I am troubled by something, and I can't quite pinpoint what it is. But, after reading an article a little while ago, I think I have come closer to identifying what the problem is.
The foundation of why I am writing has to do with the condition of the church. (By church, I mean the body of Christ, in general, not any particular church). I know I sound like a complainer, at times, but I want to communicate something on my heart, that I believe we could pray for and see God at work in.
The condition/health of our nation is related to the condition/health of the church. If the church generally believes that the Bible is no longer authoritative, in the way it used to be, then we are in trouble. If the church loses the 'fear of the Lord' it will no longer be the light in the community it was intended to be, and it will no longer be the salt that preserves what is valuable in society.
About 40 years ago, Madeline Murray O'Hair went to court and succeeded in having prayer taken out of our schools. Also, the 10 Commandments were no longer allowed to be in our school systems as well as in any governmentally owned buildings. This was unfortunate, for now, all kinds of chaos has been taking place in our society, and God is being mocked every day, while the authority of Scriptures declines.
Today, people commit all kinds of crimes, yet never get caught. Even if the speed limit is 50, and someone goes 75, police do not care anymore. Many of them will go 75 in a 50 miles speed limit zone. The standard of right and wrong is disappearing.
Let's get to what is bothering me though. I hear supposed Christians saying things like, 'When Scripture and culture are at odds with each other, Scripture must bow to the culture." No wonder people think it is ok to sleep together or get an abortion. In their minds, God must not have known how hard life would be in America, in the 21st Century!
Why is this thinking so prevalent? I will give you an example of something I read tonight, from an article in 'Christianity Today'. See what you think.
"To counter hook-up culture, Christians remind young people if they follow God's good design, it will actually be better for them. The hook-up culture promises freedom, excitement, and the occasional orgasm, Christians promise something more. Within the confines of a loving, committed, marital relationship sex is actually the most satisfying and enjoyable.
In some ways, they're right. God intended us for pleasure. He created sex, and he made sex good."
Did you catch it? I hope as you read the excerpt, you will see it right away. If you didn't, here it is: "God intended us for pleasure". Really?? Where is that in the Bible? I thought the Bible says that God created us for His pleasure?
Here is another one. This one is written by a 'Christian' Blogger who is struggling with the CCM director on his decision to dismiss Amy Grant due to her having an affair, and divorcing Gary Chapman. The blogger is pleading with this director to allow Amy Grant to stay in CCM, but the director believes that divorce is not an option for people who want to get out of their marriage (except for the case of adultery).
"Amy Grant made a very bad choice in divorcing Gary
Chapman. But from what she says in the CCM piece that I linked, it seems
that her relationship with Gary Chapman had deteriorated to the point where
there were no good choices left for her to make. In our fallen world,
sometimes that’s how it is. Sometimes there just aren’t any good choices;
sometimes one is forced to choose the “least worst” alternative.
But whatever the case may be, God’s grace and redemptive power
is big enough to cover all of it. This is the big idea in Turner’s piece,
that Amy Grant had found redemption for her failure to fulfill her marriage
vows to Gary Chapman by leaning hard into the Gospel. Too bad that his
boss was blinded to this by his concern for upholding what he understood to be
God’s moral absolutes."
Really? Again? What is wrong with holding up God's moral absolutes? C'mon people. Do we really believe that God made us so we can have a blast and ignore His statutes when they violate our fun? Do we think God is some kind of cosmic Santa Claus waiting to bless us with pleasure and fun all the time? How have we gotten so far away from the truth? Who are we to not uphold His laws any more?
Do you see a problem here? Do you see that many in the modern church do not know God? They do not know what He is like. God doesn't change. He wants us to have a relationship with Him, but He is holy and we are selfish. These people think that God made us to be selfish and that He caters to us, but nothing is further from the truth!
What God has is so much better, and so much higher than any of us can imagine. First of all, God is uncreated. Everything in existence is here because He made it. God never had a beginning, nor will He have an end. God is all knowing. He knows the beginning and the end. He knows what will happen 20 billion years from now. God is all powerful. God is sovereign and in control. God is holy and perfect. God is love. God is judge. Every person will give account of his or her life to God.
God does not bend to the culture. If 100% of the people believe it is ok to sleep around and have abortions, guess what? God says 'no'. Culture will have to submit to God, if not now, it will in the future. Every knee will bow to God, and acknowledge that God is God. Richard Dawkins will bow one day and acknowledge that God is God. Hitler will face God one day. Every one of us will be before the throne of God, giving account of our lives.
If God commanded us to not commit adultery, 4,000 years ago, the same command applies to us today. We live in recycled sin. It is the same things people were doing from the time of the fall, until today, just repackaged differently.
If God says he will judge the sexually immoral, 2,000 years ago, the principle still applies today. It will apply as long as it is in existence. God's word will be valid throughout eternity.
This, of course, is why we need to 'Pray for the church, and pray for the country'.
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