Right & Wrong
Good Morning,
The devil is always trying to make sin culturally acceptable; but we must base our beliefs and our moral values on the Bible, not on culture.
Let us be clear:
Adultery is not “an affair;” it is SIN.
Homosexuality is not “an alternate lifestyle;” it is SIN.
Drug addition is not “over medicating” yourself; it is SIN, and you are an addict.
A worldly church service is not a “contemporary church;” it is friendly with the world and a SIN.
Well now…. I am sure I just went over the line of warm and fuzzy thinking already so allow me to continue. We watch television and follow entertainment so closely that we corrupt our hearts.
Lamentations 3:51 “Mine eye affecteth mine heart because of all the daughters of my city.”
Our long hours of television and our brief hours of preaching and Bible reading have wrongly affected our hearts. When we do what we think is right, we make wrong decisions and cause disaster and ruin.
We have softened our value system to match our heart, but Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” This is why so many churches will never mention adultery, drinking, or many other things that were commonly preached against in days gone by. We are off track in our values and our morals.
In Proverbs 28:26, Solomon wrote, “He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.”
We may not understand certain biblical values, but God asks us to trust Him and not ourselves:
Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.”
When a news commentator tells us we are offending one percent of the population (an immoral, godless one percent). While believing what the Bible says (not to mention agreeing with ninety-nine percent of the population), we simply should not care what others think. What God calls right and wrong is right and wrong — no matter what NBC, CBS, or any Supreme Court Justice writes. I can be good to people, but I do not have to act as if sin is right. I can love my neighbor without pretending his booze and drugs are acceptable. I can care for those in my city who are hurting without treating adultery as if it is logical and reasonable.
Deuteronomy 5:29 “O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!”
Ecclesiastes 12:13 “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.”
Some things are worthy of our concern. We should care about our hearts keeping us from obeying God and not understanding our DUTIES. We ought to be concerned about offending the Creator of the universe by the shameful actions we could accept or approve. We should stand with those who love God, the Bible, and right (as God defines right).
I mentioned a good man named Micaiah in an evening sermon a few years ago. He was very unpopular and certainly offensive in his words.
1 Kings 22:8 “And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may enquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil.”
Unpopular, jailed, hated, but right — may we stand faithful!
Pastor