Last week Billy Graham Died. For over 60 years he preached a simple message. “Jesus died for your sins.” During Dr. Graham’s lifetime he saw the decline of American culture. The removal of prayer and Bible reading in our public schools, the legalization of abortion, (murdering millions of children), and an attack on religious freedom.
The Consequences When We Fail to Provide a Moral Voice for the Culture
Many a pastor has declined the call to be a moral and spiritual voice to the culture, compromising the message Dr. Graham preached, for social acceptance. In so doing the church weakens its ability to be a true guiding light.
Christians now face league battles directed at their most basic beliefs. Activists threaten coaches with lawsuits if they pray with the team before the game. Others sue business owners for exercising sincerely held religious conscience. Sexual immorality is ignored under the guise of “tolerance,” and the list goes on.
The Hope When We Pray, Preach the Gospel, and Engage the Culture
Dr. Graham stated the only hope for our nation is a spiritual revival. Such revivals in the eighteenth century saved Britain from from the blood and chaos that rocked France during its revolution. Men like Whitfield and Wesley preached the same message Dr. Graham did during our lifetime.
The process is always the same:
Prayer, Uncompromising preaching of the gospel, and engagment.
Yes, being engaged in the political process. The founders of our nation looked to the church to preach and lay a moral foundation for the nation. That foundation influenced our country’s character, not by having a state-run church like England, but the free exercise of religion and the freedom to proclaim religious beliefs.
As a Pastor I want you to encourage you to engage the culture. Jesus said to “go.” That applies not just to the Pastor, Priest or Rabbi, but to you, Yes you! It is time for the church to arise. I want you to be informed about the issues of the day, and not just the issues but the solutions as well.
For too long politics has been looked at as a calling a Christian should avoid. However the opposite is true. Being the “salt of the earth” requires being applied to the earth. That application is not a suggestion to the church, but a command! The power of the church is it’s preservation of the earth by the salvation offered through Jesus Christ. When the church fails to stand for its basic beliefs, it is worthless and ignored. When, however, it stands for Biblical truth, it serves as the moral compass to a nation.
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