Refuse to Retreat – Part 2

In this day and age, we must re-learn to stand firm in confessing Christ, the gospel, and the proclamation and defense of biblical truth. We must refuse to retreat, especially when the attacks increase.

The influence of higher criticism continues to increase in the evangelical sector. So-called culturally sensitive hermeneutics or contextual exegesis also open the door to a higher criticism mindset. Higher criticism attempts to distinguish the Bible’s timeless content from its time-dependent statements. Take, for example, Paul’s statement prohibiting women from teaching in the Church (1 Tim 2:12). The issue shifts from whether this prohibition is still binding today, to whether it is still objectionable for a woman to teach in the Church “in our current cultural context.” But who is the authority that gets to decide which of the Bible’s teachings is timeless instruction, and which is merely an expression of its original cultural context? The Bible itself doesn’t make any such distinctions in most places. So, how will the Church evaluate issues of sexual ethics in the future? Is this just another place where we need to distinguish between timeless truth and context-dependent statements?

This is the sort of pleasant-sounding rationale that so-called post-evangelicals are using to deconstruct biblical theology. You’re no doubt aware of many who adhere to this mindset; some call themselves “progressive Christians” or “ex-vangelicals.” In a way, this is nothing new. People have always tried to relativize the truth of the Bible. But now, it’s infiltrating the evangelical movement. And its adherents should be aware that even this compromise won’t save them once society’s winds start to blow in another direction. Theologian Carl Trueman writes: “One thing, though, is certain: The days when Christians could be both respected by their society and faithful to their beliefs are drawing rapidly to a close. The terms of membership in civic society and in the church are becoming increasingly antithetical. It will not matter how much you talk about racial justice, for example, if you do not toe the line on sexual and gender justice. And public repetition of the trendy liturgies of Christian self-loathing on any number of social issues will not save you. Progressive ideology has one thing in common with the law of God: As James 2:10 says of the latter, he who fails in one part is guilty of failing in all parts. Selective wokeness will not gain you immunity from the social justice wrath to come.”

And yet, this straddling of the fence is just what many progressive Christians are attempting to do. A recent NPR interview covered how some churches are intentionally reinterpreting the Bible, in order to welcome all gender identities and sexualities. An ordained transgender pastor states, “I think that’s how we bring heaven to Earth, is having these hard conversations and creating more relationships and creating more opportunities to be in relationship with difference.” At the end of the interview, Lutheran theologian Austen Hartke says, “Even though Genesis 1 talks about binaries in the world, we know that those binaries aren’t as clean-cut as they are in this one piece of writing. So, for instance, God creates the day and the night. It says nothing about dawn or dusk.” The interviewer concludes, “But these in-between places exist. And Hartke says there’s a richness to them and to the theology that emerges from them because they tell a fuller story of this holy world.” Notice the avoidance of any firm claims to spiritual truth.

As followers of Jesus, we are called to treat all people with love, not rejecting or judging them out of hand. But this calling isn’t in opposition to a commitment to clear biblical truth. Kind-sounding but insidious formulations, like the ones quoted above, stifle any clear positioning based on Scripture. But Paul rejoiced that the Thessalonians “are standing fast in the Lord” (1 Thess 3:8). Again, recall the image of an army refusing to retreat despite enemy attack.

Refuse to Retreat

Paul calls us to stand firm in the truth. Bearing this in mind, I’m sometimes dismayed to see that in recent decades, the evangelical movement has begun to retreat, or even evacuate the battlefield. These battlefields can also include belief in the Bible itself. In this area, more and more gaps in our fortifications are appearing. Some evangelical universities have partially rewritten or revised their statements of faith to have broader appeal. Support for other fundamental biblical doctrines, such as Creation, is also in decline. When I was younger, I was grateful for the ministry of Answers in Genesis and similar organizations and their publications. In many churches, this basic truth has become a complete non-issue.

As I mentioned earlier, biblical positions on sexual ethics and transgender issues are also areas of retreat. In addition, there is silence on abortion, and sometimes great indifference toward euthanasia (Medical Assistance in Dying, or MAID in Canada) or, to put it more clearly, assisted suicide.

A few decades ago, alternative medicine (with its esoteric, pagan roots) was still being fought against from biblical theology, until the front crumbled. Today, many Bible-believing Christians don’t even consider the spiritual/philosophical, anti-biblical background of osteopathy, homeopathy, or Pilates … or the conceptions of man that these practices stem from. This mental carelessness now extends to yoga and other mystical or esoteric relaxation and meditation techniques.

Against this backdrop, let’s consider the emergence and influence of the New Age movement, as well as neo-Marxism and the branch of feminism that stems from it. Between the 1970s and 90s, many enlightening books were being written that examined them in detail. But today, most people just give an indifferent shrug of their shoulders and withdraw from the debate.

One battlefield that has been almost completely cleared of faithful Christians, stands in contrast to the biblical view of humanity: forms of group dynamics such as psychonautics and psychotechnics, which use types of social engineering to alter behavior, value systems, and attitudes. In discussions of the merits of psychology and psychotherapy versus those of biblical counseling, many are demonstrating fatigue rather than vigilance.

Positions and boundaries based on Biblical doctrine are completely in retreat. One place we can see this is in the ecumenical International House of Prayer movement, or the more extreme forms of the charismatic movement.

Many Bible-believing Christians and churches have also withdrawn from the battlefield of music. Although the recent film Jesus Revolution painted the early Christian rock scene in a positive and optimistic light, there were many valid concerns about both the music itself and the artists performing it. Although alarm bells were ringing into the 1980s and 90s about the Christian rock industry, it has since become widely accepted.

The last but most important battleground I’d like to mention is the gospel and evangelism. Events and personal witnessing are both often marked by a Christianity that conforms positively to society, or a commitment to the spirit of the age. Do we still have the courage required to boldly confess Jesus, the need for His sacrifice for our sin, and the word of the Cross? Do we have the courage to stand fast in the Lord? This is one other arena where we run the risk of retreat, under the pressure of the zeitgeist.

The point isn’t that we should be advancing on every battlefield. The priority is for us to always remain close to Jesus and His Word. But it’s essential that we recognize where we are at risk of laying down our weapons, adapting, and losing our firm footing.

In this day and age, we must re-learn to stand firm in confessing Christ, the gospel, and the proclamation and defense of biblical truth. We must refuse to retreat, especially when the attacks increase. In his epistle, Jude had to encourage Christians to contend for the faith of the saints, which had been handed down once and for all.

The One Who Makes Us Steadfast

When we examine ourselves, we see that we’re hopelessly overwhelmed by the exhortation to refuse to retreat in the face of vast aggression. Martin Luther was also well-aware of this in his own struggles. That’s why he wrote the well-known song A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.

Did we in our own strength confide,

our striving would be losing,

were not the right Man on our side,

the Man of God’s own choosing.

You ask who that may be?

Christ Jesus, it is he;

Lord Sabaoth his name,

from age to age the same;

and he must win the battle.

Paul rejoiced to hear that the Thessalonians were standing firm in the Lord in the face of increasing pressure. And by doing so, he also made the source of their stability clear: They were placing their trust entirely in the Lord. This means standing firm in faith in His truth (1 Cor 16:13), and putting on the spiritual armor that He has provided (Eph 6).

As his life was reaching its end, the Apostle Paul sat in a cold, damp dungeon. Branded a state criminal, he knew that his ministry and life were nearing completion, and that he would soon be executed as a martyr. Many believers had also distanced themselves from him; not from Christ, but from the Apostle Paul personally (2 Tim 1:15). In the midst of his situation, hopeless from a human perspective, Paul himself shows us what it means to stand fast in the Lord and refuse to retreat despite every attack and disappointment. He testified to Timothy, his spiritual foster son:

“…I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me” (2 Tim 1:11-12).

This was the secure foundation Paul stood on, even in this final test of his life. And this is what I wish for us: that in view of all current developments, we are and will become people who stand firm. Not because we are especially strong, doing so under our own strength, but because we know Jesus. He is powerful enough to guard what has been entrusted to us for this day.

Reading 2 Timothy carefully, we can see that Paul had eternity and the kingdom of heaven on his mind at the end of his life. It was his focus. It’s so important for us to keep the goal in mind, instead of getting distracted by what’s happening in the world. Even though our struggles increase and the air is becoming thinner, the best is always ahead of us when we belong to Jesus.

The three Japanese soldiers didn’t surrender their positions, holding out until nearly 30 years after the end of the war. It’s a remarkable achievement. But what a disappointment it must have been to realize that everything had long been over, and that their endurance had been pointless. Not only that, but they also committed great wrongs, including murder, during that time. By contrast, we can know that standing firm in the Lord is never in vain, even if it costs us our strength and isolates us. If we stand by Jesus and His Word, we will be carried along as part of Christ’s triumphal procession—invisible now, and one day visible to all. How wonderful that day will be!

At the start of World War 1, France had hoped for a quick success in Alsace-Lorraine, which unfortunately did not materialize. Instead, the Prussian cavalry was sighted not far from Paris in August. The French troops fled back to their capital to defend it. But the German troops suddenly turned in a different direction, circling around the French from two sides. In light of the approaching catastrophe, the French General Foch gave the legendary order at the beginning of September: “My center is giving way, my right falling back; the situation is excellent. I shall attack.” In fact, at the First Battle of the Marne, the French managed to break through the ring of German troops and free themselves from a hopeless situation. This vivid incident can encourage us to stand our ground.

No matter how difficult circumstances become, we shouldn’t retreat. We should stand firm in the Lord and in the confession of Christ and His truth—“[contending] for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 1:3)—knowing He is powerful enough to protect what was entrusted to us. As 1 Corinthians 16:13 says,

“Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.”

Midnight Call - 08/2025