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A post-Christian society recognizes Christian ideas and generally follows watered-down Christian values, but rejects its’ ethics and a Christian worldview. The Christian language and expression that once permeated society become rare or superficial in a post-Christian culture. They primarily live out a postmodern worldview by rejecting truth claims and center more on what makes them happy than living a God-centered life. They are quick to follow a cause rather than God’s Word. The key to this movement is many churches of all denominations who are, for the most part, teaching their congregates what their itching ears want to hear. They are attracted to a social justice gospel of helping only certain groups of people but turn away from the call to disciple others in the truth about Jesus. It breeds chaos, not order. Sound familiar?
The interesting thing about many who embrace a post-Christian worldview may still identify themselves as Christian even though they lack basic knowledge of biblical faith. Prior generations took for granted the foundations of the Christian faith, and the value of life that follow a Christ-centered life. The post-Christian group believes that they know better than those who have gone before them and will do their own thing as directed by the culture. Their cry is to embrace all people equally while supporting abortion.
Post-Christian societies claim values derived from Christianity, such as equality and charity, while denying that those ideals are inherently Christian. At the same time, a post-Christian culture undermines aspects of the Christian worldview that interfere with their biases and blame prior generations and prior beliefs for the troubles. They ignore God’s call to love Him and to love others. The consequences for such apostasy is serious.
“For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore, God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen…They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless” (Romans 1:21-25, 29-31).
The loss of the moral code that God gave us commands us to believe and obey His Word, the Bible, and live out those truths in all of life. The post-Christian societies replace such authority with popular opinion. Godly moral responsibility becomes redefined by the by obedience to mob justice. It is a slippery slope leading to dismantling of culture, first by ignoring Christian values, then to resenting and repressing them, and eventually to persecuting the those are living out Christian values. The post-Christian movement will subsequently become anti-Christian.
“And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” (Matthew 7:26-27).
God has been and will always be in control as He calls people to repent. I believe He is calling up the Church to live, love, and speak out truth beginning with our families and friends. We need to pray for churches to stay faithful to God”s will, teach the truth, and send Christians into a very broken and scary world with the gospel of hope. We cannot remain silent.
“I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry” (2 Timothy 4:1-5) “But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. They said to you, in the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions. It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh” (Jude 17-23).