No Apologies
14-Jan-10
In a relativistic, anything-goes, all-inclusive, “tolerant” world, there is an intense need for the people of God to stand for His moral truth. We must stratify right & wrong by gracefully, but firmly, highlighting God’s proper demarcation (Jn 1.14). One reason so many evils are accepted today is that not enough people have stood up & declared them sinful.
Prepare for typical negative comments & references such as, but not limited to: old ways of thinking, old fashioned, outdated, intolerant, hateful, judgmental, hypocritical, bigoted, homophobic, unscientific, etc.
Prepare for some people & even some Christians to dissuade you with misappropriated Scripture – don’t judge, turn the other cheek, love covers a multitude of sins & casting pearls to swine. (Don't miss the link to a page on judging at the bottom.)
It is strongly tempting to exclusively use pragmatic arguments, statistics, research, polls & the like. While these are certainly important & have their place, they should be supplemental to the primary argument that God defines morality. Those supplements are only true because they are in-line with His truth. Something is wrong simply because it is opposed to God’s immutable, absolute directive (see related article on morality).
If only the supplements are used, it is just your word against someone else’s. God is kept out of the discussion, just as your opponents (devil included – 1 Pet 5.8) prefer. No thought is given to God, the only true & pure authority in the matter, or His Word. The Christian’s use of strictly God-lacking arguments compounded with Godless attitudes may be part of the reason unbelievers apply the aforementioned negative stereotypes. And part of the reason some Christians do that is because they are not sufficiently & increasingly familiar with God’s Word (Mt 22.29).
Again, I’m not saying that such arguments should never be used, but rather they should be firmly & boldly staked on the foremost fact that Holy God Almighty condemns the subject sin. This is the very reason that Christians don’t actively seek out to sin. We don’t necessarily avoid sin for the pragmatic reasons. When we mention truth about sin, righteousness & judgment, we serve up the very things to a person’s conscience that the Holy Spirit can score with (Jn 16.8).
Take the example of homosexuality. The truth is that God expressly & consistently forbids it (Lev 18.22, Rom 1.26-27, 1 Cor 6.9). The practical arguments include: it’s unnatural, it’s just wrong, can’t procreate, studies find it’s a poor lifestyle for raising children & the like. The lies are that it’s genetic, important for self-actualization & self-esteem, can’t change it, it’s who they are, adds diversity & so on. You can see how using only the practical arguments can be ineffective & impotent.
However, that fact remains that God condemns such lifestyles & God doesn’t condemn what can’t be changed. Therefore, if He condemns it, it can be changed by His grace (Mt 19.26) & it confirms that He didn’t “make you that way”. He doesn’t condemn people for skin color, eye color, eye shape, national origin, gender, age, height or family history. He condemns wrong moral choices, a.k.a. sins, which violate & offend His holy character. The gay, lesbian & transgender lifestyles are sinful, but they are just as sinful as lying, hating, being prideful & any other sin (Jas 2.10). Don’t get me wrong, I understand there are very real feelings & attractions there, but acting on them doesn’t make them right. God has powerfully worked in the lives of many individuals to overcome these sexual sins & there are ministries like Restored Hope Network that are there to help.
The anti-family agenda is just one of many that are contended for these days & it will continue to be. Christians cannot afford to fail apologetically or fail by apologizing.
Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. – 1 Pet 2.11-12
You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood. – 1 Jn 4.4-6
Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. – Eph 6.13
Prepare for typical negative comments & references such as, but not limited to: old ways of thinking, old fashioned, outdated, intolerant, hateful, judgmental, hypocritical, bigoted, homophobic, unscientific, etc.
Prepare for some people & even some Christians to dissuade you with misappropriated Scripture – don’t judge, turn the other cheek, love covers a multitude of sins & casting pearls to swine. (Don't miss the link to a page on judging at the bottom.)
It is strongly tempting to exclusively use pragmatic arguments, statistics, research, polls & the like. While these are certainly important & have their place, they should be supplemental to the primary argument that God defines morality. Those supplements are only true because they are in-line with His truth. Something is wrong simply because it is opposed to God’s immutable, absolute directive (see related article on morality).
If only the supplements are used, it is just your word against someone else’s. God is kept out of the discussion, just as your opponents (devil included – 1 Pet 5.8) prefer. No thought is given to God, the only true & pure authority in the matter, or His Word. The Christian’s use of strictly God-lacking arguments compounded with Godless attitudes may be part of the reason unbelievers apply the aforementioned negative stereotypes. And part of the reason some Christians do that is because they are not sufficiently & increasingly familiar with God’s Word (Mt 22.29).
Again, I’m not saying that such arguments should never be used, but rather they should be firmly & boldly staked on the foremost fact that Holy God Almighty condemns the subject sin. This is the very reason that Christians don’t actively seek out to sin. We don’t necessarily avoid sin for the pragmatic reasons. When we mention truth about sin, righteousness & judgment, we serve up the very things to a person’s conscience that the Holy Spirit can score with (Jn 16.8).
Take the example of homosexuality. The truth is that God expressly & consistently forbids it (Lev 18.22, Rom 1.26-27, 1 Cor 6.9). The practical arguments include: it’s unnatural, it’s just wrong, can’t procreate, studies find it’s a poor lifestyle for raising children & the like. The lies are that it’s genetic, important for self-actualization & self-esteem, can’t change it, it’s who they are, adds diversity & so on. You can see how using only the practical arguments can be ineffective & impotent.
However, that fact remains that God condemns such lifestyles & God doesn’t condemn what can’t be changed. Therefore, if He condemns it, it can be changed by His grace (Mt 19.26) & it confirms that He didn’t “make you that way”. He doesn’t condemn people for skin color, eye color, eye shape, national origin, gender, age, height or family history. He condemns wrong moral choices, a.k.a. sins, which violate & offend His holy character. The gay, lesbian & transgender lifestyles are sinful, but they are just as sinful as lying, hating, being prideful & any other sin (Jas 2.10). Don’t get me wrong, I understand there are very real feelings & attractions there, but acting on them doesn’t make them right. God has powerfully worked in the lives of many individuals to overcome these sexual sins & there are ministries like Restored Hope Network that are there to help.
The anti-family agenda is just one of many that are contended for these days & it will continue to be. Christians cannot afford to fail apologetically or fail by apologizing.
Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. – 1 Pet 2.11-12
You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood. – 1 Jn 4.4-6
Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. – Eph 6.13
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