Christians should operate out of Faith and Duty. But what does that mean? What duties are we are to exercise? I believe Christians need to learn and exercise four basic duties. II Timothy 2:3,
| "Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ." If we are called - enlisted - as soldiers, then we need to understand our duties. What exactly does a good soldier do? |
American viewers recognized that our soldiers were forced to read these statements - that they had been tortured. It was obvious on their faces, bruises, and duress. These American soldiers had been trained to give in, if submitted to unbearable torture, and read whatever they were given. The soldiers were to read woodenly, without emotion to make it obvious to the viewer that their confessions were coerced.
Nearly everyone around the world realized that these were false confessions extracted by force and torture. What was the point? What did the Iraqis hope to accomplish?
The Iraqis, also, threatened to place our POWs in strategic military installations, which were targets of our missiles and bombers. They told our leaders that if we bombed their installations, we would be killing our own people. Again, these turned out to be false threats, but what was their goal? It was more than just trying to save their military installations.
The Iraqi generals wanted to demoralize our troops by using our captured soldiers as propaganda and military shields. Therefore, the first duty of a good soldier: Don't Get Captured. If you get captured, not only are you of no use to your side, but the enemy will use you against your own troops.
For the Christian soldier, the New Testament underscores the importance of this duty. Colossians 2:8 states, "See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy or empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world rather than according to Christ."
A few years ago the Associated Press reported an incident from Tacoma, Washington, that was chilling. Alittle boy had been kept in a coffin- sized box for over two years because his step-grandmother thought he was brain damaged. The box was 6'x3'x2'. Once he was released from the box and authorities interviewed him, the horror of his situation was magnified. Psychologists reported that the little boy never tried to escape because "he did not know any different kind of life." They also stated that the little boy was "overwhelmed when he came to the realization that not all little boys are kept in boxes."
What made the story even more horrifying was that the psychologists discovered the boy was allowed out of the box regularly on two occasions: 1) to go to the bathroom, and 2) to attend church. Now imagine sitting next to this little boy in church and having him turn to you and ask, "What color is your box? Is your box warm or cool?" That would be very disconcerting, wouldn't it?
This tragic illustration mirrors what is happening in the Christian community. Christians have been fitted with a little coffin-shaped box called "secularism" around their minds. Secularism is the belief that there may or may not be a God, but even if there is, He is irrelevant to history, art, science, literature, music.
The culture tells Christians, "You are free to climb out of your box of secularism once a week and go do good deeds like paint the widow's house or even to attend church, but don't you dare bring your faith to bear in the culture around you." That is secularism. It is a little coffinshaped box of death that has been fitted around our minds. We are trained to think inside the box of secularism, and even if we love Jesus with our hearts, it has little effect on the culture around us because we think secularly.
As Christians, we are to make certain we are not captured by secular thought. What one pours into one's mind will determine how he thinks, and how he thinks will determine how he acts despite what his heart-felt faith tells him.
You may be wondering,"What is this guy talking about - being captured? I haven't been captured by secularism. I know the fundamental doctrines and essential beliefs of the Christian faith. This guy is out to lunch."
When my family lived in Southern Illinois, we would occasionally visit Giant City State Park. Most of Illinois is as flat as the page of this book, but there are some beautiful rolling hills and some picturesque scenery in Southern Illinois around Giant City. People from Colorado would guffaw and chortle if they saw Giant City because they have the Rocky Mountains, but unique for our section of the country.
We would take our four-year-old down to Giant City, and I would place him on top of a ten-foot boulder, stand below him and say, "Son, jump; I'll catch you."
You've seen a little child jump off high objects into his Daddy's arms. He does not jump; he simply steps off. I could have caught my son over and over as long as my arms held out. What if I had put him up on that boulder, said, "Son, jump and I'll catch you," and as he stepped off, I had stepped aside letting him flip-flop on the rocks below. Then, what if I picked him up, set him on that boulder, and said, "Son, jump, and I'll catch you," what would he have said? He would say, "My Momma did not raise a dummy. I'm not jumping."
Would his heart still love his Daddy? Yes, but what would overrule his heart? His mind. What you pour into a person's mind will determine what he thinks, and what he thinks will determine how he acts, regardless of his heart-felt faith.
Nearly all Christians have been taken captive to some degree by secularism. Let me illustrate this with one question. From your secular (public school) education, what can you recall learning about historical accomplishments of Christians? Having asked thousands of people this question over the past several years this question, I have received three basic answers:
| 1) Christians killed people during the Crusades and the Inquisition. 2) Christians burned witches in Salem, Massachusetts (Actually, they drowned and hanged them, but let's not split hairs.) 3) Today, Christians bomb abortion clinics, bilk little old ladies out of hard-earned bucks through television-evangelist programs, and badger public schools by petitioning them to remove "Huckleberry Finn" from junior high school library shelves. |
Let's try a different approach. Who invented basketball? James Naismith. He took two peach baskets, nailed them at the opposite ends of a gym, took two soccer or volleyballs and invented basketball. Why? Many people think it was to keep his spring track stars in shape during the winter months. That was part of it.
Naismith worked for the YMcA. That is correct - the YMcA. It used to be known as the YMCA, which stood for the Young Men's Christian Association, but today most people simply know it as the Y, and my question is, "Why?"
Naismith was studying to be a pastor and wanted to find a way to get a group of guys together for a Bible study. A Christian invented basketball! Tell the Shaq tand Dennis Rodman that today! Did you know a Christian invented basketball? Did you sleep during PE class?
Well, how about history? What did you learn from your secular education as to why Columbus sailed to discover the New World? I learned that he sailed for gold or glory. He wanted to find a shorter route to the Indies in order to bring back spices and become wealthy. Or, he wanted to prove the world was round and get his name in all the history textbooks and in all the adventure trading card series. It was for gold or glory - fame or fortune that Columbus sailed.
Yet, in his diary, which still exists in the archives of Spain, Columbus wrote,
| It was the Lord Who put it into my mind to sail from here to the Indies, through rays of marvelous illumination from the Holy Scripture. The fact that the gospel must be preached to all the nations-this is what inspired me. |
When I look in textbooks today, I read that all great scientists were and are evolutionists. Isaac Newton, one of the greatest scientists of all time, is portrayed as a flaming evolutionist in some textbooks. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, he wrote,
| When I look at the solar system, I see the earth at the proper distance from the sun to receive the proper amounts of heat and light. This did not happen by chance. The motions of the planets require a divine arm to move them. |
As an American Christian public school teacher raised in a church and in a family that taught me to love God, I, too, had been taken captive by secular thinking. I never mentioned the most influential piece of liter- ature in Western Civilization in my English class. I never mentioned the first book printed on a movable type printing press, the first book read in outer space, the international best seller. To be a best seller a book must sell 1,000,000 copies and be translated into six languages - this book had sold over 1,000,000,000 copies and been translated into over 1,000 languages and dialects! I never mentioned the book that college and university English professors from secular institutions consistently say is the #1 book that students should read before entering college. What book did I fail to mention? The Bible, of course. That is academically absurd to do so, but why did I fail to mention such an influential book? I had been "boxed" - taken captive - by secular thinking. I had subtly trained to think that the Bible was an illegal book in school. I was trained to think that "separation of church and state" dictated that I could not discuss the Bible in the classroom.
This may not be the case with all Christian public school teachers, but it certainly was with me. I sincerely believed that I was to be neutral in front of my students - that when I walked into my classroom, I was to shed my values as if I were shedding my sports coat. I put my heart - my faith - in the bottom drawer of my desk. When I walked into church on Sunday or Wednesday night prayer meeting, I put my mind - my intellect - on the shelf in the foyer. I had become a schizophrenic Christian. I loved Jesus with my heart, but my mind was trained to think inside the little coffin-shaped box of secularism. I had ignored the greatest commandment.
Jesus tells us in Mark 12:30 that the greatest commandment is to love God with all - heart, soul, strength and ??!?!?!??-Oh, what is that other thing-oh, yes, our minds. Remember Duty #1: Don't Get Captured.
Well, if we are not to be captured, then what are we, as Christian soldiers, to do? We are to capture something, but what is it? We are to Capture the Culture, Not the Flag! A soldier does not go into battle to hold ground; he goes to war to take ground.
The verse that applies for the Christian soldier is II Corinthians 10:5. "We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ."
Christians are on a search and destroy mission. We are to destroy "speculations" - ideas, arguments, pretensions, imaginations - but not people. That is a hard principle to put into practice. Too often, I want to rip the atheist's jugular vein from his throat and hand it to him during an argument. Of course, I will do it in love - right. Christians must remember that we are to speak the truth in love.
As Francis Schaeffer pointed out, it is possible to speak the truth under one's own power, but that usually becomes harsh and biting. It is also possible to appear loving under one's own power, but that usually becomes mushy-"I just love everybody"-without a standard of what is truly loving. However, the only way a Christian can speak the truth in love is by the empowering of the Holy Spirit. His power working through us makes it possible to destroy arguments without destroying the person. Christians must engage the culture, search out those arguments and ideas that are contrary to God's truth and dismantle them before they become part of the foundation of our civilization.
It is difficult to think well; thinking well is extremely hard work. However, an even more difficult task is to think God's thoughts after Him. Actually, it is impossible to think God's thoughts after Him without the Holy Spirit doing His job. To think biblically requires the Holy Spirit banging away on the inside of us to mold and shape our minds into the mind of Christ. Christians are to think and then live in accord with a biblical world view.
Unfortunately, too many Christians have been captured by secular thinking. As a result, Christians have ended up being on the defensive far too long. In fact, Christians have been retreating from nearly every area of culture. Can you name one arena that Christians have not abandoned to secular thinking? Law? Politics? Art? Journalism? Business? Music? Media? Ethics? Medicine? Education? True, there are flashes of light in these areas, but for the most part, Christians have created a false dichotomy between the sacred and the secular. Christians look at certain aspects of culture and wag their heads saying, "That is secular. We Christians should have nothing to do with that. We are above getting involved with the arts or politics or. . . We are to spend our time worshipping God."
However, in Romans 12:1 Paul admonishes Christians, "Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship." Worship for the Christian is not a ceremony; it is everything the Christian does from taking out the garbage to changing a baby's dia- per to training employees in the workplace in a biblical work ethic to being excellent as a graphic artist to building integrity into the structure of a set of custom kitchen cabinets to wearing the sacred tie while singing "Amazing Grace" on Sunday morning in the padded pew. Worship for the Christian is everything he does.
Generally, Christians have retreated from the culture and created their own ghettos-the padded pews from which they cluck their tongues, wring their hands and decry the decline in morals and values in our secularized culture. Some Christians do seek to penetrate the culture but usually end up following the latest trends and mimicking the current styles rather than setting the standard of excellence to which Christians are called. (See Philippians 4:8.)
The problem is not with the culture. The problem rests in the padded pew. The problem is the Bill Jacks of the world who have retreated at best or have been captured by secularism at worst and are more than comfortable once a week to occupy a seat rather than obeying His command to occupy the culture until He returns.
One of the standard hymns of faith in the church in which I was raised and saved was "Onward Christian Soldiers." Unfortunately, the Church in general seems to be sounding retreat from the battle for the culture.
For example, to my shame I recall vividly standing up as a college student in a Wednesday night prayer meeting in my home church and defending God using evolution to bring about His creation. All of those fathers in the faith, who had taught me from the time I was a child that the Bible is true, all looked at the floor in embarrassment for me, as well they should. However, not one of them came over to me afterwards, put his arm around me and said, "Bill, did you ever look at good science and look at Scripture to see that your model of origins does not fit either very well at all?" So, I struggled with that issue for several more years until someone destroyed the arguments of evolution raised up against the knowledge of God, and I realized I had to take every thought captive to His obedience.
I find that Christians have been intimidated by the so-called intellectuals in our culture who have mocked God and Christians who believe His Word to be the Truth in every area of culture. Christians generally no longer stand on the truth of God as Sovereign Creator. Instead, they tend to water down His might and power by adding evolution to His plan. Statements such as, "Perhaps God used the process of evolution to bring about His creation. . ." or "I have no problem correlating the process of evolution with the Bible's account of creation. After all, the six days could be six thousand or six million years long. . ." are commonly heard in Christian circles. We sit and wring our hands intimidated by so-called science which seeks to disprove Scripture as our standard of reference. Instead of going on the offensive, we retreat and seek the credibility of our opponents by compromising on the integrity of God's Word.
Our Lord did not tell us to sit and wring our hands. He told us to go and make disciples. We need to engage the culture in conversation and proclaim the truth in every aspect of civilization. We are to be that salt and light which makes people thirsty for the Truth and which draws them out of the darkness. Cultures have been blessed whenever Christians have thought God's thoughts after Him and then applied that thinking in every aspect of their culture.
Whenever the Bible has been proclaimed, received and applied in a culture, the people of that civilization have experienced the greatest liberty, prosperity, civility and security of peoples anywhere on the surface of the earth. Whenever the power of God's Word has been suppressed and rejected by civilizations, the people of those cultures have experienced the greatest tyranny, the deepest poverty financially and spiritually, the greatest depravity and the greatest insecurity imaginable - even to the point of the enslavement and extinction of their civilizations.
Christians are to Capture the Culture: Not the Flag! There is a game that is played at every camp you have ever attended - from boy scout camp to church camp: Capture the flag. At our Worldview Academy student leadership camps we will not, do not, play capture the flag. No, it is not because I'm not any good at it-it is because "capture the flag" is a game. My colleagues and I do not give up our summers, spend time away from our families and eat camp food to play games with students. We want to train warriors for Jesus Christ. We want to raise up an army of Christian soldiers who understand their duties and will penetrate the culture with His truth and love in every area.
In our academic camp, students are in class 29 hours out of the week. It is not merely pop their heads open and pour information into them, however. We train them in creation vs. evolution, and then we take them to a museum or zoo and use the exhibits based on evolution to teach them creation. We train them in evangelism skills, and then we take them out and have them witness to people on college campuses and on the streets. We teach them how to understand opposing worldviews and how to articulate a biblical worldview in response, and then we have them engage people in conversations on the streets.
Generally, Christian camps are built around the notion of "fun." Fun, I believe is an unbiblical word. Nowhere in Scripture does the word, "fun," appear. The closest reference is "folly" which is not positive. In the Christian community we have made the mistake of trying to entertain people, especially students, into the kingdom of God. We are raising a generation of "Fun-junkies."
Pleasure has become the goal in our culture and, too often, in our church. Christians need to be trained to exercise their duties, which is not always fun, but it does result in the biblical alternative, joy. Whereas fun is determined by circumstances or one's environment (i.e. amusement parks are fun), joy is determined by a relationship with the One Who made you. There is a world view of difference between "fun" and "joy."
Christian soldiers must "destroy speculations (ideas) raised up against the knowledge of God and take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ" (II Corinthians 10:5). We Christians must stop playing fun-junkie games with the culture and, instead, Capture the Culture with the truth and love of Jesus Christ in every discipline.
You must learn a little about my background before we proceed to the next duty. I was one of the most dreaded creatures on the face of God's green earth. I mentioned that I taught in the public school, but can you guess what subject I taught? No, worse than math - no, not science. I was an English teacher.
It is time for a little grammar quiz. Do you recall what a double negative is? Correct, it is putting two negatives together in the same grammatical construction. Now if you put two negatives together in a mathematical formula or in chemistry, what do they become? Right, a positive. The same is true in grammar.
One of my favorite examples of a double negative is, "I ain't got none," which therefore means you have something. That is why "you don't use no double negatives nowhere" which if I have counted correctly is a triple negative, which makes the statement positive and acceptable grammatically. Well, this next duty is much like a double negative.
If Christian soldiers capture the captured, then they set them free. How do we free people? We give them the truth; we share the gospel of Jesus Christ with those held in bondage to sin. The passage of Scripture for the Christian soldier that backs this duty is II Timothy 2:24-26: "The Lord's bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will."
Yet, I have found that this is easier said than done. For example, I trusted Jesus Christ in the church in which I was raised. I was trained to love, trust and obey God in that same church by committed Christians who selflessly poured their lives into mine. My father owned a small business and is the example of a life lived to glorify and honor his Creator in every area - from business to family matters. His testimony lived before me was seamless and whole - a life of integrity. My mother's faith and passion for God are unmatched by anyone else I have known.
Yet, unfortunately, no one methodically trained me in techniques, which I could use to share clearly and succinctly my faith with others. In general, that is the case in the Christian community. We are not equipped to give a clear gospel. I was an adult before someone trained me in an effective presentation of the gospel.
At Worldview Academy we make it a point to train students in methods of sharing the gospel that can be applied when they return home. Then, we take them out on campuses and downtown streets and let them share their faith with college students, businessmen, construction workers, policemen, and families in parks. At least 60 per cent of the students who attend Worldview Academy for the first time have never shared their faith in such a way. They go out scared spitless, but they come back wired because they have seen the power of the Holy Spirit work in and through them. They have experienced the power of the gospel set people free from the bondage of sin and death before their very eyes. They have watched dead people come to life in Christ. Those students overflow with the joy - not the fun, the joy - of the Lord.
Now these are students whose parents want them to be committed Christians, want them to be leaders, want them to be soldiers for Jesus. These are highly motivated students who eagerly come to be trained and equipped in a biblical worldview. Why have so few engaged the culture with the gospel before coming to Worldview Academy? Once again, I believe Christians have tended to retreat from the culture rather than to advance on the gates of hell.1
Many students come to us with certain techniques of evangelism that they are comfortable using. We simply add tools to their evangelism toolbox. Not every tool works in every situation. Have you ever used a butter knife as a screwdriver? Many people have. Hopefully, you have never used a screwdriver as a butter knife! The butter knife was not designed to be used as a screwdriver. Too often, we use evangelism tools that do not fit the situation.
Worldview Academy trains students in new techniques and methods and then has them apply those tools during camp on an evangelism field trip. The evangelism field trip consistently receives the highest marks from the students on our evaluations of camp activities. We, as adults, too often think that students will not accept the challenge of the tough duty of sharing their faith. We underestimate the zeal of our younger brothers and sisters who are fellow soldiers in the cause of Christ.
Remember, Mathew 28:18-20 is not called the Subtle Suggestion, but rather the Great Commission. Our Commander-in-Chief, Jesus Christ, did not order us to sit and wring our hands but to go and make disciples. The first step in making a disciple is to tell them of their need for Jesus. We are to Capture the Captured!
Now we come to our final duty. What happens when a soldier is dropped behind enemy lines and cut off from his supplies? What does he do? I know-he takes off his helmet, takes out his spray paint and sshhhhhhhssshhhh - he paints his helmet chrome. Then he polishes his boots until the sun glints off the toes, pins on every medal he has ever earned so that he clanks when he walks, unfurls the Old Glory and marches down the enemy's main street singing, "I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy! Yankee Doodle Do or Die. . ." That is exactly what he would do if he were so foolish to do so. No, a soldier camouflages himself and seeks to use what is around him not only to survive but also to disrupt the enemy's position.
Scott O'Grady's aircraft was shot down over Bosnia. Our military command lost all contact with him and assumed he had been captured at best or killed at worst. Five and one-half days later they miraculously received a radio signal from Scott, swept in and plucked him off a hillside just before the enemy overran the position. 5 1/2 days with no supplies - no food - no water. The press eagerly awaited his return and bombarded him with questions when he landed. What was one of the main questions they asked? It was, "What did you eat?" His answer, "Bugs."
That is duty #4: Eat Bugs! No, not really, but it is close. We must Learn to Live Off the Land! Christians have been dropped behind enemy lines-we live in a post-Christian culture, and we must learn to take what is around us and use it not just to survive, but also to disrupt the enemy's position -"to destroy arguments. . . raised up against the knowledge of God."
Many Christians see no need in viewing the culture as a battlefield. They consider themselves to be quite blessed and quite at ease in the American way of life. I, too, felt that battlefield terminology was sometimes overplayed until I was asked by a student to speak in her philosophy of science class at the University of Colorado in Boulder. She asked me because her professor was bashing Christians, and she felt he was unfairly portraying the Christian position of science and philosophy. She asked him if he would invite me to speak, and to his credit, he did.
I assumed the course was a graduate level course and began by asking, "How do you determine right from wrong? For the way you do so will determine how you do science. After all, Hitler had brilliant scientists who performed atrocities on human beings because of their philosophy of right and wrong."
The students yawned but did not respond. I do not like apathy in students, so I leaned on them. I pointed to one student and asked him directly, "Was Hitler wrong in what he did to the Jews?"
He shifted in his seat, stared blankly at me and muttered, "In my opinion he was wrong."
Puzzled, I explained, "I'm not asking your opinion. Who cares about your opinion? Who cares about my opinion? Opinions are like warts. We've all had them, and we all want to show them off, but no one else really cares to see them. What I'm asking is if Hitler was right or wrong in what he did to the Jews?" and I pointed to another student. I could not get a single student in either of two sections of that course to tell me Hitler was wrong.
They all responded, "In my opinion he was wrong."
Finally, in desperation I asked, "Are there any Jewish students here?" A girl raised her hand. "Was Hitler wrong in what he did to the Jews?" I again asked.
And again came the reply, "In my opinion he was."
And again I asked, "Your opinion may be triggered by a bit of undigested cheese from last night's meal. I don't care about your opinion. Can you point me to an absolute that tells me Hitler was wrong?"
She replied, "There are no absolutes."
To which I queried, "Are you absolutely certain?"
To which she replied, "Yes, there are no absolutes."
I left the class shaken. It was not a graduate level course. It was a freshman orientation course. Those students did not learn that idea at the University of Colorado. Nor did they learn it in high school because I had the exact same discussion with a group of sophomores from a local Denver high school two months later. These students are learning this philosophy of no absolutes in grade school.
Christians assume by sending our children to Sunday school and youth group twice a week for one hour that we can raise up good soldiers for Jesus who are not captured in their thinking. How sadly mistaken we are to think we have not been dropped behind enemy lines - to think that our supply lines are still intact and feeding us ammunition and nutritious meals.
Paul understood the problem of being dropped behind the enemy's lines and found creative ways not just to survive but to destroy pagan arguments. In Acts 17, Paul was in Athens waiting for friends of his and began looking around the city. It was filled with idols. The architects had even incorporated idols into the structures themselves. Paul began to preach Jesus and the resurrection, and the populace dragged him to the center of the city where all the philosophers gathered. They asked for him to explain what he was saying - "the strange things he was bringing to their ears."
Paul began by complimenting them on their religious zeal. "Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects. For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, 'TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.'" (Acts 17:22-23) He then started with creation and worked his way up to the "J" word.
Paul took a pagan altar and turned it into a pulpit from which he proclaimed the gospel. What is common to your culture? What is it to which you have access that everyone else is overlooking that you can turn into a pulpit? Let me suggest just two possibilities, which might spark other ideas that you can use in reaching your community for Christ.
When families enter a museum, parents corral their children so they do not bump the sacred objects; they speak in hushed tones; they fold their hands reverently. Junior tugs on Dad's sleeve and asks, "What is this, Dad?" And Dad, not wanting to appear uninformed, turns around and reads the sign. "Welllllll, you see, this here is a dinosaur which I would say (glancing at the sign) is about 60 million years old." They all look wide-eyed from Dad to the fossil and exclaim, "OOOOhhhh! AAAhhhh! OOOOOh!" almost bowing before the exhibit in worship. Museums are the secular temples of our day. In a sense, many people visit museums to "worship the creature rather than the Creator whose is blessed forever." (Romans 1:25)
Within a hundred miles of most everyone is a major museum or zoo. Christians can begin to train other Christians about the reliability of the Bible in every area simply by conducting a zoo or museum tour. Christians need to recognize that we reflect the nature of our Creator and are to be creative in applying His revealed truth in every area of life. If you think outside the secular box, you can provide a dynamic tour which will challenge people to think biblically. Not only will they hear the information, but they also will see it in the exhibits. As you bring a biblical perspective to the tour, suddenly the Bible comes to life. Many people learn more in a two-hour museum tour on a Sunday afternoon about the relia- bility of the Bible than they have learned in a month of Sunday school classes.
Is your interest in economics? Lead tours at the museum of science and industry, training students to be fruitful in everything. Lead tours of a United States Mint and explain what makes money valuable and what a biblical view of work does for people and what the government's involvement in the economy should be.
Is your interest creation vs. evolution? Lead tours of the evolution exhibits at your local museum and use them to teach the truth of a sixday creation.
Is your interest art? Lead tours of the art museum using Francis Schaeffer's material on world views to show how art leads the culture.
Is your interest math? Point out God's amazing handiwork in geometric patterns, so obvious in the leaves and petals of flowers, on a botanical garden tour.
Take what is common to the culture, the secular temples called museums, and turn them into pulpits from which you proclaim a clear gospel.2
Many people have in their closets one of the most powerful evangelism tools at their disposal. Many families purchased one of these tools when their children were new-borns and used it faithfully the first few years of the child's life. However, lately it has been collecting dust in the closet. "It," of course, is a video camera.
Go get it out of the closet, dust it off, put new batteries in it, buy a new blank tape, grab two Christian friends and head to the nearest park, city-wide festival or public college campus and simply interview people about their world views. Pick some great spiritual conversation starter questions, such as, "What happens when you die?" or "What would a perfect world look like?" or "Is man inherently good or is he morally flawed?"
Now you would think that if you stick a camera in someone's face and ask him or her such questions, that they would withdraw or become shy. Actually, the opposite is true; people think they will appear on television or they are suddenly one of the chosen few for a documentary. People openly will talk about spiritual ideas, which gives you two opportunities.
First, you have people who believe alternative world views on video. Take that tape back to your Sunday school class, Bible study, or home school support group, and train fellow Christians how to respond to opposing world views and effectively share a clear gospel with deceived followers of false religions. Secondly, you will have the opportunity to ask penetrating questions about their belief system and often can point them to their need for Christ. Take what is common to the culture, people's familiarity and fascination with video, and turn it into a pulpit from which you proclaim the gospel.3
Those are the four duties a Christian soldier for Jesus Christ must exercise. However, why go to all that trouble? What is the point of being that focused and aggressive in reaching what many say is a dying culture anyway? Why not go hide in the hills, retreat from the culture and enjoy life away from the maddening crowd? The world is going to end soon anyway, right?
Whenever a soldier enlists and enters boot camp, among the many regulations and rules he memorizes are two that are outstanding: 1) the chain of command, and 2) the general orders. He must know the chain of command beginning with his drill instructor and proceeding up to the Commander-in-Chief, the President of the United States. He must know the general orders which include seemingly obvious orders, such as, "A soldier never leaves his post."
In Matthew 28:18-20, Christian soldiers are instructed in not only the chain of command, but given our marching orders. Jesus said, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey all that I commanded you; and, lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
Jesus Christ has "all" authority. There is no black hole in the universe where His light does not shine, no spot which his authority is not supreme. In this passage, the word, "authority," comes from the Greek word, "exousia," which means "the power of rule or government-the power and will of one whose commands must be obeyed." In this pas- sage "authority" includes the meanings, "right, power, rule, jurisdiction and liberty."
When Jesus said, "All authority. . .," He proclaimed His authority clearly. He, also, established His authority clearly by two actions: 1) He created everything. He is the Creator (Colossians 1:16-18), and 2) He died to buy His creation back out of the bondage of sin. He is the Redeemer (Ephesians 1:18-23). Jesus Christ has ALL AUTHORITY. Therefore, Christians must obey Him. The chain of command has been clearly established.
In the same passage, from Matthew 28, our Commander-in-Chief gave us His marching orders, "Go and make disciples. . .teaching them to obey all that I commanded you. . ." Even if we, as Christians, know the world is going to end tomorrow, we cannot ignore those clear marching orders. We are to "go and make disciples" not sit and wring our hands in despair. Christians do not have the option to retreat or quit. We are to remain focused and aggressive in engaging the culture and penetrating the culture with the truth in love. We should persevere.
Not long ago, the welter weight boxing championship bout made front page sporting news. The Champ was clearly the odds on favorite to retain his title. The Champ was favored to win easily, but the challenger, a relatively unknown boxer, pulled off an upset victory. Both had started their careers at the same time, had known each other, had even sparred together. The Champ had won some key fights and had received publicity that placed him in the center of the ring. The Challenger simply had continued to box in small arenas for a pittance each fight. The most he ever made was $1,500 for a fight. When asked on the Tonight Show how much he was guaranteed for this championship bout, the once- Challenger-now-Champion replied, "$4.2 million." What a payoff that bout was for him! That was the minimum guaranteed purse. What an incentive to win!
During the course of a boxer's career, he gets hit in the head thousands of times. He takes body punches by the scores in each bout. He trains and disciplines his body; he hones his skills. He gets knocked down and out of the ring, but he climbs back in and continues to fight. He knows clearly the pain and the suffering he must endure to make it to that championship bout. He is never guaranteed even a shot at the championship belt, yet he perseveres. Why? He is called to the fight; he is com- mitted to the sport; he sees the prize before him. He inspires those who watch from the bleachers; his fortitude and perseverance turn the eyes of the sports world his direction. When he wins that championship bout, the fight promoters drag him to the center of the ring, hand him a check for $4.2 million and declare him to be conqueror.
He leaves the arena and goes home. He opens the front door, steps in and cries out, "Honey, I'm home!" His wife runs out of the back room and looks in awe at his battered face. She rushes to him and kisses each bruise, bandages each cut and whispers words of love and encouragement to him. He then turns around and holds out that check for $4.2 million and hands it over to her. Now we call him a conqueror, but we can call her more than a conqueror! He took the beating, but she got the check. So it is with Christians - so it is with me.
My Lord and Savior Jesus Christ climbed into the ring and took my beating for me. His enemies literally beat Him to death. They threw Him in a hole in the ground, dusted off their hands and proclaimed the bout over and done. However, praise God Almighty, Jesus Christ did not stay in that hole in the ground. He climbed out of that grave and defeated death. He then turned to me and handed me the check for eternal life. That is why Romans 8:37 states, "Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us."
Now if He endured that for me, if He suffered that for me, should I be able to endure a little hardship for Him? "Faith and Duty!" should be the Christian's motto-the Christian's battle cry.
Alexis de Tocqueville, the French historian who visited America shortly after the United States was formed, wanted to discover what made America great. He visited the centers of industry and commerce but found nothing unique in those places. He visited the seats of power in government but did not find what made this nation great there. It was not until he visited the churches and saw the pulpits aflame with righteousness that he discovered what made our nation great. He said, "America is great because America is good. When America ceases to be good, America will cease to be great."
Our nation is in need of Christians who think and live in accord with a biblical worldview - Christians who have a vision for reaching the culture with the truth of the gospel in every area, who have the valor to engage the culture with that truth and the virtue to rely on the Word of God as their sole standard for determining truth.
The Christian is in a fight - a battle - for the hearts and souls and the minds of men. We are called to fight continuously against the world, the flesh and the devil. We can never drop our guard, lower our gloved fists, stop thinking biblically, retreat from living a godly life. We must endure for the sake of our nation - certainly! We must persevere for the sake of our children - definitely! But ultimately and finally, we must continue to think and live biblically - for the cause of Christ. It is for Jesus!
I Timothy 2:4 reminds us, "No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of every day life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier." Who enlisted you as a soldier of Jesus Christ? Some are tempted to say, "I volunteered." Not so, we all were drafted. We can say with C.S. Lewis that we were dragged kicking and screaming into the kingdom of God. We were enlisted by Jesus Christ Himself. So, Whom should Christian soldiers seek to please? The One Who enlisted them as soldiers - Jesus. Therefore, we have no excuse to quit or retreat - no excuse to turn tail and run - from a culture that is dying. We have been ordered to be salt and light. We have been commanded to go and make disciples. We are to do so for Jesus. It is for Jesus.
Our goal at Worldview Academy is to raise up a generation who have and will demonstrate vision, valor and virtue - a generation who will be trained to think and then to live in accord with a biblical world view. Join with us in reaching this generation for the sake of future generations to come - for Christ's sake. It is for Jesus.
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