Dear brothers
and sisters in Christ:
“You don’t want to be on the wrong side of history.” This is an
idiom that is often repeated these days. Or it can go this way, “You want to be
on the right side of history.” Both ways have the same meaning, which is to
persuade the person to follow the prevailing winds of the culture.
But what about being on the side of truth? Truth is never
mentioned. Instead, truth is replaced by feelings, which is opinion. What about
remaining loyal to the one true God?
In today’s secular world, the truth has been replaced by opinion.
These days, immoral living is seen in a positive light, while moral living is
not. What has happened?
The Pew Research Center in December 2021 released its findings
from a study on religious affiliation in the United States. In the study[1], Pew found that the
secularizing shifts in the United States are not going to slow down any time
soon as it found that self-identifying Christians now outnumber religious
“nones” by a ratio of a little more than two-to-one. Back in 2007, Pew found
that Christians outnumbered “nones” by almost five-to-one.
As more and more people are no longer affiliated with
Christianity, society’s change has become more secular. As America becomes more
secular, the more the culture’s morality has deteriorated. And among practicing
Christians, according to this Pew study, only 26 percent said they attend a
religious service at least once a week.
Now, none of this is a shock. We all live in 2022. But, this is
alarming. Where is truth to be found? God is truth. Jesus is the Way, and the
Truth, and the Life. No person is saved from sin, death, and hell apart from
Christ.
In the world we live in today, there is a search for truth, but
this search does not include Jesus Christ. In a world without truth, we don’t
know who we are. In a world without truth, grammar is destroyed in order to
apply “my pronouns.” In a world without truth, nothing matters. This is a world
of nihilism where nothing has meaning.
But we do matter! God says we matter! God created mankind in His
image as He created us all male and female. He created us, because He loves us.
He knitted us together in our mother’s wombs. We are all fearfully and
wonderfully made by God and He never makes mistakes.
God not only created us, but He also redeemed us from the powers
of sin, death, and Satan through Him becoming man as He suffered, died, and
rose from the dead — for us! This is the truth! And we all need to hear this
wonderful truth as much as we can, or else we could fall away.
We are being catechized every second of our lives. The only
question is how are we being catechized? Are we being catechized by the secular
world (with waiting with bated breath as daytime co-hosts discuss “hot topics,”
with idolizing rose ceremonies, and joining TikTok challenges), which always
ends in despair and nothingness. Or are we being catechized by the one true
God, who gives us hope that is sure and certain. We certainly live in the
secular world, but don’t let the secular world become your false idol of
worship. Always remember that the secular world’s goal is to sway us away from
truth.
Just like we matter to God, truth matters. It is so easy to give
in to popular trends, but in the end truth prevails, because God prevails. God
is truth.
In Christ,
Pastor Adelsen
[1] https://www.pewforum.org/2021/12/14/about-three-in-ten-u-s-adults-are-now-religiously-unaffiliated/
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