A little over a decade ago, I was part of a delegation of ten Christian leaders from the United States who traveled to Beijing to meet with Chinese government officials. Our mission was clear: we were there to express our deep concern about the Chinese government’s ongoing persecution of Christ-followers. One morning, we met with a Vice President of the Chinese Communist Party. He was in his mid-thirties, very personable, charismatic, and highly skilled, and our discussion was surprisingly cordial.

As our meeting drew to a close, I shared with him how, as a child, I had been taught to fear communists because their stated goal was to conquer the world. So I asked him directly, “That was sixty years ago. Are communists still intent on conquering the world?”

He fell silent for an awkward moment before tersely responding, “Not militarily.” His brief reply was sobering. 

On CBS’s “Face the Nation” program in 1957, Soviet leader Nikita Krushchev wagged his finger and boldly declared in front of a nationwide American audience, “I can prophesize that your grandchildren in America will live under socialism.”  Although tensions between the USSR and the U.S. never escalated militarily beyond the Cold War, there had been clear indications over the previous decades that the socialist/communist ideology had been creeping into and trying to take over many of America’s institutions. And now, a Vice President of the world’s largest communist nation indirectly admitted to me that communists remain intent on conquering the West, but without resorting to force.

Interestingly, their ambition to spread that ideology throughout the world mirrors the Great Commission of Christ to His followers. Jesus commanded us to go and take the gospel into all the world, make disciples of all nations, baptize them, and teach them to obey everything He commanded (see Matthew 28:19).

Yet make no mistake. The socialist/communist worldview is diametrically opposed to the Christian worldview. Their ideology is atheistic and man-centered, where the government is considered the ultimate authority. In contrast, the Christian worldview is Christ-centered, holding that the one true God is the ultimate authority. Realistically, the socialist/communist worldview—or any ideology in opposition to the one true God—will always be in conflict with Christianity.

The Bible warns us to oppose the deceptive ideologies of this world.  “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ. For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ, you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority” (Colossians 2:8-10).

Christians, you are spiritually blind if you do not recognize the battle being waged against us—a battle intent on capturing our hearts and minds with deceptive ideologies that stand in opposition to God. These ideologies have infiltrated every facet of our culture, including the church. They try to persuade you that their beliefs are “forward-thinking” and superior to our “traditions.” They attempt to deceive you into believing that their ideology is morally superior. They entice you to avoid conflict, suggesting that the best way to love your neighbor is through compassionate tolerance and acceptance.

But if you exchange the truth for those lies, you are guilty of spiritual treason.

The Bible is clear that Christians are to do our best to live peaceably among non-believers. Our battle is not physical—it is spiritual. Yet, the Bible also makes it clear that the truth of the Gospel must not be compromised, nor are we to stand by passively when our obedience to God is at stake. Those who genuinely seek to follow Christ need to wake up to the fact that we are in a fierce spiritual war. It’s impossible to remain neutral, and it’s cowardly to hide in the shadows.

Therefore, let’s go! Take the Gospel, make disciples, baptize, and teach them to obey the commands of Jesus, for He is with us always.

“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).