June 30 2017 – Click here to listen
Recently Charisma magazine quoted some disturbing statistics. It states in part: “A new survey just released by the Pew Research Center has found that support for gay marriage in the United States is at an all-time record high. According to the survey, 62 percent of all Americans are now in favor of allowing gays and lesbians to get married, and only 32 percent are opposed. These numbers have almost flipped completely upside down from where they were a decade ago. In 2007, 54 percent of all Americans were against gay marriage and only 37 percent were in favor of it.
Support for same-sex marriage has risen across all religious groups in recent years, including among white evangelicals and black Protestants. Support for same sex-marriage among white Evangelicals has more than doubled compared with a decade ago (14 percent then, 35 percent now), while the share of black Protestants who favor same-sex marriage has increased from 24 percent in 2007 to 44 percent today.
In particular the shift in favor of gay marriage among evangelicals has been most noticeable among young people. Today, a staggering 47 percent of all white evangelicals born after 1964 favor gay marriage . . . Overall, white evangelical Protestants continue to stand out for their opposition to same-sex-marriage: 35 percent of white evangelical Protestants favor same-sex marriage, compared with a 59 percent majority who are opposed. But younger white evangelicals have grown more supportive: 47 percent of white evangelical Millennials and Gen Xers – age cohorts born after 1964 – favor same-sex marriage, up from 29 percent in March 2016. Views among older white evangelicals (Boomers and Silents) have shown virtually no change over the past year (26 percent now, 25 percent then).”
So, what does this trend say about the Bible being the inerrant word of God? Well, the Bible emphatically states that marriage should be between a man and a woman.
Draw your own conclusions.
In 2 Tim. 4:3 the Bible states, “For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear.”
This passage makes it clear that people will turn away from the truth of the Gospel, and take pleasure in hearing affirmations of “their own lusts” from virtually any source including from the pulpit. The Bible predicted that there would be those who would be unwilling to live the life which Paul and Timothy insisted upon as being necessary to be lived by those who would share in Christ’s glory and hope, and instead, would seek out for themselves more indulgent teachers, who would gratify their audience with watered down doctrine.
Most disturbing is the trend of young people to buy into satanic lies. It is they who will rule the world in the decade to come, and it is they who have been most impacted by societal propaganda lies. It is a disturbing shame that so many pastors refuse to preach the truth of the Bible. Famed researcher Barna conducted an exhaustive study of pastors and he asked them what were the five most important factors in their ministries.
The results were as follows:
- Attendance
- Giving
- Number of staff
- Number of square footage
- Number of programs
He asked about some hot button issues and their stance. Regarding gay marriage, he asked if they felt Holy Scripture clearly stated that marriage should be between a man and a woman, and he was astounded at the overwhelming 93% agreement among them that they believed the Bible clearly states that same sex marriage violates God’s law.
He went on to ask how many times they had preached this subject in the past year. 1% preached 1 sermon in the entire year.
Egad! Why don’t they preach their convictions?
The answer is easy. Go to the survey and re-read it. If the number one and number two objectives are attendance and giving, why would they preach about something that would not be popular with more than half the congregation and could reduce attendance and giving?
The world is ruled by money and not conviction. Oh how god must long for more pastors with the courage and character to boldly preach God’s word.
Children learn from teachers; if teachers are morally corrupt one can’t expect anything different from the students. The Bible has been around throughout the history of civilization and will endure forever. Its message should not be cut and pasted to accommodate those who want to become gods themselves and write their own rules of morality and determine what is right and wrong.
Someone else tried that. His name was Lucifer and his future is not so bright. Itching ears don’t want to hear it, but in the end “every knee shall bow” to Almighty God and an accounting will be required from all of us. What is wrong is not right and what is right is not wrong. Society’s ever-changing values cannot change God’s laws as recorded in the Holy Bible. Don’t let peer pressure change your convictions. Take the Bible as it is written and believe. While pastors might choose to ignore and distort its meaning in order to accommodate the desires of their congregations, it is plainly written in order that all might understand. Omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent God will never allow His word to change. Read it for yourself and govern yourself accordingly.
Matt. 19:4
“Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
Have a great weekend and go to church this Sunday!