The Christian Call to Be Salt and Light No Matter Our Societal Moment

Jesus commanded His followers to be “the salt of the earth” and “the light of the world.” While this familiar phrase is often reduced to simply being kind or positive, Jesus intended something far more consequential.

In Matthew 5, immediately after describing the character of true believers in the Beatitudes—and warning that they would face persecution, insults, and false accusations—Jesus called them to live in a way that would be clearly noticed by the world.

Salt preserves what would otherwise decay, while light exposes darkness and shows the way. Likewise, Christians are called to preserve what is good and godly and to proclaim the light of the gospel and biblical truth. But when believers compromise and become indistinguishable from the world, their influence is weakened.

As America grows increasingly dark spiritually and morally through false religion, destructive political ideologies, and rebellion against God’s design, the need for faithful Christians has never been greater. Hope is not lost, for God remains sovereign—but believers must be clear-eyed, courageous, and intentional about honoring Christ through their words, conduct, and convictions.

This week’s program examines what Jesus truly meant when He called Christians to be salt and light—and how believers can faithfully fulfill that calling in an increasingly hostile world. Guest: Alex McFarland, a Christian apologist and co-host of Exploring the Word on the American Family Radio network and host of “The Alex McFarland Show,” on NRB TV joins us to discuss some examples of the darkening taking place in our nation.

PROGRAM NOTES:

• “You Are the Salt of the Earth” sermon from John MacArthur
• Alex McFarland

Transcript

Why Salt And Light Still Matters

Host: David Wheaton 0:08 Host: David Wheaton 0:07

The Christian call to be salt and light, no matter our societal moment. That is the topic we'll discuss today right here on The Christian Worldview Radio program, where the mission is to sharpen the biblical worldview of Christians and to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ. I'm David Wheaton, the host. The Christian Worldview is a nonprofit, listener-supported radio ministry. Our website is TheChristianWorldview.org, and the rest of our contact information will be given throughout today's program. As always, thank you for your notes of encouragement, financial support, and lifting us up in prayer.

September Events And Listener Updates

Host: David Wheaton 0:46

Well, we are now six weeks away from two events in mid-September, The Christian Worldview Speaker Series event and The Overcomer Foundation Cup Golf and Dinner event. And just a couple updates on the events before we get to previewing today's program. The Speaker Series event is on Saturday, September 12th in the late afternoon at Stone House Farm in Jordan, Minnesota. Rather than what we typically do at speaker series events, which is a guest speaking on a given current topic, the format for this one is going to be a live recording of the radio program where I interview Pastor Travis Allen of Grace Church in Greeley, Colorado, who's a longtime favorite guest on this program, about a wide range of current events and issues of the faith. We'll take attendee questions as well. Now our speaker series events are also about fellowship for Christian Worldview listeners. So arrive at 4 p.m. for an hour of meet and greet with other listeners, or you can take a nature walk on the trails at the farm. We're planning on holding the event outside, so bring a camp chair if you have one. If not, we do have some chairs on site. And if the weather turns inclement, we can move the event inside into the north barn at the farm. That's where the Overcomer Course is held. So keep an eye on the forecast a day or two in advance and then dress accordingly. The farm provides a beautiful setting for events, and September is a great time of year in Minnesota. Just go to The ChristianWorldview.org to see a photo of the last speaker series event we had at the farm with Todd Friel, and you can register on the website as well or just give us a call and I'll give our phone number in a moment. The dinner should be very good too. A local restaurant will be catering the meal on site. So again, you can arrive as early as 4 p.m. Dinner is at 5 p.m. And the program with Travis Allen starts around 5 45 p.m. and should wrap up by about 7 p.m. Then, two days later, after the speaker series event, on Monday, September 14th, is the 11th Overcomer Foundation Cup golf and dinner event at White Bear Yacht Club in Dellwood, Minnesota, which is just near St. Paul, Minnesota. If you are a golfer listening from anywhere in the country, this is your invitation to come and join us for the Speaker Series event on Saturday and then the golf event on Monday. White Bear Yacht Club is one of the top courses in the state, and our staff and volunteers do an excellent job making this a great experience for golfers and their guests, all in support of The Overcomer Foundation, which is the nonprofit that directs The Christian Worldview. Now, golfers are invited to bring their non-golfing guests as well to the Lakeside Dinner and program, which follows the day of golf. So sorry to take a couple minutes of the program telling you about these events, but summer is going by quickly as usual, and these events are only six weeks away now. We'd love for you to come to attend one or both of them. And you can register at our website, TheChristianWorldview.org, or just give Rosie a call at 888- 646- 2233. Okay, now to the preview for today's program.

Jesus’ Call In Matthew Five

Host: David Wheaton 4:12

Christians are to be salt and light in the world. Jesus Himself spoke this exhortation to His followers in His most famous sermon, the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter five. The phrase salt and light is well known and well used in Christian circles, but the full weight of what Jesus intended has settled at a fairly low bar, in my estimation, based on the example of the life of Christ or the lives of His most prominent followers, like the Apostle Paul, Peter, or John. Being salt and light is living the Christian life in a way that is noticed by the world and influencing the world, even to the point of being persecuted by the world. Listen to the story that John MacArthur told about the great pastor and evangelist D.L. Moody and how he lived as salt and light.

Audio Sound Bite: John MacArthur 5:11

President Woodrow Wilson told this story. He said, I was in a very commonplace. I was sitting in a barber chair when I became aware that a personality had entered the room. A man had come quietly in upon the same errand as myself to have his hair cut and sat in the chair next to me. Every word the man uttered, though it was not in the least didactic, showed a personal interest in the man who was serving him. And before I got through with what was being done for me, I was aware that I had attended an evangelistic service because Mr. D. L. Moody was in that chair. I purposely lingered in the room after he had left and noted the singular effect that his visit had brought upon the barbershop. They talked in undertones. They didn't know his name, but they knew that something had elevated their thoughts. And I felt that I left that place as I should have left the place of worship. My admiration and esteem for Mr. Moody became very deep. Indeed. Influence. Influence. What message do you leave the world? When you pass by? What are you saying?

Host: David Wheaton 6:26

What a great story about the influence of D.L. Moody. So this teaching in Matthew chapter 5 on believers needing to be salt and light is easily understandable. Because we all know what salt and light are and what they do. Salt is a preservative and flavor enhancer. Salt keeps food from spoiling so quickly, and it gives food more flavor. Light shows the way in darkness. You turn on the lights to walk down the dark hallway. So basically, Christians are to preserve what is good and godly in the world and be a light for the gospel and biblical truth in a dark world. In that sermon series John MacArthur did on being salt and light, he said, quote, "the presupposition here is simple. This text presupposes two things. The world is decayed, that's why it needs salt. And the world is dark, that's why it needs light. The fact that the world needs light presupposes it's dark. The fact that it needs salt presupposes that it's decadent, or that it's decayed and decaying. Salt is needed where there is decay, salt is used where there was corruption. Light is brought where there is darkness." He makes nine statements about the character of a true believer and how that person is blessed. So each statement starts with how blessed or blessed. Starting in verse three of Matthew 5, blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the gentle or meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Now there are two more, and I'll read those in just a moment. But a study Bible says this about this passage, " The Beatitudes demonstrate that the way to heavenly blessing is antithetical to the worldly path, normally followed in pursuit of happiness. The worldly idea is that happiness is found in wealth or riches, merriment, abundance, leisure, and such things. The real truth is the very opposite. The beatitudes give Jesus' description of the character of true saving faith." And so here are the final two beatitudes, which I think are particularly relevant for Christians living in our darkening nation. Verse 10 of Chapter 5 of Matthew, Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Now, of course, this is a description of the Christian who is living as salt and light at any time in history, because nonbelievers hate the conviction that the righteous life in words of a believer brings on the nonbelievers' life. Once upon a time in America, Christians and their faith were appreciated and affirmed. But now a large segment of our society is hostile to us and hostile to biblical truth. For example, socialism, which is the transitional step to communism, where government is God and God given liberties are basically eliminated, is taking over one of the two major parties in our country, the Democratic Party, and winning elections. Islam, a false, satanic inspired religion that seeks to violently dominate the world, is gaining influence in cities across America. Our government educational system and even mainline Protestant churches aggressively promote perverse sexual and gender sin. But all is not lost, and hope should never be lost because we serve an awesome God. But we need to be clear-eyed. America continues to become darker spiritually and morally. And so here is where Jesus' message of being salt and light comes in. After those beatitudes, after promising persecution, insults, and false charges for His followers, He says this in Matthew chapter 5 starting in verse 13 you are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. The point here is that if the believer compromises with the world, becomes too much like the world, he won't be an effective preservative for all that is good and godly. So believers must live in the world, but be separate from the world in regard to the way we speak, what we do, our affections, and our motives. Okay, now to the light part. In verse 14, Jesus says, You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden, nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Verse 16, let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven. Jesus says, You are the light of the world. In other words, the world is dark, and Christians possess the light that shows the way in the darkness, and that light is the gospel of Christ and biblical truth. The next sentence, nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket. We need to intentionally remember our identity and purposely speak and act in such a way that exalts Christ and His ways. That's what it means to be light. So coming up next, we're going to discuss some examples of the darkening taking place in our nation and how we can be salt and light.

Resources And Ministry Announcements

Host: David Wheaton 13:36

Joining us will be Alex McFarland. Alex is a Christian apologist, an evangelist, author of many books, and a religion and culture analyst. Much more coming up on being salt and light. I'm David Wheaton, and you're listening to The Christian Worldview Radio program. The July-August issue of The Christian Worldview Journal commemorates 250 years of America. Ed Vitagliano of American Family Association writes how foundations of our past provide a blueprint for future political and cultural renewal. My column is about the consequences of a nation rebelling against God and the blessings for repentance as described in Psalm chapter 2. There is lots of additional content, including the insert with resources for adults and children. The Christian Worldview Journal is a bi-monthly print and digital publication designed to sharpen your biblical worldview on current events and issues of the faith. The journal is sent to Christian Worldview Partners as a thank you for their support of this radio ministry. To become a Christian Worldview partner or to order an individual issue of the journal, go to TheChristianWorldview.org or call 888-646-2233 or write to box 401-Excelsior, Minnesota 55331. The classroom and the dorm room students encounter at secular and yes, Christian colleges lead to as many as 50% of students who profess upon entering college to be born-again Christians not saying the same four years later. So how can students avoid spiritual shipwreck? In my book University of Destruction, Your Game Plan for Spiritual Victory on Campus, I give a scouting report on the three pillars of peril in college and provide a game plan to be an overcomer. This would be a meaningful gift for the high school or college students in your life. And there's a free study guide available as well. University of Destruction is soft cover, 176 pages, and retails for $17. For a limited time, you can order signed copies for a donation of any amount to The Christian Worldview. Bulk discounts also available. Go to TheChristianWorldview.org or call 888-646-2233.

Alex McFarland’s Conversion And Calling

Host: David Wheaton 16:03

Welcome back to The Christian Worldview. I'm David Wheaton. Be sure to visit TheChristianWorldview.org where you can sign up for our weekly email and The Christian Worldview Journal print publication, order resources for adults and children, and support the ministry. Our topic today is the Christian call to be salt and light, no matter our societal moment. And our guest is Alex McFarland, Christian apologist and culture analyst. Alex, I would love to hear more about your background before we get into our topic today, how you came to saving faith in Christ and what you do now.

Guest: Alex McFarland 16:41

David, first of all, thank you for having me on. This is a really great honor. I grew up in the South. They often call it the Bible Belt. And there is seemingly a church on every corner. So I always knew about God, always had a pretty tender moral sensibility. But it wasn't until I was 21 when I was in college, I started going to a Monday night Bible study, that I really, to my recollection, David, for the first time I understood that Jesus Christ died for me and that I was a sinner, but Jesus loved me and my sins were paid by Christ on the cross. He rose from the dead. And that if I would repent and put my faith in Jesus, that I could be forgiven. And so at age 21, I prayed and I asked Christ to come into my life and save me. I was very introverted. Never dreamed that I would someday be called into full-time ministry. Here's what happened, David, and it relates to you and I this very day. I was in college, I was a brand new born-again Christian at age 21, and it seemed like all my professors hated Ronald Reagan. They would denigrate people like Billy Graham and anything conservative or Christian. I was at a state university in North Carolina, and it didn't take long for kind of the light bulb to come on. I thought, okay, I don't know that I would have used the term worldview, but David, I became cognizant that we were in a battle of ideas. Either you believe in God and accept the authority of Scripture, you have reverence for Jesus and moral truth, or you were secular. And so I began really for two reasons. As a young Christian I discovered books by Josh McDowell. And then reading the footnotes, I discovered books by people like C.S. Lewis, Francis Schaeffer, Norman Geisler, Chuck Colson. And within a year of becoming a Christian, I'd probably bought and read 20 books largely on worldview. Here's the name, David Noble, a book called Understanding the Times. It was the late 1980s, and the church where I was going, where I had accepted Christ, a little Baptist church in Greensboro, North Carolina, I went to my pastor and I said, we should do something on apologetics and worldview. And my pastor said, What? What is that? Realizing that Jesus Christ died and rose again, and this is truth. It's not legend or mythology. No, it is historically true that there was a man named Jesus Christ, claimed to be God incarnate, the Messiah, rose from the dead, proving, validating who He was and what He taught. And for 20 centuries, David, people the world over have discovered that when you put your faith, your belief, your trust in Jesus, not only does He forgive sin and promise us heaven, and only Jesus can make that promise. But our life down here can become meaningful, purposeful, and count for eternity. We're still just trying to evangelize the lost and equip the saved.

Host: David Wheaton 20:19

Thank you for sharing all of that and also for explaining the gospel as well as just the most important thing. And when you hear that and you believe that and you embrace that in your life, how can you not want to tell others about that with a way they can be saved? So again, Alex McFarland with us today here on The Christian Worldview.

Socialism And Islam In Public Life

Host: David Wheaton 20:38

Now, Alex, I titled our conversation today, The Christian Call to Be Salt and Light, from what Jesus said in Matthew chapter 5 in the Sermon on the Mount. No matter how much it's darkening we see in our society, we're called to be salt and So I went through some of the columns that you write on your website. And the first excerpt I want to read is from one you wrote about America turning 250 years old this year. You titled it American Freedom, The Sacred Call of Every Generation. And you say the year 2026 marks 250 years since the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence. The American experiment was born in sacrifice, sustained through bloodshed, and preserved by generations of selfless patriots. Today, unspeakably dangerous ideologies are rapidly gaining influence. Marxism, which you're right, has yielded oppression, poverty, and death wherever it has ruled, is romanticized by those who have never lived under its iron fist. And before I ask you the question, Alex, I just want to play a short soundbite on Fox News Sunday's program with Shannon Bream, interviewed the co chair of the Democratic Socialists of America Project. Party. And here's what she said to Shannon Bream about what she would get rid of or abolish, what the Democratic Socialists would do if they got in power. Listen to this.

Audio Sound Bite: Shannon Bream 22:12

I want you to give me a true /false of any of these. On these abolish the Senate. True. Okay. Replace the presidency and Supreme Court as we now know them. Yes. Abolish ICE. Absolutely. Abolish borders and give amnesty to anyone currently in the US illegally. As a long-term plan, yes. Defund the Pentagon. Absolutely. Abolish prisons, at least in large part. Yes, again, that as part of a long-term program, yeah. Okay, so no prisons. Government or public ownership of most large corporations. Yes absolutely

Host: David Wheaton 22:50

This ideology of Marxism, really just communism is becoming popular in this country. The democratic socialists are winning elections across this country. What do you think has brought our country to the point where Marxism, Socialism, and even Islam, by the way, are very popular in winning elections in our country?

Guest: Alex McFarland 23:17

For that clip we just heard, and those positions abolish the presidency, abolish the Senate, abolish the Supreme Court, open the borders, eliminate the rule of law, there is one word for that, and it's the word treason. I want to say this. I'm a Christian. Let's set Christianity aside for just a moment. For every American citizen, whether or not you're a Christian, whether or not you would consider yourself Republican or Democrat, conservative or liberal, forget the labels. For every American citizen, I would say before God Almighty, any vote for a Democrat is an act of treason against the U.S. Constitution. Now every elected official makes a pledge that they will defend the U.S. Constitution from threats within and threats without. For many years, the Democrats have been becoming increasingly treasonous. Any candidate that has even a thimbleful of toleration for socialism, it is an act of treason against this nation to vote for such a person. Vladimir Lenin, that was the leader of Russia until his death in 1924, Lenin said socialism is the necessary foundation that must first be laid to pave the way for communism. So don't think, oh, this is compassionate, it's free food for everybody. We need to be socialistic. We will take from the haves, we will give to the have-nots. If you think, oh, we would never become communist, we would never become a dictatorship. It's just socialism, just that's all we want. It's not like that. If you allow socialism in, invariably it will metastasize like cancer to communism. So two things are arm wrestling for the future of America: the iron fist of socialism, Marxism, communism, and the iron sword of Sharia. And one thing and one thing only is sufficient to hold both of these juggernauts at bay, and that really is Judeo-Christian constitutionalism.

Host: David Wheaton 25:51

These ideologies have been around, of course, Islam and Socialism, Marxism, Communism for a long, long time. But it's incomprehensible how there's such gaining root now in our country. And so I agree Christians need to be informed about this and be telling everyone they know, no, this is not something, a road we can go down, because it does overturn, as you're talking, treason is undermining your own country. These do undermine the constitutional republic that we have so been blessed with. Recently, another one of these people, Zohran Mamdani, the mayor of New York, Islamic socialist Marxist, won the mayorship of New York City, the largest city, the most prominent city in our country. And of course, he hates Israel. And he was suggesting just recently that when Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, comes to New York for the United Nations meetings in New York City, that he was looking into ways to having Netanyahu arrested because he considers him an international criminal for committing genocide, because that's what the International Criminal Court has said. So then recently he came out with this video where he's sitting in a very official-looking place. And here's what he had to say, Alex.

Audio Sound Bite: Mayor Zohran Mamdani 27:15

My administration has reviewed every avenue available under applicable law to determine whether New York City could execute the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant if Benjamin Netanyahu came here. It is clear that we do not have the independent legal authority to enforce this warrant. The federal government, however, does. And I call on them to join the ICC and execute this warrant. I want to be equally clear, Benjamin Netanyahu is not welcome in New York City, nor is any other war criminal at large. While we cannot end the genocide on our own, we can decide whether our silence will become another weapon, and we can examine every tool we have to defend the humanity and dignity of all people. That is my commitment to you.

Host: David Wheaton 27:57

If you really think about what he's saying here and what he's trying to do, it's it's pretty unbelievable a mayor of New York City talking about arresting a head of state when he visits his city. That's how radical this man is. The fact that Zohran Mamdani got elected mayor in New York about 25 years after the Islamic attack and the buildings there is pretty incredible to even contemplate. And I'm just wondering: have Americans imbibed the worldview of diversity and tolerance too far now that it's beyond the American psyche now to be able to push back and stop the rise of Islam and Marxism in this country? What are your thoughts on that?

Guest: Alex McFarland 28:42

It is especially demoralizing that the city that lost nearly 3,000 good people because of the murderous demonic worldview known as Islam. Yes, it is false. Allah is not God, the Quran is not scripture. The second worst thing that ever befell the human race is the birth of Islam in 610 AD. Islam was started simply to persecute Jews and Christians. I've taught political science for over 20 years and world religions at the college and grad school levels for over 20 years, knowing the ideology that shed American blood on American soil. Now there's a Muslim Marxist anti-Semite that's mayor of New York City. New York City is probably the highest concentration of Jewish people anywhere outside of Israel itself. And the fact that they would elect a mayor that wants to arrest, prosecute, execute the prime minister of Israel, I mean, this is so crazy. That sound clip you just played was simply political theater. The idea that the mayor of New York could arrest a head of state of another country, that's H e knows that. He did that just for show, just to placate some of his leftist anti-Semitic people. America is a pluralistic nation in the sense that you can believe whatever you want to believe. You can believe truth or you can believe something cockamamy. But we are not a pluralistic nation in the sense that you can set up governments within our government, you can set up ideologies. I mean, you can't have a polygamist community, and you cannot have a Sharia law Islamic community. If you as an individual want to believe things that are false, that is your prerogative. Socialism is not compassionate. Stealing what one person earns, giving to people that won't work and didn't earn, that is not compassionate. It's not moral, it's not just. You don't correct a perceived injustice by more injustice. America has given more opportunity, more wealth, the betterment of the human condition to more people than any other government in world history. We're in a spiritual battle, fundamentally, David. I would beg people to pray, be informed, influence others, vote, and vote rationally and vote godly. Pastors, I plead with you. A hundred million Americans are in church every weekend. Use your pulpit to help save the country. The window of opportunity is not forever. We must act and we must speak.

Immigration And The Mercy Versus Order Debate

Host: David Wheaton 31:57

We talked to Alex about the change going on in our country, the acceptance of socialism, the rise of Islam here, not as extreme as it is in Europe, at least to this point, but it's going that direction. You see videos of Islamic rulers, leaders, imams here in America openly advocating saying we're going to overthrow this country. I mean, if that's not treason, I'm not sure what is, and here's how we're going to do it. But I think the answer to the question is how could New York City vote for an Islamo-Marxist mayor? I think immigration has a huge part in this. Just like during the Biden administration, millions of immigrants are allowed into the country, regardless of what they believe about the traditions and history of this country. Same thing in New York. People coming in who don't have any sort of appreciation or don't even share, no intent on assimilating here, and then they get them signed up to vote, whether legally or illegally. And that is, I think, maybe in large part due to what is going on now in this country. And you wrote an article about this. I just want to read one paragraph. You say Christian love does not mandate open borders and lawlessness. For centuries, Christians have wrestled with the tension between mercy and order, compassion and responsibility. That tension is at the heart of today's immigration debate, where some clergy insist that biblical commands to welcome the stranger, Leviticus 19, require support for open borders and tolerance of illegal immigration. In other words, they'd be against ICE enforcement, taking people out of the country who are here illegally, especially even those who have done criminal acts while they're here. You go on to say compassion does not require chaos. Jesus' call to love one's neighbor cannot possibly mean that we endorse policies incentivizing unlawful entry to our country, human trafficking or cartel control of migration routes. A nation can be generous while still insisting that entry occurs through legal, orderly processes. When clergy conflate mercy and lawlessness, they create a false moral dilemma that scripture itself does not support. We see this advocated for by people in religious authority all over the internet in this country, not taking the stand the side, Alex, of wait now, they've broken our law. You can't just come in here. You can't do that. That's breaking our law. And they're taking that side of things. They're just against any sort of enforcement against illegal immigration, which is greatly changing the worldview of our country. Why do you think so many professing Christians, and I hate to say this, but even amongst evangelical Christians, why do they overlook the breaking of governmental immigration laws and choose what some have called a toxic or suicidal empathy for people who are here, like quote unquote, the stranger, even if if it's to the breaking of our law and the diminishing of our nation?

Guest: Alex McFarland 35:11

People like to be perceived as feeling and having empathy and compassion. Where we are as a nation is largely the fault of pastors. There have always been secular academics, there have always been talking heads in media. In 1989-90, roughly 94 to 95 percent of adult Americans profess Christianity. Today it's probably 52 percent, right around in there. John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church, when he was training young men, he said, Pastors, you should be preaching the kinds of sermons that have the potential to get you fired. We're not to intentionally try to kick a hornet's nest and make people mad, but my brothers in the pulpit, think about the day that you will face Jesus Christ. And Matthew 28, 18 through 20, Jesus said, Go and make disciples, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I've commanded you. Well, the all things includes marriages between a man and a woman. God made male and female, Genesis 1:26. 2 Thessalonians 3:10, if a man won't work, neither shall he eat. Socialism and entitlement programs, LBJ's Great Society, welfare, it's ungodly. God made with Abraham an everlasting covenant. 3 500 years before the birth of Islam in 610 AD, the Jews were in their ancestral homeland. I asked college students, David, I'll say, how many believe in the rights of indigenous people? Then I'm sure you'll agree with me that the most indigenous of indigenous people on the planet are the Israelites in the land of Israel. Islam came about roughly 4,000 years after God promised that land to the seed of Abraham. And so we've got to have ministers that have the courage and the presence of mind, not to preach nice little homilies and platitudes, but sermons that will change lives and in doing so change the culture.

Host: David Wheaton 37:42

Alex McFarland is our guest today as we discuss being salt in light in a darkening society. We have links to him at our website, the ChristianWorldview.org. After this two-minute break, we'll discuss the darkening that has taken place in mainline Protestant churches and what their litmus issue of orthodoxy has become. I'm David Wheaton, and you are listening to The Christian Worldview Radio program. You are invited to two events in September. The first is The Christian Worldview Speaker Series event on Saturday, September 12th at Stone House Farm in Jordan, Minnesota with Pastor Travis Allen of Grace Church in Greeley, Colorado, who is a longtime favorite guest on the program and former managing director of Grace To You and a U.S. Navy SEAL. We will discuss a wide range of current events and issues of the faith, along with audience questions. Dinner will be served. Two days later, on Monday, September 14th, is the annual Overcomer Foundation Cup, golf and dinner event at White Bear Yacht Club near St. Paul, Minnesota. Golfers from near and far experience an enjoyable day of golf, meals, and fellowship, all in support of The Overcomer Foundation, which is the nonprofit organization that directs The Christian Worldview. More details and registration for both events is at TheChristianWorldview.org or call us at 888-646-2233. The July-August issue of The Christian Worldview Journal commemorates 250 years of America. Ed Vitagliano of American Family Association writes how foundations of our past provide a blueprint for future political and cultural renewal. My column is about the consequences of a nation rebelling against God and the blessings for repentance as described in Psalm chapter 2. There is lots of additional content, including the insert with resources for adults and children. The Christian Worldview Journal is a bi-monthly print and digital publication designed to sharpen your biblical worldview on current events and issues of the faith. The journal is sent to Christian Worldview Partners as a thank you for their support of this radio ministry. To become a Christian Worldview partner or to order an individual issue of the journal, go to TheChristianWorldview.org or call 888-646-2233 or write to box 401-Excelsior, Minnesota 55331. While there, you can also sign up for our weekly email and The Christian Worldview Journal print publication, order resources, and support the ministry.

Mainline Churches And Rejecting Scripture

Host: David Wheaton 40:39

Our topic today is the Christian call to be salt and light, no matter our societal moment. Our guest is Alex McFarland, Christian apologist and culture analyst. Alex, I'm sure you've noticed this, but listening to many video clips of leaders within the mainline Protestant churches, United Methodist Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, some of the Presbyterian denominations. These churches now seem to have a litmus test issue about whether you are actually a good Christian. And I want to play the short soundbite for you and then follow up with a question. This is from a United Methodist Church worship leader in Texas. Listen to what she has to say.

Audio Sound Bite: Worship Leader 41:26

This week we're talking about the Bible as an object of worship that we hold. For me, the Bible is not my favorite thing. I grew up in a faith tradition that used the Bible as a weapon, that used the Bible as a way to end conversations and win arguments instead of begin conversations and create connection. Right. In this church, I have found that the Bible is intended to create connection. But it's still really hard for me to pick it up. If you were with me in queer theology on Monday night, you heard me talk about my experience with this. It's still something that I can't pick it up and read. It's hard. It feels very triggering. It puts me back in that place that I was in when it was used against me as a queer person trying to find my space in the church.

Host: David Wheaton 42:24

This is a church, you know, a Methodist church worship leader saying she doesn't like the Bible. They had a queer theology study on Monday night, and she doesn't like the Bible because of how it was used against her as a quote-unquote queer Christian. So, Alex, I have noticed that the issue of homosexuality, transgenderism, LGBTQ movement, as they might accuse conservative Christians of saying, Yeah, you're all about the pro-life issue, this has come to define what liberal mainline Protestant churches have become in this country. Why do you think this is?

Guest: Alex McFarland 43:01

For one thing, Satan, the god of this world, has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they would not see. It's interesting, in the 80s, there was a book by a guy named Daniel Helminiak. And Daniel Helminiak was an ex-Catholic priest. This book has been through several iterations, but it was called What the Bible Really Says About Homosexuality and really was italicized. So, in other words, everything you've heard is wrong. This book is kind of one of the Rosetta Stone of queer theology. Now there have been hundreds, probably thousands of books that have come since then, but really the Helminiak book was one of the fountainheads. And by the way, the book is incredibly blasphemous, it's horrible scholarship, it's absolutely unjustifiable, hermeneutics. Rather than exegeting Scripture, which you bring the meaning out, it eisegesis it, EIS imposes into scripture, meaning that simply isn't there. The Helminiak book says that you know Jesus and his disciples were gay. David and Jonathan, that were friends in the Old Testament, clearly they were gay. The Apostle Paul, he was a repressed homosexual, he was a closeted gay man. Another fallacy that like this sound clip is what we call presentism, that I impose my present circumstance, my viewpoint on the past. If you notice in that clip, she said the Bible is not my favorite thing. I don't even like to pick it up. Okay, she doesn't know Jesus. She's not been born again. Impossible. Is the Bible the inspired word of God? Was it inspired? Has it been preserved? Does the Spirit of God illuminate our mind that we could understand it? Yes. If you don't believe the Word of God, you don't know the Son of God. In John 10: 35, Jesus said the scripture cannot be broken. Was he right or was he wrong? That's what I would ask. Christ Jesus claimed to be God incarnate, the one and only Savior. If we do not turn to Him, we're lost. Was He right or was He wrong? Because it can't be that Jesus is the one and only Savior who said scripture cannot be broken. Matthew 24: 35, Jesus said, heaven and earth will pass away. This Word will stand eternally. Was Jesus right or was he wrong?

Host: David Wheaton 45:53

Okay, so we know the mainline denominations have been theologically and politically liberal for decades and decades. But how did they become this way?

Guest: Alex McFarland 46:03

The colleges and seminaries were infected with deconstructionism. There's some names Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida, Martin Heidegger, Ludwig Wittgenstein, all through the 50s and 60s, our seminaries that were the mainline, old school seminaries, they were being taught not only German liberalism, Friedrich Schleiermacher, but they were being taught deconstructionism. A text has no meaning until I come along and read and I give a text meaning because I come to the table with my experiences and my journey. It's not finding truth. The meaning is that there is no truth. The meaning is there is no meaning. So we've got to get back to objectivity in biblical interpretation. Psalm 119 uses seven terms for scripture: God's laws, God precepts, teachings, statutes. And among these were it says in Psalm 119: 93, I will never forget your words, for through them I found life. And it's in the word of God that we find Jesus, the Son of God, we become a child of God, by believing in Christ, are ready to be a part of the Kingdom of God. So we have to get back in the American church. David, this will be the litmus test. Do you or do you not accept the Bible as the authoritative word of God? One last thing. She said, I don't like the Bible because I grew up in a tradition where it was used to win arguments. Well, just because someone may misuse the Bible does not nullify the nature and the authority and the content of the Bible. There have been people in the medical field that were quacks, but there are still medical doctors. And medical science is valid, even though not everyone has used medical science in a responsible way. Just because someone may or may not have misused the Bible does not nullify the authority of God's word. Jesus said in John 5:39, search the scriptures, they testify of Me. And she says she doesn't like the Bible. If you don't love the Bible, you don't love Jesus.

Final Exhortation And MacArthur Closing

Host: David Wheaton 48:37

It's a very troubling trend for these mainline churches to see this and you just hope that evangelical churches aren't going to become soft on this issue and go down this route as well. Alex, we only have about 60 seconds left. And so, as we talked about today, that this topic of the Christian call to be salt and light, no matter our societal moment with all these different issues we've been discussing, what would be your final exhortation? You've talked about pastors, what they should be doing. They need to be bold and courageous and speak the truth. But what about for just regular Christians listening today? What is your exhortation to them for this moment we're living in in America?

Guest: Alex McFarland 49:13

Please pray. Pray for a national revival. Be informed and influence others. And understand 1 Corinthians 15: 58, that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. I mean, it really does matter. Thank you for allowing me to have been with you today.

Host: David Wheaton 49:30

Again, our guest today has been Alex McFarland. We have links to him and his ministry at our website, TheChristianWorldview.org, or go directly to his website, alexmacfarland.com. Now we open today's program with an audio clip from a message by John MacArthur telling the story of D.L. Moody being an example of salt and light. Well, let's close the program today with another audio clip from that message where MacArthur exhorts believers to answer Christ's call to be salt and light for the sake of the lost who desperately need salvation.

Audio Sound Bite: John MacArthur 50:06

Now, by the way, I feel that this is directed not to the whole multitude sitting on the side of the hill as Jesus preaches, but this is directed to the disciples. This is directed to the ones who believe. But listen, I still think He has the multitude in His heart. The reason He wants the ones who believe to be salt and light is to win the multitude, you see. So He never loses the perspective. The King, for a moment, leaves the crowd and He talks to the saints, the disciples sitting before Him, but it isn't for their sakes only that He talks. He loves the vast multitude, the unheeding mob, if you will. And He realizes that if that unheeding mob is to be reached, it's to be reached because the believing community is salt and light. This is a mandate, beloved, to influence the world. Jesus is saying we are to be different. Poor in spirit and mournful and meek and thirsting for righteousness and merciful and pure in heart and peacemaking. And even though we are all those things, we don't crawl off into a monastery somewhere. We get out in the world and we live it right there where they can see it. So the final beatitude in verses 10 to 12 is transitional. The world's going to hate us, but we still have to be salt and light to influence them. The important truth is revealed that the people whom the world hates are the very ones they desperately need to be influenced by. Do you hear that? Even the quasi-religious, quasi-pious scribes and Pharisees who hated the representatives of Jesus Christ were totally dependent on their influence to know the truth of God. The world may hate us and the world may persecute us, but the world is absolutely dependent upon us being the influence and the verbal manifestation of the gospel of God. We alone are the salt of the earth. There is no other. That's it. Just us. And if we lose our saltiness, it's lost. We are the light. That's it. Just us. Nobody else. If our light is under a bushel, there is no other alternative.

Host: David Wheaton 52:17

What a great exhortation for every believer to hear. Remember what Jesus said: you are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? He goes on to say, You are the light of the world. And then skipping to verse 16, let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven. Thank you for joining us today in The Christian Worldview and for your support of this nonprofit radio ministry. Until next time, think biblically, live accordingly, and be salt in light. The mission of The Christian Worldview is to sharpen the biblical worldview of Christians and to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ. We hope today's broadcast encouraged you toward that end. To hear a replay of today's program, order a transcript, or find out what must I do to be saved, go to TheChristianWorldview.org or call toll-free 888-646-2233. The Christian Worldview is a listener-supported nonprofit radio ministry furnished by The Overcomer Foundation. To make a donation, order resources, become a Christian Worldview partner, sign up for a weekly email, or The Christian Worldview Journal print publication, or to contact us, go to TheChristianWorldview.org, call 888 646 2233, or write to box 401 Excelsior, Minnesota 55331. Thanks for listening to The Christian Worldview.