The Lasting Effects of a Godly Life

By Greg Laurie

“So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.”

—Ephesians 5:15–16

There are times when one of the best things to do to engage a nonbeliever is to just listen for a while and get to know them a little better. Then when the Holy Spirit prompts you to speak up about your faith, speak up.

In the book of Esther we read that she “had not told anyone of her nationality and family background, because Mordecai had directed her not to do so” (Esther 2:10 NLT). Some would say that she should have identified herself as a Jew, and by not doing so she was effectively compromising her faith.

There’s some merit to that argument, but there are some flaws in it as well, because sometimes you should speak up, and sometimes you should be quiet.

The problem with some Christians is they’re always talking about their faith but don’t back it up with their lifestyle. You might be surprised to hear me say this, but I think some Christians speak up too much. They feel they have to give a complete presentation of the gospel to everyone they meet. It’s this constant drone, and it isn’t the best way to do evangelism.

One of the great secrets of Billy Graham’s effectiveness was that he not only was a great preacher, but he also was a great Christian. He backed up his words with personal integrity. He loved his wife and children, and he was a humble man. That gave him even greater effectiveness in his ministry, because he never contradicted it with his lifestyle.

It’s a huge plus for the church when Christians live godly lives. They work hard and with integrity. They’re faithful to their spouses and keep their marriages together. Or, if they’re single, they don’t have sex before marriage. That’s a great testimony. Do that. Be that.

Harvest.org

Will You Join the Revolution?

Do you ever ask yourself why am I here? Does God really have a purpose for me? Scripture tells us that God has a general will and a specific will and empowers those who perform the general will and His  specific will. However, if you really want to know what God's purpose is for life here is the place to start: We are commanded to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them into the faith in our Lord and Savior and proclaiming the Good News of His resurrection. Our job then becomes one of encouragement not to give in to the world and it's evil system.

See you next blog,

Ted

Will You Join the Revolution? Matthew 5:13-16 When the history of this generation is finally written, it may well be that the last fifty years will be called the Age of Revolution. First, we had the cultural revolution, then we had the sexual revolution, which was followed by the digital revolution. In the last few years we have had a political revolution. In some ways we are living out the famous words of Charles Dickens: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair. On one hand, we live in a time of technological marvels. Last month we received a FaceTime call from our son Nick and his wife Sarah. Through some miracle of the internet, we could sit in our room at Word of Life Lodge in Schroon Lake, New York and talk with our grandkids Hannah and Josh in Chicago as if they were sitting in the room with us. That wasn’t possible ten years ago. The other day I saw a phone booth where the pay phone had been removed. When was the last time you made a call from a phone booth? It’s been so long that I can’t remember the last time I did. Someone remarked that a pauper today lives better than a king did 125 years ago. It’s true. On the other hand, we live in a time when hatred threatens to tear apart our society. Despite all its benefits, social media has made us cranky, inconsiderate, demanding, suspicious, and accusatory. If you want to get your blood pressure rising, spend a few minutes on Twitter. We live in dangerous times with hot spots all over the globe. At any moment things could spiral out of control in North Korea, Hong Kong, Iran, the Horn of Africa, and in India. I don’t have to say much about politics because we all know how divided America is. It happens that I’m writing this sermon in the summer of 2019. We are fifteen months out from the next national election, and the temperature is rising daily. Who knows what tomorrow’s headlines will say? Almost everyone seems angry about something. If there was ever a time for the church of Jesus to stand up and be counted, this is it. But if anything, our influence seems to be waning. A recent poll shows that church membership in the US has dropped sharply in the last two decades, from 70% in 1998 to an all-time low of 50% in 2018. Among millennials (those born after 1979) church membership drops to 42%. If you ask about actual church attendance, 22% of Americans say they attend church every week. In an increasingly secular world, we should not be surprised that the church has lost its influence in the community. There are many reasons why this is so, but one reason stands out above the rest. The church has lost its influence because Christians have neglected their responsibility to be salt and light in the world. As we have neglected to be what God has called us to be, the world has decided to ignore us. And the flip side is also true. When Christians decide to be salt and light, the world pays close attention to what we say and do. Let me say it simply: When we are salt and light, the world listens to us. When we aren’t, they don’t. We need a Salt and Light Revolution in our day. Let’s talk about what that looks like.   Salt of The Earth These are the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:13:   You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. These words have become a proverb in the English language. If someone is genuine, useful, honest, straightforward, and without hypocrisy, we say he is a “salt of the earth” type person. What did Jesus mean? Salt was one of the most common substances in the ancient world. Roman soldiers were paid in salt and would revolt if they didn’t get their ration. Our English word “salary” comes from the Latin salariumwhich means “salt-money.” Our expression, “That man is not worth his salt,” reminds us of the high value salt had in biblical times. Let’s go a step further. Salt has five primary uses. First, salt seasons food. Almost everything we eat has some salt in it. Even cakes and pies contain a pinch of salt. Second, salt preserves. This was no doubt its main use in Jesus’ day. Salt retards spoilage. It doesn’t prevent the process of decay, but it slows it down and prevents its spread. Meat left to itself will spoil. Cure the meat with salt and it will last a long time. Third, salt stings. We speak of pouring salt on an open wound. In that sense, salt is an antiseptic that first stings and then heals. It kills some types of bacteria. Fourth, salt gives strength. Without it, your body quickly weakens. That’s one reason the Romans gave their soldiers salt. They knew putting salt on their vegetables would give them needed strength. Fifth, salt creates thirst. That’s why we put it on potato chips and pretzels. It creates thirst and causes you to crave something to drink. We are not the honey of the world. We are the salt of the earth. There is a difference.   The 2% Solution How does this apply to the followers of Jesus Christ? We are to be the salt flavoring a tasteless world, and we are to be the salt that preserves a decaying world. Jesus had no illusions about this world because he knew its true character. It is like a piece of rotten meat, putrefying more and more each day. On every hand we have the most advanced technology. Every day brings new breakthroughs in medicine, science, communications, and mass-production. And yet at the same time, the moral climate grows darker and darker. Let there be no mistake. We live in a morally decadent society. It is like a piece of meat left all day in the sunshine. The decay is slow at first, and then suddenly the whole thing is rotten. What does it take to arrest the spread of evil? Salt. That’s what Jesus was talking about. I spoke with a young man who is preaching on contemporary issues to his congregation. He told me that he would soon be addressing what the Bible says about homosexuality. Given the moral climate of our day, that’s not an easy thing to do. His security team has spent time preparing for possible disruptions in the service because some people don’t want anyone saying anything against the gay rights movement. Some Christians prefer not to hear about it on Sunday morning. But the pastor said that a man in his church told him, “I’m proud of you because you aren’t afraid to speak out on controversial issues. We need to know what the Bible says.” That man is right. Being salt means taking a stand for truth even when it isn’t popular. Here’s the exciting part. It doesn’t take much salt to do the job. Just a little bit in the right place will do the trick. Do you remember the story of Abraham praying for God to spare Sodom because his nephew Lot lived there (Genesis 18:16-33)? He said, “Lord, if I can find fifty righteous people, will you spare the city?” And the Lord said yes. So Abraham said, “Well, Lord, if I can find forty-five righteous people in the city, will you spare it?” The Lord said yes again. So, he tried forty, and the Lord said yes. Then he tried thirty, and the Lord said yes again. But Abraham didn’t think there were thirty righteous people in the whole city. So he tried again, “How about for twenty?” And God said, “I will spare it for twenty.” Then Abraham took a deep breath and said, “Lord, what if I can only find ten?” “I will spare it for the sake of ten righteous people,” God replied. Think of it. A whole city saved because only ten people were righteous. Remember, Sodom was a thoroughly wicked place. It was evil through and through. Yet God would have spared it for ten righteous people. As it turned out, Abraham couldn’t find ten people who were righteous. So God prepared to destroy the city. But before he could do anything, Lot and his wife and his two daughters had to leave. God wouldn’t destroy the city while the righteous were still there. It doesn’t take much salt to do the job. According to sociologist Robert Bellah, “The governing values of a whole culture may be changed when 2% of its people have a new vision.” All you need is 2%, and you can change an entire culture. That applies to your church, your classroom, your workplace, your neighborhood, and it applies to every village, town, and city in the world. It’s time for the salt to get out of the shaker and into the soup.  There are always reasons for salt to stay in the shaker: “I don’t like the soup. It’s hot in there. There are potatoes floating around. And carrots. And rutabagas. I just saw a huge piece of meat float to the top. If I go into the soup, I’ll disappear. No, thank you! I like it in the shaker. I fit in here. I’m comfortable here. All the other pieces of salt look just like me. I think I’ll stay right here.” But that’s not where salt belongs. Salt was made for the soup. As long as the salt stays in the shaker, it can’t do any good. But when the salt goes into the soup, two things happen: 1) the salt dissolves, and 2) the character of the soup is changed forever. You may disappear, but your saltiness will change your world for the better. A handful of salty Christians can change a classroom, a neighborhood, an office, a company, and even a nation. Get ready, salty saints. Out we go, into the world, for the glory of God.   Light of The World But that is not the whole story. Listen to the next three verses:   You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father who is in heaven (Matthew 5:14-16). The dictionary defines light as “a source of illumination.” That provides the key to our definition. What does light do? It penetrates. It reveals. It exposes. Most people hate being alone in the darkness, especially when we are in a strange place. You lie in bed trying to go to sleep when suddenly you hear an odd sound in the darkness. You strain to see, but you can only make out vague shapes. Darkness distorts reality. Everything looks different. It is only when you turn on the light that you see things as they really are.   This Little Light of Mine Notice the simple application in verse 16. “Let your light shine before men.” The key is in the little phrase “before men.” If you turn on a light in an empty room, it will dispel the darkness but no one will see it. Likewise you can live the Christian life in secret, but no one is going to be helped. If your light is going to make a difference, it must shine before men. Somebody must see the light before it will do any good. Jesus said two things would happen when you shine your light:   1. Others will see your good deeds. The word “good” means attractive or beautiful or lovely. Jesus is saying people will be attracted by the beauty of your life. Others will be drawn to Christ by the way you live. When you say a good word for Jesus, when you stop and smile at a friend, that’s a good deed. When you send an encouraging text to someone going through a hard time, when you bake a chocolate pie and give it to a neighbor, or when you stop by the hospital to check on someone through chemotherapy, or when you stop to help your supervisor get her car started--all of those are good deeds that attract people to Jesus. This is evangelism backed up by a winsome personality. Note that Jesus said, “When they see your lovely ways.” He could have said, “When they hear your great preachers, or when they sit in your lovely sanctuaries, or when they clap for your choir, or when they read your Statement of Faith.” He could have said that, but he didn’t. He simply said, “When they see the way you live.” Here are a few sentences from a poem called “The Living Sermon” by Edgar Guest. They drive the point home with crystal-clarity.   I’d rather see a sermon than hear one any day. I’d rather one would walk with me than merely tell the way. The eye’s a better pupil and more willing than the ear. Fine counsel is confusing but example’s always clear. The best of all the preachers are the men who live their creeds. For to see good put in action is what everybody needs. A second thing happens when you shine your light before others:   2. They give God the credit. Verse 16 says, “They praise your Father who is in heaven.” Did you notice that the word “your” is used three times in this verse? Your light … Yourgood deeds … Your Father in heaven. When you let your light shine before men, they glorify your Father in heaven. That’s how much influence we have. We can point men to God. We can lead them out of darkness into the light. It’s wonderfully simple. We do the shining and God gets the credit. And here’s why. Light does not call attention to itself. It provides illumination so that other things can be seen as they really are. When people see a beautifully lit city, they don’t discuss the lights; they talk of the genius of the architect. When they gather around a Thanksgiving table, they don’t praise the light by which they eat; instead, they give the credit to the one who prepared the meal. When our light shines to those around us, they see the beauty of our good works, the darkness falls away, and God gets the credit.   Saints Let the Light In I cannot imagine anything higher or greater. We have in our hands enormous influence for good. We are the light of the world. We can make an eternal difference to the people around us. As they see the beauty of our lives, they will be attracted to the Jesus we preach. As they see the light in us, they will see the One who gives us the light. They will be attracted to our Savior and God will get the credit. Let me tell you the most exciting fact about all this. If you are a Christian, you are already salt and light right where you live. You don’t need a Bachelor of Salt or a Doctor of Light degree. You have everything you need right now. You’re salt. So get out of the shaker and into the soup! You’re light. So crawl out from under that bushel basket and let it shine! A little boy was sitting in church with his mom one day. As he looked up at the beautiful stained-glass windows, he saw faces in the glass. “Mom, who are those people in the window?” he asked. “Those are the saints,” she answered. The little boy thought for a while and then said, “I know who the saints are. They’re the ones that let the light in.” I spoke earlier of the moral decay going on all around us. Let no one despair. The darker the night, the brighter the light shines. When the world is at its worst, the people of God should be at their best. We were made for days like these.   The Salt and Light Revolution I began by saying the church has lost its influence in our society because we have neglected to be salt and light in the world. This world desperately needs light, but we have hidden under the bowl. In the meantime, the world has gone from bad to worse. What will have to happen for us to once again become salt and light in the world? 1. We must become purifying agents who hinder the spread of evil. 2. We must illuminate the spiritual darkness around us by the boldness of our speech and by the beauty of our life. Let no one be deceived. It will not be easy. The world doesn’t want salt and light, but it desperately needs it. The world won’t give you a Medal of Honor for joining the Salt and Light Revolution, but you ought to join up anyway.   A Place to Begin Here are two simple commitments we can make: First, there is the Salt Commitment: I will rock my world with God’s truth. That may mean speaking up at the office. It may mean refusing to get involved in certain holiday traditions. It may mean taking some criticism for your faith. It may mean taking an unpopular stand on public issues. Remember, salt stings and then it cleanses. Second, there is the Light Commitment: I will be bold and beautiful so that others can see Christ in me. That certainly involves deeds of everyday kindness. You may have to roll up your sleeves and get involved with hurting people. It may mean going out of your way to help a friend. It no doubt means openly identifying yourself as a Christian. It will probably cost you some money and some time. Remember, the primary function of light is to reveal things as they really are. When you’ve done your job, people won’t talk about you. They’ll talk about Jesus. We can’t save the world, but we can make a difference. We can’t do everything, but we can do something. And what we can do, we ought to do. That’s what being salt and light is all about.   Swimming to the Light My wife and I spent a week ministering at Word of Life Bible Institute on Jeju Island in South Korea. One evening a friend took us to a restaurant with stunning views of the ocean. As darkness came, I noticed dozens of bright lights filling the horizon. Our friend said those were squid boats. Just after sundown, the pilot turns on powerful lights that penetrate the darkness of the ocean. The squid are attracted to the light, and that’s how they are caught. That’s a living parable about how we will reach those trapped in the darkness of sin. If we will turn on the light of Christ, hurting people floundering in the darkness will swim to the light. So many people stay in the darkness because they think they have no option. But when the light shines in their darkness, many will swim to the light. Here is a good word for those who despair about the overwhelming cultural darkness. We can’t do much in and of ourselves to stop the cultural slide. But we can let our light shine. We can live for Christ. We can serve others in Jesus’ name. As they see the light in us, they will see the great Light-Giver. They will be attracted to our Savior, and God will get the credit. Don’t despair. Don’t give up. It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness. The world is dark and getting darker. It’s time to shine the light. It’s time to be salty saints and bright-light believers. Jesus is calling! Will you join the salt and light revolution? Lord Jesus, grant that we would not be even slightly disappointed by the condition of the world.   You have made us for times like these.   Help us to be salt and light for you! Give us a new vision of the difference we can make in our world. Amen. COMING EVENTS Sep 3-6 Word of Life Bible Institute, Husdon, FL Sep 17-20 Word of Life Bible Institute, Pottersville, NY Sep 27-29 Celebrate 2019! Omaha, NE Oct 18-Nov 2 Trip to Philippines and South Korea MY WEBLOG You can also subscribe to my blog here, where I post shorter devotionals, comment on current events, personal news and more. VIDEO Did you know that we have a number of videos on our website? I answer frequently asked questions - and even less frequent, but important questions, like “What do I do when my pastor strays from the truth?”. We also have sermons, sermon summaries and illustrations on video as well.

Follow on Twitter | Friend on Facebook | Forward to Friend  Copyright © 2019 Keep Believing Ministries, All rights reserved. This email list allows you to receive the free sermon email from Pastor Ray Pritchard, President and founder of Keep Believing Ministries. Our mailing address is: Keep Believing Ministries P.O. Box 257 Elmhurst, IL 60126 Add us to your address book

Does It Really Matter?

Having been a boss I have seen this happen many times. No matter how professional your demeanor, the employee you corrected still feels they have been wronged? What is happening here...read this in its entirety. What is the real problem with someone wanting to do creative spelling in a company that needs professionalism?

By Selwyn Duke

Being simultaneously comical and tragic, perhaps nothing reflects our descent into Idiocy more than millennials who’ll insist their misspellings of words are correct. Just yesterday I read an eyebrow-raising story about this that was quite timely, as I’d experienced millennial spelling moronity just the day prior.

My case involved a leftist who emailed me with some deep, substantive criticism: He said I was “insane,” “nuttier than a fruitcake” and “f*****g” nuts.” I responded to him. While I generally don’t play the spelling Nazi, leftists’ characteristic superciliousness inspired me to mention to him, kindly, that he’d written “you’re” as “your” three times in six sentences. His response?

“I am under 40,” he wrote. “Your vs you’re is interchangeable.”

(Come to think of it, if that’s his I.Q., it would explain his answer.)

But on to the far more interesting and dramatic story I mentioned earlier. According to The Fellowship of the Minds (FOTM) blog, it’s from a series of July tweets by a Georgetown University adjunct professor of public relations and journalism named Carol Blymire; it relates something she’d witnessed. As the blog presents it:

In office space near a client, a young woman was meeting with her boss. She was (by my estimation) in her late 20s.

The boss (also a woman) was giving her feedback and reviewing edits she had made on something this young woman wrote.

They had been speaking in low tones, but their volume got louder toward the end of the conversation because the young woman was getting agitated about a particular edit.

That particular edit was correcting the spelling of “hampster” to “hamster”. [sic] Apparently she had used the phrase “like spinning in a hamster wheel” in this draft (presumably) speech or op-ed.

The young woman kept saying, “I don’t know why you corrected that because I spell it with the P in it.” The boss said (calmly), “But that’s not how the word is spelled. There is no P in hamster.”

Young woman: “But you don’t know that! I learned to spell it with a P in it so that’s how I spell it.”

The boss (remaining very calm and professional), [said] let’s go to https://t.co/n2ZU5Uuuy3 and look it up together. (mind you, this is a woman in her late 20s, not a 5th grader) [sic]

The young woman insists she doesn’t need to look it up because it’s FINE to spell it with a P because that’s HOW SHE WANTED TO SPELL IT.

The boss says, “Let’s look over the rest of the piece so I can explain the rest of my edits.” They do, and I can see the young woman is fighting back tears. The boss is calm, cool, and handles this with professionalism and empathy.

Boss says, “I know edits can be difficult to go over sometimes, especially when you’re working on new kinds of things as you grow in your career, but it’s a necessary process and makes us all better at what we do.”

Boss gets up from table and goes to her office and the young woman can barely hold it together. She moves to another table in the common workspace area, drops all her stuff loudly on the table top, and starts texting. A minute later, her phone rings.

It was her mom. She had texted her mom to call her because it was urgent, and I’m sure her mother maybe thought she was in the ER or something. She then … PUTS HER MOM ON SPEAKERPHONE. IN THE WORKPLACE.

She bursts into tears and wants her mom to call her boss and tell her not to be mean about telling her how to spell words like “hamster”. [sic]

The mother tells her that her boss is an idiot and she doesn’t have to listen to her and she should go to the boss’ boss to file a complaint about not allowing creativity in her writing.

The young woman kept saying, “I thought what I wrote was perfect and she just made all these changes and then had the nerve to tell me I was spelling words wrong when I know they are right because that is how I have always spelled them.”

She then went on (still on speakerphone) to tell her mom I’m very great and office-inappropriate detail about how hungover she was and what she and her friends did with some guys the night before. Mom laughed and laughed.

The colleagues in and around the workplace kept looking at one another and some even put earbuds/headphones in/on. It appeared as though this was a regular thing with her.

She ended the conversation asking her mom how she should bring this up with the boss’ boss. “I mean, I always spell hamster with a P, [sic] she has no right to criticize me.” […]

Based on the way her mom spoke to her and they way they spoke to one another, it seemed as though this young woman had never been told she was anything but perfect by family. […]

Her boss seemed as dumbfounded through the conversation as I was in overhearing it.

I think I was most perplexed by the insistence of wanting to spell something the way she wanted to because SHE WANTED TO, ignoring the fact that there are rules and dictionaries. And seeming offended that anyone would suggest the use of an outside resource as reference.

Had I been the boss, I’m sure the young woman’s tears would have flowed much sooner and more profusely. It would have been the result of the dressing-down I’d have given her. I was never one to suffer fools gladly. 

The FOTM mentions that this isn’t an isolated case, either. In fact, the blogger, who apparently has taught in college herself, related a story about what transpired when an undergraduate complained to her about a poor grade she gave him on a paper. After telling him that she had trouble understanding his work because it was riddled with errors, he replied “I don’t subscribe to the rules of the English language!” and marched from the classroom.

It would be easy to chalk this up to “inventive spelling,” a phenomenon of recent decades whereby, instead of correcting a child’s spelling, a teacher will allow him to misspell words based on his phonetic conception of them. But it goes far deeper than that.

First, we live in the post-Truth West. A study I often cite vindicates this assessment, showing that less than 10 percent of teenagers believe in Truth (absolute by definition) and that a majority of Americans are most likely to make what should be moral decisions “based on feelings.”

Why is this relevant? If people believe Truth doesn’t exist and, therefore, that what we call morality (divine rules) is mere “perspective,” they probably won’t care much about man’s rules — especially since, by their lights, those rules can’t possibly correspond to anything transcending man. Their governing philosophy then becomes “If it feels good, do it.” This was evident in the young woman in the story, who, essentially, insisted she was correct because her feelings told her so.

Relating to this, there’s also the narcissism, the solipsism, the self-centeredness that results when you raise godless children on self-esteem bunk and treat them as if their body odor is a floral scent. And, related to that, there’s pridefulness, which precludes self-improvement. A humble person can accept correction, see flaw in himself and learn. The prideful person’s ego impedes great improvement in anything.

As for employees who are mere overgrown children, I’d respond to their antipathy for rules and their inventive spelling by giving them an inventive paycheck.

See you next blog,

Ted

Danger! Socialism Ahead...

Dr. Dobson's August Newsletter

Ladies and Gentlemen, I write you today to express my profound concern for our nation and for everything cherished by people of faith. "Love of country" as we have known it is in serious jeopardy. Those who are determined to "fundamentally change" America have forged a virulent and growing political movement that recognizes no allegiance to the U.S. Constitution. They think they have a better idea. People like that despise the Declaration of Independence, which proclaims that we are endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights—among them are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. 

Indeed, the concept that our freedoms were a gift from the Creator is anathema to these revolutionaries. I am especially concerned about a generation of children who are being manipulated and warped day by day. These vulnerable boys and girls have no defense against activists and some liberal teachers who are propagandizing them. They see our kids as a way to guarantee their vision of a socialist future. Their goal is to recast America as a Marxist, atheistic, all-powerful form of government. 

Is such a tragic day coming on this beloved country? Not if we and millions of other patriots can prevent it! 

Several weeks ago, I watched a pastor on television who spoke of these concerns. He is my friend, Dr. Jack Graham, senior minister at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas. I was so moved by his words that I asked for permission to share them with the constituents of the James Dobson Family Institute. Dr. Graham granted my request, and below is a partial transcript of his sermon, delivered to his worldwide audience in late June. 

"What the Bible Teaches About Socialism and Capitalism"

Dr. Jack Graham

Let's define our terms. Socialism is a political and economic system in which there is government ownership of the means of production and the primary focus of providing equality. Socialism favors large government and governmental control of social services and much more. In socialism, the government is all important and is involved in every aspect of the lives of those whom it rules.  

Contrast this with capitalism. Ours is an economic system in which there is private ownership, private property, and private possession of goods. In capitalism, there is a limited role for the presence and force of government in individual lives. Economically and philosophically, capitalism and socialism are two forms of government between which we need to differentiate. 
Americans have historically favored capitalism and the freedom it provides. Surprisingly, however, a shift appears to be occurring in public opinion, especially among the young. 
A recent USA Today report said that 4 in 10 Americans embrace some form of socialism. A recent poll of millennials found that a majority, 58 percent, would rather live in a socialist nation than a capitalist nation. Some young people perceive capitalism and corporate America as being greedy and without compassion or concern for others. Yes, there is greed in this country, but there is greed whether it is in a socialistic system or a capitalistic system. It is in the heart of every human being.

What accounts for the changing attitudes among the young? Those under 30 years of age have not seen the devastating effects of Soviet-style repressive governments under socialism. It is the big bad brother, communism. We're past the Cold War now, and a generation has arisen that either hasn't been taught history, doesn't read or understand it, or doesn't care. They are listening to their liberal teachers, professors and politicians; and what they have been told sounds good. It appears compassionate and loving. But is it? I can say emphatically that it is not!

Socialism is fundamentally at odds with the Christian worldview because it seeks to suppress all people according to the dictates of the state. No one serious about their Christian faith can accept socialism, and here's why. Socialism is totally secular and is predicated on atheism. That is a fact. Our faith in Jesus Christ is built on the Word of God, the revelation of Scripture, and the belief that God exists. We believe in the coming resurrection of Christ, and with that faith comes freedom to live an abundant life that is founded on liberty.

Contrast that with Karl Marx, the father of socialism. He considered religion of all types, specifically Christianity, to be what he called "an opiate of the people." In other words, belief in God is a drug to be used to pacify the public. Marx was the originator of the horribly repressive Soviet style of government. He was also greatly influenced by Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. It purports to explain the existence of life on earth. Human beings, he said, are nothing more than advanced animals. If that is true, any one of us can be disposed of at the whim of the state.

But the Bible says in Genesis 1: 27-28, "So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, 'Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it.'" 

The Creator later went on to tell Adam and Eve in Genesis, chapter 2, that they were to possess the land, the garden that was given to them and to till the soil. The first man, Adam, was a farmer, and he was given property to possess and property in which to produce goods. And that became foundational to the Judeo-Christian ethic. It is evident throughout the Old and New Testaments. 

But the philosophical views of socialists such as Marx and his disciples assert that God does not exist. In fact, they believe the idea of God is harmful and must be forcefully removed from society when necessary. Atheism is at the very core of this political and economic system.

We are told by socialists today, "Well, hostility to faith is a thing of the past. That was old style socialism and communism. Today's socialists are no longer trying to destroy religion. It has changed since the days of Karl Marx." 

That is their argument, but it is hollow. Socialist countries today still oppress and threaten people of faith, all faiths. Their leaders are determined to root out Christianity. This is why churches in China are detonated and Christians continue to be persecuted. China looked a little better for a while, but now it's going backwards. That is also true in North Korea. It's why the luggage of Western visitors is inspected for Bibles. It is why there is persecution, discrimination, and repression in socialist and communist countries. Pastors in Cuba and other Latin American countries are still persecuted. Likewise, evangelism in Soviet Russia is very limited today. This is still occurring under socialist dictatorships. 

Despite this opposition to Christianity, support for socialism is spreading alarmingly in America. For example, their proponents are campaigning against Christian appointees to our federal judiciary, such as what occurred in the hearings to confirm Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Why? Because socialists are radically opposed to any outspoken Christian being placed in an influential position. Leftists make their views clear. They say, "If you're going to profess your faith openly, we're going to oppose your candidacy." 

These are but a few of the examples that I could give you. Can you name one socialist country—communist or otherwise—that is open to religious liberty? There is none. Opposition to God is at the very root of this system called socialism. It is agnostic, atheistic, and aggressive to believers in Jesus Christ.

Socialists also undermine the dignity of human life. We noted in Scripture that God created us in His own image. That image has been shattered by sin but restored by Christ. Believers in Him have been made holy by His death on the cross. We are not animals. We are God's creation, and He provided for us a remedy for sin and depravity.

He has also given us liberty and the autonomy of life. As the Declaration of Independence states, freedom and liberty are gifts from God, not privileges granted to some by government. In socialism, the objective of government is to hold unrivaled power and control. The common people are just a part of the machine. Elites at the pinnacle of government live in palaces, while those who labor to earn a living get the dregs.

Just look at the example of modern Venezuela. It was a beautiful and magnificent country just a few years ago. It had one of the largest reserves of oil in the world. But under the hobnailed boot of socialist government, the Venezuelan people have been deprived, murdered, and allowed to starve. That is what happens when ordinary people are seen as nothing more than advanced animals. They have no legal protections and no guaranteed liberties. They are expendable and will live or die at the pleasure of the state. 

The 20th century was the bloodiest century in the history of the world, primarily because of socialist dictators. Three million people were slaughtered under Lenin's dictatorship in Soviet Russia. Twenty-five million died in World War I. Joseph Stalin murdered close to 60 million peasants, along with his opponents during his socialist reign. During the Nazi dictatorship of Adolf Hitler, more than 50 million people died around the world, including 6 million Jews, Gypsies, and Polish people. Forty-five million Chinese people were butchered under Mao Zedong's communist dictatorship. Many of them were of the Christian faith. This is the record of brutal socialist dictators in the past 100 years.

America has blood on its hands too. More than 60 million babies in the U.S. have been murdered by abortionists. Planned Parenthood and the entire abortion movement were inspired by the racist and socialist Margaret Sanger. She taught that babies were expendable. If helpless babies can be eliminated at will, what does that mean for people of all ages? It cheapens human life. This is where a godless system of government leads—to misery, poverty, disease, and death.

The Bible teaches that every human being is a child of God, and therefore has great value to Him. Not only does socialism devalue human life, but it has been an economic disaster where it has gained hegemony. Compare the prosperity of West Germany during the Cold War to the socialistic deprivations of East Germany—or North Korea compared with South Korea. Socialism has been an economic bust wherever it has been tried. Do we really want to repeat the disastrous mistakes of history? Apparently some do, but America will never recover if our people make that foolish choice.

Congressman Gerald Smith made the following statement, which is now inscribed in the Congressional Record. He said in 1958, "You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give away that which it doesn't first take from somebody else." 

When half of the citizens begin to realize that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half begins to understand that it does no good to work because someone else is going to get what they worked for, that, my friend, is the end of free enterprise.

The Scripture has much to tell us about work and its role in the divine plan. Second Thessalonians 3:10 states, "If a man won't work, neither shall he eat." Ecclesiastes 2:24 reads, "There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat, and drink, and find enjoyment in his toil. This also I saw is from the hand of God." Genesis 2:15 tells us what the Creator assigned Adam to do, as follows: "The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it." 

Now, let me say, the Bible does not endorse any one political system. It does endorse freedom, and private ownership, and the value of work and a free market system that decentralizes economic power. By contrast, socialism suppresses the poor, steals from the rich, legislates theft, and encourages envy. It confiscates what people have sweated to earn and achieve and then distributes it to those who have not earned what they have been given. Socialism focuses on the government and the state. Capitalism elevates the status of mankind. That is what it comes down to.

Isn't it good to celebrate our freedoms in America? We should reflect on what God has done in our country and thank Him for the foundational principles that have made America a great nation. In all these years, I don't know that I have preached a message quite like this one today. But I delivered these perspectives on socialism because we must oppose the lie on which it is based. We're experiencing a life-and-death struggle that will determine not only our future but the welfare of generations to come.

Let me summarize what I have shared with you. Socialism is fundamentally contradictory to the Christian worldview. It seeks to suppress all people, especially Christians, in favor of the state. And the way that it does that is by breaking down the institutions that God has established, particularly marriage and the family. When I see the breakdown of our culture, our society, and especially the family, it truly breaks my heart. There is a spiritual war going on all around us. It is a battle for the heart and soul of our nation. We are fighting for the sanctity of life, the sacredness of biblical marriage, sexual identity, religious freedom, and, yes, economic freedom that gives us the ability to prosper within a nation. Socialism opposes each of these cornerstones.

My prayer is that, as our forebears fought and died to secure the blessings of liberty, we must also rise to the challenge that faces us. Now it is our turn. 

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I can't tell you how passionately I feel about this message delivered from the pulpit of Dr. Jack Graham. It should be read (or heard) by every freedom-loving citizen in this country.

If you are among them, I hope you will remember these exhortations when you continue to hear the mainstream media promoting socialist revolution in the days ahead. I also urge you to support the voices who are warning against those who want to "fundamentally transform" democracy. What is so wrong with our constitutional form of government that it should be thrown on the ash heap of history? What we are facing here is a culture war that is driven by those who hate Christianity and the Church of Jesus Christ. If the far left is successful in capturing the hearts and minds of Americans, the entire world will descend into a spiritual darkness unlike anything that has ever been seen. Please make that a matter of fervent prayer during these next 14 months, and do pass this letter on to your friends and pastors.

I also ask you to please continue to support our ministry, among others, who are trying to defend righteousness in a nation under siege. There is no time to lose.

Sincerely,

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This letter may be reproduced without change and in its entirety for non-commercial and non-political purposes without prior permission from Family Talk. Copyright, 2019 Family Talk. All Rights Reserved. International Copyright Secured. Printed in the U.S. Dr. James Dobson’s Family Talk is not affiliated with Focus on the Family.