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December 2014 – Increase Mather wasn’t just a minister. He was a Puritan minister, the kind who wore black clothes with large stiff collars and a frown on his face. Increase was as bold as his name. He stood staunchly for biblical morals in a time when compromise and pragmatism were on the rise. No doubt, some of his convictions would disqualify him for a ministry position in many churches today.
What may surprise contemporary Christians is that this conservative, morally upright Puritan minister was one of the founders of Harvard University.
Although Harvard, Princeton and other Ivy League schools still have small but vibrant Christian communities, many would argue that the prestigious universities have largely strayed from their early intent. The original intent for Harvard University was to train clergy. Its motto was Veritas Christo et Ecclesiae – “Truth for Christ and the Church.”
Princeton University’s crest states an unusual declaration for a prestigious modern school: Dei sub numine viget – “Under God she flourishes.”
Though some would try to ignore or deny it, it is a deeply rooted truth that the church has the ability to move and direct change in the culture around it, and it has proven that ability many times over. But for the individual Christian who looks over the history of what the church has done, especially when it comes to institutions that seem to be descending deeper into secularism, the question arises: Is Christianity even relevant to today’s culture?
We don’t have to look very hard to see that Harvard, Yale and others have left the values they were founded upon. Their Christian heritage is all but forgotten, replaced by the gods of secularism and multiculturalism. Yet these schools remain the standard of prestigious educational institutions.
That contrast can be disheartening to believers.
It is no secret that Christianity is not accorded the credibility it once enjoyed in the public square. It is painful to have such a gift as the gospel in our hands and seemingly no way to interject it into the culture without the ridicule of the world. We want to change things. We want to share the message of Christ with the world. But the Christian voice is only a whisper compared to what it once was.
In a world that is increasingly hostile to Christ, how do individual Christians go about doing the good works the church has accomplished so many times in the past?
Here are three passages from the New Testament that can help counter discouragement:
1. “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15).
Remember the primary reason Christians are to boldly live out the gospel in our lives: the love of Christ.
Sin assails us on all sides. In today’s culture, Christians are being silenced while agendas that are strongly opposed to God are allowed to raise their voices. Christians should be righteously angry; however, the driving force behind our actions should not be our anger, but a desire to honor Christ through our obedience.
Our love for Christ is why we obey Him, not primarily so that we can save our culture. If we do good things for any reason other than love for Christ, we are not obeying Him, rather we are serving our own idea of what is right.
2. “To him who overcomes, I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God” (Revelation 2:7).
Our ultimate reward is secure and eternal.
While it may seem that our world and everything we care about is coming unglued, we must remember that a spiritually healthy culture was never promised to us. In fact, we are promised that this world will perish and pass away.
What we are promised are things we can keep for eternity. Eternal fellowship with God through His Son, eternal co-inheritance with Christ, eternal bliss in glorified immortality, eternal separation from sin and evil. So while we fight for the rights of others, why should we fear for ourselves? As tragic as the loss of earthly freedom may be, we can never be separated from the love of Christ.
3. “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
Remember that the authority and power of the kingdom of heaven has already come. In many ways we should have a sense of urgency. The name and reputation of Christ are being trampled under foot by those who do not obey His commandments. But in the big picture of redemptive history, there is no emergency.
Christ has ascended to the right hand of the Father. He is seated on the throne of all creation, and we are seated there with Him spiritually (Ephesians 2:6). There is no ground to be taken for Christ; all things have already been conquered.
That is not to say there aren’t enemies still at large. We don’t have to look far to find someone who hates God. Nations and governments long to cast off His moral restraints. Countless people are still living in sin. At the same time, Christ remains on the throne with complete authority over these things (Matthew 28:18).
In light of these three truths, we are free to serve God in the culture without fear. We don’t have to panic. We don’t live in a time of emergency, rather we live in a time of opportunity – the opportunity to glorify God through our obedience to Him.
Our institutions may have lost much of their savor, but as a people who follow Christ, we are still free to be salt and light in a culture that needs His touch. We can yet be His hands and feet. 
