Evangelicals and conservative Christians are apoplectic with last week’s Supreme Court ruling and if you have to ask which one you’re not paying attention. Using social media, pastors, leaders, and laity alike decried the ruling and insisted it represented another chink in America’s moral armor. Some even claimed the decision would expedite God’s imminent judgment on the nation.

Widely embraced by evangelicals and orthodox Christians, the heart of this message has flourished for decades and always blames society for the unraveling of the nation’s moral fabric. From the secularization of public schools, the explosion of the abortion industry, and the filth of Hollywood, to the radicalism of colleges, growing antagonism toward God, and the celebration of hedonism, many Christian voices insist America’s pending downfall is due entirely to increasing immorality outside the church walls.

Tellingly, Christians often fail to consider the possibility (or likelihood) that the church owns as much responsibility for the nation’s moral decay and God’s pending judgment as does secular society, perhaps more. Despite this, the church and individual Christians have contributed significantly to the dramatic shift in our country’s values. In fact, absent our complicity the nation would not have fallen so fast and so fully into the moral abyss it now finds itself, nor would it be in jeopardy of experiencing God’s immediate correction.

In what ways are we, as Christians, complicit? We have created classes of sin and determined that some sins are worse than others. The worst sins are those that offend the church and pious Christians. Such sins are widespread in society and easily identified as the cause of God’s anger. They represent all that is wrong in the world. But for these sins, we insist, our nation would be ready for Christ’s return. The church quickly and forcefully condemns these sins and describes them as scourges to society.

In contrast, another class of sin fails to raise the church’s ire. Though denounced by the Bible they thrive in our hearts and our sanctuaries. We wink and nod at these sins, giving little more than lip service to their eradication from our lives. We ignore the manifestations of these sins in our church leaders and ourselves. They are de facto acceptable and go unchallenged.

An excellent example of this class of sin is pride. Officially the church and serious Christians agree it must be uprooted from the heart and cast out. Sermons are preached against it and universal agreement exists that it offends God. Many Christians even know Scripture that highlights its danger – for example, ‘pride goes before destruction.’ Nevertheless, it endures and flourishes in the Christian heart and within church walls: in the pulpit, the choir, and in the congregation.

Doubters need only listen to language used by ministers, worship leaders, and lay Christians alike. ‘I’ and ‘me’ predominate, with a special emphasis on the work Christ is doing them. The celebration of self within the Christian community has reached epidemic proportions and shows no signs of slowing. Of course, spiritual narcissism hides behind a mask of false modesty, feigning humility while feasting on self-exaltation.

Another excellent example of this class of sin involves idolatry. We know it is wrong. Pastors openly preach against it. The Bible strongly condemns it. Yet it survives and thrives in our hearts and churches. Our love for the world, its treasures and pleasures, and all it has to offer is difficult to deny. It is obvious to our non-Christian friends, neighbors, and colleagues who love the world unashamedly and see that same love in us.

So how do we avoid cognitive dissonance without admitting our hypocrisy? We simply tell ourselves we don’t love the world, its treasures and pleasures, and all it offers. Despite evidence to the contrary we insist our love for Jesus knows no bounds. And if the overwhelming majority of our time, income, and energy is spent chasing the world and everything in it, we rationalize away the implications of that fact by declaring that God wants us to enjoy ourselves, have fun, and be happy. Nothing wrong with that even if such pursuits define us, consume us, and remove any doubt as to what we’ve made lord of our lives.

If we are serious about preventing moral bankruptcy from ruining the nation, we must keep in mind several important truths. First, genuine change always begins with a transformation of the heart. Always. Imposing morality by judicial edict or legislative fiat never produces substantive, enduring change. It only masks the real problem: sin. Only Jesus removes the stain of sin and empowers authentic and permanent transformation.

Most believers understand this truth and yet still focus a disproportionate amount of time and effort fighting cultural wars at the statehouse and in the courtroom instead of in the prayer closet. This misplaced priority needs to change if we want America’s moral landscape to change. The issue is primarily a spiritual problem and we ought to wage the battle using spiritual weapons such as prayer, service, intercession, and evangelism. Ignoring these disciplines all but guarantees the nation’s moral implosion.

Let’s also recall that God was willing to spare Sodom if as few as ten righteous were found therein. Wouldn’t He apply the same principle with us? I imagine so. Rather than fretting over the sins of others, then, let’s instead redouble our efforts to live righteous lives that honor God. If enough followers of Christ do so we may yet see the nation spared from approaching wrath. Rejoice then, that God gives us an opportunity to stand in the gap for our nation.

And remember, the die is not yet cast. There remains time for the nation to reverse course and avoid the ruin that awaits if we continue down our current path. Doing so, however, will require Christians to take the lead. We must recognize our responsibility for the situation, confess our sins (individually and collectively), repent from our iniquities, and rekindle our love for the Lord. We ought also pray for God’s mercy, intercede for the nation, and pursue Him with single-minded purpose. If we are unwilling to follow this prescription, then we have no right to criticize the culture for its failures. We will be as responsible as secular society for the nation’s collapse. More so in fact, because we had the chance to stop it but chose to remain ensconced in our sin instead.