–– Evan Cantrell
The audio version of this article is available here: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.
Introduction:
On 26 July 2024, the Olympics opened with a parade of sin and decadence, including a drag parody of the Last Supper. Many South African pastors and churchgoers have taken to social media in response – either to condemn this event or to berate fellow Christians for their tone in condemning this event. In today’s article we will consider the Christian response to cultural sin and public mockery of God. Should Christians respond publicly, from the platform of social media or wherever else we have a voice? Does God need Christians to take care of His honour? Or should Christians be quiet and merely “expect unbelievers act like unbelievers”? Today we consider two questions which will frame our understanding of this controversial topic.
- Does God call Christians to confront sin in the world?
Christians are frequently told by unbelievers that the Bible has no place in “secular” society. Issues of the law and culture are supposedly outside the domain of religion. However, this could not be farther from the truth. We live in a world created by God, and God ought to be glorified in all of society. (See 1 Corinthians 10:31, Romans 11:36, and 2 Timothy 3:16-17) The book of Proverbs alone speaks to questions of marriage, finances, government, and much more.
God’s word especially has something to say about sin, whether it be private or public. God’s word says that we must call sinners to repentance by showing them their sin. This means not only reading “Jesus and Paul” aloud, but applying God’s word directly to the sins that confront us, not only in the church, but in the lost world around us.
In the Old Testament, God did not send His prophets only to call the people of Israel to repent of their sins. He sent Jonah to the people of Nineveh, and Isaiah prophesies against the national sins of Egypt, Edom, and Moab. In the New Testament, we see John the Baptist confronting the Pharisees in their hypocrisy, and the pagan king Herod in his own flagrant, public sin. Paul used the public idolatry of the men of Athens as the starting point for his gospel message to them, and Romans 1 is a clear commentary on the sins to which the Roman culture had been given over at the time when Paul was writing.
Clearly then, God expects Christians to confront sin in our culture.
- How are Christians called to confront sin in the world?
If God expects His people to expose the deeds of darkness (Ephesians 5:11), how does He expect us to do so? Are we to address every sin around us only by a gentle private rebuke? Alternatively, should we find every offending Facebook post, cry “Deus Vult!” and commence a Crusade in the comments?
Neither of these attitudes are appropriate. Ephesians commands Christians to be full of edifying speech–speech that is appropriate “to the need of the moment, giving grace to those who hear”. Consider three ways of confronting sin, as shown in Scripture.
First, Christians can gently confront an individual in an effort to draw them to repentance, Consider Jesus’ response to the rich young ruler in Mark 10:21, “Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said to him, “One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
Second, Christians may need to publicly rebuke the enemies of God. Consider Paul’s words to Elymas the magician in Acts 13, “You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord?” Those who rebel publicly against God or who constitute a danger to God’s people must be sternly rebuked.
Third, at times Christians must employ the sharp sword of satire and mockery to reveal the foolishness and absurdity of sin. Elijah mocked the prophets of Baal “Perhaps your god is using the bathroom”. In 2 Corinthians 11, Paul says ironically “For you, being so wise, tolerate the foolish gladly. For you tolerate it if anyone enslaves you, anyone devours you, anyone takes advantage of you, anyone exalts himself, anyone hits you in the face. To my shame I must say that we have been weak by comparison.”
Conclusion:
Scripture calls God’s people to proclaim truth and give to all men what they are owed – gentleness to whom gentleness is due; rebuke to whom rebuke is due; and mockery to whom mockery is due. In closing, consider what God has done in history by using faithful Christians who speak His truth. The evils of infanticide, slavery, human sacrifice, and polygamy were ended in the West only because God raised up men who were not afraid to openly confront public sin. May we have the wisdom to do likewise for the evils of transgender mutilation, climate idolatry, and secularism in our day.