Perils of Moderation

A great bastion of political correctness is that we do not have to fear the Islamic threat to our way of life because the vast majority of Muslims are moderate. But silent consent really puts the moderate in bed with the extremist whether they admit it or not.

Being moderate is a virtue when it refers to self control. But for the purposes of this blog post, I’m using the term "moderate" to refer to the degree to which a person applies their religion. And all people have a religion because all people have some sort of belief system that governs their world view.

The world’s culture war is dominated by the struggle between Secular Humanism, Islam, and Christianity. We are seeing this culture war become more intense as we approach the end of the age. It will be increasingly hard for people to stay independent and embrace the "moderate" label. The day will come when all moderates realize they are really aligned with one side of the culture war or the other. While there are three major contenders, there really are only two sides that count for eternity; with God or against Him. Unfortunately, most are against Him per Matthew 7:13-14.

Being moderate is generally seen as better than the alternative of being extreme. That is certainly the case when the choice is between being moderately wrong versus extremely wrong; then being moderate is the lesser of the evils. But how much error is OK? A lackadaisical moderate approach to politics is what has brought us our current extreme Left Secular Humanist government. We can hope that the consequences from this turn of events will wake up the moderate Christians to vote into office leaders who will embrace the godly values that made this country great. But this is unlikely because Christendom today is in the Laodicean phase of the Church Age…

Revelation chapters 2 and 3 are letters Jesus gave the Apostle John to seven churches of his day. These particular churches were chosen to be a prophetic representation of the Church Age. Anyone familiar with Church history can see the parallels between the various general characteristics of the Christian Church since Pentecost and the letters to the seven churches of Revelation, particularly their order. Jesus has a real issue with the apathetic moderate attitude of those professing to follow Him in the current Laodicean era… “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth” (Revelation 3:15-16, NKJ).

Moderate Christianity is dangerous because it appears to the entire world that following Christ is no different than any other religion in the world. And there is a huge difference between true biblical Christianity and every other religion mankind has ever conceived. All the world’s religions are similar in saying that salvation must be earned; Christianity is unique in saying what needs to be done for salvation has already been done by Jesus. Biblical Christianity is so far removed from the salvation-by-works religions; it should not even be considered a religion. Instead, it is more of a relationship with our Creator-God than a religion. All who think they are going to heaven on the basis of being a good person and participating in Church are destined for a rude awakening; see Matthew 7:21-23.

The world embraces moderates because all religious extremism has proven to be evil. The conventional wisdom is that Secular Humanism is by nature moderate. But it is no benign religion. Indeed the Secular Humanism of Stalinist Russia, Nazi Germany, and Pol Pot of Cambodia are classic examples. Everyone knows the true nature of Islam; it is demonstrated every day in the terrorism that plagues the world. The ugliness of professing Christendom has also been revealed in history that proponents of Islam and Secular Humanism are always quick to point out: the Inquisition and Crusades. Jesus warned us about wolves in sheep’s clothing in Matthew 7:15.

The Bible tells us how the world culture war will play out. I expect the Secular Humanists of the Revived Roman Empire to unite with the Muslims of the Revived Ottoman Empire under the Antichrist. The other world religions including the “moderate” professing Christians will be integrated into both empires. Those who become true Christians during this time will be pretty much on the lam until Jesus returns to bring an end to the Tribulation; see Daniel 7:25.

Everyone can benefit from considering the implications of the culture war and where it is headed. It is still not too late to break ranks with the vast majority on the broad road to perdition. And forget the way of the moderate; there is no fence sitting with God. Jesus said in Matthew 12:30, “he who is not with Me is against Me.” It is to our great benefit to heed His command to the Laodiceans: “Therefore be zealous and repent” (Revelation 3:19).