A Eulogy for Cultural Christianity C. Trent Broussard, D. Ed. Min. July 5, 2020

Introduction As a nation, we have seen great seasons of the clear hand of God blessing His people.

Even before we were a free nation, God visited His church in what historians call the Great Awakening. Men like Jonathan Edwards, Gilbert Tennent, and George Whitefield were instrumental preachers who called men and women to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.

Later through the turn of the 18th century to the 19th century, God was moving among His people again and out of this second Great Awakening was birthed movements that would impact the lives of millions and bring freedom and a voice to some people who were previously marginalized in society. Both the abolitionist movement and the women’s suffrage movement took off as people began to apply truths and principles they were learning in the Bible to their lives and to their culture. During the time of our founding fathers, pastors (along with undertakers) were paid by local governments and municipalities. Every community needed a pastor and a undertaker. This was true in America until as late as the 1820’s, literally for the first 50 years of our nation.

Religious life was clearly active and influential in government. Fast-forward 100 -150 years and find the America that I grew up in. Most people I knew growing up went to church. It was the cultural norm. Most people I knew growing up would tell you that they believed in God (even those who didn’t go to church). Most people I knew growing up would tell you the Bible is the Word of God and we should follow it. Religious Holidays were celebrated in the public square. Almost every business was closed on Sunday.

Nativity scenes could be found on many state and local government properties. Even holidays like Thanksgiving and Memorial Day, which were not part of the traditional church calendar were treated with significant religious importance by public officials. Today we live in a culture where Christians have been marginalized. Our voice is not welcome in the public square. Most people do not go to church. Society at large doesn’t believe the Bible and they certainly do not believe it is relevant to public life. The media and the entertainment industry have been relentless in their display of contempt for Christ and His church. The tide has turned. The Christian faith is no longer the cultural majority in America and it hasn’t been for a long time. Society tells us that there are no absolute truths…except that one.

Culture says there is no God and to follow the teachings of a 2,000 year-old book is both foolish for the individual and oppressive for the rest of society. The loudest voices in our community say that you can practice your religious beliefs inside your home but don’t take them to the public square. Don’t expect anyone else in the culture to respect your religious beliefs.

Cultural Christianity in America is dead. The apostle Paul writes to Timothy and he describes the United States of America nearly perfectly.

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. (2 Timothy 3:1-5 ESV)1 Surely this is where we are today.

Lovers of Self – My generation grew up with Whitney Houston proclaiming that learning to love yourself is the greatest love of all. Lovers of money – Greed and a covetous heart are simply part of our fallen human nature. How many times do we see money corrupt business, politics, and our judicial system? Proud, Arrogant, Abusive – one glance at the comments on many blog posts will tell you we are Proud, Arrogant, and Abusive. Turn on your nightly news programs on whichever

1Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture used is from the English Standard Version.

network you prefer, and you will see this attitude clearly on display. Disobedient to their parents – this doesn’t need much explanation Ungrateful – we live in a time when people feel they are owed everything and don’t believe they should have to work for it Unholy – do you think there is more sin or less sin in the world? Heartless – we often look at the plight of others, injustice, abuse and walk away without caring The list goes on…Unappeasable, Slanderous, Without Self Control, Brutal, Not loving Good, Treacherous, Reckless, Swollen with conceit… Lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God – What do we live for? Are we working for the weekend? Having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power – we pray, we read our

Bibles, but are our lives really transformed? This text is relevant today! But there is good news. Cultural Christianity may be dead, but the Church of Jesus Christ is Alive and Well. We cannot make the mistake of assuming since our voice is no longer welcome in the public square that somehow the church is now weak or the Gospel has been made impotent. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Gospel Encouragment All four Gospel writers are intent on us knowing that we will be hated by the world because we follow Jesus Christ “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves…and you will be hated by all for my name's sake (Matt 10:16, 22a). Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake (Matthew 24:9-14 ESV).“But be on your guard. For they will deliver you over to councils, and you will be beaten in synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them…And you will be hated by all for

my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved (Mark 13:9, 13) You will be hated by all for my name's sake. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your lives (Luke 21:10-19 ESV). “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you (John 15:18-19 ESV). I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world (John 17:14). For Matthew, Mark, Luke and John it was imperative for future readers to know and understand being a follower of Christ would be costly. There would be no popularity contests won. In fact, the idea of cultural Christianity, the thought that millions of people would attend church weekly and profess Christ but have no price to pay, no burden to bear and live lives that are remarkably similar to the world around them would have been repulsive to these first witnesses to the life of Christ. If that cultural Christianity is dead. then we must say good riddance.

Good riddance to a Christian life without sacrifice. Good riddance to a Christian life without real life change. Good riddance to a Christian life without repentance.

Good riddance to a Christian life without a Biblical worldview.

Good riddance to a Christian life in name only. Good riddance to a Christian life without Jesus Christ. Why does the world hate Christ and His followers? We don’t have to look any further than Genesis chapter 3 when God cursed the serpent and placed enmity between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman. From that moment on, Satan was trying to thwart God’s plans and destroy the line of Christ and thereby destroy the coming Messiah. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel (Genesis 3:15).

We see this enmity in Cain and Abel, Isaac and Ishmael, Jacob and Esau. We see this enmity when Pharoah killed the Hebrew boys and when Haman tried to kill the Jews. We see it in Bethlehem when Herod ordered the murder of boys under the age of 2. The seed of the serpent has been trying since the beginning to destroy the seed of the woman. It should not surprise nor discourage us when we are hated by the world. It is the most normal and common thing in all of history for the church to be scorned and marginalized by the world. Russell Moore is president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. In a blog post he writes:

Christianity isn’t normal anymore, and that’s good news. The Book of Acts, like the Gospels before it, shows us that Christianity thrives when it is, as Kierkegaard put it, a sign of contradiction. Only a strange gospel can differentiate itself from the worlds we construct. But the strange, freakish, foolish old gospel is what God uses to save people and resurrect churches. We do not have more atheists in America. We have more honest atheists in America. Again, that’s good news. The gospel comes to sinners, not to the righteous. It is easier to speak a gospel to the lost than it is to speak a gospel to the kind-of-saved. And what those honest atheists grapple with, is what every sinner grapples with, burdened consciences that point to judgement. Our calling is to bear witness. We don’t have Mayberry anymore, if we ever did. Good. Mayberry leads to hell just as surely as Gomorrah does. But Christianity didn’t come from Mayberry in the first place, but from a Roman Empire hostile to the core to the idea of a crucified and resurrected Messiah. We’ve been on the wrong side of history since Rome, and it was enough to turn the world upside down. The future of Christianity is bright. I don’t know that from surveys and polls, but from a word someone spoke one day back at Caesarea Philippi. The gates of hell haven’t gotten any stronger and the light that drives out the darkness is enough to counter every rival gospel.2 Calvary, as I look upon the death of cultural Christianity as we know it, I see it as a blessing because those who are in Christ will continue and persevere. Those who are playing a religious game because the culture expects them to do so will and are leaving the church and siding with the world. That is good news because we can see who needs to hear the Gospel. As I

2Russell Moore, Moore To The Point: Is Christianity Dying, May 12, 2015.

have already mentioned, the Church of Jesus Christ is alive and well.

Millions Coming to Christ around the World According to a Pew Research Center report from 2015, there are 2.17 billion Christians worldwide and the number is expected to grow to 2.62 billion by the year 2050.3 The Gospel is alive and well all over the globe. While Christianity is seen in decline in North

America and Europe, it is growing with fervor in sub-Saharan Africa. In fact, 19 of the 20 countries where Christianity is growing the fastest are in Africa and Asia. While it may look dark here, the gates of hell have still not been able to overcome the triumphant Gospel of Jesus Christ. And they never will! I recently heard someone say the very future of Christianity is at stake in the upcoming election. My friends, nothing could be further from the truth. The future of Christianity is dependent upon Christ and Christ alone. Yes, in some ways the days certainly seem dark for the church in America. The world may very well hate us for the testimony of faith we carry. But this is no reason to give up hope. Owen Strachen, who teaches at MBTS writes,

Christians of all people believe in divine reversals, shocking redemption,… We are the people of hope. We’ve seen Abraham made into a mighty nation, Israel march out of Egypt, mighty Babylon and fierce Persia and lordly Rome crumble into ash, the church explode as the gospel slipped its first-century cage. We believe in a God of ridiculous power who does inconceivable things. From this backdrop, we are poised to plunge back into the public square out of love for neighbor and the pursuit of shalom for all people, including those who oppose us…The culture may seem to be crumbling. But God is on his own throne and his gospel is on the move. America (may be) new Rome. But Rome is where the message of Christ crucified and resurrected slipped its surly bonds. Rome is where the church flourished and grew despite terrific opposition. Rome tried to snuff out the light of Christ, but in total honesty, Rome failed miserably. May the church of America be like the church of Rome.4

3Pew Research Center, The Future Of World Religions: Population Growth Projections, April 2, 2015.

4Owen Strachan, Thoughtlife: 5 Implications of the Supreme Court Same-Sex Marriage Decision, June 26, 2015.

So how do we live? In The Revelation, John writes,

And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death (Revelation 12:10-11). We live by three things: 1) the Blood of the Lamb – Trust in the finished work of Jesus

Christ, 2) the Word of our testimony – Tell people what Christ has done for you, and 3) we Love not our lives even unto death – even in the face of opposition and persecution, live faithful lives. The body, as Luther told us, they may kill. God’s truth abideth still. His kingdom is forever! Jesus never promised cultural Christianity. He never promised religious liberty. He never promised civil rights. But He has promised to never leave nor forsake us. He has promised to save those who call upon His name. In the midst of political depravity and social unrest, we must remember that our enemy is Satan. He seeks to destroy and kill. But Jesus saves.

Conclusion I want to close with the words of the third stanza of the hymn Jesus Saves by Priscilla Jane Owens: Sing about the battle strife Jesus saves Jesus saves By his death and endless life Jesus saves Jesus saves Shout it brightly through the gloom When the heart for mercy craves Sing in triumph o'er the tomb Jesus saves Jesus saves Friends, this is our message, our battle cry, the theme of our lives. Let’s embrace a Christian life with sacrifice. Let’s embrace a Christian life with real life change.

Let’s embrace a Christian life with repentance. Let’s embrace a Christian life with a Biblical worldview. Let’s embrace a Christian life not in name only, but one that strives for justice and

human flourishing. Let’s embrace a Christian life with Jesus Christ at its core.