Though I’m an author of Christian fiction for young adults and try to read mostly clean and Christian books, I still read secular books from time to time. Over the past few years, I’ve noticed that in some of the secular books I’ve read (and, unfortunately, a small percentage of the clean and Christian books) that sin and the use of bad language are portrayed in a positive light. While that’s not uncommon in secular fiction, what shocked me most was that when I reached the end of those books and read the Acknowledgments pages, the authors either thanked God or acknowledged Him as their heavenly father. Mind you, some of these books would’ve received an R rating for the number of F-words alone.

Something’s not right here, y’all.

Christian authors, whether we’re writing for a Christian or secular audience, we should never compromise our faith in favor of writing content into our books that seems popular but goes against the Word of God. Here’s why.

As Christians, We Are to Honor God Rather Than Men

And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, saying, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree.  God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”

-Acts 5:27-32, ESV

Christian authors, like the apostles in Acts 5, if we are truly children of God we are witnesses of Jesus to the fallen world. As witnesses of Jesus, we are supposed to show others the same love He has shown us and point others to Him. As Peter and the apostles answered the high priest who questioned why they preached in Jesus’s name, we should also make a point to obey God rather than men. For us as authors, this means writing books that honor God, demonstrate His love, and plant seeds. This doesn’t mean that our books can’t portray sin as God sees it, but it means that we shouldn’t portray sin as something God approves of.

If He’s Truly Our Lord, We’ll Obey Him

“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?”

-Jesus, Luke 6:46, ESV

In the book of Luke, Jesus begins the parable of building a house on a rock by asking why we would call Him “Lord” if we’re not willing to do as He tells us. Christian authors, the same question can be directed towards the content we’re writing into our books: Why are we calling Jesus “Lord of our lives” if we’re glorifying content in our writing that His word specifically warns us to abstain from?

God Knows Whether We Love Him or Not Through Our Obedience

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”

-Jesus, John 14:15, ESV

If we claim to love God, we will willfully obey His commandments. This doesn’t include just the 10 Commandments, but all of the directives in the New Testament as well.

But What About the Old Testament Laws?

There are many laws in the Old Testament that most of us don’t follow today, like abstaining from eating pork or shellfish. This is because the Old Testament law is the Jewish Law, which was given to the nation of Israel, God’s chosen nation. When Jesus paid the price for our sins on the Cross, He put an end to the Old Testament law, as Galatians 3:23-26 states:

Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.

-Galatians 3:23-26, ESV

Jesus fulfilled the Law by being the ultimate sacrifice for our sins (John 3:16-17), so we are now justified by having faith in Jesus. But how do we put our faith into action? Through our works.

Our Faith (Or Lack of) Is Evident Through Our Works

What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?  So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

-James 2:14-17, ESV

My fellow Christian authors, if you claim to love God, if you claim that Jesus is the Lord of your life and have faith that He died on the cross for your sins, but yet write books glorifying every sin Jesus shed His blood for on the cross, your faith is dead.

I don’t say this to be ugly; I say this because as your sister in Christ, I love you enough to tell you that if you’re compromising your faith in fiction by appeasing the world’s appetite for things that are not of God, you’re down a dangerous road.

Not Everyone Who Claims to Know Jesus Will Enter the Kingdom of Heaven

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”

-Jesus, Matthew 7:21, ESV

If it wasn’t clear before, please read Matthew 7:21. Only Christians who do the will of God will enter Heaven. The will of God does not include reverencing the things He warns us against. I don’t care how popular your books are because you’ve made those compromises. I don’t care how well they’re selling. Just because you’re making a profit off it doesn’t mean that it’s of God or approved by Him. There are so many industries in the world that are not of God that make millions annually. Satan is the prince of this world (1 John 5:19) and he’s deceived a lot of people into thinking those things are good, but they’re not (2 Corinthians 11:14).

So, What Are We to Do?

No one is perfect. If we were, there would have been no need for Jesus to die for our sins in the first place. But that doesn’t mean we should go on sinning by writing spicy books or ones where immorality is glorified. Instead, let’s examine our hearts by using 1 John 3:9 as a gauge:

No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God.

-1 John 3:9, ESV

Are we making a practice of sinning by portraying sin as permissible in our books, or are we keeping that mess out of our lives and books as God instructs us? If it’s not the latter, you need to get right with God, my friend.

If the Holy Spirit has convicted you as you’ve read this post, please bring the issue before God. Repent, ask for forgiveness, and pray for guidance on how to move forward with your writing endeavors.

This may mean substantial rewrites. This may mean taking your books out of circulation. This may mean pulling the plug on a work in progress and heading down a new path. But know that whatever way God leads you is the right way, as He knows what’s best for us.

Talk to Me, Arrowheads!

Have you ever compromised your faith in your writing? How did the Holy Spirit convict you of it, and what did you learn from that experience? Over the past few years, I have been convicted more about reading secular books and have started vetting books more for content and language before adding them to my TBR.

Aim high, stay strong, and always hit your mark.

-Allyson 😀