Labels

I remember being a little kid and getting into an argument on the playground. Some kid got insulted and in response he said, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me." Nothing could be further from the truth. Jesus thought that words were so important that he said (Matthew 12:36-37) "I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned." If words can send you to Heaven or Hell then they must be pretty important and they must have real consequences.

In Matthew chapter 12, there is a very specific series of events that led Jesus to make that statement. Matthew 12 is a long dispute between Jesus and the Pharisees. In verse 22 Jesus cast out a demon from a man and also restored his sight and his voice. The Pharisees saw all of this and said that Jesus had done the miracle by the power of Satan. Jesus responded to what they said in verses 25-37. He first basically told them that what they were saying was foolish. This part of his response contains the famous statement that "a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand." He then, in verses 31 and 32 went on to talk about "the unpardonable sin" of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.

It seems obvious to me from the flow of the narrative that the Pharisees had just committed the sin or possibly they were very close to it and he was warning them. So what had they done wrong? When Jesus was here on Earth, I believe that he accessed supernatural power the same way that we do- by praying, fasting, and being in the will of God. The actual source of the power, the supernaturally active agent, was the Holy Spirit. So Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit had just healed this man and cast out a demon. The Pharisees called the work demonic. Their sin was labeling the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit as evil.

You see, labeling is important to God. If you call good things evil or evil things good, it really bothers Him. In Romans chapter one, Paul outlines a long downward spiral of sin. I don't have time to go through the whole thing, but the last sentence, the bottom of the spiral says this, "Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them." When people begin sinning they feel guilty about it but by the end they have seared their conscience so badly that they no longer recognize it as sin. In fact, they approve of it.

I'm writing this because I'm becoming more and more frightened for America and for Western culture in general. There have always been certain sins in our society, but they were usually not generally approved of and they were recognized as sin. We now call homosexuality an alternative lifestyle. We call abortion choice. We call pornography and profanity art or free speech. And the list goes on and on. It seems that we are at a point where we are parading our sins and glorying in them.

But we aren't just calling bad things good, we are calling good things bad. We call young men and women who are waiting for marriage to have sex prudish or out of touch. We call men and women of faith fools. The church is seen as backward and an impediment to society. We call people who stand up for morals and standards mean-spirited, and we call people who say Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation exclusive bigots.

What is the church to do in the face of this assault on our values and morals? We do what Jesus said. We act as salt and light. No matter what is said or what the consequences, we must illuminate the dark. We have to insist that evil is evil. Abortion isn't choice-it's murder. Homosexuality is an abomination. We also have to defend the Truth. We have to let people know that they can't get to Heaven by just being good. They have to know that Jesus is THE way, not a way.

Standing in the face of society isn't easy. At the least it will get you ridiculed. In worse circumstances, it might cause you to lose a job or a position. It might make you an outcast from your family. It could result in violence against you, and in extreme cases even death. What we have to realize is that God will not always tolerate sin. He is very patient, sometimes so patient that people think He will never judge or that He isn't even there. But, in the face of the current level of sin, there are only two possible outcomes- either America will repent, or God's wrath will come. Maybe it's already started.

If we want God's wrath to be averted or lessened we must stand up for the Truth. Or, in the worst case scenario, if God does pour out his wrath, then when it's over and people have seen their folly and are ready to repent, we have to be there holding out Truth and hope to them.