We live in a sinful world that seems to get more sinful all the time. Even though we are all sinners (from the standpoint that we sin from time to time), as Christians we do not live in sin. Sin is offensive to us because it is offensive to God. In Romans 12:9, Paul exhorted us to abhor that which is evil. However, what is evil to us and what is evil to the world are two different things. Our morals are different. The question is, are we ashamed of our morals? Interestingly, the world often views our morals as something bad. That should not, however, persuade us to compromise them or change our view on what is morally right.
There is a lengthy list of things that the world views as being good, but God views as immoral. For example, sexual relations outside of marriage, what the Bible refers to as fornication, is considered by many to be a good thing. At the very least, many see it as a personal decision that is morally neutral. God does not view fornication as being morally neutral. Instead, He views it as a sin.
Since God opposes fornication, regardless of what the world thinks, it is immoral under all circumstances. Sexual relations between a husband and wife is a demonstration of love and commitment, but fornication is a demonstration of lust and selfishness. We should not be ashamed to openly condemn it, even though it has found acceptance in many segments of society.
What is Fornication? It is any illicit sexual relationship, that is, any sexual relationship of which God does not approve. Adultery is a form of fornication. It does not take much courage to take a stand against this type of fornication because even the world, for the most part, opposes it. However, what about pre-marital sex? That is considered normal behavior in our society and is even encouraged by some parents.
Then there is homosexuality. It is now lawful to marry a person of the same sex in this country. Many in the world equate being gay to the color of a person’s skin. To oppose homosexuality, then, is thought of as being a bigot and a hate monger. Still, the Word of God condemns this sin. It is not up to us to determine whether homosexuality is okay because God has already declared it to be immoral.
Paul, who was an ambassador for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20), consistently referred to homosexuality as being immoral (Romans 1:24-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9). As Christians, we must oppose it. Do you oppose the sin of homosexuality, or are you too ashamed to take a moral stand on the side of the Bible? We must defend the gospel even when it is not the popular thing to do. Think about Paul. He went into the city of Corinth, with a message of morality, knowing that many of the citizens of that city practiced fornication religiously. Yes, he was afraid (1 Corinthians 2:3); however, he made a stand and preached the gospel anyway.
Fornication is just one moral issue where the Bible and the world are at odds. What about abortion, drunkenness, drugs, immodest dress, and ungodly entertainment? Think about how differently these things are viewed by Christians who are living by the moral standards of the Bible, and the world who live by their own moral conduct. We can see that many things that are acceptable in the world are condemned by God, and they are things that we must stand against.
The moral standards of the world and the Christian are clearly incompatible, and there is no doubt that our moral standards are believed and practiced by only a minority of people. Still, we must oppose the moral standards of the world. We must speak out against what God declares to be sin, even if it makes us unpopular with the masses. But there is one thing that will stop us from doing so and that is being ashamed of the morality demanded by Christ. Is that you? Are you ashamed of the morals demanded by the Word of God, or do you have the courage to defend them? Let us all say with Paul, “…in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body…” (Philippians 1:20).