Romans One Comes to Life

In our church here in Buffalo (MN) we have been encouraging members to read through the Bible this year.  It has been exciting to see what God does when people begin to take His Word more seriously.  I have been reading ahead as I want to anticipate and be prepared for any questions our readers might have concerning an interpretation of a passage.  I have recently been reading in Paul's letter to the Romans.  As I read through chapter one I asked myself this question, "How did a first century disciple of Jesus Christ know with such accuracy what culture twenty centuries removed would look like?"  It could only be a God-thing.

Take a few moments and read Romans 1:18-32.  What struck me again as I reread it was that little phrase - "God gave them over" - that was used three times.  In verse 24 we read, "Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another."  In verse 26 we read, "Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts," continuing then to describe lesbian and homosexual acts.  Finally, in verse 28 we read, "Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done."  Paul then creates quite a list of sinful practices that came as a consequence of willfully turning away from God.

Let me cite an example of where we are today.  This incident occurred at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, and was published on November 1.  The headlines read, "Aaack! Girls Getting Eyeful in Locker Room."  This is a reference to Evergreen State College's nondiscrimination policies that allow a grown man to get naked and change into his swimwear right alongside a girls swim team.  A college spokesman told WorldNetDaily that the school would make sure "transgendered individuals would continue to have access to the women's locker room, and the school would uphold civil rights for all."  A letter was sent from the Alliance Defending Freedom organization to both the college's recreation director and vice-president of student affairs.  The letter reads in part, "Most of these students are minors, and range from ages 6 to 18.  On several occasions recently, the children saw a naked man in the women's locker room sauna who was displaying his male genitalia.  The children saw him through a sauna's glass door, which allowed him a plan view of the young girls while they were changing.  The children notified their swim coach, who called police."  The offender is a male, aged 45, who believes he is a woman. 

Friends, I read this article and could hardly believe what I was reading.  Is it no longer safe for my granddaughters, for your daughters to go to a public swimming facility for fear that a grown man will be in the shower room because he thinks he is a woman?  Has God given us over to the depravity of our shameful lusts? 

Then, just this morning, I read an article published by WorldNetDaily citing a new booklet printed by the International Planned Parenthood Foundation that is advocating "sexual rights" for all children.  There was a link to that booklet.  I share the link with you at http://ippf.org/resources/publications/Exclaim-Young-Peoples-Guide-Sexual-Rights-IPPF-declaration
Let me warn you that you will be disturbed by what you read. 

This is the world your children, your grandchildren, my grandchildren are growing up in.  It is time for the church to be emboldened by the Holy Spirit and take a stand for biblical morality and decency.  It is time to help moms and dads teach biblical principles to their children.  It is time for the church to be an advocate to teenagers who want to stand strongly for Christ in the midst of school systems that have caved to the "new morality of indecency."  I believe there are many such young people, but they need our prayerful support and encouragement.  They can't do it alone.  I believe it is time that we stop playing games and begin to count the costs of desiring to serve Jesus Christ with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strength.  It will probably mean that we are ridiculed.  It will probably mean that we will be ostracized by family as being "old-fashioned" and not politically-correct.   Friends, it is time to awaken out of our slumber.  This is war - war for the souls of boys and girls, of teenagers, of families.  The stakes are high and we simply cannot afford to lose - the consequences are eternal.  Get your church into the fight! 

Speaking of fighting, according to a report in Sunday's edition of The Jerusalem Post, the IDF fired warning shots into Syria after a stray Syrian shell exploded on the Golan Heights for the second time.  "The shell hit as Israel suffered a barrage of missiles from Gaza, putting the IDF in the position of monitoring enemy fire along both the northern and southern borders."  The IDF fired one missile at a Syrian artillery cannon, but it caused little damage.  These were the first shots fired by Israeli forces into Syrian territory since the 1973 Yom Kippur War.  Three weeks prior to this action, three Syrian tanks entered the demilitarized zone on the Golan Heights and remained for several hours. 

I have been on the Golan Heights several times during the tours I have led to Israel.  It is a strategic location paramount to the security of the Galilee and of Israel as a whole.  The Syrians and the Assad regime have demanded its return almost since the ink dried on the armistice that ended the Yom Kippur War.  One wonders why Syrian president/dictator Assad would attempt to incite Israel to war.  By the way he is also doing something similar on his northern border with Turkey.  Perhaps he believes that the only way he can save his leadership and bring the factions in Syria together is by having a war with Israel.  Anyway, the situation in Syria bears continued watching. 

I know these are days in which we could become easily discouraged.  But God has placed us here for this moment with His purpose in mind.  The question you and I must ask ourselves is this, "Am I resolved to not be defiled by the world and to take a strong stand for Jesus Christ no matter what it might cost?"  How we answer that question will reflect greatly upon how influential we will be in our world.