Recently, I was sitting with a friend in a coffee shop discussing the terrible chaos that is currently overwhelming our nation. About 45 minutes into our conversation, a woman got up from a nearby table. As she passed by she said, “You should read Matthew 7:1.” This woman’s demeanor and tone suggested that she was displeased with our conversation and I suspected that the verse she referenced had to do with being judgmental; I was right.
Many Christians go out of their way to avoid the hostility that my friend and I experienced. The fear of being labeled as a bigot or racist or intolerant is the reason people of faith remain silent. It’s hard to blame them in their struggle to navigate social and political issues given the lack of courage and moral clarity coming from our pulpits.
Refraining from expressing a viewpoint that’s considered objectionable by others is called self-censorship. The Bible points to it as a sin of omission—a failure to act. Being silent about those things that the Word is not silent about, makes us complicit.
Leviticus 20 says that God will set his face against anyone who does not oppose those who sacrifice children to Molech (while we do not advocate death, we do hold to the premise that murdering children is a vile and serious sin in God’s eyes). Consider then the silence of the Church at large as the lives of millions of innocent children are destroyed in their mother’s womb.
Leviticus 5 goes on to say that not defending the innocent makes you guilty. Consider the silence of the Church at large as pornography is introduced in our schools and libraries and transvestites are allowed to dance provocatively in the presence of children.
In Numbers 20, Aaron is prohibited from entering the promise land because he stood by quietly as Abraham struck the stone a second time. Consider the silence of the Church at large as the federal government permits and facilitates the unlawful entry of ten million unvetted people into our country.
Paul, in Acts 22:20, confessed to the Lord that he was guilty of killing Stephen even though he never touched a stone. He understood that his silence made him complicit in Stephen’s death. Consider the silence of the Church at large as increasing numbers of Americans are subjected to political persecution, including years of incarceration without due process.
Christians who are willing to speak out against evil are characterized as intolerant. But according to Revelation 2:20 intolerance of sin, not the sinner, is precisely what is needed. As standard bearers of Christ, we should not tolerate pro-trans laws that provide for the medical mutilation of children’s bodies. Nor should we tolerate laws that take away parental consent.
We should not tolerate the politicization and destruction of our judicial system. Nor should we tolerate elected officials who use their office for financial enrichment. We should not tolerate any administration’s refusal to enforce the right and just laws that govern our nation. Nor should we tolerate the deliberate erosion of our Constitutional freedoms and rights.
The success of the woke-left agenda to fundamentally transform our nation depends on their ability to silence Christians. For them, the brazen use of our legal courts and the court of public opinion as a means of punishment and intimidation is of little concern. Because they know if they silence the Church—they silence Christ. But courage comes to those who will speak, and those who will speak are in excellent company.
Jesus was not silent. He used his words to distinguish between good and evil. And his words, which were deeply offensive to political and religious leaders alike, led to his death by crucifixion. John the Baptist, who Jesus called the greatest man who ever lived, was killed for publicly calling out the deviant sin of a political leader. Rather than self-censor for fear of repercussions, John spoke—and lost his life. But he did not lose his integrity, his witness, or his soul.
For you who are reticent about speaking up, I beg you pray for the Holy Spirit to give you boldness (Acts 4:31) as you heed the words of G. K. Chesterton, “Unless a man becomes an enemy of an evil, he will not even become its slave but rather its champion.”
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