Pressures to Dilute God's Word

by    Glenn A. Brown                                                                                                                              Vol. VI, No. 7, September 1993

[Glenn Brown is editor of The Baptist Messenger, the Oklahoma Baptist paper. This was his editorial of 27 June 1991. Emphases have been added by the Banner.]

We are well aware that biblical standards of human sexuality are vehemently criticized or simply ignored by millions of persons. This is to be expected from those who have little or no regard for God or His Word. But there is also a small minority of church members in several Christian denominations who are increasingly vocal in their efforts to persuade their denominations to abandon traditional biblical teachings in favor of standards that are little different from those of the unregenerate world.

The eyes of the nation were turned briefly to the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) when it was reported that its Special Committee on Human Sexuality would be bringing a recommendation in June, which if approved, would have the church reverse its historical stance and give its blessing to premarital sex, homosexuality, and bisexuality.

No doubt millions of Americans with loose morals would have been pleased if a mainline Christian denomination took such a stance since it would somewhat salve their own guilty consciences.

The decision facing the Presbyterians was important for another reason: The United Methodists, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Episcopal Church, and perhaps others are also facing similar challenges in the future. Even the most conservative denominations are not immune to the devil's attack in this area.

To the credit of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), its commissioners overwhelmingly rejected the document prepared by a 15-member task force and retained [the denomination's] biblical stance. It has initiated efforts to involve its congregations in future in-depth considerations of several issues related to human sexuality.

What of the efforts of a small minority within Christian circles to turn Christians away from clear biblical commands concerning the sanctity of marriage and sexual purity?

The source of error lies either in a misunderstanding of the nature of Scripture or in an outright rejection of the authority of God's Word. Some view the Bible as nothing more than an historical record of religious thought by human beings struggling upward from their evolutionary roots. They are ready to shed any and all constraints they consider outmoded in favor of more comfortable ones. They foolishly believe they are on the road to higher stages of enlightenment and pronounce God's blessings on themselves. They are forever seeking to reshape God to fit their views instead of allowing God to conform them to His views.

Others trace Scripture back to God but skip over some of God's harder commands with fuzzy, warm notions that somehow God's love and forgiveness will overlook human weakness and not really hold them accountable for not striving to live in Christ-like holiness. They seem to think that God sets His standards by a majority vote of the people.

Why should Christian denominations back away from God's laws? Would it be to satisfy those who would substitute human wisdom for God's wisdom? That is a dead end street. Would it be to appeal to more young adults? The truth is that young adults are more attracted to churches which lovingly but firmly teach the whole Bible. They want something solid upon which to build their homes and their lives. Efforts to water down the standards of God's Word do not come from the millions of believers who have found following God's Word blesses and protects. Instead [such efforts] come from those who are unwilling to submit their lives to God's control.

Harold Lindsell, editor emeritus of Christianity Today says in his book, The New Paganism, the church "exists in the midst of pagan-controlled surroundings and is called upon to live and witness to a hostile world that is opposed to all Christianity stands for and against which [the world] wages unceasing war."

If the church ever departs from the commands of God, it has no contribution of any significance to make to a lost and dying world. And unless Christians study God's Word, believe it and practice it, they will be too apathetic to notice or care that they have lost their lifeline in a hostile environment.

[Editorial Comment: Part and parcel of these antinomian attitudes is the trivialization of sin. Whether this urge springs from pride ("See, I'm not really bad. I just kick over the traces once in a while. But nobody's perfect! "), or from doubt that God actually will forgive my sin if He ever finds out about all of it, or from a failure to accept the fact that God is a different order of being from ourselves ... an unwillingness to fully submit ourselves to His mercy and admit we can never merit salvation by our own efforts ... whatever the motivation, we all face the repeated temptation to rationalize our sin away and try to convince ourselves that God will smile indulgently and look the other way at our pecadillos. We don't like to admit that sin, any sin, is rebellion against God and an attack upon His deity, an attempt by myself to replace Him. May God help us to see sin for what it truly is and to place ourselves in the proper humble relationship to our mighty God.]