What is going on with our culture?
It seems like every time I turn on the
TV or go on online, I am bombarded with the acceptance of immorality of all
sorts. But the worst is seeing professing Christians taking part in the
tolerance of immoral behavior, and actually defending it! When I observe some
of the unbiblical claims many “Christians” make, two things come to mind. The
first is right out of scripture, Matthew 7, which instructs us not to judge
others unrighteously, but to judge a Christian according to the fruit he/she
produces. The second is Bradley Heath’s definition of what a Christian ought to
be. In his book “Millstones and Stumbling Blocks,” Heath maintains that he does
“not expand it [Christianity] to include all who are baptized into the church;
the sheep and the goats both get wet. Repentance and baptism may initiate the
Christian life, but I describe the ‘Christians’ as those who acknowledge their
obligation to the truth-claims of the Bible. These Christians not only profess
saving faith, they demonstrate it through obedience to God’s word. They are
doers and not merely hearers (James 1:22).” With that said, this blog is
directed to Christians, and/or those who call themselves Christians.
With the 2012 elections
approaching, I’m beginning to discern the sheep from the goats. Not because of
who’s voting for whom, but because this is when people flagrantly display their
moral standards, however illogical they may be. Though I do believe that we
should vote according to our convictions, as Christians, our convictions should
be founded on scripture alone.
There are many things I have
seen certain Christians defend that don’t immediately make me consider their
fruit as spoiled, but it sure does make me wonder and ask myself, “How is this
morally acceptable to a Christian?”
Let’s take for example, this war on drugs
dilemma, and those who concur that legalizing drugs is the best thing for our
country. Really? Do they realize that legalizing drugs only makes the immoral
use of them legal, it doesn’t change that it is immoral. “But it ends this war
on drugs that our government is spending billions of dollars fighting,” someone
said to me. So the answer is legalizing drugs and freeing criminals imprisoned
for drug violations? Why not legalize prostitution while we are at it? I’m sure
that would cut down on human trafficking some. Oh, but wait a second,
prostitution is sexual immorality and as Christians we’re suppose to stand
against immorality! Right?!
This other example is one that,
quite literally, gives me a headache, mostly because of the number of
“Christians” who are following the social leads. I mean, I’ve heard it ALL!
“Christians shouldn’t judge, we need to love,” “Jesus never taught against
Homosexuality, Paul did!” “If Christians are going to be against homosexuality
then they should also not eat shell fish or pork!” There is also the excuse
that, “Their life style doesn’t affect me so why should I care what they do?,”
and, “not all Christian scholars believe what you do (that it’s a sin),” or,
“I’ve prayed about it and feel that I should support marriage equality.”Lastly,
“I’m a Christian but I am also an American
and believe in freedom, and believe the Church should stay out of the
way of government (separation of church and state).” Sadly, there are a lot
more excuses where those came from. Quite frankly, none of those have ANY valid
biblical support. There is also no
doubt, whatsoever, that homosexuality is in fact a sin, according to scripture
(when read/studied exegetically). You can try and redefine the text as much as you’d
like, but you just can’t justify it through scripture. So, I’m sorry, but if you are one using those
arguments to defend your support for same sex marriage, as a Christian, you
have demonstrated that you do not acknowledge an obligation to the truth-claims
of the bible. I don’t say that to
discourage you, but to encourage you to look beyond the status quo of our
culture and instead look to Christ, who is the author and perfecter of our
faith (Heb. 12.2).
And of course, we cannot be on
the subject of morality and leave out, perhaps, one of the greatest moral
dilemmas of our time; Abortion. Now, before I go on, I want to mention that I
actually know some genuine, God fearing Christians, who are not completely
against abortion. But again, if we are to be Christians with an obligation to
biblical truths, we need only the scriptures to draw that line of morality
concerning abortion. The bible says, “Thou
shall not commit murder.” There you have it, the line has been drawn! While many Christians and/or denominations
attempt to justify abortion in certain circumstances, like rape or unwanted
pregnancies, the fact of the matter is that God has already established
abortion/murder as immoral. We cannot, in our depraved nature, try to redefine
immorality. God is the creator of life, not a rapist or two fornicators.
Therefore, though the acts are sinful which led to pregnancy, the conception is
entirely Gods eternal decree.
As Christians, we must stand against immorality in whatever form it may take.
“Tolerance” has become a word for some to hide behind to escape his/her
biblical responsibility, but it must be seen as the true evil it is. We cannot continue to tolerate and condone immoral
behavior. Instead we must pick up the word of God which is living and active,
sharper then a double edged sward that discerns the thoughts and intentions of the heart, and use it to defend
truth and what is morally right. We also need to be mindful that morality, in a
nation, will begin to diminish the moment we begin to tolerate ANY form of
immorality. The more we tolerate, the faster it diminishes. As I sit here typing, our nation’s moral compass doesn’t exactly
point north, but, if His people, who are called by His name, will humble
themselves and pray and seek His face and turn from their wicked ways, He
promises to forgive our sins, and heal
our land.
My hope is that you find this
encouraging, and if you find that I’ve said something that is not on par with
scripture, feel free to correct me. After all, I am prone to mistakes as much
as anyone else.
Your’s Truely, Brenda!
These are a couple of recommended titles that deal with this subject. “Culture Shift: The Battle for the Moral Heart of America” by Dr. Albert Mohlar and “The Puritan Hope” by Iain Murray.
