A NATION CATERING TO PERVERTS

Definition of “Pervert”

(Noun)

“A person whose sexual behavior is regarded as abnormal and unacceptable.” 

(Verb)

“Alter (something) from its original course, meaning, or state to a distortion or corruption of what was first intended.” (The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English)

What has happened to America?  It seems that we are quick to accept any kind of weird group, lifestyle, or behavior today in the name of “freedom.”  We were once a nation of fairly moral people.  But generally speaking, America’s citizens of the past, even the unchurched, seemed to have more morals than most people do today (even including those who call themselves Christians).  We once had the fear of God, at least to some extent, when people would never commit certain sins publicly (and even hesitantly in private); but unfortunately, this modern society is not afraid to raise its fist in the face of God Almighty. 

Our morals are all twisted.  What was once considered good is now called bad.  And what used to be evil is now acceptable.  The prophet Isaiah warned us long ago about this:

“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; who substitute bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” (Isaiah 5:20 – NASV and so throughout)

The unthinkable is now commonplace.  For example, recently, former Olympic athlete Bruce Jenner has come out of the closet and is now publicly declaring himself to be a woman.  Not ever considering how the God of the Bible feels about this, many commenting on Facebook were quick to praise Jenner for his perversion.  Many of the comments on the topic hailed Jenner as “brave,” and that, through this decision, he was “opening minds” and “saving lives.”  Of course, many Hollywood characters supported Jenner’s efforts.  He was deemed a “hero” by many, including his ex-wife!  Jenner’s son declared his dad to be “more than ever” his role model.  Bruce Jenner also said, “Maybe this is my cause in life,” (meaning his transition into “womanhood”), thus helping others to also be brave and “come out.”  Rather than condemn Jenner’s actions, some Facebook commenters objected to our “judgmental society” and an “unforgiving public.”  Come on, all you big, mean, oppressive and judgmental people… what could possibly be wrong with just letting everyone “do their own thing”?!!!  Jenner’s not hurting anyone, right?

It seems that the men of Sodom also felt the same way about Lot (Genesis 19:4-9)… that he was “unforgiving” and “judgmental.”  But what if these Old Testament Sodomites were simply “expressing themselves”?  One might say, “They couldn’t help it.  That’s just the way they were.  They were probably ‘born that way,’ right?”  Obviously, God didn’t see it that way, and He destroyed their city.  Remember, HE always has the last word.

Furthermore, Jenner claimed that he is not gay.  But this is certainly debatable, since he is supposedly still attracted to women.  So, wouldn’t his being with a woman while he professes to be a woman still make him gay?  The man is certainly confused.  As though this were not enough, Jenner also claims to be a Christian, and said that he often wondered while sitting in church how God saw him (i.e., as a man or as a woman).  But a true Christian would recognize that God always intended Jenner to be a man from the beginning and, try as Jenner may, no amount of desire, no operation, no drugs, and no changing of lifestyle or clothing can change that fact.

 

Jenner’s lifestyle is a perversion, plain and simple, just as the definition above states… it is a “corruption of what was first intended” (by God).  God INTENDED him to be a man, and He therefore CREATED him as a man, so Jenner will always BE a man.  And when he stands before God, he will be JUDGED as a man.  Sorry, but no one can change that.

But concerning Jenner’s new lifestyle, the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) crowd loves this kind of stuff.  And they would love nothing better than the public’s full acceptance of their lifestyle and, not stopping there, to receive special treatment for their minority status.  Many of the LGBT gang would love to shove their perverted lifestyle down the throats of the public, especially on Christians.

And you know what?  The public (especially in the media) seems to be quite willing to let that happen.  They seem to WANT to cater to the whims of these groups.  They apparently WANT our leaders in high places to sympathize with such perversion.  It apparently doesn’t matter to them what GOD wants.

 

Through the destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:24-29), God has already clearly shown us what He thinks about homosexuality and what happens to a society that moves in that direction.  God help us.  And may God forgive us (America) for allowing this to happen.

And now, a word to those in the LGBT camp.  Having said all this, we are still to love the sinner, while hating the sin, itself.  Jesus died for every type of sinner.  Every one of us is guilty of sin of one type or another.  But God forgives the humble and repentant person.  If you are reading this and you are one who feels trapped in the LGBT lifestyle, know that God loves you, and there is yet hope.  God is merciful, but there is a point when He will no longer tolerate deliberate sin any farther. 

 

The Apostle Paul dealt with some hardcore sinners in the Corinthian church:

“Or do you not know that the unrighteous shall 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, shall inherit the kingdom of God.  AND 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.” (1 Corinthians 6:9-11) [Emphasis added]

Notice Paul’s words, “And such WERE (past tense) some of you.”  They had been trapped in their sins (including homosexuality), but were delivered out of them by surrendering their lives to Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  They didn’t  STAY in their sins.  And YOU don’t have to stay in your sins.  But you have to repent and humbly admit the perversion of your lifestyle. Then you can be set free.

"If therefore the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed." (John 8:36)

A TIME TO SPEAK OUT

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the Heaven… (Ecclesiastes 3:1)

Sometimes, we just need to shut up.  And sometimes, we are obligated to speak out.  This is a time to speak.

Addressing “political” issues is not popular in the church today.  But some things scream out for our attention.  With the growing threat of Islam worldwide, America’s leaders should be looking out for our safety and protection.  But there is something seriously wrong in the White House.

We want to share a link with our readers, “An Open Letter to President Obama” by Brigitte Gabriel.  It is a powerful, yet respectful, letter to the president which was published in response to President Obama’s “outreach” speech to Muslims in Cairo, Egypt, which he gave on June 4, 2009.

In the letter, Gabriel speaks from first-hand knowledge and experience of the effects of Islamic terrorism.  And she points out that when Jihadists (Muslims who advocate or participate in “holy war”) commit acts of terror, they are simply being faithful in following the Qur’an, just as they have throughout history.

In his speech in Cairo, Obama claimed to be a “student of history,” but Gabriel points out to the president how he seriously misrepresented history in that speech.  To make matters worse, Obama blames America and the west for the tensions between Muslims and ourselves.  You can find Brigitte Gabriel's letter here:

http://www.khouse.org/articles/2009/858

RECOGNIZING THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES

What’s with all the crazy things happening in our world today?  What does the future hold, or one could ask, is there a future at all for mankind?  Bad things are happening all around us and our world often seems to be spinning out of control.  Dangerous drugs, murder, rape and terrorist attacks are becoming more and more common.   Such things used to be done only in secret, but now occur in broad daylight.  Criminals used to try and hide their evil deeds, but not so much today.  Added to that are outbreaks of new diseases, significant changes in weather patterns, threats of war and nuclear attack, dramatic increase in immorality, the structure of the family under attack like never before, etc., etc. There appears to be something major brewing in this unstable world we live in.  But all these things are signs that are telling us something about our society.  

The Necessity of Discernment

In the gospel of Matthew we see Jesus Christ rebuking the spiritual leaders of His time:  

And the Pharisees and Sadducees came up, and testing Him asked Him to show them a sign from Heaven.  But He answered and said to them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’  And in the morning, ‘There will be a storm today, for the sky is red and threatening.’  Do you know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but cannot discern the signs of the times?” (Matthew 16:1-3 - NASV)

Jesus held the people of His day accountable and expected them to discern the signs of the times and to understand that the Scriptures pointed to Him as the Messiah.  But through their unbelief and their hard hearts, many missed the signs and missed the “time of [their] visitation” (Luke 19:44) and rejected the Messiah!  So, if THEY were expected to recognize the signs of the times in their own day, why would the same not be expected from US today?  In fact, it is said that there are far more Bible verses pointing to Jesus’ second coming than His first coming.  So, how much more accountable are we today to recognize the signs of His return?

Indifference

These signs of our day should be obvious to Christians.  But there is so much indifference, such a great lack of concern for the gospel, even in the church today.   And because of this lukewarm attitude, many Christians don’t study the Bible and are spiritually weak and vulnerable.  They are in a state of spiritual sleep, rather than a state of alertness (Mark 13:35-37; 1 Thessalonians 5:6) and, with no discernment, they are so easily deceived.  Being deprived of personal study of Scripture makes it easier to miss the signs altogether.

Early Warning System

In our advanced society today, we want, even demand, the security of early warning systems.  We have equipment failure alarms, smoke alarms, fire alarms, hurricane and tornado warning systems, railroad crossing warning lights, and even engine warning lights on our vehicles to let us know when there is a problem coming up.  Many of these things are required by law and are meant to protect us from great harm or expense.

 

And God, in His mercy, has given mankind the ultimate “early warning system.”  It is the most important (and dependable) early warning system of all time – Bible prophecy.  And these signs that we are seeing today (that even unbelievers can hardly miss), do confirm the truth of God’s promises.  They point to a cataclysmic time period, known as “the Day of the Lord.”  It will be a time on earth of destruction, chaos, confusion, terror, and trouble such as the world has never seen.  It will be a time of judgment, and it is on the horizon.  For more details on that topic, see here:

http://theresurrectionstillspeaks.blogspot.com/2014_09_01_archive.html

Birth Pangs

Jesus said that the signs that lead up to the Day of the Lord would be like “birth pangs” (Matthew 24:8; Mark 13:8), i.e., the labor pains a woman has before giving birth.  This means that they would increase in frequency and intensity as that time approaches.  And that’s exactly what’s happening today. 

  

The purpose of these signs is not just to have something to talk about, but to put the fear of God in us and to cause us to conform to His will.  It should cause every Christian to want to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with as many people as possible before that “great and terrible Day of the Lord” arrives (Joel 2:31).

The purpose of this article is to alert everyone to the signs around us, and to show that it is by God’s grace that we are allowed to see where the world is headed.   Our intention is to offer hope in these troubling times and to warn the church to wake up.  We urge all Christians to pray for discernment.

 

Note that it is not our purpose in this article to list every specific sign.  There are many very good articles out there that detail these signs.  Here are just a few of those articles:

http://www.lamblion.com/articles/articles_signs3.php

http://www.end-times-bible-prophecy.com/signs-of-the-times.html

http://www.end-times-bible-prophecy.com/signs-of-the-end-times.html

http://laymanswatch.com/LaymansWatch_files/Overviews/TheCrucialPerspectiveTheTimesoftheSigns.htm

“I Don’t Believe It!”

Many are saying, “This world is not that bad.  We can make it.  I have faith in mankind.”  Sorry to say, but man is NOT getting better and better, as “evolution” might try to suggest.  There may be great advances in technology, but the heart of man is still wicked (Jeremiah 17:9).   As a whole, our thoughts and intentions are not getting better, but worse… and the signs of our time prove it.

And many will say, “I don’t believe in all that religious hype used by Christians and their Bible-based scare tactics.”  But why does no one ever call fire alarms and railroad crossing lights “scare tactics”?  Don’t these things also warn us in case of trouble, just as the Bible does?  Getting caught in a fire is a possibility, and colliding with a train is a possibility, but rest assured that the Day of the Lord is not a mere possibility.  There is no “in case it happens.”  According to Scripture, it WILL happen.

The Bible speaks of those who will mock and say, “Where is the coming of the Lord?  They’ve been talking about that day for centuries; it ain’t happened yet, and it ain’t gonna happen!” (2 Peter 3:4)  But whenever it does happen, some of those very same people will be saying, “But why didn’t anyone tell us this was going to happen?!!!”  Well, we’re telling you now…  The signs are everywhere.  One need only look at the daily headlines.  What will YOU do about the signs of our time?

   

Will you be ready?  Study the Bible and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and trust in HIS work on the cross (and that alone) for your salvation, and let Him change your life.  This is the only escape from the Day of the Lord.

Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man. (Luke 21:36)

THE CURSE OF THE JUDAIZERS

Imagine living in a time when travel pretty much consisted only of walking, boat, and horseback (or other beast of burden).  You travel many miles on foot, risking your health and even your life, bringing the good news, the gospel message of Jesus Christ to a mostly pagan and barbaric country.  You convert many to Christianity there and start a number of churches along the way.  Your message has been clear and direct, mincing no words, yet, spoken in love.  Before you leave this faraway land, the churches there are showing a lot of promise.  Ok, great.  But you find out some time later that the teaching for which you risked so much, and fought so hard to share, has been twisted in a manner that voids the whole message and puts their souls at stake!

Such was the situation in the Apostle Paul’s case.  On his first missionary trip, he traveled through the region of Galatia, preaching the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ, Who (mercifully) came to pay the full penalty for our sins.  But the message got distorted somewhere along the way.  Paul’s famous question to the saints in Galatia jerked them back into reality… “O foolish Galatians, WHO HATH BEWITCHED YOU, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ has been evidently set forth, crucified among you?” (Galatians 3:1) 

 

No New Testament epistle has a stronger message than the one to the Galatian churches.  Paul states that the message that he first brought to them is, and always will be, the true gospel.  He says that if ANYONE (including himself) would preach a different gospel, that messenger is cursed:

“But though we, or an angel from Heaven preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.  As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.” (Galatians 1:8-9)

Sobering words!  But what was it, exactly, that grieved Paul so much?  What was this other gospel that had crept into the Galatian church?  It was the message of the Judaizers.  It was simply a message that accepted Jesus’ work on the cross for salvation, but also added something else to it.  It was salvation “by faith plus works.”  The works that the Judaizers added were circumcision and the Law of Moses (Acts 15:1, 5).  Ok, so what’s wrong with adding the Law of Moses?  Wasn’t this law directly from God, and therefore the ultimate guide to righteous works?  Absolutely.  And wasn’t the Mosaic Law summed up in the Ten Commandments?  Indeed it was.  And did not Jesus, Himself, condense all these even further into only two commandments, i.e., love God and love your neighbor (Matthew 22:36-40)?  So, what’s the big deal?  What could possibly be wrong with any work that would fit in the category of these two commandments? 

 

The fact is, ALL good works fall under this category.  So, nothing is wrong with the Mosaic Law itself, it’s the fact that it was added to the cross.  Therefore, any time we try to add good works…. any good works…. to the work of the cross in order to be saved, we are saying that Jesus’ work was just not quite enough.  But there is only ONE work that can save us… and it is HIS work, HIS suffering, HIS paying the penalty on the cross.  We can do nothing to add to our salvation at any point in our Christian walk.  In fact, if we even try to, we are insulting Him and we are cut off, we are severed from Christ and fallen from grace (Galatians 5:4)!  We have deserted Jesus for another gospel (Galatians 1:6)!  Any mixture of God’s grace and man’s works to be saved is fatal.

But the error of the Judaizers is not just a problem of the past.  We have many today who claim to be Christians, yet who strongly embrace this evil doctrine.  The Catholic Church, the Orthodox Church, and even many Protestant churches all claim to believe and trust in the work of Jesus, yet try to add some type of work(s) to the cross in order to be saved.  This creates a false gospel.  It may be water baptism, it may be speaking in tongues, or perhaps performing the “moral aspects” of the Mosaic Law, helping your neighbor, giving to the poor, becoming a martyr (dying for your faith), etc., etc.  All these things can be good, but they cannot be trusted in to save us, even partially.  They cannot contribute to our justification.  Salvation is a gift, and you don’t work for a gift (Romans 4:4-5).  There is no amount of suffering or work that can be “added to” Jesus’ work for salvation.  To add even one of these works is to say that Jesus did not completely pay the penalty for our sins (John 1:29; Hebrews 9:12; 1 John 2:2).  This is blasphemy.  No wonder Paul was so severe with the Galatians.

 

Are we claiming that Christians should not do good works?  No, we are not at all saying that.  But we should simply do good works out of a love for God, and in appreciation for what Jesus has done.  And we will be rewarded for our good works which are done in the right spirit.  The wrong attitude would be, “I am doing these good works to help my chances of getting into Heaven.”  But if Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross wasn’t enough BY ITSELF, then surely nothing could save us.

Put your faith, your trust, in the person and work of Jesus Christ alone.  Don’t put yourself under the curse… don’t be a Judaizer.

See also this article:

 http://answeringcatholicclaims.blogspot.com/2010/08/sola-fide-revisited.html