Uncharted Waters

 

1Timothy 1:8-11

We who are called by the name Christian in the United States of America are entering into uncharted waters; we are experiencing what God calls good, being referred to as evil, the prophet Isaiah spoke of this in Isaiah 5:20, "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness."  Many of us ignore or pay no heed to Isaiah’s warning, and I’m fearful that this message was not passed on to our generation, and since World War II we have seen several trends that have promoted a new idea of generations based on the division of people by age.  If the church, if its pastors, elders, and teachers were silent on calling evil good and good evil, and I believe it has been, then we can expect perilous times!

The apostle Paul, in his second letter to young Timothy gave us this forewarning; “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty.  For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.  Avoid such people.” (2 Timothy 3:1-5)  What happens to a nation and its people when the church and it teachers and preachers become contaminated by this world, what happens when they try to hide these truths, because they have found them in their own homes and in the church?

We no longer need to wonder, we are living in that time, and we have elected people to the Congress, the Senate, and the Presidency that 2 Timothy 3:1-5 portrays.   We are very close to being arrested and imprisoned for proclaiming 1Timothy 1: 8-11.  Many would call that hate speech, so how is it defined: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia we are given the following; Hate speech is, outside the law, any communication that disparages a person or a group on the basis of some characteristic such as race, color, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, religion, or other characteristic.

In law, hate speech is any speech, gesture or conduct, writing, or display which is forbidden because it may incite violence or prejudicial action against or by a protected individual or group, or because it disparages or intimidates a protected individual or group. The law may identify a protected individual or a protected group by race, gender, ethnicity, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or other characteristic.

So in the culture of 2012 in the USA, is the apostle Paul who is speaking under the control of the Holy Spirit, in danger of being called evil?  “Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murders, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, in accordance with the glorious gospel of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted.” (1 Timothy 1:8-11)

You can bet the farm that he is hated, and that anyone who proclaims this teaching is also hated.  So let me ask you, those who are more enlightened than I, many of you who go by the name, Christian, some who are teachers and preachers and others who are just pew warmers, do you believe 2 Timothy 3:16?  “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice