Today antichrist principalities are attacking, and trying, to silence Christians. They use civil litigation and state and federal laws to silence Pastors, minsters, photographers, cake makers, florist, social workers, teachers, and college professors, etc. They strive to financially and culturally destroy them when they speak and represent the truth of Christ in public. Since the beginning of time, evil has tried to lie, cheat, and steal; creating barriers through law and culture to prevent the word of God from traveling outside their guardrails. Guardrails are humanmade barriers, rules or principles designed to keep people within the safe acceptable way. However, the power of the spoken word of God has no guardrails, no restrictions, and is never void while accomplishing what God pleases (Isaiah 55:11). His word cannot be bound by the will of man nor the spirit of the antichrist (2 Timothy 2:9 – 1 John 4:3). For evil knows the “…word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, …and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). This is why God instructs His believers to expose evil and is why evil wants to silence God fearing peoples.
From the beginning of the bible to the end, we see God directing His followers to speak and control their culture through the influence of God’s word. God said, “…let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” (Genesis 1:28). When God said “let them have,” He means His believers can have dominion over the earth if they stand and withstand evil.
Let’s continue to touch on just a few of the many instances where God directs or influences His people to carry out His will. In the Book of Jonah, we see God directing him to carry His message into the darkness of mankind. “Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.” But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord (Jonah 1:1-3).
The consequence of not following God’s directive landed Jonah in the belly of the whale for three miserable days and nights. Jonah learned; “They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy” (Jonah 2:1-8). Lying vanity is arrogance because Jonah believed that he could run from the call of God and could find a place to hide from God’s presence. Lastly, he believed his way was better than God’s way to keep from doing his duty for God.
Next, we have Esther, when Mordecai learned the Jews were to be destroyed. Mordecai and Esters faith and bravery resulted in the deliverance of the Jewish people. Mordecai told Ester, “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14)?
Let’s travel further to when God makes Ezekiel a watchman. Ezekiel receives instructions with a stated consequence if he fails to follow God’s command. “Now it came to pass …the Lord came to me, saying, “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me: When I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand (Ezekiel 3:16-18). This is profound, because it shows the results of failing our duty to God will directly fall on us.
The biblical story of David resembles the same battle Christians are in today when he bravely brought a rock and sling to a sword fight. Scriptures say, David exposed Goliath with the truth, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied” (1 Samuel 17:45). “Then David …took out a stone; and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, …and Goliath fell on his face to the earth. So, David …took Goliath’s sword …and killed him by cutting off his head. When the Philistines saw that their champion Goliath was dead, they fled. (1 Samuel 17:49-51). This demonstrates the power of speaking and acting in the truth of God.
Then the Son of man, our Lord and Savior was born and brought salvation to the world. Jesus demonstrated the power of the spoken word of God when he asked the Samaritan woman to “Give me a drink.” She questioned Him and He told her “…the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” Jesus then identified Himself as the Messiah and the “… the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified…” (John 4). Jesus is showing the power of believers testifying in spirit and truth, as “the word of the woman,” was witnessing Christ into the darkness of her community saving many.
When Jesus ascended God gave His followers the power of the Holy Spirit to speak for Christ. Jesus said, the Holy Spirit will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you (John 14:26-27). Then “…the Spirit of truth He will testify of Me. And you also will bear witness (John 15:26–27). He will (expose) convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will tell you things to come (John 16:8-13).
The Holy Spirit empowers His disciples to witness the truth of Christ to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, …that we may also be glorified together” (Romans 8:16-17). The Spirit then searches our hearts and intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God (Romans 8:27). With the word of God nothing is impossible and blessed are those who do the word (Luke 1:37-11:28).
The Holy Spirit then empowers believers to speak for Christ and performs various works, including teaching and reminding believers of Jesus’ teachings (John 14:26) The Spirit guides them into all truth (John 16:13), thus producing spiritual fruit such as bold sacrificial love and joy (Galatians 5:22-23).
In Acts 4 Peter and John knew the power of the Holy Spirit that Jesus brought. They were witness of Christ and knew they were to act and speak for Christ as disciples are commanded to do so today. Scripture says, they were speaking to the people, when the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. They arrested them and put them in custody until the next day. The Sadducees “…charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:18-20). When Peter and John said, “for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard” they were obeying God’s command to speak His truth with the power of the Holy Spirit up to and including martyrdom.
Disciples today, like Peter and John, are commanded to take the helmet of salvation and the offensive weapon, the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, and withstand evil by boldly speaking as we ought to speak (Ephesians 6:10-20). We are then commanded to have no fellowship with evil but expose it (Ephesians 5:11). This directive emphasizes the command to all Christians to reveal and oppose evil.
However, today, as in all times there are slothful servants who hide their talents. Jesus gives this story. “Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’ “But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed (Matthew 25:24-29). This is the story of a servant receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit but refused this unbelievable powerful gift (Acts 2:38).
He tried to hide like Jonah but must not have known the gift of the Spirit of God is given to every disciple to guide, comfort, intercede and produce a profit for our Lord and Savior. Living in the Spirit greatly advances our natural powers to entitle us to represent and speak for Christ in our everyday lives. It is a unique and powerful privilege to be employed as our Redeemer’s worker in promoting His glory by witnessing Him into our culture. The main constraint for us is to live not for ourselves, but for Christ while doing our duty for Him. This is why Jesus told the slothful servant, ‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth’ (Matthew 25:29-30). Wicked servants will be reckoned with on the day of judgement and in Proverbs 18:9 confirms, “He that is careless in God’s work, is near akin to him that is busy in the devil’s work.”
This shows the more culturally accepted or dangerous the way; without living in the Spirit, humans build bigger and stronger guardrails that keeps them inside houses of worship on the easy non-dangerous path that sadly will bring them much weeping and gnashing of teeth. Therefore, living on the safe culturally accepted non-offensive path inside our guardrails is not an option for Disciples of Christ. Living as salt and light while confronting darkness can be risky, and dangerous. However, this is Christ’s Way disciples strive with the Holy Spirit to witness Christ while developing their God given spiritual gifts. Disciples study His word, to be taught by the Spirit of truth, so we can speak salt and light with His authority into the darkness of mankind. For “He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself” (1 John 5:10). This is our main duty after salvation because “he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins (James 5:20).
When we look at the American church today from 30,000 feet what do we see? Do we see many churches today teaching how to reap for Christ where He has not sown, and gather where He has not scattered seed? Do we see a church more like Jonah or is the church more like Esther? Does the church today put a main emphasis on teaching the power of the spoken word of God so the body of Christ can reach the lost outside in the public square? Maybe, but if not, your church is acting like the servant who received one talent and buried it.
The simple truth, the American Church is failing to firmly influence our culture today because, like Jonah, they are preventing themselves from publicly speaking with the power of God’s truth into the darkness of mankind. They have created false barriers, such as politics, fearing offense, losing tax-free status or cultural push back, etc. This causes them to lose their credibility and the power of the Holy Spirit to speak boldly against evil. The evidence, silent clergy fear losing their own members if they expose the public darkness right outside their front door. This happens when Shepherds do not represent themselves as bold true representatives of Christ. When it comes to evil, they are wishy washy appeasers who will not expose darkness because they fear the unknown.
When the body of Christ passively accepts evil and fails to expose it, as they are commanded to do, they are just like Jonah. The church today is unknowingly and some knowingly, partnering with the principalities who perpetuate evil. Jesus said, “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad” (Matthew 12:30). Therefore, there is no excuse or rationalized reason for not exposing evil unless these clergy are on evils side or biblically challenged. Many church leaders think they are safely inside their guardrails but like Jonah, their lying vanities will forsake God’s mercy.
The problem is there is not enough mobilization of the Christian community, for the millions of Christ’s believers to be the righteous bold catalytic force of God to reshape and save our nation. There must be a fusion of righteous political standards and the spiritual truth of God that can only happen when the community of Christ gets deeply involved in our culture. We must no longer create guardrails that prevents the power of the Holy Spirit from reaching the lost in the inner sanctums of the public arena. When Christ’s clergy and disciples accept their true commission, to go and make disciples, millions of Christians in America will change our culture by positively affecting the lives of many more millions with the truth of Christ.
Every true disciple knows silence hides the truth and denies the power of Christ. Silence hides salvation from the lost and gives the wicked no warning. Silence does not encourage the works of the Holy Spirit to convict the lost nor make them children of the light (Ephesians 5:8). Silence in the face of evil, is evil because these churches are wrapped up in themselves and have become a very small insignificant package without fulfilling God’s purpose.
The community of Christ, through their shepherds, must take the lead and denounce their fear of public involvement, while being open to multi-church strategies to stand together and individually to expose the darkness in the public arena. If American churches cave like in England and Europe there will be more grief and violence against our families, church, and country than can be imagined. The price for failure insures death and destruction. So, let’s ask ourselves, how important is it for Christians to pray, and act through speaking His truth without guardrails?
The biblical evidence proves Christ’s truth has no barriers, no hindrances in front of speaking the biblical word of truth and exposing the darkness of mankind. Our Christ sponsored process is to speak with as much grace as is possible but not let fear or any other rationalized selfish reason keep us from speaking. The reason “Death and life are in the power of the tongue…” (Proverbs 18:21) and Disciples are commanded to speak life, because silence in the face of evil prevents life. Jesus said…, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). Therefore, disciples speak His way, His truth, and His life into the culture of death beyond our man-made guardrails. However, without the Christian community coming together as a force of nature’s God, the future of America is in doubt.
David Howard, Foxhole Ministry