"Cancel Culture" vs. Christ's Call to Redemption

Feeling lost in today's headlines, seeking God's truth for our chaotic culture. Welcome to Truth Unveiled with Ralph. We'll cut through the noise guiding you to biblical discernment for your faith, your finances, and your life.Now, here's Ralph Estep Jr. Hey, welcome, friend. I just want to thank you for joining me on Truth Unveiled with Ralph.Now, last week, we talked about truth decay, finding real facts in a world full of noise. And listen, I hope you were able to catch that. If you missed it, you can catch it on our website. That's at truthunveiledwithRalph.com.and before that, we talked about identity crisis. We talked about the digital divide. We talked about a culture of complaint.All of those, I felt, were really heavy episodes, and I really hope that you've been able to get something from them. But today, we're going to dive into something that is terrifyingly personal for so many people in many ways.As I prepared for today, I started thinking, how do I even address this? Because it's changed how we talk to each other. It's changed how we look at our mistakes and the things that we've done in the past.And honestly, it's changed how we look at the word grace. What I'm talking about today is cancel culture. It's absolutely all around us, and it's just a sickening thing when you really think about it.And I just want to contrast that today with Christ's call to redemption.When I started this show, I always said what I wanted to bring to you was truth and look at what's going on with today's culture and compare that to the Bible, the timeless word of God. And today I just want to really talk about that cancel culture of everything that's going on around us.And I really want to contrast that and really put that up against Christ's call to redemption. Because here's the real deal, and it's a chilling thing. We live in a society right now where there is a chilling grip of instant condemnation.So we got to start by being really honest with each other, just you and me as we talked. This culture of cancellation is just an absolutely growing trend. You know it as well as I do.Someone says the wrong thing, maybe completely unintentional, they didn't even realize what they were saying. But they say the wrong thing. Oh, they're canceled. Or maybe for so many people, a past mistake was dug up.Something that was just brought up from the fiery depths of something that was years and years and years ago. We're seeing that all the time. You said the wrong thing. Your, your past mistakes are dug up. Or here's when it's even more sinister.Maybe your opinion doesn't line up with the loudest voices that are being out there in culture today. Listen, I find myself in that place all the time, sort of an old school guy.And many times the thing as I talk about on this show, the Christian fundamental principles, they don't always line up with the loudest voices. Those loudest voices you hear online in today's cancel culture, in today's insanity culture, I'll even use a bigger term.And if any of these things fall upon you, it's instant, it's public, and they just completely tear you apart. That's what I'm talking about today. Cancel culture.Now, a lot of people might say, you know what, Ralph, that's fine, but that's only for celebrities. That's only for politicians. But if you're honest with yourself, you know, deep down, it's not just celebrities or politicians anymore. It's everybody.Right? It's everybody. It could be you listening right now. It could be my. Read me right now as I talk.I might finish recording this, it gets released and oh, cancel Ralph, he said the wrong thing. We're just one misstep. I mean, just a single misstep. And often, here's the problem. It's often unintentional.We had no intention of being offensive or to. Or to say something that was out of line. Think about it yourself. How many times have you told a bad joke?There was no ill intent on your part, but it was not, it didn't come out well, right? Or maybe you made a clumsy comment. I don't know how many times I've made those things. Just a clumsy comment.Or maybe like you, like me, you have an old view. My grandfather was famous for these things. Just the way he looked at life was just an old view.And I'm not going to sit here and say that he was wrong. But you know, the cancel the culture of today says, oh, no, no, that's not okay to say it like that anymore, Ralph. You can't talk like that anymore.You can't call sin sin. I'm going to stop for a second because I'm going to get ready to get on my high horse for a second. I'm going to save that for a little bit later.But it could be something as simple as just an old view, something that you've held. Hey, you were raised this way. This is what you were taught from a young age.But now with today's Cancel Culture, suddenly the Internet mob descends on you.They beat you to a bloody pulp because of a bad joke, a clumsy comment, maybe an old view, something you just didn't intend to convey, but just a misstep. And think about it. Think about it right now, in the world that we live in right now. Think about it just one minute.How many respected voices have you listened to for years and years? And then all of a sudden, oh, this came out. We can't listen to this person anymore. Their reputation is completely shattered.All the good work they did. And listen, I'm not making judgments. But today's Cancel Culture, all of that reputation is gone. Their livelihood is destroyed.All because maybe they made a bad joke or some clumsy comment, or God forbid, they held an old view. Maybe a traditional Christian view. Let me. We'll get on that in a second.Those past mistakes, no matter how old they are, no matter much how much somebody has grown, and the Internet just puts them on a blast for the whole world to judge. These people may have grown from that point. They may have made mistakes. I get it. Listen, I've made mistakes. You're listening right now.I guarantee you've made mistakes. Because the only one who didn't make mistakes, we hung him to a cross.But these past mistakes are just conjured back up for the whole world to judge everybody. Got to judge everybody now. There's no room. There's no room for apology. There's no room for explanation. There's no room for growth.Hey, there's no second chance. Just canceled, done. Stamp cancel on it. That's chilling, isn't it? And the problem with that, it leads us to this profound sense of fear.And that fear is deep into our psyche. It's deep into our spirit. And you might be just like me. You got the fear of saying the wrong thing all the time. How will this be perceived?What can I say? Listen, I'm one of those few people. I just don't care anymore. I shouldn't say I don't care. That's not a fair thing to say. I do care.But I'm not going to let the world judge when I speak truth and when I talk about the Christian faith on this show, I'm speaking truth. And I ask you to hold me to that. Go and look into Scripture. I don't fear saying the wrong thing.But so many people we're surrounded by now live in this constant fear of saying the wrong thing to the wrong person at the wrong time. Or maybe it's just a Fear of being misunderstood. Well, Ralph, you can't hold that view. You must have been misunderstood. And it's just crippling fear.Or maybe, you know, this is another big one. So many people live in the fear of those past mistakes. And here's the real sinister part. These are mistakes that God already forgiven.He's already given them away. He's already forgiven you for those. But guess what? The cancel culture just drags it back into you. And it's harsh, it's unforgiving.It's a light that no one can withstand. It's complete public condemnation. And I've seen this play out way too many times, and I felt the chill of that.I got a friend, a truly good friend, who said some things online, and he generally misspoke. He's just a clumsy guy. There was no malice in what he said. He just. He was a clumsy guy. He shouldn't have said it.He shouldn't have said it the way he said it. But there was no ill intent. He did not mean to harm a single person. He's a truly good guy. And he just misspoke. But guess what? The backlash. Oh, man.Immediate. Brutal. Canceled. Not a single set of room for grace. No space for explanation, just instant judgment. Onto the electric chair you go.And that's what we're living in today. And the consequences of this are very real and. And they're very painful.And when I watched what my friend went through, it showed me how quickly life can unravel in this intense, unforgiving spotlight. And if you've ever been through that, man, I don't envy you. Because it's a terrifying thought, isn't it?See, it's this culture of instant condemnation. And the problem is, it will be fine if it just destroyed reputations, but it does so much more than that.And that's really what I want to focus in on today. It slowly, quietly erodes something precious. And this is the connection. I want you to hear this right now.Stop what you're doing, because this is what it's really doing. It's eroding something precious. It's eroding our own capacity for grace. And when we lose grace, we are in trouble.And it pushes us towards this ugly self righteousness. How many times have you heard this? I would never say that, Ralph. I would never say something like that.Oh, how dare they say that they deserve what they got. You know what that is right now? That is ugly self righteousness. That is a complete lack of grace for anyone ever making a mistake. And guess What?If you're listening right now, as I said earlier, you've made mistakes. So don't sit there on your high horse and talk about, I would never do that. They deserve that. But that's what's going on in our culture right now.We've got this super fueled desire for punishment. There's no desire for healing.And all it's doing is, it's teaching our young people, it's teaching our teenagers, it's teaching everybody that mistakes are unforgivable, that people can't truly change. And the saddest part of this, it breeds this deep gnawing anxiety in so many of us. Maybe you're listening right now.And you've never taken that step to speak out about something because you are scared to death of being canceled. You're scared to death of making that mistake, of misspeaking, of being clumsy, of all those things.And, and you just say to me, Ralph, I can't do it. The anxiety just eats in me. Because who amongst us hasn't made a mistake? Raise your hand right now, send me an email if you haven't made a mistake.Send me an email right now. And while you're there, if you're perfect, send me an email there. Because who's perfect? I challenge you. Who can stand that level of scrutiny? Nobody.That's the truth. And that leads to so much pain. And see a lot of people say, well, okay, that's route. That's fine, it's fine.It's pain for the person who was canceled. Well, guess what? They deserve that. I said that a few minutes ago. But that's the part you're missing. It's not just for the person that was canceled.It's for those who are doing the canceling. Hear me on this. It's not just for the person that was canceled. It was for those people who are doing the canceling. Because it's.All it's doing is creating this paralyzing fear and it's stifling. Silence is created by this because people are going around terrified to speak their minds.People are scared to ask questions because, oh, that might not fit into the popular view. How dare I ask that question? I'll be canceled for asking that question. And it just absolutely destroys, it kills real discussion.It's this complete sense of self censorship. And guess what's happening? All of our voices are being lost. But deeper than that, it's breeding a spiritual emptiness.What did I say a few minutes ago? Grace. See life without grace. Think about that for a second. Just fathom that for a minute.Life without grace, it hardens our hearts because we're so afraid that we're going to get canceled. We're so afraid we're going to say the same thing. And if there's no grace for them, there's no grace for us.And our spirits just dwindle and shrivel down to nothing. See that unforgiveness? That unforgiveness is spiritual poison. It's poison. Life without grace is spiritual poison. It's the death of redemption.See, when I was a kid, I was always taught by my grandparents, my mom and dad, hey, you can be redeemed. You can improve, you can change your way. But right now, this cancel culture tells us something completely. It denies the possibility of growth.It denies the possibility of repentance. And hey, it denies the glorious transformation that so many of us have witnessed in people around us.How many people can you think of right now that were one thing at one point and they transformed into something completely different? And see, that's the beating heart of Christian faith. So you might say, Ralph, man, you were taking a tangent today, but I'm not.Think about what I just said. The beating heart of Christian faith is redemption. It's grace. And if we're just not allowing that to be the case anymore, what are we doing?We're beating Christian faith to death. I know that's a strong thing to say, but it is the truth. It's leading to bitter division.Listen, we live in a culture right now where there are unfixable camps. You're in that camp. Oh, yeah, you're bad people. You're in this camp. Oh, you're bad people over there. There's no room for empathy anymore.There's no room for understanding. Understanding has become impossible. Bridges are being burned. And guess what? They're not being rebuilt.That Division is putting us into a place where we are burning each other down on a daily basis without any chance of grace or empathy or fixing any of this. And I talked about this a few minutes ago.The personal anxiety is at an all time level because everyone's sitting there right now thinking that they could be canceled for anything. People are walking around constantly worried about their own words. What can I say? I better not say that they're worried about their own past.Man, I remember when I was a kid, I did this or I did that. I hope that never comes to light. And they're worried about the future because they're constantly living on eggshells. Because here's the problem.The world screams Condemn. The world screams, punish. The world screams ostracized. The world demands perfection. The world screams destroy the flawed.But just think about that for a second. If we live by that brutal standard, and that is truly a brutal standard, where will we ever find forgiveness again? I'm serious.Where will we ever find forgiveness? If the world just constantly screams condemn, punish, ostracize, demands perfection and destroy the flawed.Were you ever going to find forgiveness again? Where are you going to find a second chance? Where's the anchor to that? Where's the real hope? Where's the power for new life?And I wish I could tell you this was just a cultural thing, friend, but it's not.What I'm talking about today is a deep spiritual battle for the soul of humanity and for the soul of your heart as it's beating right now in your chest. It's really a battle for your capacity to love and your capacity to forgive.But let me ask you right now, and I always come to this in the show, but does God's Word written thousands of years ago have anything to say about that? See, I'm a believer that the Bible gives us wisdom.Yes, it was ancient time wisdom, but it's still relevant today because does it offer a different, more powerful, more redemptive way? You bet it does. How does the Bible respond to human imperfection? Hey, let's be bold about this. How does the Bible respond to sin? That's sin.That's an ugly word, isn't it? How does it set you free from that? I want you to know, I want you to take a deep breath right now because the Bible absolutely does this.And it's a truth. That's why I do this show. I want to cut through the noise. This truth cuts through the noise. It gives supernatural power.The Bible gives supernatural power to extend grace, to find profound healing, to experience a glorious freedom of true redemption. Well, now let's talk about how we can get to that. Let's open up the word of God together. Let's see what God has to say about handle mistakes.Let's see what God has to say about sin or that path to glorious restoration. And I'm going to tell you right now, these aren't just ancient stories. A lot of people say, oh, the Bible is great, Ralph.It's some great ancient stories. That's some great literature. I once had a knucklehead college professor tell me about. The Bible was a great piece of literature.Yeah, it is a great piece of literature. But guess for what? It's for me for me, it's a guide for my heart. And the Bible shows a way to profound, liberating grace.Let's get right to the words of Jesus himself in the Book of Matthew, chapter 6, verses 14 to 15. And this is incredibly direct and it's incredibly powerful. I'm going to read it right now.For if you forgive others their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But listen to this part, because here's the part you got to hear. You're not going to like it, but you got to hear this.But if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Think about that. That's huge. What did Jesus just do there? It's not subtle hit at you over the head like a mallet.Jesus connects our forgiveness to God's forgiveness of us. Think about that for a second. That's a foundational truth of the Christian faith. We're called to forgive others, not because they deserve it.See, a lot of people get hung on. That person doesn't deserve it.I've heard people talking about somebody murdered their child, and somebody said, well, you got to learn to forgive them. Yes, you do, but not because they deserve it. This is a countercultural thing I'm fixing to say.As my grandfather would say, we're called to forgive not because they deserve it. Well, because we have been forgiven so much for what we deserved. Because here's the truth.Living with unforgiveness, living by holding grudges, that is just a spiritual burden that's going to weigh you down for the rest of your days. It keeps you enslaved. And guess what? It's going to steal your peace. And it's going to steal it one day at a time.So I'm not saying that you've got to go forgive people because they deserve it. There are people that are in jail cells. There are people who have done terrible things who do not deserve to be forgiven. But guess what?As a Christ, we've got to forgive them. Why? Because God's forgiven us. And what does Jesus say? But if you do not forgive others their trespasses, what does he say?Neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Guess what? That's a commandment from Jesus Christ himself. Well, now let's look at the Book of Luke, chapter 17, verses 3 and 4.Because Jesus expands this with this astonishing, challenging grace. Again, Luke 17, verses 3 and 4 is what it says. Pay attention to yourselves. If your brother sins, rebuke him. And if he repents, forgive him.And if he sins again against you seven times in the day and comes to you seven times saying, I repent, you must forgive him seven times a day. Think about that for a second. Seven times. But I want to key you in on this something. Forgive him.Even if he sins against you seven times and comes seven times to say, I repent, you must forgive him. See, a lot of people think forgiveness is weakness. It's not. It's not being weak.To offer forgiveness, you got to have a heart that's always ready to forgive and always willing to accept genuine repentance. And you got to do that yourself.When you strike against somebody, when you sin against somebody, you better get to a point of genuine repentance and see it challenges the thing that the cancel culture says all the time. It utterly challenges this belief. And how many times have you heard this? Raise your hand. I can't see you through the show here, but raise your hand.Culture says, one strike and you're out. That's cancel culture. One strike, you're done, dude. Canceled, declined, ostracized, kicked off of everything. Destroyed.But that's not what scripture tells us. See, scripture tells us something completely different. It calls us to be persistent. Persistent in what? Persistent in forgiveness.And this is a radical posture of grace. Why? Because God is persistent and radical in his grace towards who? Towards us. So I'm going to encourage you right now.There's power in the persistent use of grace. Why? Because guess what? What does the Bible say if you don't offer grace seven times, multiply times seven. Seven's a big number in the Bible.But take a number as high as you can, get it. If that person comes to you with repentance, guess what you've got to do? You've got to offer that grace. Let's look at my favorite book of the Bible.This is from the Book of Romans, chapter 12, verses 18 to 20. Because Paul's going to give us some practical, liberating advice about living peacefully. And here's the part.And a lot of people don't want to hear this. Even when others wrong us. See, a lot of people say, I'll live in peace, Ralph. But man, somebody gets to me. I'm a scrapping.It's not what Paul's saying. Here, let me read this to you again. Romans 12, 18, 20, if possible. So far as it depends on you. Live peaceably with all. I'm going to stop right there.All. Not some. Not the fellow believers. Live peaceably with all. It goes on to say this, beloved, never avenge yourselves.But leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written. And a lot of people know this scripture. Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord to the contrary. If your enemy is hungry, what does Paul say?Feed him if your enemy is thirsty. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink. For by so doing, you will heap burning coals on his head.A little stab at the end, I would say, but I didn't write the scripture. But what does it say? Let's get back to it. Live peaceably with all. Seek harmony, not vengeance. See, society screams something completely different.Screams justice, destroy everybody, tear down the bad doers. But God calls us to step back for a second. He says, leave vengeance to him.And see, if you want to know what your job is, your job is to pursue peace. It's to show radical, transformative love to your enemies. Yes, Ralph said it. To your enemies.Let me just tell you right now, that takes spiritual courage, and it also cuts against Cancel Culture's vengeful spirit. Say you want to encapsulate something about Cancel Culture. It's vengeful.But when you can get past that, when you have the spiritual courage, it sets you free from carrying the burden of retribution. And let me just tell you right now, retribution is a burden.I've talked to people who have had bad things happen to them, and they felt that sense of retribution in their hearts, and it ate at them day after day after month after year. Well, let's look at some more scripture. This is the ultimate promise of transformation. This comes from Second Corinthians, chapter 5, verse 17.It says this. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a what? New creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come. What does that say to us?A new creation. See, that's the heart of redemption by itself. See, good news screams in the face of cultures despair. If it truly repents, turn to Christ.You're not the same person. Think about that for a second. Just. Just dwell on that for a second.If you truly repent and you turn to Christ, you are not the same person you were before. The past is gone. You're truly forgiven. And guess what? What is the scripture going to say? It's forgotten by God. Like it never even happened.See, Cancel Culture denies this fundamental glorious truth. Because truth is, I'm gonna drop a bomb on you right now. Cancel Culture is 100% against the Christian faith. Want to encapsulate?I say this to people all the time. That's what it's all about.But Cancel Culture denies that glorious Truth, that you can forget the past, you can be forgiven, and it can be forgotten by God. Because, see, God celebrates that. And see, that's a powerful foundation to real change, to radical transformation. Always and all always possible.Through whom? Christ. And what is that promise? It's the promise of a fresh start, a brand new life.This is one of those beautiful stories of the Bible, and it's a perfect example of Christ's grace. Let's look at the woman caught in adultery. That's from the book of John 8, 1, 11.It's a little long, but I want to read it because it is so impactful for what we're talking about here today. Again, John 8, verses 1 to 11 says this. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery.They said to him, teacher, this woman was caught in the act of committing adultery. Now, in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such a woman. They were setting him up. Like you get it? They were setting Jesus up.But we'll continue on here. So what do you say? That's what they said to him. What do you say? Well, Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground.A lot of talk about, what did he write? Doesn't really matter to me. And they continue to ask him. They pressured him. They kept on annoying him. He's like, they're annoying Jesus.He stood up and said to them, and this is the most beautiful thing. He said, let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her. Wow. See, only Jesus could have said that. Perfect timing.Talk about comedians have good timing. Jesus had the best timing. What does he say to him? Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her. What happened?One by one, and it says this in the scripture. And they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones. Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him.You could just picture this in your own mind. Here's a woman. Listen. We're going to assume that she was guilty of adultery. But Jesus said that to them.They went scattering away, because guess what? They all had sinned as well. They all deserved to be stoned according to Mosaic law, if you will.But Jesus stood up and said to her, right back to the scripture, woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you? And she answered him, jesus, no. No one, Lord. And Jesus said, neither do I condemn you. Go. And from now on, sin no more. Wow.Think about that for a second. This story is the ultimate picture of divine contrast. Think about the Pharisees, because I'm going to say right now, again, it's something bold.I may get canceled for this, but I don't really care. Cancel me. I know which side I'm on. I know I'm on the right side. I know I'm on the winning side.Let's just say society today is the Pharisees of yesterday. They wanted to punish, they wanted to condemn, they wanted to destroy that woman. And guess what? Here's the problem. They had rules to justify it.There was rules in the, in the Jewish law that said, hey, if you commit adultery, you get stoned to death. They had rules to justify the Pharisees. We've got rules for this, Jesus. Now tell us what we should do.And here's the thing a lot of people get hung up on. Jesus didn't condone the woman's sin. He said to her, don't sin anymore. But what he didn't do is he didn't condemn the sinner. What did he say?He challenged that self righteousness of all those clowns standing around with rocks in their hands. Let him who is without sin. Chuck that first rock, you self righteous rascals. Throw that first rock.And then once they all scattered one by one, what did he do next? He offered breathtaking grace. I'm talking about breathtaking grace. What did he say? Neither do I condemn you, and that would have been enough.But what did he say next? Because this is the part that really challenges all of this cancel culture nonsense. He gave her a powerful path forward. He said, go.And from now on, sin no more more. See, God's heart for you is grace. God wants that for you. He doesn't want immediate destruction. He wants liberation.He wants you to be called to transform your life. What a beautiful piece of scripture.What a great story that just exemplifies grace, which exemplifies redemption, which exemplifies the opposite of what cancer culture is really saying to us. Look at the book of Ephesians, chapter 4, verse 32 says this again, Ephesians 4, 32.Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave you. Listen, you can't get more direct than that. But think about how loving that command is. What is it doing?It's mirroring boundless grace that we've received to one another, forgiving one another. Why? Because Christ forgave you. It's calling you a sinner right to your face and it's smacking you upside the head with it.But it sets a powerful standard for how we act, even when we're tempted to condemn those others. And it's, again, it's a call to radical. I'm talking about radical love, a reflection of that.And finally, let's look at the Book of Matthew, chapter 18, verses 15 to 17. Because this is all about that powerful redemptive model of how the Christian community handles sin. And how does it handle it?Rightly, it handles it for restoration. And that is completely opposite. Cancel culture's public shaming. Again, this is Matthew, chapter 18, verses 15 to 17. And this is powerful, says this.If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between him and you alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. If he refuses to listen to them, then tell the church.And if he refuses to listen to even the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Now, a lot of people will say, well, Ralph, that doesn't sound like redemption to me.But it does if you think about it, because there's a process here. So many people get hung up on this, but there is a huge process here. What's it start with? It starts with a private conversation. You and your brother.I've had this happen in my own life. I've had to do this.I've had to be that brother that went to somebody and said, brother, I need you to forgive me, because here's what I did, and I really want you to forgive me. But it starts private because it's aiming for that restoration. It's aiming for that, that. That restoration of that relationship.The goal was gaining that brother or sister back. The goal was genuine repentance. The goal is healing. It's not some immediate blasting policy like you hear from cancer culture. Oh, destroy them.Hang them high. Ostracize them. Cancel them. Put them out by themselves. Get rid of them. People. They're flawed people. Destroy them.But this is God's process for dealing with sin. And guess what it's built on? It's built on grace. It's built on forgiveness. It's built on humility. You approach someone, they approach you.And bigger than that, it's built on a profound hope of repentance. It's not some. Think about that. Contrast that with culture. Culture is about immediate, final cancellation. You're done. No chances, no redemption.That's not what the scripture tells us. But I now want to talk just a couple minutes about that instant condemnation versus Christ's patient redemption.Because there's a stark, sobering difference that is so inspiring. See, cancel culture demands versus God's word reveals. That's really what I want to talk about here for a couple minutes.What does cancel culture demand versus what God's word reveals? Let's think about that. Cancel culture handling mistakes, handling sin, handling human brokenness.Because these choices right now that we're getting ready to talk about will impact your peace. It'll impact your ability to love, and it will be truly spiritually formative to you. Let's jump right into it.Let's start by looking at cancel culture or what I'll call culture's way. It sort of sounds like a repeat. But culture thrives on condemnation, condemn, put them to death, send them to the gallows.It thrives on public shaming all over the Internet. Can you believe this person did this? I can't believe they said it. Swift ostracization and what else? Just permanent punishment.There is zero tolerance for errors. Or here's the more sinister part, there's zero tolerance for even perceived errors. And culture just denies that there's a way to change.It denies repentance. It denies any level of transformation. It constantly digs up your past mistakes.No matter how far you've grown, no matter what those battles that you've gone through. It fuels self righteousness. It fuels unforgiveness. It makes people terrified to speak freely or make mistakes. You might be feeling that right now.And what does that do? It leads us to paralyzing fear. It leads us to bitter resentment and leads us to isolating unforgiveness. And what does it lead to? Spiritual pride.And if we don't get a hold of that, it's this perpetual soul draining cycle of judgment and condemnation where there is clearly no path to true healing or a true path to redemption. And I'm going to say something rather harsh, but I want you to hear this right now as I speak. It's a path to spiritual death. There is no life in it.That's cancel culture. That's culture's way. But the benefit of this is God has a call to redemption. See, the Bible doesn't condone sin, ever.A lot of people say, well, the Bible, you know. No, the Bible does not condone sin, but it does offer a breathtaking pathway to repentance.A way to profound forgiveness, A way to true reconciliation. And why? Because of boundless grace. What does the Bible talk about? I talked about this a few minutes ago. It loudly proclaims a new creation in Christ.Well, if you're a new creation, guess what? Your Past is forgiven, truly forgotten. And you've got a brand new life to begin. At that moment, what does God call us to do? He calls us to test.He calls us to gently correct. He calls us to pursue peace. What did Paul say? I would live at peace with everybody and to forgive relentlessly when repentance is present.And think about what that mirrors. That mirrors a boundless, unfathomable grace that he extends to us. Said it a few times today. You're looking in the mirror.And that path leads to profound, unshackled freedom.Freedom from that constant feeling of anxiety that someone's going to judge you for what you said by mistake or the clumsy, stupid comment you made, or the dumb joke that nobody gets. But it takes you to a place of deep peace, to glorious healing, to genuine humility and vibrant spiritual renewal.And it gives us this breathtaking opportunity for true transformation. And hear me on this true restoration. And if you can do this, it frees you from the crushing burden of unforgiveness.And it positions you as a powerful agent of grace and healing in a broken world. Remember what I said a few minutes ago about that other culture leading to death? That's not what the Bible leads us to.It leads us to a path of abundant spiritual life. Because, again, cancel. Culture wants you to believe some lies. It wants you to believe that everyone is disposable. Now that person's canceled.They're done. They want you to believe that one mistake defines your forever. And the biggest thing it does is it says this.They want you to believe that condemnation equals ultimate justice. Like culture has some way of saying, oh, we can have justice, because culture says that what you said is off the limits.Culture says that what you said was old. Culture says that clumsy comment, you got to be done for that. And what is that doing? It's kind to steal your hope. Let's see.God's truth invites you to a radical path of redemption. I've used that word radical a few times today because this is a radical path.And it's a spiritual discipline that unlocks healing, it unlocks grace, and it unlocks a profound freedom that you only will get when you embrace God, who forgives and makes all things new. And that is the only genuine path to spiritual wholeness and liberation from the prison of unforgiveness.And let me just tell you something right now. I'm gonna say something else bold. We are living in a canceled culture of a prison of unforgiveness that we put ourselves into.And we're Denying that invitation to life, to live life that truly affects love of Christ. So now you might be saying, Ralph, I get it, dude. You've been going on for a while now. We're right there with you.But, Ralph, how do I get to the point of living with this liberating truth?How do I do this in a world that's pushing condemnation, Ralph, in a world that just constantly chews us up and spits us out, that pushes unforgiveness, how do we find that unshakable peace? And how do we choose that faithful action when. Listen, flesh. Talk about flesh for a second.Because if we're being honest with each other, our natural inclination is to join the mob. It just is. Or maybe you're just one of these people that shrinks in fear. I'm not going to stay. I'm not going to say anything.I don't want to be one of those people that gets canceled. I don't want to have that on my conscience. But here's some things that you can do, some things that you can do in your life, in the real world.First thing I'm going to challenge you to do is to unleash the power of personal forgiveness. Release that burden. Seriously, take a moment, and I want you to think about this. I want you. And this is hard.This is going to be some on your knees prayer time. I want you to identify anyone you hold a grudge against right at this moment, anyone that you're feeling bitterness towards.And hey, listen, as I'm speaking this, I'm thinking of those people in my own heart. And listen to me.Even if they haven't asked you for forgiveness, and they may never ask you for forgiveness, and if they didn't give you that immediate reconciliation like it talked about in the scripture, but I want you to release that right now because powerful. Releasing them is going to remove that crushing burden of unforgiveness on your own heart. It's yours for your freedom.Because what did I see a little while ago? Living in unforgiveness is a spiritual prison that you build yourself.You created the prison cell yourself and you've got the keys to unlock the door and walk out of it. You just have to give that person forgiveness, even if they don't ask it, even if they don't deserve it, even if they. They did some terrible things.But guess who's carrying that. You are not them. And if you can do this, it's going to impact your peace. It's going to give you greater joy.It's going to help you grow spiritually and it's going to help you better gain the ability to receive God's love. Why? Because forgiving others, this is where the tough love comes in.Forgiving others is a profound obedience to Christ's incredible gift to you and a gift to yourself. It sets you free. So now you may be saying, Ralph, how do I do that? Well, here's how you do it. Do it in prayer.I'm not saying you have to go to confront this person. Name the person, name the offense. Say something like this, lord, I choose to forgive Allen. Allen did something terrible.I'm not even going to see what Alan did. I don't know who Alan is, but I'm just using that as an example.But just say, lord, I choose to forgive Allen for stealing my marbles when I was 5 years old. Sounds silly, but let's just say that and I release them to you. Help me truly to let go, just as you have generously forgiven me.See, that's the key to the whole thing. God has forgiven you. So if you don't forgive the other person, guess what? I don't make the rules here. What does the Bible say?Choice by faith, not just by feeling. And you may have to repeat this a few times. Kind of like a washing machine. Rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat. And it might not happen overnight.It might not happen over a month. It might happen over a year. I don't know what people have done to you.I don't know what level of hurt that somebody has called you, but repeat this until that bitterness loosens its grip. So that's the first thing I'm going to encourage you to do. Let go of that.Second thing I'm going to encourage you to do is guard your tongue and your heart against judgmentalism. It's so easy to be judgmental, so easy to do that.And we lose the ability to become a source of light when we're so hyper aware of our own thoughts, our own words. Especially when we're talking about other people's mistakes and flaws. Guard your tongue. Resist that urge to gossip.How many people here, oh, you can't believe what this person said, Rob. Oh, you can't believe what this person said. And listen, I've been a member of the mob before.I've been in that mob of people saying, oh, I can't believe that either. That's not the right way to handle this. Resist that urge to gossip. Resist that urge to contemn that person. It's so easy to Condemn them.It's so easy to participate in that negative talk. And here's where you might stand on your own, even if everyone else is doing it and it feels justified.Because there are times when you're going to judge somebody. You'll be like, Ralph, I'm justified in doing this. Yes, you may very well be. But how does that help you?Because here's the thing I need you to understand. Our words have immense power. I didn't realize this when my kids were young, but I regret many of the words I said to my children.In those times of anger, in those times of frustration, our words have power that reverberate for the rest of their lives. They can build up people, or guess what, they can tear down people.And if you continue to engage in judgmentalism, it's going to harden your heart, it's going to feed spiritual pride, and it's going to grieve the Holy Spirit. Yes, I said it. That's a strong thing to say, but it's true.It puts us, not them, us, in a dangerous position of judging what belongs only to God to judge. See, we're called to be a source of life, not condemnation. So you might be saying, Ralph, how do you do that? It's so easy to join that mob.So before speaking about someone, you got to consciously ask yourself this. Is this absolutely true? Simple question. Is this absolutely true? Is it kind? I talked about this on the show last week or the week before.I don't remember exactly. But ask yourself, is it kind? Ask yourself this question, is it necessary? Do I need to say these things? Do I need to condemn this person?Does it build up? Does it glorify God? If not, I'm going to tell you something radical you got to do.Choose to shift, shut up, choose silence over that, and pray for those who you're tempted to judge. Ask God to reveal his perspective and compassion to you.Now, I want to talk about some, really, where the rubber meets the road because we live in a world that's online.I want to talk about some actionable steps that you can take right now to break hold of that digital engagement and to be a light in the online darkness. And this is something you got to plan ahead of, something I'm going to call pause before you condemn so many of us get sucked in.I talked about this a lot last week, that whatever you see, the news are constantly coming at you. When you see a post, when you see a story, when you see that comment that triggers outrage in you, where it triggers anger or triggers the desire to.I want to join the mob, ref. I want to cancel that person. And encourage you right now to pause and just take a critical moment. Encourage you right now.Don't ever type any angry comments. Don't share anything impulsively. Because here's the thing that people don't get. The online environment removes empathy. It just does.There's no empathy online. It encourages harsh reactions. It's so easy to be a typing terrorist, I'll call it. It's this easy thing to rush to judgment.It's easy to rush to condemnation because it contributes to the culture that you resist. And when you play in that world, when you become a part of that, it harms your Christian witness and it doesn't protect your peace.So you might be saying, Ralph, how do I do that? Well, here's the first thing I'm going to encourage you to do. Take a deep breath.If these apps are triggering you, don't look at them, step away from them, and just ask a simple prayer. Lord, help me respond in a way that honors you.Give me your heart for this person or this situation, and guard my tongue and fingers, because guess what? You might be justified in what you're saying, but that condemnation is wrong. And maybe you just got to choose not to engage.If you can't respond with grace and you can't respond with truth. One more thing.I'm going to encourage you to do something we all need to really work at, and that is to choose restorative language over destructive participation. See, it's easy to participate. It's harder to actually look for ways to restore somebody. So here's what I'm going to challenge you to do.If you generally feel compelled to respond online to a controversial issue or a mistake that somebody made, maybe you're like, Ralph, I got to do this. My heart is telling me. I got to say this. Well, I'm going to tell you to conscientiously say that five times over.Consciously choose language, aiming for truth, aiming for grace, and aiming for potential restoration. See, you can add more wood to the fire. You can add more condemnation to fuel those flames. But you don't have to.See, Christians are called to be powerful agents of reconciliation. They're called to be powerful agents of healing, not division.So when you're doing anything online, remember, your interaction should reflect Christ's character and the redemptive love. That's what we talked about. Your voice can be a beacon in this time of darkness. So before you type, ask yourself this question.Does my comment offer path to understanding or growth? Am I speaking truth in love? Go back and read Ephesians 4:15 and here's something that's going to cut a little bit.If your comment can't generally contribute to dialogue, healing, or point towards God's grace or truth, then don't do it. Just offer a personal prayer and think about how you can do this with a Christ like response.One more thing I'm going to challenge you to do and think about this because it's so easy to be in that condemnation mob of people. Just take a minute every day and reflect deeply on God's breathtaking forgiveness for you. And this takes some work.But think about it every day how God has forgiven you. Meditate on the scriptures about God's radical, boundless forgiveness for your sins. We talked about those during our show today.Remind yourself of the immense grace that you've received because you got to do this. You got to think about this. Grasp the outstanding and the astounding depth of God's forgiveness for you.Because see, that will fill your heart with love that overflows. Thank God specifically and intimately for forgiving your mistakes, for forgiving your failures and forgiving your sins.And just let his love wash over you.And final thing I'm going to recommend that you do is pray for those who are caught up in this cancel culture, both those who are targeted and those who are participating. Align your spirit with God's passion desire for all to come to repentance. That's what we all should be praying for on a daily basis.When we see somebody out there being persecuted, I'll use that word being canceled. We should all be praying for repentance because you can become a conduit for the Lord's mercy. Just pause and pray when you see this, Lord.Just say, lord, have mercy on all those involved. Grant repentance, Lord. Grant humility. Grant hunger for truth. Break that spirit of unforgiveness. Break that spirit of pride.Bring healing, bring restoration when possible. And let Lord, and I'm just saying to pray this when you feel like you're getting sucked into that mobility.Let your redemptive love prevail, Lord, because we can offer grace by how we live out Christ's love in a world starving for it. Because we're asked, we're called. Let me say that we're called to be a living testament to his transformative power.So I'm just going to encourage you to look for those things. You can do this. Let your life be powerful. Let it be a living testament for the Transformative power of God's redemptive love.See, my friend, cancel culture is very real. And it's a tangible pressure that's all around us. And it's relentlessly trying to steal our peace.It's relentlessly trying to steal our joy, and it's relentlessly trying to steal our capacity for grace. And again, it tells you that mistakes are unforgivable, that people are disposable, and that condemnation is ultimate justice.And as I said, you're probably tired of hearing it, but it drains your spirit and it pulls you from a vibrant, loving life that God intends for you. But God intends us for something. He calls us to embrace radical redemption. Do that in your life and to others. And listen.We can change this world one person at a time, because you're not the only one feeling this pressure. God sees your fears. He sees your desire for justice, and he sees you longing for a world that knows forgiveness. And guess what?He offers a way to step off that treadmill of judgment and find profound peace and purpose, not in condemnation. He doesn't want you to be a member of the condemnation crowd. He wants you to be a member of the repentance group.He wants you to courageously extend grace because your freedom is not dependent on human perfection or societal approval, but it's on God's unfailing love, on eternal truth and the power to make all things new, even in those broken situations. So let's choose that together today, to courageously resist that cancel culture spirit. Let's choose to forgive over bitter resentment.Let's choose a path of redemption over destructive combination, knowing that our truest joy, our deepest security and our most fulfilling purpose is found in walking with God, living out his radical grace and being powerful agents of his redemptive love in a world that desperately needs it. This is where real freedom is lived. This is where spiritual wholeness blossoms. And this is where your family truly makes a difference.And as we wrap up today, I want to talk to you about something even more important than navigating this cancel culture or finding peace through forgiveness.I want to talk to you for just a couple minutes about the deepest connection of all, and that's a relationship with God himself, the one who created you, the one who loves you beyond measure.So if you've been listening today and you're starting to feel this heavy weight of the world on you and listen, I know these shows get heavy, or maybe you're feeling this emptiness inside and you just know there's no human approval or even being a member that condemnation that can ever fill.Maybe, just maybe, your heart's been gently nudged to realize something, that the only real, the only lasting security and peace comes from God himself. And maybe as you're listening or watching right now, you've never really given your whole life to Jesus Christ. Yeah, you've heard about him.You got some friends down the road that are, quote, Christians, but you've never taken that step of trusting him completely or doing it yourself. Because I want to remind you of something. He is the one who beat sin. He is the one who beat death.And yes, he even beat the grumbling spirit, identity confusion. We talked about that a couple weeks ago. And the despair of this world.He offers not just good advice for life, and he's got plenty of that, but he offers eternal life and a relationship with God that nothing can shake and that nothing can stand.So if you feel that gentle push stirring right now in your spirit, if your heart is saying yes, I just want to invite you to pray this simple prayer with me right now from the deepest part of your heart. It's real simple. Just say, dear Heavenly Father, I know I'm a sinner. And Lord, I just really need your forgiveness.And right now, at this moment, I believe with all my heart that Jesus Christ is your son. And I believe that he died on the cross for my sins and that you powerfully raised him from. From the dead. Right now.I just confess my sins to you right now. And I humbly ask you, Lord, to come into my life. I give my life to you today, Lord, and I give it to you completely.I choose to follow you, Jesus, as my Lord and my Savior, starting now and forever. And I just thank you for your amazing love and for the precious gift of eternal life through Jesus himself. Amen.And listen, if you prayed that prayer, or maybe you're just thinking about it, you're like, I gotta. I gotta think about this bit. Ralph, I want you to know something, and I'm not overstating this.Heaven is celebrating your decision or heaven is celebrating your choice to almost get to that decision. And if you made that choice, you now are a love child of God. Let me just tell you something. Your. Well, your real wealth is safe with him forever.And I just want to encourage you right now, share your decision with a trusting Christian friend or maybe a pastor. You can reach out to us. You can go right to our website. That's at truth unveiledwithRalph.com/decision. I would love to hear from you.I'd like to help you figure out your next steps in faith help you find a good Bible believing church home because that's so important for your Christian growth. And I just want to thank you today for joining me on Truth Unveiled with Ralph.I went a little long today, but God spoke to me about this cancel culture. We've got to battle it. We've got to get back to a point of grace and we, we got to get back to a point of understanding, redemption.Because what does the Bible tell us if we can't forgive, how's he going to ever forgive us? So may God richly bless you today, my friend, as you live in him every part of your life.And I pray that you would find peace and find peace in how he takes care of you and him. I want you to just encourage you to join me next week, share the show with other people.Let's continue to, to meet once a week and let's talk about God's truth in a world full of questions. Hey. In a world full of condemnation and cancel.So until then, I just want to encourage you right now, walk in faith, learn in wisdom, and live confident in Christ. God bless you. I just want the best for you. Thank you for joining me today.