I remember reading recently about a “church” in New York where the sermons were all based on the social issues of the day. Sadly, they avoided any mention of the sins that lead to so many of our problems, and they failed to proclaim the truth about the Redeemer and Savior who came to rescue us.
The world we live in is filled with sin and rebellion against the God who made us. Our sins have separated us from His presence. I was a young man when I realized that I was a sinner in need of a Savior. I remember falling on my knees—telling God if He would forgive me and take the pieces of my life and put it back together, I would serve Him for the rest of my days. I’ve never regretted that decision.
I always appreciate going to a church where the pastor opens up and preaches from the Word of God. I believe the Bible from cover to cover. Every word. Thomas Jefferson once went through his Bible and actually cut out the portions he disagreed with. Some today try to do the same thing. They pick and choose what they want to follow. Some disregard the entire Old Testament, saying it’s not relevant.
Well, the apostles preached from the Old Testament. Jesus quoted the Old Testament. There are hundreds of Old Testament quotations in the New Testament. Second Timothy 3:16 says that “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness.”
I would encourage every pastor to open up the Word of God each Sunday and preach it, because the power of God is in His Word. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes …” (Romans 1:16).
We’re coming into an election year, and issues come and go, but God’s Word is the same. “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God stands forever” (Isaiah 40:8). His laws and commandments don’t change. God does not take opinion polls. He stands firm, generation to generation.
In this next election, you will have to decide which candidate and which party you’re going to trust to support religious liberty and to nominate decent, God-fearing judges. Those are questions you have to answer and decide for yourself.
I said immediately after the 2016 presidential election that I believed we had been given a brief window of opportunity to return to the moral and Biblical values that have long been the foundation of our nation. And by God’s grace, we have seen some decided movement to respect such values under the current administration: two conservative justices appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court; a number of executive orders that have protected religious liberty for people of faith; and defunding the abortion factory known as Planned Parenthood.
Yet abortion is still legal in America, and it is a stench in the nostrils of God. More than 50 million babies have been slaughtered by licensed butchers, and some today even embrace the horrific notion of murdering an infant after he or she is born. Even as states attempt to place restrictions on abortions, liberal, progressive judges have struck down pro-life laws.
Perhaps the greatest threat to our religious liberty right now comes from the frenzied LGBTQ agenda. The media elite and political progressives have joined together to advance and promote this immoral and unhealthy lifestyle as normal and acceptable. I for one am sick and tired of these godless politicians trying to cram this down our throats. I hope every Christian will go to the ballot box in this next election and stand against what is a godless, socialist agenda.
These are alarming times. A Wall Street Journal/NBC poll showed that the younger generations of Americans have profoundly different values than the preceding generation.
When a similar poll was taken in 1998, Americans said hard work, patriotism, religion and having children were their top priorities. With the exception of hard work, things have drastically changed. Patriotism was very important to 70% of Americans in 1998 but only 61% today. Religion was extremely important to 62% in 1998 but just 50% today. Having children was a top priority for 59% of Americans but only matters to 43% in 2019.
What I see in these numbers is a steady unraveling in the moral fabric of our nation. In particular, the diminishing role of religion is quite disturbing. Younger people today apparently are much less inclined to prioritize a personal relationship with God. They have embraced the label “religiously unaffiliated.” That doesn’t bode well for the continued protection of our religious liberties, and far worse for the perilous state of their eternal souls.
There could be a number of reasons for the disinterest and decline in matters of faith, but I believe the most significant factor is rejection and rebellion against the authority of Scripture.
God’s Word encompasses every sector of living, teaching, instructing, correcting and rebuking. When a political party speaks about values but endorses abortion and same-sex marriage, they are completely rejecting Scripture that speaks very clearly on these issues. The Bible says we are knit together by God in our mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13). The Bible says that God has created us male and female, so that we might be joined to one another (Genesis 1:27). The Bible condemns homosexual behavior (Romans 1:26-31). We need a return to God’s Word.
God’s Word is mankind’s only sure guide to life eternal and abundant. It is infallible in every subject area and brilliantly reflects the holy, unchanging character of God Himself. When God speaks, and He does so through Scripture, all of us should listen.
Obedience to God’s Word brings blessing. Disobedience brings chastisement and ultimately eternal punishment in hell away from the majesty and presence of God. Everything we do at the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association is built on the integrity and authority of God’s holy Word. We preach it, proclaim it and live by it. We want to see many of the “religiously unaffiliated” discover, through repentance and faith, the vitality of a relationship with Jesus Christ.
God’s Word is Truth. Authoritative Truth. Any so-called value system that contradicts it is founded on lies and deceit, and inevitably leads to disaster and ruin for individuals, cultures and nations.
Scripture quotations are taken from the New American Standard Bible.