The Forbes 400 is out, listing the wealthiest Americans in 2023, and unless you’re worth $2.9 billion, you’re not on it. Here’s another reason to feel excluded: according to a recent Barna survey, only a third of young adults are more likely to support a nonprofit organization with Christian values. Nearly the same percentage said having Christian values would make them less interested in supporting a nonprofit.

This after a Texas LGBTQ advocacy group claimed a federal judge cannot be “fair and impartial” because of his Christian beliefs. And 47 percent of adults in an Associated Press survey said liberals have “a lot” of freedom to express their views on college campuses, while just 20 percent said the same of conservatives.

Yesterday we discussed the urgency of declaring and defending biblical sexual morality, not just because it is biblical but because our Creator’s principles are best for every person he creates. The more our culture rejects biblical beliefs, the more urgently we need to share them. The sicker the patient, the more urgent the treatment.

Here’s the problem: it is human nature when facing opposition and rejection to oppose and reject those we face. The “fight or flight” response is our automatic physiological reaction to events that are perceived as stressful or frightening. Psychologists say this response increases our chances of survival in threatening situations. But it is precisely the wrong way for Christians to respond to our cultural opponents.

And it is precisely the way our spiritual enemy wants us to react to them.

Ronald Reagan had no enemies

When Jesus drew near to Jerusalem, knowing that its people would reject him and the city would be destroyed as a consequence, “he wept over it” (Luke 19:41). When Paul addressed the Ephesian elders, he told them that he had served the Lord “with all humility and with tears” (Acts 20:19).

When Nehemiah learned that his hometown of Jerusalem was “broken down” and “its gates [were] destroyed by fire,” here was his response: “As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven” (Nehemiah 1:3–4).

Foreseeing the judgment of his nation, Jeremiah wrote: “My joy is gone; grief is upon me; my heart is sick within me” (Jeremiah 8:18). He added: “For the wound of the daughter of my people is my heart wounded” (v. 21).

President Ronald Reagan reminded his staff that they did not have political enemies, only opponents. Our true enemy is the one who has deceived our spiritual and cultural opponents (2 Corinthians 4:4) and seeks their death and destruction (John 10:10).

Is your “heart wounded” for them today?

Paul’s pointed question

Our first practical step in responding to our broken culture is to grieve for it, praying for the “gift of tears” so that what breaks our Father’s heart breaks our heart as well.

Our second is to be godly so we can call others to be godly.

Paul asked pointedly: “You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery?” (Romans 2:22). For example, heterosexuals who oppose homosexual sin must not commit heterosexual sin. We need to be the change we wish to see, or our sin normalizes and encourages sin for others: “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you” (v. 24).

Our third step is to build relational bridges of grace. Jesus wants to make us “fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19), which requires us to go to those we are to “catch” for Christ. What is your strategy for reaching those God has entrusted to your influence? How are you investing your time and compassion? With whom are you sharing God’s love and truth these days?

Our fourth step is to pray for the Spirit to change the hearts of those we know. Human words cannot save human souls. But the Spirit “will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment” (John 16:8), including the lost people you know. For whom are you praying by name?

“This is the identity you have to accept”

St. Augustine testified: “I shall recall the straying; I shall seek the lost. Whether they wish it or not, I shall do it. And should the brambles of the forests tear at me when I seek them, I shall force myself through all straits; I shall put down all hedges. So far as the God who I fear grants me the strength, I shall search everywhere. I shall recall the straying; I shall seek after those on the verge of being lost.”

To share God’s love with those who reject his word, it helps to remember that our personal worth is not determined by their response. Henri Nouwen reminds us: “Your true identity is as a child of God. This is the identity you have to accept. Once you have claimed it and settled in it, you can live in a world that gives you much joy as well as pain. You can receive the praise as well as the blame that comes to you as an opportunity for strengthening your base identity, because the identity that makes you free is anchored beyond all human praise and blame.

“You belong to God, and it is as a child of God that you are sent into the world.”

Where in the world has God sent you today?

Denison Forum

House lawmakers voted to remove Kevin McCarthy as speaker yesterday afternoon, the first time in US history that a speaker has been voted out. Rep. Patrick McHenry (R–NC) was then named the new temporary leader of the House. He closed the chamber and set a goal of voting on the next speaker next Wednesday. House business has been put on hold until then.

This while Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial continues in Manhattan, the first time a former US president has ever faced such charges.

Meanwhile, another unprecedented event is unfolding away from the headlines with ramifications that are even more foundational for biblical Christians in a secularizing culture.

Pope signals support for blessing same-sex unions

After five conservative cardinals challenged Pope Francis to affirm current Catholic teaching on homosexuality ahead of an upcoming major synod, he issued a response which the Washington Post described this way: “Francis wrote that there are ‘situations’ that may not be ‘morally acceptable’ but where a priest can assess, on a case-by-case basis, whether blessings may be given—as long as such blessings are kept separate from the sacrament of marriage.”

The pope’s statement contradicts a 2021 Vatican statement confirming a ban on blessing same-sex couples because “God cannot bless sin.” It was welcomed by an LGBTQ+ advocate: “The allowance for pastoral ministers to bless same-gender couples implies that the church does indeed recognize that holy love can exist between same-gender couples, and the love of these couples mirrors the love of God.”

In other words, so long as we continue to teach the biblical doctrine that marriage is between one man and one woman, we can “bless” marriages that violate this doctrine, or so the pope seems to believe. This is the first time in church history that a pope has taken such a position on sexuality and marriage.

This on the heels of the Unconditional Conference held last weekend at Andy Stanley’s megachurch in suburban Atlanta, an event that generated such controversy that Rev. Stanley addressed it in his Sunday sermon. As Dr. Ryan Denison reported yesterday, the pastor stated clearly that “biblical marriage is between a man and a woman.” However, he noted, many same-sex couples “choose a same-sex marriage,” and now the church must decide “how we respond to their decision.”

His position is to uphold biblical marriage while welcoming into the congregation those who do not: “We don’t draw lines—we draw big circles. . . . We aren’t condoning sin, we are restoring relationships and we are literally saving lives.”

“If the trumpet does not sound a clear call”

One of my life texts is the exhortation to “contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). The ESV Study Bible notes: “By the time that Jude wrote his letter, ‘the faith’ had already been fixed and established in the apostolic teaching of the early church, and therefore could not be changed, but was under attack and in need of defense.”

This apostolic teaching clearly addressed sexual sins: “God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator” (Romans 1:24–25).

Consequently, “Their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error” (vv. 26–27). (For more on the Bible and homosexuality, please see my website article here.)

In light of such clear truth, we must “contend” for biblical faith even—and especially—when it is unpopular. We must not blur the truth for the sake of tolerance or inclusion. While Andy Stanley wants to “draw big circles,” there are some biblical lines we must not cross: “If the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle?” (1 Corinthians 14:8 NIV).

This is not just to “make a defense” of our faith (1 Peter 3:15)—it is also for the benefit of those who disagree. If “God is love” (1 John 4:8), his instructions are for our good, serving as guardrails that keep us from veering off the road to our own destruction.

Therefore, we are not being gracious when we “encircle” and condone what he forbids.

“Its power will wrong desires destroy”

Tomorrow I plan to discuss practical ways we can respond. For today, let’s embrace the hope of Christ that can forgive any sin and transform any heart.

Jesus “loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood” (Revelation 1:5). Now we can “die to sin and live to righteousness” (1 Peter 2:24) since “in him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace” (Ephesians 1:7). However, like any other gift, forgiveness must be sought and received to be experienced.

Here’s a succinct way to make my point today: Our Father loves us as we are, but he loves us too much to leave us there.

The British hymn writer J. R. Peacey captured well the hope we offer the world:

Let in the light; all sin expose
To Christ, whose life no darkness knows.
Before the cross expectant kneel;
That Christ may judge, and judging heal.

Awake, and rise up from the dead,
And Christ his light on you will shed.
Its power will wrong desires destroy,
And your whole nature fill with joy.

Why do you need such power?

With whom will you share it today?

Denison Forum