He had been Prime Minister for three days. The outlook was grim for Great Britain when Winston Churchill replaced Neville Chamberlain. German forces had won startling victories over the continental European forces and the British Expeditionary Forces were about to be trapped at Dunkirk. Their air force was capable of raining death down upon the frightened citizens of London.  

When Churchill positioned himself behind the BBC microphone for his first radio broadcast as Prime Minister, he outlined the bleak situation for his fellow countrymen, but he would not give way to despair. Churchill gave his assessment, “It would be foolish to disguise the gravity of the hour. It would be still more foolish to lose heart and courage” (Churchill quoted in Larsen, 35).  

Over the past weeks, there have been a number of things that have stretched the Church; but, viewed historically and globally, it would be embarrassing to refer to the American church’s present situation as persecution (but to quote the 70s rock band Bachman-Turner Overdrive, “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet”).  

With that qualification in mind, the Supreme Court's decision in Bostock v. Clayton County delivered by Justice Gorsuch this past Monday suggests that the crosswinds faced by the American church are about to increase in strength. The court’s decision will have far-reaching implications for the experience of American Christians individually and the church collectively.  

To quote Churchill, it would be foolish to disguise the gravity of this hour. The opposition to biblical orthodoxy is increasing. The liberties that American Christians have to act according to Scripture without punishment are shrinking. The Bostock decision is a warning to Christians that there are harder days ahead. 

“It would be still more foolish to lose heart and courage.”  

But all is certainly not lost. We must be realistic about the challenges that lay ahead, but we must not give way to despair. For Christians, though most of the future is foggy to us, we can know the end of all things with a God-given clarity and certainty: God wins.  

But what sort of things should we do to prepare ourselves to be faithful in the days ahead?   

• Pray. Ask God for the grace that we might stand firm in the truth whatever the cost.  
• Remind ourselves about what the Bible teaches about the end of history. Read and listen to sermons on Daniel and Revelation in particular that remind Christians that though the journey may be rough, the outcome is secure. Jesus will receive the people for whom he died and bring about the redemption of creation (Romans 8:18-25).  
• Remind ourselves of the nature of suffering in the Christian life. Look at the book of Job or 1 Peter. Suffering is not something we should be surprised by but expect. When suffering comes because we bear the name of Christ, we need to have the right categories to see what God might be doing in our suffering.  
• Be clear on matters of first importance (and which ones are not). As a church, we need to have the ability to do biblically faithful theological triage. Our unity in the truth is as important as ever. The increased opposition we will face should help focus what the “big issues” worth fighting over actually are. 
• Christian parents need to talk to their children about the gift of our bodies. There are some resources directed to Christian parents on these topics that I hope to review for you soon such as Rewriting Gender: You, Your Family, Transgenderism, and the Gospel; Gender: A Conversation for Pastors and Parents; or more advanced books like Love Thy Body: Answering Hard Questions about Life and Sexuality. Be catechizing our kids now about the goodness of creation, the purpose God has for our bodies, and the authority of his Word.  

How do you do all this? The type of preparation we need isn’t a quick fix. It happens as our roots slowly sink deeper into the soil of God’s Word.  

So here’s where you start: Go to church. Listen carefully to sound biblical preaching. Meditate on it. Discuss it. Read your Bible. Read or listen to good books as you’re able. The best remedy for error is truth. God, who infallibly keeps his people, ordinarily works through these means to keep us in his truth and to prepare us for the glory he has in store for all those who confess Jesus from a faith-filled heart.  

And because he’s promised to keep us, we can ‘Amen’ the words of Winston Churchill in our own fight: it would be foolish to lose heart or courage. We’re going to be more than okay!   

“Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling
and to present you blameless before the presence
of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior,
through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty,
dominion, and authority, before all time and
now and forever. Amen.”  Jude 24–25

 
Yours in Christ,  
 
Pastor Wayne