The Way It Ought To Be
Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So the LORD said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. – Genesis 6:5-8.
But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. – Matthew 24:37-39.
But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: for men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith; but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was. – 2 Timothy 3:1-9.
Recently I watched a movie called “Timechangers” which was thought provoking. In the movie, a seminary professor from 1890 visits the 21st Century, and the professor is horrified by the moral decay that he finds. He goes to a movie with a group from a church, and is shocked to hear the Lord’s Name taken in vain by an actor. He is shocked by the immodest dress, and complains about a window display. He is shocked that people are working on the Lord’s Day. At his motel, he briefly scans through some of the television channels available, and is so shocked he spends the night kneeling by his bed in prayer. At a burger place, he overhears two teenage girls planning to sneak around and have a party, which includes drinking alcohol. When the professor confronts them, they think that he is some kind of crazy nut. Because of the decay, the professor believes that this must indeed be the last days, and that Jesus is coming soon.
We do seem to have become desensitized to many forms of immorality, which would have been shocking beyond belief a century ago. Because we are living in the 21st Century, and have space age technology, does that make it okay to participate in the immorality that lurks around every corner of modern day life? Because everyone else thinks it is okay, and acts like it is okay, to behave in a manner the Bible clearly indicates is immoral – does that make it okay? Because we have grown up hearing and seeing all kinds of disgusting things, does that mean that it is right? Because our society has evolved into a godless mess of immorality, does that mean that we have no choice, but to be a part of it?
I once heard a sermon preached about how everyone knows “the way it is” in the church and the world, but he then preached a sermon about how “it ought to be.” We know, at least I hope we know, that “the way it is” in this world of ours is not the way “it ought to be.” In 100 years, has the Bible changed so radically that we think that, “the way it is” is good? The fact is that the Bible has not changed. God’s Word is unchangeable, just as He is unchangeable, and is the same yesterday, today, and for eternity.
The apostle Paul not only tells us the “way it is” in 2 Timothy 3 but he also tells us the way it ought to be, “But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 3:14-15).” Evil men, imposters, and deceivers will multiply (2 Timothy 3:13), but we must continue in the Truth. The Bible has not changed, and will never change. We must not give in to the lies of the world. Let us continue in what we know to be true.
(Don’t believe the lies of our culture.)