I’ve been talking about this a lot recently so I recognize that some of this will sound redundant, but I refuse to be silent. Besides, repetition is the mother of learning and we, as a nation, don’t seem to be getting it so I’ll just keep saying it. Besides, far too many “Christians” are silent these days.
I want us to consider a question in this post. I want to say at the outset that this is something that I take very seriously and am struggling with right now for various reasons. Here’s the question:

At what point do Christians say enough?

I’m serious. At what point do we say that we’re done with the ultra-pagan society that we have become? This morning there was a conversation at my workplace which I want to use as an illustration that this woke madness and moral degradation is completely overwhelming the United States. In this little town and county where we live, there are plans for a “pride parade.” I guess this is “pride month” or something like that. Anyways, two local churches (both Protestant I believe) asked the city to cancel the parade. It got posted about on Facebook. So, some of my coworkers were talking about this today. These coworkers call themselves “Christians” and are members of local churches and/or parishes (Roman Catholic). They began to criticize said churches for their stance.
I couldn’t take it. I just walked out of the room. I was furious and ashamed of “Christians.” Since when do those who claim to follow Christ defend public displays of sodomy and debauchery?! I’m not talking about their constitutional right to assembly. Sure, they can do that. I’m talking about Christians defending this public display of flaunting unnatural sexual acts!

At what point do Christians say enough?

Consider the warning of the Prophet Isaiah,
“Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” (Isaiah 5:20)
Woe unto them. Judgment is coming, says the Lord.
Brothers and sisters, we cannot be silent any longer. All sin is evil in the eyes of God. All. And we should confess and repent and turn back to our Lord when we have committed any sin. But for Christians to stand by as this is happening in our society and either say nothing or (God forbid) defend this is unconscionable. Woe to us if we are silent. Woe to us if we call evil good and good evil.

Woe.

So, when do we say enough? When do we stop going along to get along? Even Jesus says that there comes a time when we have to just leave it. At least that’s what He told His disciples.  Look at Matthew 10. Jesus sends out His disciples and tells them to preach the Gospel to the lost sheep of Israel. These were God’s people and Jesus calls them lost sheep. There is a warning here for us I believe. Don’t assume you’re in just because you go to a weekly worship service and pay lip service to Christ as King. The people of Israel assumed as well, and we see how that worked out. They were sent into exile and dispersed all over the world; their land was taken away and God was silent for about 400 years.
So, Jesus sends out the Twelve. And what does He say to them?
Look at verse 14-15,
“And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.”

Shake the dust off. What does that mean? It’s basically the same as us saying we have “washed our hands” of something. It was akin to a curse that God’s judgment would come. Jesus said that those people, those cities would have it worse than Sodom and Gomorrha. Lest we forget, God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrha by raining down fire from heaven on them (see Genesis 18-19). That’s pretty bad.

Our society has rejected God. If you don’t believe that, you are simply not paying attention. What do you think God is going to do to us in His judgment if we continue in this way?

Now, here’s a hard question. What do we do in our own lives when we find this in members of our family or our friends? What do we do when they reject God? What do we do when they have embraced the world and don’t follow the commands of Christ? At what point do we say to them, “I’m done. I’ve tried, I’ve prayed, I’ve talked with you, I’ve modeled it for you (make sure you are) but you’re still refusing to turn away from sin and turn to God.” When do we say enough?

I get the arguments against this attitude. We’re supposed to be merciful and loving and kind and show grace and all that. Yes, yes, we are. We’re supposed to love them anyway, you might say. Yes, that is true. But which is more loving, to continue to let them live in their sin or to say, “Repent and turn back to Christ and His Church”? Is it loving of us to find a brother or sister in danger of hell and not call them to repentance?! If you were about to get ran over by a train, wouldn’t you want someone to try to save you? Or would you rather them say, “Oh well, you do you”?

I don’t know all the answers. I don’t know if true Christians should leave America like the moral sinking ship it is. I don’t know if we should turn away from our friends or relatives or family who have turned away from God and embraced the world. What I do know is that Jesus demands all. He calls us to love and fidelity to Him and His Church above all. What else can we do if we say we love Him?
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Brothers and sisters, pray for me. I pray for you. Pray for others who are without Christ. Pray for those who call themselves by the name of Jesus who have embraced the world. Pray that Jesus would return soon!

I heard somewhere that the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he doesn’t exist. I don’t think that’s true at all. I think the greatest trick the devil has pulled is creating a false Christianity, a false truth.

Especially in the West.

Think about it. Look around you at what passes for Christianity in the West today. It is a “faith” that has a shiny coat of paint on it, a thin veneer of “Jesus” but lacks the substance, belief and practice of the faith once for all delivered to the saints (Jude 1:3).
I run in to this often these days. People in my circle sound good. They talk about going to church, call themselves Christians and maybe even do what they call praying. But once you start digging a bit and asking questions, that so-called faith starts to show some cracks.

For example, when I argue that Christians should probably not watch TV, I get lambasted. I have had eyes rolled; I’ve been laughed at. I even got called a prude. But, let us consider the words of St. Paul,
“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” (Phil. 4:8).
Can anyone reading this really say that the vast majority of things you see on TV these days is anything but honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous or praiseworthy? Can anyone reading this say that anything they see on TV is any of these things? Even if you find a sporting event that seems innocuous, you have to deal with the commercials that push all sorts of sordid agendas.
Or, read the end of Romans 14:23, where St. Paul says, “…for whatever is not of faith is sin.” Whoa. Now, I want to be fair. In this text, St. Paul is speaking specifically about meat offered to idols and other things like that, but this is relatable to every aspect of our lives. Or Romans 12:1-2,
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
Again, can any of us believe that what we see on TV is the way we need to present our bodies as living sacrifices or the way we are to live holy lives? Can we honestly say that, by consuming the things of the world, we are transforming our minds to be renewed in Christa and prove what is good, acceptable, perfect or the will of God?
I think not.

But what our enemy has done is to make us complacent. He has created for us a false version of Christianity. It’s kind of like the Matrix. It’s a version of truth but not actually the truth. He has done this since the beginning. Look back at the Garden. We find it in Genesis 3. If you’re not familiar with the story, go read it right now. Look at what satan did. He deliberately used what God had made as good and slightly changed the phraseology. God told Adam in Genesis 2 that he was free to eat of any tree of the Garden, except the one, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But what does the enemy say? He takes what God says and twists it. Look at Genesis 3. The enemy asked (I’m paraphrasing), “Did God really say you can’t eat of any of the trees in the Garden?”
The enemy knew exactly what God had said. See how he twisted it? That is not what God said. And then he brought to humanity the great temptation that we all experience. Instead of obedience and living as God has commanded and as His Church tells us to, the enemy creates a false narrative.

Where God said, “Let us make man in Our image,” the enemy says, “Let us make God in our image.”

And this is where we get this pseudo-Christianity that is so popular in the West. Rather than obey what God has said to His people and what Christ gave to the Apostles and told them to pass it on; rather than obey that, we have to make things in our own image.

Fasting is too extreme and people will think you’re a fanatic.
Don’t prostrate yourself physically before God (at times) when you pray because it’s hard on your knees.
Don’t burn incense because it makes people sneeze. Don't have long services; people have things to do.
It’s okay to listen to worldly, lustful music because it’s not actually hurting you. It’s got a good beat.
Don’t worry about what the school system is teaching your children. They’ll be fine.
Who cares if you cuss a little? And don’t worry about what kind of clothes you’re wearing; it’s fine.
And whatever you do, don’t be too fanatical about attending all those services that the Church holds throughout the year and observe all those feasts and fasts. I mean, if you did, you’d be forming your whole life and schedule around the life of Christ and the Church. We can’t have that now, can we?! I mean, we can’t be living like Christians have always lived and believed what Christian have always believed, right?!

Most modern people who call themselves Christians are much more concerned with their own comfort than they are obedience to Christ and His Church. Let’s be honest.

Jesus had some hard things to say at times. He said that we were to take up our cross and follow Him. He said that some would lose their families and livelihoods and even their lives because of Him. He said that those who put their hand to the plow and looked back were not fit for the Kingdom.
He had hard things to say.

But, luckily for us, He gave us His Church, the pillar and ground of the truth (1 Tim. 3:15). The Church is where Christ is found!
Dear brothers and sisters, let us turn away from the world. Let us turn away from this thinly veiled worldly culture that has a shiny coat of “Jesus paint” on it. This is not Christianity. The Church has been with us, virtually unchanged since our Lord and His Apostles started it. As Pentecost approaches, let us turn again to the Church.
​Let us turn again to Christ.