There was a conference conducted in October of this year, which offered candid and public insights from both John Piper and John MacArthur on the direction of moral decay in this country and how we need to prepare for coming persecution based on a Biblical Christian worldview. These are respected Christian preachers and theologians of our time. They are not gaslighting politicians or media talking heads, desperate to attract and maintain their viewers by pandering. The moderator asked the following question…
“As we look ahead in American culture… it seems as if things are getting more and more hostile toward Biblical Christianity… For us as American Christians, how can we begin to prepare for the persecution that may very well be coming?”
What followed was a 17-minute. uninterrupted, combined response.
Offered below are quotes from the video.
John MacArthur – spoke for 12 minutes
- “Whatever vestiges of Christianity in the culture have been evacuated, they’re gone.”
- “I would not call this a post-modern culture, I would call it a pre-Christian culture. This is like paganism 2.0. It’s as if Jesus never came.”
- “It is a kind of paganism which has levers to control everything, with the control of technology and social media.”
- “If they want to control everything, then how much welcome will they give to the truth of Scripture, virtually nothing.”
- “Shutting down the spiritual and the Biblical is coming.”
- “That’s a point of fish or cut bait, either be faithful or compromise.”
- “The faithful Biblical church is going to very soon become the target.”
- “In a culture like that, where Christianity becomes… the arch enemy of everything.”
- “This is a pagan country, and they don’t want to be confronted with Biblical truth.”
- “This country is now ruled by fear.”
- “This is an evil world and it has massive capacity to kill and maim.”
- “We have to expect the level of paganism is when it dominates a culture, and Christianity is the most severe threat that it faces.”
- “You want the world to like you, you want the world to come to your church… They’re going to take everything. You’re going to wind up having to affirm homosexuality, transgenderism, divorce, adultery, you name it because that’s their life.”
- “This is the time for the faithful to stand up. I read the end of the Book and we win.”
- “There’s going to be some price to pay, I am confident of that. We have to be ready for that, and we have to be faithful, and then we will have the joy of watching the hand of God and providence do what it’s going to do. The end has already been written and the Lord will triumph.”
John Piper – spoke for 6 minutes directly answering the question of how Biblical Christians should prepare for persecution. Speaking primarily to Pastors…
- “From the very first sermon when you came to your church you teach your people that you are not first Americans, you’re first Christians, you’re aliens and exiles on planet earth and this world owes you nothing, and you may expect suffering.”
- “If they persecuted Me they will persecute you. This is just plain Biblical teaching. It’s not peculiar to America. All over the world people are suffering.”
- “I want to prepare martyrs.”
- “Preach the sovereignty of God. Preach the fact that suffering is to be expected.”
- “Pastors, you need to build into your people the capacity to suffer.”
- Piper challenged MacArthur’s earlier comments – “What you just did for the last 10 minutes there, I think, can have an effect of making people angry… The last thing we want is for people to walk out of church on Sunday, seething with anger at their culture.”
- “I want them thrilled with the sovereignty of God, thrilled that they’re saved, thrilled that they have meaning in life rooted in the gospel, thrilled that no matter what happens in this world, that they are going to be able to walk in the truth and joy.”
- “I have concern that the way to get ready for suffering is to namely narrate how bad things are.”
Conclusion
Both MacArthur and Piper make good, but very different points. The reason is not a discrepancy in their theology, but instead, each answered a different question. MacArthur presented evidence of the direction of this country, toward Biblical Christian persecution. And Piper offered a Biblical Christian response to that direction.
As Biblical Christians, we need to recognize the signs of the times (Matt. 24:32-36). We also need to recognize that persecution is predicted, but our response is to rejoice and seek opportunities to share the gospel.
Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets. – Luke 6:22-23
Just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts. – 1 Thessalonians 2:4
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Jeff Hilles | BCWorldveiw.org, a 501(c)3 Nonprofit
