The Culture Wars are a Christian’s Greatest Opportunity

Culture wars are more out in the open than anytime in recent history. The current war in America is primarily a battle between biblical values and naturalistic relativism. We see some of these worldview battles in:

• The push for pro-abortion legislation at the state level.
• The NCAA’s unwillingness to protect women and women’s sports from men claiming to be women.
• Illegal immigrants being allowed to enter the country wholesale and creating havoc in society.
• The removal of statues of America’s founding fathers based on Marxist ideology.
• Palestinian mobs rioting, blocking roads, and disrupting events to promote antisemitism.
• Leftist politicians and judges using the court system to attack political opponents, while allowing actual criminals to walk free.
• Sexual immorality of every kind being promoted in social media and mainstream entertainment venues.
• The mainstream media being divided into tribes based on political considerations.

All of these, and many more, are examples of prominent culture clashes in modern American society.

The basic consensus of biblical values that used to be held in common in American society has been decimated, and the ugliness that is now prominent, in virtually every area of life, is proof of it. While many people look at these culture war battles and assert that they are all political in nature, that is not true. The foundation of each viewpoint, no matter which side one identifies with, is spiritual. There is an underlying set of values on each side that leads to the outward culture war expressions that are visible in society.

But while this culture war is disturbing to witness, it is also an opportunity for Christians. Each culture war flash point is a place where Christians can contrast the truth of the gospel with the false beliefs of those who are taking us down the road to destruction. When it comes to biblical values:

• Abortion is the murder of innocent human beings.
• There is an objectively real difference between men and women.
• Order in society represents God’s will.
• Truth and reality should be represented in a culture’s institutions.
• The notion of the rule of law represents God’s very purpose for the existence of government.
• Objective truth and fairness should govern society.
• Objectively real sexual morality exists.
• Society’s various institutions should speak the truth.

The fact that there are massive numbers of people out there promoting non-biblical values is also a clue that these are people who need to know Christ. It is, of course, possible to just get into fights with these folks and deal with them based on political philosophy. But how much better to recognize the non-biblical beliefs being promoted in society, and respond by specifically sharing what the Bible teaches – and using that as an opening to share the gospel. To pull this off, though, there are some things that you, as a Christian, will have to get hold of.

First, you must be willing to go bold. This does not mean you need to be obnoxious. But it is perfectly legitimate for you to be as bold sharing your faith as non-Christians are in sharing theirs. Their naturalistic faith represents a lie, and that lie is based on beliefs that are taking people into eternity separated from God.

Second, you must know your stuff. You can’t share what you don’t know. You must become intentionally equipped disciples. Are you able to recognize the false beliefs these various conflicts represent? Do you know the biblical beliefs that represent the truth? Do you know how to lead a person to know a personal relationship with Christ? If you are not confident with these, check out the many resources on the MarketFaith Ministries website (www.marketfaith.org), and/or feel free to contact us directly for guidance.

Third, you must be ready and willing to step outside of tradition. Most Christians confine their Christianity either to church activities or to personal spirituality. Not that either of those is inherently bad, but by themselves are insufficient.

God has called you to touch your world and share with people how they can know eternal life, and the culture war battles can be your greatest opportunity. When people advocate for abortion, or transgender rights, or illegal immigration, or sexual immorality, they are doing it because they don’t know the truth about the nature of man, and what is necessary to know God.

By all means, engage them on these topics. But don’t let the conversation end as a social and political discussion. Insert the spiritual element, and point them to Christ.