Welcome to the Paul Tripp podcast, where pastor and best-selling author Dr. Paul David Tripp connects the transforming power of Jesus Christ to everyday life.

What is the greatest danger to modern Christianity?

There are many external threats, but in today's episode, Paul opens First Peter to show that the biggest threat

lies within ourselves. When we forget our identity, we become paralyzed and ineffective at sharing

the gospel. Here's Paul.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim

the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people, once you had not received mercy,

but now you have received mercy. If someone would ask you what you thought were the greatest

dangers to your Christian experience, what would you answer?

If someone would ask you what you thought were the greatest threats to Christianity,

what would be your response?

If someone would ask you what is the most significant attack against the Church of Jesus Christ,

what would you answer?

It's very easy for us to think that the threats, the most significant, dangerous threats, to the church are those threats outside of the church.

Maybe you would answer the rise of functional atheism in America, where more and more people are

convinced there is no reason whatsoever to need to believe in God.

Maybe you would say the gross materialism of Western culture that says life is all about

physical things and physical experiences, he who has the biggest pile of stuff wins.

Maybe you would say it's the rampant immorality of Western culture where anything seems to be

okay anymore.

And you can barely go out on the street or look at your computer or read a magazine or listen to a song or watch television without having your morals assaulted.

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