Breaking the Silence

A cursory assessment of America reveals that something is dreadfully wrong. We are a nation at war with God. We’ve embraced a self-destructive lifestyle that celebrates and flaunts the very attitudes and behaviors that incite God’s judgment. Perhaps we may expect such behavior in a nation whose citizenry has openly rejected God, but 70% of Americans self-identify as “Christian.”^[1] As such, the silence among God’s people regarding these moral issues is deafening. We should be deeply distressed over the way His people are silently tolerating rebellion to God.

As goes the church, so goes the nation. Founding father and former president John Adams writes, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious People. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”^[2] God’s people serve as a moral compass guiding the course of the nation. If our nation is wayward, the responsibility rests primarily with us. Likewise, any lasting effort to correct our national course must begin with the church.

In the judgment account of Sodom and Gomorrah, we learn that God is willing to extend incredible patience and mercy to a nation in rebellion as long as there are some righteous individuals who can shine like lights in the darkness, revealing the error of people’s ways and the truth of God’s Word (Matt. 5:14–16; Eph. 5:8–9). Had God found as few as ten righteous individuals to contrast the rampant evil within the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, God would have withheld His judgment (Gen. 18:22–33). Alas, not even ten righteous individuals could be found. Without righteous people to serve as a moral compass to guide these cities back to truth, all hope of national repentance was lost, leaving nothing but judgment (Gen. 19:1–17).

If God’s people remain silent, refusing to expose and challenge evil, then what hope remains for our nation? Who else can guide our nation back to truth? Only God. Therefore, at some point, God Himself will be compelled to intervene with judgment designed to put an end to rebellion and wickedness.

Silence among God’s people in a rebellious nation is unacceptable, and it is a precursor to divine judgment. Privately choosing to be on God’s side regarding cultural matters is not enough; we need to publicly choose God’s side. Becoming God’s cultural influencers begins with a determination to break our silence on moral issues.

This article comes from Heart of a Forerunner: How to Be a Relevant and Influential Voice in a Wayward Nation

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