Last week I commended Ellen DeGeneres for setting a positive example by attending a football game with former President George W. Bush. The gay entertainer prudently reminded us, “Just because we disagree with someone doesn’t mean we can’t be friends with them.” That’s especially true for those of us who follow Jesus Christ. The Lord taught us that every person merits respect and dignity. Just because we disagree with someone’s lifestyle and worldview does not give us a license to be nasty or mean spirited. God loves every person, and so should we. God calls all to repentance, and so should we.

This past week, former Texas representative and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke stated in a town hall meeting that churches, charities, and other religious institutions that oppose same-sex marriage should lose their tax-exempt status. If he becomes president, this is a policy that he will seek to quickly enforce by executive action, according to the LGBTQ plan on his website.

Being kind toward those with whom we disagree does not mean being silent in the face of danger. If a car is speeding up the exit ramp the wrong way, it’s not inconsiderate to blow your horn. Sometimes the most loving response is to sound a warning. Christ-followers should not sit quietly by and say nothing when our nation is headed toward disaster. Consider the dangerous trend that has been taking place in America for the past 30 years:

1991 – “We have no long-term agenda. We just want fairness in housing. We want to end discrimination against the gay community in the workplace.”  

2009 – “How is my gay marriage going to hurt you? We just want marriage equality.” 

2012 – “Chick-Fil-A restaurants are not welcome in our city as long as the company contributes to The Salvation Army and The Fellowship of Christian Athletes and President Dan Cathy maintains his Biblical view of marriage.”

2019 – “We want the tax-exempt status of churches, charities, and colleges revoked for their failure to change their views on gay marriage.”

 2030 – ?  

If you question where we are heading, take a look at what’s already happening in Great Britain. World Magazine reported last week that Dr. David Mackereth lost his practice because he refused to use the politically correct transgender pronouns. The United Kingdom’s Employment Tribunal concluded that the Doctor’s Biblical beliefs on human sexuality disqualified him from practicing medicine in Great Britain. The Tribunal ruled that Dr. Mackereth’s beliefs are not “worthy of respect in a democratic society.”  

As the goalposts continue to move, it’s obvious the original agenda was not just to curtail discrimination but to eliminate the right to disagree respectfully. The goal is not just fair-minded tolerance but total endorsement. Regardless of the First Amendment guaranteeing religious freedom, anyone who holds to the Biblical view of marriage and morality must be silenced.  

The Second President of the United States, John Adams, wrote in 1798 that our government is not “capable of contending with human passions unbridled by…morality and religion,…Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for the government of any other.”   

Our founders encouraged faith in God because they knew a moral core was essential for a strong democracy. Our forefathers granted tax-exemption to churches and faith-based institutions because they recognized the vital role religion plays in the success of a free people, and their desire was for America’s churches to thrive. 

Last week Attorney General William Barr delivered a powerful speech at Notre Dame on the subject of religious freedom. He quoted from John Adams’ 1798 letter and then went on to accurately describe the culture war raging in America today. 

Barr argued that “secularists” are now attacking the moral order that is the foundation of our liberty and threatening religious freedom in pursuit of their cause. He spoke of the “fervor and comprehensiveness of the assault on organized religion we are experiencing today.” Barr said, “This is not decay. This is organized destruction. Secularists and their allies have marshaled all the forces of mass communication, popular culture, the entertainment industry, and academia, in an unremitting assault on religion and traditional values.”

Barr boldly stated, “The threat is not that the government will establish a state religion; the threat is that the state will attack people for conscientiously practicing their own….The problem is not that religion is being forced on others; the problem is that irreligion is being forced; secular values are being forced on people of faith.”

He cited as an example the crusade the Obama administration fought all the way to the Supreme Court to force Americans, including the Little Sisters of the Poor, to act against their conscience by mandating that they buy insurance coverage for contraceptives and abortion-inducing drugs and devices.

Barr pointed out that the ultimate battle is for the hearts and minds of America’s children. “Ground zero for these attacks on religion are the schools,” he said. He cited as one example an opinion issued by the Orange County Board of Education in California that said, “Parents who disagree with the instructional materials related to gender, gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation may not excuse their children from this instruction.” 

In other words, if you can’t afford to put your child in a private school, you must allow a government school to teach your child that a boy can become a girl and vice versa. 

Preachers, how can we possibly remain silent on these issues? It’s time for America’s pulpits to awaken the nation! If we don’t take a public stand now, we soon will have no chance to reverse the ridiculous moral freefall our nation is on and will have only ourselves to blame.

It’s one thing to be kind to those with whom we disagree. It’s quite another to be cowardly and say nothing when basic, Biblical teaching is under assault. I’m aware there are celebrity preachers advising you not even to mention controversial issues in sermons because it’s such a turn off to the non-believer. 

Let’s not be more concerned about offending the seeker than we are about offending the Lord, who instructs us to preach the whole counsel of God. He commissioned us to “preach the word in season and out of season” and promised His Word would not return empty. We are neither authors nor editors of God’s Word; we are just the mail carriers. So preach the truth in love…but preach the truth! 

“Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels” (Luke 9:26).

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