Young people, especially in a time like ours need help. I am saying this as a high school student, who can clearly see the impacts of a satanic culture around me. The problems I’m talking about are not the usually talked about ones like “sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll”. Of course, they have their own detrimental results – but I think far worse is the philosophy and worldview of most teenagers/young adults. I never knew it had a name, but apparently it’s called “Moralistic Therapeutic Deism”. I recently came across an article describing it VERY well:

“Moralistic Therapeutic Deism consists of beliefs like these: 1. “A god exists who created and ordered the world and watches over human life on earth.” 2. “God wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions.” 3. “The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself.” 4. “God does not need to be particularly involved in one’s life except when God is needed to resolve a problem.” 5. “Good people go to heaven when they die.” (http://www.christianpost.com/article/20050418/moralistic-therapeutic-deism-the-new-american-religion/index.html)

It’s the modern version of the Enlightenment period religion of deism. It’s a philosophy espousing the complete lack of discernment. It values “being nice” more than “being right”. All this matters a great deal, because when we consider the future of evangelism in America – our problems aren’t going to be the more ‘traditional’ problems of disbelief, false religion, or some form of addiction. The problem is going to be indifference and tolerance. The worst part about moralistic therapeutic deism is that in the minds of their proponents, the Christian and the atheist can BOTH be right at the same time.

Just today, I was talking with one of my friends about the reality of God’s Judgment and he interposed “Why can’t we just ignore this god stuff and just be nice people?” Therein lies the biggest problem of all. The people we’re targeting in fact are “nice” people (according to their own standards). They’re espousing the Gandhist principle of tolerance and it’s not easy to convict them of their sin. Their hearts are hardened by a form of self-righteousness that lies in their belief that they ARE in fact “nice and kind” people. The truth is that it’s a lot easier to reproach Adolf Hitler than it is to get into Gandhi’s face. But the truth, we need to realize, is that both men went to hell and lived lives in deference to God. And unless we are convicted strongly of this before anything we do – so will the vast majority of young people today.

Increasingly, I am beginning to agree with John Piper that “America’s one of the hardest places to be a Christian.” Our heroes aren’t the Puritans, Edwards, Whitefield or Brainerd…they are Jefferson, Emerson, Thoreau, and the like – preaching a message of self-reliance and the “right to privacy”. The result – it’s become wrong to “get in someone’s face” and tell them that they are wrong. Preaching the Gospel is essentially de facto illegal in most of the country. I mean – just look in the Declaration of Independence…the “pursuit of happiness” is one of the three most important goals. Of course, as a Christian I know that knowing God gives joy beyond all things and that in living for God lies the true “secret of happiness”! But when you tell a lost man that he should “pursue happiness”, there is not a chance that he is going to turn to God first. A young person is either going to hear that and become a drug addict/fornicator or become a “moralistic therapeutic deist”. Either way, conversion is not the result.

The most important obstacle to evangelizing America’s youth is that the idea of objective Truth is at stake. 50 years ago, the average unbeliever would say “There is no proof of Christ’s resurrection.” Today, the average unbeliever says, “I don’t care. Just leave me alone…” Indifference.

Worse still is the infiltration of this evil system of thought into the so-called “church”. I’ve occasionally braced myself enough to listen to terrible sermons by big, famous preachers who just won’t talk about sin! Men like Joel Osteen are becoming more the rule than the exception. The poor, lost man once said in an interview, “I don’t like to get in people’s faces about sin. I just like to give people a boost every day and help them have stronger self-esteem.” And oh – how America loves his kind of nonsense!

Let’s remember that true biblical Christianity is inherently opposed to this. It is not about having a strong self-esteem and feeling good about yourself. It’s not about “seeing the good in all people”. It is about being broken by God’s Almighty power. It is about being convicted of our FILTH in sight of His glory. It is about living for the glory of GOD not man. Yet, when so-called “Christians” go out into the battlefield of the world, they prioritize “being nice” (as the world sees it) rather than telling people the Gospel. They tell amusing, quaint stories rather than shouting out “Repent and believe!!” They try and create false ‘entertainment’ because they don’t want the power and conviction of the Holy Spirit in their midst. All the while, they are hardening the hearts of professed “Christians”. As Paul Washer once said, “They’re giving people enough religion to send them straight to hell.”

I’m talking both about so-called “evangelism” by liars like Mr. Osteen as well as the preaching that goes on in churches. Now, I’m saying this because in the past, I did listen to these pastors regularly. A lot of them are on the list of “biggest churches in America”. It’s not a surprise – false prophets are very popular with the world. They make people feel good about themselves. About the fact that they went to church (satisfying their religious conscience) and about the fact that they enjoyed themselves there. They’re giving their congregation “enough Jesus” to make them feel good, without having to surrender everything over to him.

My friends, this is a false gospel. Jesus is not an accessory we add onto our lives. He is either everything or nothing. Conversion is the supernatural work of God whereby we are regenerated by the Holy Spirit to become a NEW creation. Not this “half-new” person. We are ENTIRELY new. God takes out our old hearts and gives us new ones (Ezekiel 36:26). It is impossible to be converted and not be radically changed, no matter how many churches put up signs saying “Salvation – so easy it takes just five minutes.” Salvation isn’t a “been there, done that” thing. Paul tells us to “work to complete our salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12) – not just say a prayer once in your life to be saved and then go back out to be a carnal man! As Steve Lawson puts it, “The New Birth is not turning over a new leaf. It’s receiving a New Life!” It is disgusting when these preppy pastors get on TV and say “If you just recited that prayer with me, you’re saved. Congratulations! Please email us and tell us that you said that prayer and you’ve been saved.”

I think that in America today, Satan is brewing a lukewarm attitude toward God. America – and the “church” in America is like the Church of Laodicea in Revelation 3:15-18,

“I know what you do, that you are not hot or cold. I wish that you were hot or cold! But because you are lukewarm—neither hot, nor cold—I am ready to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich, and I have become wealthy and do not need anything.’ But you do not know that you are really miserable, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked. I advise you to buy from me gold made pure in fire so you can be truly rich. Buy from me white clothes so you can be clothed and so you can cover your shameful nakedness. Buy from me medicine to put on your eyes so you can truly see.”

Indeed, we have become so accustomed to the wealth of recreational “Disneyland of America”, as John Piper puts it, that we simply don’t feel like doing anything as radical as giving our whole lives as a living sacrifice to God. The hearts of the lost are becoming hardened by the luxuries of America. The “church” is unwilling to be honest about the damnation facing those who do not have faith in Christ. And those brave soldiers of Christ who are telling the truth are now being silenced by the law (A new hate crimes bill in Congress is going to increase litigation against churches who preach the truth about the immorality of homosexuality).

Yet, God is at work in America and around the world, preparing warriors who know the true Gospel. As you may have noticed, I’ve only been rebuking the professed “church”. We must remember that the true Church – the body of believers who truly have been saved by God – is the beautiful bride of Christ. The true Church is glorious and unified! It is this true Church that God is building up and emboldening to proclaim the Gospel without apology across the world.