In Isaiah 5:20, the prophet says “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!”
For anyone who doesn’t know, Downton Abbey is a television program on PBS. And, it is a pretty popular show worldwide. The show is set in the early 20th century and it revolves around a huge English manor (named “Downton Abbey”) and its inhabitants. As odd as it may seem, I’d like to tell you a little about two of the characters. One of their names is Thomas and he is one of the footmen of the house. He is also a homosexual. And, if there was any doubt in your mind, very early in the series, that point is made abundantly clear in one particular scene. For this and other reasons, a lot of people hate this character. The second character is Lady Mary. She is the daughter of the lord of the house. Very early in the series, she slept with a Turkish gentleman. And, while this was used as a plot device, the fact that she slept with someone she just met that day did not cause a lot of outrage in the show... or in society.
This is the reason why I bring all of this up: society no longer blushes or even blinks at people sleeping with each other. Rather, they expect it and they find it odd when they don’t! There was a time when, if people in polite society did engage in fornication, they would at least be ashamed of it. But, that is not the way it has been for a long time; people have just forgotten how to be ashamed of such things. And, it’s getting this way with homosexuality. What once was an ugly taboo has become fashionable. What once was a revolting abomination has become mundane and commonplace. And, mark my words, sooner than we think there will come a day when the same will be truthfully said for things like pedophilia and bestiality.
While the world continues to embrace sin, as Christians, we need to do more than keep it at arm’s length. We need to remember that we are called to be holy as God is holy (1 Peter 1:15-16), striving to perfect holiness every moment of every day (2 Corinthians 7:1). This means that we are to be set apart from the world, not thinking the way the world thinks about things or doing the things the world does (1 Corinthians 6:11). This means that we need to acknowledge sin for what it is: damnable (Revelation 21:8). Specifically, we need to realize that all forms of fornication are sinful (Hebrews 13:4; Matthew 19:4-6). Even more specifically than that, we need to realize that homosexuality is sinful (Genesis 19; Jude 1:7; Romans 1:24-27). Also, we need to do more than just realize and acknowledge these things as true; we need to refrain from engaging in these and any other sin, resisting every temptation to sin against our holy and righteous God (James 1:12-25; 1 Peter 5:8-11; Genesis 39:9). And, we need to openly oppose all sin, like Jesus (John 2; Matthew 21), lest we be considered equal partners in their sin (Romans 1:28-32); to do anything less would be calling evil “good” and good “evil” (Isaiah 5:20). We need to do all of this all of the time (2 Timothy 4:2) even when people think we’re odd, especially when people find it strange (1 Peter 4:1-6). Finally, lest we forget the real purpose of all of this: we need to do all of this to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31).
Wide is the path to destruction and there are many who find it (Matthew 7:13). Don’t be one of the many. Rather, know the truth and stand up for it every day for the glory of God. May the Lord bless us with wisdom, strength, and courage to do His will!
~Curtis Carwile
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