Songs In The Night

¹² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. – Ephesians 6:12

What Train?

Erwin Lutzer, former pastor of Moody Church in Chicago, tells the account of a German Christian who attended a simple little church in the country. Each Sunday morning as the congregation gathered for worship they had to “put up” with the annoyance of a train that ran behind their church. As the congregation heard the train whistle in the distance they would begin corporate singing. The closer the train approached, the louder the singing became. As we picture this in our minds it sounds a bit humorous. But this wasn’t simply a small congregation competing against a locomotive to create decibels.

You see, the train wasn’t the issue, it was the cargo it was carrying. It wasn’t the sound of the train rattling down the tracks that the congregation was trying to drown out. Nor was it the blaring of the train whistle that the congregation was competing against. The noise that the little church was attempting to avoid hearing was the desperate cries of Jews. Jews being transported like cattle to Hitler’s concentration camps where gas chambers and incinerators awaited them.

This little country church was simply a portrayal of part of a bigger problem in Hitler’s Germany. The problem of silence. While this congregation was drowning desperate pleas with Christian Hymns, too many were simply plugging their ears. The trains needed to be stopped not ignored. Too much was at stake to remain indifferent. Too much was at stake to remain silent.

What does silence sound like? Six million Jews killed by the Nazi regime.

Tattooed Souls

Many of us are familiar with Hitler’s attempt at a New Order, but perhaps few of us are familiar with the term Final Solution. Before Hitler could perfect his Aryan race, he had to eliminate his bitter enemies. Jews. Every last one of them had to be exterminated. That was his Final Solution.

As he rounded up the Jews, Hitler had them tattooed with a number. Although branded like cattle, they were treated worse than vermin. To Hitler the Jews were sub-human. To him, like so many before him, the Jewish race was to blame for the world’s problems. If he was going to create a perfect world under his Third Reich, the Jews could have no place in it.

Accordingly, men, women and children were torn from their homes and sent to camps throughout Europe. I will spare you of the details of the Holocaust. I’m sure you are aware of them. But we do need to be reminded that these victims were more than numbers. Despite the numbers they were tattooed with, they were more than statistics. They were bankers, and butchers, secretaries and scientists. They were teachers and students, coaches and athletes. They were fathers. They were mothers. They were “innocent” children. Most importantly, they were God’s image bearers. Created with eternal souls Heavenly designed to worship God and glorify His name.

But they were failed by their fellow men. Men who were silent when they should have spoken up for Righteousness. Speaking up against evil can be costly, but not as costly as remaining silent. A few bold people, like Dietrich Bonhoeffer, did resist Hitler and his evil and it cost him his life. But he could never rest as long as the trains were carrying his fellow men to their death. The trains had to be stopped. The killing had to end. For Bonhoeffer, sin had to be confronted. In the face of such evil, silence wasn’t an option.

“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.” – Deitrich Boenhoeffer

Today’s Holocaust

With the current pandemic related to COVID-19, much emphasis is being placed on the sanctity of human life. At least that is the lip service even if it isn’t the terminology. To many, in leadership at least, protecting human life is the reason we are crashing our economy and forcing people to stay home and stay safe. After all, going out in public can be life threatening. At least that is what we are being told. However, it is far more dangerous to be in the womb. If anyplace should be a safe-haven, shouldn’t it be the womb? If we want to have a serious discussion about the sanctity of human life isn’t this where the discussion should begin?

According to the 2017 statistics (the most current available), there were 862,320 abortions performed in the United States, and annually there are around 56,000,000 performed worldwide. I don’t know where the COVID-19 death totals will end up at, but even exaggerated as they are they are no match for abortions. Everyday we are bombarded with COVID-19 updates and yet when it comes to discussions about abortion…crickets.

Where is the outcry? Who is going to speak up for the most vulnerable in our society? Where is the protection of our political leaders who are so concerned about protecting life? More importantly, where is the church? Why is there so much silence? Everyday the abortion train runs through our backyards and we don’t hear it. Too often, our ears are plugged and we are looking the other direction.

What does silence sound like? Fifty six million babies being dismembered in the confine of their mother’s wombs. Future bankers and butchers, secretaries and scientists. Future teachers and students, coaches and athletes. Future fathers. Future mothers. Innocent children. God’s image bearers. Created with eternal souls Heavenly designed to worship Him and glorify His name. Destroyed before they could even cry out for help.

Accomodation

In his last book, The Great Evangelical Disaster, Francis Schaeffer addressed what he perceived to be the great failure of the Evangelical Church; accommodation.

“Here is the great evangelical disaster-the failure of the evangelical world to stand for truth as truth. There is only one word for this – namely accommodation: the evangelical church has accommodated to the world spirit of the age…”

Why is the church too often silent in the face of evil? According to Francis Schaeffer, it began with the Church accommodating on the Scripture. The Church has been duped by the higher criticism that spewed out of Germany. These methods have “destroyed” the authority of the Bible by denying the validity of miracles, and the reality of prophesy and revelation (for beginners). This disease that devastated the Protestant church in Germany has infiltrated the West. The Eternal Word of God has been replaced by the futile thoughts of fallen mankind. How many liberal churches in the United States are now only Christian in name?

According to Schaeffer, because we do not see truth as truth, we have destroyed the power of the Scriptures to confront the spirit of our age. Without the Word of God what weapon can we wield against the enemy?

Vain Repetition

I don’t believe it is any coincidence that Hitler’s rise to power was preceded by higher criticism and the decline of the Protestant church in Germany as they began to deny the inerrancy of the Bible and it’s literal interpretation. Nor do I believe that the issues we face in the United States are unrelated to the same plague that eventually began to cripple the protestant church here as well. When higher criticism takes over academia, God gets “kicked” out of school. When the Church no longer takes the Bible literally, God’s institutions crumble. Marriage becomes redefined. The nuclear family melts away. Sexuality gives way to gender confusion. A silent church has lost it saltiness (Matthew 5:13).

Unfortunately, Christians have been silent so long that we are on the verge of losing our right to speak. Literally. It is time to wake up. The sound of silence is deadly. We have to understand the battle we are in and learn from history. Millions of lives, and souls are at stake.

Like clockwork, the train is coming. As it runs down the tracks of time it is carrying millions of crying individuals to their eternal destiny. The Truth is Heaven and Hell are real. The Truth is, they will be populated by human souls for eternity. It is the responsibility of the Church to share the Truth with them while they still have breath. And while we still have breath, Love mandates that we stand up for righteousness and speak out against sin. Indifference isn’t an option.

“The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference. The opposite of beauty is not ugliness, it’s indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it’s indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, but indifference between life and death.”

“What hurts the victim most is not the cruelty of the oppressor but the silence of the bystander.” – Elie Wiesel, survivor of Hitler’s Final Solution (both quotes).

³⁴ Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, ³⁶ I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ ³⁷ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? ³⁸ And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? ³⁹ And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ ⁴⁰ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ – Matthew 25:34-40

“….Although years have passed, I still hear the train whistle in my sleep. God forgive me, forgive all of us who called ourselves Christians and yet did nothing to intervene.” – German Christian