Zero Hour & The End of Nuance

Speak truth in love (Eph 4:15).
Be ready in season and out of season (2 Tim 4:2).
The world will hate you for it (John 15:18).
Don’t worry about it (Matt 15:14).

As the world continues to reel over the events of this past week, we are witnessing what is perhaps the great awakening of this generation. There is a renewed boldness and conviction taking hold of Christians which feels reminiscent of the early church (Acts 4:31). There is a clarity and a directness to our words. The endless nuancing, caveating, qualifying, softening, and tiptoeing has suddenly been replaced with something unabashedly clear. Like the sound of the trumpet that rallies the warriors against the powers of darkness – like the Horn of Gondor in Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” or Susan’s Horn in Lewis’s “Chronicles of Narnia”.

I think of the trumpet-like voices in Scripture (e.g., Isa 58; Ezek 33) and the call for trumpet-like clarity within the church (e.g., 1 Cor 14:8). The sound coming from the church today is decisively clearer and louder than it was yesterday, and it signals a turning point in our nation. “Aslan is on the move.” “Rohan will answer.” And, by God’s grace, we will not be found among the sleeping or the silent in this critical moment.

So, what does unadulterated clarity sound like in this zero hour of the Western world? For starters, it sounds like saying…

1. God created the world and everything in it (Gen 1:1).
Period.
2. God created only two sexes, male and female (Gen 1:26).Period.
3. God created marriage between a man and a woman (Gen 2:24).
Period.
4. God created sexual pleasure for marriage (Gen 2:25).
Period.
5. Life begins at conception (Psa 139:13).
Period.
6. God created hierarchal structures within society (Eph 5:22–33).
Period.
7. Christ is King (Rev 17:14).
Period.

In other words…

1. Evolution is a lie; it isn’t true.
2. Transgenderism is a deception; it doesn’t actually exist.  
3. Homosexuality is an abomination; it doesn’t belong.
4. Pornography is poison; it erodes your soul.
5. Abortion is murder; it isn’t a “my choice.”
6. Feminism is societal suicide; it destroys everything it touches.
7. Sin is damning; it will send you to hell.

Thus…

1. Evolution should be banned.
2. Transgenderism should be illegal.
3. Abortion should be criminalized.
4. Pornography should be abolished.
5. Homosexuality should be condemned.
6. Feminism should be opposed.
7. And sinners should repent. 

When you speak like this, the darkness will instinctively react with a battery of verbal slurs against your character (e.g., bigot, sexist, homophobe, xenophobe, misogynist, hypocrite, racist, etc.), and when this doesn’t work, it will go looking for stones (Acts 6:9–10; 7:54–58). Be that as it may, we will continue to love our enemies (Matt 5:43–44) and seek the good of the city (Jer 29:7) by speaking the truth (Eph 4:15) with clarity (1 Cor 14:8) even when the truth is very much out of season (2 Tim 4:2).

God, help us.