Our current world is changing very rapidly in many ways. Recently, Julene and I brought quite a laugh to our children’s faces when we explained how we used to have to get off the couch to “change the channels” on our parents’ television sets. Our children could not imagine a time without remote controls! While the Internet has taken the world by storm, many can recall the “ancient” encyclopedia as the source for learning interesting facts. The world never stands still, and in many areas, change is a benefit to society. However, sadly, our world is changing in the arena of sin. Even once religious folks are “caving” to the world’s pressure cooker.
Author and well-known “Christian” speaker Brian McLaren recently led a commitment ceremony for his son Trevor Douglas McLaren and his same-sex partner Owen Patrick Ryan. According to a Christianity Today blog, the ceremony was held in Chevy Chase, Maryland at the Audubon Naturalist Society after the couple’s formal wedding, which was held in Washington D. C. earlier in the day. The New York Times reported the commitment ceremony contained “traditional Christian elements.” There are some needed truths we must divulge from this sinful union!
Firstly, people do not define sin! McLaren was once opposed to homosexual unions. However, he is recorded as saying, regarding his changing mindset, “I was a good kid, I believed what I’d been told. And as a pastor, I started having gay people come out to me, and what became clearer and clearer to me is that their experience was not explained by the theology I inherited.” While I am not sure what theology Mr. McLaren inherited, I do know that it is not in accordance to God’s theology! God alone has the authority to define what sin is (Romans 4:15; 1 John 3:4)! The only theology that has any authority at all is that what is found in the Sacred Text (Matthew 28:18)! People do not define sin!
Secondly, popularity does not define sin! There is no question that society is rapidly changing its attitude toward homosexuality. In fact, many people are now “tolerant” and “accepting” of this sin! Noteworthy is the fact that most of the residents of Sodom and Gomorrah were more than willing to accept and engage in homosexual practices. In fact, so much so that God (at Abraham’s request) could not even find 10 righteous souls (Genesis 18:24ff)! Did the majority change the sin? Even if the entire population in America “accepts” homosexuality as alright, it will still be sin! God was clear to Moses, “Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil…” (Exodus 23:2a; cf. Proverbs 4:14).
Thirdly, pleasure does not define sin! Far too many use pleasure as a guide when it comes to right and wrong. In fact, the sin of homosexuality is opined by its proponents as “it does not hurt you, and it is what makes us feel good.” Just because something “feels” right, does not make it so! “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Proverbs 14:12; 16:25). For some today, homosexuality “seems” alright, but oh dear reader, its destruction is sure! It may feel good to club your enemy, but does that make it right? It may be pleasurable to drive a new car every week, but that certainly does not take away the consequence of the payments! Pleasure does not define sin!
Our world is changing every day. What constitutes sin is now being mocked and ridiculed. “Tolerance” is the word of today’s society. However, God’s laws have not changed one bit! People, popularity and pleasure will never be safe guides in determining sin. No matter what an ever-changing society says, sin will always be sin!
