When God Abandons a Nation

Would He do that? Has He done that? How do we know?

In this age of Tolerance and GodIsOnlyLove theology, we often skip over vast chunks of scripture that loudly declare otherwise. Most people don’t care, as long as they are reasonably happy. But for those who appreciate the warning, Romans 1:18-30 gives some clear indicators that God has abandoned a nation. A quick glance can raise the hair on the back of your neck. Penned 2000 years ago, it is as relevant as the morning news.

Four prerequisites come before the abandonment:

1. First, a nation begins to willfully suppress the truth (v. 18-20). It is not for a lack of knowledge that a nation goes down; it is because of what they did with that knowledge. In the public square, it may sound like this: “I know the Bible says such-and-such, but we believe…”

2. Secondly, the predominant attitude of the nation shifts from God-reliance to self-reliance. They know their godly heritage. They know the ways God has provided, sustained, rescued, and blessed them. But they pride themselves on doing it “my way.” They are convinced that it was their strength, their resourcefulness, and their superiority that has earned them such success (v. 21).

3. Third, they develop an inflated sense of intellectual wisdom. They now have “science” as god and there is nothing this god cannot explain. They are too brilliant to need an invisible “Man in the sky” and look disdainfully upon the remnant that still clings to outdated religion to validate existence. Their “wisdom” says, “People believed the Bible before we had science. But we're too smart for that now” (v. 22).

4. Fourth, man-worship replaces God-worship. Even so-called Christianity becomes me-centered rather than cross-centered. Versions of this theme are pumped through the airways on Sunday mornings: “God thinks you’re awesome! He just wants you to believe in yourself! He wants to bless and prosper you, so start visualizing your success and God is bound to honor it!”(v. 23)

When these attitudes dominate a culture, God gives them up and it looks like this:

1. The first sign that God has abandoned a nation is that sexual boundaries are torn down. Perversions of every sort are not only explored but celebrated. The exciting sex goddess drives morality from its place of public honor and without a fight installs herself as the new empress (v. 24). She brings her glittery entourage: slavery, adultery, pornography, abortion, rape, disease, divorce, fatherless children, prostitution, and violence.

2. The second sign of God’s abandonment is that a nation no longer cares whether God is honored or whether He even exists. Money is more exciting. Pleasure is a higher aim. Self-fulfillment at any cost is an applauded goal and the most self-indulgent are celebrated as heroes. Entertainment drives the marketplace and the thirst for greater thrills, newer stimulation, and shinier gadgets is all-consuming (v. 25).

3. In the midst of this crumbling of a society comes homosexual deviance. Homosexual practice does not merely bring God’s judgment; it IS God’s judgment. Blatant sodomy dancing through the streets to the cheers of the spiritually blind is the third sign that God has abandoned a nation (v. 26). Women declaring no use for men, men proudly stating that man-boy love is the ultimate satisfaction are merely shouting the truth of Romans 1:26-27. They do not realize that they affirm the truth of scripture more accurately than the flashy TV preacher promising wealth.

4. AIDS. HIV. STD’s. Anacronyms that spell God’s judgment on a culture that has first abandoned Him. The mutilated bodies of self-defined transgenders flaunt themselves before the media and it becomes a crime to state the obvious. A sign that God has abandoned a nation is when sexually-transmitted diseases and obsessions are a national health crisis. They are “receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error (v. 27).

5. A fifth indicator that God has abandoned a nation is when the majority can openly commit any and all of the above sins with scarcely a shred of guilt or remorse. In fact, they’re proud of it and consider this lack of a conscience a virtue. Sin is a bottomless pit painted pink in which they continue to dig to their hearts’ content convinced that, if there is a God, He is pleased with them because they feel so good about it (v. 28). “God wants me to be happy, and this makes me happy, so I think He understands.”

6. When a formerly Bible-based culture tosses absolutes out the window in celebration of every form of evil, that is a sign that God has abandoned that nation. The nightly news could be a reading of Romans 1:29-30. These sins have always been a part of human history since the Fall. However, they have never been considered desirable by the masses. When millions of church-going Americans would rather Keep Up With the Sin-Laden Kardashians than with Jesus, it is a sign that God has abandoned that nation.

7. One often-overlooked item in this litany of sins is this: “they disobey their parents.” That one is jarring amidst such a cesspool of wickedness, so why is it there? Consider the last few generations. Has there ever been such open defiance of parental authority? What culture has long survived such blatant disregard for its elders? Children who should be adults by now continue to rebel like bratty toddlers: attacking, cursing, stealing from, and abusing their parents. Little children live secret lives via the smartphones bought by Mom and Dad. A parent trying to discipline a child can be arrested and jailed with one phone call. When an out-of-control youth generation disdains, dishonors, and disrespects its parents, that is a sign that God’s favor and protection have been removed from that nation (v. 30).

8. An eerie phenomenon has begun that also may indicate God’s abandonment of a nation. A growing multitude has a strange inability to comprehend what is right before them. As though a plexiglass wall stood between wise counsel and rebellious defiance, the hearer only blinks dumbly at the pleas for sanity. Verse 31 says that they are “without understanding.” This doesn’t refer to difficult trig problems. This refers to moral and ethical understanding. There is a new and chilling lack of understanding of the most basic common sense. They cannot see that up is not down, in is not out, and red is not green. They appear confused at the notion that there are only two genders, one way to marry, and that there may, in fact, be absolute right and wrong. When God has removed His restraining power from a culture, those without Him are left with a vacuum, an inability to grasp what wisdom cries to them. They are not only unwilling but unable to understand.

9. The final sign that God has abandoned a nation may be the most sinister of all because it masquerades as love. This indicator applies to those who consider themselves “the church.” These people make up the majority of the religious world because they “know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death” (v. 32). They know it because they’ve had some foundation in truth.

But instead of standing in the gap, sounding the alarm, crying out in the public square, “Stop! Please! We’re going the wrong way! This will bring God’s judgment on us!” they applaud the wickedness. They stand at the Gay Pride marches holding signs that say “God made you this way.” They justify sexual immorality: “God understands we love each other.” They rip out sections of their Bibles so that it says only what they want it to say, and then they put it on TV as a “ministry.” They waffle on abortion saying, “It wouldn’t be right for me, but you have to make your own choice. There is no right or wrong.”

A sign that God has abandoned a nation is when those who call themselves “the church” have stopped influencing culture and culture is now influencing the church.

When Did Love Win?

 

Love Wins! 

What an awesome slogan. But there is a problem with it--it comes a little late. It's as if today's headline declared victory over Nazi Germany. The battle for the supremacy of love took place over 2000 years ago, but not at the moment you may think. 
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For love to win, it must have an opponent. Since God IS love, then his ultimate opponent is Satan. The showdown came on a lonely desert hillside when the Son of God was at his weakest. We read about it in Luke 4. Satan came at Love from a dozen angles, but they all had the same theme: Forget God's will and satisfy your flesh. Satan's goal was to forever enslave the people God loves, but he cloaked it as a simple compromise. The temptation sounded much like this:"You have a need. I can satisfy it. Maybe God's way isn't the only way." 
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His theme hasn't changed much. He still promises that his alternative to obedience will satisfy our need and God won't mind. He still insists that sin is no big deal and that love wins if we say it did. 
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But on that day of the ultimate showdown, true Love won with the words:"It is written..." 
Love refused to compromise the plan of God for His own fleshly desires. 
Love had a bigger goal in mind. He was going to offer His victory to anyone who would join Him in declaring it. 
Love won when He allowed men He'd created to nail him to a cross. And it shouted final victory when He kicked the stone away from the tomb and sent the demons running for cover. Love won when He broke the chains of slavery from the very sins that many now celebrate. 
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Love always wins when we defy Satan's compromise with the words, "It is written..."
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Love did not win with the Supreme court decision. Love has already won for any person who is willing to stand beside Him on a lonely hillside and declare to our Enemy: "No, Satan! I will not be enslaved by you any more. You have no power over me because love already won!"

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Homosexual Cowardice

SIGH!


So, more Christian leaders have grown spines of mush in the face of the out-of-control homosexual agenda. I was so disappointed to read of more mega-church pastors taking a "non-stance" on what God clearly takes a strong stand against.

The repeated excuses all sound something like this: "Jesus didn't say anything about homosexuality, so we won't either. We want to focus on love, love, love..."

Well, isn't that nice. If Jesus had only focused on love, love, love, He would never have been crucified. He never softened His Father's law or His Father's truth, even when it killed Him. So why do His modern followers think they have the right to do less?

Jesus never spoke of necromancy or bestiality either, because His Father had already spoken. In Jewish culture, open homosexuals were to be stoned, so there were no parades flaunting their perversions. There was no question in anyone's mind what God thought about it. No need to ask.

There is still no question in God's mind about it. So why are we asking?
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Can We Make a Deal?

One question we hear a lot today is, "Can I be Christian and ________?" Can I be Christian and gay? Can I be Christian and party? Can I be Christian and sleep with whoever I want? The questions go on, filled with most of the items on Paul's "NO" list found in Galatians 5:19-21. 

Unfortunately, many well-meaning Christians don't know how to answer. We try to tip the scales in favor  of Grace and forget that there's another side called Truth--a combination Jesus always held in perfect balance. He already gave us the answer to these questions when He included the account of the rich young ruler in three of the four Gospels.

An all-around decent guy came to Jesus with the same question: "Can I be Christian and keep my old identity?"  This guy was a believer. He had no doubt that Jesus was who He said He was, and he wanted in on it. But He wanted to make a deal. He wanted what Jesus offered without giving up His old life. Jesus said no. And He let the guy walk away. Then He added the chilling clencher, "How hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!" 

I don't think Jesus has changed His answer, and we don't have the authority to change it either.

What Does the New Testament say about Homosexuality?

The Bible is consistent through both Old and New Testaments in confirming that homosexuality is sin (Genesis 19:1-13; Leviticus 18:22; 20:13; Romans 1:26-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9; Jude 1:7). The New Testament reinforces what the Old Testament had declared since the law was given to Moses (Leviticus 20:13). The difference between the Old and New Testaments is that the New Testament offers hope and restoration to those caught in the sin of homosexuality through the redeeming power of Jesus. It is the same hope that is offered to anyone who chooses to accept it (John 1:12, 3:16-18).

Some people have a misunderstanding about the two sections we know as the Bible. Many mistakenly believe that the New Testament was written to cancel the law God gave in the Old. They state erroneously that since Jesus came, we are not "under the law" and therefore the Old Testament prohibitions no longer apply. However, Jesus said, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them" (Matthew 5:17). God's standards of holiness did not change with the coming of Jesus, because God does not change (Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8). What God made known about Himself has not changed, nor have His moral boundaries. Jesus did not condemn those who were careful to observe God's law. His harsh words were for those who twisted God's law to their own advantage. They were focused on outward obedience while neglecting heart devotion (Matthew 23:2-4; Luke 11:39). The law is good (Psalm 19:7; Romans 7:16; 1 Timothy 1:8). It was given to show us what holiness looks like and that none of us can attain it perfectly on our own.

The New Testament is merely a continuing revelation of God's interaction with humanity. God hated idolatry in the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 5:8), and He still hates it in the New (1 John 5:21). Homosexuality is not the cause of a society's decline; it is the result of people making themselves the final authorities. Romans chapter 1 gives the natural digression of a society that has chosen idolatry and sinful pleasure instead of obedience to God. The downward spiral begins with denying that God has absolute authority over His creation (v. 21-23).

The result is that God gives "them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator" (vv. 24-25). Verses 26 and 27 say, "For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error." The phrase "God gave them up" means that when we insist on shaking our fists at God, He finally lets us have the perversion we demand. Homosexual behavior is the result of ignoring God and trying to create our own truth. When we defy God's clear instruction, we reap the "due penalty" of our disobedience (2 Thessalonians 1:8-9; Revelation 21:8).

The good news is that homosexuality is not the unpardonable sin. It is forgivable just like greed, theft, and murder are forgivable when we repent and turn to Jesus (Acts 2:38). He provides us with new identities (1 Peter 1:14; Colossians 2:13). Second Corinthians 5:17 says that "if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away; all things have become new." Those old things include former sins that once held us captive. Whereas we were once defined by our sin, being born again (John 3:3) means we are now defined by Jesus and His righteousness (Colossians 3:3). A thief no longer has to define himself as a thief. He is cleansed from his former ways and made new in Christ. A murderer--such as Saul before he became the apostle Paul--is forgiven and conformed to the image of Christ (Galatians 1:13; 1 Corinthians 15:9; Romans 8:29). And someone trapped in homosexuality can be set free to walk in purity when he or she agrees with God about sin and trusts His power to forgive and restore. 

First Corinthians 6:9-10 includes homosexuality in a list of sinful identities that will not have a part in God's kingdom. But verse 11 goes on to say, "Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God." God's kingdom is populated by sinners. No one comes to God on personal merit. We all come the same way: through repentance, renouncing the sin for which Jesus died, and accepting the righteousness of Christ in its place (2 Corinthians 5:21). So the New Testament offers good news for everyone struggling with sexual identity. Jesus wants to replace our sinful lifestyles with His own righteousness so that we become more like Him.

Gay and Christian? Can it be?

Hi, I`m a lesbian and a Christian. I believe in God. I go to church. I try to do right by Him.  I don`t think God would condemn me to hell because of who I love. Can you explain to me why? I`m not hurting anyone or doing anything wrong... Am I really going to hell?

I can sense the frustration in your question and I hope you hear sincerity and compassion in my answer. Finding truth starts with dismantling some fallacies and inaccuracies buried within your question that you most likely did not realize were there. It is my prayer that as you read this, the truth will begin to illuminate the confusion that has prompted your question.

Illumination begins with challenging some terms you have adopted and by which you have labeled yourself without realizing the full implications of doing so. First, let’s define the term “Christian” as the Bible does. Since no one has the right to define God or His plans except Him, then we have to adhere as closely as possible to what His Word tells us. Scripture says we are all sinners (Romans 3:23, 3:10). According to the Bible, we all deserve hell for our sin and rebellion against God and His righteousness (Romans 6:23). So our condemnation is not based upon whether one sin is worse than another. We are all equal in our depravity and all deserving of God's judgment.

Jesus said, "Wide is the path that leads to destruction and many are on it, but narrow is the path that leads to life and few are they who find it" (Matthew 7:13-14). So who are those few who find eternal life? The religious people thought they were surely on the right path. The self-righteous thought they were too. The people with the right pedigree, or the right church membership, or the right set of religious beliefs all thought they were fine. After all, they believed in God, went to church, tried to do right, and were certainly not as bad as some people.

Jesus answered that question when a man named Nicodemus asked Him the same thing. Jesus’ answer was that we must be "born again" (John 3:3). Jesus used that illustration because we all understand birth. In physical birth, a new creature emerges that did not previously exist. A human baby resembles the parents and she immediately begins to grow. As she grows, she looks more and more like them.

Spiritual birth is the same. Birth pangs begin when we recognize that we are hopeless sinners, undeserving of God’s mercy. We understand that He sent his own Son to take the punishment our sin deserves so that we could be forgiven. We recognize that it was for our salvation that He was raised from the dead so that we would no longer have to be mastered and enslaved by the very sins that He died for.

But this recognizing is not salvation. Neither the awareness of truth nor the mental appreciation for it is salvation. The outward display of Christian activity is not salvation. Jesus was clear about what it takes to become His followers. He said, “If anyone would come after me let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23). That cross he referred to is the death of our fleshly nature--the part of us that likes to sin. If we want Him, we have to be willing to let Him replace our old self with a new one. We have to have a total change of mind about our own sin and who is boss. The Bible calls that “repentance.” Without true heart repentance, we cannot be saved. We don't earn this gift from God. Our good deeds do not impress Him. The new birth is a divine paradox: a free gift that costs us everything we are. Only a change of heart and a change of ownership grant us entrance into God’s family.

So the first question you must answer is this: “Have I truly been born again?” Many people make the same mistake that the religious people of Jesus’ day did. But 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away; all things have become new.” Scripture requires that we examine our lives, not our ideology, and ask ourselves this question: "When did I become a new creature? At what point did my life, my desires, and my perspective switch from my own way to God’s way?" If no such change has occurred, then most likely no new birth occurred either. In that case, then no sin is worse than another, because we stand condemned before God already.

The second fallacy we need to address is your self-designation as “lesbian.” Satan cons many people into identifying themselves by only one aspect of their fleshly natures. To define yourself by your sexual temptations is like someone else saying, "Hi. I am a kleptomaniac. That is who I am and you need to accept it.” Or, “Hi, I want the world to define me by my overwhelming desire to lie.” Or another saying, “The most important fact about my identity is that I am a cutter. I'm not hurting anybody, so I don't see why it matters how much harm I inflict upon my body.” When we begin to define ourselves by our sin, we have fallen into Satan’s trap and are totally missing the truth.

The truth as God defines it is this: We are all human beings created in the image of God for His glory and pleasure (Colossians 1:16). Since we are His creation, He knows best how our lives should be lived. The Designer also wrote the instruction manual. He created each of us as either male or female. He also designed sexuality and placed healthy restrictions on its use. Electricity is a good and powerful invention if it is used correctly. Used wrongly, it can destroy. 

Sexuality is a sacred thing, the design of God. He alone can define its use. The Bible is clear that sex was created to be enjoyed between one man and one woman who are in a covenant marriage until one of them dies (Matthew 19:6; Mark 10:8). Any use of sexuality outside those parameters constitutes abuse of God’s gift. “Abuse” is the use of something or someone in ways for which they were not designed. The Bible calls this sin. Adultery, premarital sex, pornography, and homosexual relations are all outside God’s design, which makes them sin.

When we give our lives to Christ and enter the kingdom of God, we transfer ownership of everything to Him. That’s what the Bible means when it says that we are saved by making Jesus LORD of our lives (Romans 10:9). We no longer have the right to defy His stated will for us. Our lives belong to Him and our goal is to glorify Jesus, not please ourselves. Self-worship is what earns us God’s judgment in the first place. We cannot worship self and God at the same time. He does not share His throne.

If you have spent any time in the scriptures, then you know that homosexual behavior is condemned all the way through the Bible (Leviticus 20:13; Jude 1:17). Probably the strongest warning is found in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 which says, “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.” 

The people who will not inherit the kingdom of God are those whose lives are defined by their sin choices. Temptation is not a sin. Same-sex attraction is not a sin. Acting on it is. Lust in your heart is (Matthew 5:28). Every evil thing listed in this verse starts in the heart as a temptation. God is warning us that if we allow those things to become who we are by acting on them, we cannot also be followers of Jesus Christ. We cannot follow both sin and Jesus. They are going in opposite directions.

Some people will argue at this point that they “were born this way” and, therefore, acting on those urges is unavoidable. They justify their sin by convincing themselves that God must have made them this way, so why not indulge. The truth is that there is no medical evidence whatsoever that anyone HAS to sin. We are all born with a sin nature. We all have different weaknesses and temptations. For some men, remaining faithful to one wife feels impossible. A man may argue that his sexual needs are not being fully met and, therefore, he should have the freedom to sleep with other women in an open marriage. Even if his wife agrees to it, adultery is just as sinful. Sin is not always about hurting someone else according to our standards. Sin is about violating God’s standards.

An alcoholic fights tremendous urges to drink. But when he gives his life to Christ, his desire changes and he now wants to do whatever necessary to curb those sinful impulses. More than gratifying his flesh, he wants to remain faithful to Jesus, who warns against drunkenness (Galatians 5:21; 1 Peter 4:30).  Jesus said, "Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46)

 This was a rather long response because your question deserves a complete answer. The questions as you stated them could not be accurately answered in that form because they were based on some false assumptions. I encourage you to let God take an unrestrained look into your heart, not through the screen of self-justification, but with an honest desire to know Him. God loves you. He designed you for Himself. No amount of self-gratification is as satisfying as a life totally submitted to the lordship of Jesus Christ. I urge you to tune out the world's opinion of who God is and what He says and let His word speak for itself.

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What's a Pervert?

Perversion rules our day. 

Webster’s Dictionary defines perversion as “diverting from the true intent or purpose; a change to something worse.” Anything can be perverted. 

In the Bible, the word translated “perversion” is used to define a deviation from righteousness in sexual behavior, speech, or justice. In each case, there are warnings against using for evil something that God created as good.

Satan twists things. Every good thing that God created, Satan works to pervert. God created sexuality and called it good (Genesis 1:27-28, 31). Sexual union has a dual purpose—procreation (Genesis 1:28; 9:1) and joining marriage partners as “one flesh” (Genesis 2:24). Since early days, human beings have found twisted uses for sex that accomplish neither of God’s intended purposes. The perversions were so widespread by the time God gave the Law to Moses that admonitions against specific perversions had to be included in detail.. According to Scripture, any sexual activity outside the marriage union of one woman and one man is a perversion and condemned by God (1 Corinthians 6:18; Hebrews 13:4). The New Testament lists some specific sexual perversions such as homosexuality, adultery, and fornication, stating that those who practice such aberrant behaviors “will not inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:9–10; Galatians 5:19–21).

The book of Proverbs has a lot to say about perverted speech. Our mouths were created to praise God, encourage each other, and speak truth (Psalm 19:14).. Perverse speech occurs when we use the gift of speech for evil purposes such as cursing, gossiping, using foul language, coarse joking, and lying (Proverbs 10:18). . Ephesians 4:29 says, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” Colossians 4:6 says, “Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.”  In Matthew 15:11, Jesus indicates that perversion is a matter of the heart: “What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.”

God also hates the perversion of justice, especially when it victimizes widows and orphans (Exodus 22:22). God is perfectly just and commands human beings to model that justice. Proverbs 11:1 says, “The LORD detests dishonest scales, but accurate weights find favor with him.” When we choose to seek our own interests at the expense of the rights of others, we have perverted justice. Some examples of perverted justice are the taking and offering of bribes, oppressing the poor, killing the innocent, and bearing false witness (Exodus 23:1). God loves justice, and godly people will love it, too. God desires His children to actively defend those who are being oppressed.

Satan cannot create; that power belongs to God alone. So he perverts what God has created. If he can entice God’s most cherished creations to follow him in his twisted ideas, he succeeds in perverting the image of God we were designed to magnify.. It is Satan who introduced the idea that perversion equals freedom. But he knows quite well that perversion is a slippery path that leads to bondage and then death. By perverting sexuality, speech, or justice, we mar the likeness of God in our own lives. But by using God’s gifts in the way He intended them to be used, we find true freedom and can enjoy a healthy relationship with God .