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Seeking Real Truth Ministries Features

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Morality: Personal Perspective Or Divinely Defined?

Mark John Ostrum - 2004-11-14 16:56:00

The first recorded problem with immorality is in Genesis 3 where man fell into sin. In Genesis 4 we have the story of a jealous Cain murdering his brother Abel, then hiding it from God. In Genesis 6 we begin to read the story of the flood, where men had become so immoral God decided to wipe out mankind. Yet another instance is recorded Genesis 19, where the angels of the Lord went to Sodom and Gomorrah to find out if the immorality of the cities was as bad as Lord saw it was from heaven. Abraham bargained with God to spare the town, starting with ?Will you destroy them if there are only 50 righteous people? down to 10. The Lord agreed with Abraham to save the town if only ten righteous people lived in it.

The two angels went into the town and were met by Abraham?s nephew Lot, who invited them to stay with him. He invited them because he knew how immoral the town had become. Although the angels insisted on staying in the square, Lot insisted they come and stay at his home.

That night, Lot?s home was accosted by the men of the community who ordered that Lot release the angels, who had come in the form of men, so they could have sex with them. Lot pleaded with them, even offering them his virgin daughters to do with whatever they pleased. They refused to agree with Lot and became violent. The angels saved Lot by causing blindness and confusion in the men of Sodom and pulling Lot into their homes. There appeared to be only four righteous people in Sodom.

This horrible sin of sexual immorality in the form of homosexuality was abhorrent to the Lord, so after telling Lot to take his wife and daughters and flee Sodom, the Lord rained fire down on Sodom and Gomorrah utterly destroying it. Lot and his family were warned not to look back as they fled, but his wife turned to look at what was happening. Because she disobeyed the Lord, she was turned into a pillar of salt. Three righteous?

Shortly after that, Lot?s daughters got Lot drunk and slept with him, giving birth to the Moabites and Ammonites. Because of the evil way Lot?s daughters conceived their offspring, the Lord God abhorred the Moabites and Ammonites, and these two nations never revered God, instead turning to false gods. One righteous?

Some generations later, an inhumane Pharaoh was holding the Israelites captive in Egypt. God sent Moses to deliver the Israelites from Pharaoh?s hand, and during their journey in the desert and before they went into the Promised Land, the Lord gave them (and us) his law. God declares, as Moses recorded in Leviticus 18, all the things that are sexually immoral. A brief list is presented:

  • Sexual relations with animals
  • Sexual relations with any close relative
  • Sexual relations with your mother
  • Sexual relations with your step-mother
  • Sexual relations with your sister, be she your natural sister, step-sister, adopted sister
  • Sexual relations with your daughter or step-daughter
  • Sexual relations with your aunt
  • Sexual relations with in-laws
  • Sexual relations with a mother and her daughter
  • Sexual relations during the monthly period
  • Sexual relations with your neighbors wife

Later on in the Old Testament, we find more detail of detestable practices:

  • 1 Kings 12, 15, and 22, 2 Kings 23 discusses homosexuality as detestable practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before Israel

The words of Elihu in Job declares:

Job 36
13 "The godless in heart harbor resentment;
even when he fetters them, they do not cry for help.
14 They die in their youth,
among male prostitutes of the shrines.
15 But those who suffer he delivers in their suffering;
he speaks to them in their affliction.

Recall Elihu was the youngest of the four friends of Job who came to counsel him during his time of suffering. Elihu was also the only voice of truth among the entire group. Job complained about the distress God caused, claiming he was righteous. His three older friends continually condemned Job as a sinner before God. Elihu spoke the truth of God to Job and to the other three.

Even our most revered human king, David, was guilty of immorality as was the wisest king of all time, Solomon. Immorality is rampant throughout the Old Testament historical accounts.

In the New Testament we find dozens of references to moral issues. Read these chapters: Matthew 15, Mark 7, Acts 15, Acts 21, Romans 13, 1 Corinthians 5 - 7, Galatians 5, Ephesians 5, 1 Thessalonians 4, Hebrews 12 & 13, Jude 1, Revelation 2, Revelation 9, Revelation 21, Revelation 22.

For reasons of space I am not going to list all the specific passages, but leave it to you to take the challenge and perform the study given here.

However, the point of this article is not to draw attention only to the specific acts a man or woman can do that are considered immoral in the eyes of God. We as Christians certainly can see that these things, as they are clearly stated in the Bible are indeed abhorrent sins in the sight of God.

I do want to make a strong point regarding how so many who profess to be Christian are tolerant of those who practice these sins without remorse. For this I want to draw your attention to Romans 1. Here Paul opens his letter to the Romans by warning about the wrath of God against mankind, and in verse 32 he states:

Romans 1
32Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

I took some time today to read several of the past days editorials on the LA Times site. There were many points of view, but the predominate point of view is that of tolerance toward same-sex marriages, abortion, and many other issues of morality. The left is convinced that the United States is going to turn into a Theocracy, while the Right is clamoring approval on Bush for winning. The war is on, Christian friends, and we are coming under serious attack.

Now, as a citizen of the United States, they have the same rights as we all have. Are you aware, however, that less than one percent of the population of the United States is homosexual? Yet look at the political clout they carry. Look at the way homosexuality is portrayed as acceptable by Hollywood and in the media.

If we use God?s Word as the ultimate authority on which we base our decisions to support or not support the gay activists movements and their acquiring the acceptance they so desperately want, then we know by his Word that we do not ever agree with them on issues of morality. It will even guide what we enjoy watching on TV or in the movie theaters.

However, we do not need to protest at the courts. We do not need to protest at the capitol. We do not need to thump them over their heads with the Word. They have already rejected it. Who are we to judge them?

1 Corinthians 5: 13
God will judge those outside.

What then are we to do? We are not to kill them. That is murder. We are not to hate them. This is murder. We are not to approve of them. That is immoral in God?s eyes. We are not even to protest.

We do need to pray that our government does not go the way of the kings of Israel who were did evil in the sight of God. We do need to make sure we elect officials and leaders who will act in accordance with solid, biblical, moral principles.? If you feel compelled, pray for the immoral ones as well, that they may turn to faith in Christ, repent of their sin, and renounce their evil ways.? But do NOT cast your pearls before they swine, or they may turn and trample on you.? Let the reader understand.

Before we start to pray for the immoral who willingly and knowingly deny Christ, and who willingly and knowingly are doing what they do in defiance to God's commands, remember what God declared against Judah to Jeremiah he would do if they did not repent of their idolatry and evil practices. Remember God's command to Jeremiah:

Jeremiah 11
14Do not pray for this people nor offer any plea or petition for them, because I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their distress.

So the question now becomes: Is it even PROPER to pray for the immoral any more?

This nation was founded on the premise that all men (and women) are created equal. This is regardless of race, gender, or any other class. Immoral people claim they were born that way. They are right. In fact, we are all born into immorality. This is the sin we are born with, our natural sin. But God has given us free will, and the freedom of choice. Evidence of this is in the Garden of Eden when Eve took the forbidden fruit. If God had wanted to create us as beings under his utter control he would have put an impassible hedge around the forbidden trees. But he allowed the trees to be there so he could test the faithfulness of his creation. They failed the test, and as a result we are all born to sin. But we can choose to follow the commands of God and to abstain from immoral acts.

This is one nation, under whom? Under God. In whom do we trust? In God we trust. This is what our forefather?s intended for this nation, freedom of all our citizens to practice their faith as they see fit.

In Congress, the sessions are opened with prayer. The oath of office is taken with the words, ?So help me God.? Our military pays for chaplains to conduct worship services to whom? To God.

I?ve just begun reading history documents from the first and second centuries. A man named Tertullian wrote documents called ?apologetics?, which means to defend, the Christian faith. In these documents, he describes in vivid detail the acts of immorality that were ongoing in the Roman Empire. As I read these documents I am amazed at how similar the culture then is to our culture today. If it is true that history repeats itself, it would appear the intense persecution of Christians that occurred from about 40 AD to 315 AD are about to be upon us again. Even back then Christians would not attend theatre, (the equivalent of today?s TV), because of the immorality portrayed there. They would not participate in anything that was spoken against in the Word.

We are already being accuses of hating, when in fact we are taught to love and we teach each other to love, even to love our enemies. Yet when confronted with God?s truth, this is the typical response (as published in the LA Times by a reader):

Pastore should be aware that the so-called Christian right in the U.S. is not the object of the world's envy, but its contempt. There is nothing remotely Christian about this article and the pride, arrogance, ignorance and sheer hatefulness it manifests.

Peggy Mason

Kinburn, Ontario

In my ministry activities I find many who profess to be Christians equally venomous against me in their persecution. Many claim I have no love. Many also claim God cannot possibly be a God of Love. Christianity is quickly becoming a hate-crime in this country and California is leading the charge. We can take comfort in Jesus? words:

John 15
18If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.

In the early church, all a Christian had to do to avoid persecution and death when put on trial was to offer up incense for the emperor and to acknowledge the emperor as a deity. They didn?t even have to mean it. The question is: are you willing to give lip service to save your ass even if it means publicly renouncing Jesus? Or are you willing to lay down your life in defense of your faith. If you condone, that is approve of immorality ? same sex marriages, abortion, incest, sex outside of the bonds of marriage ? then you are most likely willing to save your own ass by renouncing Jesus publicly if your life depends on it. For you, I have pity. For you, I pray. For you, I present this site.

Do not compromise in any form whatsoever on the Word of God. We are sanctified by his word, his word is truth (John 17:17). Consider this: If God, in his justice, caused his chosen people in the Old Testament to be annihilated because of the immorality of their judges and kings, and the population following the examples of the judges and kings (read Joshua through Job), what is to stop him from exacting a similar judgement on this nation that once was truly living under the biblical standards of morality - even as recently as the 1960's? We are in serious trouble. We are about to come under the full wrath of God. Our society is no better than the barbaric Roman Empirical society. Ours is no better than the baal worshipping Israelites. Ours is no better than any other nation that has come under serious attack from the enemies of God yet to whom God handed over his chosen and cherished people. Who is his remnant? Those of us who stand firm without compromise on his truth to the end. DO NOT COMPROMISE. DO NOT COMPROMISE.

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