Common Sense
Good Morning,
We hold a Bible in our hands with an enormous section called “The Law,” and we know Jesus said, “If you love me keep my commandments,” yet somehow, we have a perspective on Christianity that says to do, “whatever you think right.”
Consider the most basic things like alcohol. The vast majority of church goers will say there is nothing wrong with drinking, as long as you do not get drunk. Most of our religious Americans will say adultery is not a good idea, but rare is the sermon when a pastor dares to cross the line of “legalistic preaching” by publicly condemning moral misconduct.
Our secular government has what was called a “sin tax” on substances like tobacco, booze, and (I believe) gambling, yet few people are willing to call anything like that sinful. The current culture dictates a “whatever you think” and “no one should ‘judge’ another” philosophy as correct.
Secular society now accepts the ideas of questioning genders and seeking to normalize perversion with a question mark on reality. We refer to mankind as advanced animals via evolution, yet we speak of every animal as male or female and recognize the vital distinction in every area of agricultural life. No one buys a thousand chicks, with no concern about gender (at least, not if they desire to raise laying hens). Roosters are of little value in that area. When someone buys a papered pet dog, the question, “Would you like a male or female?” will most certainly be asked.
Regarding the home, any sane person in any culture understands this to be a man and a woman and usually children. In fighting fruit flies, one non-chemical method used is to introduce sterile males into the area where fruit flies are found. Breeding takes place and no offspring are produced. How difficult is that to understand? Countless millions of people blindly stand on the “I just feel” kind of reasoning. Truth is absolute and must be loved and sought. To live according to the “whatever you think” idea is foolish. That is the kind of decision we make at the ice cream counter, not on abortion, opioid use, and religion.
Someone may feel it is unfair for God to threaten people with Hell, but that is what the Bible says. Some “nice” preacher may say Hell is only separation from God but not eternal fire; but that preacher will face God over that proclamation. What we feel about Hell does not matter one iota; only what God says matters.
Judas felt that it was okay to betray the Saviour. Absalom felt that it was justifiable to seek to remove his father from the throne and take the kingdom for himself (2 Samuel 15). Ananias and Sapphira (his wife) (Acts 5) lied about their giving and sought praise from men - God killed them - but I would guess they thought it was okay to be deceitful about their giving. None of these people thought it would do any harm to do what they did; they did what they thought would be okay.
Paul and John had their share of critics and slanderers, who, it seems, felt it was acceptable to criticize the Apostles,
3 John 9 “I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not.”
vs. 10 “Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with malicious words: and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the church.”
2 Timothy 4:14 “Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works:”
vs. 15 “Of whom be thou ware also; for he hath greatly withstood our words.”
These men have discovered that their “feelings” are not a sound argument of comparison to the presence of the Lord. Like Eve, who for the past six thousand years has regretted trusting herself and personal opinion, each of us must face the fact that our hearts are deceitful ( Jeremiah 17:9).
The Bible says that men who do not work “walk disorderly” (2 Thessalonians 3:6,7,11), but society excuses lazy, slothful living and rewards it with government handouts. The issue is not about opinions and feelings, the issue is truth. Good old-fashioned ideas of right and wrong are not very popular in our current society, but they are still right.
Let us reflect back to the first comments about the Ten Commandments. As God was giving Moses the command to have no idols and not to bow down to them, Aaron was making golden calves, and the people were dancing naked to wrong music.
Exodus 32:17 “… There is a noise of war in the camp."
vs. 18 “And he said, It is not the voice of them that shout for mastery, neither is it the voice of them that cry for being overcome: but the noise of them that sing do I hear.”
vs. 25 “And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies:)”
Opinions were unimportant; three thousand people died that day in judgment.
I speak or write often on this subject because we are bombarded with the idea that our feelings justify our actions. When some crazy person shoots folks or drives his car into them, we tend to wonder what happened. What happened is a stupid society taught too many people that their feelings justify their actions. I do not excuse anyone for their evil behavior, but educators and media are much to blame.
The Bible, Sunday school, and church are the moral compass of society. Let our goal be to get everyone back under the influence of the Lord, and then, perhaps, common sense will be a little more common.
Pastor