Beyond Common Sense

May 26^th!  That’s the last time I posted!  I haven’t taken an intentional break—life just got busy.  And now I have several posts swimming around in my head, and I’m trying to decide which should float to the top!

After looking at several articles about Caitlyn Jenner, aka Bruce Jenner, which was prompted by my wonderful state of Pennsylvania’s choice of physician general, perhaps something needs to be said on that issue.

Depending on how involved you are with this world, you may not realize that it is now a badge of honor among young people to proclaim homosexuality, bisexuality, or even transgender thoughts. You may throw your arms up and cry, “What is happening to America?”  You may bemoan the fact that we no longer live in a Christian America, and wonder where it will all end.  How did we get here?  How did all this happen on our watch, and how do we react as Christians?  I’m not sure I have any answers for all those questions, but I rest in this: God makes no mistakes!

When you are confronted with these issues and are trying to discern the rightness and wrongness of them, how do you decide?  On my last day of subbing, I had thirteen Junior High students there for chorus, because of a field day at an amusement park, and decided to do a survey with them. I also wrote a tract for them called, OTB—Outside the Box.

Out of the five that declined, two girls were incredibly obnoxious, mocking me about asking them about Jesus.  I told them that the survey was completely optional and walked away; however, after about ten minutes, they called me back to ask me questions.  One question was, “Is it wrong to…you know?”  These were her exact words.  I was surprised at her hesitation to say the word sex. My reply: not if you are married.  They continued to ask questions: What if you’re not married? What if it’s with someone of the same sex?

A wise man once said: Questions can open hearts but accusations often harden hearts. So, I asked them if they believed the Bible and explained that my beliefs came from the Bible.  Amazingly, they said that they did believe the Bible, and then one girl proceeded to ask me if she would go to hell for having sex before marriage. My answer: Sin is sin.  All sin condemns us to hell, but God sent His own Son, Jesus, to pay for our sins. Unfortunately, by then the bell had already run, and they were gone.

Transgender, homosexuality, drunkenness, immorality, lying, cheating… The list of sins is endless, but all are sin because our Heavenly Father gave us Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth. How would we know what was right and wrong apart from an all-knowing, completely righteous God?

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him;

male and female created he them. Genesis 1:27

Wow!  I have to stop at the beginning of the verse and praise God for that wonderful statement: We are made in the image of God.  If we would just stop and dwell on that amazing concept, it would solve a LOT of our problems.  He made us male and female.  If we couple that Biblical truth with the fact that He is a perfect God Who makes no mistakes, homosexuality and transgender ambitions are clearly sinful.  Science may support a “gay gene,” but it can’t override Biblical truth.

This generation is awakening to new thinking for several reasons.

1. Science – scientist are making amazing discoveries all the time, many factual ones; however, all science cannot be trusted as true. If that were so, then we would still be holding to Ptolemy’s theory that the earth was the center of our solar system.
2. Inaccurate Biblical Conclusions – We have used the Bible to support arguments where the Bible is silent, allowing our biases to rule our decisions. For example, many who were adults in the sixties remember the bearded “hippies,” and for years, beards were thought of as evil.  But there is no Biblical basis against beards.  “Well, I just don’t like it,” is the answer I often hear from some people. If we can’t support our position from the Bible, we are on dangerous ground!  I am not throwing out such verses as 1 Corinthians 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? That verse certainly does not say a person ought not to smoke, but it does say that this body is not my own and I ought to care for it as God’s temple.

When we are unable to prove our position against sin with no more than “I just don’t like it,” our children walk away confused.  And when they rebelliously tell us that they are listening to ungodly music “because they like it,” they have learned from our poor example.  When we wield the Bible like a battering ram instead of living it before each other in the home, the results are deadly.  I challenge you to know what the Bible says and stand firmly upon it!  There is no better antidote for this world’s travesties and social ills.  We rest in Jesus when we stand upon His Word.  We develop a right spirit when we read His Word, and we experience the peace, hope, and joy of the Lord when we graciously share God’s Word with others.

Pilate saith unto him, What is truth?

John 18:38

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life:

no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. John 14:6

And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. John 8:32

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