I shouldn’t have to say this, but I want anyone reading it to understand that it is written from a biblically minded Christian perspective – without apology.
You might think the Bible is a lot of silly superstition. For that reason, you may want to just move on.
On the other hand, you might want to hold your nose and read a different perspective. That’s up to you.
When I look at the news every day in America, which is what I do for a living, I see a nation wrested from its moorings on matters of sexuality. Many are cheering this development. But I don’t believe God is.
Long ago, he set His law in place – His Torah commandments, His teachings, His instruction on how to we should live our lives to be in harmony with the Creator. He had a lot to say about right and wrong in matters of sexual conduct. He also recognized that man’s fallen heart is depraved and his mind replete with wicked imaginations.
So, what happens to a nation that accommodates such behavior? What happens to a nation that celebrates it? What happens to a nation that takes pride in turning away from God’s clear moral code on matters of sexual behavior?
There’s a scriptural text that explains the penalties, the repercussions, the consequences, in vividly stark terms. It was written by a rabbi who embraced Messiah Jesus – a scholarly rabbi who could recite the Torah from memory. His name was Shaul, though most Christians know him as Paul. It’s found in the book of Romans, chapter 1.
What did he write?
- The just shall live by faith.
- Unrighteous behavior provokes God’s anger and punishment.
- God’s rules are known intuitively by mankind because God has revealed it to all. They are “without excuse.”
- When they chose not to worship God when they knew Him, their hearts were darkened.
- When their hearts were darkened, God gave them up to “uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts to dishonor their own bodies.”
- That led to “vile affections” – including, but not limited to, homosexuality.
- If they still did not remember their knowledge of God and turn from their behavior, God gave them up to “a reprobate mind” – leading to “all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, full of envy, murder, deceit, malignity, whispering, backbiting, haters of God, despitefulness, pride, boasting, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, deal-breaking, without natural affection, implacable and unmerciful.”
And, Rabbi Shaul concludes, they will do things worthy of death and take pleasure in them.
What is God’s simple demand to reverse this escalation of judgment?
Repentance, we learn in chapter 2 of Romans. It’s that simple. There’s no substitute.
God doesn’t care who it is. He is no respecter of persons, says Rabbi Shaul. What God examines is conduct, and He measures a person’s heart.
So, what happens when an entire nation turns away from God and embraces the anything-goes, do-your-own-thing morality?
There’s a tipping point of no return. Every nation on Earth, including His beloved Israel, has been judged more than once. And they will all be judged at least one more time.
Bottom line: God defines good and evil – not man. His Word is the standard by which we are all measured. There is no other. And our decisions to obey or disobey is a matter of life and death. There’s no unfairness possible in God. He defines truth. He defines righteousness. And He has mercy on those who turn from their wicked ways and come back to Him.
He always has and always will. It’s His nature as our loving Creator.
There, I said it. Or Shaul did under the inspiration of God.
That’s just the way it is.
It’s not about grievances. It’s not about victimization. It’s not about bigotry. It’s not about intolerance.
In fact, we all live under the exact same rules in God’s economy.
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