The American Crisis
We have arrived at the crossroads of secular and biblical. "Christian" no longer exists in the America of today. The term "Christian" is now defined as love without truth. As a Christian, you are expected to love and accept everyone, because if you do not, you cannot be considered Christian. While Jesus came to earth with a focus on love, He also spoke the truth into the lives of those He interacted with daily. The truth that Jesus spoke pointed people to God in love. As my friend Ben Schettler teaches, love cannot be separated from truth; they work hand in hand.
On June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that the Fourteenth Amendment requires all states to grant same-sex marriages and recognize those marriages granted in other states. When the Supreme Court issued this opinion, protecting the marriage of two women or two men, it sparked a frenzy on social media, reigniting the debate over same-sex marriage. Since that time, the debate has only grown louder. The focus has been on whether individuals should have a protected "right" to marry whomever they choose, but for me, that is the wrong focus. A person’s worldview drives their values; their values shape their beliefs; their beliefs guide their decisions, and their decisions lead to consequences (either positive or negative). When we debate issues in our schools, churches, families, and society, everyone arrives at a conclusion based on their foundational worldview. Without a person’s worldview, they cannot make any decisions. How that worldview is formed is the true debate that we should be having in our churches, schools, and families.
Since its founding, the United States of America has been known as a Christian nation. This has, of course, caused much debate over the years, especially among historians. However, today we stand at the crossroads of Christian and Biblical. Many involved in the debate would claim, and they would be correct, that a Christian nation can make abortion legal, remove prayer from schools, and rule that same-sex marriage is protected under the U.S. Constitution. A Christian nation can make all these decisions and allow love alone to rule the day. "Christian" in our culture means whatever you want it to mean. "Christian" means loving people without accountability, with no true intent to disciple or help them grow in their faith. "Christian" means anything that makes me feel good about your decisions, and it even allows truth to become relative in society. "Christian" no longer means "Christ-follower" because we have warped the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
In contrast, to say that you are grounded in Biblical truth means that you are not only a Christ-follower but that you believe in the fullness of the Gospel, from love to accountability. In a Biblical worldview, we would not separate sins or assume that one sin (e.g., same-sex marriage) is greater than another (e.g., adultery). There is no separation of sins; all hold the same level of accountability and separation from God apart from His blood that was shed on the cross (Romans 3:23). We no longer live in a Biblical culture, but in a "Christian" culture (note the small “c”).
So, what should our response be? Love the sinner but not the sin. Respond to every sin the same way God responds. When repentance occurs for any sin, view that repentance the same way: "As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us" (Psalm 103:12). Along with our response, we must undergo a complete overhaul in how we train our children. We see children walking away from their faith because we have trained them to be "good" Christians, rather than Biblical followers of Jesus. They know what they "should" believe, but not the why and how it should be defended and lived out in righteous living.
Christ-followers, we need not spend all our time focused on the issues, but rather on fully training children in a Biblical worldview rather than a Christian worldview. It is time for us to focus on developing disciples, not "good" Christians who love people without any accountability.
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:” 1 Peter 5:8
It is at the crossroads of secular and Biblical where the training of our children occurs. We have decisions to make. The first decision is to be informed. Over the course of the next several weeks, that is my prayer.
This is the American crisis
Mr. Euler has over 20 years of experience working in Christian Schools, 13 as a Head of School and is currently the Head of School at Word of God Academy, Shreveport, LA., a ministry of Word of God Ministries.
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