lies with love and truth can we replace the cycle of retribution with the gift of grace.

Each of these battle plan strategies are vital for empowering Biblical Christians to engage in the cultural wars with those who fervently disagree with us on so many issues, with our witness intact. We know that the path to moral transformation lies not through politics or human governance but through the work of God’s Spirit.

We must embrace these truths about those with whom we disagree:

1. Because they are deceived by the true enemy, lost people act like lost people (2 Corinthians 4:4). Before we experienced the saving grace of Christ, so did we (Ephesians 4:7).
2. God can change anyone, including our cultural opponents. When we speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15), the Holy Spirit convicts of sin (John 16:8) and transforms lives (2 Corinthians 5:17). This is His job!
3. Eternity is what matters most (Revelation 21:1), so winning souls is more important than winning arguments (Matthew 28:19; 1 Peter 3:15 – 16).

Remember that we are to be the salt and light in a decaying and ever-darkening culture.