Christians and Technology

Intro:

Good morning.

This morning I want to talk about Christians and technology.

And as we begin this discussion, I want to make sure that we think about the fact that technology in and of itself is a neutral topic, right?

Technology is a tool, in the same way that paper and pens are tools to communicate …

Vehicles are tools for transportation,

Refrigerators are tools for food preservation,

And Money is a tool for commerce — for buying and selling.

And we could list many other things that are USED for something.

The point being — Technology can be USED for good; technology can be used for bad.

Just like many different tools could be used for good or for bad!

So we want to say that at the onset.

With that thought in mind, I want us to think about the vast amounts of technology that are available in the year 2025.

There’s all kinds of transportation technology — Cars, ships, airplanes, trains, etc.

There’s all kinds of communications technologies — Television, radio, podcasts, the internet, satellites, etc.

There are all kinds of ways that people can do two things that just so happen to be very important to Christians:

PREACH the Gospel,

and SEND the Gospel.

By that, I mean — I can preach the Gospel to someone in person, or I can take a plane to some foreign country and then go preach to them in person, OR …

I can also SEND the Gospel over the airwaves via the internet, podcasting, television, or even FaceTiming someone.

In other words, we have a LOT of advantages that the apostles simply didn’t have in their day and age!

Wherein the apostles could have taken a ship, or a horse, or a camel, or could have WALKED … WE can take a plane or a train even and get there much faster! (Now granted, we do read of Acts 8 that Philip essentially teleported in the since that the Holy Spirit caught him up and took him places, but that seemed to be the exception rather than the rule!)

Wherein the apostles could write letters, or teach in person, WE can send the Gospel in so many different ways because of the technology we have been blessed with.

So technology, in fact, can be a very good thing!

I’m reminded of a verse we quoted a few weeks ago when it comes to giving — “to whom much is given, from him much will be required” (Luke 12:48).

I think there is application there for giving …

And I think there is application there for our use of technology, too!

All that said … Let’s talk about …

3 Benefits of Technology:

(We’ve already mentioned the obvious — That technology can be a tremendously helpful tool for evangelism). Here are 3 more:

Networking

How many Christian friends do you have who are not members here at Marietta?

People who are N.T. Christians, but just so happen to be not from here — And worship elsewhere?

I hope that you have a lot!

I can remember growing up at a very small congregation in Louisiana, and knowing very few Christians from other places, and you get to thinking you are on an island sometimes!

Is that good for us?

I don’t think it is.

I think about the apostle Paul — I wonder how many individual Christians Paul knew by name?

It had to be a lot! He started congregations all over the place! He VISITED a lot of congregations!

2 Corinthians 11:28 Paul talks about what came upon him daily: his deep concern for ALL the churches!

Paul knew a LOT of Christians, and he cared deeply about them!

I think it can only be a good thing for us to know a LOT of faithful congregations — I think we need to get out and about and meet other Christians more often! We don’t need to just stay in our little bubble!

We need to think about the concept found in 1 Kings 19:18 where Elijah was told “yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal!”

Feeling ALONE isn’t good for us!

Well, when I DO go out and meet other Christians, technology helps me keep up with how they are doing!

I think this is the GOOD part of social media (lots of bad parts, too, we will talk about in a minute).

Can you imagine, though, if all Paul had to do was pull up Facebook and see how good ole “brother So and So” was doing?!

I suspect it would have been helpful for him!

Researching Congregations

What is the number one way people ages 45 and under are going to find out information about a church in today’s day and age?

Let’s say I’m “church shopping,” to use the expression.

Maybe I just moved in to the area, and I’m not sure where I want to go, but I know I need to go somewhere, and so I start looking for a church to attend.

How am I probably going to do that?

I’m going to look for a website — perhaps “Google” it — Or I’m going to look and see if the church has a Facebook page?!

Do they have an “about us” section? Do they have a live stream so I can watch some sermons and see if they teach the Bible? Do they have a “beliefs” section?

Technology can help us advertise to the world around us — “This is what the Marietta Church of Christ stands for!”

“If you want to hear the truth of God’s Word, this is the place!”

(And I frequently do this if I’m looking for a congregation to attend while traveling on vacation as well!)

(Quick side note — One thing I like to use is “Church of Christ Sound Congregation Finder”).

Visual Aids

This is where PowerPoints and Illustrations come in.

Can you imagine if Peter had a PowerPoint on Pentecost at Acts chapter 2?

I wonder what he might put on it?

Of course, there was definitely enough going on in Acts chapter 2 to captivate everyone’s attention between the Holy Spirit coming upon the apostles like cloven tongues as of fire, and the apostles speaking in tongues!

The message itself was certainly captivating — They had taken the Son of God and had with wicked hands crucified Him — They were guilty!

Certainly, something like a PowerPoint is not essential to the preaching of the Gospel — but it can be a helpful tool!

Well, we’ve been pretty brief when it comes to the advantages of technology, and there’s a reason for that!

The reason is — I think we are all pretty much well aware of how to use technology for good.

… But is it not the case that technology is often used for great evil?!

So with the remainder of our time, let’s talk about …

3 Hazards of Technology:

Time Waste

I think this is a very clear and present danger for all of us — We just spend way too much time on technology!

In fact, there are ways to monitor how we’re doing at this, such as Screen Time, for example (Show a Screen Time screen shot). (That’s NOT me, by the way!)

What does the Bible say about the concept of time?

It’s limited, right?!

Eph. 5:16 - We are supposed to REDEEM the time, for the days are evil!

Psalm 90:12 tells us to “number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom.”

James 4:14 says, “For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.”

Job acknowledged in Job 7:6 - “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, And are spent without hope.”

Do you realize that this person who spent an average of 7 Hours, 24 minutes on his phone each day — Let’s assume it’s a young person, right?

Maybe a 16 year old, and let’s say that this 16 year old keeps that up for 70 years, then dies at age 86 …

Do the math, and we can figure out how much time he’s wasted!

70 years X 365 days X 7.3 hours (approximately) per day = 186,515 hours in the time frame of his life from 16 to 86!

Now let’s figure out how many YEARS of his life were wasted on his phone?!

186,515 hours ÷ 8760 hours in a year = 21.29 YEARS of his life, wasted on the phone!!!

That really puts into perspective how seriously we can waste our TIME!

Here’s another thing to think about (Show two pictures from percentages of time spent on various things 1933 to 2024).

Also, think about this — How many of us miss the forest for the trees in the sense that, rather than going out and seeing the beauty of God’s creation ourselves, we’re content to just look up a picture of it on our phones because we’ve become too lazy to go out and actually observe it?!

Some of the times in my life I have been most AWE INSPIRED by God have been when I’ve taken the time to go see the beauty of His creation!

And how many of the Psalms agree?! (So many, including Psalm 19)!

Poor Use of Social Media

This is a big one!

Can I ask for a show of hands please — How many of us are on some form of social media? (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Tik Tok, MySpace)?

Okay, so that’s a very large percentage!

Christians, are we the same Christian online that we are in person?

That’s a legitimate question, right?!

The persona that we put out there for all the world to see on Facebook or some other platform … matters!

Matthew 5:13 - “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.”

What if our salt loses it’s flavor … because of our incorrect use of social media?

I have seen Christians do the following on social media:

Share posts with foul language.

Share posts with immodesty or sexually suggestive material.

Share posts with extremely caustic or crude language designed to get you to not like their political opponent.

… And the list goes on and on!

Not only do Christians SHARE these sorts of things on social media, but they also will press the “LIKE” button for all to see.

In his video Managing Media in Our Homes (available for free on YouTube), Don Blackwell lists 6 things we might ought to think about before we make a social media post:

How will this post reflect upon the church?

How will this reflect upon me?

Will it help me as a soul winner?

How will this look to a potential employer?

Is this something that I want to be “out there” forever?

Who am I? (A deacon, a preacher, an elder, a father, a Christian?)

Immorality

This is probably this most obvious pitfall of technology — It can greatly lend itself towards faster spread of immorality.

I want you to think about the rapid spread of sinful ideologies regarding gender identity that has happened in the last 5-10 years:

Why is that?

Why has it spread so rapidly?

I would say … TECHNOLOGY!

Specifically, if you were to go to places like Tik Tok, Youtube, X (formerly known as Twitter), Instagram, etc.), you know what you are going to find a whole lot of?

There’s a TON of influencers on these platforms spewing gender ideology:

Challenging traditional (and Biblical) gender roles for man and woman,

Claiming that men and women are equal in every way,

And then taking the next step and saying that a man can BECOME a woman any time he wants, or a woman can BECOME a man any time she wants …

Where do these ideas COME FROM?

Well, oftentimes they are coming from tremendously trafficked websites and apps such as Tik Tok and others where young people are spending HOURS … (HOURS!) watching people spew this stuff every single day!

(Which goes back to what we said a few moments ago about proper use of our time)!

The Bible is very clear that immorality is something that isn’t content to stay contained within its certain subset — It spreads like wildfire!

That’s why, one example, 1 Corinthians ch. 5, Paul tells the Corinthians that they had to DEAL with the man in sexual sin with his father’s wife lest what?

Lest the sin SPREAD! “A little leaven leavens the whole lump!”

Well, if we are taking in content that glorifies sinful things — whether it be gender ideology, pornographic content, constant barraging of foul language, materialism and idolatry — you name it! — If we are constantly taking that in on the internet, make no mistake about it, we’ll eventually become those things in some form or fashion — Those sins will reveal themselves in our lives in tangible ways!

“As a man thinks in his heart, so is he!”

Proverbs 23:7 KJV 1900

For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; But his heart is not with thee.

CONCLUSION:

This morning I wanted to talk about this because, like it or not, technology is a major part of our lives in the 21st century.

We need to use it properly, and wisely — and we need to avoid the numerous pitfalls that can be found in it as well!