My
mother, was a passionate bible reader who often voiced her concern about the
changing landscape of Christianity. In
her later years, during many of our conversations there were moments when we
both questioned the validity of our religion, because of the many changes
taking place place in and out of the organized church. The scripture states
that God does not change, but the rules and requirements of salvation were
changing all around us. Even the
attributes of sin were changing. What was once considered a sin, were becoming
acceptable after a period of time?
It is
for these reasons that I often describe Christianity as a failed religion,
because as my mother would say, “Christianity has failed to live up to the
standards that it has set. It has begun
a process of back peddling from the values it once held true as it adopt the
rules of the ungodly in its attempt to redefine the sins that beset us. The
definition of sin has always been a factor in living a Christian
lifestyle. In today’s political correct
society, the definition of sin is evolving, that which once was considered a
sin is no longer considered a sin, it is justified. More and more preachers are refraining from
preaching about sin.
A few
questions to ask yourself, then we will proceed. How can Christian remain true to God and
itself when it adopts a position of humbleness and the acceptance of difference
cultures. Why has it become taboo to reverence
God or the Bible? Why did hate laws
define Christianity as a hate group? Has
America declared war on Christian values?
In a
recent posting, I discussed the justification of sin in detail. The
Justification of sin is the process by which that which once was considered a
sin evolves and become an acceptable way of life. The first step to the justification of sin is
to acknowledge that one sin is no greater than another. The Bible is often used to support this
thesis. Yet, under the Law, God set
forth stricter punishments for certain sins.
Therefore, to justify sin, God and sin needed to be redefined.
Once a sin is justified it is the empowerment
of that sin that enable it to spread and this poses the greatest threat to
Christianity. Justification of sin
affects the individual, the empowerment of sin gives it the means necessary to
spread and corrupt humanity on a larger scale. To empower sin, the status
of sin must be upgraded. It must be glamorized and made appealing to those who look
upon its unholy attributes. Empowerment takes place when a church, ruling
body or even the government set their approval and enacts laws to protect the
rights of the participators.
The justification
of sin allows a minister or pastor to commit the sin of adultery or fornication
in spite of biblical condemnation. How
is this possible? It began with, “Lord,
I am weak, but you are strong”, and it ends with salvation being described as
a, “work in progress.” A conclusion is
drawn in that we are free to sin until God prefects our salvation. Sad, but the empowerment of sin is achieved
through the process of hermeneutics. Hermeneutics is the science of interpretation of
the Scriptures by isolating verses of Scripture, often out of context, to prove
a vanity point of doctrine. This is a common
practice, but it is not a valid approach to understanding God's word.
Hebrew
13:4 ESV, Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be
undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. A famed movie producer who was living a
sexually immoral life, laid hands on the esteemed television pastor and Bishop and entreated the blessing of God. An act that empowered the sin of fornication
in the eyes of millions, devalued the marriage bed as he later rejoiced and
thanked God for his child that was born out of wedlock.
The
justification of sin under the guidelines of the government has already taken
place, and one by one the organized church are being drawn in. In a
society based upon subjective morality, the people not God, represented by the
government reserve the right to define such things as, when does life
began, the definition of marriage and what is sin and how one is separated
from sin. The trump card is every
person reserves the right to make his own descision, this in itself is the polluted
stock of mass confusion.
Humanity
has denied the power of God in the things of God, and claim that power for
themselves. In exchange for funds
churches are organized and are required to issue human rights statements
that adhere to the standards set forth by the government. While the church
and many minority groups danced in the street and proclaim it to be the works
of God, The Human rights act of 1964 sets the stage for a direct attack on
God's authority and the church said, "Amen".
The founding fathers of this nation had the foresight to acknowledge that human right was endowed by God and that these rights were unalienable rights, meaning that man can neither create, grant, nor could he destroy these God given rights of humanity. Men are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights,-'life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness;' and to 'secure,' not grant or create, these rights, governments are instituted. Humanity often creates laws that infringe upon the rights of one group in favor of another, the act in itself declares that all rights are inalienable and a type of hatred is released that cannot be eradicated. You can surrender, sell or transfer inalienable rights if you consent either actually or constructively. Inalienable rights are not inherent in man and can be alienated by government. Persons have inalienable rights. Most state constitutions recognize only inalienable rights.
What
does this have to do with sin? The
definition and separation of ‘unalienable rights’ and ‘inalienable rights’ are what gives
humanity the authority to overstep his bounds and declare the God that brought
us incompetent. “There is a way which
seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” (Proverbs
14:12) Hence man began to disregard the authority of God and take upon
himself the task of deciding what is good and what is evil. Humanities infringement upon the lines of separation
of good and evil produced a foul stench through the land, a new type of hatred
was born.
Let's examine the sin of murder as compared to the sin of lying. One can argue for the sakes of argument that one sin in the sight of God is no greater that an other. Yet, as we stated earlier under the Law there were different punishment for different transgressions. Murder is a sin that is so ingrained in the human physic that we can discuss it without incurring the wrath of a permissive society. The fact that God said, “thou shall not kill”, or properly interpreted as "thou shall not commit murder", is no longer a detrimental factor, nor is the application of the death penalty. In a modern society murder is glorified in struggling communities, gang membership and in the media. Laws are enacted to protect the rights of the murderer. Now, a person who commits murder is able to say with conviction, my sin is no greater than the person who bear false witness.
Listening
carefully to the message of the Bishop as he chooses his words carefully in his attempt to justify the position of the church and
reconcile the difference in opinions among his constituents.
A church that once was noted for its message of, "It's Holiness or
Hell", dumbed down its rhetoric in the face of adversaries and now proclaim, "God loves all of
us." A deviant interpretation of John 3:16. This occurs
when we surgically remove one verse from the supporting conversation or
scripture and present it as a complete thought. From that same verse many teach
that we are not to condemn those who walk in darkness. John 3:18-19
He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is
condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only
begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the
world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
There
was a time when we said, “If the Word of God condemn you, you are condemned”. Today it is neither fashionable to condemn or judge, even
though the Bible is a Book of Judgement and condemnation. As in the movie, "Left Behind", those
who follow the Words of the Holy Scripture are declared to be, “Haters".
