CELEBRATING SIN

In the time when there was no king in ancient Israel, the people were constantly subjected to attacks by their enemies as a result of their sin in breaking the covenant with God which they had promised to obey. This followed the victories of Joshua, the successor to Moses. We call the era “the time of the Judges” (Acts 13:21) which lasted from the entrance of Israel in the promised land until Samuel the prophet. The judges were not judges as we commonly understand the term; they were leaders whom God raised up to save Israel from their oppressors. Generally, the Israelites were free from oppression as long as the judge lived, then they resorted back to their sinful ways and the cycle repeats itself.The one verse of Scripture that tells the story of the time of the Judges is 21:25, “In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” Sin has always made its’ presence known in this world in some very horrific ways. Over the course of time mankind is becoming more and more immune to its’ deceptive influence and destructive power. Jesus said, “as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all” (Luke 17:26,27).  In the New testament we read, “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come” (2 Timothy 3:1). We are certainly living in perilous times when people become lovers of their own selves (verse 2) and evil men get worse and worse (verse 13). 

Rather than repenting of sin and turning to God, the course of history reveals that sinners become more and more emboldened and defiant. Rather than being sorrowful over sin, it becomes a matter of celebration. 1 Timothy 4:2 says, “Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron”. This vivid description means their conscience is “dead to truth”. There is no better picture of this than “Pride Month”. Here in the United States it is the month of June. Everywhere you go you are reminded of the exceeding sinfulness of sin. You cannot escape it even if you go to a sporting event. Professional football teams, baseball teams, basketball teams, soccer teams etc. have all joined in the celebration of this sin. Disneyland, which one provided wholesome entertainment now joins in the party of wickedness. Hollywood is what Hollywood has always been. There is however nothing proud about sin. America has become like Sodom, “as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;  But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all” (Luke 17:28,29). 

Sodom was guilty of many different acts of evil, but their chief sin was their violation of the laws of God pertaining to human sexuality (Genesis 19:1-3; Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13: Romans 1:26,27; 1 Corinthians 6:9). Yes, the LGBTQ etc. is sin. It is a sin against nature (what is normal) and a sin against God. What makes this sin even more grievous is the fact that it has become a “national celebration.” Not just one day of the year like President’s Day, or Martin Luther King Day, but an entire month. When sin like this becomes normalized and accepted it screams out for God’s judgment. “You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination,” (Leviticus 18:22); Romans 1:26 describes same sex sin as a “vile affection”. The word vile means shameful or dishonorable. Proof that a man’s conscience is “dead to truth” is when what should be shameful becomes a matter of pride. The least of sins will separate a man from God and needs forgiveness which comes only through repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21). The grave danger of the LGBTQ sin, like the sin of abortion is that it has become our national sins. D. L. Moody the American evangelist once said, “Man is born with his back toward God. When he truly repents, he turns right around and faces God. Repentance is a change of mind. Repentance is the tear in the eye of faith.”

Rather than marching in parades, protesting against the sanctity of life and doing what is right in their own eyes, those bound in a sinful lifestyle need to turn to Jesus who promised to set them free, “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (John 8:36).

A true Christian does not hate the LQBTQ people, they actually love them and desire to see them come to know the love of God in Christ and have eternal life. A true Christian mourns when they see any sinner on a path of destruction and prays that they will heed the warnings of God’s Word and turn from their sin and live. The prophet Ezekiel wrote to a disobedient nation “Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin. Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?  For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dies saith the Lord God: wherefore turn yourselves, and live” (Ezekiel 18:30-32). 

America is too young to die, but we must understand that the wrath of God is abiding over this country and no one knows how long a holy God will continue to bear with us in our rebellion. Before God turns America to ashes our nation must repent in sackcloth and ashes, the Old Testament symbols of repentance. Jonah was God’s reluctant prophet who never applied for the job but ended up going to the wicked city of Nineveh and preached, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown” (Jonah 3:4). What followed is a remarkable example of true repentance. “For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water: let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn everyone from his evil way, and from the violence that is  in their hands. Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not? And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not” (Jonah 3:6-10). 

May the gospel (good news) of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus be preached as never before in our land, as the only hope for every man, woman and child. May every sinner beginning with our nation’s leaders many of whom are estranged from God, respond in repentant faith and turn from their sin to Christ Jesus as their Lord and Savior. America needs a true spiritual revival whose hallmark is not pride, but humility.

Shalom!

Pastor Tom