The normal state of Christianity is to be persecuted, and true Christianity and true Christians tend to make the greatest advances during times of persecution. However, what has been happening in the U.S. and Europe represents a dramatic loss of influence on the part of Christianity and the belittling and shaming of the gospel. This also computes to the growing lawlessness that is dragging an increasing number of souls into damnation.   

So, how could this tragic transformation of the West happen? There is only one way—for Christians to become lukewarm or neutral.

We are exhorted in II Corinthians 2:11 not to be ignorant of the devil’s schemes. A part of our basic training in the army of God is to learn the tactics of the enemy so we can counter them and then prevail over them. Therefore, we will spend a little time on this, but there is one strategy of God that we want to learn first.

Remembering the principle that a few passionate people will control the multitudes that tend to be neutral, if just a tiny percentage of Christians cast off their lukewarmness and fall passionately in love with God again, it will begin to infect and wake up other Christians. Then the Christians will once again become the passionate ones whose influence is dominant, making them again the salt and light they are called to be.

Love is the most powerful weapon we have. This is love for God first, which must always be kept first if we are going to be able to love others as we should. Therefore, our love for God is our most valuable treasure. If it is our greatest treasure, it is something that we will protect at all costs and will try to increase above all things.

Now I said, and mean, that love is the most powerful weapon we have. Think of this: The majority of the passions that have controlled the neutral masses throughout history have been anything but love. They have been hatred, fear, racism, pride, greed—almost every human passion but love. So, our weapons are different, our methods or strategies are different, and our goals are different. To sum up all of these we read in II Corinthians 5:14-15:

For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, that they who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.

To evaluate where we are and how much basic training we need to be in God’s army, we need to know just how much of our lives, our thoughts, our actions, and our time, are controlled by the love of Christ, as opposed to how much is still devoted to the pursuits of greed, pride, hatred, and so on.

We should not be so concerned about just getting political influence back as we should be about getting the passion back in our lives, the loss of which has caused us to lose the influence Christians once had for good. We must get the fire back. We must get our first love back and never lose it again.