The Church is hemorrhaging purity. It seems to stem from a desire to be accepted, from not wanting to be bound by the Word, and elevating love above God’s other attributes, as if love is His only defining trait of value. The culture has us in a corner, and we so desperately want to not be identified as religious quacks, deplorables, and weirdos. The shame we feel in front of our neighbors looms larger than any shame we feel before God (Mk. 8.38). Out of fear we keep our mouths shut and eventually deny the revealed truth of the Word of God to avoid ostracism and being thought poorly of. That way we keep our sense of community and belonging—we get to keep one foot in the world. But the price we pay is grieving the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4.30). Instead of walking worthy, we walk dishonestly. Instead of being a bridge to the World by being agents of truth and reconciliation, we try to build a bridge to the World by accepting as many practices as we can and still feel good about being Christians (by the way, that’s a very low standard of excellence and integrity). Instead of being paragons of godliness to a lost World to testify the difference Christ makes, we have become hand-holders of sin to show how secular we can be and still call ourselves Christians. The result is not more conversions to Christ, as we see, but millions of de-conversions, a weak Church, and a scoffing world pulling us deeper into spiritual mud and deceit (Eph. 5.14).
Instead, “Live as children of light…and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. Wake up, sleep, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. Be very careful…how you live, not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil” (Eph. 5.8-16).