The Signs of the Times: 1 Timothy 3:1-3 In the current AFA magazine, they quote a George Barna poll or survey that suggests our culture (read World-System) is falling deeper into a moral maelstrom. It seems so plausible in this election cycle, since it is easy to find a candidate talking about morality and values. The Barna Group survey said that nearly 55% of adults discuss moral issues on a weekly basis. Many would agree that our values as a country are changing and not for the better. The Barna survey supports that theory.
"Researchers asked adults about their participation in eight activities described in the table below. Most had done at least one of the eight during the past week!
The most common of the eight bad behaviors was profanity. Nearly 3 out of every 10 people admitted to using foul language in public in the past week. About 2 in 10 said they gambled, including lottery tickets, and nearly that many also said they intentionally looked at porn.
One of the most surprising outcomes was the result for those adults under 25. Barna found that young people are redefining what it means to do the right thing. In fact, they are more than twice as likely as other adults to engage in the behaviors considered morally inappropriate. Two-thirds of the Mosaics (under 25) had used profanity in public. The Mosaics were also nine times more likely than Boomers (44-62) to engage in sex outside of marriage (38 vs. 4 %).
George Barna, who directed the survey, said the results show a ‘major shift’ in American life. "We are witnessing the development and acceptance of a new moral code in America,’ he said. ‘Mosaics have had little exposure to traditional moral teaching and limited accountability for such behavior. The moral code began to disintegrate when the generation before them – the Baby Busters (25 to 43 years) – pushed the limits that had been challenged by their parents –the Baby Boomers of 44 to 62 years."
The same survey showed big differences between other groups as well People who called themselves mostly liberals were more likely to engage in inappropriate behaviors than those who labeled themselves mostly conservative. Liberals were five times as likely to engage in sex outside of marriage, and more than three times as likely to look at porn. Men were more likely to engage in the bad behaviors. They were more likely to get drunk, use profanity in public and gamble…………. The consistent deterioration of the Bible as the source of moral truth has led to a nation where people have become independent judges of right and wrong, basing their choices on feelings and circumstances. It is not likely that America will return to a more traditional moral code until the nation experiences significant pain from its moral choices."
But, will ‘significant pain’ really do anything for moral change? Will the very epitome of evil be called upon as evil and men to repent of sin? Will the deepening moral maelstrom be reversed for a ‘better world’?
Listen to what Tom White (Voice of the Martyrs) says about "Where Did Evil Go?"
"One morning I woke up and the word evil had fled around the corner like a beaten dog. People regularly say words like ‘immoral,’ ‘bad’ or ‘corrupt’, but let’s face it, the E-word does not go out for a walk in public these days. Evil -–the word at least – is no longer a part of the American vocabulary.
Evil, of course, is not forgotten in Scripture. The word is mentioned nearly 600 times in the KJV. But calling something or someone evil today will jeopardize your social standing. I guess the word evil is just too definitive for our modern society. Churches became more sophisticated and comfortable in the last 50 years. They do not want to lose members by appearing to be uneducated. So they have shied away from talking about Satan, the devil and evil.
We would rather say (and use) words like depraved, offensive and unseemly. But intellectualizing a spiritual term is a trick of Satan because it hides the spirit behind the term. When we do not agree that something is, in fact evil, then evil loses its absolute standard. This allows the devil to enjoy watching us debate endlessly about whether social lifestyles and world religions can really be called ‘evil.’
I fear for my children and grandchildren if their view of the world becomes simply ‘good, bad or indifferent,’ with no spiritual absolutes. Michael Wurmbrand, son of our founder, Lutheran Pastor Richard Wurmbrand, was orphaned while both parents were Christian prisoners in communist Romania. One lady received six years in prison just for feeding him. Michael told us recently, "Unless you find out the world is evil you will fall in love with this world. There is no alternative.’
By diluting the term evil we fall into a trap that makes us believe it does not exist. We forget the fall of man. We forget the temptation of Christ. We forget this world is lost. And we tend to tolerate evil here on earth.
Jesus did not teach us to pray, "Deliver us from improper thinking." There is a reason the Bible mentions evil repeatedly. As Christians we are not in a war against false or misguided ideas. We are fighting satanic evil, designed in hell. We are locked in a millenniums-old war pitting good against evil, God against darkness. And we are called to expose evil at every turn, regardless of what the world says."
Such warnings should encourage us to be ever more vigilant in this particular election campaign, where the ultimate in media bias exists and lies upon lies abound. The process of sanctification for the believer is one of separation, not love of the World. This does NOT mean isolation in the physical realm, but in the spiritual realm. The separation from evil in this world-system is a daunting challenge and task, indeed. As the times progress, it will become more daunting! But Christian, do not despair, He that is in you is greater than he who is the adversary.
Some are seizing upon 1 Peter 4:7,
But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. Entering into watchful prayer is also a hard task, but the rewards are supernatural, and eternal! Thus it is written, and so it shall be:
1But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. 2For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, 4treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these. 1 Timothy 3:1-5Labels: America's Moral Decay into What?
