Fifty years ago, Time Magazine published an article titled "The New Commandment: Thou Shalt Not—Maybe."
The article talked about the "new
morality" and the belief that God didn't really want people to "conform
to a fixed divine design," but He wanted people to make their own
decisions about right and wrong.(1)
Since that time, divorce, rape, abortion, child pornography, sexually-transmitted diseases, child abuse, homosexuality, and transgenderism have dramatically increased.
But this "new morality" isn't actually new. During the time of the judges, the people in Israel also made their own decisions about right and wrong. Scripture puts it this way: "everyone did as they saw fit" (Judges 21:25).
It didn't work out well for the people in Judges, and it's not working out well for us.
Today, as in the time of the judges, God needs truth-speakers like the prophet Samuel who grieved and prayed for the people's hearts.
So let's step up to the plate and stand firmly and lovingly for what is right, no matter how popular the new-old morality becomes.
(1) Time Magazine, "The New Commandment: Thou Shalt Not--Maybe" 12-13-71.
These 1-minute devotions explain the difference between God's moral code and man's moral code:
The 2-Step Process of Sexual Sin
What Scripture Says About Abortion
What the Bible Says About Transgenderism
What the Bible Says About Homosexuality
This and "God wants us to be happy" teachings are so prevalent among American believers. How do we stand against it and not be divisive within a church family?
ReplyDelete"'God needs truth-speakers", that really caught my attention. God has been bringing this to my attention lately, not because I don't do this but because I need to do it more often. Sometimes I believe that in trying to speak the truth about God and what his teachings are, we become overly concerned with not offending others, but the truth of this matter is that the Gospel is an offensive and divisive message. The Gospel shows us just how "messed up" we really are and we certainly don't want to come face to face with that. As Christians we have to try our best to live out, speak out, and stand up for the truth, but always with love and respect for others. Thanks for sharing this awesome post!
ReplyDeleteI got a comment from "Anonymous" that didn't publish, so I wanted to share it and answer it here:
ReplyDelete"Hi Gail,
You include Divorce as one of these new moralities, do you consider divorce 'as a sin' along with rape, abortion and homosexuality etc?"
My answer: Divorce is not necessarily a sin. But it can be.
Some people disagree, but I believe that Bible teaches that divorce is allowed for adultery. Many people who've had an adulterous spouse have reconciled and restored their marriages, but in some cases this is not possible. The spouse who divorces the adulterer is not sinning to do so.
I also believe there are some very, very rare circumstances where divorce is allowed outside of adultery. I have a friend whose husband tried to murder her and if her son had no intervened, she would be dead. After he got out of prison, this husband ran up all sorts of debts and made his wife responsible for them. She divorced him so she was not legally responsible for his debt and so she could protect herself and her children from his violence. I do not believe she sinned in doing so, but some would disagree with me.
But when we make a vow to be faithful to our spouse and then divorce them because we grow apart or no longer like them, then I believe that is sin. God's purpose in our lives is not to make us happy but to make us holy and some things in life are hard.
But I would add this: if one spouse divorces for selfish reasons, the other spouse is not responsible for the divorce unless they are in agreement.
Not true divorce is a two way street but without the window (where christ looks in) then it's dead !
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure I understand what you are saying, but if "divorce is a two way street" means divorce is always the fault of both people in the marriage, that's not true. To believe that, you must believe that all people are equally good or equally bad. That's not biblical.
DeleteIf you believe that divorce is a two way street, then you must believe murder, lying, stealing, etc. are two ways streets. If someone murders your child, then you must believe that your child was partly responsible. If someone breaks into your house and steals your belongings, you must believe that you were partly responsible. That's not true. A husband can be a bad husband even if he has a good wife and a wife can be a bad wife even if she has a good husband. We are all sinners, we were are not all equally responsible for our problems.
And I don't know what you mean by "without the window (where christ looks in) then it's dead" so I can't respond to that.