Last week, as I worshipped in Santo Domingo at Iglesia Bautista Internacional, I was reminded that the assault on morality, marriage and family is not limited to the borders of the United States.  Church leadership at LaIBI described recent efforts, initiated by the government, at indoctrination of children through the educational system in regards to sexuality, which stand in opposition to the Word of God.

While certainly disappointing, these developments should not be confusing for believers, particularly for Americans, as we consider both Scripture and recent developments.

First, when we look at Romans 1 we can clearly see the progression of immorality from fornication (heterosexual promiscuity) to sexual perversion (homosexuality/gender confusion):

ROMANS CHAPTER 1-5 OUTLINE:

Chapters 1–3:20 – The Problem of Righteousness

– The Guilt of the Gentiles (Romans 1:18-32)
– The Guilt of the Jews (Romans 2-3:8)
– The Guilt of all men (Romans 3:9-20)

Chapters 3:21–5:21 – The Provision of Righteousness

If we look closely at Romans 1:18-32 we see:

Reasons for Condemnation (v18-23)

– For suppressing God’s truth (v18)
– For ignoring God’s revelation (v19-20)
– For perverting God’s glory (v21-23)

Results of Condemnation (v24-32) – “God gave them over…”

– Abandoned to fornication (v24-25)
– Abandoned to sexual perversion (v26-27)
– Abandoned to depraved lifestyle (v28-32)

Additionally, Denny Burke in the article below, explains the Domino Effect that has taken place, specifically within the United States in recent years, beginning with the Sexual Revolution and culminating in our current moral free fall.

“As I’ve said in this space many times, the gay marriage campaign succeeded so thoroughly and so rapidly in large part because it built on what heterosexuals had already come to believe was true about sex and marriage. Gay marriage was inevitable, because straights had already queered sex and marriage via the Sexual Revolution. Yet gay marriage was a Rubicon for our society because it took those radical shifts past the breaking point, and locked them in to law and culture. All that followed was predictable, and it was in fact predicted, not because anybody had a crystal ball, but because it made logical sense.”

So what should our response be, as followers of Christ?

I think the following article from Ligonier Ministries by Al Mohler can be of great assistance.

In less than a generation, homosexuality has gone from being almost universally condemned to being almost fully normalized in the larger society.

We are facing a true moral inversion — a system of moral understandings turned upside down. Where homosexuality was even recently condemned by the society, now it is considered a sin to believe that homosexuality is wrong in any way. A new sexual morality has replaced the old, and those who hold to the old morality are considered morally deficient. The new moral authorities have one central demand for the church: get with the new program.

This puts the true church, committed to the authority of God’s Word, in a very difficult cultural position. Put simply, we cannot join the larger culture in normalizing homosexuality and restructuring society to match this new morality. Recognizing same-sex unions and legalizing same-sex marriage is central to this project.

Liberal churches and denominations are joining the project, some more quickly and eagerly than others. The cultural pressure is formidable, and only churches that are truly committed to Scripture will withstand the pressure to accommodate themselves and their message to the new morality.

What, then, is the true church to do?

First, we must stand without compromise on the authority of the Bible and the principles of sexual conduct and morality that God has revealed so clearly in His Word. The Bible’s sexual morality is grounded in the creation of humanity in God’s image; we are created as male and female and given the gift of sex within the marriage covenant — and only within the marriage covenant between one man and one woman for as long they both shall live.

The easiest way to summarize the Bible’s teaching on sexuality is to begin with God’s blessing of sex only within the marriage covenant between a man and a woman. Then, just remember that sex outside of that covenant relationship, whatever its form or expression, is explicitly forbidden. Christians know that these prohibitions are for our good and that rejecting them is tantamount to a moral rebellion against God Himself. We also know that the Bible forbids all same-sex sexual acts and behaviors. Thus, we know that homosexuality is a sin, that blessing it in any way is also sin, and that normalizing sin cannot lead to human happiness.

Second, we must realize what is at stake. Marriage is first and foremost a public institution. It has always been so. Throughout history, societies have granted special recognition and privileges to marriage because it is the central organizing institution of human culture. Marriage regulates relationships, sexuality, human reproduction, lineage, kinship, and family structure. But marriage has also performed another crucial function — it has regulated morality.

This is why the challenge of samesex unions is so urgent and important. Redefining marriage is never simply about marriage. It leads to the redefinition of reproduction and parenthood, produces a legal revolution with vast consequences, replaces an old social order with something completely new, and forces the adoption of a new morality. This last point is especially important. Marriage teaches morality by its very centrality to the culture. With a new concept of marriage comes a new morality, enforced by incredible social pressure and, eventually, legal threats.

Third, we must act quickly to teach Christians the truth about marriage and God’s plan for sexuality in all its fullness and beauty. We must develop pastoral approaches that are faithful to Scripture and arm this generation of believers to withstand the cultural pressure and respond in ways that are truly Christian.

Fourth, and most important, this challenge must drive us to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Christians must be the first to understand this challenge in light of the gospel. After all, we know spiritual rebellion when we see it, for we ourselves were rebels before God’s grace conquered us. We know what moral confusion means because without the light of God’s Word, we are just as confused.

There is no rescue from the self-deception of sin except for the salvation that is ours in Jesus Christ. While doing everything else required of us in this challenge, the faithful church must center its energies on the one thing that we know we must do above all else — preach, teach, and live the gospel of Jesus Christ.