The Good Guys Are Going To Win

Any good story has a moment, usually about two-thirds of the way in, where it looks like it’s going to end badly. The good guys are tied up in a cellar, the budding romance has hit a snag, the spherical moon-sized space station which I’m not sure if I’m legally allowed to term a Death Star so we’ll call it, let’s see, a Pew-Pew Planet… anyway, it’s fully operational, the whole thing was a trap and Lucas Spacejogger is in trouble. 

We’re in one of those moments in the Western world right now. 

When I say this, I don’t primarily have in mind our political situation, nor our economic one, nor the fact we may be on the brink of World War III. Concerned though I am about all those things, I’m yet more concerned about the position in which the church finds itself at present. 

It’s been almost a decade since the Obergefell decision that legalized same-sex marriage, and with it marked the beginning of the ‘negative world’ for the church - that being the era in which we now live, where being a Christian carries a cultural cost. At least being a Christian in any other sense than the Nancy Pelosi / Joe Biden kind of Christian, the kind that supports abortion and transing kids, known more commonly as ‘not a Christian’. But anyone who is actually interested in practicing their faith with some degree of devotion to Scripture can expect to be slandered, fired or potentially even jailed. 

What is perhaps worse is the fact that the majority of believers, churches, denominations, publications and institutions have not realized what time it is. 

I won’t harp on about The Gospel Coalition or Christianity Today compromising to the spirit of the age, or the myriad pastors leading churches with attendances ranging anywhere from the tens to the tens of thousands but who won’t swim even slightly upstream if there may be a cost involved, or the average every-day believer who decides to put their pronouns in their bios in order to get along with everyone. But the state of the church is less than healthy, and it’s particularly poor when you consider the need of the hour. Sure, a crumbling building can stay upright when everything around it is stable, but throw in the 8.3 magnitude earthquakes currently hitting Western Christendom, and everything is liable to collapse. And no, no matter what Russell Moore says, that collapse is not a good thing.¹

However, back to those movies again, even when things look bad, in the good movies these things always somehow get resolved. Usually heroically, and occasionally by the black-clad protagonist, Dark Wader, having a dramatic change of heart. (The eagle-eyed among you may have noticed that I’m referencing a little known movie called ‘Star Wars’.) 

It is my firm conviction that we are now witnessing the start of the comeback. No, of course it’s not because we started a media organization, though of course we hope to play our part. But I consider us to be more a symptom of the turnaround than a cause. So why do I think this?

Well firstly, our enemy may be cunning, but he is also a fool. Only a fool would give up the majesty of the presence of God to wage war against Omnipotence. Only a fool would fail to realize that every attempt to destroy the seed of the woman would, in the plan of an all-wise God, bring about the birth of that very seed. Only a fool would look at God on a cross and think that’s the end of the story. And only a fool would look at the church right now and see no way for us, by the power of the Spirit, to claw our way back into the light.

I do believe the enemy could have won this fight. He could have stopped his plans for the destruction of the West somewhere around, I dunno, 2010, and we’d have probably not have realized what was happening, instead continuing in our slumber and comparative apathy, thinking everything was fine. No one was bringing trans ideology into schools back then, the Grammy’s conduct live seances, and Drag Queen Story Hour was not a thing. But he is a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner, and he couldn’t help himself.²

As such, I look around now and see that Christians are waking up. I was one of them. There are now countless others. We are not the majority yet, but we are growing in number and in focus. 

And not only are we as the church waking up, but millions of normie Westerners who had no interest in God are witnessing the self-immolation of the world around them and are starting to ask some big questions. They are turning to the people and the word of God for answers. Consider this: the youngest cohort of Gen Z males are actually more religious than their older counterparts - secularism among that generation has peaked and is on the decline. They are a field ripe for the harvest. 

Last of all, the story is not over because we are not on our own in this fight. God has not forgotten His people, He will not abandon our souls to Sheol, He will never leave us nor forsake us. The Lord is a man of war, the Lord is His name, and He will ride out across the West once again. 

And get this, He is not just a warrior, He is also an arms dealer. We have been given weapons for this battle and they are not carnal, but they are powerful to tear down every last lying stronghold of Satan. The Spirit of God indwells us. The Word of God is on our lips. The people of God are around us. The saints in glory cheer us on. The angelic hosts guard our steps. Our brother is at the right hand of the Most High. Our Father rules the world, and He writes great stories.

So yeah, the good guys are going to win.

¹ https://youtube.co/watch?v=5C67VLwIH-Y
² Yes this is a Dickens line. So what?