The church knows a lot of words. We know, “Jesus loves you.” We know, “Jesus died for you.’ We know, “It doesn’t matter what you’ve done.” We also know, “No one is too far gone.”
But in our abundance of focus on the love of God, is the world chasing after the passions of the devil?
Three words seem to be missing from our vocabulary, and these three words could save the world.
Those three words are “Don’t do that.”
We’ve left “Don’t do that” out of our theology and our sermons. We focus on how much God loves us and how if we were the only one on the earth, Christ would have died for us. We also focus on how God won’t leave us or forsake us and how He is working all things together for our good.
All these things are true.
But are they what we need to hear right now?
Growing up in America, I saw the definition of marriage change. Slowly, incrementally and decisively, the understanding of what type of person could marry changed from only a man and a woman to any two consenting adults, regardless of gender.
The church fought for the sanctity of marriage, but we failed to protect the institution in the end. Currently 70% of Americans believe in the legitimacy of same-sex marriage, and many Christians (pastors or otherwise) are afraid to speak against gay marriage and homosexuality for the fear of not being “loving.”
Unfortunately, we are way past trying to define the biblical definition of marriage. Today, it is not even agreed upon that a biological male is a man, and a biological female is a woman. New Zealand will have a biological man who identifies as a woman representing the country in Women’s Weightlifting for the 2021 Summer Olympics.
What used to be considered mental illness is now being marketed to the masses as “transgender”. This is no longer reserved for back alleyways and shady nightclubs. Both Nickelodeon and Disney+ have scheduled and aired their own “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer” Parade targeting children. Disney’s event will be hosted by a man dressed in women’s clothing who identifies as a woman.
We have been preaching that Jesus loves people where they are, and no matter what they’ve done and where they’ve come from, He will accept them. We’ve preached about the reckless love of God and how we don’t have to be slaves to fear. We tell the masses Jesus will walk them through the storms, and He loves them right where they are.
In all our affirmations of the love of God, have we become afraid of saying, “Don’t do that”?
The Church Must Find Its Moral Backbone
Language is changing faster than we realize. We don’t want to be labeled bigots or be accused of being unloving, so often, the Christian community says nothing, and Disney disciples our children into sexual perversion while parents look on in a self-imposed silence.
Sexually perverse people are targeting our children, and soon they will make a push to normalize pedophilia. Watch for the word to be replaced with something much “nicer” like “Minor Attracted Persons” (or “MAPs”). This agenda will go mainstream.
Will we tell pedophiles about the love of God while they abuse children? Will we have the courage to call them out and say the words, “Don’t do that” while at the same time preaching that “the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly desires, we should live soberly, righteously, and in godliness in this present world” (Titus 2:11-12)?
The world needs believers to hold the line with morality. We need to tell them of the love of God. But if we neglect saying these simple words, we are condemning them to an existence of hell on earth, and none of us is prepared for how dark the world around us will quickly become.
If we regain our strength, commit to hold the line regarding right and wrong, and boldly stand and tell people to stop doing what is abhorrent, we could see things change.
“Don’t do that” could save the world—if it comes from the mouth of Christians like you and me.
It’s time to reacquaint ourselves with those words as quickly as possible.
The future of the world depends on it. {eoa}
Jeff Struss is director of content development for Charisma Media. He hosts Charisma News podcasts and videos.
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