“’Identity’ is a buzzword, isn’t it, today? Everybody wants to talk about racial identity, sexual identity, gender identity. Well we have an identity too, and that is we are the temple of the living God,” MacArthur said. “One day they’re saying something comes right from heaven, and the next they’re saying something that comes right from hell. And the chaos and the confusion of all that is ripping and shredding and tearing the evangelical church to bits, because those who should be tied, tethered, locked down by the gospel and the gospel alone have taken up social causes—and they are doing nothing but rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. It’s all going down. What’s the point?”
In each of these sermons, MacArthur emphasized the evilness of the world and American culture, the inevitability of Christian persecution, and the futility of Christians working to ensure their own religious liberty. Furthermore, he scoffed at the idea of acting charitably across faith traditions (including some words of condemnation for Roman Catholics) and refused to acknowledge the religious freedoms of nonbelievers. These themes were consistent.
If this is what evangelical leaders have been critiquing, they have apparently been doing so in context.
Each sermon mentioned in this article is linked to the full recording, including audio, video, and transcript.
Editor’s Note: This article has been updated for clarity. Ed Stetzer was mentioned in The Daily Wire article and is general editor of ChurchLeaders.com.
