What is the value of your soul? Don’t miss this 28-minute video! Three lives search for true worth as their worlds crumble. Follow their unexpected journeys as Franklin Graham addresses the real value of the soul. Just click on the link below or copy/paste into the address block on your Internet browser.
Leverage the Forgotten Power of the Homemaker
Acclaim and demonstrate the vital importance of the homemaker—The Biblical homemaker enjoys the most vital and exciting career in the universe. Family and culture decline rapidly when the homemaker leaves home. To destroy a culture, remove the homemaker from the home. A major strategy of the spiritual and temporal enemies of the traditional family is to deflate or collapse the family by enticing the homemaker out of the home. But God says otherwise, “The women of my people have ye cast out from their pleasant houses; from their children have ye taken away my glory forever. Arise ye, and depart; for this is not your rest: because it is polluted, it shall destroy you, even with a sore destruction.” [Micah 2:9, &10 KJV] All roads go through the homemaker; she is the real, not just metaphorical heart of the home:
The homemaker is the heart of the home physically—Everyone is born through the womb of the mother. The bond between mother and child begins at the moment of conception and strengthens throughout the child’s growing time in the womb. No other bond in the universe comes close to matching the early mother-child bond. The bond is reinforced during the period of breast-feeding and continues to grow even as the mother lets go of the emancipated adult. Her loving bond with the father cements the continuity of generations, is a source of personal satisfaction for both, and provides desperately needed role models for the children. Her efforts to maintain or improve the home environment are an expression of love for her husband and children.
The homemaker is the heart of the home intellectually—Scripture assigns parents the responsibility of educating the children. For millennia, the mother was the primary teacher, later assisted by the Church. Schools were created by the Church to teach children about life, God, and His amazing creation. The great universities, including most Ivy League schools, were founded to teach young men to be ministers. But in the last century, the Church and parents have largely abdicated their roles and responsibilities for education in favor of government schools that have become increasingly abusive regarding all aspects of Judeo-Christian tradition. Raising the children is far more than simply taking care of the children.
The homemaker is the heart of the home emotionally—Children learn emotional awareness and compassion far more from the mother than from the father. Indulging a sports analogy, dad is primarily a coach; mom is the quarterback, the source and catalyst of virtually all action in the family and the home. What would happen on game day if the quarterback decided to go fishing instead of instead of going to the stadium? The athletic coach probably has a backup quarterback who may not perform quite as well as the star quarterback. But in the home, every homemaker is a star and there is no backup when she is not there.
The homemaker is the heart of the home spiritually—In most homes, it is the mother who primarily instills spiritual principles through day-to-day training. Often it is the mother who takes the children to church or synagogue. Shame on the dads who are not the spiritual leaders in their homes as well. But even in the homes where dad is a strong spiritual leader, the children still spend far more time with the mother and are therefore more available to her for spiritual training. Dad becomes the reinforcer.
These vitally important lessons are not learned when strangers, such as nursery schools, babysitters, an endless round of age-graded day care centers, and government-run schools raise the children. Lifestyle absentee parenting is tragic and leads to disastrous consequences.
To survive, a family must actively and irrevocably commit to Biblical values and fight aggressively and continuously to maintain those values.
No civilization has ever survived the breakdown of the family.
If parents want their children and grandchildren to enjoy a free society (country), they absolutely must deeply embed Biblical family values in their children. It is an impossible task for absentee parents.
In perilous times, there will be people “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof…Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” [2 Timothy 3: 5 & 7 KJV] Never be satisfied with a “form of godliness.” Do everything God’s way. You will be glad you did.
What does it take to wake up the body of believers?
What does it take to wake up the clergy?
The PAIN When God’s Family Turns Away from HIM
History has treated the family as a state within a state attaching to the family a certain “sovereignty.”6 G.K. Chesterton. Two people must agree to marriage; only one is necessary to guarantee a government facilitated divorce. Divorce cedes authority to the state, assuring increasing dependence on the state and perpetual domination of the wealthy over the poor and middle class. Consider that most people go to church to be married, but go to the government to be divorced. Marriage costs the state very little, but a huge tax payer-funded bureaucracy is required to support divorce. We pay billions in taxes to support the sinful choices of others. Marriage preserves freedom from government control. Divorce cedes freedom and control to the government.
Limiting sexual intimacy to the confines of marriage contributes to the permanence of the marriage. True sexual intimacy reflects the intellectual, emotional, and spiritual intimacy (bonding of two souls), which become the mortar that holds together the structure of the marriage. Physical intimacy before marriage allows two people the shallow transient pleasure of a rub and a tickle, rather than unfettered soulful bonding. But that transient experience is so powerful, so all-consuming that it becomes virtually impossible to clearly discern whether or not that partner is the best one to become an irrevocable, lifetime, “til-death-do-us-part” marriage partner.
Multiple intimate partners before marriage weaken or damage the soul and seriously inhibit the ability to make and sustain a lifetime commitment to a marriage partner. Following a series of temporary “bonds,” it becomes increasingly difficult to form the pervasive holistic bond that God intended with the one special marriage partner.
Similarly, extra-marital intimacy following the marriage creates the potential for destroying the marriage and family. The devastation painfully damages the spouse, children, siblings of the couple, and many friends. In addition, there is an immediate ripple effect among many people and an extended ripple effect through at least three or four subsequent generations. Is it worth it? Of course not! There is no way that the momentary pleasure even when repeated numerous times can justify the extended sphere of subsequent pain and suffering.
“Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for fornicators and adulterers God will judge.” [Hebrews 13:4 NAS] “Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not covet.” [Exodus 20:14 & 17 KJV] Hosea repeatedly forgave Gomer even though she was adulterous and a prostitute. [Hosea 3:3 KJV] As always, God’s moral law is an expression of His love established for our benefit.
Tasting the original forbidden fruit carried a high price. (1) “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.” [Genesis 3:6 KJV]. Sin entered the world. Similarly, (2) “The path of the adulteress leads to death.” [Proverbs 2:16-22 KJV] “What therefore God hath joined together let not man put asunder.” [Matthew 19:6, Mark 10:9 KJV] The command is non-optional and non-negotiable.
“Lord, grant that I might not so much seek to be loved as to love.” St. Francis of Assisi “…in everything worth having, even in every pleasure, there is a point of pain or tedium that must be survived, so that the pleasure may be revived and endure.” G.K. Chesterton.
For troubled Christian marriages, counseling is not likely to be productive unless and until both parties genuinely agree that the Bible is the inspired inerrant word of God and that divorce is NOT an acceptable option under any circumstances. The agreed upon mutual view solidifies the common goal to save the marriage. In addition, the husband and wife both have an incentive to resolve troublesome issues because they both desire to enjoy the fullness and richness of the human experience. Since they have both agreed that divorce is unacceptable, the only remaining alternative is to resolve the issues. Often the resolution is facilitated if the effort is framed by the memory of why they originally chose to marry.
What does it take to wake up the body of believers?
What does it take to wake up the clergy?
Dad and Mom Are Superheroes
Both the Old and New Testaments summarize the Ten Commandments into just two. “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” [Matthew 22:37-40; Deuteronomy 6:5; Leviticus 19:18 NIV] Both commandments represent ultimate love characterized by extreme giving. The first is a vertical love of God; the second is a horizontal love of others.
Consider how those two commandments uniquely apply to marriage. Scripture explains the marriage relationship:
Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear (reverence, awe) of God. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the savior of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. [Ephesians 5:21-28 KJV (emphasis added)]
A husband must give himself for his family so they may become as perfect and blameless as is humanly possible. The husband and wife are mutual givers, but there is more, much more.
The earthly marriage is a representation of an eternal relationship with God. The Lord is illustrated scripturally as the bridegroom coming for his bride, the worldwide body of believers. “Let us rejoice and be glad and give him (Messiah) glory! For the wedding of the Lamb (Y’shua; Jesus) has come, and his bride has made herself ready…blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb…These are the true words of God.” [Revelation 19:7&9 NIV] The Bible further clarifies that the apostle John, “saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” [Revelation 21:2 KJV]
Scripturally, the order of the universe is that the Lord is the bridegroom and the body of believers is the bride. Of course, in any earthly marriage the man is the bridegroom and the bride is the beautiful woman spectacularly dressed in a white wedding gown walking down the aisle to meet her man. But in a larger sense, the bride is not just the woman at the ceremony, the bride is the woman and by extension the children she later produces, often referred to as the fruit of her womb. The husband is required to love the wholeness of his bride, i.e. the wholeness of his family, even as the Messiah also loved the church, to the point of the husband’s own death if necessary.
Fallows magnificently explains, “The husband is the ‘house band,’ the earthly giver of life, uniting the divine with the human in the supreme function of fatherhood.” The wife is ‘the weaver,’ shaping and coloring in the prenatal and postnatal influences of sacred motherhood the destinies of her offspring.” “As the “earthly giver of life, uniting the divine with the human,” the husband/father becomes the role model for “the first and greatest commandment” to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”
As the “weaver,” the wife/mother is the connection between the past and future generations of her family, but also the past and future generations of the culture. She is the role model for the second summary commandment to ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Shannon clarifies,
Mothers constitute the only universal agent of civilization. Nature has placed in her hands both infancy and youth. The vital interest of America hang largely upon the influence of mothers.” The queen that sits upon the throne of home, crowned and sceptered as none other ever can be, is—mother. Her enthronement is complete, her reign unrivaled, and the moral issues of her empire are eternal. “Her children rise up, and call her blessed.” Rebellious at times, as the subjects of her government may be, she rules them with marvelous patience, winning tenderness and undying love. She so presents and exemplifies divine truth, that it reproduces itself in the happiest development of childhood—character and life…An ounce of mother is worth more than a pound of clergy.
Sadly, far too many dads in modern America fail to carry out their God-assigned, high- priority, family responsibilities, either due to a lack of holistic understanding, the powerful lure of excessive materialism or both. Far too many moms fall short by not being there and available for raising the children. Together, such parents effectively sacrifice their children on the altar of the false god of materialism. However, when Dad and Mom lovingly and enthusiastically become God’s family, the results can be deeply heartwarming and sometimes even breathtaking. When they do not, the results can range from troublesome to tragic.
Some time ago, I devoted seven years to meeting virtually all the needs and providing around-the-clock care for my terminally ill late wife. She endured a neurodegenerative condition similar to Alzheimer’s disease. After her passing, a well-wisher said. “You really sacrificed a lot during those years.” I thanked her and replied that it did not seem like I sacrificed anything. Providing total care for her was more important than anything else I could have been doing during that time. It was a monumentally life-changing experience, a soul-deep lesson in selfless love. The experience has had long-term impacts on me and those around me and will continue to do so far into the future.
Together, fueled by God’s infinite supply of love, Dad and Mom become virtual super heroes, an incredibly awesome team stabilizing God’s brilliantly designed family and the national culture as a whole. A child forms a vertical relationship with God, primarily, though not exclusively, through the role model of the father; a child forms horizontal relationships with others within and beyond the family primarily, though not exclusively, through the role model of the mother. The complementary combination produces godly character in the child. The actions of role modeling build character in the parents. The character of every family member extends outward to the community and the nation.
That is God’s grand design for Dad and Mom. What incredible superheroes!
What does it take to wake up the body of believers?
What does it take to wake up the clergy?
In modern America, God’s grand and glorious institution, the family, is being ferociously attacked. The relentless and malicious attacks are aimed at the traditional family in general and YOUR family in particular. Consider seriously, Part 2 of this vital discussion.
Part 1 identified the most aggressive and influential enemies of the traditional family and the primary targets of those groups. Part 2 profiles the stunning heavy artillery amassed by the anti-family groups and their sources of immense power, along with a challenge to protect YOUR FAMILY. Part 3 characterizes a power far greater than all the combined power arrayed against us. Finally, Part 4 provides the practical, detailed strategy to protect YOUR FAMILY.
Stunning Heavy Artillery Amassed by the Anti-Family Groups
Weapons are required to destroy the targets. The anti-family groups have assembled a formidable arsenal of powerful weapons aimed at YOUR family, including but not limited to.
Fearsome Power of the Anti-Family Groups
The attackers have available the formidable and intimidating power of the:
YOU Must Protect YOUR Family from Cultural Devastation!
The Judeo-Christian family today faces a formidable array of big guns designed to weaken and destroy it. The family has already been directly substantially weakened by
The traditional family is virtually at war with the federal government. Many people would not choose a term as harsh as war. But the tension between the sovereignty of the family and the sovereignty of the state has undeniably escalated in recent decades.
The government breaches family sovereignty by:
The collective effect of the big guns attaches plausibility to non-Biblical and immoral conditions and behaviors. The ever increasing number of “alternative lifestyles,” represented here as heavy artillery, elicit an unending series of compromises to the institution of marriage, the sanctity of life, and the sovereignty of the family. Aggregated compromises become cultural bunker busters.
Part 3 is a discussion of a power so great that it can easily overcome the formidable forces arrayed against us.
In modern America, God’s grand and glorious institution, the family, is being ferociously attacked. The relentless and malicious attacks are aimed at the traditional family in general and YOUR family in particular.
Consider first the context of the modern American culture. Then wrestle with the grim and determined attacks by the unprecedented number of highly organized groups determined to destroy YOUR family. They have specific targets, a huge arsenal of devastating weapons, and massive power.
Part 1 identifies the most aggressive and influential enemies of the traditional family and the primary targets of those groups. Part 2 profiles the stunning heavy artillery amassed by the anti-family groups and their sources of immense power, along with a challenge to protect YOUR FAMILY. Part 3 characterizes a power far greater than all the combined power arrayed against us. Finally, Part 4 provides the practical, detailed strategy to protect YOUR FAMILY.
Powerful Anti-Family Enemies Aligned Against YOUR Family
All of these groups are Humanist or antagonistic to the American family or both. They have made man his own god. They are determined to reshape America in the socialist, Humanist mold, a “fundamental transformation.”
Perhaps, like many, you have concluded that as a Judeo-Christian believer, “I don’t belong to any of these groups nor do I support them.” Therefore, they have nothing to do with me. Wrong! Wrong! Dead wrong! They have everything to do with YOU. They ALL share a publically declared goal to destroy YOUR FAMILY. They will mock your successes and cheer your failures. In the Internet Age of virtually no privacy and instant everything, you can no longer “fly under the radar” and be protected by a weekly trip to church or synagogue.
Collectively, the groups create a cultural climate that undermines and weakens the sanctity of life, the sanctity of marriage, and the sovereignty of the family. The statistically equivalent rates of abortion and divorce between conservative believers and atheists/agnostics unambiguously demonstrates that the body of believers has been severely and negatively compromised by the combined efforts of the anti-family groups.
Targets of the Anti-Family Groups Include YOUR Family
To fundamentally transform America, the anti-family groups must have specific targets and objectives. A few of them are:
The God-created, God-ordained, Biblical family is the only real source of long-term cultural stability. A culture is stable only to the extent that the people consider the needs of others before the needs of self. It is an unassailable Biblical principle that can only be passed on to posterity through soulfully committed traditional families. The family is the heart and strength of the “Great American Experiment.” No nation has ever survived the breakdown of the family.
The anti-family Humanist groups must destabilize, weaken, and eventually destroy the family to make the American culture receptive to massive change (fundamental transformation). The intent to deliberately destroy the institution of the family is well documented in their published writings.
Part 2 will identify the mind blowing weaponry and the sources of the massive power available to the anti-family groups. Do not be discouraged. Part 2 will also include a challenge to protect YOUR FAMILY. Subsequent parts will explain how.
References to American exceptionalism have recurred with increasing frequency in recent years. Some champion the notion; Russian President Vladimir Putin has recently scoffed at it on several occasions, regarding it as a representation of American arrogance.
American exceptionalism arose only because a critical mass of Americans looked to God as the source of everything for the first 150 years of United States history.
Looking to God
Because Americans looked to God and loved God they enjoyed His abundant blessings. Americans were blessed with the ability to generate the world’s highest standard-of-living and best quality-of-life. America became the standard of freedom and the envy of people around the globe.
People everywhere wanted to become Americans, be like Americans, or copy American styles and fads. America was a leader and a positive role model for the world. Spectacular military successes in two world wars and incomparable economic successes simply reinforced the image of American exceptionalism.
What happened?
In recent decades as Americans have increasingly abandoned God His hand of blessing has receded. America’s worldwide reputation for outstanding leadership and a defender of freedom has been shattered.
Leaderless America wanders in a spiritual wilderness, shamelessly and repeatedly elects a government that squanders vast financial and material resources, and has become a worldwide negative role model that regretfully attracts as much attention as did the previous reputation for being a positive role model.
People throughout the world still follow America’s downward spiral with as much gusto as they followed America’s upward climb to greatness. America’s influence extends far beyond its shores whether for good or evil.
What now?
Without God, Americans are no better than anyone else. American exceptionalism arose not because Americans are exceptional but because God is exceptional. He still is!
Does American exceptionalism still exist? You decide. If you lean toward, “no,” know that God is still exceptional. American exceptionalism can again become abundantly visible to the world only to the extent that Americans become once again willing to trust God and to love God.
Are YOU willing to become part of it? Individuals of Judeo-Christian tradition and faith-based institutions can no longer be content to rearrange the deck chairs on the rapidly sinking American Titanic. The time to act is now—or explain our apathy on Judgment Day.
What does it take to wake up the body of believers?
What does it take to wake up the clergy?
It is always amazing to see how miss-translation from one language into another causes all manner of miscommunication and misunderstanding. Consider the word “love” as applied to interpersonal relationships.
Authors have written a myriad of books and ministers have preached endless sermons claiming that four Greek words represent four different kinds of love. Why? Because that is what they have been taught and that is the conclusion drawn by the Bible translators.
Actually, some have said that as many as 6-7 Greek words should be translated as “love.” Nevertheless, four Greek words are more than enough to examine here. Of the four, only two actually appear in Scripture, but it helps to present the context of all four. Only one is actually love. Consider each separately; then examine the context:
Love characterizes all interpersonal relationships—God/man; man/woman; parent/child; boss/employee; teacher/student; or friend/friend. “…if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another…If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.” [1John 4:11, 12 KJV]
Love and the relationships that it binds can only exist to the extent that there is regular mutual giving. In the absence of giving, relationships will weaken and eventually break. The exception of course is marriage that may become lifeless in the absence of giving, but must not be broken.
Unfortunately, the various Greek words typically translated as “love” can be misleading and elicit compromise. For example, George emerges from where he just heard a brilliant sermon on the four different kinds of love. He muses to himself, “I can understand and relate to eros, phileo, and storge. But that unconditional agape? I just don’t know. After all Jesus said, “love your enemies.” [Matthew 5:44 KJV] I don’t know if I can do that. There was only One who could unconditionally love His enemies. Well, I guess I have a lifetime to grow into it.”
George walks away comfortable with three different kinds of attractions that are not love, conceding that the only real love is seemingly out of reach. He quickly returns to life as usual; nothing has changed.
Yet God is telling us in Scripture that unless any relationship is characterized by agape, manifested in unconditional giving, there is no love in the relationship. There is no love, because the three attractions are all self-serving to some extent. They are all tied to conditions. The end result is that George ceases to grow and mature or does so at a snail’s pace.
Growth and maturity are produced by agape love. There is no substitute. The affections masquerading as love tend to be fruitless over the long-term. Their self-serving nature becomes a barrier to the growth of real godly love.
What does it take to wake up the body of believers?
What does it take to wake up the clergy?
Mass murders or extreme violence are often reported in the national news. Such extremes mask the growing mass of coarse and uncivil behavior not considered newsworthy. But now, growing national immaturity has become an important story. Consider this from CBS News:
“According to the poll (conducted by CareerBuilder) of over 2,500 hiring and human resources managers as well as more than 3,000 adult employees across a wide spectrum of industries and companies, “adolescent” behaviors such as whining, pouting and temper tantrums are an all-too-common occurrence in U.S. offices and other work spaces.
More than three-quarters of the employees polled said they’ve witnessed some type of childish behavior among their colleagues. More than half, 55 percent, said they’ve dealt with whining, and 46 percent have watched other employees openly pout over events that didn’t go their way.” http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-rise-of-childish-workplace-behavior/
For the last 50 years, a growing body of common law has unleashed the brute force of government to require people to do this… or not do that…, because somebody, somewhere “might” be offended.
Anyone who has ever been married knows that it is nearly impossible to get through more than a few days without offending your spouse—the one who is closer to you than anyone in the universe. If occasionally offending your spouse is inevitable, it is not possible to live life without occasionally offending people, whether it is intentional or inadvertent.
Most of the time, being offended is a mark of immaturity or childishness in this context. A mature person of good character will deliberately choose NOT to be offended, regardless of what others say or do.
I have often told groups of people that my joy comes from the Lord and nothing anyone says or does will deprive me of that joy. The comment can be very disarming and allows people to relax and enjoy a conversation free from anxiety.
Sadly, the American culture has, for decades, rewarded claims of being offended. If one or a group whines loud enough, they are often given what they want to shut them up or maintain an uneasy peace. Our culture has learned to reward weak character.
The government set the pace; business sheepishly followed. Anyone in business knows that you get more of whatever is rewarded. Childish behavior is often rewarded. The result is that it grows. Today, it is careening out of control.
The childish behavior and its rewards continue to grow because today many managers have grown up in the same dysfunctional culture as their usually younger employees. In addition, there has been a growing popularity of 360-degree evaluations in business, education, and government. The well-known concept provides a formal mechanism for employees to evaluate their peers, bosses, and subordinates. Consequently, the mangers become Neville Chamberlain peace-at-any-price supervisors, rewarding whiners to shut them up or risk a negative evaluation.
Is there a solution? Of course there is! As always, it is found in the Holy Scriptures. We cannot stop others from whining or complaining, but the Bible is very clear about how we should respond:
“The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks what is just.” [Psalm 37:30 NIV] “Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you. Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.” [Proverbs 4:6-7 NIV] “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech.” [1 Peter 3:10 NIV]
A mature manager or employee knows that, “Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.” [2 Peter 3:3 NIV] Proverbs 3:34 says that God “scoffs at the scoffers, yet He gives grace to the afflicted.” [ESV]
Scripture proclaims God’s ideal behavior, “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” [Ephesians 4:29 ESV] Finally, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” [1 Thessalonians 5:18 ESV]
But citing Scripture verses is not sufficient. It is merely an intellectual exercise. The passages do not incite action until they are soul-deep. When they are instinctively and routinely acted upon, we call it maturity.
There is not instant road to maturity. In each person, it must begin during earliest childhood. Real biological parents who are not absentee parents and the clergy must together instill positive character, beginning with small children and continuing throughout their lifetime. The very survival of the American culture depends on it. The American culture depends on YOU.
What does it take to wake up the body of believers?
What does it take to wake up the clergy?
Sin is still sin. It has not gone away. The overarching message of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation is God’s provision for redemption from the ravages of sin. The utter depravity of sin is the baseline from which we are extracted or redeemed, ultimately to experience the fullness of God’s love. Yet, today we seldom hear much about sin from the pulpits of America.
The low level of preaching about sin tacitly communicates to believers that sin has a low level of priority or is even unimportant among many Biblical messages. The decades-long decline in the apparent importance of sin encourages believers to flirt with, compromise, or participate in sinful thoughts and activities. The believers’ minds rationalize the compromises, in part, by sugar coating their lives with regular attendance at church or synagogue.
Putting distance between us and sin moves us closer to the Lord. While it is important to keep our eye on, “…the goal to win the prize of God’s heavenly call in the Messiah Jesus,” [Philippians 3:14 Aramaic Bible in Plain English] we must be fleeing from sin every moment along the way.
Consider one definition of sin. In its simplest form, sin is just doing things my way instead of God’s way. My way is pride-driven, self-indulgent, self-centered and therefore evil, because it is antagonistic to God. God’s way is other-centered and an expression of His infinite love. My way and God’s way are diametrically opposed and cannot co-exist for very long.
In short, sin is a man or woman’s private war with God. It is the equivalent of shaking an angry fist in the face of God, effectively saying, “I don’t care what You want; I’m going to do it my way, anyway.” Does that form a revolting and unacceptable mental image? Good! Then, we’re getting somewhere. Read on.
Sin should always shock, but may not always be surprising. If sin is not shocking, some contemplative self-reflection is in order. We should and must always be shocked by each new disturbing, public revelation about same-sex marriage, abortion, assisted suicide, cohabitation, divorce, or anything else contrary to the plain reading of scripture.
The recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling on homosexual or lesbian marriage should be a huge shock and wake-up call. Although the decision may not have been surprising in today’s culture, a believer must not confuse shock with surprise.
If you did not understand the difference between surprise and shock, with abundant clarity, before reading this, it may be because many believers (and clergy too) underestimate the depravity of sin, God’s utter revulsion of sin, and impact of sin on every area of life.
Light cannot shine in the daytime. It is over taken by the brilliance of the sun. Similarly, the light of the believer cannot shine while basking in the glory of God. He is infinite light. His light overtakes the light of the believer, when he or she is in God’s particular presence such as in the protected environment of a place of worship. The light of the believer shines in times and places of spiritual darkness. That is when the believer lights the way for the unbeliever.
The clergy and the body must continually sensitize each other to the evil, disgusting, and relentless nature of sin. We have tended to lose sight of even the definition of sin.
The spirit of believers has become numbed by a secular culture that does not believe the spirit exists. Good preaching lights the way for the believers. But preaching about sin has dwindled in recent decades implying God’s approval through the tacit approval of the clergy. Focused, convicting messages have been replaced by feel-good or how-to messages—with an invitation at the end in conservative churches. Of course, the invitation is important, but the new believer needs enormous support to reach spiritual maturity.
A tree can only grow to a height that matches the depth of its root system. Similarly, our sense of the joy of the Lord can only rise to a height that matches the depth of our conviction of sin. Consider the data: After two years of research, George Barna reported:
“What we’re finding is that when we ask them (pastors) about all the key issues of the day [90 percent of them are] telling us, ‘Yes, the Bible speaks to every one of these issues.’ Then we ask them: ‘Well, are you teaching your people what the Bible says about those issues?’ – and the numbers drop … to less than 10 percent of pastors who say they will speak to it.”
Good heavens! Why? If the clergy fail to speak forcefully and convincingly to the issues, the people are without direction. The clergy are the ones primarily responsible for applying Biblical truths to today’s culture, in an uncompromising way.
Not many decades ago cultural pressures encouraged right, moral living. Today, relentless, merciless cultural pressures push people nearly irresistibly toward the lures of all manner of sin. The flocks need the collective support of other believers. They also need the strength of their shepherds constantly contrasting the disgusting, evil nature of even so-called minor sins with the glories of God’s infinite love and redemption. It is the starkness of the contrast and the enormity of the gap that inspires.
One cannot fully experience the mountain top without knowing the depth of the valleys. One cannot experience the fullness of God’s love without understanding the utter depravity of sin at a soul-deep level. An intellectual understanding is not sufficient. A transient emotional impression is not sufficient.
It is not necessary to personally experience sin, though to some extent it is driven naturally by the sin nature. Maturity is the lifelong effort to minimize sin in the life of the believer. The Spirit of God will provide conviction through the Bible. The spiritual energy produced must be regularly harnessed and directed by the clergy.
A soul-deep understanding of sin propels the spread of God’s word by lifestyle example and direct evangelism. Witnessing follows conviction (internal) far more than exhortation (external).
Replace milky messages with meaty ones. “I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it…” [1 Corinthians 3:2 KJV] Believers are begging for the meat of the Word. They are ready for it.
Too much preaching today begins at a neutral point, urging people to love God. When neutrality is the starting point there is a reduced perception of a need for God, especially if everything seems to be going well for now. People sense a need for God and experience His love to the extent that they understand the depth and evilness of sin.
God, in His Word, commands us to flee from sin (evil). Various translations of Romans 12:9 order us to:
We can hate, recoil from, detest, or abhor only those things which God hates, recoils from, detests, or abhors, which of course is sin. 1 Corinthians 6:8 requires us to “flee immorality.” [NAS] 1 Corinthians 10:14 adds the mandate to “flee from idolatry.” [NAS]
We flee only from what we fear. We must fear evil (sin) for its relentless destructive effect on:
Unless believers collectively flee from evil, it will destroy our culture and our nation as well.
Sin always separates. Love unites. Sin or evil is the opposite of love. Sin is self-centered and antagonistic to God’s nature. Sin cannot coexist with God’s love, which is other-centered. “For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee. The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity.” [Psalms 5:4-5 KJV]
“Let me never forget that the heinousness of sin lies not so much in the nature of the sin committed, as in the greatness of the Person sinned against.” [Puritan prayer]
What does it take to wake up the believers?
What does it take to wake up the clergy?
“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” 1Peter 4:8 NIV “Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs.” Proverbs 10:12 NIV
Dr. Lloyd Stebbins 