us such wonderful praise. I hope you look forward to this day of gathering, beloved, as the highlight of your week. The moment we leave, we long to be back with the brethren, don't we? Well, last Sunday was such a challenge for us, not only as a message to deliver, but as a word to be received. I want to thank you all for your incredible unity of spirit that was so evident. It blessed me beyond what you know. As we said last week, this is not a unity that we can conjure up or create. It is wrought of the Spirit and it is birthed out of truth. True unity and fellowship is a byproduct of standing on biblical truth. If you happen to have missed last week's important message on our future paths as a church body, I would encourage you to hop on sermonaudio.com that our sound and audio guys have done so well to restore. Unfortunately, Facebook was not usable on that. But just as a reminder, we'll be holding a Q&A directly after the service today, and that is available to members and non-members alike. And many likely have questions, what a departure from the SBC would mean for us going forward. So I encourage you to stay if you're able for those who have children or low blood sugar and need lunch. While I can't guarantee how long the Q&A will be, we'll of course take the time we need to, but hope that it won't be too long for those that need to care for children, et cetera. Well, as we considered last week, we were obliged as a congregation to look to our own denomination, to tend to our own house. But we must know that the theological downgrade that we're experiencing in the Southern Baptist Convention is just one limb of a much bigger tree. As most of you know, every two years Ligonier Ministries, of course founded by the late R.C. Sproul, releases its polling revealing the state of theology in America. It's a time every two years where pastors cover their eyes and want to run for the hills on what we're going to see. I want to thank Harrison Hills as well for taking part in this polling. It's helpful not only to Ligonier, but it's illuminating for your pastor as well. I had to chuckle this week as I received a somewhat frantic email from a dear congregant who had taken the survey and advised me that they had accidentally selected that hell was not real. And to not worry, I don't have a congregant who believed that. I thank them for telling me because that is certainly one that would have piqued my concern, curiosity. Still, why engage in this exercise? What is the meaning and purpose? Why understand as a body the state of theology in which we live, both as a church universal and as a corporate body? Well, to answer this, we look to Paul's exhortation to the church in Philippi. Look with me to this wonderful epistle, Philippians 1, verse 9. Philippians 1, verse 9. And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for the ministry of the word this morning. We thank you for the ministry of music. We thank you for the role that doctrine and theology play in our worship and in our preaching. Lord, that they are our foundation and our guide. Lord, the depths that we are gonna plumb today are difficult waters. I pray that you would give us hearts to receive them. I would ask, Lord, that you work in the hearts of my congregation to know how much their pastor loves them. Heavenly Father, we ask you would be with us today. Holy Spirit, as I beseech each week, may the arrow find its mark. In Jesus' mighty name, amen. Well, famous theologian A.W. Tozer, he was known for his very simple way of talking and communicating, and he wrote, quote, what comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us, close quote. Who you are, what you will do, how you will treat others, how you will think about yourself, where you will spend eternity, all is wrapped up in this one truth. It is the most important thing about you because it is the most consequential thing about you. And thus as we dive into these results about what professing Christians believe about God, about Christ and his word, These results before us must be framed correctly. Do they matter? More than anything. Of all the polling that could be done for all the different reasons in the world, polling here, we see polling there, there's nothing more consequential than this. Now we mentioned earlier that the polling for the state of theology was conducted by Ligonier Ministries, founded by the eminent pastor and theologian R.C. Sproul. Now R.C. had many notable quotables in his life, but there was always one that stuck with me. He said, quote, the word of God can be in the mind without being in the heart, but it can never be in the heart without first being in the mind. In an age and culture that authenticates truth based on feelings or an emotion or an experience, the old worn paths of doctrine and theology have become almost curse words in certain circles that name the name of Jesus. Of course, while some may be tempted to believe that they can sidestep these matters, whether in favor of experientialism or simply intellectual laziness, the truth is, as Sproul also said, we are all theologians. The only question is whether you are a bad theologian or a good theologian, but nobody gets to opt out. Every person in here this morning is a theologian. Now, what kind are you? Theology simply means the study of God. It doesn't say how you study or what you're studying, but a theologian you are. You have developed a system of thought about God somewhere in some manner. How and what we have done there determines whether or not we are a bad theologian or a good theologian. But we do not get to leave those things for ivory tower academics or pastors in pulpits. Sorry, Harrison Hills. To be human is to have made a theology for yourself of some kind in some fashion. Today it seemed to be somehow less authentic or less spiritual to have rejoiced and learned over the truth of a printed word rather than that from an experience that gave you goosebumps or a feeling. We have entire movements and denominations that prize and seek after the experience at the expense of the word. And it is this tendency, this unmooring from the word rightly preached and applied to our lives. Seeking after experientialism that has yielded the doctrinal decay in our general state of the American church. So, beloved, does this matter? You bet it does. There is nothing more consequential. What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. Well, I hope you wore your steel toe boots to church this morning. Some toes are going to be stepped on. I don't want it to hurt too bad. As those of you who took the poll are aware, there are 35 questions posed to the user. Now, unfortunately, we don't have time to review all 35 and live to tell about it. But each question is a treasure trove of insight and of application opportunities for our dear flock. But time is going to dictate that we explore only the highlights this morning, only the key findings. But before we jump into the findings, I want us to reorient ourself to Paul's exhortation to the Philippians, our guiding text this morning of Philippians 1 verse 9. And this, I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment. Now I'd like you to notice something in this text that we have before us from this pulpit. I want us to see Paul's connection of the love for God with the growth of knowledge and discernment. Do we see that? If we claim to love God but have no desire to grow in knowledge of God and discernment of spiritual matters, Paul says you don't love him as much as you think. Love for God is tied at the hip with the desire to grow in real knowledge and all discernment. Say, well, brother, you can keep all that doctrine and theology business. I just love Jesus. Just give me Jesus. Saints, it cannot be. Our love for God abounds when? When we grow in real knowledge and all discernment. If we are discounting matters of doctrine and theology, we cannot love God as much as we say. Take it up with the author. Some days, especially today, it's really nice to just be the messenger. So with that, let us dive into some of the takeaways of the state of theology, not only in America, but amongst professing evangelical Christians, and indeed of Harrison Hills. Our first matter to contend with is the immutability of God. Now this sounds like a big word. The immutability of God simply means that God does not change. Now our ladies in our Women of Grace latest study have been studying the attributes of God over the last few months and have covered the immutability of God. The question put to those being polled was either true or false, God learns and adapts to different circumstances, true or false. Well, this is false. And we know from Scripture that God is immutable. God is unchanging. He does not learn. He cannot learn. Isaiah 46.10, God affirms that He declares and He knows the end from the beginning. And from ancient times, things not yet done, saying, my counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose. The Lord through the prophet Malachi says clearly, Malachi 3.6, For I the Lord do not change. James in his epistle writing, Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. God is not learning. God is not a learning God. First John 3 20. For wherever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart and he knows everything. If God were to learn or adapt, beloved, what would that say about his perfection? Can you be perfect? Can you be omniscient, all-knowing, and yet lack information? Or need to learn and adapt? The moment you need to learn, you would cease to be perfect in that very instant. So what says America? What say the evangelicals? This was a fascinating response. Among the general population of America, 32% of them stated that they strongly believe God learns and adapts to different circumstances. 32% of the general population says true. Well, that's not actually not awful. Surely the church will be much better. Oh no. Shield your eyes and cover the ears of the children. Among the evangelical population of America, 43% of them stated that they strongly believe God learns and adapts to different circumstances. 43% of the evangelical population strongly believes that God learns and adapts. Well, here on the topic of immutability, the world has a more biblical view than professing believers. If we were to add the somewhat agree to that equation, the number balloons to approximately 50% of all believers. Theirs is not a God who plans. Theirs is a God who reacts, we see. He is a God who is watching and learning right along with us. He had plan A, but things changed, so we're going with plan B. Now, as humans, of course, we tend to project our attributes onto God, don't we? They say that God made man in his image, and man has been returning the favor ever since, making God in their image. I learn and I adapt and react, so God must as well. Beloved, may it never be said amongst us at Harrison Hills, God does not change, beloved. He does not learn, he does not adapt, he does not lack any information. Half of all churchgoers this morning across our nation believe otherwise. The next key finding, was this question true or false? Oh boy, this is gonna be fun. Everyone is born innocent in the eyes of God. What say you, America? 53% of US adult respondents said true. Everyone is born innocent in the eyes of God. This is an utterly predictable number, really. The wisdom of the world would affirm that all people are basically good. They are intrinsically good. They may do some bad things, but deep down, they are good. Deep down, they have a good heart. It's a very common sentiment as we embrace various psychologies of humanism. So really, this number didn't give me any pause. But is there any chance that the world's philosophies are influencing the people of God? What say the evangelicals of the world? Ma and pa churchgoer, is everyone born innocent in the eyes of God? Amongst professing evangelicals, 61% said true. General population, 53% said true. Evangelicals, 61% say true. Once again, the world somehow has a more biblical theology, a biblical anthropology of man than the churchgoer. Well, practically speaking, what does this response mean? What does it mean? It means that the doctrine of original sin has largely been abandoned by the American church. But what does the Bible say? That's really the only question that matters. What does Scripture say about the state in which we are born, the state in which we arrive into the world? Well, David laments in Psalm 51, behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. Paul declares in Romans 5, 12, therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned. The doctrine of original sin begins with Adam's sin of disobedience, in eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and its permanent, all-encompassing effects upon the rest of the human race. And this addresses not only our internal nature, how we are, that our hearts are deceitfully wicked, Jeremiah says, but as a doctrine, also addresses our standing before God. Why is this such a vital doctrine? What happens when six out of 10 professing believers deny original sin? Well, what will happen is exactly what you see happening. When I don't have original sin, when I'm not by nature fallen and dead in my sin, when I'm actually a pretty good person just in need of a little repair, a little pick-me-up, a little touch-up paint around the edges, I will never see the depth and the beauty of grace because I will never have perceived the depth of my own fallenness. When looking at the magnitude of the crucifixion, we have often said that the depth of the problem dictates the extent of the solution, doesn't it? If I am not hopelessly fallen and dead in my sin, do I really need a cosmic changing solution? Do I need a gospel that removes my old heart of stone and gives me a heart of flesh? What on earth do I need a new heart for? I'm not that fallen. You will rarely hear me use the New Living Translation, but here it says it so clearly so as to remove any ambiguity. Colossians 2 verse 13. You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. Paul tells the Ephesians 2 verse 1, and you were dead in your trespasses and sins. Beloved, take a guess what dead means in the Greek. It means dead, lifeless. If six out of 10 professing evangelicals have effectively denied the doctrine of original sin, there can be no great gospel in the church today. What need is there of a great gospel? What need is there of a gospel that takes those who are dead in their sins and makes them live again? That makes God way too big and it makes me way too small. And we can't have that, says our pride. If I was dead in my sin, if I am fallen from Adam's sin, if original sin is true, and I was a dead man walking, I just lost a lot of credit in my salvation story. Don't tell me that, pastor. Next thing you know, you'll start telling me that I was chosen from the foundation of the earth, or that no one can come to me unless the Father who sent them draws them to me. Next thing you know, he'll be quoting 2 Thessalonians 2.13 to me, that God has chosen me from the beginning for salvation. We can't have that. Six out of 10 people don't want that. If original sin is true, if I was born dead in my sins because of Adam, this has massive implications on my doctrine, on my theology, on what I believe about my salvation. Six in 10 professing evangelicals deny original sin. And we must deny original sin. We must deny that we are dead in our sin if we are to get any credit for our salvation. We need a gospel where my decision for Jesus is the big story, not God making dead men live. We don't wanna see ourselves, as Paul says in Ephesians 2.3, that we are by nature children of wrath. I sure do hope I'm stepping on some toes this morning. Six out of 10 deny original sin in the church. The gloves are off. It is the soft peddling around these doctrines that has brought us to this woeful state, and the culpability lies at the foot of this pulpit. Of course, this ties in very closely to another question posed in the survey, true or false. Even the smallest sin deserves eternal damnation. That was a question you had. Even the smallest sin deserves eternal damnation. 70% said this is false. HHBC stumbled on this one a bit as well. What's the root of this? Where's the breakdown? Very simply, really, it's a confusing of categories. Beloved, it is not the severity of the sin that determines the extent of the punishment. It is the one against whom the sin is committed that determines the punishment. Some of you will remember some time ago the analogy of the shoe that we used. We recall at the time when George Bush went over to visit the troops in Iraq. You remember that? And someone threw a shoe at the president from the back, right? Causing him to duck for cover. Remember that? It's not a serious crime, it's a small sin. What happened to that man? He was sent away to jail for a long time. Now what if right now you took off your shoe and threw it at me? Which some of you will want to do by the close of this message. What would happen to you? Well, a kind deacon would escort you out probably, right? Same small crime, you both threw a shoe, what was the difference? He got jail time and you just got escorted out. The difference is the one against whom the crime was committed. Beloved, we threw our shoe at the God of the universe. Even if it was the smallest sin, we just threw a shoe. Look who we threw a shoe at. That is why the smallest sin is worthy of eternal punishment. It has nothing to do with the sin or with the severity and everything to do with the holiness of God. Let's roll on, dear ones, if we dare. Another key finding in our state of theology, I am sad to say HHBC did not fare much better in our responses on this. Another key finding surrounding the topic of church membership. Oh boy, color this pastor not surprised. The question, true or false, every Christian has an obligation to join a local church. 68% of evangelicals agreed versus 26% disagreed, 6% didn't know. Well, this is a topic worthy of a message to itself, but saints, just a few things to put a rock in your shoe if this is something you struggle with. The word membership is found nowhere in Scripture, nowhere. However, neither is the word trinity or rapture. Still, all are clearly represented and taught in Scripture. Now time does not allow for a deep dive into this important issue, but a few considerations, both as a congregant and as a pastor. As I wrote recently in a blog article, as Americans in particular, we have an independent streak that runs strong in most of us. In many aspects of life, these independent streaks can be an asset. Yet in our Christian walk, we can point to precious few places where we're called to walk through anything alone. Simply put, there are no islands in Christianity. Ours is a faith of complete dependency, dependent on Christ, dependent on his body of believers, dependency for our next breath, dependency for his strength. We are a dependent, needy people. This is not something that sells well in the land of pick-up trucks and lone rangers. But sadly, beloved, a lone ranger in Christianity is someone waiting to be devoured. If you are a believer that is not tied to a body of believers, if you are someone who desires to be an arm of the body but not actually be joined to the body, or you desire to be a foot yet do not desire to serve or work as a foot, who either wants the foot detached from the body or desire that it be attached but just not be known as part of the body, none are possible, nor should we desire it to be. Beloved, as a believer, we are called to be shepherded, to be numbered, Acts 2.47, to be subjected to church discipline, Matthew 18, to be in submission to spiritual authority, to be subject to our elders, 1 Peter 5.5. The list goes on. Without being identified with a body, having formally submitted yourself to the service and the oversight of those who care for and shepherd your soul, The commands concerning these vital aspects of the Christian walk cannot be obeyed. Of course, you cannot consider this topic without looking to the responsibility of those tasked with shepherding God's sheep. From a pastor's perspective, I have a whole host of commands and exhortations given to me concerning the church. Let's just look at a few of them and see how this impacts something like church membership. In Acts, we see the exhortation, pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. As a pastor, I am given a command to watch carefully over the flock. That leaves us with a very basic question. Who is the flock? Many may not know that pastors will give an account to God for every sheep put into our care. Did you know that? The writer of Hebrews says, quote, have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. As a pastor, am I responsible for every Christian in the world? Will I give an account for them? No. Am I responsible for every Christian in Lanesville, Indiana? No. Am I responsible for every person who walks in the door of HHBC? Again, no. So who then am I accountable for? How do I know who I'm commanded to shepherd? Who will I answer for? Without membership, there's no way for any pastor to know who their flock is. The flock is now just a theoretical construct. It's a philosophical concept. This does not reflect Scripture's view of the church at all. These are counted people who are known and accountable. As you listen here today, who will give an account for you to God? And who are you accountable to? Who? If you are not in membership or pursuing membership, the answer, beloved, is no one. That's the answer. Third question in the survey put to evangelicals, true or false, God accepts the worship of all religions, including Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. 56% of professing evangelicals said this is true. Over half, God save your church. Beloved in Christ, listen to the words of scripture. God has appointed the manner of worship. Those who worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. There is one spirit, there is one truth. There is one mediator between God and man, the Lord Jesus Christ. It is through this mediation alone that God accepts any worship. All else is idolatry. Full stop. Over half of evangelicals. Over half. Some of the results point not necessarily to some diabolical nature to hang on to pride or a bending to the culture, but simply a lack of teaching from the pulpits that result in what we often call bumper sticker theology. Question six, true or false, Jesus is the first and greatest created being by God. Jesus is the first and greatest being created by God. 55% of evangelicals agree with that statement. And I say to my own shame as your pastor, 31% of Harrison Hills believes that. What sayeth scripture? In the beginning was the word, And the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Jesus is from everlasting to everlasting. He is eternal according to His divine nature. For by Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities. All things were created by Him and for Him. Scripture says Christ has no beginning and no end. He is the Alpha and the Omega. If you have a created Jesus, you have a different Jesus. A created Jesus would be no more able to save someone than a stone or a wooden statue. He doesn't exist. He always was, He is, and He always will be. Understand, saints, these are what are known as tier one issues, salvific, salvation at risk issues, meaning if we get this wrong, we have a different Jesus, a Jesus that cannot save. If you've put your trust in a created Jesus, you're not born again. Only the Christ, as revealed in scripture, has the power to save. Only he has died as a substitute for us, paying the debt of sin that we owed. Another question that really, again, falls at the feet of the pulpit as poor teaching reads the following. True or false? The Holy Spirit gives a spiritual new birth or new life before a person has faith in Jesus Christ. This is true. This is a basic tenet of historic Christianity, that regeneration precedes faith. It comes before faith. Regeneration is the act of taking someone who is spiritually dead and making them spiritually alive. You cannot exercise your faith if you're dead. Faith itself is a gift. Faith is an outworking of having been made alive unto Christ. 50% of all evangelicals said that's false. 36% of Harrison Hills said that's false. We do not independently of our own self actuate faith. Dead people don't do that. God sovereignly changes the heart that it might believe, that it might now pick up and exercise the gift of faith. In fact, at our own Women of Grace study this week, which, by the way, you will be blessed to attend, I think there are only four weeks remaining, Thursday nights, please plug into that, we mentioned Lazarus. and what a picture he was. In order for him to come out of the grave, in order for him to walk, he had to first be made alive again. And it is an effectual, irresistible calling when the lover of your soul, when the creator of your body says, come forth, you come forth. There's no arguing theology with him. If he has regenerated you, if he has made you alive unto himself, then he has gifted you faith to exercise. Of course, the polling considers matters of the doctrine of scripture as well, asking if the following was true or false. The Bible, like all sacred writings, contains helpful accounts of ancient myths, but is not literally true. Now 26% of church-going Americans said that is true. The Bible is not to be taken literally. Now this is something of a self-defeating view, isn't it? If the Bible and its claims cannot be taken literally, and as singular truth, it immediately collapses under its own weight. It immediately collapses. The Bible does not give this option for itself. It's in for a penny, in for a pound. It is or it is not. It's the very same principle for Jesus' claim of divinity, isn't it? Can Jesus simply be a good teacher or a really great guy, but not God? No, because he claimed to be God. If he was not, he would be neither good nor great. He would be a fraud. The same is true for his word. If the whole is not true, it collapses under its claims. And this is the reason for the quick demise of denominations that fall to theological liberalism. Once one part of the scripture is abandoned, for whatever reason, all the dominoes fall. Throughout this polling, what I'm looking for, I'm looking for both, I'm looking for evidences of the church influencing the culture, and I'm looking for evidence of the culture influencing the church. Are we being salt and light? Or are we being watered down and compromised? We're watching a trend in a specific topic that's now all the rage. In 2020, the question was asked, true or false, gender identity is a matter of choice. In 2020, 22% of evangelicals agreed with that statement. How are we trending here in 2022? 37% of evangelicals agree that gender identity is a matter of choice. Is the world listening to the church or is the church listening to the world? We've had a 15% increase in two years. Along the same lines, we're asked true or false. The Bible's condemnation of homosexual behavior doesn't apply today. In 2020, 11% of evangelicals agreed. With that statement, 2022, 28% agree, 28%. What are Christians consuming that is causing this rapid rise in acceptance of such claims? Dearly beloved, look to your choice of entertainment, please. That is the primary delivery device for changing you. You are what you eat, they used to say. What are you consuming? If you are dining on Hollywood, all the evidence says that they are changing us. We are not changing them. It was heartening to see that on certain issues of morality, the American church is relatively strong. On sex before marriage and abortion, we actually improved our numbers slightly. But let us be wary of such numbers. While we rejoice in the improvement of people who are thinking this way about biblical truths, we're on high alert. And here's why. As people who are wartime Christians, Peter tells us that we have an enemy that is seeking to destroy me, the church, my family, who wants to bring me down. We all know that. But how has Satan operated from the beginning? As an immoral being with a pitchfork in his hand, with a tail and a forked tongue? Not at all. Scripture says he comes as an angel of light. Satan's favorite place to be would be in the pews of many churches today. He desires to destroy the church if it were possible, not from outside, but from within, from the inside. And one of my favorite lines from a Christian movie long ago rings true. The character said this, Satan is not opposed to good morals, he's opposed to Jesus Christ. If Satan wanted to really bring down the church, do the most damage possible, would he rely on introducing immoralism into the church or moralism into the church? He'd introduce moralism. Be a moral person. Sex out of marriage, bad. Abortion, bad. All of these are true, yes and amen, but can they save your soul by themselves? No. What is going to make the church member feel good about themselves? Being immoral or moral? Being moral. What will make them sanctimonious and legalistic and trusting in their works? By being moral alone. Satan would have you be the nicest, most moral person around. That suits him just fine. I remember back in the day there was a political voting block called the Moral Majority. You think Satan had a problem with that? Not at all. If you can comfort your nagging conscience by affirming a long list of moral, even biblical things, but it stops there, that's just perfect. And sadly, that's what we see here. 94% may affirm that sex outside of marriage is wrong and bad. Great, that's great. But how about our last polling question for us this morning? True or false, Jesus was a great teacher, but he was not God. 43% agree with that statement. 43% of professing evangelicals say that Jesus was not God. 94% affirm sex outside of marriage is bad. And out of those same people, 43% say Jesus was not God. Know thy enemy, beloved. What is he up to? It's nothing new. Offer up good morals in the place of Jesus Christ. It's beautiful. It's perfect, and it's working. Knowing Christ in a salvific way will, of course, produce good morals, beloved, but they're just the fruit. The road to hell is paved with good morals. Satan is not opposed to them. He's opposed to Jesus Christ, and he will gladly use the promotion of good morals to take down the unsuspecting. How many on that day will point to their long list of moral positions and accomplishments before the great white throne? Yes, but you didn't know my son. You've offered up to me your moral positions as a payment for your sin, but there's only one payment that is acceptable, the shed blood of the God man, Jesus Christ, representing man to God and representing God to man, 100% God, 100% man, perfection slain for his people. And we rejoice in good morals, but only if they flow out of an authentic relationship with Jesus Christ. If not, they're only serving as a numbing agent for the conscience. And that seems to be the tactic of the enemy today. I'm gonna read verbatim the conclusion of the State of Theology, as I think it encapsulates the findings in a very helpful summary. Quote, The 2022 State of Theology Survey reveals that Americans increasingly reject the divine origin and complete accuracy of the Bible, with no enduring plumb line of absolute truth to conform to. U.S. adults are also increasingly holding to unbiblical worldviews related to human sexuality. In the evangelical sphere, doctrines including the deity and exclusivity of Jesus Christ, as well as the inspiration and authority of the Bible, are increasingly being rejected. While positive trends are present, including evangelicals' views on abortion and sex outside of marriage, an inconsistent biblical ethic is also evident, with more evangelicals embracing a secular worldview in the areas of homosexuality and gender identity. These results convey the ongoing need for the church to be engaged in apologetics, helping unbelievers by providing a well-reasoned defense of the Christian faith, and helping believers by strengthening their clarity and conviction regarding what they believe and what they do. Additionally, the people of God must continue to obey the Great Commission by communicating the whole counsel of God in biblical evangelism and discipleship. The need is great, but the power and promises of God can equip the church to bring truth and light to a deceived and dark world. Close quote. Beloved, may the state of our theology spur us on in Lanesville, Indiana. May we be found faithful. May we contend earnestly for the sufficiency, the infallibility, and the inerrancy of scripture. May our creed be Christ. which causes us to be obedient to his word and to love others deeply with truth and gentleness. Beloved, make no mistake. These are serious times in which we live. But the word of God and his church, they've always been under assault. Yet we march on with Christ our captain. 2,000 years later, here we are. walking the old worn paths of the beautiful gospel. It hasn't changed just as he doesn't change and his word doesn't change. And this I pray, Paul writes, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment. May we be found faithful. Is that not the cry of our heart this morning? Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we are only capable of feeling as a human would feel. Our emotions, our mind are only capable of working to a limited set. And Lord, if this breaks our heart to this level, we can only imagine what it does to you that is capable of feeling it in perfection. and knowing it in perfection, and yet looking upon us even this morning as, Lord, people who need you desperately. Lord, we need you in our lives, we need you in our homes, we need you on our television. Lord, we need you over the radio. Lord, we need you in our books. Lord, we need you to dwell richly with us. Lord, as we lie down and as we rise up, that the word of the Lord might be on our tongues and our homes. Heavenly Father, we pray that the church marches on to Christ our captain. We are grateful to be here. We are grateful for your word. We are grateful for ministries that proclaim your word. We ask that you be with us this week until we can meet again in joy. In Jesus' name, amen.