Part 4 of Gender and Cultural Ideologies
Scripture: 1 Peter 4:12–16
“They Just Canceled Pastor Mike”
He didn’t shout. He didn’t insult anyone. He simply preached through Romans 1, verse by verse.
The video was clipped, misquoted, and posted online.
By Monday, he’d been fired from his adjunct teaching role.
By Tuesday, his church’s social media pages were flooded with hate.
By Friday, “Pastor Mike” was a trending hashtag—for all the wrong reasons.
When speaking truth becomes an act of defiance, the Church must decide: Will we conform or will we stand?
Cancel culture isn’t just a secular nuisance. It’s a spiritual test. And the Church must be prepared to respond—not with fear or compromise, but with redemptive courage.
Faithful in the Fire (1 Peter 4:12–16)
Peter, writing to believers under Roman pressure, gives this instruction:
“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you… If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed… If anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name.”
— 1 Peter 4:12, 14, 16
Peter doesn’t say persecution is strange. He says surprise is.
Cancel culture may look new in the West, but faithful Christians being publicly shamed is as old as the cross itself. Peter calls believers not to panic or hide—but to rejoice that they bear the name of Christ.
This isn’t about playing the victim. It’s about being faithful witnesses in a culture that demands silence.
The New Blasphemy Laws
Cancel culture functions as a kind of secular inquisition. It has:
- Blasphemy laws (Thou shalt not offend identity groups.)
- Doctrinal tests (You must affirm the cultural creed on gender, sexuality, and justice.)
- Punishments (Deplatforming, job loss, social shaming.)
And like every false religion, it cannot tolerate dissent.
When a Christian baker declines to participate in a same-sex wedding, the mob demands submission. When a student defends biology, they’re accused of hate. When a pastor teaches Romans 1, he’s labeled dangerous.
The new orthodoxy is expressive individualism. And biblical fidelity is heresy.
But we were never meant to fit in. Jesus told us the world would hate us because it hated Him first (John 15:18–19). The issue is not whether we’ll be rejected. The issue is whether we’ll be ready.
How to Endure Faithfully
In this age of outrage and erasure, the Church must disciple believers in courage:
- Teach Christians to expect hostility, not popularity.
- Ground identity in Christ, not online approval.
- Model convictional kindness, not reactive fear.
- Equip believers to lose jobs, platforms, and reputation—and count it gain (Phil 3:8).
We must raise a generation who isn’t shocked by suffering, but shaped by it. The goal isn’t just survival—it’s witness.
Cancel culture may silence voices. But it can’t silence resurrection.
Be the Church, Even When It Costs You
This is not the time for soft sermons, platform-polished faith, or appeasement theology.
The gospel isn’t safe. It’s true.
So let’s preach it. Live it. Defend it. And prepare to suffer for it.
If your witness never costs you anything, you might not be witnessing clearly enough.
The Church that thrives in this generation will be the one that doesn’t flinch when the cancel mob comes knocking. Jesus is worth the backlash.
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References
The Holy Bible. (2021). Legacy Standard Bible. Three Sixteen Publishing. https://read.lsbible.org/
Strachan, O. (2021). Christianity and wokeness: How the social justice movement is hijacking the gospel. Salem Books.
Trueman, C. R. (2022). Strange new world: How thinkers and activists redefined identity and sparked the sexual revolution. Crossway.
MacArthur, J. (2021). The high cost of faithfulness. Grace to You. https://www.gty.org
Colson Center. (2023). Cancel culture and the Christian response. https://www.colsoncenter.org
