“For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.” (2 Corinthians 10:3–6, ESV)
Dear New Life in Christ Church Family,
Elon Musk, the world's richest man and founder of Tesla, and owner of Twitter, was recently interviewed by Jordan Peterson. A clip from this interview caught my attention as it circulated around the internet. In it, Musk talks about his son, Xavier, transitioning from a male to a transgender female. Musk mentions that he unwittingly approved his son to receive puberty blockers and spoke about the "deadnaming" that happened when Xavier refused his male name or identity. Xavier now goes by the name Vivian and has rejected Musk as a father. Watching the interview, you can see Musk's sadness about the situation.
When asked what motivated his recent work, Musk answered, "My son Xavier is dead — killed by the woke-mind virus." He aims to destroy the "woke-mind virus," which he believes has confused his son and many others in America and around the world.
It makes sense that Musk would buy Twitter and rebrand it as X to fulfill this purpose. X/Twitter is indeed a powerful tool for spreading information outside the control of mainstream media, and many have used the tool expose the harmful effects of the "woke-mind virus."
Watching this clip made me think about my recent sermon on the Lord's Prayer, specifically the petition to "deliver us from evil" and the spiritual battle we face. We looked at 2 Corinthians 10:3, which calls us to use spiritual weapons in this conflict, not worldly ones.
Our world is experiencing a spiritual crisis. Sin separates everyone from God, and many people have never heard the gospel of Jesus Christ. They are trapped in their sins, separated from God, in conflict with others, lacking purpose, and seeking meaning and connection. The sins of others often lead to our own sins.
This leads to a widespread social depression, affecting the likes of Elon Musk's son. According to what I've read, Musk has not been a great father; he has children with multiple women and wasn't involved enough to protect his son from making harmful decisions. The world promotes transitioning to a new gender as the solution to an emotional crisis, but this is one of the "weapons of the flesh."
The "woke-mind virus" is a false religion, telling young people they will find happiness by embracing a biological delusion. The studies I've seen demonstrate that the gender transitions don't work, but instead leads to ongoing physical and mental health issues, despite the societal approval of these gender changes.
This false religion is harmful physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. It's crucial to oppose it. Still, we must remember where true power is found. While we might hope that platforms like X/Twitter can combat these lies, these platforms aren't sufficient. They are "weapons of the flesh" and can't ultimately defeat false ideologies leading people away from God.
We need something bigger. We need truth and prayer. We must pray for our nation and for the people we know who struggle, and we must share the message that God has solved our biggest problem, the problem of sin, through Jesus Christ's death and resurrection. Salvation doesn't come from external changes or material things; it comes through Jesus, who reconciles us to God.
X/Twitter and Elon Musk cannot provide the purpose and reunion with God that we need. Only Jesus Christ and the preaching of the gospel can address the spiritual crisis of our time.
As a church, we are called to preach the gospel and call people to faith in Jesus Christ. This message may not be popular, but it is true and consistent with creation. It offers salvation by grace, hope, purpose, joy, and love. The gospel is powerful and sufficient for salvation.
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” (Romans 1:16, ESV)
Faithfully Yours,
Pastor Sean