I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. -- John 17:14-18

Instead of leading us to withdraw from the world, a life of prayerful obedience will lead us to confront an unbelieving world and a rebellious church with the exclusive claims of Jesus Christ. We will pray for the Lord over all to give us wisdom to understand the world spirit of our age, so we can oppose error by rightly applying God's truth to its points of deception and weakness. We will pray for Jesus Christ to give us the ability to wage spiritual warfare in the heavenly realms against the principalities and powers of the air. And we will ask Him to give us the courage and strength to speak and write the truth persuasively--to increase the size of God's army and defeat the forces of darkness that are deceiving humankind.

Beginning in the early 1970's, God opened the door for Francis and Edith Schaeffer to have a greater public ministry, but not in the sense that we have been accustomed to expect. They did not become celebrities, but began to speak out against the evils that were spreading into every area of government, society, culture, and the church.

Because Jesus Christ prayed for them before He died, as He has prayed for all true believers, and because He continued to intercede for them in heaven, He sent them into the world as He had been sent. And the world mistreated them as it mistreated Jesus Christ almost 2,000 years ago. As we review their ministry, we see first that Jesus led them to fight His battles against a theology in the churches that denied the infallibility of the Scriptures and the deity of Christ. Then He led them to the fight the humanism and rationalism that dominates governments, educational establishments, and the media. Because reform movements always spring from true revival, they worked to unite biblical Christians to reform the church, government, and society. And just as the revivals in America in the early 1800's motivated Christians to work for the abolition of slavery, so the revival that continued in and spread beyond L'Abri motivated the Schaeffers and others to fight against abortion, infanticide, "mercy killing," and other social injustices. Almost all the credit for uniting protestant Christians to oppose abortion must be given to the leadership Jesus Christ inspired the Schaeffers to give through L'Abri.

In 1976, when they began attacking humanism with How Should We Then Live?, Satan intensified his attacks against L'Abri; their chapel burned and other tragedies happened. Many in L'Abri and those who supported them experienced attacks against property and people similar to those at the beginning of L'Abri in 1955. But this time, the attacks would not subside until Fran died of cancer in 1984.

The more they prayed and obeyed, the more intense the spiritual battle became, but Jesus had prepared them so Fran could fight this final battle. Notice how Jesus Christ answered His own prayer in John 17 in their behalf. First, He gave them His Word and taught them that the Bible was absolutely true in every area that it addressed, especially in the historical, moral, and spiritual realms. He taught them by experience and study that He could be absolutely trusted in everything. Second, by His truth and Spirit, He led them to sanctify, consecrate, or set themselves apart to obey Him in all things and teach others to do the same. We have seen how they resolved to live so close to the Lord that they would recognize and obey His will through the Scriptures, His promises, providence, and the Holy Spirit--in any way that Jesus chose to reveal His will for them. Third, Jesus protected them from the evil one as they followed His plan. He did not keep them from suffering all of Satan's assaults, either mentally, physically, or spiritually; but He protected them from being overcome and defeated by Satan. He protected them from Satan's deceitfulness and doing anything that would disgrace God's cause or themselves. And perhaps this is the most important form of protection that Jesus Christ can give any of us in this life. As Christians grow in their faith, many times they will suffer in ways that Jesus Christ suffered himself, and by His grace they will not deny or disgrace Him, even as He remained faithful under trial until death.

Dr. Schaeffer did not begin his last battles in the best of health. He began his public battle against abortion, infanticide, and euthanasia by making his last film series, Whatever Happened To The Human Race? at the age of 66, and as he was fighting lymphoma in its advancing stages (though he did not know this until a few days after he had filmed his last episode). After his book and film were in final form and while he was undergoing chemotherapy, he lectured and answered questions on Christianity and medical ethics at seminars in America, England, and other parts of Europe. Because some doctors told him in 1978 that he had only 6 weeks to 6 months to live, he prayed and fought hard to speak the truth while he still had time. He prayed that God would give him daily strength to fight and heal him through his medical treatments. In answer to his prayers, and the prayers of thousands, God gave him the strength to go on, and he spoke on the major issues of our time to some at the White House in America and to some members of Parliament in England.

The battle against abortion led him to look closely at the role of Christians and the government, and the Holy Spirit inspired him to write The Christian Manifesto to motivate Christians to work for reform in government. Then finally his attention turned back to the church; this time the evangelical church. He grieved over many evangelical church leaders accepting a low view of the authority of Scripture and then relaxing biblical moral standards for themselves and others in the church. He spoke out strongly in his last book, The Great Evangelical Disaster, and then completed another series of seminars one month before he died from lymphoma on May 15, 1984, in Rochester, Minnesota.

Christians seldom have the luxury of fighting only one battle at a time. Only through prayer and obedience will we discover the battles we must fight, learn how to fight them, and be given the strength to do the will of God no matter what the personal cost. If anything, perhaps the Schaeffers gave the greatest demonstration of God's power and the reality of answered prayer after Dr. Schaeffer discovered he had cancer. While receiving treatments, he lived more than five years, wrote three new books, completely revised his complete works, lectured around the world, and fought the biggest battles of our time in the church, government and society. In every case, he rallied others to carry on the battle, so after he died many in our churches and those in and outside of government have made great reforms, though we still have much to do before Jesus Christ returns.

Prayer

Dear Father, whenever I am tempted to give up because my troubles are so great or things seem hopeless, remind me that with you all things are possible. Keep me faithful. Amen.

© Copyright L. G. Parkhurst, Jr. Revised Edition 2008
Write For Permission To Reprint Any Parts Or Chapters
Use the Contact Us address or e-mail address form on tihs website.