Truth With a Capital ‘T’

“The only real threat (to the church) is surrender – caving to cultural, legal, and political forces demanding conformity. The church can and will survive persecution. It will not survive faithlessness. This is both a theological and historical truth.

Defiance, however, means more than merely ensuring that your church or school doesn’t change its policies. It means more than still donating to your church even if the day comes when you can’t deduct the contribution. It means a willingness to lose your job, your prosperity, and the respect of your peers. It means saying no every time you are compelled to applaud or participate in the sexual revolution. It means standing beside fellow Christians who face persecution or job loss –  not just shaking your head and thinking, “There, but for the grace of God…” It means having the courage to proclaim an opposing message – even during mandatory diversity training, even when you fear you might lose your job, and even when you’re terrified about making your mortgage payment. And through it all, it means being kind to your enemies – blessing those who persecute you.

But being kind to one’s enemies does not mean surrendering to them. 

In the book of First Kings, Elijah faced a wave of persecution and mortal danger beyond anything any American has faced on American soil. He felt alone – terrified that all was coming to an end. He declared to God, “I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” God’s response echoes through the ages: No, Elijah was not alone. He had reserved 7,000 in Israel who’d never bowed to Baal.

God will always preserve his people. All we have to fear are our own buckling knees.

–David French, National Review

Being deliberately undiscerning and indifferent is not the answer. We are commanded to proclaim God’s truth in season and out of season, when it is well received and even when it is not (2 Timothy 4:2).

We love people into the Kingdom by proclaiming the Truth and staying off that bandwagon everyone is so quick to hop on so they remain relevant. That bandwagon is headed over a cliff. There is no way to remain faithful to the gospel without being an offense to the world, those proclaiming otherwise aren’t interested in the truth. It isn’t a battle to see who has the best argument or who can scream the loudest. False messages outnumber the truth 100:1 right now, but it doesn’t mean they are correct. Instead of wringing our hands in despair, it’s time for the church to buck up and stand on the Word and what we already know. If we aren’t sure what it says, we need to park ourselves in it until we are.

Take away the Truth with a capital ‘T’ and all you have left is ever-changing feelings driven by popular opinion. And this is the ‘brave’ way to live? No. There’s nothing brave about being a sheep. What’s brave is standing by your convictions when the winds of change come and sweep everyone else away.

The road is darkening and the road is narrowing. Jesus said it would. We must remain faithful. Love those who persecute you, but don’t cave to their demands.The Truth is worth fighting for, speak it in love. THATS how love wins.