Morality: Our Obloigation as Christians

   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.