Letter to the Church: May 2023
May 24, 2023
Jane and I were talking out on our back deck this morning about some of the recent things that have taken place in our culture that are so shocking and immoral that it literally takes our breath away. Major corporations and retailers that in the past have been family-friendly household names are now unashamedly taking a position in the culture wars on the side of an ideology that is destructive and demonic. One such retailer just recently collaborated with a designer for Pride Month who is openly championing satanism.
“He (satan) is merely used as a symbol of passion, pride and liberty. He means to you what you need him to mean. So, for me, satan is hope, compassion, equality and love.”[1]
Does this shock you like it shocks me? Lest you think this is a one-off, consider that Sam Smith performed at the Grammy’s dressed as the devil, showcasing a satanic ritual for a song named Unholy.
How did this happen in America? Why is it that paganism and sexual immorality are no longer hidden in our culture that once took pride in our Judeo-Christian heritage and foundation? How can a first-world, sophisticated, educated nation like America fall into this abyss?
I believe the answer comes down to understanding one word: nature.
Years ago, there was a movie starring Will Smith called I Am Legend. Set in a time when the majority of the population in America had been wiped out by a virus, Will Smith’s character is living in a New York City where nature has reclaimed the once vibrant and ordered city – grassy fields where there used to be sky-scrapers. Wild animals roaming and the elements undoing all that man had erected – all within a few short years.
Even though the movie is a fictional dystopian dream, it does paint a picture of how fragile human society and order really are. We live under some illusion that we have conquered nature and its forces affected by the fall. It only takes one wrong move for all of our modern conveniences and energies to disappear and to see nature mercilessly reclaim its place.
This is not only true of the natural surroundings, but it is even more true of human nature. We can be fooled into thinking that human beings are, by nature, good people. Progressive ideology has tried to convince us for the last 150 years that education would lead to cultural and moral progress and a utopian future for humanity. Now we have more education, wealth, knowledge, and resources than any other generation, and yet, we have more violence, hatred, immorality, and idolatry than ever before.
Is the problem internal or external? I believe the Bible gives us the answer to what we are seeing right before our eyes:
“And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.”
Romans 1:29-32 NKJV
The truth is that human beings are infected with a terminal disease called sin. Sin is not just our actions, since the original rebellion by our ancestors Adam and Eve, it is now our nature. This disease of the heart always resists God and wants what it wants. Hidden in the human heart is a natural law – an awareness of a higher law than us that produces a conviction within our consciences. We either submit to it, or we suppress it and fight against it.
When cultures like America acknowledge a Creator and form a society around the Judeo- Christian worldview, it serves as a restraining force against the full effects of fallen, sinful human beings.
That is not to say that America has ever been a “Christian nation” or that even a majority of our population has ever been committed Christians. Still, it is undisputed that our laws and values were shaped by God’s word and Law. When we reject God’s Law and begin to celebrate the idols of our hearts, we begin to express the contagion of sin just as the above scripture predicted.
What happens when a society rejects God? Romans 1:21 says, “because although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” The word “futile” is the Greek word Mataioo and means “to make empty, vain, foolish, useless and confused.” This is what is happening in our culture at a breakneck speed!
How should we respond as the Church of Jesus Christ? We must be honest about what is happening and then decide to live as Jesus called us to live amid a decaying and decadent world.
You see, as children of God, we not only have a new nature from God, but a mandate to be salt and light (Matthew 5:13-16). Salt is a preservative that keeps whatever it is placed within from decaying or rotting. Light dispels darkness wherever it is present. Darkness can only dominate spaces that light refuses to enter. This is who Jesus has called us to be in Philippians 2:15-16, where it says, “that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life….”
We must hold two things in constant tension in this urgent hour: See this fallen world for what it is and understand the spiritual battle that is waging all around us, choosing allegiance to Jesus despite the cost that comes with that. Hold the line. And also remember that we are also ambassadors of Jesus to a lost and dying, decaying world.
The gospel of Jesus Christ is still Good News! Jesus came to save the sin-sick and still delivers and heals those who turn their hearts in humility to Him. Jesus can STILL transform people’s lives from death to life.
While we hear the anger, let us be motivated by God’s love. When we see violence, may we be healers of the broken. When we see satan glorified, let us reject the idolatry of our day and glorify God in the way we live.
This is a time to arise and shine and contend for the faith once and for all delivered unto the saints!
Take a stand for Jesus and remember greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.
Don’t lose hope and don’t surrender to the spirit of this age.
Stay in God’s word, be filled constantly with the Holy Spirit, and keep your heart in the love of God.
This is not wargames; this is the real thing.
It’s time to play for keeps and draw a line in the sand.
We will not bend, and we will not bow to the idols that our culture builds and promotes.
We belong to Jesus!
Free from sin, set apart for His glory, and carriers of the only antidote to the disease of sin and death: the Gospel of Jesus Christ!
Pastor Lee Cummings
[1] Anthony, Abigail. National Review. Target Partners with Satanist Brand to Create items for “Pride” Collection. May 22, 2023.
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