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Are We Less
Moral?
The moral decline in our
society today has been attributed to many different things;
government programs, politicians, public schools, poverty,
greed, entertainment and the list goes on almost endlessly. We
have seen people involved in all of these with low morals that
have had influence on others. If you were able to clean up these
places and institutions without fixing what caused the people in
them to lose sight of what is morally right and wrong the
effects would be short lived.
Something has occurred during the last thirty years that has
caused people to be willing to accept and expect a lower
standard when considering morality and honesty. It is important
to note that it used to be expected that a man would keep hid
word, men and women would be true to their marriage vows, and if
a person was caught in immoral acts both people involved and
their families were shamed and disgraced.
There have always been some willing to go against what is
acceptable, but what has caused people to accept and expect the
low moral behavior we see in our society today?
Prevailing religious beliefs have always established the
moral patterns that find acceptance in society, and that still
holds true today. It isn't necessary that everyone be active
members in a church for this to be true. There have always been
a significant number of non church members that accept the
mainstream religious moral position. It wasn't too far distant
in the past when everyone knew that if a man was drunkard, a
thief, a liar, too lazy to work, or engaged in sex outside of
marriage that he was not a Christian, and if he claimed to be,
everyone knew he was a hypocrite. What happened?
According to central religious beliefs today it is virtually
impossible to be a hypocrite. Today we have ministers and
religious leaders stealing millions of dollars from their
churches, having sex with prostitute, engaging in homosexual
acts, and committing virtually every act of the Bible teaches
against while still retaining position. why is this possible?
This is possible because they are living out what they teach.
They have been teaching that men can only be forgiven for sin,
but never be delivered from it. They teach scriptures out of
context or don't give the full view of what was being taught by
Christ, thereby changing the meaning. Many religions that once
taught God grammatically changed and cleaned a persons life when
they became Christian now furnish excuses and reasons for not
living right. A hundred years ago the Bible was used as a reader
in most schools. A society that by today's standards would be
considered ignorant and uneducated knew the difference between
right and wrong and knew the basic principles taught in the
Bible because they spent long hours reading in it while learning
to read. The prevailing question posed by religion today doesn't
deal with right and wrong, but is there anything that is wrong.
I want to ask you a question, if people had been taught and
conditioned to believe that it was possible to make money in the
stock market, how many do you think would be investing there?
Today people have been taught and conditioned to believe there
is no deliverance taught in the Bible, only forgiveness. Only a
few actually read the Bible today desiring to take it as their
moral compass and live by what it teaches.
Millions of people knew little bits and pieces of scripture
that they have been taught for the express purpose of justifying
themselves in their selfish and immoral living. Religious
leaders don't want to lose members or cease to grow and as a
result they have gradually and continually lowered what is
required to be a member of their church. A Christian life
doesn't end with God loving and forgiving us. It requires us to
turn from our wicked and selfish ways and to love God and other
people. Isaiah 55:7--Let the wicked forsake his way and let him
return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him and will
abundantly pardon.
Sin separated people from God. Jesus came to reunite us with
God by not only forgiving us but help us live clean moral honest
(godly) lives. Titus 2:11--For the grace of God that bringeth
salvation hath appeared to all me teaching us that denying
ungodliness and worldly lust we should live soberly, righteously
and godly in this present world.
If you only want religion for relief from condemnation..
(Isaiah 4:1-- we will eat our own bread and wear our own
apparel; only let us be called by thy name to take away our
reproach) and don't want God to help you change your life, then
stop reading, this isn't for you. If you have wanted something
better than just a religious name to go with a morally corrupt
and dishonest life then God has heard and answered your plea.
The Church of God still teaches that God will not only
forgive past sins but will deliver you from sin also (gives you
strength to resist temptation to do wrong in this present time
and in the future). I Cor 10:13--God is faithful who will not
suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able, but will with
the temptation also make a way to escape that ye may be able to
bear it.
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