By Teri Ong
Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;
Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness;
Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!
21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes
And clever in their own sight!
22 Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wine
And valiant men in mixing strong drink,
23 Who justify the wicked for a bribe,
And take away the rights of the ones who are in the right! (Isaiah 5:20-23 NASU)
The state of the state of Colorado is not good! In the current political year, the populace voted to legalize recreational use of marijuana, and the legislature voted to remove from the code the law that affirmed that adultery is illegal, and voted to legalize same-sex civil unions, at the same time criminalizing those who refuse to perform services for same-sex couples (such as doing photography and making wedding cakes). As far as I know, businesses can still refuse services to people who aren’t wearing shirts or shoes for the sake of physical health and safety, but people can now be prosecuted, fined, and jailed for protecting the health of their consciences. One prominent Colorado legislator made it clear in a public statement that uncooperative businesses are unwelcome in Colorado. Is it any leap to think that people with Biblical sensibilities will soon be targeted for harassment and ruin?
For decades, pop culture has sought to normalize many types of sinful behavior– drunkenness, gluttony, adultery, lying, gossip, selfishness, pride– but the push in the last ten years has been the normalization of perverse sexuality. Nearly every prime-time network program on television has a gay character with whom we are to be sympathetic. Christians who have warned about the slippery slope down to other forms of perversion have been laughed at at best, and have often been demonized as judgmental and unloving. There is no tolerance in our society for “intolerance.” This season, cable TV has featured situations of incest which elicit emotional sympathy from the audience, and more and more articles defending bestiality are appearing in on-line publications and sites. At the same time, our legislature is making the slow swing from “normalization” to “legalization.”
Is all of this a cause of bad things in our society? I don’t know where it will all lead. But I do know that God said through the Apostle Paul that all of it is the result of bad things in our society. It is all the natural result of people rejecting God as the Creator, and refusing to honor Him and thank Him for giving life, breath, and all things. God doesn’t have to come down and zap with lightning and thunder– He just gives us over to the natural outcomes of our bad behaviors. (Romans 1) We used to call them “consequences.” And the official changes we have embraced as a society will not be “inconsequential.”
Should Christians be upset or grieved when their government puts its stamp of approval on sinful behavior? Some Christians take the viewpoint, “Sinful people are going to do what sinful people do. We don’t have to judge them. After all, we are all sinners. It’s better if the
government gets out of the way since the government isn’t God and isn’t there to promote Christian values. You can’t legislate morality. Let’s just be loving and share the Gospel.”
I have heard this basic line of reasoning from several people I consider to be sound Christians and good friends. I have heard it from callers on radio talk shows. I have read it in blogs. But I don’t think it holds up to Scriptural scrutiny.
It is true that sinful people are going to be sinful, but the universality of sin does not give us the luxury of shutting our eyes to what is going on around us and does not take away our responsibility to call sin sin. People who think they are well do not need a physician. If Christians do not clearly address sin in society or in the lives of particular individuals, they are not showing love. They are letting sick people think they are well. Calling sin sin is not being the same as the pharisee who thanked God he was not one of those sinners. Calling sin sin is being like Jesus who addressed it head-on in all of its various and insidious forms. Being forthright about sin is never easy or popular. John the Baptist was honest in calling immorality as God saw it, and it cost him his head.
It is true that the government is not God, though it frequently likes to play god in terms of its control over the affairs of life and in its desire for tribute money. But “the government” is put there by God, and God’s best design is for government to protect what is good and punish what is evil. (Romans 13) Regrettably, in our state we have crossed the line and now have the government promoting things that are hurtful to individuals, to those closest to them, and to society at large. Not only that, they are set to punish people who act on their Christian principles. This isn’t the first time in history that God has sovereignly allowed a government to oppress His people. We have many wonderful examples who went before us to show us how to navigate these waters– people like Jochebed, David, Daniel, William Tyndale, John Bunyan.
Already, after just a few short months of legalization, marijuana poisonings in children have risen dramatically. Children get into their parents’ stash, consume more than is safe, and end up in the hospital. Medical personnel don’t always recognize it for what it is, and the parents are too embarrassed to tell them. (Greeley Tribune, Apr. 2, 2013, p. A1) There are always bad consequences for selfish and self-indulgent behaviors, which often spread way beyond those who engaged in the behaviors in the first place. We will soon see a rise in people collecting tax-payer funded SSI, as they become “disabled” by their recreational drug use. The social costs will eventually far outstrip the “savings” to law enforcement agencies which were the supposed benefit of legalizing the drug in the first place.
What should our response be as loving Christians? Should we stop denouncing drug use because it is now legal? Perhaps we should provide church-based dispensaries so people could be sure they were getting a “safe” product. Perhaps we should provide smoking rooms so we can make contacts for later addiction control workshops where we can share the Gospel? There is currently a trend for churches to have their own home-brewed liquor which they proudly serve in their church-based brew pubs (neighborhood outreach, you know). (Wall Street Journal, April 2013) Why not envision church-based pot rooms? That way we could provide loving nursery care for the children, while the adults do their thing.
In the case of removing anti-adultery laws from the Colorado code, the reasoning goes, how can it be bad to take an “antiquated, unenforced” law off the books? It is bad because once again it sends the message that “the government” is approving behavior that God calls sinful. Once again it is officially calling evil good. At least they are not planning to punish the Christians who still have enough gumption to say adultery is wrong. It is wrong because God says it is wrong and it offends Him. Of only secondary import is the fact that it hurts spouses and harms children.
When it comes to “civil unions” (everyone knows this is a euphemism for gay marriage), “the government” is not only legalizing something God abhors, it is requiring that all the citizenry give it “hearty approval.” (Rom. 1:32) We are all to follow the example of Denver Mayor Michael Hancock who plans to party along with all the couples that will be civilly joined in City Park the first day it is legal to do so. In fact, he will be performing many of the ceremonies himself. (KOA radio, Denver, CO, April 23, 2013) Anyone who doesn’t give it hearty approval will be subject to epithets, ad hominem attacks, legal scrutiny, and possible prosecution in courts of law. This is the antithesis of what government should be doing: this is punishing good and rewarding evil.
One line of reasoning says, “Why pick on homosexuals? Why single out this one act as being a supposedly abhorrent sin, especially when it is just an expression of faithful love? Why shouldn’t they be treated equally with all the other garden-variety sinners in the world?” The mathematical “equal” sign has become a popular symbol of tolerance and solidarity with people desiring legalized gay marriages. But the question remains in my mind, “Equal with what or with whom and in what way?”
Everyone in America has equality in the eyes of the law. But the point of having laws is to ban or restrict certain kinds of behavior, and not everyone engages is bad behavior equally. Admittedly, everything that is illegal is not necessarily immoral and everything that is immoral is not necessarily illegal. But from the fact that we can’t and don’t restrict all sinful behavior, it doesn’t logically follow that governments shouldn’t try to, or don’t even have a right to restrict some sinful behaviors. Just think what a “law enforcement dividend” we could give ourselves if we stopped worrying about drunkenness while driving, public lewdness, public nakedness, spousal abuse, petty theft, contract fraud, harassment, public endangerment, and a host of other Biblical sins that we still have laws against! But what kind of laws are on our human books is irrelevant: “legal” does not equal “moral.” And the truth remains, God is the judge of all the earth.
2 “When I select an appointed time,
It is I who judge with equity.
3 “The earth and all who dwell in it melt;
It is I who have firmly set its pillars. Selah.
4 “I said to the boastful, ‘Do not boast,’
And to the wicked, ‘ Do not lift up the horn;
5 Do not lift up your horn on high,
Do not speak with insolent pride.'”
6 For not from the east, nor from the west,
Nor from the desert comes exaltation;
7 But God is the Judge;
He puts down one and exalts another.
8 For a cup is in the hand of the LORD, and the wine foams;
It is well mixed, and He pours out of this;
Surely all the wicked of the earth must drain and drink down its dregs. (Psalm 75:2-8 NASU)
When it comes to God’s legal requirements, we are all equal as well. We are all sinners. That is the equality we should be worried about.
“THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE;
11 THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS,
THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD;
12 ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS;
THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD,
THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.”
13 “THEIR THROAT IS AN OPEN GRAVE,
WITH THEIR TONGUES THEY KEEP DECEIVING,”
“THE POISON OF ASPS IS UNDER THEIR LIPS”;
14 “WHOSE MOUTH IS FULL OF CURSING AND BITTERNESS”;
15 “THEIR FEET ARE SWIFT TO SHED BLOOD,
16 DESTRUCTION AND MISERY ARE IN THEIR PATHS,
17 AND THE PATH OF PEACE THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN.”
18 “THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD BEFORE THEIR EYES.”
(Romans 3:10-18 NASU)
The loving thing for Christians to do is to share the good news of redemption from sin and its eternal consequence through belief in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.(Rom. 6:23) It is not loving to say that sinful behavior of any kind is not really sinful anymore, because in saying that, we might be robbing some person of a means of conviction that the Holy Spirit could use to bring him or her closer to God’s Kingdom.
Why are so many Christians, especially Christian young people, rushing to jump on the “tolerance” bandwagon? I agree fully with Harry Blamires’ assessment in “Where do we stand against worldliness?”:
…the intention here is not to analyze the character of the theological illiteracy rampant in pulpit and seminary. Rather we must look at the graver and profounder spiritual problem which underlies it: the refusal of many who profess themselves Christians even to try to ground their allegiances in a kingdom which is not of this world. Here is a root cause of the present malaise in the Church– a refusal to choose between God and mammon– and it is manifested first in a rejection of the notion that godless secularism needs to be redeemed, rejection of the notion that godless secularism is in a fallen condition. In short there are “Christians” among us who no longer speak and behave as though the Fall consists in rejecting God. Rather they act as though the Fall consists in rejecting godless secularism. They would try to “heal” the Church of its anti-secularism. They turn basic Christian doctrines upside down. They propagate a “religionless” Christianity designed to rescue faithful Christians from the “pharisaism” and “bigotry” of asserting that man is sinful and needs salvation. The topsy-turvy “Christianity” exudes a mush of undifferentiated sentimentality in the name of omni-indulgent love. In the face of this “love” it is accounted an outrage to point to human wickedness or hint at damnation. Christianity has been stood on its head. The doctrine of Redemption has been turned inside out. The Love that finds wickedness so powerful that it rescues the desperately lost at the cost of blood and sacrifice has become the “love” that sheds a benign smile of approval on the deeds of sinner and saint alike. (p. 99)
We are where we are because the Church of Jesus Christ has failed to be true to the mission and message He set forth before He went back to heaven. In His grace, we are where we are today so we can have the best opportunity to see our failure and make corrections before He comes again. If we do not course-correct, we will end up like Lot, living in Sodom with a perpetually vexed soul.
Blamires, who was as clear-sighted in his projection of societal trajectories as his teacher C. S. Lewis, wrote in 1980 that the Church faces the temptation to “give the benediction of Christianity to the ‘good life’ as conceived by progressive, middle class hedonists.” This kind of good life was described by Francis Schaeffer as “personal peace and affluence.” Blamires wrote what the likely outcome would be:
Thus moderate sexual promiscuity, selective homosexuality, skepticism about the supernatural, and comfortable captivation by mechanical gimmickry of a technological age have to be brought within the orbit of “the Christian.” When this is achieved… the potential conflict between God and Mammon will have been resolved for a whole generation of spiritual layabouts. Non-liturgical intercommunion will give pleasure at board and bed. Religionless worship will rise in sacramental snores from a million centrally-heated flatlets. And canned man, sealed in his automobile, will be wrapped in the paper label coveted for him by the radicals: “New blend: Holy Worldliness: Guaranteed Christian at No Extra Cost.” (p. 100)
The 21st century Church in America has followed hard after the world in embracing “values” in place of Biblical standards of morality. “Values” are inherently humanistic– the value we place on particular actions or attitudes. Biblical morality is based on God’s definition of perfection as revealed in Scripture and in the person of Jesus Christ. It has nothing to do with how human beings feel about prescribed or proscribed behaviors, nor is it based on pragmatic notions of how things work out for the good of individuals or cultures. Morals are based on God’s objective standard alone, just because He “said so.”
As Christians of all ages, but especially younger generations take the path of feelings and “values,” they will ultimately be disappointed, as God gives them their way but sends leanness of soul. Larry Woiwode observes
A young adult’s criterion of judgment is often cultural, most of which originates outside the family, at school or on a playing field or in a mall or on Facebook, and has less to do with the character of a parent [this writer would add, or “the Parent”] than with the values of friends. And when values overtake morals, chaos has come again. (p. 20)
It does not matter what view of “end times” we hold. Our own personal meeting with God, our personal “end time,” can happen at any moment, as it can for every person in our sphere of influence. The loving thing for us to do is to make the most of every opportunity for witness. The loving thing to do is to help people face up to the reality of the broken condition of their lives and of their need for restoration to and in God. The sign we need to display is “Equal Opportunity Witness.”
11 Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. 12 The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts. (Romans 13:11-14 NASU)
References:
Blamires, Harry. Where Do We Stand? Ann Arbor, Michigan: Servant Books, 1980. (I highly recommend this entire book. Blamire’s analysis of the state of the Church is astutely biblical.)
Woiwode, Larry. Words for Readers and Writers. Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, 2013.
