Not Lost

We live in a world that needs to know and experience the hope of Jesus.  Hebrews 6 reminds us:
19This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil,20where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

There has been some discussion about the state of our culture.  Are we living in a post-Christian era?  There is evidence that is true.   But, I would submit that because the church is still here on this earth, that there is great potential for good to be done and for Christ to be glorified.  If we take seriously our calling as followers of Christ and allow His love to flow through our lives, we can be vessels through which the character of Christ can be expressed.    His love is powerful, and He wants to do His work through His obedient servants - He wants to display Himself through His people!

Here's a story from Acts 17, and there's a key phrase that I want to highlight:
2Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures,3explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, "This Jesus whom I preach to you is the Christ."4And some of them were persuaded; and a great multitude of the devout Greeks, and not a few of the leading women, joined Paul and Silas.5But the Jews who were not persuaded, becoming envious, took some of the evil men from the marketplace, and gathering a mob, set all the city in an uproar and attacked the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people.6But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, "These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.

You may have heard about it - in the time period prior to Easter Sunday, British Prime Minister David Cameron made some rather pointed comments about Christianity and the role of the church. The Telegraph stated that:

In his strongest intervention on religion to date, Mr Cameron said that in an increasingly "secular age" Christians need to be even "more confident" and "ambitious".

He said that he has personally felt the "healing power" of the Church of England's pastoral care and highlighted its role in "improving our society and the education of our children".

He said he wants to "infuse politics" with Christian "ideals and values" such as "responsibility, hard work, charity, compassion, humility and love".

Just before Easter, Mr. Cameron wrote a piece in the Church Times about the value of Christianity to the U.K. today.

Cameron is also quoted as saying that, "I believe we should be more confident about our status as a Christian country, more ambitious about expanding the role of faith-based organisations, and, frankly, more evangelical about a faith that compels us to get out there and make a difference to people's lives."   He also said that other religions should be respected.

Australian theologian Bill Muehlenberg, in a piece I first saw on Matt Barber's BarbWire website, wrote about a small gathering of around 25 key Christians that met in Britain recently. He said, "At this gathering of around 25 key Christians, I was impressed with how God always has a remnant left for himself. As many of you may know, this once great Christian nation is no longer great, at least in terms of Christianity. It is now a very dark and secular place indeed."

He went on:

Just last month the former archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams declared England to be a “post-Christian” country. In an interview with The Telegraph he said that Britain is no longer “a nation of believers” and that the Church is likely to decline even further in the years ahead.

His comments follow from remarks made by the Prime Minister David Cameron that Christians should be “more evangelical”.

Muehlenberg then shared about his comments to the group of believers, whom he described as "champions."  Urging them to "keep standing strong," he said:

I mentioned that Jesus had a dozen followers, and that they managed to turn the world upside down (Acts 17:6). I suggested that with over two dozen present, we had even better odds of transforming our world! I encouraged them to not grow weary in welldoing, nor to let discouragement overcome them.

He proposed that the West may be past a spiritual point of no return, but said that God could bring life out of what he called, "the spiritual and moral ash heap of England."

In conclusion, he wrote that it took centuries to overtake Christianity, and we may need that same time frame again. He says:

A new dark ages has settled over the West, and we are indeed “post-Christian”. But God is still on the throne, and still able to make dry bones come to life.

I mentioned that we certainly do need more people like Spurgeon and Lloyd-Jones and Stott today in London and in England. Let us pray that God raises up such men, for such a dark time as this. But the group of 25 or so I fellowshipped with yesterday gave me very great hope that all is not lost, and God is still at work in deepest, darkest England.

I think there are some key points here to reinforce.  One is that in Christ, there is always hope. Prime Minister Cameron recognized the potential in Christian principles, and even though former Archbishop Williams described a "post-Christian" culture, which we have heard about the culture in which we live here in America, we can still hold fast to Christ and His principles.  Where there is a remnant, there is potential for God to work through it.

I do think that it's encouraging for political leaders to publicly recognize the validity of the Christian faith and its potential to change hearts.   Sometimes politicians will use religion as a veneer to hid behind, and we have to be so discerning when governmental leaders on one hand reach out to the church and on with other embrace principles that contradict the Christian faith.   I don't know what Cameron's purpose was in making these declarations about Christianity, but I think it can serve as a reminder, even to those in the U.S., that Christianity is an incredible force for good in the culture - and we must continue to possess an attitude of being bold for Him.

And, don't discount that God may be raising you up or placing you in an important position where He can use you to speak His truth and to demonstrate the compassion of Christ.   We may have a tendency to underestimate ourselves, but with the power of God and a willing heart, we can make a mark on the world for Him.