Moral Relativism and Our Culture

Romans 1:18-25
“…for they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served the creature instead of the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.”
Rome was one of the greatest civilizations the world has ever known. It was creative in its approach to literature, towards construction, style, and technology. It was challenging with its thinkers, growing in its knowledge, and strong with its military. Rome stood longer than any other civilization known to man as of yet. However, even in Paul’s day he could see that Rome had “…exchanged the truth of God for a lie…”
The scary thing for a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ is to see the moral decline within the walls of our own country, then to look across the table at the other ministers of the gospel and see a wide array of reactions. Some are fighting the decline with both fists bloodied, some are passively quoting scripture and collecting a paycheck, all the while others are giving in to the sins of the world, hoping no one notices their own guilt. Whether we are fighting against it, living in it, or giving in to it, moral relativism is a spiritual wrecking ball with Satan at the controls.
So what is moral relativism? Well relativism simply states that everything is right some of the time, but nothing is right all of the time. There are no absolutes. Nothing is 100% for sure. By this standard, the door is opened to a wide range of chaotic and ungodly actions. The results of this mindset is visible throughout our culture and has become a standard with our younger generation. George Barna discovered that only one in ten teens who claim to be Christian believes in moral absolutes. Yes, 90% of Christian teens believe that everything is right some of the time, but nothing is right all of the time. Where do they get it? Barna also discovered that only 32% of all Christians believe in moral absolutes. They learn from their parents. Houston, we have a problem!
So how do we get from “One Nation Under God” to the moral decline we are in today? A better question is HOW DO WE FIX IT?
We were built on a foundation of Christianity whether the rest of the world would want to agree or not… yes, Mr. President, we are a Christian nation! The beginnings were humble, called of God, and filled with prayer, a necessity for survival in a new nation birthed in freedom through pain and loss. It was not and is not a crutch for the weak. As time moved on and life became more and more modern through transitions in lifestyles and technology, those holding to a moral standard felt threatened and put more pressure on the younger generation of their day to also hold strong to those same moral truths. That generation felt the pressure of their parents and, instead of holding more firmly to the standard set forth, many felt threatened and pushed against such strictness. What once was the standard quickly became the object of scrutiny. What was once looked upon as necessity for survival now was seen as the stumbling block keeping the next generation from real success. As this progression grew, ebbed, and flowed, the generations that followed found new paths altogether. Soon the moral fabric our country was pieced together with became torn and partly discarded.
This is the pattern of revolution that slowly has changed how religious fervor in our country is seen. We are still “One Nation Under God” but the view of God is mostly what has changed. Some see a relationship with Jesus Christ as a way of life, a necessity that carries them through every day. Some see it as a crutch, not something needed to live, but something to give an excuse by as to why life goes a certain way for them. Others are very passive. Sure, they go to church and talk the language, but it is a social atmosphere and a help to succeed in the “real world.”
It comes down to this… we who live by Christian principles and work to develop our relationship with our Savior Jesus Christ must be aware and clear with our message. We must be careful not to be arrogant with our religion, but to be loving and compassionate towards those who need to know and want to understand. We are to be ever seeking God’s face and learning from His Word to be instant in season and ready to give a steady defense of the Word of God. We are also to be steadfast in our beliefs, never giving up or backing down from the world’s push to abolish the truth about our origin, our heritage, and our lifestyle. We should be never wavering and willing to stand up for the cause of Christ, even if it means persecution unto death.
We serve a great God who deserves our faithfulness, not our style. He deserves our life, not our social network. He deserves our adoration and praise, not our lip-service. It is time to fight against moral relativism on a personal level, on a family level, and on a social level. It is time to be real with God!

Where have we come to in church?

It seems to me that there are two sides to every story. As far as church goes, there is the conservative/traditional side and the more liberal/contemporary side. Do not take the conservative and liberal concepts here too far, I am sure not speaking politically or even about theological stance. I am talking about the church itself.

The contemporary church is pushing to reach those unchurched or dechurched, as well as being more of an open door to new avenues of outreach. They are trying to get the evangelical gospel message of Jesus Christ to every possible person, no matter their walk of life. The traditional church is also trying to reach people for the cause of Christ, but holding closely to their traditional methods of worship and evangelism. Is there anything wrong with either of these methods? Absolutely not! However, there seems to be more of a war battling between these two styles of church. They are often times too busy slinging mud to realize how much these churches have to offer each other.

The contemporary church is doing a great job of reaching the masses, however, their downfall is that they are not staying around. The front door is wide open for all types of people, but he back door is just as wide open. Francis Chan wrote in the September 2008 issue of Worship Leader Magazine of a gang member who joined the church after his radical transformation, but left the church after a couple of months. His response to why he left was that when he joined the church, he was not use to people being nice only one day a week, where the gang was loyal 24/7. WOW!!!

The traditional church has this going for them, they push for education. There is more than just Sunday School for the children, but adult discipleship and a way of helping people feel like they belong. The contemporary church has more adult converts than the traditional church, it is just a simple fact. Therefore, who should have more adult classes? It just makes sense!

The traditional church could learn from the outreach techniques of reaching out to the people who are unchurched, dechurched, or just simply burned out. To open up their minds is not to jump to being a totally contemporary style, but it does open the door to new people.

The war between traditional and contemporary has to end! The war has pushed these two sides so far apart that they cannot see the hurt it is causing their own efforts. Each church is unique and a special part of the body of Christ... one church may serve as a hand and another a foot, totally different in their use, but both extremely important to the overall cause of Christ.

Instead of battling, let's pull together and draw on each other's strengths. We have to put our own personal preferences aside and look at the big picture... there are lost souls at stake, and most importantly we are to focus on worshipping God in all of our actions. Let's reach them and GROW them for the cause of Christ!