Decay Pt. 5: The End of the Beginning

I remember it well during President Trump’s inaugural speech. He had mentioned many times the name “God” and even at one time said that God would protect this nation. This, I am sure, threw all of the anti-Christians into an uproar. I am sure that this alone would have spawned many people to call for his impeachment just minutes after becoming president. On the other hand, I am sure that this gave much hope to the many Christians out there who had begun to fear that their faith was going to be outlawed and that full blown persecution was coming to Christian America. I even remember seeing on Facebook a meme that depicted Jesus running down a road, carrying multiple suitcases, saying that He was on his way back to the White House. Many conservative and Christian Americans once again held their head up high with hopes that we would return to the America of yesteryear. But when we put our hopes in man, we put our hopes in a false security. One look at our current President’s past, as well as his current actions, prove that he is no great Christian leader that we should put an iota of faith into.

            In reality this nation needs to repent and turn to Jesus Christ. Not a famous orator, leader, or governing official. Only then would we as people be changed from the inside out. But is this possible? Could an entire nation repent and thwart God’s judgment against them? The mighty city Nineveh repented after hearing Jonah’s prophecy. “Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, ‘Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.’” (Jonah 1:1). “And Jonah began to enter the city on the first day’s walk. Then he cried out and said, ‘Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!’” (3:4). “So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. Then word came to the king of Nineveh; and he arose from his throne and laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes… Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it.” (3:5-6, 10). Not just did the repentance of Nineveh hold back God’s hand of judgement, but eventually Israel repented. If you are familiar with the Biblical history of Israel it was their wicked and idolatrous ways that caused God’s judgement to come upon them and allowed them to be taken into captivity. What many Christians may not realize was that when they returned back to their homeland after the Babylonian captivity, they no longer worshipped the pagan idols and instead worshipped the One true Yahweh. God brought judgement upon them. He smacked some sense into them. They said “God is for real. The prophets weren’t kidding”. It took judgment to wake them up and to get them to turn from idols. Thankfully God remained true to His promises and did not wipe the entire nation clean off the face of the earth. Israel, an entire nation, repented. So yes, it is possible for a city and even an entire nation to turn back to God.

            In just the past two weeks there has been more evidence of a nation of godless, reprobate minds running loose without the restraint of God within their conscience. I happened upon a video of a liberal woman who helped instigate the Berkeley protests and riots that I had mentioned in Part 2. She said that she uses violence to stop others from speaking and that she promoted violence during that riot against the conservative speaker because his views could spark violence. The news program went on to air a video of her arguing with an opposing protester in the street in which a man who was accompanying her pushed the opposing protester down and they began kicking and stomping him in the street. So let’s stop violence by being violent? Another incident involved the conservative speaker (who is also a homosexual male) in question at Berkeley promoting man-boy (pedophilic) relationships. He found himself in trouble and those who usually side with him began to distance himself from him. The third incident involved vandalism to various Jewish synagogues. When the President’s daughter called for religious tolerance, the religious intolerant called her a racist and a promoter of hate. The disturbing part about this typical leftist view is that many who are against religion because of its stance against the LBGT agenda want to be allowed to destroy Christians for their beliefs. That’s why they don’t want religious protection against any religion that opposes LBGT. So therefore we allow them to hatefully destroy those that they see promote hate. These three incidents are just a sprinkle on the icing of the cake that is the current reprobate America. It leaves many to ask “Are these people seriously using their brains?” Sadly, yes. They are using minds that are void of God and are left to their own decaying mind (as I had discussed in Part 3). This is how you end up with a society of cut-throat savages. Every man for himself!

            Jesus said to his disciples “Then He came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, ‘Simon, are you sleeping? Could you not watch one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.’” (Mark 14:37-38). The problem with the modern American church is that it too has fallen asleep. Gone are the preachers who call for holiness and repentance. Gone are the preachers who could pull out a convincing “hellfire and brimstone” sermon that would even make saints fall to their knees in repentance. The popular preacher of the day is one who preaches a hippy Jesus that is all about love and happiness. Have you even noticed how big of a following that Joel Osteen has? This “Jesus” gives credence to the sinner for their wicked ways and condemns those who preach against sin and for repentance. The “Jesus” of today would’ve been the one to have imprisoned John the Baptist. The modern church has fallen asleep, and while she was snoring Satan crept in. This is why the modern American church’s gospel is as watered down as skim milk. There’s nothing there but fluff. There’s nothing there to counter balance the godless culture that is spiraling out of control and seeking to destroy the church. The church is no longer the lion, but is now the little lamb whereas Satan is the hungry lion.

            Jonathan Falwell (Thomas Road Baptist Church) has a commercial on our local Christian radio station where, at the end, he says that Christians just want to change the world. It is not our job to change the world because, as we see in the Book of Revelation, there are many unbelievers in the tribulation. It is, however, our job to influence the world with the gospel. We are to be a light in a world of dark as I had mentioned in Part 4. We are to be a bright light for all to see, not a dim flickering light that makes everyone say “Is it going to work or die out?”. But the modern church has lost its influence. It has become complacent in its position of “strength” and “power”.  It has become all about meeting the felt needs of the congregation, entertaining everybody, and receiving the applause and accolades of man. (For more of adescription on the modern church click here).

As I had mentioned in Parts 3 and 4, in regards to the reprobate man and the modern church, respectively, there is hope. That hope is Jesus. I know that that may sound like a cliché, but it is a fact. As Jesus said many times “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” (Matthew 3:2, among others). Just like the men at Pentecost said after being convicted of their iniquities, “’Men and brethren, what shall we do?’ Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.’” (Acts 2:37-39). “Repentance” means to turn from your sinful flesh and turn to Christ as Lord and Savior. “…if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:9-10). “Confess” means to agree with. If you agree that Jesus is Lord and “If we confess (agree that we are a sinner in need of salvation) our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9). The hope is Jesus as Savior.

For the church Jesus said to the church at Ephesus “Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.” (Revelation 2:4-5). Even the bride of Christ is not immune to judgement. But, despite all of their works and programs, this church had forgotten the basics of their faith. The modern church needs to wake up and clean house like Jesus cleansed the temple of the money changers (so much for that happy hippy “Jesus”, huh?). They need to reacquaint themselves with the God of the Bible, not the god of man.

May we recognize that Jesus is Lord, no matter what side of salvation we may stand on. “Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9-11).

But more on that in my next series…

 

In Christ alone.

Decay Pt. 4: This Needs Salt!

Do you like all you can eat buffets? My aging self can no longer hold his own at an all you can eat buffet and after the second plate I am done. However, I have more fanfare for a breakfast buffet than I do dinner. One of the issues that I have with a breakfast buffet are the eggs. They generally lack flavor. Usually adding salt can remedy the situation. Now, you may be like me and dislike adding salt to foods and instead choose pepper. Or you could go all out like I do and throw a ladle of sausage gravy all over your eggs. That’s how we roll in the south.

            Now before I continue discussing buffet eggs and salt I should recap what I have covered so far in this series. In Part 1 I had brought to light how mankind in America (and I am sure that other parts of the world are not immune as well) has become like an untamed savage. In Parts 2 and 3 I had linked man’s unrestrained debauchery to that of the people of Romans 1, who had become debased in their minds and had elevated their own personal desires and views to that of an idol. Mankind and his wickedness is his new god. All of this is because man has rejected God, and therefore, God has rejected him. They have been left alone to themselves and their own devices of evil.

            So what does a world of fallen savages have to do with salt? In my last three parts I laid out the argument against the unbeliever. We shouldn’t be surprised at how one who is without God would act and live. It is surprising, however, how low man has gone in these recent years, and he will continue to go further down without the restraint of God’s grace and the Holy Spirit’s indwelling. We know that the unregenerate man is guilty before our holy God and he remains guilty until he accepts Christ as his savior and is thus made righteous before God. “…but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith” (Philippians 3:9). Now, I am sure that if there were any unbelievers who happened upon this blog (it is hard to say that with a straight face because I only have three readers), they would probably say “Who are you Chris? Holier than thou? It is just like you Christians to think that you are perfect and better than everyone else!” So, to answer such a remark, allow me to present another group that is responsible for the downward spiral of mankind: The Church.

            Now, I hope that I didn’t cause you to choke on your tasteless buffet eggs, but allow me to elaborate on my indictment against the Church. I am not talking about the bride of Christ as a whole, but I am talking about the modern church (sometimes referred to as the American Church). And this doesn’t include all churches in America, but the system, or way of thought that a majority of churches in America operate under. Typically these churches are the popular ones and the megachurches, but not all popular and megachurches fall under this category. You follow? The characteristics of such a church are as follows: Entertainment based worship that focuses more on appeasing the crowd than appeasing God; Entertainment based worship that seeks to replicate the world as much as possible; Worship that does its best to not seem offensive or uncomfortable to anyone who is unchurched or an unbeliever; Entertainment based worship that uses lighting, smoke, and mirrors in order to please the eyes of the audience; Churches that focus more on programs and less on lifting each other up or reaching the lost; Pastors that rely on being “hip and cool” in order to seem like they are just as much a part of the world as any unbeliever in attendance (because to dress up and act “holy” is considered hypocrisy) ; etc. In other words it is a church that is more focused on itself and its desires to reach the world by trying to act like the world. Holiness becomes a “four letter word”.

            Jesus said to His disciples in Matthew 5 “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.” (v. 13). Salt not just preserves food, but also is a flavor enhancer. So how is a believer related to salt? One way we can look at this is that they preserve God’s truth in a world where all truth is subjective and like meat that lacks a preservative, eventually rots. Another way that we can look at it is that they alter what lacks flavor. Now, don’t get me wrong on the latter. I know that in its effort to be relative to and reach the world the modern church acts like the world and thus “alters” the bad flavor of the world (say that five times fast). However Jesus said “if the salt loses its flavor…it is good for nothing but to be trampled…” The salt that was used for flavoring and preserving was pure salt, whereas the salt from the Dead Sea was contaminated, flavorless, and ineffective and was used to keep vegetation from growing over footpaths. Notice that the flavorless salt is contaminated and is no good? Jesus is ultimately saying that the salt (believers) should remain pure and not stoop to the level of contamination, even if that means to try to turn contaminated salt into pure salt. He goes on to say: “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (vv. 14-16). The problem is that we have a modern church that tries to copy the darkness of the world to be relevant to the world, but by remaining light. Is that even possible? It is but the result is not a powerful bright light that permeates and overcomes the darkness. John 1:5 says “And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” Just like black and white, so is light and dark, “And what communion has light with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14). There is no gray. The power of the modern church has instead been reduced to a dim light, a mix of light and dark, that leaves a dying world asking “Jesus, is that you?”. They cannot see “…your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Therefor they cannot see the true Jesus.

            The results of a church that is trying to live like a dim light or a half contaminated barrel of salt is that it gives credence to the non-believing “Christians are hypocrites” crowd. Believe it or not there is a godly standard to live by (holiness), and many have an idea of what that looks like. Surprisingly a great deal of people who have rejected God even know what this looks like and what is expected of Christians. So when we try to push the envelope towards being like a sinful dying world, no one is impressed but ourselves. We become the fools by playing the fools in order to reach the fools. The other result is that we forgo holiness and being separate from the world, and that results in a church that loses its unique identity as being salt and light. 1 Peter 2:9 states “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;”. We are called out of the darkness to be light, not a half dim flickering light but a powerful example to the ever changing power of Christ and the Holy Spirit. People should say “Wow! Look at the power in the lives of those Christians. I wonder what it is that is different in their life”, not “Wow! Look, those Christians act just like us. There is no proof of power of any Jesus in their lives. So what on earth do I need Jesus for?” This is what Jesus meant in Matthew 5 when He said “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” God cannot get the glory if we have one foot in life and the other in death.

A further result of a church that has become a dim light is that they develop a distorted view of sin and holiness. This is why the modern church has a great deal of sin within its ranks (and even leadership), and instead of being dealt with biblically it is being either ignored or celebrated. How is it that there are denominations like the Presbyterians who allow for homosexual practices and leadership, and the Methodists who recently have been having meetings to discuss whether or not to allow (celebrate) homosexuality in their congregations and even their leadership positions as well? The result of this action is that the dying world believes that God does condone sin and homosexuality and therefore those who preach against it are wrong and are in fact in the sights of God’s judgment. God ends up being recreated into something that He is not. Where the debased minded man has elevated himself to his own idol, the modern liberal Christian church ends up on its own path of a downward spiral that ultimately makes a new god its own idol. It all begins with allowing a little bit of the world in, then comes hypocrisy, then comes confusion, then comes the sin, then comes the pride, and then comes the fall. “Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?” (1 Corinthians 5:6).

            The sad thing is that the modern church has convinced itself that in order to reach the world they must be like the world. But Scripture says “Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” (James 4:4). James compares those who try to live for God while living for the world “adulterers”. So who are they committing adultery against?

God.

But…there is hope!

Decay Pt. 3: The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Waste

I don’t recall the TV show or the movie that I had seen, but the scenario went something like this: There was a boy who decided to start smoking and was hiding it from his parents. Eventually they had caught on to what he was doing and decided to punish him. What was the punishment? They made the boy smoke an entire pack of cigarettes at one time. Of course in doing so the boy got extremely sick. This experience was not a favorable one for the boy and he decided that his lesson was learned and he would not smoke another cigarette. I don’t particularly agree with this method, however it had its desired effect. It kind of reminds me of the golden calf incident in Exodus. As Moses descended down the mountain he was appalled as to what Israel had done. They had cried out for an idol to worship, and so Aaron fashioned for them a golden calf. However, “then [Moses] took the calf which they had made, burned it in the fire, and ground it to powder; and he scattered it on the water and made the children of Israel drink it.” (Exodus 32:20). They wanted an idol. They got their idol. They were forced to taste their vile desires, and just like an entire pack of cigarettes in one sitting, I’m sure that the end result was bitter.

            As you may recall from part 2 that I had mentioned that in Romans 1 God had abandoned man because man had abandoned God. “We don’t want God” they say. Fine! May your wish be granted. However, in order to fulfill the inward desire for man to have a god, man has elevated himself to the position of god. Man’s current desires become the idol, no matter how vile. Every man does what is right in his own eyes (Judges 17:6). Every man for himself! This is why there is so much fighting. Because each man, void of the one true God, has become his own god and expects everyone else to bow down to him. Have you noticed why people can no longer have a civil debate over their differences of opinion or politics? It at least seems that way. One god (man) and one way of thinking. This is called “tolerance”?

            I had mentioned that man has become his own god in part 2 from Romans 1:19-23. The problem is that without God’s gracious restraint, man decides what is right and wrong. Left to his own carnal hunger, man spirals into a pit so depraved that right becomes wrong and vice versa. This is why you have men stand one day and say “I feel like a woman”, and then everyone agrees and refers to him as “her” from that point on. If a white woman says “I feel like a black woman”, then everyone says “That you are! Black lives matter” and she is therefore an African American. If someone says that they are a cat, hey, let’s give them some cat food and see if they can purr. Sin is no longer sin in this world and if you say otherwise then you are the evil one. Darkness is embraced and has become the bride of this world.

            The things that are being accepted as normal behavior these days would have gotten you locked up in the looney bin 25 years ago. Yet, the things that were once irrational have become rational. The secularists would call this “progress”, as if mankind’s way of thinking for thousands of years had been wrong this entire time and now we have finally found the “truth”. Mankind has become so confused that one of the big controversies in 2016 was which bathroom men and women should use. But how has man become so confused that his mind has become darkened to logic and truth? “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting” (Romans 1:28).

            Because man had suppressed the truth of God (v.18), and chose instead to worship vain things and idols (v.25), and rejected God (v.28), he was left to himself as God had left him alone. God had given man over to himself. The result was that man was left alone with his debased mind. What does the word “debased” mean you ask? It doesn’t matter which Bible translation you may use for this word, but it basically means “worthless”. Ouch! Can you imagine God testing your mind and then saying that it is of no worth? It can no longer function properly. It is broken. This explains the upside down way of thinking that our modern godless man possesses. Without God, you are nothing.

            Paul goes on to illustrate what this debased mind looks like: For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due (Romans 1:26-27). I am going to stop right here for a moment. As I had mentioned in part 2, people tend to flock to this passage as a justification for homosexuality being a sin. I would like to illustrate that in ancient Jewish culture homosexuality was viewed as the last resort for a depraved person. In other words in regards to depravity it was as low as you could go when you turned what was natural between a man and a woman upside down. Ironically, 2000 years later, if you disagree with homosexuality then you are considered as low as you could go. You may recall in Genesis 19 that the men of Sodom sought to have sexual relations with the angels that had come to Lot. We can assume that like every town and society that homosexuality was not the only sin that the people of Sodom were committing. However the issue of homosexuality was illustrated in order to show just how low and vile that Sodom had become. The men were burning so much for these angels that instead of running like a bunch of wounded dogs once they were struck blind (like normal people would do), they stayed and continued to try to get into Lot’s home. Never mind the blindness, we want those men!

            Paul singled out homosexuality here to not illustrate that it was the greater sin, but that it was the greater evidence of man’s fall into the dark abyss of his own debased mind. He goes on to say “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.” (vv. 28-32). Sound familiar?

            Have we not become a society full of children who dishonor their parents? People who hate God and His people? People who want the newest things and will stop at nothing to acquire them? People who verbally destroy each other? People who gossip and slander? I could go on forever and ever, but I don’t have to because you know that I am right and this secular godless nation, as well as any other nation that has rejected God, is as guilty as the sin that they celebrate. When a person thinks that they can change genders simply by speaking it, demands that boys and girls share the same restroom based on the feelings of one’s gender, has sexual relations in all sorts of unnatural ways as God had not intended, verbally attacks those who think on the other side of the fence, sees no value to human life but their own, says that only one particular race’s life is more important that another’s, believes that unborn babies are not human, sees the value of a wild animal as being greater than the value of a child (Oh, so many people who are pro-choice, but want to save the whales) and, to top it all off, has no problem with murdering unborn children in the womb even at the end of being full term…my friend…THAT IS WHAT A DEBASED AND WORTHLESS MIND LOOKS LIKE. A mind that lacks an understanding of God and does not possess His gracious restraint within their conscience is nothing more but a waste. Such a mind is a dangerous mind and sadly, with the help of our secular government and the media, these dangerous minds have brought this whole nation down into the pit of God’s judgement. The judgement of abandonment.

But, there is hope…

We are past the halfway point of this series. Hang in there! But I will warn you now… part 4 will shock you to your core.

Decay Pt. 2: Welcome To Rome

Something remarkable happened since my last blog post (part 1 of this series). At the University of California-Berkeley another riot erupted. This time it was a “protest” in regards to a gay conservative speaker from England. Not just did the students destroy property and try to burn everything down (as they always seem to do these days. It is quite the “in” thing), but there were reports of a conservative woman being assaulted, and another Trump supporter was thrown to the ground. The latter escaped, but the “protesters” grabbed his pro-Trump hat and set it on fire. I can’t imagine what would’ve happened if he didn’t escape. Would he have been a human torch? The amazing part about this “protest” was in regards to what it was over. Typically most secular colleges these days lean towards the left. They are for homosexuality and immigration. This is common knowledge. If you don’t believe me and need facts then just put on a “Make America Great Again” shirt, grab a Bible, and go down to your local University and try to discuss with the local students why we need borders and need to eliminate abortion and see what happens. However the speaker was both gay and foreign. So why the uproar? Because whereas they are liberal, he is a conservative. They torched, destroyed, and beat down their fellow man in a rage because they almost had someone speak at their campus who simply thought different than they do. This is a scene that has become almost daily news since the election almost three months ago. Why the hate? Why the divide? Why the complete disregard for humanity and sanity? Why has mankind (particularly in America as of late) become unrestrained savages? It seems as though all of this is over politics. However, you may recall, I ended my last blog post by saying “this isn’t about politics”. So what is it about?

            In June of 2015 the Supreme Court legalized gay marriage across the board. Nobody could deny the rights of marriage to same sex couples any longer. Many Americans celebrated this victory. I remember reading that one of the most searched topics from that day online was Romans 1. I don’t remember the exact details. Could it have been non-believers searching in order to see whether God’s Word does in fact condemn this sin? Could it have been Christians seeking ammunition for their argument now that they were going to be vilified? No matter who it was we know that a great deal of people recognized that Romans 1 has something to say about it.

            Paul’s epistle to Rome was written to a church that he had never set foot in, which explains why it is such a theological masterpiece. In Chapter 1 he goes into great detail about the sinful state of man and God’s wrath. “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (Rom. 1:18). But what wrath are we speaking of here? It is the wrath of stepping away… of turning away from man who has rejected and turned away from God. When Paul writes “Therefore God also gave them up… (v.24), For this reason God gave them up… (v.26), God gave them over… (v.28)” he is basically saying that because mankind wants nothing to do with God, then God gives them what they want. He walks away. In context it looks like this:

Because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.  For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. (vv. 19-23).

            What the apostle is saying is that mankind knows of God through natural revelation, as well as an inward knowledge of a “higher power”. This is why man has followed religion since the beginning of time. This is why as far back as the Old Testament times there was paganism. Man knew of a god, they just didn’t know Who was God. This is illustrated in Acts 17 when Paul addresses the philosophers at Athens: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD…” (Acts 17:22-23). The men of Athens certainly knew of a god.

            However, in America and the world over, mankind has rejected God. Mankind has fallen in lust with darkness and thus has suppressed the inner and outer knowledge of any higher power or god. To them religion is for the weak and foolish. As our above passage in Romans states, they believe that they know better than God. They believe that they know right from wrong better than God and His Word. In doing so they believe that truth is not absolute, but whatever you perceive it to be. This is known as moral relativism. This thought pattern crates a new god. But instead of it being birds, animals, and creeping things it becomes something else… MAN.

            Man is now the new god. He knows what is best. He knows what is true, right, and wrong. And the standard is not set by any law, but by each individual. But is this why we are in the state that we are in? Paul goes on to state “Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves,  who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.” (Romans 1: 24-25). In turning away from man and giving them what they want, God’s moral compass within man decays rapidly. This is why our society is going into a tailspin at breakneck speeds. Man follows the lusts of his heart and when left unrestrained to his own vices, man can do some seriously vile things. Things that are morally grotesque and unnatural, yet so beautiful and natural in his own eyes. Things that are even harmful to those around him. Yet who are we to condemn man for him pleasing his own flesh as his selfish desires consume him like cancer? After all, he knows best. Billions of different little “gods”, with their own different views, with their own different ways, and with a desire for everyone else to see it his/her way.

We shouldn’t be shocked when there is an explosion on the six o’ clock news…