Some of us who began our ministry in the late forties and early fifties know what it was like. Christians, today, have no idea. The liberals ruled! They had stolen all the key churches in the major denominations, along with their colleges and seminaries. The Federal Council (now the National Council) of Churches had even gained control of the media—you couldn’t get on the air, except through them! It was a time when those who believed something were cast aside and ridiculed. It was a day when conservative preachers were forced to meet in storefronts since they were no longer welcome in the mainline denominations. I remember it well.

Today, the roles have been reversed—the conservatives have it all; the liberals are trying to keep their heads above water. It wasn’t all bad though back then—you knew who was who. If you believed anything, you would be ostracized. So, you knew who the true believers were. Like you, they were starting all over again with their small congregations. There was no mixing with those who denied the Word of God—except to evangelize them. The two camps were apart out of the realities of the situation.

Surely, Bible-believers would never have thought of attending a meeting of liberals, Muslims, Catholics, Mormons in order to suggest that we work together! Horrendous—perish the thought! The only reason for appearing at all would have been to preach the Gospel and urge the lost in attendance to believe and be saved. Can you picture J. Gresham Machen in Rick Warren’s shoes, standing where he was, saying what he said?

Times have changed—not all for the better. We live in a Michael Jackson age, in which Christians—even preachers—have been driven by this generation to adopt as much of what he stood for as will not be too offensive. The times are not ripe for negotiations with Roman Catholics, who still believe that Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross was insufficient to save, as a number think, for mixing with religious bodies that took up the sword against our forefathers in N. Africa and wiped out the church of Augustine, or for bringing into question the doctrine of justification by faith alone. Yet, we hear such things, and us old guys shudder.

Rather than these things, it’s time to stand—if alone—for God’s truth. Stand with those who brought the prosperity you now enjoy. Study history. You’ll see that those “learned academics” in our seminaries who wanted to play footsy with the German liberals gave up the ship. It could happen again. Indeed, in some places, it seems that it is happening. Don’t let it. Stand for the truth; stand!