A frog in the kettle?

We are horrified as we look back in history and see how our spiritual forefathers failed in critical ways.

During the time of the slave trade, some not only remained silent but were involved by owning slaves. During the time of Nazi Germany there were precious few who, like Bonhoeffer, were willing to speak up at the risk of their lives. So, what will be the verdict of history on our generation? Which issues do we neglect which will be seen in a different light in the future?

The critical point, of course, is not the verdict of history, but the verdict of the Lord. When we stand before Him on the Last Day we will see that, in a variety of ways, we were like frogs in the proverbial kettle, quietly accepting cultural ‘norms’ which are increasingly ungodly. So, what would the Lord say is the key issue of today? We need to hold up our culture to the standard of God’s original creation purpose, and His moral law.

The first injustice which is obvious is that of abortion. It is grievous for a number of reasons. First, because of the scale of the slaughter of unborn children: over 200,000 each year in the UK alone, and over 10 million in this country since the passing of the 1967 Abortion Act. Internationally, abortion is the main cause of death with 44 million abortions in 2023; infectious diseases follow at 13 million deaths. This does not include the countless thousands killed by the ‘morning after pill’, or destroyed by IVF and embryological experimentation. Second, it is grievous because it is the abuse and killing of the most weak and vulnerable in our society. Much is said about the importance of not discriminating against certain groups, and the protection of the vulnerable. But this is empty hypocrisy when the unborn are afforded no rights at all. Third, it highlights the principle idolatry of our age: unfettered sexual immorality, and the disconnect between sexual union and marriage and procreation. The conceptus, the embryo, the unborn child, are considered to be disposable, the price of ‘sexual liberation’ paid in the loss of countless lives.

This country has one of the most permissive regimes in Europe, and now there are moves to decriminalise abortion up to birth. Yet many churches and preachers remain silent: ‘We do not want to distract from the gospel by speaking about a controversial and sensitive issue.’ The same arguments could have been made by church leaders in the age of the slave trade. But what is the gospel if not a call to repentance? What is preaching if not a prophetic voice to the world?

Is the church distinctive in its testimony in the world, or has the salt lost its saltiness? Future generations, and the Lord Himself, will ask what we have done.