Thousands gathered at First Baptist Dallas and more than 24,000 tuned into the church’s iCampus today as Pastor Robert Jeffress addressed the spiritual and moral unraveling of our nation and how Christians should respond.
Joining Dr. Jeffress was renowned Fox News host Sean Hannity, who was interviewed by Jeffress about his upcoming movie, Let There Be Light, and how he became “a sinner saved by grace.” In words of appreciation for Hannity’s testimony, Dr. Jeffress noted, “People want to know if Catholics are going to be in heaven or Baptists are going to be in heaven. Nobody goes to heaven in a group—it’s one by one, based on our relationship with Christ.”
Dr. Jeffress noted that America was at a crossroads: “Unless there is some great spiritual revival, America’s collapse is inevitable.” The sequence that occurs in the demolition of a building is the same for nations: explosion, delay as the weakened structure buckles and then sudden collapse. “Over the last 50 years, there have been three explosive decisions by the United States Supreme Court that have so weakened the spiritual and moral infrastructure of our country that our collapse is inevitable. The explosions have already happened; the implosion is coming. We’re living in that period of delay,” said Jeffress.
Those three disastrous decisions were Engle v. Vitale, the first of a series of decisions banning religion from the public square; Roe v. Wade, which allowed the butchering of over 60 million babies in the womb; and Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage and in so doing cheapened marriage and made it irrelevant to many Americans. As Jeffress summarized, “No nation can survive that outlaws the mention of God in the public square, celebrates the killing of its own children and destroys the most basic unit of society, the family.”
In this moment of peril for America, Dr. Jeffress called Christians to commit to being salt and light in America.
Salt is a preservative that delays decay. For Christians, this means engaging in the political process. “God created government for the very purpose of restraining evil. It is one of only three institutions created by God along with marriage and the church. That makes it holy,” Jeffress explained. “Every time we walk into the voting booth, we are casting a vote for righteousness or a vote for unrighteousness. And when we stay at home, we are saying, ‘I don’t give a you-know-what about our country,'” Jeffress emphasized.
The reason Christians need to be salt in our society is so we can be light and share the gospel of Jesus Christ. “The only way to change the direction of America is by changing the hearts of Americans,” Jeffress observed. Calling Christians to a renewed emphasis on personal evangelism, Jeffress quoted the words of his predecessor, Dr. WA Criswell, who 35 years ago observed what was and is needed in America, “The nation cannot turn to God if I do not turn to God. The nation cannot repent if I do not repent. God doesn’t win nations or companies or crowds or throngs; He wins souls—one by one. And the only way we can lift our nation Godward is if I am moved Godward.” {eoa}
Dr. Robert Jeffress is a best-selling author of 24 books, a nationally and internationally syndicated TV and radio host and the senior pastor of First Baptist Church Dallas, one of the largest and most influential churches in America.
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