We conclude this series on the acceptance of authority with a consideration towards reaching the secular, and increasingly hostile, world. God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son… and we must sacrificially love it, too.

For if the Christian faith is true, and the Christian Church the authoritative vehicle of salvation in time, then it is the most urgent, inescapable need of the modern world to adapt itself to the Church (Blamires, 1963).

The modern world has grown to hate what they need most: the love- and power-laden authority of God. As Christians we know better that the grace of God – good will, loving-kindness, and favor – flows down the channels of authority He establishes, when leaders exercise authority for, and not over, those entrusted to their care. Authority for one’s self is corrupt, and it corrupts the grace, power, and love of God.

There was a time when even the secular man or woman, created in the image of God, appreciated the importance of rightly exercised authority. However, the world in which we live and the church in which we worship has increasingly rejected righteous authority. There is a cause-and-effect here, but it is difficult to determine whether the church’s loss of authority caused the world to spin out of control, or the world’s rebellious nature has been allowed to influenced the church. We seem to be in a codependent downward spiral. In either case, God holds the church responsible – to him who much is given – and judgment has come to the people of God (1Peter 4:17).

How will we respond?

Reaching the Secular World

… one is staggered at the magnitude of the task of trying to rehabilitate the concept of authority as something estimable (Blamires, 1963).

Obviously, we will not reach the secular world unless we first get our own house in order. The world stopped listening to our hypocritical ranting long ago. We must renew our practice of authority prescribed by God in Scripture. Assuming that’s possible – and all things are through Christ – the church may still prove to be a blessing to the modern world.

The “Meaning Crisis” provides a growing opportunity for religion to reassert itself as the best source of meaning and purpose for humankind (i.e., the best worldview). Society and those living in it have lost faith in science and reason. The isolation created by Covid was apparently the straw that broke the camel’s back, particularly for younger generations. The vast replacement of jobs by Artificial Intelligence (AI) will exacerbate the crisis and expand its impact to the GenXers and Baby Boomers.

Those who practice Christianly thinking have a distinct advantage in the area of wisdom acquisition. While secular humanists continue to look to the created (i.e., the human mind) for wisdom, we can go directly to the source of all wisdom. While they are trying to create ways of drawing wisdom out of the carnal mind, we can be encouraging and edifying people toward discovery of the Life Who is our wisdom (1Corinthians 1:30) – we have the mind of Christ (1Corinthians 2:16). While they are manufacturing domain specific wisdom using cognitive science, we can be practicing divine wisdom in all domains.

As Christians, we have been edified and empowered with a Reality the world cannot offer. Living within us is the One Who desires to engage the world’s lost, wandering, and distressed persons with the genuine, highest, and supernatural values they desperately desire: Meaning, purpose, hope, identity, wisdom, comfort, home, etc.

But again, we are impotent as instruments of blessing to the world as long as we refuse the love- and power-laden authority of God. The opportunity costs of ignorance and/or inaction cannot be measured, simply because God and His grace are more than we can imagine. It is not hyperbole to claim that this season of storms and chaos will be the greatest opportunity for kingdom advancement we will see in our lifetimes.

Individual Christians and the leadership teams of Christian organizations must judge for themselves whether or not they have allowed passivity, timidity, or worldly influence to compromise their acceptance and exercise of godly authority. If you are wondering, and have not already done so, we recommend you go back and prayerfully consider the articles in this series (beginning here).

God bless you with wisdom and courage to take full advantage of the grace which flows down His chain of authority.

Humbly yours and forever His,

Rob

#iamjustthepen

Blamires, H. (1963). The Christian Mind. Regent College Publishing; Vancouver, BC.