Post by Daniel on Dec 1, 2015 12:44:15 GMT -5
Social Issues Are Moral Issues
By David Fiorazo on November 30, 2015
Lines have been drawn in the proverbial sand. Throughout American society, too many have ignored rampant immorality in our culture and chose to look the other way saying, ‘as long as it doesn’t affect me.’
Christians have bought into the lie we should not be vocal about our faith in public or involved in social issues and politics. Take a sobering look at where this faulty thinking has gotten us as a nation.
It was inevitable this tipping point would be reached; we just did not want to believe it.
Years ago, biblical Christianity was the biggest obstacle to the advancement of sin and the marketing of evil in America, but this is no longer the case. Moral relativism and political correctness rule the day; truth is downplayed while ambiguity, humanism, and secularism are exalted – even in some churches.
Today, liberal Christians (an oxymoron, I know) often defend sin while criticizing those who preach the truth and strive to live according to biblical teachings.
Proverbs 17:15 states:
He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous; both of them alike are an abomination to the LORD.
Some have seared consciences, but others are confused about right and wrong. Thanks in part to Hollywood, media, and government schools, even Christians are divided over “social issues.” This compels us to ask a few questions:
• Is there a difference between social issues and financial or political issues?
• What specifically does the Word of God have to say about these things?
• Why do some churches and Christians emphasize one issue such as abortion or poverty over others; doesn’t God care about them all?
Areas of concern may include: education, poverty, same sex marriage, idolatry, abortion and adoption, immigration, racism, pornography, adultery, sex-trafficking, unemployment/welfare, and persecution. The Bible has instruction on every one of these.
Author and pastor, David Platt asks what if Christ’s call to believers is to counter our culture rather than quietly watching evolving trends and shifting our views amid changing cultural tides? He said:
Seemingly overnight, culture has shifted to the point where right and wrong are no longer measured by universal truth but by popular opinion.
Just as moral issues divide Republicans and Democrats, an interesting Gallup poll revealed five big issues dividing Americans: doctor-assisted suicide, gay or lesbian relations, abortion, having a baby outside marriage, and sex between an unmarried man and woman.
Not knowing God’s Word or how to apply it to these issues, we have often been silent; it’s just easier! But the fact is the gospel calls us to speak the truth in love and actually confront immorality regardless of the form it takes.
Truth always carries with it confrontation. Truth demands confrontation; loving confrontation nevertheless. If our reflex action is always accommodation regardless of the centrality of the truth involved, there is something wrong. –Francis Schaeffer
continue reading
davidfiorazo.com/2015/11/social-issues-are-moral-issues/
By David Fiorazo on November 30, 2015
Lines have been drawn in the proverbial sand. Throughout American society, too many have ignored rampant immorality in our culture and chose to look the other way saying, ‘as long as it doesn’t affect me.’
Christians have bought into the lie we should not be vocal about our faith in public or involved in social issues and politics. Take a sobering look at where this faulty thinking has gotten us as a nation.
It was inevitable this tipping point would be reached; we just did not want to believe it.
Years ago, biblical Christianity was the biggest obstacle to the advancement of sin and the marketing of evil in America, but this is no longer the case. Moral relativism and political correctness rule the day; truth is downplayed while ambiguity, humanism, and secularism are exalted – even in some churches.
Today, liberal Christians (an oxymoron, I know) often defend sin while criticizing those who preach the truth and strive to live according to biblical teachings.
Proverbs 17:15 states:
He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous; both of them alike are an abomination to the LORD.
Some have seared consciences, but others are confused about right and wrong. Thanks in part to Hollywood, media, and government schools, even Christians are divided over “social issues.” This compels us to ask a few questions:
• Is there a difference between social issues and financial or political issues?
• What specifically does the Word of God have to say about these things?
• Why do some churches and Christians emphasize one issue such as abortion or poverty over others; doesn’t God care about them all?
Areas of concern may include: education, poverty, same sex marriage, idolatry, abortion and adoption, immigration, racism, pornography, adultery, sex-trafficking, unemployment/welfare, and persecution. The Bible has instruction on every one of these.
Author and pastor, David Platt asks what if Christ’s call to believers is to counter our culture rather than quietly watching evolving trends and shifting our views amid changing cultural tides? He said:
Seemingly overnight, culture has shifted to the point where right and wrong are no longer measured by universal truth but by popular opinion.
Just as moral issues divide Republicans and Democrats, an interesting Gallup poll revealed five big issues dividing Americans: doctor-assisted suicide, gay or lesbian relations, abortion, having a baby outside marriage, and sex between an unmarried man and woman.
Not knowing God’s Word or how to apply it to these issues, we have often been silent; it’s just easier! But the fact is the gospel calls us to speak the truth in love and actually confront immorality regardless of the form it takes.
Truth always carries with it confrontation. Truth demands confrontation; loving confrontation nevertheless. If our reflex action is always accommodation regardless of the centrality of the truth involved, there is something wrong. –Francis Schaeffer
continue reading
davidfiorazo.com/2015/11/social-issues-are-moral-issues/