Coming up on Life Today,
Eric Metaxas warns the American church
of the similarities with the 1930s German church.
>> The idea that we're supposed to avoid politics,
that we're supposed to --
people in Germany, they didn't believe
that this hell could happen to them.
They were convinced this can't happen.
I think there are many Americans that believe the same thing.
If I just keep quiet it will all be okay.
And that's not what history shows us,
and I don't think it's what the Lord says.
♪
JAMES: Welcome to LIFE Today!
I am right here in the studio,
rushed up here
to talk to Eric Metaxas.
He wrote Amazing Grace,
how literally slavery
was basically overthrown
by the grace of God;
Amazing Grace, John Newton,
as much as Wilberforce,
I think even more.
And the author of the book
I'm holding, who wrote
Amazing Grace.
And also wrote Bonhoeffer.
And boy,
did we see the miracle
that could have saved
the horrors that occurred
in Germany under Hitler
if the church had heard
what God revealed to
and ultimately
through Bonhoeffer.
It was written
by Eric Metaxas.
Well, here is
Eric Metaxas' new book,
Letter to the American Church.
He is sitting here with me.
And Eric, I love you.
And I want to thank you
for Amazing Grace,
I want to thank you
for the miracle
that you revealed so clearly.
It wasn't just Wilberforce
but it was John Newton
keeping Amazing Grace,
keeping him in the fire.
Then you wrote Bonhoeffer.
You said to me
when I talked to you,
right before you came here
and we talked yesterday,
you said, "James,
this is the Bonhoeffer message
to America today."
Do you believe that?
Eric: You know,
when you say things like that
you have to understand
how it sounds.
So I have to be
very, very clear --
crystal clear.
There is no hyperbole
in what I'm saying.
The thesis of this book,
the reason I know the Lord
made me write this short book
is because
the silence of the church
in Germany
that led to the satanic evil
of the Nazis in the holocaust
is exactly the same
as the silence of the church
in America today,
which will, without question,
lead us to horrors
unimaginable
unless we repent,
unless we cease being silent.
I cannot think
of a more urgent message.
I beg people --
I beg people
to take what I'm saying
in this book seriously
because of course,
it is not me talking.
When you title a book
Letter to the American Church,
I'm not arrogant enough
to think that this is a letter
from Eric Metaxas.
This is in the tradition
of the letter
to the Philippians.
You know?
You want to write
exactly what you think
the Lord is saying.
So I've never been
more humbled
in writing something
because I thought
this is so important
and this has to be
what God is trying to say.
But what I believe
the Lord is trying to say
in this book
is exactly what he said
through Bonhoeffer
to the German church,
which they did not listen to.
It was the prophet,
the Lord always sends
his prophets.
And many years later
we go, wow,
wasn't that prophet great!
Jeremiah, Isaiah,
they're so great!
In their day
they were not listened to,
they were murdered.
Bonhoeffer's message
which was from God
to the German church
was ignored.
And we saw what happened.
I believe
that the Lord called me
to write the Bonhoeffer book,
which we've talked about
on this program years ago
to help America see
that is what happens
when a church is silent.
So in this book,
I'm basically taking
what Bonhoeffer said
and speaking it to the church
in America today;
and saying unless you repent
of your silence,
unless you repent
of playing this game
that you think
you can be neutral
when evil rises
and you say nothing,
God will judge you.
There is no neutral ground.
The German church tried
to take that neutral ground
and the enemy
destroyed that nation
and destroyed
millions of lives.
I believe
we're facing something
extremely similar,
and the church,
most of the church right now
is using
the exact same excuses
for their silence.
They say things like
well, we don't want
to be political.
They have all kinds
of reasons.
The same reasons
the German church had
in that day.
When you see the similarity,
I think most people
would be shocked.
JAMES: You literally
illustrate
and give clarity
to the understanding
of the reality
that there is only one force
on God's planet,
heaven and the earth
is the Lord's.
We were left here
as overseers of this planet.
The king is here;
his kingdom
is established in us.
We can make an impact
in this world
and the only force
that can overpower
the deception and destruction
of the gates of hell is what?
The church of Jesus Christ.
That's what you're writing.
You start,
"What is the church?
Does God ask us
to see the future?"
Of course,
his will being done now,
which is future too
because we have nothing to do
with the next kingdom,
we have everything to do
with this one.
And we are not left here
to get out of here,
we're left here
to see his will done
on his earth.
Eric: That's
the amazing thing.
People act like well,
it is all about getting saved.
Well, you're saved, now what?
Now you're part of the church
and the Lord expects you
to live out your faith
that you claim to have
totally, fearlessly,
and self-sacrificially
until he calls you
to be with him.
And I think that we've been
so blessed in America,
just as Germans were blessed
that they thought, well,
that doesn't apply to me.
I can have a nice life
and I'll go to church.
Oh, I believe these things --
I believe these things.
When the Lord
requires something of you
and you don't do it,
the Lord knows
you don't believe
what you say you believe.
So I talk about the deception
of when we talk about faith.
Luther,
I wrote a biography of Luther,
about the idea of faith.
It is all about faith --
it is all about faith.
Yeah, it is all about faith
if it's real faith;
not fake faith
where I say I believe stuff.
And faith, I was going to --
this book,
Letter to the American Church,
I was going to title the book,
not kidding,
Faith Without Works is Dead.
Because we have
a lot of people
who claim they have faith
and the Lord says,
well, I see your fruit,
I see your heart.
If you believed
that I defeated death
on the cross
you would live differently.
And it is exactly
what Bonhoeffer writes about,
he talks about cheap grace.
And it is a prophetic word
that the Lord gave him.
And I believe
that it didn't work
on the German church.
They did not hear it.
But my prayer, my hope,
is that exactly what the Lord
spoke through Bonhoeffer
would be heard and heeded
by the American church.
And I will say again,
if not, we are going down
precisely the same path.
And people say
I can't believe it,
I can't believe it.
Trust me when I tell you
the Germans did not believe
that future
was even possible.
But it happened
and we are no different
than the Germans.
JAMES: Erwin Lutzer,
one of my good friends,
a guest here frequently,
told the story about
the church singing louder
in Germany when the trains
came by with the Jewish people
headed to be
literally annihilated,
even with their families,
and the church sang louder
so they didn't hear
their cries.
Today it seems like
we just continue to persist
in singing louder
while we're headed
right over the cliff
under demonic control
and a greater force
coming to destroy the freedom
that we have known
because of the way our nation
was birthed with truth
and biblical principles.
We are right now
under a power
that can totally overthrow us
and put us in the dark
and take away every freedom
we have ever known;
the stage is set for that.
And the only forces,
as I said a moment ago,
that can stop
this overthrowing power
is the church of Jesus Christ,
the body of Christ
supernaturally united
with one head leading.
You write this chapter
about 12,000 pastors.
Tell us the significance.
Eric: It's a chilling --
this is really --
I didn't even know this
when I was writing
my Bonhoeffer book.
When I started
writing this book
and I dipped back
into my Bonhoeffer book
and into that period
I realized something
and I said this is chilling
because this is exactly
where we are today -- exactly!
In Germany, in the '30s,
there were about
18,000 protestant pastors
roughly.
In 1933,
when Hitler took power
and began to instantly
try to transform
that whole culture
in every way
along Nazi lines
he included the church.
He said well, the church
is part of the state.
We pay the pastors.
We don't have separation
of church and state.
So that's when folks
like Bonhoeffer
said wait a minute! No.
We must stand against this.
We can not have the government
dictating to the church.
We answer to Jesus Christ.
So they wrote this thing
called the Barmen Declaration;
maybe 5,000-6,000 pastors
signed it, very brave.
By 1935, only 3,000
were standing strong.
In other words, the Nazis
persecuted the church
and bullied and threatened
the whole culture
in such a way
which we're seeing today, that
if you don't play the game
you're going to get it.
You'll get canceled,
you'll get sent
to a concentration camp,
you'll lose this,
you'll lose that --
brutal persecution,
cultural persecution.
But by 1935,
only 3,000 who had signed
the Barmen Declaration
were standing firm.
So of the 18,000 pastors,
by 1935 you have
3,000 standing firm.
On the other end
of the spectrum,
you have about 3,000
standing strongly with Hitler
happy to crush the church,
or happy to give the church
over to the devil
or whatever it is.
But in the middle,
there were 12,000 pastors that
basically would not commit
one way or the other.
That is the nightmare that
they thought it would be safe.
We won't take a position.
We don't want
to be "political."
We don't want to confuse
the gospel and politics.
We're just going
to keep our nose down,
preach our little stuff
on Sunday mornings,
and when we leave
this building
we're going to bow
to the authority of the state.
That lie which you hear
over and over,
you're hearing it again today,
they bought it
because it was the safe path.
Many of them,
there are all kinds of reasons
people bought into it
but the point of that chapter
and in many ways
the point of the book
is that it was the silence
of those 12,000
that enabled the Nazis
to crush the 3,000 heroes,
to marginalize them
and put them
in concentration camps
and do whatever.
It was the silence
of that 12,000,
their failure to stand
with the heroic 3,000
because many of those 12,000
kind of knew what was right
but they said
we're just going to be quiet.
We're pastors,
we don't want to be involved
in anything political
because people
will criticize us
as being political.
And Romans 13,
oh that's so clear!
Well, it is not so clear.
Bonhoeffer understood
that it was not so clear.
Bonhoeffer in fact
in his book
Cost of Discipleship
says he was disgusted
with what he called
the theologically
based restraint
of all these pastors, he said,
which is nothing but fear.
They're using these excuses
to stay out of trouble.
They're playing
this little religious game.
And so one of the things
I write about in here is like
so if the Gestapo comes
to the door and says
are you hiding a Jew
in your basement?
If you're a religious
Christian who doesn't want
to get in trouble, religious
in the negative sense,
you'd say, oh, yeah,
I'm hiding a Jew
in my basement.
Help yourself to the Jew;
torture and kill the Jew,
but I don't lie.
I'm justified before God.
It is the most religious
in the negative sense,
legalistic response
which breaks God's heart.
And many in Germany said
we're going to take that path.
We're just going to
"preach the gospel,"
we're going to stick
to our little sermons.
But anybody who knows the Lord
knows that's not what
God calls you to do.
God calls you
to speak his truth
wherever you go,
fearlessly.
And the German church
did not do that.
They hesitated,
they had their reasons.
By the time they realized
what the Nazis were doing
it was too late.
It was game over.
And so what I'm saying
is that today in America
we are in the early '30s
and anybody who would say
I'm exaggerating,
I beg them to consider
the details
because I know that this true.
This is not like well,
I have some interpretation.
We are hearing
the same silence from pastors
around this country
who are saying that
I don't want to offend anyone
in my congregation.
I'm going to keep my nose
out of that.
There is a time in a culture
when you can do that.
If it was 1985,
and you say well, listen,
we've got some Democrats
in our audience.
We're just preaching
the gospel.
But when you have
cultural Marxism
coming into schools
and into the culture,
which many churches
are allowing in,
critical race theory,
you can look in any direction,
transgender madness,
a government demonizing half
of the population publicly,
there are things
that if you do not speak now
God will hold you responsible
for your silence.
And the reason I wrote this
is because I believe
that there are still people
that can be reached,
there are still some
among the 12,000
who could be awakened.
And it is my prayer
and my hope that they will,
that they will repent.
Because you know
if somebody came to you
in 1840 and said,
don't mention slavery.
Just stick
to gospel-related issues
because we've got
some slaveholders
in our audience
and our congregation making --
you say wait a second,
I have an obligation
before God
to speak on that issue.
And if it on offends someone,
I'm not sure
what I'm supposed to do.
God will judge me
if I'm silent on that issue.
If I'm silent
on the sanctity of the unborn,
God will hold me to account.
Where do you get this idea
that I'm just supposed
to stick to John 3:16
for every sermon?
But that's the lie
and it is a diabolical lie
that has been pushed
on the church.
And many in the church
have said, oh okay.
Now I have my reason
I can be quiet.
I don't have to take that on.
I say, James,
it is precisely
because of that,
that we are where we are.
If somebody says to me today,
why is America in free fall,
falling apart
in any direction?
We've never seen
anything like it.
I would say, frankly,
because of the silence
of the church.
God will judge the church
for its silence.
We're the ones
who are supposed
to know better.
We are the ones
that know the difference
between a man and a woman.
We're the ones
that are supposed to believe
that Jesus defeated death
on the cross.
So we say these things
with no fear.
We say these things with joy,
that innumerable lives
will be affected.
So the idea
that we're supposed
to avoid politics
or that we're supposed to --
this is not wisdom
and that's why
I wrote the book.
You can tell,
there's deep sobriety
and humility
that I have in writing
something like this
because I thought,
people in Germany
didn't believe that this hell
could happen to them.
They were convinced
this can't happen.
I think
there are many Americans
that believe the same thing.
That if I just keep quiet
it will all be okay.
That's not what
history shows us
and I don't think
that's what the Lord says.
JAMES: Let me try to summarize
and I want you
to listen closely.
Bonhoeffer is a long book.
Amazing Grace is a long book.
I was amazed,
this is a very brief book,
but it is a powerful book.
It is like a letter
from our Lord to us in America
at this moment in history.
And the future of freedom
here and around the world
depends upon
the church's response
right now.
The one force,
the gates of hell,
Jesus said,
cannot prevail against
is the body of Christ,
the church.
But that's the body of Christ
born from above,
connected to one another
in supernatural unity
like body parts submitted
to the one head Christ
standing against the forces,
against all the forces
of deception, dissension,
division, and destruction.
I believe that right now
we begin to correct course
or we're over the cliff --
freedom's gone!
Now I think it is going
to happen very rapidly too.
But I also believe
if the church
would come together
in supernatural unity
that Jesus prayed for,
submit to the one head,
and speak the truth
not only in love
but that New Testament group
of Christians,
those apostles,
they turned
the world upside down
because they proclaimed
another king
than the government
or any other power
on this earth
than Caesar.
There is only one king,
the church is the only one
that can present that.
This is a letter,
I'm telling you,
you can read this fast.
We'll send it to you.
You can go online right now
and get it.
They probably can get it
in print online
but you can order the book
right now.
You can get it
normally in a day.
But we'll send it to you
if you simply help us do
what we give you
an opportunity to do,
to put your arms
around the broken
and the suffering
and see them free,
we'll send it to you.
I want you to read this.
You can read it.
This is the kind of book
you can read in one day.
And he wrote it that way
deliberately.
I believe that it is not
just a draft
from Eric Metaxas,
I believe it is from God
and used somebody gifted
to write
who recognized
the greatness of God in a man
that could have saved
the horrible holocaust.
I want to say thank you.
Eric, we're going to show
our viewers something
that every day they know
we're going to give you
an opportunity
to become someone's miracle.
By the way, together
we become the miracle
that freedom must have.
But I want you to right now,
I want you to look
at a situation and see
if you are the answer
to the prayer,
the heart cry,
and the need that you see.
Watch closely.
You respond as God directs.
We're going to send you
this book
because I tell you what,
it is going to impact you
and help, I believe,
correct our course.
Watch closely.
Tonight there will be children
in various parts of the world
who will not be tucked into a warm bed
by a caring loved one,
who will not experience the security and safety
of a permanent place they can call home.
Instead, they will be found in streets
filled with drugs and violence
or down alleyways teaming with strangers
who could harm them.
And for some,
they will find themselves trapped in broken homes
of grinding poverty and despair.
All of this becomes a breeding ground
for the unimaginable,
human traffickers who will target these children,
kidnap, and force them into the sex slave trade.
For most of these children,
the sexual abuse will produce physical and emotional scars
that will haunt them for the rest of their lives.
For others, they may either die in captivity
or simply disappear
never to be heard from again.
These are the realities
that no child should ever have to face --
but they will.
Every minute,
two children will be exploited by a sex slave trader
somewhere in the world.
Who will be their next victim?
JAMES: You and I,
as the people of God
who understand the importance
of faith, family, and freedom
are the only hope
those children have.
Eric Metaxas and I
have been talking
about God's letter,
his message to the church
which is the only power that
can stand against the force
of the gates of hell,
and create a hell on earth
for people,
for everybody if possible.
That's what the enemy does.
But the only force
that can set people free
is the power of God
flowing through his people
who are connected
to one another,
who believe his truth,
and allow him to be the head,
and get his arms around those
he gave his life to redeem.
That's what we're doing
for these children.
This is the last week.
I'm praying today for the
greatest miracle outpouring
that we've ever seen.
We're going to send it
to every one of you that help.
This is a very important read.
You can read it in a day.
And boy, we've got
some important decisions
right now ahead of us.
We're also going to send you
one of the most
beautiful books
I've ever seen.
What does your Jesus
look like?
This is a table book
you're going to enjoy
looking at and seeing Jesus.
But what you're going to do
right now when you respond,
and you take advantage
of a love gift of $320,000
to match whatever you do
because people say
we want to set
these precious children free
from sexual trafficking,
and we can do it.
And I'm asking God
for the greatest outpouring,
in regard to setting
these children free
and getting them in the
let's say
where we've reached them
and we rescue them
and then we begin
to restore them.
And we train them
and give them a future.
This is a miracle!
Now you think about it.
It takes an average
to rescue one, $128,
but it's going to be doubled.
So if you give $128
you rescue two.
Now you always know this.
I try to get you to think big!
Because God is big
and he does things
so much bigger
than we normally ever imagine
or consider.
Would you consider $1280
to help rescue ten children,
now 20 children?
Think about it!
That gift will rescue
20 children from this bondage.
And at the same time,
we're praying for God
to protect and preserve
our precious freedom
here in America
and around the world
because it's being threatened,
perhaps as great
as at any time in history --
certainly in my lifetime.
Please!
Go get your bank card,
use it like a check,
write a check,
and make it to LIFE.
Dial that phone number
and give us the number
and make the gift
God put on your heart.
Or you can go online.
Please, use that bank card
like a check but make
the greatest gift you can
because you are
giving freedom --
you really are.
You're setting captives free.
Thank you so much
for doing it right now.
Innocent children and young people
longing to be loved and cared for
are being abducted and sold
at the hands of violent predators,
forced into the evil industry
of human trafficking.
Through Mission: Rescue Life
you can reach out to warn children
who are at risk for sex trafficking,
rescue those already enslaved,
and restore young lives and give them a future.
With a generous $320,000 matching gift
now your gift of $128
to help reach, rescue, or restore one child
can be doubled to help two children.
Your $64 gift will be matched
to help save one child
from the horrors of human trafficking.
And a $32 mission rescue gift
will be doubled to $64.
With your gift today,
we'll send you I Hear His Whisper.
Each entry in this beautiful 365-day devotional
will encourage you with words of comfort, joy, and love
as you encounter God's heart
and hear his gentle voice.
With a gift of $128 or more,
you'll receive What Does Your Jesus Look Like?
This captivating book by sculptor, Scott Stearman
shares compelling stories and beautiful images
revealing how we can be the image of Christ
to a watching world.
Finally, please consider a gift of $1280
which will now help save 20 children.
And you may request our inspiring bronze sculpture,
"Let the Children Come."
This is the last week!
Please call, write, or make your gift online.
JAMES: I want you to remember
this is the last week.
We are sending,
if you'd like to have it,
for any gift,
Eric Metaxas' book,
Letter to the American Church.
Eric, I love you.
Let's stay real close.
Thank you for
the wonderful things you say
about The Stream
because that is
a gifted group of writers
that are an illustration
of people coming together
for the glory of God.
Thank you for being
an encouragement to us.
Eric: Thank you for
your friendship, my brother.
I appreciate you!
JAMES: Thanks for writing
this letter.
This is a letter from God,
I believe that,
and you can read it fast.
Thank you so much for caring.
I pray with all my heart
you care deeply
about the future of freedom.
What we do will determine
freedom's future.
♪
Stay connected with LIFE Today
through your favorite social media.
Get access to exclusive content and news
from all of the outreaches of LIFE!
Just search LIFE Today
and you'll be connected to exciting shows
featuring your favorite guests.
Never miss a moment to get inspired
get involved, and get the best of life
anytime, anywhere!
LIFE Today is always on!
Subscribe, follow, like,
and get the LIFE Today social media experience!
>> I was getting ready to quit
on something that was full of potential
and God had so much purpose for it.
I just couldn't see it.
LIFE Today is made possible by the supporters of LIFE Outreach International.
Your gift will be used exclusively for the exempt purposes of LIFE.
The ministry features specific outreaches
as examples of the programs it supports and conducts.
Gifts are considered to be without restriction
as to use unless explicitly stipulated by the donor.
The ministry is a member of the ECFA.