Theology for Everybody: RomansSample

(Continued from Day 45)

Third, some think we are living in a better time. They say it may not necessarily be different, but it is better. Is it really? We are experiencing high rates of domestic violence and abuse when couples cohabit with each other. Some people think living together helps them prepare to be married. However, cohabitation is not practice for marriage; it is practice for divorce! Of those young people who are sexually active, 50 percent will have an STD before the age of 25. In 2018, nearly 68 million Americans had a sexually-transmitted disease on any given day. In the US, we abort one out of every four children. Most children born to women under age 30 are born out of wedlock with no father present. The lack of a father’s presence is the number one demarcation of those who will have a good or a painful future. Here’s a statistic that will cause you to stop and think: 75 percent of prison inmates grew up in a home without a father. The idea that divorce “saves” children is greatly exaggerated. Sexual assault is the most underreported crime in America. One in four women who experience it actually reports it. Only one in six men reports it. We have a massive issue in our nation with sex trafficking. We have an increase in pedophilia with children online, and predators are absolutely eviscerating children. Things are clearly not better. We are not amidst a social revolution; it is a social devolution.

The Bible rarely addresses the issue of tolerance, and on the few occasions it does, God rebukes His people for tolerating sexual sin. In Romans 2:20, Paul says God will not continue tolerating sexual immorality. The counterfeit to repentance is tolerance. The Bible says we are wrong and need to change; tolerance tells us we’re fine. Nevertheless, we can’t be Christians without repentance. Tolerance is the neutralizer of repentance. God loves you so much He’ll take you as you are, but He loves you too much to leave you as you are. He loves you so much He wants you to be like His Son. Love does something for you that tolerance cannot do. It will change you so that the best version of you emerges.

I want to address one last objection. Some people rightly note that Jesus was silent on the issue of homosexuality. They will say, “Pastor Mark, Jesus didn’t say anything on that subject.” Remember that He also didn’t say anything about rape or pedophilia. Argument from silence is a well-known logical fallacy; it proves nothing. Here’s what Jesus does say: from the beginning, God made us male and female. He said a man should leave his father and mother to cling tightly to his wife. Jesus said the two would become one flesh. It’s true Jesus didn’t address homosexuality directly, but He very clearly told us what God’s design is for sex, gender, and sexuality.

Today’s Reflection

Which of the sins Paul lists are considered virtues and not vices today?