Welcome to the downfall of America. 

A once proud and vigorous nation has become a weak, confused, and pitiable society with a rate of decay that is drastically increasing. Like a broken accelerator propels a driver over the cliff, America approaches her demise, but does so laughing. Instead of shining out as a magnificent light to the nations, as the city on a hill that she was founded to be, today she still shines, but only like a flaming dumpster in the middle of a desert. America has a lethal moral cancer in fatal stages and is slipping beyond the pale of medicine. 

Normally, this would be an exciting time to be a Christian! We have the only hope that can heal this world (in the Gospel) and God has called us to share it! But, unfortunately, many in the church have adopted legionous and spurious postures for engagement that cannot be explained by Scripture. 

As the car drives wildly toward the edge, liberal Christians have largely stood outside of orthodoxy, dawning pompoms, cheering the moral depravity required to take such a progressive dive, all while believing it healthy. This group champions the abandonment of Scripture and the loss of Biblical ethics. They are closed on the exclusivity of Christ, but open and affirming of rank sin. Is it any wonder the car nears the ravine?

This group shares in the guilt of her downfall. 

Other well intentioned believers, known as evangelicals, have courageously leapt into the car! But, instead of crying out for it to stop heading in this perilous direction, they have been too busy playing footsie with the driver to notice that danger draws rapidly near. Instead of shouting out, “stop, turn from this, or you will be destroyed! Repent and believe the Gospel”... Many embrace the sugary and watered down “gospel of love and grace” that never offends, never challenges, only encourages, and looks nothing like the Biblical Gospel.

Sadly, for all her efforts, the world did not notice her subtley. For nearly 50 years this approach has been employed and after all this time the nation still speeds forward but now even faster than ever. This approach is not working and…

This group shares in the guilt of her downfall. 

Still yet, many other evangelicals have become so discouraged with the collapse that they just stayed home. Sure, they will hear the crash of broken glass and exploding metal when the nation finally collapses into ruin, but what can they do about it anyway? The world is irredeemably wicked. Christians must remain pure and wait like ostriches until Jesus returns.

This group also shares in the guilt of her downfall. 

And while there are many other flawed approaches we could discuss, I want to discuss a Biblical approach. I want us to look at how Jesus told us to engage culture. And we will see that in Matthew 5:13-16.

Jesus said:

“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by people. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

SALT OF THE EARTH

When Jesus calls us salt, He is speaking about a cultural phenomenon. In the first century, salt was used because there was no readily available access to refrigeration and meat would easily spoil. To prevent this from occurring, arid dwellers discovered the preservative power of packing meat with salt. And not just a sprinkle for seasoning… They would pack the meat with as much salt as the carcass could possibly hold, knowing that this was the only way of ensuring it would remain. When they did this, the meat would keep and would not fall into rot and ruin. When they did not, the meat would totally sour. and become worthless 

Well, if this metaphor applies to us, I think the meaning could not be more clear. In the same way that a pack of hamburger turns a disgusting green when the fridge dies, so the world festers and stinks when Christians do not perform their role of being salt. When we refuse to share the Gospel with the world, the world decays! When we do not liberally and gracious stand on the truth of God’s Word the world sours and spoils. And when we are too ashamed or scared to combat the world’s lies with truth, society inevitably crumbles. 

Quite simply, if we want to see a reversal in this trend (by the Lord’s grace) we must stop throwing sugar at the problem and start throwing salt! We must remember that the Word of God does encourage but it also offends. It does build up, but it also confronts and breaks down things that need to be broken down. So, if all we ever do is throw sugar and spice and everything nice at the problem, we will sweetly and tenderly participate in culture’s ruin.

I do not think that is what Jesus is saying. Instead, I think He would have us diagnose where the rot is and engage the world there. To do that, we must enter into the infected parts, showcase the supremacy of Christ, and watch Him heal the wound! This means being willing to be used by God to share the Gospel with the unbeliever that you know, being willing to call a sin sin in conversation, being willing to combat error, objecting to the murder of infants, having theological conversations on gender… I could list a million examples of how to be salty… But the point is simple: go to where the rot is and bring the Gospel of Jesus there! 

LIGHT OF THE WORLD

Along with the preservative power of salt, uninhibited light powerfully chases out the darkness. It does not shy back. It does not run and hide. Like a lighthouse atop a grassy knoll, the ships are not consumed by darkness, because she ever brightly shines! Instead of allowing the world to remain hidden under the thick canopy of darkened fog, destined to crash, why don’t we do what Jesus said? Why don’t we shine forth with the good deeds He is producing in us by the radiant power of His Gospel! This is a loving thing to do, even though many will tell you it isn’t.

The point to both of these metaphors is simple. Jesus is telling us to do is to engage! Like salt thrown on a rotten corpse, we are to enter into the world’s decay and combat it with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Like light, we are to expose the wicked deeds of darkness! We are to shine on the insufficiency of the human condition even as we point to the true Light of the world, Jesus Christ, who alone can save sinners! 

The very worst thing we could do is maintain the status quo. The failed approaches of the modern church are what got us here! And they will most certainly not lead us away from here. Either we will keep on cheering, keep on compromising, or keep on retreating and the nation will soon fall headlong over the edge. Or, every single Christian will reimagine their role in this world and start to engage. 

Conclusion

We were made to engage the world. That is our purpose! And my prayer for all of us is that we will live out that purpose and take this current moment as a great opportunity to be the salt and light that God made us to be! Who knows? God may be gracious and cause this nation to repent. If not, we can at least say we went down swinging doing our best to obey our God! 

But mark my words, if we do nothing, the outcome will not only be inevitable, we will stand before God accountable for our part in this calamity.