A Target On Our Back

It is starting to happen – genuine Christian persecution has come to America. It started out by Secular Humanists simply demanding that the Christian faith not be allowed to be expressed in the public square – efforts like eliminating prayer from schools, removing images of the Ten Commandments from county courthouses, not allowing nativity scenes at Christmas on public land, and the like. Their reasoning was that they, as Atheists, should not be forced to participate in beliefs that they didn’t agree with.

As Secular Humanist policies increasingly became law with the legalization of abortion, homosexual marriage and the like, Christians began being pushed even further out of the picture. This happened by the implementation of laws and court rulings that forbade Christian organizations from participating in activities related to adoption, foster care, and other programs that are regulated by the government if they were not willing to compromise their religious convictions that were affected by these new laws.

With the COVID-19 pandemic, we have taken another step. There are now governors and some big city mayors who have mandated rules that actually prevent churches from opening – ostensibly to protect the public. But it does not end there. Now some pastors and church members are being threatened with fines and jail if they attend church (or even home Bible studies), and one mayor even threatened to have a church building bulldozed to the ground. Folks, this is getting serious. Beyond that, mobs are deliberately destroying Christian figures, symbols, and even churches – and our elected representatives are not only not trying to stop it, but in some cases are even encouraging it.

As Christians, there are actually three things we need to do, and we need to be ACTIVE doing all three. Gone are the days that we can just sit back and let certain Christian “activists” do all of the heavy lifting. If we continue in that pattern, it is almost guaranteed that we will find ourselves pushed into a corner having our religious freedom highly restricted.

The first thing we must do is pray. We need to specifically ask God to heal our land. But recognize this, in petitioning God, we have to begin by putting ourselves in a right position before him. If we are not willing to walk the walk, God will not honor our prayers. His very purpose for creating us was for fellowship with himself. As we pray, we must repent of our own rebellion against him, and commit ourselves to the holy life that he has called us to live. Then he will hear our prayers and heal our land.

Second, we need to become active in society. Political activism will never be the ultimate driving force for positive change in our society, but it is still important. America was set up as a constitutional republic. That means that the political power in the country lies with the citizenry. As such, we have a responsibility before God to be good stewards of that political power, and do what we can to promote God’s purposes in society. At the very least, that means we must vote. But beyond that, we need to be active in influencing those we have chosen to represent us. When they don’t represent our values, the onus is on us to put in place people who do. If we do not use our influence to promote God’s purposes in society, we are not being faithful with one of the core responsibilities God has placed on our shoulders.

Finally, we must be diligent in sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Ultimately, the problem in society is a spiritual problem, and the only real solution is a spiritual solution. Those who are so anti-Christian will not change without a transformation of their hearts – and the only way their hearts will be transformed is for them to come to know a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

These are, without a doubt, uncomfortable times, and our discomfort will not go away on its on. While God is the ultimate agent of change, he has called and commissioned believers – EVERY BELIEVER – to be faithful in partnering with him to touch people’s lives. What will it take for you to come to a place in your life where you are willing to step out of your comfort zone and become active doing all three of the necessary things? God has commissioned every believer to do them. Why don’t you begin right now?

Freddy Davis is the president of MarketFaith Ministries. He is the author of numerous books and has a background as an international missionary, pastor, radio host, worldview trainer, and entrepreneur. Freddy is a graduate of Florida State University with a BS in Communication, and holds MDiv and DMin degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is a popular speaker, particularly on the topic of worldview and its practical implications for the Christian life. He lives in Tallahassee, FL, with his wife Deborah. 

You may also contact Freddy at Leadership Speakers Bureau to schedule him for speaking or leadership engagements.

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