This week on the Straight Truth Podcast, Dr. Josh Philpot shares with Dr. Richard Caldwell that pressure and tension are rising in the culture. We find it in businesses, our workplaces, and all around us. There is this pressure for everyone everywhere to capitulate to the feelings and beliefs of others. This is especially true when it comes to the issues of gender and sexuality. Dr. Philpot asks Dr. Caldwell about how Christians should and can prepare to respond to these things. How can Christians respond lovingly even as some in authority over us attempt to force immorality upon us? What should Christians do when they are pressured and compelled to speak in ways that are not truthful? How should we react to these things? Pastor Caldwell reminds us that Christians are to be innocent as doves and shrewd as serpents, but in all things, convictional. As Christians, we made a choice when we received Christ. By the grace of God, through the gospel of God, we saw that Jesus is Lord and received Him as our Savior. As our Savior, King, and Lord – He is our ultimate authority. We follow Him, we submit to Him, we obey Him. We hold to convictions that are based on the Word of God. Whatever comes to challenge His authority, we yield to Him; we follow Him. We do this imperfectly and often with trembling, knowing that obedience to Christ can bring slander, ridicule, and persecution in this world. But at the end of the day, we are not cowards. What characterizes people who will be in hell one day is that they are cowardly. What characterizes those who know Christ is they cannot deny what they have come to see. When it comes to the workplace and how we handle ourselves there, it will be different for each of us. We are there to do a job, paid to do a job, and that is what we must focus on. But sooner or later, these issues will impact each of us, demanding a response. There will be settings where caution and care with our language and all the rest will be called for. We may be able to endure for a while where we don't have to take stands and make them pronounced issues. But even then, what we cannot do is lie; we cannot represent Christ with lies and cowardice. We must stand our ground with conviction; that is a disciple's life. We must be prepared to stand and suffer with Christ. Of course, this should be done in the right kind of way. Believers live their lives in different circles and spheres of responsibility and authority. However, believers are Christians wherever they go and must live in such a way. What Christ taught His disciples in private gatherings they were to go out and proclaim it from the housetops. The truth, says Dr.Caldwell, is not confined to the walls of the church building. When believers leave their gatherings, they go out and proclaim the truth in the world. This is done through our words, deeds, actions, and attitudes. In each circle and sphere, we are to be faithful to Christ to respond appropriately to the authorities over us. But if one in authority over us in these areas demands us to speak contrary to the truth, we cannot do that. Dr. Caldwell shares a helpful workplace employer/employee ‘on the clock - off the clock’ example of responsibilities, abilities, and opportunities in that area. He reminds us to recognize these spheres of authority and influence, calling us to be faithful in each of them according to Scripture. Whenever we have the opportunity to speak out about culture's moral degradation, it shouldn’t be just to point out their wrongs, chastise, and be critical. Evangelism ought to be our aim wherever God’s Word has spoken. It is the only hope for a lost and dying world. This world does not need moral reformation; it needs spiritual transformation. Everything changes when people know Jesus as Lord and Savior. Moral transformation follows salvation. So our aim, first and foremost, is for their greatest need: forgiveness of their sins and the transformation of their very natures. We are not called, in every setting, to go out and talk about a particular moral issue. Eventually, though, we will come face to face with having to speak the truth about what the Bible teaches concerning all these issues; it’s unavoidable. Dr. Caldwell tells us to think about John the Baptist speaking out about Herrod's sin; John wasn’t wrong or misguided to do this. He shares that when it comes to these things, it will be matters of judgment, matters where we will be led by the Spirit of God. We cannot be faithful to Christ and avoid all the cultural pressures. Therefore, when we speak, we want to remember humanity's greatest need and make that the preeminent message we are declaring – the need is Christ.