Emasculated gospel? Pastor warns Christians are neglecting critical part of Bible

Allen Jackson, pastor of World Outreach Church in Tennessee, is on a mission to get people thinking more deeply about angels, demons, and the supernatural.

Jackson’s new book, “Angels, Demons & You,” tackles these very subjects, with the preacher calling fellow believers to more boldly approach the subject matter.

‘It seems to me we’re more willing to trust in a presidential election than we are in the beings that God has made available to us.’

“Most of us are comfortable having a theoretical discussion about angels and demons,” he recently told CBN News, noting, though, that when it’s made personal, the conversation becomes more complex and unpalatable for some.

“The most important part is imagining that there are spiritual forces that are impacting your life today, without any question,” he explained. “And if we get to that point, then the discussion becomes pretty significant.”

The preacher said there’s been an obsessive move toward rationalism since the Enlightenment — one that has led too many to lose touch with the “spiritual dynamic.” Even when these issues are discussed, Jackson said there’s a tendency to focus on the “dark side” of the spiritual.

“We’ll focus more on the demonic,” he said. “And that’s certainly legitimate. I don’t want to diminish that, but the book title was intentional. I wanted to start with angels because I think there are spiritual forces to help us, spiritual beings to help us.”

Jackson said angels are pivotal to the gospel narrative, serving a primary purpose to help people understand what’s unfolding.

“The whole gospel story can’t really be understood apart from the angelic involvement,” he said. “Gabriel goes to visit Zechariah is the opening narrative for the story of John the Baptist, and Gabriel going to see Mary and Joseph, the angels that ministered to Jesus after his temptation in the wilderness, the angels that ministered to him in Gethsemane as he’s preparing.”

Even the devil understood the importance of angels, as Satan told Jesus that if he tossed himself off the temple, the angels would save him. Matthew 4:5-6 reads: “Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. ‘If you are the Son of God,’ he said, ‘throw yourself down. For it is written: “He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”‘”

Ultimately, Jackson said there’s a disconnect today when it comes to many Christians’ understanding of angels in particular. While most in the aforementioned gospel narratives seemed to understand their significance, too many today doubt or ignore.

“It seems to me we’re more willing to trust in a presidential election than we are in the beings that God has made available to us,” he said.

Jackson said some people might avoid the supernatural for fear that it feels strange or weird. There’s also the element of uncertainty around issues like healing, which could further spark reluctance among some to fully engage in related conversation.

Regardless, Jackson said Christians must lean into Scripture and live out their beliefs.

“We have to be willing to walk this out and live like we believe the Bible is true,” he said. “Otherwise, we just relegate it to an insurance policy at the end of our life, and if God can’t be trusted to make a difference in my life today, then I think we’re foolish to trust him with our eternity.”

Beyond the individual implications, the spiritual battle described in Ephesians 6 means that there’s a profound impact in society and culture as well — something Jackson addressed.

“For me, the trigger is when I watch something and there’s not a rational explanation, when it’s completely illogical — a set of behaviors — and then I think, ‘OK, there’s other components involved,’” Jackson said. “And we’ve been watching some things, to me, that are pretty irrational — mutilating our kids, saying that biological sex is confusing; it really isn’t.”

He continued, “I have great compassion [for] people that are confused about something so fundamental to their existence. But when I watch that, I think, ‘OK, there’s got to be a spiritual component to this because that cannot be understood.’”

In the end, Jackson said Christians are called to be culture-shapers and not to rely entirely on politics for changes to unfold. Engaging, discussing, and understanding the supernatural are part of that key process.

“I think we have emasculated the gospel,” he said. “And we’ve been doing it in our formal education systems, and I had the privilege of studying in some celebrated academic settings, but most of them were pretty faithless, even in the theology schools.”

Jackson said people have to be comfortable realizing Jesus himself clearly believed in angels and demons — and modern believers shouldn’t be afraid of it.

This article originally appeared on CBN’s Faithwire.