I was hesitant to write this article. Some will undoubtedly misconstrue what I have to say and label me as a conspiracy theorist or prophet of doom. I assure you I am neither. I am speaking primarily in the context of America, the country in which I live, and specifically to the Church in America. As I survey the moral decline of the past few decades, I am stunned to observe how far we have fallen.
The vitriol, immorality, and evil that pervade society is alarming. While it seems like this has occurred in a short time, looking back over the years reveals a steady deterioration that has culminated into the state in which we find ourselves today.
America has enjoyed unprecedented freedom throughout its history. We have always been free to worship and pray without fear of persecution. It has never been a perfect country, but with some obvious and painful exceptions, it has generally upheld a standard of morality and decency with its foundational laws based largely on God’s Word. Things are changing, and the Church in America must be ready to suffer with our brothers and sisters around the world.
For most of my life, and particularly in the last decade, the persecuted Church has weighed heavy on my heart. Every day I receive new information on further atrocities around the globe. As I have prayed for these individuals, I have researched the history of the countries in which they live. For those who were once free to worship and no longer are, what transpired in their countries is happening in America today. The erosion of morality and personal freedom we see in our country is not unprecedented. It is a well-worn path that has never once ended well.
The Church in America has allowed itself to grow soft. I doubt many of us are ready for the persecution that is to come, but we better get ready in a hurry. It will not happen overnight. Like the slow moral decline of the past several decades, our religious freedoms will trickle away without notice or fanfare. I believe the pace will quicken, however, and that we have far less time left to enjoy our religious freedoms than we might imagine. We will not solve this problem politically. The political world deals with the physical realm. This is a spiritual problem, and only spiritual forces can overcome it.
Unless and until the Church, those who profess faith in Jesus Christ, return to preaching and living the standards God proclaimed in His Word, we are destined to lose our freedoms and experience persecution we once could never have imagined. We have stood by watching the moral decline happen and have remained silent in fear of offending anyone. The cross of Christ is offensive and always will be. It demands we repent of our way of living and dedicate ourselves to the worship of the beautiful Creator God.
Persecution is at our door because we stopped speaking truth from our pulpits, content to spew pop-psychology and to articulate methods for you to live your best life now. In the name of tolerance, we have neglected God’s standards. Our penchant for comfort and safety has blinded us to the lessons of history and dishonors all those who have given their very lives for the sake of Jesus. Slowly but surely, little by little, we succumbed to the culture and got lazy in our worship. And now the inevitable result of our casual Christianity is at our door.
God help us. Let us all fall on our faces in repentance and broken hearts. Let us return to proclaiming all of God’s Word, not just the convenient parts. And let us rededicate ourselves to the Lordship of Christ, the memorization of Scripture, and living sober and generous lives. A long night is coming, and we must get ready.