[581 words]
A Christian friend from a third world country told me, “America is in a war.” That war is inside our land. It is a moral and spiritual conflict. We have been saying this for years, and we sense it now more than ever. To hear someone who was raised in such a different environment say the same thing brings the reality of our condition home even more. There are two major fronts in this war: the home and the church. For many years the devil has been trying to destroy the home as God gave it. For the past 100 years Hollywood has done everything it could to ridicule the biblical idea of marriage and childrearing. The attacks in movies have become worse and worse since the 1960’s. How many movies can you name that present a wholesome image of the family? Television shows have taught husbands and wives to cheat and children to rebel. Now people have no respect for anyone or anything. Our society is falling apart and it is not hard for any God-fearing person to understand why.
The government and media have been a tool of Satan in this war against the family. What happened to the line between male and female? God created the sexes (Gen. 1:27). Now human leaders have made laws that fly in the face of the Creator and His creation. Public schools promote homosexuality and transgenderism. The devil knows better than anyone that the best way to change a culture is to start with the children. Hell will be mighty hot for the people who have taken these precious little hearts and filled their minds with lies and hate. The forces of evil know that they have to undermine the home to win.
But the devil also knows he must defeat the church. He must remove the Bible. He must deny its inspiration and authority. He must turn the church into a government social program and strip it of spirituality. In short, Satan must obliterate Bible-believing Christians who oppose sin.
This also explains why congregations are feeling so much pressure. The devil has been loosed for a season and he is taking as many souls as he can. And, as with the home, he is using forces in high places to do his evil deeds. The governments of the world—not just in this country—are becoming increasingly hostile to anything they consider to be Christian. Leaders want to silence Christians from speaking against homosexuality. They want to forbid churches to gather for worship. COVID has become the perfect disguise for government suppression of religious freedom.
As with attacks on the home, the media and “higher” education scoff at the Bible, mock preachers, and blame churches for the problems we face in society. These wicked pawns of Satan understand that they have to destroy Christianity if they are to the revolution they crave.
These attacks are new to us but they are not new. There is “no new thing under the sun” (Ecc. 1:9). From the time of Abel the righteous have been persecuted. Throughout all this affliction, God has preserved the home. Marriage will still be here when the world comes to an end (Matt. 24:37-39). The church will stand forever (Dan. 2:44; Matt. 16:18). So take heart and do not be discouraged. The early disciples counted it a joy and honor to suffer for Jesus (Acts 5:41). So should we.
Kerry Duke
West End church of Christ
Livingston, TN