The America you thought you knew is gone. No longer is this a nation based on godly principles and morality. America is following its leaders willingly into economic, moral, and political decline. What are Christians to do?
Erwin Lutzer offers hope and a challenge to Christians. It is not time to despair even as we face these difficult realities. Two thousand years of church history are behind us to show that the church does not need freedom or ease in order to be faithful. God’s calling on His people can be fulfilled no matter what.
Dr. Lutzer calls Christians to be agents of change in these increasingly secular times, and he offers hope and direction. As the nation morphs, Christians are called to adjust, to be faithful ambassadors for Christ in a country where many are turning away from Him.
The America you thought you knew is gone. No longer is this a nation based on godly principles and morality. America is following its leaders willingly into economic, moral, and political decline. What are Christians to do?
Erwin Lutzer offers hope and a challenge to Christians. It is not time to despair even as we face these difficult realities. Two thousand years of church history are behind us to show that the church does not need freedom or ease in order to be faithful. God’s calling on His people can be fulfilled no matter what.
Dr. Lutzer calls Christians to be agents of change in these increasingly secular times, and he offers hope and direction. As the nation morphs, Christians are called to adjust, to be faithful ambassadors for Christ in a country where many are turning away from Him.
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Overview
The America you thought you knew is gone. No longer is this a nation based on godly principles and morality. America is following its leaders willingly into economic, moral, and political decline. What are Christians to do?
Erwin Lutzer offers hope and a challenge to Christians. It is not time to despair even as we face these difficult realities. Two thousand years of church history are behind us to show that the church does not need freedom or ease in order to be faithful. God’s calling on His people can be fulfilled no matter what.
Dr. Lutzer calls Christians to be agents of change in these increasingly secular times, and he offers hope and direction. As the nation morphs, Christians are called to adjust, to be faithful ambassadors for Christ in a country where many are turning away from Him.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780802489487 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Moody Publishers |
| Publication date: | 01/16/2013 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 64 |
| File size: | 2 MB |
About the Author
Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer is the pastor emeritus of The Moody Church in Chicago, where he served as senior pastor from 1980-2016.
Dr. Lutzer earned a BTh from Winnipeg Bible College, a ThM from Dallas Theological Seminary, an MA in philosophy from Loyola University, and an honorary LLD from the Simon Greenleaf School of Law.
A clear expositor of the Bible, he is the featured speaker on three radio programs that are heard on more than 1,000 outlets in the United States and around the world:
- Moody Church Hour?The Moody Church's Sunday morning worship service
- Songs in the Night?an evening program that has been airing since 1943
- Running to Win?a daily Bible-teaching broadcast
Dr. Lutzer is also an award-winning author of numerous books, including The Cross in the Shadow of the Crescent, The King Is Coming,Covering Your Life in Prayer, One Minute After You Die, When a Nation Forgets God, Christ Among Other gods, and Christian Bookseller's Gold Medallion award-winning Hitler's Cross. He has also coauthored Life-Changing Bible Verses You Should Know and Jesus, Lover of a Woman's Soul with his wife, Rebecca.
His speaking engagements outside of The Moody Church include Bible conferences and seminars, both domestically and in places like Russia, the Republic of Belarus, Germany, Scotland, Guatemala, and Japan. He also leads tours to Israel and to cities of the Protestant Reformation in Europe.
Dr. Lutzer and Rebecca live in the Chicago area and have three grown children and eight grandchildren.
Read an Excerpt
Where Do We Go From Here?
Hope and Direction in our Present Crisis
By Erwin W. Lutzer
Moody Publishers
Copyright © 2013 Erwin W. LutzerAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-8024-8948-7
CHAPTER 1
FIVE TROUBLING TRENDS
Economic Decline
Even as I write these words, our ticking national debt clock tells us that we are increasing our debt by 3 billion dollars a day. We hear repeatedly that the 16 trillion dollars we owe nationally is "unsustainable"; that is to say, we cannot continue along this path of spending without drastic and long-term consequences. Our politicians have not yet learned that we cannot borrow our way into prosperity and survive.
Although there are many differences between America and post–World War I Germany, history has some economic lessons to teach us. Remember that after World War I, Germany was saddled with huge debts the nation chose to pay through the printing of money, and more money. Not everyone was hurt as a result of this strategy; businesses with huge debts paid them off withessentially worthless pieces of paper. The result, of course, was rapid inflation until the mark became worthless, and many people's savings were wiped out. The resulting economic collapse paved the way for a strong leader who promised to end the madness, and thus Hitler rose to power.
As of this moment I cannot predict what the long-term consequences of our spending binge will be, but most economists not only predict inflation (which is already happening) but possibly a severe recession, just as we witness one country after another in Europe struggling with high unemployment, wary investors, and the need for multibillion dollar bailouts. Yet because cutbacks are unpopular, Washington turns a deaf ear to the lessons of history.
Alexander Fraser Tyler, an eighteenth-century Scottish lawyer who was skeptical of democracy, ominously predicted:
A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority will always vote for candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that democracy always collapses over bad fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship.
We can be glad when the government helps the truly needy. But when elections are won or lost depending on which candidate promises the greatest "largesse," then we know that democracy is failing us. And when politicians are willing to keep increasing our national debt for immediate gain without regard for long-term consequences, then we know that we have lost our way.
Of course, it is not simply our national debt that should be of concern to us. Those of us who live in the state of Illinois are probably aware that the per-person debt in our state is among the highest in the nation. To be precise, our state is in debt to the tune of $21,000 for every person in Illinois! With the state treasury bankrupt, payments are either late or not paid at all. A day of reckoning is coming.
My concern about the nation's economy is not just the effect a serious recession (or collapse) would have within our borders. Just think of America's global economic impact; then think of all the missionary organizations and agencies funded by American Christians. These sources of income, so desperately needed for the cause of the Gospel overseas, would dry up, and many Gospel-centered ministries would suffer around the world.
In anticipation of coming financial upheaval, we as a church should be grappling with relevant questions and design strategies that will help us care for those who are in need. The early church faced an economic crisis and helped its most under-resourced members. Our pride in our individualism must give way to a spirit of generosity, sharing, and sacrifice. We may have to learn such lessons the hard way.
Moral Decline
President Obama would not have pledged his support for same-sex marriage if he did not believe that in recent years there has been a massive public shift in cultural mores. Again, I refer to Francis Schaeffer, who warned us that what is unthinkable in one generation can become thinkable in another. What this moral shift toward the acceptance of same-sex marriage means for our children and succeeding generations is frightening.
The media has played an important role in making the unthinkable, thinkable. Pro-homosexual lobbies have exerted pressure and control to make sure that homosexuality is consistently portrayed in a favorable light, disregarding all its negative practices and consequences. In effect, the homosexual lobby has veto power over anything that is portrayed or said in the media about the gay lifestyle. The strategy of the radical homosexual movement is simple: preach tolerance but practice intolerance at every opportunity.
Meanwhile, schoolchildren are being indoctrinated in the acceptance of the normalcy of homosexuality. Faith-based adoption agencies have already had to close because they were being forced to adopt children to same-sex couples, in violation of their religious convictions. If a bill such as ENDA (Employment Non-Discrimination Act) were to become law, not even Christian organizations could discriminate in their hiring practices.
That said, it is important for us to realize that there are many within our churches who struggle with same-sex attraction, and we gladly welcome them into our churches. We as a church are called to live with the tension of both accepting the scriptural understanding of homosexuality and also dealing redemptively with all who struggle with any form of sexual immorality, whether fornication, adultery, or pornography and the like. Those who come with a spirit of repentance, seeking forgiveness, healing, and help, should know that they are welcome among us.
The list of sins both outside the church and inside the church is growing. To drugs, alcohol, and sex, we can now add more recent addictions such as video games, the Internet, and social media. As Neil Postman warned nearly three decades ago, we are "amusing ourselves to death."
It is estimated that 60 percent of all pornography falls into the hands of children. Considering that this is a multibillion dollar industry, there is simply no way to estimate the damaging effects this flood of impurity continues to have as it spills into our culture.
We must ask: how do we as a church balance our condemnation of sin with a redemptive attitude that humbly acknowledges that the sins of the nation have become our sins? And, how can we best oppose those who would want to indoctrinate our children in various forms of immorality—and yet at the same time be known for our love and care for people who need to know the forgiveness of Christ?
As we sink into a moral morass, our role is difficult, but not impossible. Just ask the Christians in ancient Corinth who at times succeeded in their struggles against the sins of their culture but also at times failed. Their battle is our battle, and we had better not pretend our church is exempt from these sins. Christians are not always winners but they are always fighters, battling against sin. We can be encouraged to know that the church has been down this road before.
Educational Breakdown
Speaking of moral decline, our public schools have, for the most part, become government schools; often they are places of indoctrination for the nation's degrading values: homosexuality, premarital sex, and atheistic evolution. Sex classes are held that break down the natural resistance that young people have to sexual intimacy by teaching them how to have sex without having a baby or feeling guilty.
Recently, a volunteer here at Moody Church told us that in her daughter's school students were asked to choose sides in a classroom. On one side were the students who claimed to be gay and those who supported their lifestyle. On the other side were the bullies. Now, her daughter was forced to decide: should she join the bullies or should she walk over and endorse the gay lifestyle? Stories of how our children are being forced to affirm the homosexual lifestyle can be found in virtually any public school. And sadly, parents are often told that they have no input or control over the content of the curriculum.
Enough has been written elsewhere about the crisis in America's schools for parents to be educated about the cultural and moral philosophies intended to shape the thinking of our youth. What the church must be doing is to be both empowering and instructing parents how to protect their children from the kind of indoctrination that is purposefully imposed on so many of our nation's children.
Prejudicial Legal Rulings
Ever since the Supreme Court, without constitutional authority, legalized abortion for any reason or no reason, judicial rulings have frequently become more arbitrary and prejudicial, often violating respect for religious freedom. Today, the First Amendment is turned on its head and the establishment clause is interpreted to mean that every expression of Christianity in the so-called public square violates the constitution. Organizations such as the ACLU have done all within their power to intimidate believers, forcing them to privatize their faith.
Elane Photography, a photography studio in New Mexico, was fined $7,000 for refusing, on religious grounds, to photograph a commitment ceremony for a same-sex couple. In 2008 the New Mexico Court of Appeals upheld the ruling of the New Mexico Human Rights Commission that the studio had violated the state's nondiscrimination law. In numerous cases, when homosexual rights and religious rights conflict, homosexual rights win.
This attitude of marginalizing those who hold to traditional values spills over into the public sphere. Who would have dreamed that the mayor of Chicago would declare that he would prohibit a business whose founders support traditional marriage from being able to set up a franchise in the city? In October 2012, Angela McCaskill was suspended as an administrator from Gallaudet University for signing a petition to put Maryland's same-sex marriage legislation on the November ballot. In other words, even such an innocuous act, interpreted as questioning the right of same-sex couples to marry, is enough to cause suspension. Incredibly, the university justified its decision because of its view of tolerance!
As a church we must not be intimidated by the threats and actions of those who would want us to keep our faith to ourselves. When believers in the book of Acts were told that they should not preach in the name of Jesus, they continued to proclaim His Name even though it meant prison. Our challenges are not new; new to us yes, but not new to our brothers and sisters throughout the ages.
The Privileged Position of Islam
While biblical Christianity is in decline and often vilified, Islam will continue to enjoy a privileged position in politics and among a good percentage of the masses. For years the OIC (the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation) has tried to get the United Nations to approve an amendment regarding "defamation of religion." If this universal blasphemy law were approved, it would mean that all criticism of Islam would be criminalized. Fueled by incidents such as a Qur'an burning and a video that evidently ridiculed Muhammad, Muslims are demanding that nothing should ever be said or done that would be offensive to Islam.
Americans make a mistake when they judge Islam by its more tolerant American version. If we want to see what Islam is like as a religion, we must judge it by countries where it is in control: Saudi Arabia and Iran to name two. The laws of Saudi Arabia, for example, explicitly stipulate that converts from Islam to Christianity are to be executed. Also, in Islamic countries Christians are often put to death for "dishonoring Islam" not because they have spoken against it but simply because they believe in the Trinity, and this in itself is an insult to Islam.
Europe, which has a greater Muslim population than the United States, has, for the most part, forfeited any right to criticize Islam. Choosing to self-censor, politicians speak only favorably of Islam; to do otherwise would mean that they would be demonized by the media and the "politically correct" population as a whole. Meanwhile in Europe and now increasingly in the United States, crosses are being removed from hospitals and churches so as not to offend Muslims. And more serious concessions are being made in educational textbooks, the media, and in finance. Since the Quran teaches that Islam must establish itself as a superior religion, the concessions we make are but the first steps in a larger agenda. All of this poses a great challenge to the church in the coming years.
However, as Christians we must never, not for a moment, entertain hatred for Muslims; indeed, when we understand their record on women's rights, for example, and the fear of apostasy that exists in Muslim communities, we should have a burden for them to come to know the forgiveness and grace of Christ. Once again, we are called to be the church: witnessing, welcoming, discerning, and standing for the truth of the Gospel in every way. We must intentionally educate our congregations so that believers will be prepared to make difficult decisions as they are faithful to the Gospel, and yes, gladly suffer for the cause of Christ as the need arises.
THE SLAUGHTER OF THE INNOCENTS
Proof that we as a nation must return to God was vividly demonstrated in the horrific crime committed at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. When we think of the carnage of these precious children and their teachers and administrators, there are no words to describe the horror. Together we weep as individuals and as a nation.
"Where was God?" many people are asking. An interesting question in light of the fact that we have excised Him from our classrooms, law, government, and science. Indeed, He is not welcome anywhere in the so-called public square. And now when we need Him—when we see the horror of unflinching evil—we now ask where He is.
God is shouting to all who are willing to listen. In every heart there is the good and the bad: we have the shooter, and, in stark contrast, the first-grade teacher who was willing to take a bullet to protect the children in her classroom. Soviet dissident and Christian writer Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn brilliantly summarized our condition: "The line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties, but right through every human heart." Yes, there is evil, not just in the worst of us, but also in the best of us. What happened in Newtown is a powerful reminder that human nature is flawed and capable of unlimited evil.
As our nation drifts away from God, prayer, and moral decency, more people will choose to settle their disputes with violence to get "justice." As I write, crime is out of control here in Chicago. Our politicians are scrambling in their search for answers, blaming the economy, drugs, and guns. But ultimately, we need look no further than the human heart to find an answer to the question, "Why?" Despite the social factors that may make crime more appealing, ultimately people commit crimes because they want to.
We desperately need God, not just to explain evil but to combat it.
The prophet declared, "I will cleanse you ... I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws" (Ezekiel 36:25–27).
Thankfully, God has done something about evil. He has provided a Savior who can "save us from our sins."
In that confidence ... where do we go from here?
A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
For 2,000 years the church has almost always existed under political regimes and cultures that were hostile to the Christian message. We immediately think of the persecutions that Christians endured throughout the Roman Empire during the early centuries. Believers were not tortured because they believed in Jesus; in Rome one was free to believe in whatever god he wished. What galled the Romans was that Christians believed that Christ was the only true God. And because Christians were not willing to confess "Caesar is Lord" they were seen as politically subversive. Though some compromised their convictions, most stood for their faith. Countless thousands were put to death because they believed that some things were more important than blending in with the controlling ideas of their generation.
Some Christians reasoned that it would be advantageous if they had political power. Then they could use the sword to impose Christian beliefs on society as a whole. After Constantine became emperor in AD 306, Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire. Church and state were united; in fact, by the eighth century the state was under the authority of the church. When the pope crowned Charlemagne in Saint Peter's Basilica on Christmas day, AD 800, the authority of the church was uncontested.
As the church grew in power its corruption increased. Its political, religious, and moral decay was so pervasive that many true believers tried to break away from the church's authority. For this they were persecuted—many were drowned or killed with the sword. The true church insisted that with the coming of Constantine nothing had changed. In the early centuries they were put to death by the Romans and now centuries later they were put to death by the officials of Christendom. Either way, they were a minority who elicited hostility from the cultural, ecclesiastical, and political powers of their time.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Where Do We Go From Here? by Erwin W. Lutzer. Copyright © 2013 Erwin W. Lutzer. Excerpted by permission of Moody Publishers.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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Table of Contents
Contents
Five Troubling Trends,The Slaughter of the Innocents,
A Historical Perspective,
Five Unshakable Pillars,
Motivated By Another World,
Commitment Unto Death,
Notes,