"1But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God-- 5having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them." -- 2 Timothy 3:1-5
Paul warned us about the decline in society's morals that we see today, however what is worse than moral ambiguity in society, is moral ambiguity in the Church. The church is always one step behind society, but as society shifts the line of what is and what is not acceptable, the church shifts right along side it. God's Word in unchanging, and what He expects from us is also unchanging. What God finds acceptable and what He finds unacceptable does not change, so why do we change along with society? I would like to go into a cause of this, some examples and then some solutions for what we are seeing in the church today.
"2I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him. 3But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 4For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough." -- 2 Corinthians 11:2-4In his letter to the Romans, he implores us:
"17I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. 18For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people." -- Romans 16:17-18Unfortunately today, too many church members do not spend enough time in God's Word and are, as a result, naive. They are led astray by deceiving teachers, who have lots of charisma, but no substance. We need to try to open peoples eyes to this, because the way of these deceivers leads to destruction:
" 1But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them--bringing swift destruction on themselves. 2Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. 3In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping....13They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you. 14With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed--an accursed brood." -- 2 Peter 2:1-3, 13-14
" 20Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. 21I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. 22So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. 23I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds." -- Revelation 2:20-23
Next, let us look about what the Bible says about ordaining pastors:"9Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders 10nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." -- 1 Corinthians 6:9-11
"26Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion. -- Romans 1:26-27
"1Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task. 2Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. 5(If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?) 6He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. 7He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil's trap." -- 1 Timothy 3:1-7
If someone is consciously and consistently living a lifestyle that goes against what God says, how could anyone could consider him above reproach? If some is constantly acting in a behavior that is reprehensible to God, how could he be considered self-controlled or temperate? It's simple, he cannot. Yet we are seeing people who engage is such behavior being ordained as ministers in the Body of Christ! People who knowingly and consistently engage in behavior abhorrent to God are being lifted up as examples and leaders of God's people!
Now wait a minute you say. What about people who are unable to remain faithful to their wife, or people who are on their tenth marriage, what about them? I would say the same exact thing applies to them, and the fact that the church does not even bat an eye at their behavior is yet another example of the moral slide that has happened in our church.
The next example we see far too often, and has had the effect of turning people away from God. We see Christians replacing God's love with man's condemnation. Man has usurped the throne of judgment from Jesus Christ. Rather then extend God's love to those who are in need of love, pray for those who are in need prayer, help those who are in need of assistance, people judge and condemn those who they feel it appropriate to judge. What does the Bible say about this?
"1Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.No, we are not to judge and condemn our neighbors. We are to instead love our neighbors. Love is, in fact, the greatest commandment:
3"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.
6"Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces." -- Matthew 7:1-5"1You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. 2Now we know that God's judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. 3So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God's judgment? 4Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance?" -- Romans 2:1-4
"There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you--who are you to judge your neighbor?" -- James 4:12
"36Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" 37Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." -- Matthew 22:36-40The Apostle John reinforces this in his first letter. I encourage you all to read 1 John chapters 3 and 4 in their entirety. For brevity, here are the highlights:
"11This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another....16This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 17If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? 18Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." -- 1 John 3:11, 16-18
"7Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us." -- 1 John 4:7-12
"19We love because he first loved us. 20If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. 21And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother." -- 1 John 4:19-21
The Bible is very clear, we are not to judge anyone, but rather we are to love everyone. Unfortunately, in many congregations today, that love has been lost and judgment has taken its place. As a result, many people want nothing to do with Church, or worse, nothing to do with God.
"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will." -- Romans 12:2Despite that, many people today follow the way of Demas:"1Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God." -- Colossians 3:1-3
"11For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. 12It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13while we wait for the blessed hope--the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good." -- Titus 2:11-14
"9Do your best to come to me quickly, 10for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica." -- 2 Timothy 4:9-10Others are afraid of the world. Today's society is full of "PC", and many in the church afraid of what the world will say if we do not conform to them. The world in turn, looks down upon Christians as being bigoted or behind the times. A perfect example of this is Newsweek magazine. In their July 7 issue, they had a homosexual couple on the cover and their feature article praised the homosexual lifestyle and the homosexual agenda. The article, as well as the letters they chose to print in their July 21 issue, vilified Christians, portraying them as prejudiced, intolerant, hateful people who are behind the times. This is exactly what Christians are afraid of, but Jesus has told us that this will happen:
"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." -- John 16:33The world and the Church are not going to get along:
But Christ is greater, so His people will overcome:"You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God." -- James 4:4
"15Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16For everything in the world--the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does--comes not from the Father but from the world. 17The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever." -- 1 John 2:15-17
"You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world." -- 1 John 4:4We have nothing to fear from the world, and should not care that the world does not like us. Unfortunately, too many people in the Church today do, and I believe that is responsible for most of the moral ambiguity we see in it today.
"11It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. 14Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming." -- Ephesians 4:11-14The first solution we see is in verse 13, unity. "On the night of our Lord's betrayal and arrest He prayed that His people might be united (John 17). He suffered and died on the cross to break down the barriers of division, to put to death enmity and strife, to bring peace, and to reconcile all men 'in one body to God through the cross' (Ephesians 2:13-18). Jesus died in order to create a unified body of believers!!" (Al Maxey, Reflections #55). Jesus wants unity in His people. He called for it, He prayed for it, and when He was still with His disciples, he warned them:
"Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand." -- Matthew 12:25The enemy seeks to divide the church, and to some extant has divided the church, and that is a big reason why we see a decline in morals. In order to combat that, we must heed the calls of unity by Paul and Peter:
If we can swallow our pride and show love to our brothers and sisters, we can unite as a church and stand firm on the truth of Jesus Christ, for it is in Christ that we are unified (Romans 12:5). If we can make a stand together, and we can be united in Christ, we stop the moral slide of the Church today."I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought." -- 1 Corinthians 1:10
"Finally, brothers, good-by. Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you." -- 2 Corinthians 13:11
"Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel." -- Philippians 1:27
"Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble." -- 1 Peter 3:8
"Brothers, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults." -- 1 Corinthians 14:20The main way to grow in our thinking and in our maturity is by reading, praying over, and studying God's Word:
"When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me." 1 Corinthians 13:11
"13Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil." -- Hebrews 5:13-14As we become spiritually mature, it will be easier for us to discern what is from God and what is from the enemy. We will be able to detect false teachings and heresies that creep in and contribute to the moral ambiguity in the Church. Also, as we grow in maturity, it will be easier for us to overcome our pride, so as we grow as individuals, the chruch grows as a whole and can be united to better combat the moral laxness that has creeped in.
"14But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." -- 2 Timothy 3:14-17
"28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers." -- Romans 8:28-29Part of being like Jesus, is making the same choices and decisions that He did. We must choose to surrender our will to our Father, but what's more, we must do that constantly. Not only that, but if we want to be like Jesus, we must choose like He did when facing temptation. We simply must choose not to do what we should not. Christ was our example, and we should follow that example as best we can:
"13You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. 15I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you." -- John 13:13-15 5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:If we can emulate Christ, if we can serve others, be humble, and grow closer to our Father, imagine how easy it will be for us as individuals to be united as a body of believers! Through unity, maturity, and Christlikeness, we can stop and even reverse the moral slide the church is in.
6Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
7but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death--
even death on a cross!
-- Philippians 2:5-8
God's Word is eternal and unchanging (Matt 5:19). What God pleases God and what displeases God does not change, yet the some in the church seek to change it. They try to rationalize some sins and discount others. As we grow in maturity, as we learn to emulate Christ, we can better and easier discern the desctructive teachings that are causing our church to slide the the slope of morality. We can truly be united in Christ, and we can stand on the truth. We will not be popular, but our Lord and Savior was not even accepted by His own people. We should not withdraw from the world, but we should set our hearts on things above. Focus on what is right and not what is easy. When we work on ourselves as individuals, we can then unite as a church and stand on our Rock. With Christ as our foundation, we shall never be moved. "May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." (Romans 15:5-6)