In the October 7, 2018 edition of the Christian Post,
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President, Albert Mohler was quoted as
saying, "Among the many challenges the church will face in the present and
coming generations, few will equal the challenge of maintaining a steadfast
commitment to biblical Christianity in the midst of an increasingly hostile
environment.”
I am convinced that a large percentage of America is rapidly
moving from a post-Christian to an anti-Christian society, in which an
increasing number of people are openly antagonistic and even hostile to
Christianity. In this new anti-Christian atmosphere there seems to be a growing
movement even by “Evangelical” churches to “fit in.” The Bible is increasingly
being re-interpreted (twisted) to be more culture-friendly. Teaching on sin,
repentance and faith is being replaced by the “gospel” of health, wealth and
prosperity. Old sins like dishonesty and immorality are being replaced by new
sins like not being environmentally friendly or being intolerant of society’s
new norms.
This desire to fit in is especially dangerous since it is coming
from those who profess to be Christians! We need to remember the warning in
James 4:4 that “anyone who chooses to be a friend
of the world becomes an enemy of God.” But some Christians have argued
that if we were just more loving and tolerant, we wouldn’t be so hated by the
world. Jesus, on the other hand, taught, “If the world
hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its
own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out
of the world. That is why the world hates you (John
15:18-19).
The “challenge of maintaining a
steadfast commitment to biblical Christianity in the midst of an increasingly
hostile environment” must be met with a continued commitment to the Bible as
our final authority in faith and practice, an unwavering commitment to solid
biblical teaching and preaching, and an absolute commitment to the Jesus, not
some Jesus imagined in our own image, but the Jesus proclaimed by the Bible.
