THE CULTURE WAR

A firestorm of criticism about the “narrow thinking” of Christians appeared in the media late last fall when the patriarch of the Duck Dynasty, Phil Robertson, made a personal statement that he believes homosexuality is a sin. Phil’s comments were picked up by the mainstream media who then created the scenario for the most recent clash in the Culture War.

Phil Robertson’s comments on homosexuality did not cause the Culture War to start; the War has been taking place for a long time and Phil’s comments were the catalyst that caused the clash to draw increased media attention.

The Culture War I am speaking of is not primarily about whether or not homosexuality is a sin. This war is between two cultures that are diametrically opposed. It is the clash between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of this world or, as the apostle Paul referred to it, “the domain of darkness” (Colossians 1:13).

We became citizens of the kingdom of God (sometimes referred to as the kingdom of heaven) when we received Jesus Christ as Savior and experienced the “new birth.” As citizens of God’s kingdom, we live by a set of rules different from those who have not experienced “new birth.” As members of God’s family we are expected to live our lives as His children and according to His rules.

The “domain of darkness” is at war with us. It is the desire of Satan to ruin our Christian life—to demean, embarrass, harass and confuse God’s children until they quit acting like they belong to the kingdom of God and return to the way of life of the “darkness” of Satan’s kingdom. And so Satan has given rise to all kinds of methods to try and achieve his goals.

In the early days of the church the enemy launched a variety of agendas in his attempt to subvert the expansion of God’s kingdom. Two of Satan’s favorite methods were to encourage immorality among believers and to compromise new believers by encouraging them to become entangled again in the worship of false gods.

In our western culture, we don’t have much in the way of overt idol worship such as they did in the the pagan nations surrounding Israel thousands of years ago. In that world, idol worship was everywhere and it was common for massive amounts of food to be given sacrificially to the idols. After the sacrificial giving, the food was commonly eaten by the idol worshipers and sometimes by the people of the nearby community. The early church fathers recognized that if new or immature believers saw Christians helping themselves to the food offered to idols, it could confuse them into thinking that if the eating of food offered to idols was acceptable then what could be wrong with actually worshiping those idols?

Immorality among Christians has been a struggle since the very beginning. Some of the sects the early church struggled with were like the Nicolaitans of whom Jesus said in Revelation 2:6:  “You hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.”

The Nicolaitans taught that it was permissible for Christians to participate in idol feasts. They rationalized that such conduct was just an empty gesture that fulfilled patriotic or social obligations and was legitimate as long as the Christians did not really believe in the deities being worshiped. However, the early church taught that it was dangerous for believers to continue “eating meat offered to idols” and that there should be a clean break from all aspects of idol worship, with no going back (1 John 5:21 and Acts 15:19-21).

The second major teaching of the Nicolaitans was that Christians should be sensuous. They taught that in order to master sensuality, one must know it by experience, so believers should abandon themselves without reserve to the lusts of the flesh. They falsely rationalized that such behavior concerned only the body but did not touch the spirit of man.

Does this sound at all like some of what is being “pushed forward” in our culture and in segments of the church today? It was these devious practices that stirred such strong feelings in Jesus.

One of the reasons the Nicolaitans were a problem in the early church was their approach. They came with a subtle, seductive message, not against Christianity, but declaring that they were teaching a new and improved version. In today’s words, they say, “Our message is more culturally relevant.” Cultural relevance is a foggy term that will continue to be debated long after you and I have returned to the dust.

It doesn’t matter if we change the style of music or wear flip flops and shorts to church—it doesn’t really matter! What does matter are the fundamental truths of the Christian faith! One of the truths that some are trying to “broaden” is our understanding of Jesus’ statement, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Those who come like the Nicolaitans say, “There are many ways to God but the best way is through Jesus Christ.” On the surface this sounds like an acceptable statement, but it is not. There are not many ways to God—there is but one and that is through Jesus Christ. He is not the best way, He is the only way!

We are at war and every follower of Jesus Christ must be alert to the battle!