Many Christians believe that the ongoing cultural battle they face on a daily basis can simply be won at the ballot box. They're convinced that morality is something that can be imposed by legislative fiat.
But it can't be. If you want a strong, stable and moral civilization, then you have to start by raising children in biblical Judeo-Christian values so that they'll grow up to be God-fearing adults.
And you have to present those biblical values in a relevant way so that when the children become adults, they won't abandon them. Nearly 3,000 years ago, Solomon wrote this: "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." (Proverbs 22:6)
The main reason why so many young folks today have rejected Christianity is because they see it as irrelevant. They view Christianity as an outdated belief system that was for their parents and grandparents, but isn't for them.
And the reason why Christianity has become so irrelevant throughout the western world is because Christendom has failed to contend for the faith that the apostle Jude (Jude 1:3) commanded the early church to never cease doing.
Jude warned the early church to contend for the faith because he recognized that Christendom had a diabolical enemy in the heavenly realms that worked tirelessly to destroy the church from within and without.
The apostle Paul identified the enemy as Satan. Furthermore, he recognized that Satan worked to marginalize and destroy the church through the popular culture.
Here's what Paul wrote: "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand." (Ephesians 6:10-13)
How does Satan battle the church? He encourages the secular world to embrace his lies such as evolution, relativism, existentialism and universalism.
And since he has authority over everyone who doesn't belong to God through faith in Jesus Christ, he has an advantage in the sheer number of people he controls. Those are the folks he influences to do his evil bidding.
And many of the folks who willingly do his bidding have made contact with him and his demons through such channels as the occult, false religions, eastern mysticism and hallucinogenic drugs.
Paul called Satan, "the god of this age (who) has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." (2 Corinthians 4:4)
The folks who have been blinded by Satan include violent jihadists who believe that heaven is obtained by murdering infidels; morally depraved celebrities, godless educators, and atheist politicians who want to eradicate Christianity.
Oh yes: The devil even tries to influence Christians to conduct their battles in the flesh by using the ballot box instead of the Spirit of God to advance the faith. Many Christians are convinced that they can fulfill the Great Commission of Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:16-20) by simply electing candidates who embrace conservative values.
But the Great Commission isn't advanced that way. It's never been advanced that way. And it will never be. That's why the western world has sunken into an immoral abyss. Because too much of the church has forgotten what Paul wrote to the early Ephesian Church 2,000 years ago. And as a result, Christianity has lost its influence.
If Christians want to rescue the world from its descent into depravity, then they're going to have to make their faith relevant once again.
That means that they're going to have to turn off their TV's; get off of their butts, get out of their churches and start preaching the Gospel once again. It won't be easy. But it's the only way.
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