Sin is in
Presented by Gene Alley @ Bostonia Church of Christ
April 26, 2000
San Diego, CA
I preface everything I have to say tonight by saying right up front that it is only by the grace of God and his incredible mercy that we have a home waiting for us in heaven. We are all sinners who fall short on a daily basis. Also, this lesson is just as much for me as it is for you. I am a very frustrated Christian these days, as you will see. (Sing "Jesus Is Coming Soon")
1 Cor 6:9-11
9. Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites,
10. nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.
11. 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 and by the Spirit of our God. (NKJ)
Sin is in...you heard me right, sin is in.
What do I mean by that, you say? In the last 10 - 20 years, maybe even more, Americans, including faithful Christians, are not calling sin "sin" anymore... so take away the S from sin, and that leaves "in".
Our country, and the Christian community by default, is in great danger today. The deterioration of our once predominantly moral society ominously threatens and impacts the Christ-centered church. A question to ponder: Is there any difference, except for the limited number of righteous, between our country today and Sodom & Gomorrah?
Quoting Dr James Dobson, co-founder of Focus On The Family:
"...Our greatest problem is not in the oval office. It is with the people of this land! We have lost our ability to discern the difference between right and wrong...we are facing a profound moral crisis...not only because one man has disgraced us...but because our people no longer recognize the nature of evil. And when a nation reaches that state of depravity, judgment is certain...Pray with us for our country, won't you? Nothing short of a spiritual renewal will save us. "
Judges 21:25
25 In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
Sound familiar?
We invent new words that sugar coat the old, explicit words that now, if used, would constitute "hate" words. Words like...
| The word... | Sugar Coated... | What it means... | |
| Abortion | Pro-choice | Genocide / Infanticide | |
| Murder | Homicide | Killing | |
| Homosexuality | Gay | Odd, Queer, Abnormal | |
| Fornication | Making love | Sex before marriage | |
| Adultery | Affair | Cheating on your mate | |
| Lying | Sparing ones feelings | Dishonest | |
| Profanity | Using colorful/adult language | Foul mouthed, crude and lewd | |
| Pornography | Art; beauty | Debasement of female to meat |
Everywhere you turn, sin is now in.
Open up any newspaper and you'll find pornography in the ads for women's lingerie. It's bad enough that they are wearing less, but now instead of a beaming smile the models have a sexy tantalizing pout on their face that once was reserved for the playboy genre magazines, so I'm told. TV programs now show partial nudity and couples of all kinds engaged in all kinds of sinful sexual behavior. Movies repeatedly show non-married couples in relationships that are basic to the stories plot. And nobody pays any attention or raises objections.
Eph 2:1-3
1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,
2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience,
3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. (NKJ)
Turn on almost any radio station during the morning commute hours and you will hear things that would turn even Red Foxx white. And nobody complains or raises their voice.
Matt 5:13-16
13 "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.
14 "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.
15 "Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lamp stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
16 "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. (NKJ)
Watch almost any current TV show and you will hear swearing repeatedly. We have become so desensitized to swear words that when I ask most people how was the language in a certain movie, they usually don't remember any problems. And if I go see it, 9 times out of 10 I am embarrassed, both for me and the person who recommended it. Hollywood's rules say you can't call a homosexual just that, because that would be offensive and be insensitive, but taking God's name in vain won't offend anyone...and if it does, who cares, because they WON'T COMPLAIN OR RAISE THEIR VOICE.
Matt 12:35-37
35 "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.
36 "But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.
37 "For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned. " (NKJ)
The NEA, that union that demands that teachers join it, has been dominated at the top by humanists and by default, espousers of situation ethics. Our kids have been and are currently being dumbed down to the point that almost universally a senior today would fail almost any basic geography or history test that you and I took way back when. They are taught subtlety that there is no right or wrong. The facts don't matter; it's what were the circumstances. They are asked not what do you think, but rather, how do you feel about this or that. Or after watching a movie or reading a book, how did that make you feel. And the humanist is well aware that feelings are mostly subjective, which means everyone can be right without having the same answer. You are now seeing the by-product of this type of teaching, from the office of the President of the United States on down. The church is being bombarded with this problem on a daily basis. The Bible is no longer so clear-cut, black and white, hot or cold...it's how I feel about what the Bible is telling me.
Written by a 12 year old in Boston:
Now I lay me down in school
Where praying is against the rule.
For this great nation under God
Finds mention of Him very odd.
If scripture now the class recites
It violates the Bill of Rights.
Anytime my head I bow
Becomes a federal matter now.
The law is specific; the law is precise.
Praying out loud is no longer nice.
Praying aloud in a public hall
Upsets those who believe in nothing at all.
In silence alone we can meditate
And if God should get the credit--great!
They are bringing their guns,
I don't dare bring my Bible,
To do so might make me liable.
So, now Oh Lord, this plea I make:
Should I be shot in school,
My soul please take
Quote from a professor of education in Alabama . . .
If people are taught that they came from slime, the obvious questions and
Consequences must follow; what is the purpose of my existence [hopelessness],
Who made you the boss of me [lawlessness], why are your rules good and mine?
Bad [relativism], what does it matter how I live if I came from slime and
Return to slime [immorality and inhumanity]? I realize that in any given
Poll, the vast majority of Americans claim to believe in God. I claim to
Believe that running is good for me but that does not make me a runner.
Putting on my running shoes and running makes me a runner. The climbing
Abortion rate, murder rate, divorce rate, alcoholism and drug abuse rate,
Child and spousal abuse rate contradict that claim and prove that actions
Speak louder than words.
"When will we realize that no nation, in the history of the world, has ever separated itself from God and evolved to a better society?"
Abortion is nothing more than a legalized slaughter house for innocent unborn babies...funny, not really, how if a woman who is 3 months pregnant gets killed in an auto accident, the liberal media lists it as a mother and her unborn child. Yet if the same woman were alive and aborted the baby, it would be referred to as a fetus. Note the psychological steps taken to on one hand humanize the child and on the other hand de-humanize it. This is not done by accident.
Pro-abortionists say that the unborn child is part of the mother's body. If that is so, why does the child possess a completely different genetic code and often a different blood type? How do you explain the fact that it has its own immune system? Why is it male half the time?
If we use the absence of brain waves to determine that a person's life had ended, why shouldn't we use the presence of brain waves to determine that someone's life has begun?
We are now seeing the unborn being treated for disease, given blood transfusions and even operated on. When a doctor does one of these procedures, which is the patient?
I am going to take the liberty of characterizing your position, and then I want you to tell me where I'm wrong. You want abortion to be legal right up to the moment of birth - in other words, through all nine months of pregnancy, for any reason whatsoever, or for no reason whatsoever; for a minor girl of any age without parental consent, even without parent knowledge; and if she can't pay for it, you think the taxpayer ought to. Is there anything inaccurate about that statement?
The US Senate last year overwhelmingly voted to deny equal protection under the law to pro-life protesters by denying them bankruptcy protection, rights granted to virtually every other American citizen, regardless of political inclination or affiliation.
This bill, offered by New York Senator Charles Schumer, is so tyrannical it is downright scary! Words like "potential," "attempted" and "alleged" are used in the bill. In effect, this bill makes certain thoughts illegal. Our lawmakers have graduated from "hate crime" and "hate speech" to "hate thought. "
That's not all. The Centers for Disease Control recently declared "homophobia" to be a health risk. That's right. In the eyes of the federal government, if you believe that homosexuality is immoral or sinful, you pose a health risk to the nation.
If that isn't enough, I came across an article that appears in the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, December 1999 edition. The article is entitled, "Vehicle Stops Involving Extremist Group Members. " The article states: "Members of extremist groups may reveal their affiliations in a number of ways.. " Specifically, extremists' vehicles may sport bumper stickers with pro-gun sentiments. "
The article continues: "The occupants of the vehicle may show other signs of extremist group involvement. Drivers who hold antigovernment beliefs may present a copy of the Constitution, a Bible or political literature. "
Same sex marriage is being ok'd in Vermont
We all agree that we are to hate the sin and not the sinner. We need to realize that the homosexual movement will not rest until we accept their life style as normal.
When a group fails to qualify as a suspect class, which homosexuals have repeatedly done,1 they are prohibited from appealing to the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution, unless they are being deprived of "fundamental rights. "2 Individual homosexuals have all the fundamental rights accorded to every citizen of the United States. Included as fundamental rights are: the right to vote,3 the right to interstate travel,4 the right to privacy,5 and the First Amendment rights of free speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, freedom of petition, freedom of religion, and freedom from the establishment of religion. 6
However, homosexuals do not have a "right of respect" which would protect them from "attitudinal discrimination" against their sexual orientation. But neither does anyone else have such a right. The U. S. Supreme Court has consistently held that the general public is not entitled to protection against all instances of derogatory speech, since freedom of speech is a more basic right. Offense in and of itself is not sufficient basis for protection. There are near-endless behaviors, beliefs and "ways of being" (e. g. , fat, sloppy, loud-mouthed, shy, prudish) which someone will find offensive. The courts have no interest in protecting people from the respective discriminations that flow from such offense. Every citizen has a right to his or her own biases and prejudices, as long as they do not impinge upon the fundamental rights of others. This is what it means to live in a society in which the freedoms of speech, religion (and belief) and privacy are guaranteed. Homosexuals have the right, as do others, to believe that homosexual behavior should be accepted as normal. They do not have the right to make everyone else agree with them.
Current criminal and civil law, along with the basic rights accorded by the Constitution, are clearly sufficient for the protection of individual homosexuals. There is, therefore, no socially compelling reason to grant special "protected class" status to homosexuals, while there are strong reasons to withhold such rights, as the previous discussion demonstrates.
IF I WERE THE DEVIL
(From Paul Harvey)
I would gain control of the most powerful nation in the world;
I would delude their minds into thinking that they had come from man's effort, instead of God's blessings;
I would promote an attitude of loving things and using people, instead of the other way around;
I would dupe entire states into relying on gambling for their state revenue;
I would convince people that character is not an issue when it comes to leadership;
I would make it legal to take the life of unborn babies;
I would make it socially acceptable to take one's own life, and invent machines to make it convenient;
I would cheapen human life as much as possible, so that the lives of animals are valued more than human beings;
I would take God out of the schools, where even the mention of His name was grounds for a lawsuit;
I would come up with drugs that sedate the mind and target the young, and I would get sports heroes to advertise them;
I would get control of the media, so that every night I could pollute the mind of every family member for my agenda;
I would attack the family, the backbone of any nation;
I would make divorce acceptable and easy, even fashionable, because if the family crumbles, so does the nation;
I would compel people to express their most depraved fantasies on canvas and movie screens, and I would call it art;
I would convince the world that people are born homosexuals, and that their lifestyles should be accepted and marveled;
I would convince the people that right and wrong are determined by a few who call themselves authorities, and refer to their agenda as politically correct;
I would persuade people that the church is irrelevant and out of date, and the Bible is for the naive;
I would dull the minds of Christians, and make them believe that prayer is not important, and that faithfulness and obedience are optional;
I guess I would leave things pretty much the way they are.
Good Day.
1 Pet 5:6-9
6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,
7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. (NKJ)
The situation isn't pretty, in fact, it is down right depressing. We cannot continue to sit by quietly and do or say nothing. For those of you that disagree, I ask you 2 simple questions...
What do you think, and why, God's opinion is of the Christians in this country that are sitting on their hands silently turning a blind eye to the slaughter of over 1 million innocent souls a year? Who will be their advocate, if not true Christians?
What is your opinion of the Christian Germans, Austrians, Poles, etc. , in the 30's and 40's, who stood silently by and pretended that nothing was happening to the Jews?
I repeat this verse once again
Judges 21:25
In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
We did not get this way overnight...we are like the frog in lukewarm water...Dear brothers and sisters, we are about to be boiled to death, and sadly, it's of our own doing. Think of our children and grand children and what kind of mess we are passing on to them.
God will not tolerate neutrality, fence sitting, etc.
Judges 5:23
23 'Curse Meroz,' said the angel of the LORD, 'Curse its inhabitants bitterly, because they did not come to the help of the LORD, to the help of the LORD against the mighty.' (NKJ)
The people of Meroz were trying to be neutral.
Christ said in Matt 12:30
Those who will not take up the sword of the Spirit and fight against the enemies of the church are just like the men of Meroz...trying to be neutral. They work under the guise of not wanting to offend anyone and not liking controversy. However, Jesus was the greatest controversialist who ever lived.
Rev 3:15-16
When truth and right was on the line, Jesus was not afraid of offending people. I must stress that it should not be our intent to offend anyone. However, truth and doing what is right is far more important and it will offend those who are not content to follow it.
Jesus was bold when appropriate. We need to be the same. We can't profess to believe one thing and then do or not do something else. Our actions, or inactions, speak louder than words!!
In view of the partial list of critical problems facing the church discussed tonight, you're probably either looking for some suggestions, or the nearest exit. Here are a few:
James 1:22
2. Educate yourself on candidates that are running for office...don't vote party line, vote for what that individual candidate stands for. Read what he or she has written in the past...they can say anything to tickle our ears, but they can't undo what they've written or how they've voted in the past.
3. Pray without ceasing.
4. Become more involved in your congregations local evangelism program.
5. Donate time or money to organizations that are really trying to make a difference in doing what's right.
James 4:17
Don't YOU let sin be "IN"!
Compiled and Presented by Gene Alley
15 "I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot.
16 "So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. (NKJ)
1. As a law-abiding citizen you may express your objections repeatedly to elected officials...while still maintaining a God-fearing life.
When you're offended by something that isn't right, tell someone.
Write an editorial to the paper, e-mail your congress, call your friend and ask if it bothers them, pray for the offending party.
Do something.
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. (NKJ)
17 Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin. (NKJ)
April 26, 2000
San Diego, CA