Line Upon Line

morass: An area of low-lying, soggy ground; something that hinders, engulfs, or overwhelms.

I received the following Gallup Alert from The Gallup Organization, on May 21, 2004:

Democrats and Republicans Agree That U.S. Morals Are Subpar
One thing that most Americans, including Republicans and Democrats, can agree on is that moral values in the United States are less than good and are getting worse. Older adults are particularly critical of the state of moral values today. Overall, only 19% of Americans describe moral conditions in the country as "excellent" or "good" and 77% think they are getting worse. The outlook for morals has grown more pessimistic over the past year. But this dim view of morals is not new. Gallup polling at various points dating back to the mid-1960s shows that the majority of Americans have typically been dissatisfied with the nation's moral and ethical climate.

While it may be refreshing to see that Republicans and Democrats finally agree on something, their perception of the decline in moral values in our nation is, in fact, a grim reality.

The same day I received this polling data, I also received an email letter from the ministry of Francis Frangipane. Instead of his usual "Message of the Week," Francis published an essay by Pastor David Miller, senior pastor of Northbrook Baptist Church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Pastor Miller has been a close friend to Pastor Frangipane for more than a decade, and is also a member of the local minister's group that prays together in Linn County. Francis thought this message by Pastor Miller was timely and very important--and so do I. With his permission, I share it here with you.

Culture of the Moral Negative
Isaiah 5:20
David Miller

America has now become a "Culture of the Moral Negative."

I am not talking about "negativity," the boogie-man of the new age. Actually, I am convinced negativity can be honorable, in fact, desirable. Of God's ten laws, eight of them are stated in the negative: "Thou shalt not." That is an 80% negativity rate. Flawed human beings need limits to inhibit our sinful behavior. But that is another topic.

I am talking about the kind of negative from which you develop a picture: On the photographic negative, dark colors appear as light and light looks dark. The image is reversed. A moral negative exists when right and wrong - moral light and dark - are reversed. When this moral negative dominates thinking in a society, you have a culture of the moral negative.

In Isaiah 5:20, God spoke through the prophet: "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter." Woe to the culture of the moral negative.

Is America such a culture? When a Christian denomination denies the clear teachings of scripture and elects an active, unrepentant homosexual as a bishop, when that bishop beams into the cameras and gushes about the maturity it took to take such a step, we are becoming a culture of the moral negative. When the Massachusetts Supreme Court orders that homosexuals be allowed to marry, dark is light and light is dark. When any judicial nominee who opposes a woman's right to kill her unborn baby is viewed as unfit for office, you have a moral negative. When tolerance of all things is seen as the highest moral virtue, when a local clergyman calls evangelism "hate speech," when courts debate whether "one nation under God" is constitutional, our culture is becoming a moral negative.

Once this nation had a clear moral code. We were never the moral utopia some imagine, but America had a Judeo-Christian morality that was our nation's social foundation. Light was light and dark was dark. Sin was called sin and goodness was good. That moral foundation has slowly eroded.

How did it happen? The church did not do its job. We are called to be the salt of the earth, to inhibit the decay of wickedness. We are to be the prophets of God, confronting wickedness and presenting Jesus as the solution. But the church too often tries to fit in with its culture rather than exposing its depravity. Instead of letting God's word shape our minds, we shape our interpretation of scripture according to the whims of popular culture.

My own denomination is a sad example of this. In the 1840's, Southern culture embraced slavery. Instead of confronting this evil, Southern Baptists conformed to the mindset of the day. They twisted scripture and proclaimed slavery from the pulpit. I saw a book that "proved from the scriptures" that God created blacks to be subservient. I stood with thousands of Southern Baptists years ago to publicly repent of our forefathers' sin. When the church twists biblical teachings to conform to the ideas of popular culture, the moral negative develops.

Now other denominations are falling into the same trap. Our culture has embraced heterosexual promiscuity and homosexuality as normal, even admirable. No one would search the scriptures and come to those conclusions. Few ideas are as clearly presented in scripture as the idea that marriage is a man and a woman joined in a monogamous relationship, and that any sexual activity outside that relationship is sin.

But instead of confronting this wickedness in our culture, many churches are twisting scripture to conform to the popular notions of sexual morality. Promiscuity is normal; virgins are oddballs. So-called Christian clergy are blessing homosexual unions. How can a minister bless what God condemns? The prophets no longer challenge culture to conform to God's Word; instead they give a blessing to human depravity.

"Woe to those who call evil good and good evil." The morally negative culture is sick and depraved, teetering on the brink of collapse. Our nation is in deep trouble. The problem is not political, economic or educational. The problem is moral and spiritual. No society can prosper, or even survive, in a culture of the moral negative. How can we stand without a moral backbone?

Are things hopeless? Not at all. Israel, at the end of the period of the Judges, had embraced debauchery in a way that would make Larry Flynt blush. They were a culture of the moral negative. But, Israel's greatest days were 50 years in the future.

How did things change? One man, a prophet named Samuel, gave himself to God and His ways. He faithfully proclaimed truth for many years. Israel returned to God under his ministry, then climbed to glory under the leadership of the king he anointed, David.

America is in danger, but is not hopeless. Men and women of faith need to stand strong and refuse to compromise truth to please our culture. We confront the moral negative with the brilliant color of God's light. The power of God still changes hearts.

I pray that in this election year, God might raise up in this land leaders with clear moral vision - who see right as right and wrong as wrong. But the light of God will not shine in this land through politicians alone. It will shine through people like you and me: Christians who surrender to God and allow His Word to shape their convictions, and who let their light shine bright.

May the full color of God's truth replace the culture of the moral negative!

I don't want you to miss this one important observation by Pastor Miller:

Once this nation had a clear moral code. We were never the moral utopia some imagine, but America had a Judeo-Christian morality that was our nation's social foundation. Light was light and dark was dark. Sin was called sin and goodness was good. That moral foundation has slowly eroded.

How did it happen? The church did not do its job. We are called to be the salt of the earth, to inhibit the decay of wickedness. We are to be the prophets of God, confronting wickedness and presenting Jesus as the solution. But the church too often tries to fit in with its culture rather than exposing its depravity. Instead of letting God's word shape our minds, we shape our interpretation of scripture according to the whims of popular culture. (emphasis added)

You can't blame the Republicans. You can't blame the Democrats. You can't even blame the Devil! Our nation is in the state it is in, because the church has failed to be "conformed into the image" of Jesus Christ. It's time that every one who names the name of Christ begin to walk like Jesus walked and live as He lived.

Reversing the moral decline and realizing a revival of righteousness begins with you and me. I pray that God will grant us wisdom and grace in this day and hour to be the people He has called and created us to be!

think on these things...

Matthew 5:13-16 (NKJV)
"You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."

1 Peter 1:13-20 (NLT)
So think clearly and exercise self-control. Look forward to the special blessings that will come to you at the return of Jesus Christ. Obey God because you are his children. Don't slip back into your old ways of doing evil; you didn't know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God-who chose you to be his children-is holy. For he himself has said, "You must be holy because I am holy." And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites when he judges. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time as foreigners here on earth. For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. He paid for you with the precious lifeblood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. God chose him for this purpose long before the world began, but now in these final days, he was sent to the earth for all to see. And he did this for you.

Francis Frangipane Ministries
Pastor Dave Miller's Website